#the magic trick that only Lucien REALLY sees completely is that of the two of them
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Hi Flowers! if you don't mind I want to talk a bit about the latest chapter of Your Heart that you posted a few weeks back. I really enjoyed it and Neris was such a power couple! The descriptions about the Hewn City and CoN is really cool too, and the general creepiness of Keir as well, like he is genuinely unsettling. Also: Rhys keeps his gentry locked in basically a basement??? (metaphorically I mean) that would be so in character for him. But also like this is such a terrible decision, they seem to be unsupervised completely, and like that could cause massive trouble for him to come? but he ignores that completely? absolutely unhinged.
Cassian is also very much in character, a very despicable hateful man. He deserves everything bad coming his way at that point lol. The audacity to storm the CoN and arrest/imprison Nesta and Eris yikes
Also you mentioned that the bad man body count will come up soon again, will it be one of the remaining Vanserra brothers? I'm very invested
I don’t mind at all, thank you!
The thing with Rhys- which is absolutely canon, but I do love to run with- is that Rhysand is a person of basically completely unchecked power, privilege, and position. But he’s not interested in ruling. It’s completely personal- Keir bows once and gets some broken bones? Rhys has won. Feyre throws a magical tantrum in front of all the High Lords? Right and justifiable. Canon says he dismissed his fathers...entire government? Court? and replaced them with his friends. He does not a give a fuck.
As for Cassian- he writes himself after acosf! He has one more brutal confrontation with the Vanserras to go before he truly slinks away in shame but my god, he probably deserves worse. What does he do when the lie of the dream- and Mor, Nesta, and Azriel- are all gone? THREE HUNDRED MORE YEARS OF SULKING
Keir dies first for a lot of reasons- Mor and Azriel as the worlds least likely allies to the Vanserra clan!- but also as a show: Eris and Nesta are stronger together. Literally capable of killing the closest thing to a High Lord, effortlessly.
But Beron’s real power isn’t power, it’s fear.
Nesta could probably snap him like a twig, but it is Eris’s worst nightmare to even have the two of them in the same room- he tells her to kill him. If Beron ever pays too much attention to her, to do it.
But Eris is not the heir to the throne.
Severin is, and he wants Eris- cunning, weak, useful Eris- alive. His coup of a wife? Not so much.
The less physically dangerous and still monstrous living brother, Osian, is primarily here for the drama. And the ownership of lesser faeries, because he’s a revolting nightmare person.
Autumn is won in sacrifice, and blood. A throne of bone beneath red trees- Eris’s entire plan, Nesta’s entire focus, remains on ritual. They’re killing their way into a slaughterhouse, but the magic loves them. They’re not stealing the crown, they’re going to steal the land. What Eris has protected all these years, the spirit of a place where the year dies, in the hands of Lady Death herself.
Once they manage that, they have no choice but to go after the brothers- and would anyway.
Eris has a plan. His plans have plans. Nesta knows this, but is also NESTA. So there will forever come a time where she slides out of shadow like the sexy wildcard that she is, and knifes a High Lord for being terrible.
#canon IS Nesta's villain origin story!!#it's so so fun to be back in this world#the magic trick that only Lucien REALLY sees completely is that of the two of them#Eris is the sweaterboy and Nesta is the nightmare#Smeris Smanserra: a dude capable of great violence who actually fucking hates violence#(unless. it's his sexy wife. Nothing about Nesta scares him)#'hateful Cassian' YES you get it#he was not going for imprisonment tho#his stupid goddamn plan was to get them out of the city and straight up behead Eris#which would have been a CATACLYSM named Nesta
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The Circus Kids: A Story in Parallel
Alright, so. Let's talk about Campaign 2's circus kids and handling their stories in the animated series. Spoilers for all of the Critical Role Campaign 2 under the cut.
In the second campaign, despite everything Matt has said on Talks and at the End of Campaign Wrap-Up confirming this was not the initial plan, the circus kid's storylines ended up paralleling each other to an astounding degree. Eldritch body horror, people puppets, the Nein questioning if the Yasha and Molly they knew were ever real...all of it just beautifully and organically came out of the circumstances of the role play.
Like so many things in Campaign 2, we wound up with something incredibly and poetically fitting by complete accident.
And honestly? As much as I'd like to see new things, (so long as the CRew successfully adjusts the script and the world building so that it makes sense with what they don't change) I really don't want them to mess with that part of the Nein's story too much.
That said...if they're not messing around with that, how much do they want the first-timers to know? How do they want to play Yasha's and Molly's respective "betrayals"?
Here are two potential options:
Option one: the CRew hides Obann's magical mind control of Yasha from the first-time audience, leaving them in the dark about whether or not this was something she actually wanted. Then letting the audience realize the truth only when the rest of the Nein does. This leaves the viewers just as unsure and heartbroken as the Nein are until we learn what's really going on.
Or, option two: they can make it clear to us that she's mind controlled from the start, all the while hiding it from the Nein and jacking up the volume knob on the dramatic irony. In this route, we can make it hurt in another way by cutting between Yasha having an absolutely awful, miserable time with Obann and his little "family" and the Nein wondering aloud if she was just using them the whole time they were together.
I said all that to say this: let's say they pick an option that resembles either of these two ideas. In that case, whichever one they pick for Yasha, they shouldn't apply to Molly's situation later and expect the audience to not see through it. If they want to make the audience think Yasha chose to serve Obann only to reveal the truth later, they shouldn't lean into Lucien's bullshit about Molly never existing as well. Because the audience will be skeptical. They'll think, "Wait, this is kind of reminiscent of what happened to Yasha; why can't the same thing be happening to Molly?" And if the Nein aren't on the same page as the audience, they'll be in danger of looking unintentionally oblivious.
Basically, when it comes to the circus kids' backstories, I wouldn't want them to play the same trick twice, whichever route they take.
#critical role#critical role campaign 2#critical role campaign 2 spoilers#cr2#cr2 spoilers#c2#c2 spoilers#the mighty nein#veth brenatto#mollymauk tealeaf#jester lavorre#beauregard lionett#fjord stone#caleb widowgast#caduceus clay#essek thelyss#tm9#the mighty nein animated#tm9 animated#matt mercer#taliesin jaffe#laura bailey#yasha nydoorin#travis willingham#liam o'brien#marisha ray#sam riegel#ashley johnson#campaign 2#campaign 2 spoilers
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MLQC Boys Being Horny For A Pregnant S/o
Thanks so much for the request!! This almost turned into a big pregnancy headcanon HC, but I fought through the urge! You guys should be proud of me!
Warning: Pregnancy sex, oral sex, and lactation
Click “Keep Reading” for the goods!
Kiro
Kiro was in pure bliss while you were pregnant because your sex drive was practically through the roof.
The two of you had sex quite a few times a week and Kiro was in absolute heaven.
At first, you would have sex in your usual places. (Home, dressing room, recording studio, broom closet ect.) But as the months went on, your intimate moments mostly occurred at home or in a hotel room with a nice comfortable bed for you to be on.
Even before you got pregnant Kiro had a thing for your breasts. Biting, sucking, titty fucking...the whole nine yards!
There wasn’t a moment that went by where Kiro didn’t find an opportunity to slip hands under your blouse just to squeeze “the girls.”
He immediately notices how big they’ve gotten and booooy did the sight of you going up two bra sizes have his mouth watering.
