#spoilers: mentions of Caleb's backstory
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3 Shadowgast fics that made me ugly cry
Okay so I read a LOT of shadowgast fanfics and I wanted to share some of the ones that made me absolutely weep. (I was going to wait until tomorrow but I got too excited to share).
All of these have some intense emotional distress, but I promise you all they may be angsty but they absolutely have happy endings.
They are all set in very different AU's, are hefty completed fics, and have similar feels!
1. the breathe before the phrase
(171513 words) by @kmackatie
Chapters: 20/20
Rating: Explicit
Summary:
The ringing note of a concert A is played by the oboe, echoing on its own in the space. It’s picked up by the wind section, followed rapidly by the brass, and the familiar feeling of an orchestra calibrating takes over Caleb. The tonal adjustments as each person brings their instrument into alignment sinks into him and something inside Caleb shifts in recognition as Essek leads the strings into their own tuning.
It’s like something is waking up, like something unfurling and firing across long-unused paths of memory. His hands shake slightly, as he raises his bow and joins them, fingers fumbling against the pegs and fine tuners that give him control over his instrument.
----
Essek Thelyss is a leading violinist, his spot as Shadowhand of the Rosohna Philharmonic Orchestra has been uncontested for over a decade. Caleb Widogast is a recent arrival to the city, convinced by his friends to audition for one of the vacant violinist positions.
After starting off on the wrong foot, Caleb and Essek get to slowly know each other, discover what brings them joy, create while defying expectations, and find out that what they can produce together may just be better than anything they can do separately.
Why I cried: The amount of pressure put on Essek made my heart absolutely shatter. That plus the pinning between Caleb and Essek had me weeping. The hurt/comfort energy. The bad parent Dierta and of course past Caleb Ickythong trauma healing. Other than the story itself Katie has put so much energy into explaining the music, the playlist is stunning, and the inspiration for the played pieces in the fic are grounded in actual compositions. No spoilers, but the ending is gorgeous <3
2.Till Human Voices Wake us
(66080 words) by @ariadne-mouse
Chapters: 23/23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Additional Tags: Merman!Caleb, no Mighty Nein but otherwise canon setting/events, Neutral evil Essek, Essek-typical anxiety and fatalism, Loneliness, Hurt/Comfort, spooky gothic vibes, some horror and disturbing imagery, the ocean as a threat/love language, Illustrations, drowning themes
Summary:
Essek Thelyss, lonely and ambitious prodigy, comes to Nicodranas to make a risky gamble with the Assembly. At the water’s edge, he finds himself swept up in another dangerous entanglement he can't seem to escape — and as time goes on, he's less and less sure he wants to. Will his treasonous alliance or the sea itself devour him first?
(Or, the one where Caleb is a merman.)
Why I cried: okay so look, this story was so fucking sad I can't even begin to describe it. The love and longing between the two, the tragic backstory for Caleb. Treason = death for Essek (it's a happy ending though so do not worry, but I definitely worried so you don't have to LOL). It also has some stunning art in it!!!
3. what luminous worlds await
what luminous worlds await (178674 words) by @essektheylyss
Rating: Mature
Additional Tags: Champion of the Luxon AU, Alternate Universe - Future, Space Opera, Religious Conflict, religious trauma, Violence, Minor Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Dreams vs. Reality, Demisexual Essek Thelyss, Past Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Angst, Fictional Religion & Theology, Implied/Referenced Sex, Mention of Using Sex as Self-Harm, several immortals grapple with loss while trying to save the world, so so many liberties taken with consecution, this wouldn't be a problem if you'd EXPLAIN matthew mercer, and/or if a certain drow would give literally any straight answers, (I mean he can't give straight answers when he's not straight), Background Fjorester (Past), Post-Canon, …very post-canon
Summary:
“You seek my nature. It is a lonely endeavor. Would you like to join me on this path?”
“Yes.”
—
After a thousand years, a divine champion awakes in a lightless cave above Port Damali with little memory to speak of and a beacon in his hands.
Even as he struggles to piece the past together and process what he has lost while he slept, the future demands he answer for the crimes of his elders. It offers little in return, but perhaps there are fragments of possibility awaiting him.
Why I cried: Omg oh boy, this one made me BIG cry- honestly one of my favourite fics I have read so far. A true space opera, a story of love, in many forms, over time, space, and multiple lives. I sobbed from chapter one literally until the end. Though I think you will need an A03 account to read this one, but it is worth the wait to set one up. My partner watched me cry so much while I read this. I totally did download and save this fic to send to pals so they can cry with me. It is worth the agony for this happy ending. I might still be crying LOL
#for the shadowgast shippers#shadowgast#shadowgast recs#caleb widogast#essek thelyss#cr m9#mighty nein#critical role#honestly some of them I sobbed while explaining the premise to my partner because I have a lot of feelings#these are all worth the length
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I mean, to put it as simply as I possibly can - if they wanted to go the whole siblings route they... would have done it. Because of how detail-oriented this show is, the writers clearly have the capability to weave that kind of symbolism into the story...
...But they didn't.
I already talked about how detail-oriented TOH is here. And I also talk about how the Luz/Caleb parallels don't work here
So, for this one I'm going to point out all the... totally Sibling symbolism... between the two of them and specific details that tie them to Caleb/Evelyn.
Witches Before Wizards: Luz crushing on the prince character. First of all, you do know Nevareth didn't have to be a prince right? Also, Hunter, at this point in the story (Thanks to Them) is nearly identical to him, character design wise, because:
He's older than her.
2. The angsty, warrior teen prince archetype
3. Has a compelling backstory.
4. Is on a quest of vengeance with Luz,
5. Had an animal sidekick.
6. Very similar shoulder armor Hunter has when he's in his GG uniform. There's no reason for him to wear gold shoulder armor so similar to the only other prince character in the show. it's also on the same shoulder Hunter wears his on
7. Their hair length is the same and the hair on the top of their heads is slicked back
8. Missing eye. Okay so this one is a theory of mine. I think Flapjacks eye wound is foreshadowing Hunter losing his left eye - since he inherited Flapjacks eye color, he might "inherit" his eye wound. Hunter still has to give Belos a beatdown, so it's possible he's going to lose his eye in the Final Confrontation.
9. Edit: 11/20/2022: I can't fucking believe I forgot to mention this but Nevareth and Hunter now have the same eye color.
Now you might be thinking "Oh, that episode was a deconstruction of romantic expectations." and I'll say...
No.
Because first of all, this entire episode was a deconstruction of The Chosen One story archetype - which is what TOH is in it's entirety. Secondly I'm literally just pointing out Luz's taste in boys, because they keep bringing up she likes princes after this episode. They even gave her a fake-out kiss moment with Hunter in Hunting Palisman. They didn't have to do that you know... just like they never had to tie Luz and Hunter to the Caleb/Evelyn story.
Sense and Insensitivity:
"Luzura's tears fell on the frozen prince bringing him back to life."
So, I just wanted to highlight the dialouge here:
King: Luzura's tears fell on the frozen prince bringing him back to life? It feels a little unrealistic.
Luz: I see what you're saying, but in your version Ruler just destroys everything. I think a little romantic tension can help the scene.
I highlighted that part in Luz's dialogue because that's... literally what Emperor Belos tried to do - and what he's going BACK to do. While i don't think Hunter will have another near death experience - I do think Luz will. Because of the foreshadowing on the stairs in Thanks to Them:
But yeah... how can I not help but think there's gonna be some kind of romantic scene between Luz and Hunter during their Final Confrontation with Belos based on Luz's dialogue... Because the parts with Luz and King feel like the writers are dropping story spoilers.
Like... Luz is literally writing a story with "Romance, magic, and heartbreak with shimmer tears" based on her self-insert character.
Also... WHO is the girl supposed to be on the heartbreak card... that's not Luzura because Luz pulls out her self-insert character literally seconds after - and she just looks like Luz in a witches outfit. So...
2. Luz drawing of herself kissing a prince that looks like Beta Hunter in a story she wrote about her self-insert character.
Edit 10/27/2022: I forgot to point out how King's dialogue in the picture above is extremely suspicious
(/looks suspiciously at the the writing board in Sense and Insensitivity because the word "prince" comes up 4 times)
Edit on 11/14/2022: I forgot to mention Luz's line in the episode, "The First Day"
"And maybe [I'll] meet a hot yet vulnerable upperclassmen."
Amity IS NOT Luz's upperclassman, since she tells Luz exactly what she needs to do to get into her class in "Adventures in The Elements".
Hunting Palismen:
Fake Out Kiss moment:
This...
Is literally a callback to this (proof of concept video)
I mean... do I really need to explain that this isn't a sibling thing? Luz is into boys like Hunter - the angsty warrior princes who are older than her - that... is enough of an explanation for why this isn't something you do for characters who are always meant to be siblings.
Moving on....
3. Hunter is... i don't really know how to describe this - but he's associated with princess tropes. In this episode he's "the sleeping princess needing to be woken up by a kiss" and " the princess stuck in a tower guarded by an evil sorcerer"... And Luz frees him from the evil sorcerer in Hollow Mind... as if she's like his knight in shining armor...
Must i really go in depth about why these concepts are romantic... to you, the viewer who watches a Disney cartoon?
Here's his tower:
4. Thanks to Them makes a connection back to this episode by putting Flapjack in the play... an incredibly specific detail that didn't need to be here because the painting in Hollow Mind doesn't show him. The collage of paintings is further down so you can see what i'm talking about with your own two eyes.
This means Evelyn carved Flapjack for him.
The point is though, without Evelyn, Caleb would have never received Flapjack. Just like how without Luz, Hunter would have never received Flapjack.
I want to go more into this detail: This play and the vial of titans blood confirms for me that Flapjack was not hers and her palismen was an owl.
Because if you look at the vial of Titans blood in Thanks to Them, you can see it has an owl head for a plug.
And the way she is depicted in the play is heavily inspired by Eda. Her name is very similar to Eda's actual name: Edalyn (who is an actual Clawthorn by blood btw), So, for me, this is the proof I need to say her palisman was an owl, just like Eda's. And that she definitely carved Flapjack for Caleb because Clawthorns are famous for being Palismen carvers. She looks very similar to Eda so that it's undeniably clear to viewers that Evelyn was a Clawthorn:
Another reason why Flapjack is Caleb's and not Evelyns: Flapjack was searching the house for the rebus... because that was Caleb's house... he knew Caleb hid it somewhere under the floorboards. Also, Flapjack is based on an animal that's not a native species of TBI...
ANYWAYS... Now do you see why Luz giving Flapjack to Hunter is inherently a romantic gesture?
Any Sport In a Storm:
When looking for a first and last name to call himself by, Flapjack coins in the name "Caleb". Which Hunter uses for his first name.
Hollow Mind:
We have the Grimwalker that looks the most like Caleb running away from Philip with a witch from another world... Both at the end of the episode and during the episode. You might be thinking, " that monster wasn't Philip"... but... that is what he looks like as a monster...
This is the episode where we get these portraits, which by the way were not shown in this order during the episode. Someone on reddit put these images in this order. Again, TOH was made for nerds who like to look for the hidden details and find out how they fit together (me, im the nerd this show was made for.):
... The first portrait in the second row is a memory of Caleb running away from Philip with a witch from another world... shown to us in an episode where Hunter runs away from Philip with a witch from another world... Hunter by the way, is the only Grimwalker who meets a witch from another world...
I just want to say: in the painting where Caleb and Philip meet Evelyn for the first time, Caleb looks around Hunter's age - I'm basing this on how young Philip looks here and that he's holding the mask Caleb carved for him. So, while the play implied they met as adults it actually looks like they met as teens.
Also take note of the fact that Evelyn is pregnant in that painting.
OH WAIT, I need to point out that they did these parallels WHILE LUZ IS DATING AMITY. This episode comes after Knock Knock Knockin on Hootys door, the episode where they officially start dating.
[I wasn't sure where to put this point... but another connection Hunter has with Caleb is that he's also a witch-hunter... His name is a short-hand for witch-hunter... Belos has been training him to be a witch-hunter without his knowledge because he expects every clone of his brother to be a witch-hunter... because you know... Caleb WAS a witch-hunter before his "betrayal"...]
Kings Tide:
This is the first instance where we get Philip calling Hunter "Caleb".
2. Both Caleb and Hunter run away to another world with an expecting witch. Philip crosses worlds to hunt both pairs down.
Luz counts as an "expecting" witch because she is waiting for her palisman to hatch... MUST I say anything more about this one? Like... why are they doing this when Luz is dating Amity? Isn't it suspicious as fuck?
Thanks to Them:
Okay where do I begin with this one... Let me say this again, they're doing these parallels WHILE LUZ IS STILL DATING AMITY.
First of all, they didnt need to give Hunter Calebs hairstyle. It's the same length but Hunter's is more unkept. They could have done that trope where the possessed characters hair returns to normal after they're unpossessed.
2. They did not need to make Luz look like Evelyn
3. Philip calls Luz Evelyn before he tries killing Flapjack right in front of her. Then moments later, when Philip leaves Hunters body, he calls him Caleb AGAIN.
4. So, this isn't a parallel but I still want to talk about it: When Hunter asks Luz how she feels after what happened in Hollow Mind, she gives him a straight answer and even tears up in front of him. This is a big deal because when Luz has been prompted by other people, including her own girlfriend, about how she feels after a great emotional upset, she'll be vague, make something up, or tell them not to worry about it.
(more in detail here. and here, aaaaand here. one more)
5. Hunter has his most vulnerable moment with Luz and not the girl he's crushing on.
6. While I don't know every single detail about Hecate (the goddess) i do notice some similarities between her and Hunter. I also want to point out that the wolves on the shirt are Luz, the Hexside gang, Vee and Camila.
... People do not fucking get that this shirt didn't need to look like this... but they went out of their way to make it pretty clear this is supposed to be Luz, Camila, Vee and the Hexside gang.
The wolf with red eyes is obviously Hunter, the one behind it is Luz, the biggest one on the bottom left-hand side is Camila, the brown one is Vee, the blue one is Gus, the magenta one is Amity, and the greenish one is Willow.
But isn't it suspicious that the wolf representing Luz is right behind the one that represents Hunter...
7. Hunter has the same death pose as Caleb:
8. Philip : "Caleb, you would stab me in the back?"
Luz : "You did it to him first."
... Please just look at the painting of dead Caleb...
9. Flapjack only let Hunter and Luz use him. And he flies to Luz when he's badly injured.
10. They also made sure Luz was the one to express the most worry over Hunter drowning and not the girl he's crushing on. Luz was about to jump into the water to get Hunter if Camila wasn't faster on the response.
Sooooo.... do you see why none of this shit looks unintentional to me? Especially in a show like TOH, which pays attention to the details - and even goes out of it's way to add story details in the background - even though MOST people watching this show aren't going to notice them or even LOOK for them?
NOBODY thinks that's worth noting? Really? All the OTHER details matter, but not the ones that tie Hunter and Luz to Caleb and Evelyn?
OK.
I wasn't sure where to put this point but: Luz and Hunter have parallel storylines where they go through a deconstruction of the chosen one archetype. Luz believed she arrived on TBI to fulfill some kind of grand destiny while Hunter believed the Titan had big plans for him... While Hunter's isn't as indepth as Luz's, because he's not the protagonist, it's still there.
Again, it's not like Luz and Hunter are minor characters: Luz is the protagonist and Hunter is a major character (and former secondary antagonist) who has deep history with the MAIN VILLAIN. They parallel past lovers whose actions are the only reason this story exists in the first place...
But I'm sure this isn't intentional... i'm sure this isn't working up to some payoff down the line... I'm sure they put all this effort in for nothing LMAO.