Seeing your nipples poking out from your shirt was just... *chefs kiss*
If you complained about clothes irritating your sensitive nipples he’d jokingly say that you should walk around the house topless. But he’s actually not joking and would sell his soul if it meant you’d actually do it.
His favorite position is missonary and cowgirl because they give him the best access to your breasts, so he can caress and fondle as he pleases.
However, the former was mostly doable during your first trimester, so spooning has become his go to mainly because he doesn’t want you doing all the work.
It was also a win because he could hold you from behind while placing kisses along your neck while taking in your scent. He'd have a hand massaging your breast while the other between your legs, drawing circles around your clit as he slowly thrusted into you from behind.
Once the baby is born, you always have to remind him constantly that your breasts are extremely sensitive to the point where they're too painful to touch.
When you begin breastfeeding...oh boy...
He can feel the way his dick strains against his pants as he watches you. He was excited for all the naughty things he planned on doing when you were ready.
You can feel his eyes on you sometimes and you often have to give him a playful glare.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.” How could he stop thinking about how erect your nipples looked?! Or how badly he wanted to leave bite marks all over your breasts?! Oooor how much he wanted to feel them rubbing against his cock?!
And when you accidentally start leaking? You’ll be so embarrassed, but Kiro?! Your man is losing it! He didn’t think something like breastmilk leaking through your shirt would be hot but he’s been wrong about a lot of things.
Kiro will always respect your wishes to wait but once you give him the go ahead your boobs are not safe from him.
Gavin
There was something about you being pregnant that really got him going.
He will always kneel before you to press small kisses against your stomach and has a habit of trailing down to what he calls “dangerous territory.”
Out of fear of hurting the baby and not wanting to put you through any unnecessary stress because he couldn’t keep it in his pants, Gavin will opt for taking care of his “problems” on his own.
He'll be super conflicted too! Poor thing just wants to make love to you, but not at the cost of hurting you!
Whenever you want to have sex, he tries to turn you down. Emphasis on TRY! Somehow things end either with his head between your legs or you giving him a hand job. As nice as that was, it wasn't the saaaaaaame!
“The sight of me is such a turn off, right? I wouldn’t want to touch me either...”
Gavin will look at you like you just slapped him in the face. Never in his life has he ever been turned off by you. No matter what state you’re in, you’re the most beautiful person he’s ever seen.
You'll notice his "lack of interest" and naturally start to doubt his attraction to you.
“Babe, its not that! I never thought you could look any more beautiful, but you looking like this proved me wrong. I’ve never wanted you more than I do right now, but I’m trying to protect our baby and your pussy from me. Its been so hard for me to control myself around you.”
You can tell he’s been going through it when you cup him through his pants and feel just hard he is. Poor thing.
You have to tell him being intimate while you’re pregnant wasn’t a bad thing and that the baby would be perfectly fine.
It won’t take long for you to convince him, especially when you’re slowly pumping his dick with your hand that “magically” slipped itself down his pants.
He loves having you on top of him so he can look at your beautiful body as you ride him.
When Baby Bai arrives, Gavin goes back to doing things on his own because he knows you need rest.
You only have a certain number of positions to choose from since you’re carrying precious cargo, but Gavin’s absolute favorite position is cowgirl.
Will caress your stomach while he's eating you out. He's not exactly sure why but it's become a habit.
Won't pressure you at all and will patiently wait until you're ready.
Sometimes, gets worried when you start bouncing on his cock and the slapping of skin starts to echo throughout the bedroom. He's just like, "B-babe, maybe we should... slow down...ah...what about...shit!" You're gonna have to shut him up somehow. Clenching yourself around him might do the trick.
Victor
You had a certain glow about you during your pregnancy that Victor was in awe of.
Victor is very observant of how much your body has changed throughout the course of your pregnancy for obvious reasons, however, said reasons have become a bit, in his opinion, perverse as the months went on.
Just the sight of you made him want to ravish you in ways he has never thought of before. But why?
Was it the way your maternity clothes perfectly outlined the curves of your body? Maybe how swollen your breasts have become?
Or maybe...just maybe it was how good you looked in the various lingerie he bought for you. Babydoll lingerie that perfectly highlighted your stomach were his personal favorites.
Sex with Victor during your first two trimesters was pretty normal until half way through month six he becomes a bit more hesitant and by month seven stops completely.
Another one who doesn’t want to harm you or the child.
It takes you and three different doctors to tell him that having sex while you were seven months pregnant was perfectly normal.
Even with that knowledge he’s still pretty hesitant, but not even a day after confirmation does his resolve break and with the utmost care you two enjoy a night filled with passion.
He’ll be in the middle of giving you a foot massage as you sit there in your bathrobe and he subconsciously places a kiss against your ankle.
He catches himself trailing kisses up your leg and abruptly stops. That was probably the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Doesn’t help that you’re looking at him with blush coated cheeks as you spread your legs ever so slightly for the hem of the robe to fall from your leg, revealing your upper thigh.
When Victor puts his mind to something he sees it through without fail, but you always manage to throw him through an an unexpected loop.
So...yeeaaah...two seconds later he has his face in between your legs, tongue pressed against your clit, and hands firmly holding you in place as he continued to take from you. This is one failure he will accept with pride if that means he can have you in every possible way.
His all time favorite position during your pregnancy is definitely spooning. It makes him feel closer to you.
After the pregnancy, sex is out of the question for the next few months which you don’t complain about, because parenthood hits you and your body hard.
Victor understands that you need time to heal and that your sex drive isn't as high as it was before. Plus, the baby required your attention 90% of the time.
That doesn’t mean Victor doesn’t fantasize about having you under him again. He does miss being intimate with you and has been holding back quite a bit.
He’ll catch you looking at yourself in the mirror, pointing out all your “imperfections” and all he wants to do place kisses all along your body.
You’ll just be like, “I don’t know how you can stare at all of this and still be attracted to me.”
Victor will wrap his arms around you stare at you sternly in the mirror.
“I don’t know where you got such foolish ideas from, but you’re perfect the way you are and when you’re ready I’ll remind you of that fact.”
You can’t even fight him on that, not when his erection is firmly pressed against you.
Lucien
Already researched all the best sex positions for pregnant women.
You two have a healthy amount of sex for most of your pregnancy, so Lucien and you are never left feeling “parched” for one another.
It's not until your final months does Lucien take a few steps back.
Prefers to focus on giving you the most pleasurable experience when you two make love. You deserve to feel good especially when you’re carrying a life inside you for nine months.
So you’ll expect a lot of him eating you out, fingering you, toys; just about anything that can bring you pleasure.
Has definitely done things with you while he's trying to help you around the house. And he's so slick with it!
In the middle of helping you shower, his fingers will gently caress your stomach and you're just like "Awwww!" and then they're suddenly caressing your clit.
While the father-to-be is understanding and all about your sexual experience its definitely a challenge when he wants to have sex with you. Especially when you're so tempting!
You could be in the middle of talking about baby names and he'll have the biggest smile on his face as he looks at you. So wholesome, right? Wrong! His mind is definitely somewhere else!
But it'll take more than your ample breasts, an unsuspecting smile thrown his way and your very existence to make him falter.
While you love the way he tends to you and makes sure you’re getting the most out of this, you'd rather to do things together.
He dares not admit the amount of times he's thought about bending you over the kitchen counter and pounding himself into you with little to no restraint.
Toys are great and all but you’re trying to feel his dick.
Once you tell him what you want, Lucien will graciously comply and mentally thank you for saying something, because he was on the verge of breaking.
Of course, sex takes a backseat once the baby is born so Lucien won't turn into some sex crazed monster after two months, buuuut he will spend quite a lot of time "handling business" on his own.
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Done!!! Kinda posted this with little to no editing, so I'm sorry about that. I still hope this was enjoyable to read!
Want to read more of my MLQC stuff? Check out my masterpost!
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So I just finished my re-read of ACOTAR and am partly into ACOMAF and I have been wondering something about Tamlin. Did he really love Feyre? I know he was abusive and controlling and one could argue that you can’t love someone if you hurt them, but love can be quite toxic at times which is why I think Feyre stayed so long with him. I’m just wondering if Tamlin really loved her.
The reason for this thought is because he was cursed and the only way to free his people was to have a human who hated fairies fall in love and declare it. Is it really love if it started as a manipulation to get her to break the curse? Or did SJM already confirm it because he sent her away to protect her before she could break the curse? Also I tend to agree with Rhys when he gets angry that UTM Tamlin used their alone time to make out with her instead of trying to find a way to get her out.
I used to think he loved her in a toxic and possessive way, but did have genuine love for her. However, right now I’m wondering if you can really call it love when he would have seduced and manipulated Elain the same way if she were the one to kill Andras and not Feyre. If you can call it love if he was so willing to let her suffer and possibly die UTM.
This is where my head goes at 4:38am so excuse me if nothing makes sense at all lol.
I LOVE THIS QUESTION SO MUCH and you totally made sense!
For two reasons: 1) I have been thinking about this a lot too and wanted to make a post, and 2) we had a very similar discussion in bookclub like... five hours before you sent this 😂I actually asked them if one of them had sent this ask.
Okay, so yes, I do think that Tamlin loved (loves?) Feyre.
I think that it’s easy to dismiss feylin as not actually being love if one has an idealized vision of love. I don’t think anyone wants to think that people can love one another and still hurt each other, but they can and do. (I think Nesta loves Feyre, for example, and she likely loved her father.) Tamlin is just super notorious for not being able to control himself or understand his emotions. That’s the root of like... 90% of his problems.
When Feyre was in the Spring Court in acotar, Tamlin could not have given two shits about trying to manipulate Feyre into loving him. His attempts were laughable, and Lucien had to keep being like “ummmm, try harder”. So personally I wouldn’t say that he had tricked her into loving him or anything. But...
That is an interesting question, about if it had been someone else like Elain. I have a feeling that he would have fallen in love with her too, and so it wasn’t so much manipulation or that he *had* to fall in love, as it was the circumstances were desperate, and Tamlin was a handsome man who needed to be saved, there was magic and fae and danger. It was the perfect recipe for people to fall in love under extreme circumstances. That doesn’t make it Not Real, but that’s also not great reasons to fall for one another. Feyre and Rhys got to know one another in acomaf, but she and Tamlin never had that chance. Every moment they spent together felt like life and death.
The way that Tamlin acted UtM and then after, I think should be looked at in context. Tamlin was at the end of 49 years of having this threat hanging over his head, of Amarantha being in control, of being the only High Lord who lived a semi-normal life in his court and trying repeatedly to break her curse and failing and slowly losing his court. When we meet him he is beaten down, hardcore.
Pair that with the fact that he has little to no emotional self-awareness or control, he’s not strategic, he never got High Lord training, and I am 100% NOT saying I wouldn’t be pissed too if I were Feyre, but like... I get why he just said “fuck it let’s make out”. He literally thinks there are no options, he is completely out of hope. He just clings to what he sees as the only good thing in his soon-to-be-over life. But Tamlin does NOT understand the way that his actions impact other people. Yes, he can have his emotions, but he uses them like a cudgel to bludgeon everyone around him. If Tamlin isn’t happy, no one is happy. And that’s a super immature way to be. Doesn’t mean his emotions aren’t real, just that he doesn’t know what to do with them.
Basically, I don’t have to like the way he acted, but I understand it.
I also think, on the flip side, that Feyre did truly love Tamlin! That’s actually what our bookclub discussion was about, but that’s probably for another post.
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Kitchen Shenanigans - Lovestruck Fanfiction
Relationship - Lucien Rivercrest/Roman Tarrenglade
Rating - G
Summary - Lucien and Roman, navigating the waters of a new relationship, spend some time together in the kitchen. Unfortunately for them, they can't quite keep it professional.
A/N - I was inspired to write this solely because I was flipping through a food magazine at 2am when I couldn't sleep. The chili potato tart recipe is real, and the crust is delicious.
Another lazy Sunday came to Sweet Enchantments, and the two denizens of the kitchen were spending the day inside, crafting and perfecting recipes. Lucien was busy with a fresh batch of golden éclairs, a charitable donation requested by a supportive and well-respected customer. Liora was only happy to oblige, and volunteered Lucien to prepare something for the event. Lucien couldn’t remember exactly what it was for, but he recalled the organization helped incarcerated magicians find gainful employment after serving their sentence or as a condition of early release.
Living and working at the café had expanded his thought process about magical society and how it treats people, judging them based on their background and ability. While he would have preferred spending his day off in other ways, Lucien knew this was the right thing to do. He had been given an opportunity here at the café, so why not give back and help others?
He glanced at Roman on the other side of the kitchen, who had been preparing some kind of pastry for dinner. A dozen thoughts swarmed his head all at once, but Lucien shook his head and focused on the task before him.
While he carefully filled the éclairs with a marbled lemon and raspberry cream, Roman took his chili tart crust out of the oven. The baking paper crackled as he shook it slightly, the baking weights rolling over each other.
“This smells incredible already,” Roman said with a pleased smile. Lucien paused in his work and sniffed the air.
“It’ll be even better with the filling.”
Roman turned toward Lucien after placing the partially-baked tart shell on the counter.
“Oh? Mr. Cool as a Cucumber broke his concentration for my little tart?”
Lucien smirked and picked up another éclair.
“Mere mortals of the kitchen deserve to be graced with a compliment from time to time,” Lucien replied, not taking his eyes off the dessert in hand before placing it down and picking up another.
Roman shook his head fondly, returning to his tart. He peeled the roasted tomatoes, garlic, and chili and set to work mashing them together, seasoning along the way. He poured the mashed tomato mixture into the bottom of the tart and spread it evenly before reaching for his thinly-sliced potatoes. Arranging them carefully into concentric circles, Roman reached for the pile of grated cheese to his left.
“Perfectly placed potato slices? On your food?” Lucien teased from behind Roman’s shoulder, and Roman jumped slightly.
“Lucien! I’m concentrating!”
Lucien hummed and grabbed a few strings of cheese to taste.
“Mmm. Buttery, and slightly nutty. Good melt factor.”
“It’s a type of Swiss cheese,” Roman explained, sprinkling it on top of the potatoes. “Emeril introduced it to me a while ago, and I thought I’d incorporate it into a new dish I’m crafting.”
“You’re using the first tomatoes of the season?”
Roman hummed and placed the tart into the oven, setting a timer. He stretched out and set to work cleaning his station, opting for a traditional approach as opposed to using magic. Lucien had a habit of needling him about his messy cleaning magic.
“Well, would you like to assist me in finishing the éclairs?” Lucien asked as he observed Roman clean up.
Roman paused for a moment in wiping the counter down, eventually replying, “I might sit out in the garden. Tend to some of the vegetables.”
Lucien blinked.
“Weren’t you out there just this morning?”
“Yes, but it’s a nice day and I have to wait for the tart to finish baking anyway.”