#lunter#this show was made for nerds like me#im... pretty sure I covered all my bases... and I dont see any fatal typos so just take it
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What. In The Fuck. Was Up With That.
Spoilers below
k let’s recap. (Dear gods.)
Because i am tired i will not be organising so this is both lore and just. character moments. because we got FED TONIGHT Y'ALL
HERE WE GO
Demon sword
Ludinus is in the Dwendalian empire??? and still in charge of the assembly?????
FCG asking The Question to the Changebringer
Keyleth’s reaction to screaming Vax’ildorb
Reiliora culture/physical form
keyleth hinting at allies (will expand on below)
TITAN ASHTON??? WHAT THE FUCK
HISHARI LORE EXPANSION?
The hishari may have been destroyed trying to make ashton, and they had some mysterious “item” carrying titan power that let them.
Great tree of atrophy?? (side note, the tree was a DRUID? A GAU DRASHARI?)
Shattered teeth mention??? We’re going to the shattered teeth?!?!?!?!?!
Asmodeus connection through EXU and his other champion? AND how the shattered teeth were made??
Keyleth had a god-research phase post Vax???
Ludinus is attempting druidic-life-extension
VECNA MENTION??? HOLY SHIT IS HE SHOWING UP AGAIN?
the Earth Titan Vecna used getting mentioned
Fucking delilah getting all excited about Vecna being mentioned dear gods that’s gonna be bad.
Percy getting roasted (not really a reveal but i have to mention)
FCG BACKSTORY DROP ft the person/robot (D) who sold him!!!
Keyleth literally called VM SlapDicks
Hints (to the avengers assemble level madness Kiki may have been hinting towards)
—Vox Machina, obviously. Keyleth definitely was thinking of them when she was pondering who she could gather.
—the Ashari were involved in the Malleus Key mission, as were Caleb and Beau, and she knows of the Mighty Nein from them rescuing Vilya — and as i mentioned in another post: YASHA IS MISSING HER WIFE. And we know two of them are on the Menagerie coast, where BH might be heading
—anyone Vox Machina helped/was helped by, e.g. Allura and Kima
Hints from Bells Hells
—DORIAN
—The Nobodies? Ashton mentioned ‘shits’ who were old friends and we know they asked Milo to contact them…
—Planerider Ryn (still statued)
ANYWAY if i think of anything else i'll reblog.
Holy crap were we fed or what. i. i cannot process. I am going to go read fanfic to get my brain to calm down.
#original content#i love this so much#critical role#long post#cr spoilers#cr 3 ep 68#bells hells#vox machina#the mighty nein
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TOH SPOILERS
I Will say I am slightly disappointed at no Caleb mention in this episode but like….. idk I guess in a way it makes sense because truly I don’t think Belos deserved any form or reconciliation with him
I just wish we got to see more of their backstory, just a shame of the show getting shortened.
I’d love to see the original intentions for if we got a full season 3.
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// toh spoilers
... is it just me, or is caleb not even (properly) brought up in watching and dreaming?
(apologies if anything here is wrong but)
like, previously hunter cuts his hair bc he looks like caleb, and belos still calls him caleb. then in the second special and beyond, hunter looks even more like caleb but he doesn't even change his haircut again, and we never see hunter's ties with caleb being resolved at all. sure, gus and willow accepted him being a grimwalker, but in the end it was about h/untlow bc hunter had to "save" willow. gus and hunter never actually talked about what the former saw in belos' memories, either.
and in for the future, we see belos hallucinating caleb and all the other grimwalkers, which indicates that belos must feel some guilt over it. yet in watching and dreaming, belos never mentions caleb again. belos is completely oversimplified in the last special. his backstory, his motivations, his whole arc with luz even in king's tide... they're all summed up as "he's just pure evil".
like, i'm not (personally) mad that they killed belos or that they didn't redeem him, but it sucked bc i thought he WAS a complex villain. they took the time to tell us the story behind the wittebanes and evelyn, and they didn't do anything with it. caleb and evelyn are never touched on again, and belos just became toh's equivalent of fmab father (a villain i personally found boring as fuck)
i know wad focused more on eda, luz and king - and the collector - and i know they didn't have much time to tell their story, but come on. why even build it up if you weren't going to do anything with it??
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Watching again movies about androids, this time it's Ex Machina (watching it for the first time)
Below is just commentary as I'm watching it, no intellectual value in it whatsoever, just documenting it because I feel like it
+ spoilers
It's the most Kevin-looking Kevin I've ever seen
That local Kamski (I've missed his name if it was ever mentioned) creeps me out, and I'm not even 20 minutes into the movie. It's just how he looks like he's about to get angry, but then expresses a compliment or something
Kevin is too obviously into machines and they've been only talking for like a few minutes
Stop being dorky, Kevin.
Why did they have to give Ava this manner of talking 🙄
Damn, Kevin has the most typical sad character backstory and we've also got genius programmer Nathan who wrote something big at 13, oh fuck off
Honestly at this point it kinda looks like it'll be bad, I dunno.
The omnious red lighting was absolutely necessary for power cuts
Fuck Nathan honestly. What is it about rich fucks surrounding themselves with pretty young women just to treat them as shit?
Kevin, you fucking idiot. I feel like you made a mistake
Oh, I didn't expect to see Twiggy
Flirting already. I mean, she was kinda flirting the first scene she was introduced, I mean even her damn voice...I bet Nathan specifically had chosen Kevin because he knew he'd be into robots. He's just the kind to be.
Is that housekeeper a human, what's her deal? 🤔 She's not just a background character, is she?
Oh, knew ittt
This frame slaps
FUCK, fuckfuckfuck the cutting scene
WAIT, his name was CALEB not Kevin??
There's absolutely no way Nathan isn't suspecting Kevin Caleb doing whatever he's doing
Ooh, tell me they'll form an alliance (Ava and Kyoko)
Damn, it's like this knife is cutting through the butter
Love the twist
Oh, I love that she locked him lmao
I mean, I feel bad for him, poor dude was used, but I'm glad it didn't turn into the story about saving woman in trouble
I liked this movie more than I expected, for some reason I didn't expect much from it at all, despite it being so famous
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Things about the Owl House that I wish would exist (spoilers season 2 warning) :
1) A 9 chapters comic book filled with 180-225 pages about the coven heads, their backstories, and everything about them.
2)Luz's journal, where we learns tons of things about the lore and how she discovered the isles with more details, some off screen shenanigans with Eda, King, and her friends, and it would go from her first day in the BL to whatever the hell happen in the end of season 3, including fluffy adventures in the human realm (ESPECIALLY if there's a time skip). Anything happening from this point would feel bittersweet given the circumstances, but I'll take any fluff I can at this point, even if tainted with a lot of angst and trauma. Also it would be a big journal. Big book. Big baby. I suppose very pricey. But very cool. Hard cover and all.
3) Philipp's journal would be pointless because it's full of lies (I'd still buy it though, you know, for the records), but how about Caleb's journal ? So we can have the full story of everything that happened until his death from his point of view ! We don't know much about him after all, like, he only appeared in some paintings from Belos memories, but it could be a way to know more about how was the relationship between the brothers, and how went their first years on the isles. And also how the portal door was created. And Flapjack's birth. And eventual confirmation of the "Clawthorn's ancestor" theory. So cool stuff. Any parallel with Hunter would hurt as hell though. Wait... what if... What if Philipp used his brother journal to write about and study grimwalkers? Like... He needed his own journal to put him as some kind of hero, so no way he would mention killing his own bro in his journal. But Caleb's journal is there and Philipp needs paper anyway. So he decides to use it. Imagine, you're reading about some guy that discovered a new world, grew out of his puritan education, and make out with a witch, and near the end, some notes about how he's worried about his little brother and he's going to talk to him. And then it just stop, the next few pages are from a different handwriting, and aren't about the wonders of the BI anymore... But about some insane guy who was so salty about his brother not sharing his opinion, he decided to make a new one in order to fix him after killing the original. Would be messed up. But cool.