“Hm.”
Lucien slowly walked back to his station, staring at the éclairs. He picked up one of the few left and inserted the tip of the piping bag, gently squeezing until the felt the éclair expand slightly. He worked on two more before asking Roman, “Are you sure you’d rather go outside?”
This time Roman turned to him, curious.
“Did you need help with something?”
Lucien visibly swallowed, but his voice was its normal cool tone.
“I don’t really need help.”
Roman stared at Lucien as he finished filling the éclairs, placing the nearly empty piping bag to the side, squished and crinkled. He walked over and placed his chin on Lucien’s shoulder.
“Do you want me to stay so we can finish these together?”
Lucien was quiet for a moment, glancing at Roman from the corner of his eye.
”...Yes.”
Roman smiled and brushed a kiss against Lucien’s cheek.
“That’s all you had to say,” he said, taking his place beside Lucien at the workstation.
“I’m still new to this,” Lucien mumbled, letting out a huff as he turned to grab a bowl of melted dark chocolate and place it on the station.
Roman understood Lucien’s feelings well; a situation as complicated as theirs required a mutual understanding. Lucien had never acted on his feelings for another man before, and they were both involving themselves with a co-worker. Roman didn’t wan to believe that their good working relationship would be soured if their romantic entanglement ended, but it was always a possibility.
Shaking away these thoughts, Roman gave Lucien a bright smile and reassured, “We both are. We’ll navigate any challenges that present themselves, and we’ll do it together.”
Lucien returned Roman’s smile with his own, albeit, smaller one, before shifting his focus back to the filled but bare éclairs.
“I need these dipped in the chocolate, Roman,” Lucien explained. He grabbed an éclair and dipped it in the bowl, slowly pulling it out and allowing the excess chocolate to drip. He delicately twisted his wrist so the éclair faced up and showed the glossy chocolate finish to Roman.
“Think you can do that?”
Roman was tempted to take a bite right out of Lucien’s hand, but he had no desire to ruin the nice time they were having preparing the éclairs together.
“Of course! Leave it to me, O Master of Pastries.” Roman then set to work dipping the éclairs into the chocolate, flourishing his wrist just as Lucien showed him to ensure the chocolate covered the tops of the pastry evenly.
Lucien, meanwhile, whipped ice-cold cream with a balloon whisk until it stood up in a stiff peak on the whisk.
“Shall we turn it over your head to make sure it’s whipped enough?” Roman suggested, a small smile playing on his lips.
“These aren’t egg whites, Roman.”
“Oh, yes. Well, maybe you should use your big strong arms to hand-whip some egg whites next? Then we can use that bowl trick.”
“Something tells me you want to see me covered in-”
Lucien stopped himself, and Roman raised an eyebrow at him, his smile morphing into a smirk.
“Yes? Go on, Lucien. What were you saying?”
Lucien ignored him and dropped the whipped cream into a clean piping bag, twisting it closed. Quickly he piped a perfect star of whipped cream on one end of each éclair, quickly catching up to Roman.
“You’re lagging,” Lucien pointed out, and Roman sniffed at him, but hurried in his task until each éclair was dipped and covered in a thin sheen of dark chocolate. Lucien hummed his approval as he finished piping the last bit of cream on the final few éclairs.
“What’s next?” Roman asked, and Lucien gestured to a bowl that he had floated over a minute before.
“We decorate the éclairs with a few strands of these candied lemon peels,” Lucien explained, and showed Roman just how many slices to put and how he wanted them arranged. They worked together quietly after that, both men concentrating on the task at hand. Lucien looked over at Roman to evaluate his éclairs, and noticed how his long fingers carefully placed each strand of lemon peel in an artful arrangement on top of the whipped cream.
“The sugary peel is a nice pop of colour against the black and white on top of the pastry, don’t you think, Lucien?”
“I- Yes, that’s one reason I chose this garnish.”
Roman heard the slight hesitation and turned his head to look at Lucien. Lucien swallowed, acutely aware of Roman’s eyes scanning his face, deep red rippling pools that finally settled on his mouth.
“Would you mind if I stole a kiss?” Roman whispered, dessert completely forgotten.
Lucien’s professionalism and respect for the kitchen came to the forefront of his mind, but something else told him that he could make a small exception. Just this once. Roman’s sweet expression rivalled the pastry in front of them, and Lucien found in this moment, he could not resist the temptation.
“Not this time,” Lucien whispered back, leaning in and-
“How are those éclairs coming Luci- Oh!”
Lucien and Roman sprang apart as if pulled by magic, Liora’s voice ringing out in the silent kitchen.
“Ah, Liora, I wasn’t- We didn’t expect-” Roman scrambled, immediately trying to cover for his indiscretion. The surprise wearing off, Liora schooled her features into a neutral mask, the usual calm she exuded settling Roman down.
“I can’t say I’m not surprised to see you both in such a... position,” Liora began, a hand on her hip, “But I hope that the kitchen won’t be a place to tiptoe around in the future.” She gave them both firm, even looks. Lucien fidgeted for a moment, certain that Liora’s gaze lingered on him for a moment longer than it had on Roman, as if to say she was more disappointed in him for this uncharacteristic lapse in judgement.
“Absolutely not,” Lucien managed to say, standing a little straighter. “This...won’t happen again.” He looked to Roman, who nodded in agreement.
Liora gave them another once over, light eyes practically glowing with intensity, before her posture relaxed and the hand fell from her hip back to her side.
“How are the desserts coming?” she asked, taking a few steps towards the counter and observing their work.
“Nearly everything is ready. All the éclairs are filled and dipped, and only a few remaining pastries need their garnish,” Lucien explained. He picked up an éclair and placed it on a small dish before handing it to Liora for inspection. She accepted the plate and brought it closer to her face, scanning the pastry while slowly rotating the plate. With a satisfied hum, she put the plate down on the table and gave Lucien a pleased smile.
“These look delectable as always, Lucien. Great work. I appreciate you taking the time to help this initiative,” Liora said, and Lucien only nodded. Liora’s support was a welcome thing, unused to it though he was, and he sometimes felt ill equipped to respond to it.
Liora then turned to Roman, one light eyebrow delicately arched.
“I trust that the next time you assist Lucien, things will stay clean and professional?”
Roman actually blushed, cheeks as red as his hair, and Lucien had to hold back a grin. With a cough, Roman stood up straighter, some natural colour returning to his face.
“Of course, Liora. Today was... Today won’t happen again. Promise.” Roman gave her a winning smile then, and Liora nodded her approval.
Looking around the kitchen, Lucien half-expected her to comment on something else amiss, but she merely smiled and told them to keep up the good work that they do. With a graceful turn, Liora walked towards the dining area, but paused and turned to Roman.
“Whatever you have in the oven smells delicious, Roman. I’d love to try a slice at dinner if it’s not burned yet.”
Then she left the kitchen, heels clacking on the floor as she disappeared.
Lucien and Roman were both silent for a moment before Roman sprang into action with a yelp, grabbing a thick dishtowel and opening the oven door, reaching for the tart he had put in to bake earlier. He quickly but carefully set it down on the counter, scrutinizing the top of it. The cheese was well browned and bubbling, slightly crisp in some spots, and the tart crust was just shy of overcooked. Roman visibly deflated as he let out the breath he had been holding, and Lucien sidled up beside him, just barely brushing shoulders.
“It looks fine,” Lucien said, and Roman sighed again.