4)A comic book, with a more GF lost legends vibe, about several backstories and sidestories, like Hooty origins story, Steve and Math being bros, Hexside when the adults were kids, the beach episode, Luz teaching human stuff to Gus, some Vee and Camila slice of life... And anything that the season 3 cut stole. And more !
5) An artbook. Named The Art of The Owl House. Concept arts, storyboards, early concepts, deleted scenes, colorscripts, awesome illustrations, doodles from the crew, I want to see it all.
6) Hunter's funny socks.
#long post#toh spoilers#the owl house#toh#I'd need to save A LOT of money if even half of theses were to become real#But heck would it be worth it#probably won't happen but we're on hiatus so I'm thinking about this a lot
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Februwhump Prompt
“Cauterization”
(Read on AO3)
And Home Before Dark (a direct sequel to Into the Woods)
Caleb is upright.
Mostly.
That’s in no small part due to the arm Molly has braced around his waist; the healing potion Molly’d fed him had brought him back from the brink, but it still very much feels like he was shot- a lot- and it’s quite painful. That’s to say nothing of the beating he’d taken before they’d fled the battleground; the barbed bolts were just added insult.
He can feel time flying past as they trudge through the woods. He’s fairly certain they’re heading in the right direction, and therefore back toward help, but Caleb’s not entirely sure they’ll get there fast enough. He hasn’t told Molly, but his wounds have started to bleed again from the movement of walking, wet warmth making what’s left of his shirt cling unpleasantly to his skin. More worrisome, as far as Caleb’s concerned, is that he knows nightfall isn’t far off. Another hour at most, though full dark will hit them under the tree canopy much faster. Caleb’s already having difficulty seeing where he’s going; he tells himself that’s due to the low light, and not the dizziness of blood loss.
He considers his options. He knows they have no potions left- if they had any, he’s certain he’d have been forced to drink them by now. Neither he nor Molly are gifted with healing magic, and Molly has already done his best to bandage Caleb’s wounds with his and Caleb’s shirts before they’d gotten moving. If there were anything else to be done, Molly would have done it.
That doesn’t mean that Caleb has done everything he can, yet.
He knows Molly is going to argue with him. It’s the best possible solution, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good solution, and he’s only considering it because he’s relatively certain getting back to town before dark is incredibly unlikely, and he in no way wants to be caught in the dark woods while leaving a trail of fresh blood behind. It’s asking for trouble, and neither of them can handle any more of that right now.
“Molly- Mollymauk, wait please.”
Molly comes to a stop, looking over at him. “Do you need a minute? We shouldn’t stop long, but we can rest a moment if you need-”
“Molly.” Caleb gathers some of his dwindling strength and projects more confidence than he’s feeling. “The bleeding has started again, and if I do not stop it we will attract predators and it won’t matter how close to town we get. Something else will find us first.”
“Wait, you’ve started- why didn’t you say something, Caleb?” Molly breaks off into muttered curses, lowering Caleb down to sit so he’s propped against a tree before reaching for the strips of shirt he’d used to bandage Caleb’s wounds. Caleb catches Molly’s wrist before he can make contact.
“This is me saying something. Molly, the bandages are not enough. Neither of us can heal, and there are no potions left.”
Molly frowns at him, barely visible to Caleb in the growing dimness. “Then what would you suggest we do? You said we had to stop the bleeding-”
Caleb shakes his head, lifting a trembling hand to let a small curl of flame lick over his fingertips. “No, not ‘we’, Molly.”
Molly’s expression goes from confused to understanding to horrified in quick succession. “No. Absolutely not. We can’t be that far out from town now; we’ll get there and get you help. No need to do anything foolish.”
Caleb snorts a laugh, then winces at the resultant spikes of pain. “I think we are well beyond pretty lies at this point, Mr. Mollymauk. Even if we move at full speed, it would be a close thing to get there before dark, and we both know we’re not going that fast. I am leaving a trail even the stupidest of predators could follow easily. That is all of course beside the point that I am slowly bleeding out. If we are to make it safely out of the woods, something must be done to stop it. We have tried dealing with it in more traditional ways, and they have failed.” Caleb looks from the flame flickering on his fingertips down to the blood-stained bandages. “Trust me when I say this is not a choice I am pleased to be making, nor one that I make on a whim. If I thought there was another way, I would happily consider it.” Caleb glances back up at Molly in the failing light and gives him a pained smile. “Mr. Mollymauk, if you have another suggestion, now is the time.”
Caleb can still see just enough of Molly’s face in the flickering firelight to see the anguish and indecision written across it. “Caleb, there has to be a better way than-” Molly gestures down at Caleb’s hand. “-what you’re proposing.”
“If there is, I cannot think of it. And unless you’ve been holding back an idea, I think I would like to get this over with quickly, please.”
Molly’s face twists, and he spits a curse in Infernal that has Caleb flinching back. Molly holds his hands up in apology and composes himself before running a hand over his face with a frustrated huff. “No, no I don’t have any other ideas.”
Caleb nods, stifling a groan as he settles himself more firmly against the tree. “Alright.”
Caleb’s been hurt a lot in his life, in many different and horrible ways, but there’s something uniquely awful about the way burns feel. They throb, the pain penetrating and inescapable, and by the time he’s on the last wound, he hesitates, his fingers hovering over the injury. The three he’s cauterized already are screaming flares of agony, and realistically he knows adding one more won’t make much of a difference. If anyone deserves this kind of torment it’s him, but part of him still rebels at the thought of willingly putting his fingers into the last wound and searing it closed. He needs to focus, to do this and get it done so they can get moving, get somewhere safe, but there’s a part of him, a treacherous whisper of thought that wonders if his parents had felt this, or if the smoke had taken them first-
“ Caleb .” There’s a burst of pain against Caleb’s cheek, snapping his head sideways; he blinks, Molly coming into focus in front of him, his arm lowering. “Are you with me?”
He isn’t, not entirely, but he’s present enough. “Ja. Ja, just-” He jams his fingers into the last bolt hole with a choked-off noise and lets his fingers ignite before he can think about it. The pain is immediate and nauseating, and he viciously bites down on the scream that wants to rip its way out of him. When he’s sure it’s done he lets his hand drop to his side, his head thumping back against the tree, and he takes a moment. It’s not until Molly’s hands settle over his and squeeze that he realizes how badly he’s shaking.
“Caleb, mo chuisle, are you alright?” Molly’s voice is laced with concern, and Caleb is sure his face must match, but the light’s dim enough now he can’t see more than the basic shape of Molly in front of him. He responds with a gently unhinged laugh and a shake of his head.
“No, probably not. But time for that later, ja?”
“Caleb-” He can easily hear the frown in Molly’s voice, but chooses, as he does with many things, to ignore it. He pulls his hands away from Molly’s and gets one on the tree behind him, the other on the ground, and pushes himself up with a groan.
“Gods above, Caleb, you stubborn arsehole.” Molly’s hands are on him in an instant, helping steady him once he’s upright. “You could have taken another minute. A minute won’t matter.”
“We can’t know that, Mollymauk.” Caleb gives him a tremulous smile. “Let’s get going.”
There’s a brief pause in which Caleb can feel the weight of disapproval from Molly’s stare, but Molly doesn’t say anything, just takes one of Caleb’s arms and flings it over his shoulder, wrapping his arm around Caleb’s waist to steady him before they start walking again.
“One of these days,” Molly huffs as they walk. “We’re going to have a long and probably unpleasant conversation about that deflection thing you do.”
“What do you mean?”
“You-” Molly pauses then says, “When you’re hurt you brush it off, like it doesn’t matter, or- or like you’re trying to get us to ignore it. You did it a little when we first met, but you do it more now.”
Caleb’s momentarily stunned. He thinks back on his interactions with the Nein, with Molly, and he can see what Molly’s talking about, the trend; it causes a painful curl in his gut, and gods, he doesn’t have the energy for this now.