After a few moments, Roman leaned into Lucien slightly and asked, “Want to go out into the garden with me? I have to wait a while for this to cool, and...” He trailed off, looking thoughtful.
“I think I’ve had enough kitchen today,” he finished, and Lucien thought back to their intimate moment before Liora walked in. Shame burned under his collar, knowing he was better than that, but he realized he never answered Roman’s question and shook the thoughts away.
“I understand what you mean. I’ll garnish the last few éclairs and I’ll join you once I’ve finished.”
Roman gave him an appreciative smile, squeezing his arm and exiting the kitchen. Lucien watched him leave, smiling to himself despite the day they’d had. Everything between them felt new and just a little bit confusing, but Lucien was ready to face these challenges as long as Roman would be there with him.
Wandering back to the éclairs, Lucien picked up the plate with the lone dessert and gave it a once-over. He decided that Roman needed something sweet, so he would bring the éclair with him for Roman to try.
“Maybe if I’m lucky enough, he’ll share,” Lucien said to himself. With that, he left the kitchen to join Roman outside, two forks hanging loosely in his fingers.
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Spoilers for the movie Trust (2021) and trigger warning for discussion of cheating/infidelity below the cut, it will be a rant
I love Kat, and she was amazing in this movie. Seriously, just look at the gifs, she’s sensational, her acting was honestly the highlight of the whole film. But I’m just gonna say, that was not a high bar, because this movie is hot garbage. Hot entirely because of Kat, because she is fucking hotter than hell, and she brought her A-game, which is frankly more than can be said for LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE ON THE CAST. Obviously she was better than Matt Daddario, because he has all the acting skill of a potato. Victoria Justice was... fine. She was clearly phoning it in, and same for Lucien Laviscount. They were there, that’s about the extent of what can be said for their performances, but honestly, I can’t blame them. It is a testament, frankly, to Kat’s talent and dedication that she put as much into this shitty film as she did.
I’m not gonna mince words here, it was bad. It was just bad. Kat’s performance was a bright spot, but she didn’t save the movie by any stretch. Everything from the music to the writing to the editing to the very premise of the plot was just bad. The music was jarring, there was no theme to it, some scenes had no background music at all, others had weirdly upbeat music, and others felt like they were trying to set the tone of a film noir, which this “mystery” certainly was not. The writing made no sense, the characters were not compelling, they seemingly had NO motivation whatsoever, and the ending was just trash. The editing was all over the place, and sorry, I’m just never going be a fan of tons of flashback cuts. START THE STORY WHERE THE STORY STARTS. Don’t do this flashback nonsense to try and make a boring story better, it was not good. If you need to pull these sort of tricks on your audience, then you don’t have a good enough story. And onto the plot, which is probably the worst part of this suck-fest.
Okay, so the story starts by trying to convince us that Brooke (Victoria Justice) and Owen (Matt Daddario) are a married couple that are deeply in love. Except they’re just not. From the get-go, they’re both suspicious that they’re BOTH going to cheat, and that’s what gets us started down this road. At one point, Brooke describes her suspicions as a “sliver of doubt” except that if it’s truly just a sliver, you go to counselling, you don’t hire a decoy to trick your husband. Owen also clearly knows his wife is suspicious and actually uses her insecurities to needle at her with a business trip he’s going on with his (apparently entirely female) production crew. They are just deeply trashy people who are not at all in love, and are apparently married because... I can’t think of a reason, they’re terrible together, they have zero on-screen chemistry and I just did not believe for a minute that these two people even LIKED each other, let alone were deeply in love.
Like, I get it. She has to hire a decoy instead of going to counselling because going to counselling does not make for a good movie, but neither does what they did here. The ending is really the part that makes everything else make no sense, because if the movie is about this deeply unhappy couple who are wildly suspicious of one another and don’t even trust each other enough to have a FUCKING CONVERSATION about their insecurities, they really should break up right? Well, not in this fucked up world. In this world, after both spouses have cheated on one another, apparently the logical step is to immediately forgive one another, and have a baby within the year. BECAUSE BABIES MAGICALLY FIX SHITTY RELATIONSHIPS RIGHT?! Oh my god, it’s so bad, I cannot.
And let’s get into the WORST part of this movie, the fucking misogyny and slut-shaming portion of the film. So, Amy (Katherine McNamara) is introduced as the decoy that Brooke hires to essentially seduce her husband to see if he’ll cheat. Notably, Amy is NOT supposed to sleep with Owen, only find out if he’ll take the opportunity, but lo and behold, apparently Owen is on her “hall pass” and when given the opportunity to sleep with one of her top-five celebrity crushes, Amy takes it. But Amy actually proves to be the only character so far to have an ounce of integrity, which is actually not a good thing in her line of work, because for some reason, after she sleeps with Owen and he treats her like ABSOLUTE GARBAGE, she tries to protect him, and then tells him about the whole arrangement with his wife as if she owes him? Her coming back to tell him the truth is absolutely nonsensical, the way he treated her after their tryst showed his complete and utter disdain for her, even before he found out she was part of a trick his WIFE was playing on him. And of course, everyone turns on her, even though she wouldn’t even have been involved if they would just talk to each other. The worst thing I can say about Amy is that she’s DUMB AF, like she clearly made a mistake here, but in her defense, she is the ONLY character who actually seems to feel bad that she slept with a married man and acknowledges that SHE MADE A MISTAKE. She even gives the money back. Neither Brooke or Owen seem at all bothered that they cheated on their spouses, Owen only shows any signs of distress when he thinks he’ll get caught (and then when he is) and Brooke never even admits to what she did (and yes, I realize she didn’t sleep with Angsgar, but she did get almost naked and make out with him, so like, where are we drawing the line in the sand? In my book, that’s cheating too). Neither of them seem to feel badly for hurting their spouse, and to solve their problem, they cut out Amy & Angsgar, as if they’re the source of the problem. Like no guys, temptation is not your issue. You are the issue here, but sure, have a baby, slap a bandaid on your problems like it’s gonna make everything better. I feel so fucking bad for that kid, they are gonna need ALL the therapy.
Like I do realize I probably have issues with the entire premise of the film, but it’s just so, so poorly executed. If you’re going to do a movie about cheating spouses, you should, at some point, have them acknowledge the deep betrayal that infidelity is and actually DEAL WITH THE FALLOUT. Like they should’ve lost the nonsense back-flashes and spent that time exploring how Owen & Brooke moved past their mutual betrayals and forgave one another, but instead they just seem to say “well, I guess we’re even now,” and live happily ever after.
Honestly, the whole film feels like someone is desperately trying to justify their own cheating behavior with a movie about how “everybody does it” and it doesn’t really hurt anyone. It’s bullshit, and so is the whole movie.
It was not good. But Kat was great. If you haven’t seen it, don’t. Just look at the gifs of Kat, because she looks fucking amazing.
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hey so if you wanna hit me with that sweet sweet elijah’s characterization meta anytime please feel free. or direct me to any previous posts because my dumb ass is using this time to re-obsess over vampire melodrama.....
It appears that most of my non-tag and non-petty-casual commentary is still in drafts... so instead of finishing the ‘What the hell is wrong with season 4: an itemized list’ meta and finishing answering the ‘What would you change if you could rewrite any of the show?’ ask from a while ago, I’ll just pick out the Elijah bits and add on to them for garnish. (Those posts might exist at some point. But honestly not soon enough for me to worry about people getting annoyed with copy/paste so PREVIEW TIME: ELIJAH FLAVOR)
This is way sloppier and un-cited than I usually meta, by the way, but what the hell, The Fandom is Dead and I Only Have Friends to Entertain Now, so if anyone gets angry and tries to step into my asks then it’ll just be nostalgic rather than annoying.