“I’m not one to pry.” They go around a small boulder, Molly leading him deftly to the side and forward again. “You’ve never really dug into my past beyond that first time with everyone else, and I appreciate and respect that. A person should get to keep their own secrets, and only share what they like.”
He thinks Molly’s going to drop it, and is just starting to relax when Molly says, “If it weren’t for you almost getting killed so frequently, I’d leave it alone. But I’m scared one day we’re going to ignore something we shouldn’t, and you’re one who’ll suffer for it.”
Caleb has a number of responses he could make to that, but none of those will appease Molly, and would in fact probably just make him more worried than he already is. Caleb’s grateful for the low light; Molly can probably see him, but it’s easier to pretend he can’t when Caleb’s mostly blind. It soothes the crawling under his skin he gets when people look too closely, when they see him, not as he pretends to be, but as he truly is.
Caleb considers his words carefully, and Molly- wonderful, ever-patient Molly- gives him the time to get his words in order. “It’s complicated.”
Molly’s arm tightens ever-so-briefly around Caleb’s waist. “Then explain it to me.” His voice is gentle, and Caleb’s heart squeezes, wondering how he deserves someone so kind.
“When we first met, the group of us, I was not in a good place. Nott helped, she always helps, but even she, as much as she tries, can only do so much.” Caleb huffs a laugh, and brings his free arm around his middle when the laugh jostles his injuries. “That’s not to say I am perfect now, mind you, but I was much worse back then.”
Molly is quiet, but Caleb thinks he sees him nod.
“I- I care now, in a way I did not before. Back then I didn’t know you all the way I do now. We were all just a group of asshole strangers thrown together and-” It’s getting harder to think clearly, to articulate the muddy swirl of his thoughts. He sighs, leaning more heavily against Molly. “Now that I know you all better, I have a clearer idea of our strengths, our weaknesses. My priorities have shifted.”
“What changed? You know we all care about you, right?”
Caleb drops his hand from his stomach to find and pat the arm Molly has around his waist. “Ja, I know you do, schatz.”
“Then why? Why don’t you want us to help you?”
Caleb aches from the subtle hurt in Molly’s voice. How does he begin to explain? How does he tell Mollymauk that he doesn’t want them wasting resources on him, doesn’t want them using a potion on him that might keep one of them alive? He’s come a long way in terms of how he views things, how he views himself.
But.
If it comes to a decision of whether it should be him or someone else who lives, he just doesn’t see it as a very complex choice. He doesn’t want to die, but he will so someone else can live.
“It isn’t that I don’t want you to help me. I appreciate the care you show me. I just have a better idea of how to deploy our often limited resources.”
“You know you’re not any less important than anyone else, right?”
“Molly-”
“No, you listen to me.” Molly’s voice goes hard, and he comes to a stop, forcing Caleb to stop as well. Molly angles to face him, even though Caleb can’t properly see him at this point. “You’re just as important as anyone else. Your safety is important, your well-being is important, your health is important- physical, mental, or otherwise. You can say your priorities have changed, and I can’t tell you what to do or how to feel, but that doesn’t mean my priorities have changed.” Molly sighs, shifts a little more, and Caleb startles at the touch of a hand to his face. “I can’t believe we’ve gone through so much, experienced and survived all that, just for you to decide that we shouldn’t care for you for whatever reason you’ve got built up in your head.” The hand on Caleb’s face flexes, and he leans into it as Molly’s thumb runs up over his cheekbone. Molly’s voice sounds closer and softer when he continues. “I know to you it makes sense, but believe me when I tell you I want to know if you’re hurting. I want to know if you’re unwell or in pain or just having a bad day. You’re part of my family. I love you and care about you. Please don’t shut me out.”
Caleb swallows past the lump that’s taken up residence in his throat and nods. He doesn’t trust his voice, but does trust that Molly can see his response. The cauterized wounds are pulsing, hot and insistent like small fires in his belly, his whole body aching with the edge of fever, but none of it hurts the way Molly’s quiet plea does. He wants to give in, desperately wants to give Molly everything and anything he wants. He can readily admit his life has improved greatly since Molly came into it, since the whole of the Mighty Nein came into it, but there are still things he has to do, things he must accomplish before he can even begin to deserve the kind love and affection Molly shows him. Molly is still waiting, expectant, and Caleb sighs wearily.
“I- I will try, schatz.”
“That’s all I ask, love.” Molly leans in and kisses Caleb, a quick press of lips to his forehead, and Molly hisses as he pulls back. “Fuck, you’re burning up. It’s time we get going. Sooner we get back, sooner Jester can have a look at you.”
Caleb steadies himself as best he can, takes a shuddering breath, and braces himself to move again. “Ja. That- that is a good idea.”
Molly tightens his arm around Caleb’s waist, and together they find their way out of the woods.
#analisegrey fics#februwhump#Critical Role season 2#caleb widogast#mollymauk tealeaf#widomauk#wound cauterization#whump#spoilers: mentions of Caleb's backstory#critical role spoilers
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dont hmu 😔🤚 just got major character deaths and backstory spoilers while I was on episode 3 of campaign two of CR
#when u scroll a little too far in the comments#the mighty nein#Critical role#alright spoilers from here down fellas#there was a comment in ep 2 that mentioned how much they missed mollymauk#also one on ep3 that mentionnés a big chunk of caleb’s backstory#mollymauk tealeaf#he was my favorite character wtf 😿
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Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Nott & Caleb Widogast
Characters: Caleb Widogast, Nott (Critical Role), Frumpkin (Critical Role)
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Caleb Whump, Sickfic, First Meetings, my take on how they might have met in jail, Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, Protective Nott (Critical Role), spoilers for nott's backstory, sir that's my emotional support Frumpkin, bondage but not the sexy kind
Summary:
Without realizing it, Nott had collapsed to her knees by the cell door in despair, staring despondently into the shiny bauble in her hand that was now the only item she had to her name. Seconds passed, or maybe minutes, before distantly she heard the sound of a snap, and a swath of warm fur brushed against her outstretched hands.
“What?!” Nott shrieked, backing away from the sudden appearance of a cat, before stepping towards it again with a growing snarl, bauble forgotten as it rolled away from her feet. She had been surviving off rats and thrown away food for the past few months, so a cat wouldn’t be any worse.
She was about to pounce forward when a quiet voice spoke up from the back wall, a soft wheeze audible between phrases. “Bitte… don’t eat… my cat.”
#critical role#cr#cr fanfiction#caleb widogast#nott the brave#hurt/comfort#caleb whump#some backstory spoilers for Nott are mentioned#ao3#sickfic
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critical role campaign 2 aka 'backstory wars'
#nott is really the only one we havent gotten a hook for#and even then shes mentioned her clan a little#critical role#cr spoilers#critical role spoilers#beau and the cobalt reserve#fjord and his patron and accent#molly and whatever the fucks uo w him#jester and her mom#caleb and whatever the fuck is up w him#we have so much#its a war of whos backstory gets the first arc
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little man, big feelings
[SPOILERS for Critical Role campaign 1 (finale and epilogue one-shots), Exandria Unlimited, and campaign 3 through episode 17 "Heart-to-Heartmoor"]
I started writing this after the ExU finale, but recent revelations were the kick in the pants I needed to expand and finish it. Here we go.
I am so intrigued by Orym's backstory.
A lot of people have focused on his relationship to Keyleth, especially in the beginning, which certainly makes sense. She was a member of Vox Machina, who the audience got to know and love over hundreds of hours. She's the Voice of the Tempest, the leader of the Air Ashari. And Orym mentioned her a few times, obliquely at first and then more directly with their cousins from Pyrah.
But I'm also curious about his relationship to Derrig. Orym almost certainly trained for Zephrah's security forces under the proudly boring Master of Defense. They're both Battle Master fighters who use the same sword-and-shield fighting style, after all. Derrig was middle-aged for a half-elf – married for 47 years, so probably in his 70s or older – at the time of Vex and Percy's wedding. Twenty-nine years later, he would be over 100 years old and likely considering retirement, if he hasn't already.
But.
As we now know, Derrig is not only Orym's commanding officer and mentor, but also his father-in-law. No wonder our somber halfling left Zephrah. There was no escaping reminders of Will. Their home was empty. His post on duty was filled by someone else, and Will's father was the one who gave the assignment. Liam hasn't said what Nell and the girls do in the village, but Zephrah isn't a huge community. Orym must have seen them around on a fairly regular basis.
And we've seen enough to know that Orym takes his duty of protection extremely seriously. Even if everyone in his extended family and the tribal leadership told him that Will's death wasn’t his fault, he still feels immense guilt over it. That's why his first Battle Master maneuvers were bait-and-switch and goading attack. He throws himself between his friends and danger as a first instinct. "Fight me. Leave them alone." Orym would rather die than lose anyone else.
And yes, it's beautifully ironic that he made a point of gently berating FCG for not taking care of themself, when he is the picture of self-sacrifice. I can pretty much guarantee that that's going to come back around on him soon. Sam and Taliesin won’t let that go unremarked on for long, let alone FCG and Ashton.
It's interesting watching Liam dedicate himself to playing Orym as background support. He's not just trying to share the spotlight equally with his fellow players and characters the way he did with Vax and Caleb. He's been actively trying to avoid center stage. He's been trying to step into the position that Ashley filled in the first two campaigns due to her frequent absences, so as to not be a central driving force this time around. Somewhat counter to that, though, he always builds his characters as people with connections to the world, and backstories full of events that can be mined to propel the narrative. He can't help but pepper in little moments that entice the others to poke around for information.
Orym's pain is such a strong influence on how he interacts with the world now that he's been deliberately resisting deep attachments. Deflecting questions about himself and answering as vaguely as possible, downplaying injuries, redirecting attention to others whenever he can. He tried so hard to maintain a professional distance with the Crown Keepers, was so reluctant to take on a leadership role, even when the other characters (and players) were looking to him as an obvious choice for guidance. It was palpable how relieved he felt when Fy'ra Rai joined the group and could be looked to in that capacity for a while. But they trusted him more than he felt he deserved, more than he felt capable of living up to. He's grown to care for Dorian and Ferne in particular more than he's willing to admit over the past several months. Dorian's departure hurt more than he's ready to reckon with, and he's struggling between the desire to strengthen his connections with the other Hellions and the instinct to shut himself off even further to avoid more pain in the future.
I think he's taking some cues from Keyleth in that way. Marisha said in the Vox Machina wrap-up that our dear, near-immortal Voice of the Tempest would be grieving Vax for a very long time. We don't know precisely how old Orym is, but he's a fairly young man. Derrig said that his children were little kids at the time of the de Rolo wedding, and Orym is probably around the same age as Will. Which means that their leader – and one of Orym's main role models – has likely been in mourning to some degree for nearly thirty years, the majority of his life. He's internalized a version of romantic devotion that requires the survivor to maintain a certain distance from everyone around them, especially when they're being looked to as an authority figure. In a way, the Crown Keepers and Bell's Hells viewing Orym as something of a leader is reinforcing his determination to keep them both at arm's length and behind his shield.
I can't wait to see what more they can pull out of him.
#Critical Role meta#character analysis#Orym of the Air Ashari#Derrig of the Air Ashari#Keyleth of the Air Ashari#Critical Role#season 1#Vox Machina#Exandria Unlimited#season 3#Bell's Hells#Bell's Hellions#long text post#queued
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Since “the campaign is ending soon” declarations are flying around again, here’s a list of hanging plot threads that indicate why that’s probably not the case.
(For organization’s sake, the points are separated by Major Plots (plot threads that would probably consist of around 10-15 episodes per arc, if not longer), Lesser Plots (smaller scale elements that could be resolved in 1-3 episodes), and Speculative (stuff that isn’t a guarantee but I’ve got hunches about).
Major Plots
1. The Eyes of Nine/Nonagon/Eiselcross plot the M9 are currently pursuing. I can understand to a degree why people are getting endgame vibes off of this (Matt’s been foreshadowing it since the beginning, it certainly feels big enough to be the climactic threat), but just learning about the threat doesn’t necessarily mean it’s set to trigger the endgame. Vox Machina found out about Vecna way back in the Briarwood arc, and that didn’t become an active concern until way later.
2. Taking on the Cerberus Assembly. Less world-altering in its urgency or danger, but I would be very shocked if this wasn’t addressed and resolved in some way before the campaign is over. Cleaning up the empire has been a stated personal goal for both Beau and Caleb for some time now. The NPCs most tied to Caleb’s backstory are here, and Caleb’s arc probably wouldn’t feel complete without some kind of resolution with those three characters. Additionally, the Cerberus Assembly is emblematic of the moral grayness and corruption of power themes that have pervaded this campaign. Matt’s made it a point to have several NPCs talk about how “the outward war may be over but the conflict goes on,” or “things are the way they are so why bother trying to change them.” That idea of fighting a corrupt status quo despite tradition and historical precedent trying to tell you “that’s just how things are” seems to be a story Matt’s trying to engage the characters in, and regardless of the outcome they’ll get from it, I feel like it’s going to come up at some point, and the Cerberus Assembly seems like the best means of exploring it.
3. Fjord, Uk’otoa, and the other Titans. Yeah, it’s kinda vital that Fjord and the others find some permanent way to resolve this, because I don’t think there’s any way of properly concluding Fjord’s story without it. Fjord’s never going to be content hiding on land for the rest of his life with the key; he swore the Oath of the Open Seas, and he loves the ocean despite all the dangers it’s thrown at him. He’s never going to be free to embrace who he is and who he really wants to be as long as Uk’otoa stands in the way. On top of that, though this is kinda speculative and not guaranteed to become relevant to this campaign, there are the other titan creatures that were depicted on the temple walls alongside Uk’otoa on Urukayxl. I don’t want to go into too much detail about those because EGTW spoilers, but given the prevailing theme of both ‘nine’ and ‘eyes,’ with nine total eye-shaped keys needed to free these three beings, as well as the foreshadowing circus performance Matt narrated in the first episode, they might well be tied into the greater plot that seems to be unfolding in Eiselcross.
Lesser Plots
1. Essek. Love him or hate him, Essek has ingrained himself as one of the primary NPCs of this campaign. He’s played a major role in the events of the story, he’s informed the arcs of several of the PCs, and formed reasonably strong bonds with a few of them. Seeing some kind of resolution with him, whether he takes the M9′s second chance to heart or wades right back into making the same mistakes, seeing where he lands in the end would be quite a shame to miss.
2. Zuala’s Grave and Yasha’s Tribe. This might be more in speculative territory, because it’s absolutely possible Yasha could decide that chapter of her life is closed for good, and she’s found all the healing she needs with the M9. However, her love for Zuala is strong enough that I believe she’d want to have that last, proper farewell, even if she has healed enough to move on with her life, and closing in that final gap in her memory might be too alluring to ignore.
Speculative
1. Tharizdun. I put this in speculative because even though Tharizdun is a big deal, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to be making a return appearance. Vox Machina came across several references to and artifacts of Orcus, but never encountered him during the campaign. However, since he was tied directly to Yasha’s backstory, and Matt made a point of explaining that Tharizdun and the Luxon are similar but antithetical entities that might be closely related, I’m not counting him out of the race yet (or the Luxon either if I’m being honest, I just have less to go off of with that one).
2. Molaesmyr. Am I the only one that thinks Cad’s personal plot isn’t as wrapped up as it appears? I could see the transformed residuum acting as protection for just the Blooming Grove, but I highly doubt it’s going to cure the whole Savalierwood. Whether that’s going to be resolved by the M9 or not, I don’t know, but considering that A) what I said above, B) Ludinus Da’leth originally came from Molaesmyr, and C) this was where Star Razor was sundered, there are enough points of connection that I don’t quite trust it to sit quietly and not make any trouble.
With all of that to consider, not to mention any other side quests, personal plot beats, and other unexpected twists we cannot yet predict, I think we’ve got a good while yet before we say goodbye to the Mighty Nein.