Here’s the starter, which is from the F*CK YOU SEASON 4 meta and quite a few of these points will be repeated later because you asked for it technically so.
The cracks in the narrative began to show as early as season two, and believe me when I say I’m not saying this because I love him - it began with Elijah. I can make a lot of arguments to this effect, but the only one that I am certain is not propelled by my very strong bias concerns the presentation of the Red Door.
Initially, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to explore Elijah’s past, his perspective, his darkest moments. I was a bit wary in that it seemed as though the narrative wanted to Explain Everything about Elijah through this device, but he was finally getting some attention so I tried to hold back judgement.The result was pretty promising. One of the most gorgeous moments on the show occurs when Klaus enters Elijah’s mind and tells him how much he needs him. It showcases the main pillar of the show - the structural trifecta of Hope, Klaus, and Elijah. And afterwards, as usual, Elijah pushes the experience away.Until it’s convenient.
Elijah begins to be erratically vicious. At first, I felt as though it wasn’t handled poorly, I could explain away my worries easily, and that was all I needed. But it happens over, and over, and over again, with the same excuse - protecting the family, protecting Hope. Elijah’s triggers, once so crucial, begin to break down, but we don’t see why or how that process occurs. He begins to be the character that is level-headed when it is convenient, and a violent one-track-mind when it’s convenient. Eventually, in order to maintain balanced tension with a softening Klaus, Elijah became violent without nuance in every situation. His continued development is no longer possible, since his character no longer displays depth.
Which is annoying, as a fan. But as a person who loves to analyze narrative, it’s a huge red flag. Elijah is necessary for this story. His love for Klaus, and Klaus’ relationship with him, is one of the things that holds the narrative together as it goes forward. The two of them need each other in order to experience growth, but cannot grow from each other any longer - and that friction is what provides energy and substance that can help drive a multi-year melodrama. This is why I mentioned above that Elijah’s violence was likely intended to balance with Klaus’ changing heart - but there is no balance in the level of development the two brothers experience. It has been shoddy in many places, but attention has been given to Klaus’ journey towards peace and kindness, while Elijah has been given a single metaphor, a single psychosis, and is expected to carry half of the narrative weight. The story has no choice but to make a plot device out of him - he simply does not have the required depth to be anything else, which is made obvious by the attempt to do so in the ritual to bring Inadu to the material plane, which I will discuss later.
When his development is ignored, when he is used as a tool to get from point A to point B time and time again - that’s when the pillar starts to crumble.
Zooming back in on s1, this was actually my only major structural gripe with season 1, so it comprises the entirety of the ‘what would you change’ for that season:
The poison that rotted the whole dang show started very small — casting Elijah too strongly as a white hat, to offset the darkness of the rest of the main family. This was the right move, of course, but it was pushed a twinge too far and it was the tiny weight that set everything wobbling. As an offshoot of that, this was also done with Hayley to a degree. I would have had them bond very similarly to the way they do in the show, but I would have had them connect at least once over the skeletons in their closets. (Only once or twice, again, since their ship relied in this season on the fallacy of each other being saviors). In fact, this was one I felt so strongly about that I actually did rewrite their scene in 1x07 ‘Bloodletting’.
Then season two when it gets more pronounced:
The rift in the show widened with the swing-and-miss that was The Red Door arc. Elijah became a Problem when it was convenient for the plot and A Fixer/Sounding Board when it was not. They used probably the most INTERESTING and INTEGRAL part of his characterization -- which had been a mystery for YEARS counting The Vampire Diaries appearances -- and Elijah discovering that either from trauma or his mother’s magic, he has repressed the moments which forged him. This lack of knowledge, this lack of control, should have been something much more cataclysmic and its effects should be clear when comparing ‘Elijah Before’ to ‘Elijah After’. Instead, it kind of served to take off Elijah’s ‘White Hat’ that he’d been illy-fitted with in S1, and allow him to accessorize with it or whatever version of Elijah fits the episode at hand.
This tension, and this chaos should have been much stronger and much more messy than simply putting the Suit back on and being Pretty Much Okay (barring one plot-insignificant diner massacre) only a few episodes later. It would make the therapy scene later with Camille even more gorgeous than it already is and it would then place Elijah’s moment of catharsis, and the beginning of his attempts to move on, with Klaus’ monumental forgiveness in 2x11. I think this is what was intended, but it was not at all achieved, because Elijah is such a tricky character to write, and it is so very easy to use him for whatever the scene requires. Because of this, Elijah’s struggles got dropped just long enough for Klaus’ forgiveness to hit powerfully in viewers for Klaus, but not for Elijah. The writing began to lean on Elijah as a Drama Everyman more and more throughout the show, and it’s just tragic to me that The Red Door wasn’t utilized to its potential. (And that we didn’t have a Klaus/Tatia conversation, but hey, I have an unfinished fixit for that whole saga on Ao3, you’re welcome and I’m sorry).
In season three, we got a few good glimpses of the kind of complexity that Elijah should live in -- the way he kills Arianne, for example, I’ve linked what I called a ‘headcanon’ but in retrospect it was pretty explicitly canon -- and we see the youth and terror and involuntary power in him in the flashback where he discovers that Klaus killed their mother. But the relationship between Tristan and Elijah? The man that he made, and that made him? That was far too pedestrian to have produced either of them. If Elijah learned ‘nobility’ from Tristan, learned what ‘superiority’ looked like, and this was the time that he began to change... we should have had words between them, or a scene highlighting just them, at least once in the flashbacks.
If this season was supposed to be about the creation of the Trinity, the First Children (because Finn didn’t tell no one that Sage is actually the oldest ‘cuz he’s an ashamed little bitch) why did we see only TWO of the THREE transformations? Klaus turned Lucien accidentally, trying to heal him. Rebekah’s sympathy and love were used as Aurora’s tool to turn herself. When and how did Elijah turn Tristan? It is explained that Elijah turned him in order to create a third vampire for his plot to trick Mikael into chasing them instead -- it is explained that Tristan, Aurora, and Lucien were compelled to believe that they were in fact Elijah, Rebekah, and Klaus in order to make their decoy impeccable. But when this compulsion was shattered -- when Lucien learned that he had been used and made monstrous as a tool for a monster who wasn’t even noble -- did he confront Elijah? Did they ever speak, or was their next meeting the day Elijah learned that Tristan had taken over Elijah’s coven? I would argue that Elijah needed equal weight in the France flashbacks even though he didn’t have a flashy romance (though if early press release rumors were true, he and Tristan could have had one and that would have been perfect)
Season four is really where you can pick an episode and Elijah will put on the stage makeup and play any part. It’s also -- BIG COINCIDENCE -- where the plot deteriorates completely. Here’s just one example from my Excuse You What the Hell? Season Four meta:
On to the next moment that showed major neglect (I know this has been Elijah-heavy so far, but again, this is where the problem started so I want to carry this thread through for a while before addressing other issues) - the ritual to bring Inadu to the mortal realm. The purpose of this ritual was to scare viewers with the risk of Hope’s safety and hype the Hollow’s “bad”ness, but also to make the first move in the ‘Letting Go’ thread between Hayley and Elijah. Elijah was supposed to be forced to choose between children's lives and letting the Hollow loose upon the world, and decide to kill the children. That was the dramatic point of placing this ritual in the narrative, but it isn’t mechanically sound.
It is stated outright that the ritual has to end with the death of the children linked to the spell. The children were linked via their totems found in 4x03 - placing Hope definitively in this group.
But we only ever see four of the five in one place. Maybe it was worth it to the Hollow to reach as far out as Hope was to bind her via her hairbrush, maybe it was worth it to the Hollow to drain her from afar, I’d buy that easily. But they made no attempt to kidnap her and place her with the other four children during the ritual. The ritual that required the deaths of five children. Unless it required Hope to be there only on standby, which is absolutely ridiculous. They had the kids on an alter, even if it was just for show. But why not all of them? If the real goal of the ritual was to lure Klaus and/or Marcel, wouldn’t kidnapping Klaus’ child be a more surefire way to accomplish that rather than just hoping the Mikaelsons would come to the right mystical diagnosis in time?
The reason why Hope wasn’t there was because the ritual was never thought through. The reason she wasn’t there is because it didn’t make sense for Elijah to want to kill Hope to stop the Hollow, which is what this ritual actually demanded if it actually worked the way Vincent claimed. In actuality, all that was desired was for Elijah to display a willingness to kill innocents in front of Hayley, and in doing so it demanded that Hope’s life both be at stake and not at stake at all. This failure to coherently execute a single-episode arc is plainly poor storytelling. It displays not only disrespect to the narrative structure, but a blatant flippancy towards one of their main characters and arguably the most complex one on the series. The sloppily contrived tension here between Hayley and Elijah does eventually contribute to the supposed theme, yes, but at what cost?
Elijah was neglected because he was hard to write, and even harder to write well as a ‘light’ foil to Klaus. Marcel should have fully owned that role, and not been similarly jerked around as a plot-serving every-man once the mystery of season 1 and the reasons behind Marcel’s ‘senseless’ cruelty were revealed.
Elijah was always the cornerstone of the family’s narrative, because he was complex enough to carry it. Camille provided an additional column of support to Klaus’ individual journey as a person/father, but she was bulldozed for Allmighty Plot as well. By the end of season three, both she and Elijah had effectively been thrown in the garbage one way or another, and the show tried to go on without them. It couldn’t.
I will say that Elijah’s conversation with Hope in that ludicrous backdoor pilot did make me feel things. I did also see the clip where Elijah and Klaus have a heart-to-heart in some sort of european flashback, which was touching, but felt incongruous for their relationship/dev at the time. Hope asking Elijah how old he was when he made his promises to Klaus, though? Elijah offering carte blanche to Hope for how to punish her friend’s bullies? TWO OF THE THREE SCENES INVOLVING ICE CREAM?
SOME of season 5 is valid but ONLY because it stole scripts from my headcanons.
#anamysis#preview of some metas in progress#hey guys does anyone here want to talk about ELIJAH?#*pepe silvia voice*#Anonymous#asks
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do you have any molly or widomauk fic recs? You have good characterization taste & I miss him and need to recover from seeing caleb/nott/molly as a relationship tag
well after that gutpunch of a closing line, here are my offerings:
… under a cut because there are a LOT. rifled through my bookmarks and subscriptions for this. hope you like these! my ultimate personal faves are bolded. newer additions are starred.
massive widomauk indulgence (oneshots & completed fics)
take your kid gloves off - oh this is SUCH a fave!! teacher au. really good mature emotions… still has the pining that makes fic great but it doesn’t feel soap opera-y as some do. read this please.
my only sunshine - soulmate au! i can be very picky about soulmate aus but this one really agreed with me. follows canon where it can. this was great!! very tender and sweet and hurts at the right parts and is so good at the right parts
twisters chasing storms - written in the week between ep 25 and ep 26. beau centric with side wm. the remaining members of the m9 have to deal with doing what they must to get them back. kind of dark but just like. oof. i reread this a bunch. really good character work in this. (violence warning)
Caleb, huddled on the cart over Molly’s books, says what Beau has been thinking all along: “Jester and Fjord and Yasha were not terrible. This—” and he gestures around at all of them, “—is a terrible combination.”
“That’s slander,” says Molly. “I’m a good person. And—you know, you’re—you’re not all great, sure, but you do good things. I like you.”
The rest of them look at him.
“Okay, that was weak,” he admits.
any clever ideas? - molly and caleb make out in the evening nip in order to dissuade cree from talking with molly. it is SO GOOD and just. rules. it hits those trope buttons perfectly. i LOVE this one
strictly ballroom - UNDERCOVER AT A FANCY DRESS BALL… DANCING… PINING… JEALOUSY… this is SUCH an indulgent fave and i just enjoy it so much. this is a FUN read. THIS is what i enjoy fic for
discover us safely destroyed - an interesting character study from the zadash arc
our early days - pre relationship. figuring each other out and being tender and protective. taking care of each other. (violence warning)
the crossroads - caleb falls in battle and has a conversation in limbo (without knowing he’s in limbo). very bittersweet and so like… OOF
hopscotch - a lot of the m9 body swap. good character stuff. the differences in molly and caleb’s brains in terms of memory capabilities is… ouch! ouch!! it’s really good. “you’re my friends. i trust you.”
let’s dance - this one is an older one one, and cute! dancing!
comfort walks softly on little cat feet - h/c. an older one, and very sweet.
strange light - a good coda to the cali ep, which was hard to find. measured characterizations with some molly details i adore - his love of theatrics, and keeping copies of lucien’s wanted posters that he’s torn down and using them for kindling.
a street cat named frumpkin - a cute little modern au with side wm! hooray for kitties.
familiar comfort - frumpkin pov. implied wm. really super excellent. i LOVE frumpkin pov stuff
until you set your old heart free - modern with magic… established relationship… molly gets rezzed and returns home… ohhhhhhhh. oh my heart
take me back into your arms - molly gets rezzed! tam lin setup! hell yeah! power of love babey!!
kiss me once, kiss me twice - a series for kiss prompts!! so sweet. this one has some really heartwarming modern au installments that i just adore
something new for me and you - this one recently wrapped up! a good multichapter, probably the peak modern urban au in the tag. very detailed and has some very good themes about like… feeling love and feeling deserving of relationships and having to grapple with being bond to the people you’re close to. ALSO has background claysol which you KNOW i’m a BIG SUCKER for. very charming!
*indelible - modern au! tattoo parlor stuff, which can be very hit or miss for me, but this was such a sweet, lovely au with a lot of like. recovery stuff in it? for both of them. very nice.
*meet me in the woods - OOF this has such such delicious piiiining… yearning! molly Noticing caleb’s hands and the two of them slowly growing closer. it was such a sweet read and i enjoyed the whole thing like a soft blanket.
*boats and birds - i love this! such a great snapshot of molly (swinging from the ropes on the ball eater, and being a bit reckless & unlucky in his circus tricks - that’s my bitch!), and such a lovely, telling interaction between him and caleb. i loved that “did you just tell a joke? well, it was a good one” bit, and i love fics that revisit it with a bit more future tenderness. this is the line that won me completely over to this fic:
Because Molly is an idiot and likes to pretend that he has a chance of breaking through the ten layers of trauma Caleb wears like a second skin to find the person underneath and convince him he’s worth something, he takes a minute to appreciate the view.
*matryoshka - immediate fixit after molly’s death, which rules. molly’s ghost gets to carpool in caleb’s body before they rez him. i think this scenario was written enjoyably but with appropriate weight as well, which could be very hard to find. pre-relationship, which i always enjoy - i love me some people meandering towards feelings. it also has some very interesting lucien theory tidbits sprinkled in, which i enjoy.