#critical role#they might not go all the way to level 20#but i'm betting on them making it to 17 at least#and if there's still more story to tell#they'll keep going#the tale is over when it's over
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In the wake of me finishing among the nein, I couldn’t resist the urge to make a post detailing the various clues and red herrings included in the fic (and like two whole people in the comments expressed an interest in such a post, so this is for you)
Seeing as the fic is a murder mystery, this is gonna be one big spoiler. If you're curious about the fic, I suggest not reading more of this post.
For simplicity's sake, I'm gonna go chapter by chapter, starting from the beginning. Fair warning, it’s going to be pretty long.
Chapter 1:
Not many clues in this chapter, just establishing the setting and the characters (while still making everyone come off as sketchy as possible). The red herrings are: Beau noticing the implant on Yasha's neck, Fjord mentioning being the sole survivor on his last ship, Beau fucking with the door locks.
Clues: I mostly tried having Jester appear innocent in this chapter, but do mention the "prank" that had her leave home, her missing father, the general sketchiness of the Traveler, and her being hungry and unhappy with the food on Halfway.
Chapter 2
Red herrings: Caleb gets shot in the leg and it's unclear whether the bullet is removed, he later speculates this could’ve infected him; Avantika being there looking for Fjord, making him seem guilty by association (I played a lot on Fjord, Molly and Yasha’s backstories, hoping it would make the readers think U’kotoa/Lucien/Obann had something to do with the alien impostor); revealing Molly’s connection to Vess and having Yasha refuse to obey her orders, making both of them look guilty when she later turns up dead; Beau using the vents. Vess' murder is reported by Fjord, placing him as first on site.
Clues: Jester barely appears in this chapter and there are no major clues. I do however mention that she always carries her haversack with her, and with it presumably also her spell casting components (such as diamonds).
Chapter 3
Red herrings: Yasha immediately trying to let Molly out once Vess is dead; Yasha is also revealed to be Xhorhasian, leading to even Beau suspecting her; the crew theorizes Caduceus to be a spy and that he faked the Speak with Dead spell to cover for himself; Caduceus is also very vague about his past and motives when asked; Molly reveals not remembering his past; Caleb refuses to answer any questions about his past.
Clues: Jester mentions having access to Modify Memory (and shows no compunctions about using it); she mentions that she doesn't care Vess was killed since she was "mean"; she throws herself at the chance to, while under Zone of Truth, clarify that she’s a tiefling, despite not having been asked. The imposter is said by Vess to be "just hunger".
Chapter 4
Red herrings: Caleb fucks with the door locks and is said by Essek to perform "ship sabotage"; he also suspects that he (or someone else) could be the impostor without knowing it themselves.
Clues: Jester is found by a dead body covered in blood less than a minute after its death, seemingly trying to "revive" it. She asks Caleb for a diamond, despite always carrying her bag with components around with her. She and the one other witness claim there was a monster, yet Jester appears deeply shocked when the monster version of Vess shows up. She is also openly crying when trying to heal the dead crewmember, despite usually trying to hide any distress she feels - this was her playing at being upset.
Chapter 5
Red herrings: Yasha is unable to do wires; Fjord displaying his "unearthly" abilities; everyone but Caleb and Yasha saying under Zone of Truth that they don't believe themselves to be aliens (meaning either the alien doesn't know what it is, or doesn't consider itself an alien); absolutely no one giving a clear yes or no answer as to wheter they killed Vess.
Clues: Jester is at her most blatantly suspicious this chapter, with lines such as: “Or maybe it just wanted to kill her, and didn’t really think things through. She was so mean, even a monster wouldn’t like her, probably”, “I was in my room that night” (doesn't mean she couldn’t at some point have left her room) immediately followed by her putting the focus on Beau who she knew had been out and about that night, “Does it really even matter? DeRogna was, just, the worst, right? Like she was awful, locked Molly and Nott in the brig for no reason and everything. And that other lady wanted to have Molly thrown off the ship! So even if one of us is an alien, maybe it just wants friends and was trying to defend us.” When asked if she thinks her dad is an alien, she never denies it, just talks around it.
Chapter 6
Red herrings: Caduceus saying he "hopes to learn some new recipes" on his quest; Fjord’s entire section, with him never denying Essek’s accusations.
Clues: Essek concludes that Jester isn't even slightly scared of him and his abilities, hinting on the fact that she is more powerful than him.
Chapter 7
Red herrings: Fjord being very pushy when questioning Caleb and Cad about magic, him saying he "can't go back to who he was" and that he is "stronger now."
Clues: Jester being hungry is brought up again, with her complaining that everything Caduceus gives her "is green". Beau finds out that the alien, once taking on a shape, truly "becomes" that race (“it wouldn’t just look human, it would be human”) meaning it isn't entirely alien. Jester brings up the topic of "alien babies", wondering if they’d be alien too or more like their other parent. She also once again pushes the idea that the alien might not be evil.
Chapter 8
Red herrings: the appearance of Obann with him immediately mind whammying Yasha.
Clues: Jester running off on her own to get food even after she, Beau and Cad ate their way through a good chunk of the café's inventory. She again brings up the prank that made her leave home, saying it was "pretty bad" but not elaborating.
Chapter 9
Red herrings: the mere presence of Obann and his mind control. No clues in this chapter since Jester wasn't present.
Chapter 10
No clues or red herrings, just the big reveal!
#if this gets more than 2 notes i'll be shocked lol#anyway it was fun to write!#i think i got all the clues in there but it's possible i missed some#honestly the best thing about this fic was seeing people trying to keep up with the mystery in the comments#among the nein#nella talks cr
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Blue Petals :: Widojest
Pairing: Caleb x Jester
Rating: Angst
Warning: Hanahaki Disease, Slight spoilers to Caleb’s backstory
Words: 12k
Notes: This was written at 3am and my mind told me to write angst. I’m not the greatest when it comes to angst but I’m trying my best here. Basically it’s the Hanahaki disease and the ending is sad.
Also no idea where this takes place in the timeline, it just has spoilers for Caleb’s past as well as mentions Xhorhaus.
Caleb hasn’t felt well for a couple days now. He doesn’t feel sick, moreso feels like there’s a lump in his chest that just causes discomfort. As well as feeling like he has a frog in his throat. It is… very unusual to say the least.
He only mentioned it to Caduceus and Beau as those two seem to notice anything going wrong without actively checking. Caduceus suggested some tea, Beau mentioned it could be Caleb needing to throw up the bad stuff. She offered to punch him in the gut to help, he kindly rejected.
It’s odd but the feeling seems to weigh more heavily on him when he sees Jester. When he talks to her and her voice chimes like bells, the weight deepens. When he just watches her move and the sun or moon or whatever source of light sparkles on her skin, he has to clear his throat a few times due to something feeling lodged.
It wasn’t until the end of a battle that he realized something was very wrong. It was just some bandits, not the ones that they’ve come across what, three times now? No, other bandits that were more of assholes. Caleb was knocked down by the last remaining bandit as an effort to take out the main magic user. When Caleb hit the ground, he felt a coughing fit take him. He covered his mouth, doing his best to think of techniques to end the fit. Instead, Caleb felt something hit his hand as the fit ceased. Moving to look, his eyes widened when he saw blue flower petals.
Fjord had called out to see if Caleb was okay, to which the wizard replied with a question of if any of the bandits had used magic or some sort. There was a no and Caleb grew more confused before another coughing fit hit him and Nott ran to his side to try and give him company as well as pat his back to help. The other members also joined his side in time to see enough petals to cover a whole rose had come from Caleb’s coughing. The group was silent before panic set in.
Nott was yelling, asking if there were any potions to give Caleb, Fjord and Beau were trying to come up with logical explanations for what was happening, Caduceus was trying to calm them all down, Yasha was silent yet had a serious and concerned expression, and Jester was kneeling next to Caleb to heal him.
As soon as the Cure Wounds touched Caleb, another coughing spat happened, this time the petals had blood. More panic came as Jester and Caduceus both began to cast Sending to Essek for help as the group agreed that he would be the most knowledgeable in what was happening.
Caleb himself tried to stay calm and figure out what was happening but he has never heard of a thing like this. Magic is the only logical solution that came to mind but when was the last time they fought a magic user? Hell, what magic would this even be? He’s never heard of this spell and–
Caleb was snapped out of his thoughts at Fjord asking if he’s okay enough to do a Teleportation Circle to the Xhorhaus. Caleb gave a shaky nod as he fiddled with his spellbook and shakily drew the runes, pausing now and then as more coughing took him.
Before long, everyone found themselves back in their house and Caleb began to fall, stopping when Jester grabbed him. Caleb was going to thank the beautiful tiefling but wasn’t able to as more coughing hit him, causing most of the group to miss the pounding that came from the front door followed by the familiar chime at the bells that signaled when the door opened.
Caleb felt someone help stand him up as he was led to his room. He was placed on the bed as he noticed Essek had shown and began to try and see what was happening. The rest of the group was ushered out to give him space as Essek started muttering theories under his breath. One such theory stood out when Essek mentioned “The Hanahaki Curse”.
Caleb felt like he had tunnel vision after that. He remembered way back when Astrid mentioned some fairy tale of a curse that caused a victim of unrequited love to cough up flower petals. Caleb and Eodwulf had laughed and joked about it due to how ridiculous it sounded. It still sounds ridiculous.
But then again, this is just Caleb’s luck isn’t it? A man with such a tragic past. A man with red soaking his ledger. A man that deserves pain and torment and everything along those lines. It’d make sense that the one good thing he has would be what ends up killing him.
That’s when Essek made a comment about being able to remove it. Caleb was ready to immediately agree until he found out the conditions. All feelings for the person that his unrequited love is for will vanish. The other solution is for his feelings to be returned but he knows that would never happen.
Essek left the room to give Caleb time to think as well as inform the group, promising Caleb he’d leave out the details of unrequited love as Caleb couldn’t bear them trying to help only for the sapphire to feel guilt at being unable to save him.
The sapphire. Jester. If Caleb does this then he’ll lose feelings for her. He won’t think about her beautiful accent. He won’t think about how much she makes him smile and laugh. He won’t think about how happy he feels when he’s able to return the favor and make her laugh. His chest felt more tight as he thought about these things. Caleb couldn’t help but give a self-loathing laugh. Caleb has always been a selfish man deep down, surely the group won’t miss him too much after he’s gone.
Before he could think more, Essek came back in the room, followed by the rest of the group. All asking if Caleb is okay among countless other questions. Then Nott piped up with Caleb having to get the petals removed. Fjord, Jester, and Beau agreed. The three of them state that Caleb needs to get better and that he can’t leave the group. Caduceus and Yasha looked at Caleb as if they knew something was being hidden from the rest of the group, but Caleb would never tell them. He can’t tell them. He can’t allow Jester to be sad and feel guilty.
Jester’s voice came to Caleb the loudest out of everyone. She pleaded with him, pleaded with Essek to save him. “Fix him. Please fix him!” She exclaimed as she looked so full of sadness, Caleb couldn’t bear it. Caleb agreed. He asked Essek to do this. And the drow man did.
Weeks passed and everything was okay. Caleb was okay. Now and then someone would joke about Caleb coughing up blue petals when he was knocked unconscious in combat, to which he’d roll his eyes and sarcastically laugh. It was usually Beau and Fjord that would do the joking around as Caleb walked in the front with them.
Caduceus was the only one to notice the fiery red petals that came from Jester as she tried to hide her coughing, but he had already promised her he would keep it a secret.
#mighty nein#caleb widogast#jester lavorre#widojest#hanahaki disease#caleb widogast x jester lavorre#critical role spoilers#cr spoilers#critical role x reader#mighty nein x reader#critical role imagine#mighty nein imagines
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Some thoughts I have about the first episode of the bad batch:
If you haven't watched it yet, please don't read, ****SPOILER ZONE*****
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I had a few problems with the episode in regards to crosshair and caleb, but overall it was good. I'll try and keep this short and hopefully make it make sense, but no promises.
The two problems I had:
The Canon for Kanan (Caleb Dume)
For anyone that has read the Kanan comic, we know of how he escaped order 66. The bad batch were not in the comic, nor were they even mentioned at the time. They had nothing to do with the Kaller battle before and after order 66 in the comic. This made me a bit confused since the comic is Canon and it was published during the time rebels was around. So if lucasfilm changed a part of kanan's backstory for the bad batch, does this mean we should disregard the comic's existence? Or at least try to fit the events in The bad batch with the comic's Canon?
The comic went in-depth to show how Kanan came to be with his master, the relationship he had with his clone troopers (such as styles and grey, who are very key characters in the comic) as well as how he survived and adapted during the time of the early empire when he was still a kid.
I honestly hope that the comic isn’t removed from canon, since I think it does a great job at telling kanan’s backstory. To just get rid of characters like grey, styles, and Kasmir is a waste.
I just wish lucasfilm would’ve taken this into consideration before thrusting Caleb and Depa into this. Out of everywhere in the galaxy, why Kaller? Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool to see kid Kanan animated, but seeing how the clone battalion isn’t in their usual red, but green, it just seems weird, as well as the situation and how Kanan just knew that he could call the bad batch for help knowing that Five clones would get the job done as opposed to a battalion.
(Little sidenote: I found caleb a bit weird looking. He just...didn't look like caleb. I liked depa's design though, but Caleb's looked wonky, not to mention him looking whitewashed. I love that they got Freddie to voice him again, but they shouldve just stuck with a kid. I get puberty and all but his voice just seemed way too deep. I'm probably nit-picking but this is just me)
Crosshair being turned into the bad guy
I was hoping for the whole “Cody hunts the bad batch theory” instead of crosshair. I never expected crosshair to obey order 66 and not question any order Tarkin issued as opposed to the rest of his crew. To just turn him into the bad guy and not give him time to at least show that he actually has a bit of free will from the chip and can question orders just like the other members of the bad batch irks me. I mean look at captain rex, in the finale he literally hesitated to shoot Ahsoka. He tried to fight the chip and he’s not an enhanced clone.
I honestly hope that crosshair will get some sort of redemption. I do feel he might get redeemed in some sort of “life or death” battle near the finale where he sacrifices himself for the bad batch to escape some situation, but I hope there’s some other way to redeem him that won’t cause his death (even tho i 60% believe that the bad batch may die in the end. Not sure about omega because I doubt filoni would kill a child on screen).
Some extra thoughts I have (about omega)
FINALLY, I now know that omega is a female clone. Ive been wondering this for the longest time.
But I just wanna know, why? Why did the kaminoans make a female clone? I love omega with all my heart but I just need to know. Was there some mishap when the Kaminoans were making the baby clones? Or did they purposely make omega female?
Also I want to point out how omega was literally copying hunter’s mannerisms at certain points in the show. Could that be her enhanced clone ability? She copies the actions of anyone she sees/admires? She was mainly copying Hunter from what I’ve observed, and she’s already started to connect with him and trusts him....so could it be???
Not to mention when they were standing off against crosshair and his squad, omega fired a PERFECT shot towards him and later says she's never even used a blaster before.......
Listen i know clones are engineered to have the ability to adapt and learn more quickly than regular humans bUT STILL-
The kid has never touched a blaster. She's seen them firing it, yes, but she's never done it herself..... She.mimics.what.she.sees.
I am 75% convinced.
So yes, those were my thoughts. I can't wait for the next episode and I hope some questions I have are answered later on as the show progresses. If you made it this far, congrats, here is some cake🎂
#star wars#the bad batch#omega#hunter#wrecker#crosshair#tech#echo#clonetroopers#just some thoughts I had#starwarsthabadbatchreview#review#kanan jarrus#Caleb dume#depa billaba#jedi
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