*cat magnet - molly gets turned into a cat for a hot minute and cuddles up to caleb. short and fun and not weird (thank goodness).
*devil’s tongue - i’m always a bit bashful/hesitant about reccing explicit stuff, but this one has such excellent and caring characterization that i feel correct in putting it on this list. the best explicit ship fics always have an element of knowing that the characters aren’t losing their personalities once they get in bed, and this one has both characters as like. people. the d/s stuff does not overwhelm the characters or the fic and is very light - you see that these are real people in an equal relationship trying to help each other feel good (and i’m a judgmental bastard about fic, so you can take my word on this). AND it has some linguistic stuff about infernal as the actual plot, which i can be a sucker for.
*a thin line - molly gets injured, caleb sews him up, they dance around a conversation before actually Talking About Stuff and becoming closer. excellently written h/c. this is an early wdmk fic, but actually writes the characters pretty well in hindsight! op rules. it’s interesting to see what the author manages to get right, and the backstory elements they made up are still engaging and consistent for the molly & caleb they have written.
*heartfrost - molly lives au, taking place around ep 72. molly is resistant to fire, so he’s vulnerable to cold. he has a bad time with that, and with grieving for yasha as well. caleb takes care of him. this was just sweet h/c whump, and reading molly getting his feelings validated by caleb was *kisses fingers* very good.
*limerence - caleb accidentally casts a spell that makes everyone who sees him fall in love with him - except the party lesbians and… molly, for some reason. isn’t it strange that a love spell doesn’t alter molly’s behavior towards caleb??? synopsis aside - i really enjoy how this fic took the fact that molly canonically wouldn’t pursue caleb because he sees caleb isn’t in a good place to have that; molly’s respect for consent with regards to relationships shines through here and agh i love him. also, i am beau in this fic.
**VWOOP! (every time a bell rings, a tiefling gets their wings) - a really interesting take on the soulmate au involving true name stuff (the author has some notes at the end about “true names” which made me :) about the concept in terms of identity and meaning, so dw about deadname snarls yk). wings! soulmates! friends with benefits that accidentally evolve into feelings!
**the fool, reversed - i’m a hack who loves to see molly slotted into present canon just for fun. this one has him being abducted with yasha by obann, and in dealing with the trauma afterward accidentally discovering his incorporeality bloodhunter powers. good stuff.
**the skin beneath the facade - this one is so self indulgent and i love it. fake dating at a fancy party! kissing! POISON! A CAT! fun fun fun read.
WIPs that i am subscribed to and really enjoy, and are good reads already:
the prophet of tortham - LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS ONE… god i just love it. molly scrambling to be the best scammer he can and rolling miracuously well, while trying to solve a mystery! very perceptive caleb and perfectly slow burn widomauk. it’s an au where molly pretends to be an actual fortuneteller to a lord that the rest of the m9 work for. i’ve been adoring this one so far, such a great molly.
there’s a ghost in my lungs - vague future canon! the m9 finds molly again, but the empire put a bunch of stuff in his head and the gang seeks to cure him, all while getting tangled up in a town plot and festivals. very good widomauk pining. side note: the “winter soldier au” tag has nothing to do with marvel at all besides the basic premise of what’s up with molly, but for the vast majority of the fic he is himself (changed somewhat after what he’s gone through, but his wonderful self). i’ve been keeping up with this one for a long time and i’ve been loving it.
Caleb blinks, as if coming out of a Frumpkin trance. Beau knows better, though, she’s seen him staring at Molly like Molly’s a lighthouse in the dark, and he’s a man paddling desperately back to shore.
we circle by night - a far-flung-future caleb travels back in time and accidentally averts molly’s death! and there’s a splintered timeline. slow burn widomauk starts kindling but caleb’s dealing with uh… pretending he’s not an older and higher-level wizard inside a canon age caleb body. VERY good. love it.
fractured moonlight on the sea - molly is a selkie and doesn’t know it!! i looooooove this so far and can’t wait for more, this is such good like… pining for stuff you don’t know, romantically and sealwise.
map to alexandria - modern music au! very good writing of like. human emotions. very good relationship themes. this is my good buddy mauve @phantomsteed‘s fave fic!
the gay and wondrous life of caleb widogast - this is a modern with magic childhood friends road trip au! it is also fjollygast, and i really enjoyed it. extremely good and well-written pining and relationship drama, that luckily has been resolved. from what i’ve detectived, it seems like it’s been put on permanent hiatus after canon has diverged a lot from what the author was working from. but it stopped at a very good point and is a fave. extremely delicious pining.
wilderswans’ 30 day nsfw challenge - this is such a great series with a lot of character work and like… stuff about intimacy and it’s really good and tender! early relationship. really sweet and well-written!
**the names that make us - soulmate au! with twists and turns. starts out as bren/lucien and will become caleb/molly. looking forward to it.
molly focused:
true north - molly and yasha relationship stuff… i love them. platonic soulmates. a grand adventure!
visions in lightning, voices in thunder - yasha and molly again, but this time more of a snapshot. implied wm and by. yasha’s aasimarness interacts with ukatoa’s dreams in a nasty and cool way. this one has a line that alwaaaaaays gets me right in the gut
“I’d keep an eye on him, if I were you. There’s still some sharp edges to him.”
Molly chuckled. “I’m well acquainted with sharp edges.”
Yes, and you cut yourself on them all the time, Yasha thought to herself. If he cuts you, will you bleed for him?
also if you haven’t… you should read my high school au oneshot where beau and molly are siblings ;) if you want some numbers to back my self promotion it is the 9th highest kudos’d wm fic on ao3 atm… AND it’s a oneshot. blue gatorade rights
OH and as an edit: here’s my more serious in tone wdmk fic, canticle. it is very good and self indulgent. molly character study and repressed pining. ep 25/6 divergent au, as one does. inspired by twisters chasing storms, recced above.
#robcr#critical role#widomauk#mollymauk tealeaf#caleb widogast#Anonymous#chirps#critical role fanfiction#reclist
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okay here it is!!! the long-awaited (not really) masterpost of hc’s about the background characters!!!
@105ttt and i have been working on this stuff for a couple weeks now and i’ve finally got around to making it into something shareable!! and i’m excited because now this means i get to use them in fics without people being completely lost!!!!
anyway this post is long so i’m gonna put it under a readmore-
Leonel
-link’s father
-captain of the guard & keeper of the wind key
-close friends with artura and valensuela since childhood
-because of the circumstances, he’s very well-read on the various legends/stories of the past heroes
-is a stand-in father for zelda sometimes because of how close she and his son(s) are
-constantly worried about his kids (sometimes because of the trouble they’ve been in, sometimes because of the trouble they cause)
-definitely the ‘cool manager’ type of captain- does what he needs to in order to run an efficient guard, but he’s also good friends with all of them
-there are days where he wants to take his kids out to town for a family day and there are days where he wants to throw them all out a window
Artura
-the captain’s top knight
-friends with leonel since childhood; they weren’t in the same battalion until they became full knights but leonel would cut sessions to go train with his group
-specialized in heavy armored combat, proficient in several kinds of weaponry but mostly uses bludgeoning weapons
-the backup dad for vio when leonel is busy because hylia knows vio needs constant supervision
-the embodiment of the gentle giant trope- does a lot of favors for people and the castle town kids ADORE him
-always busy + always tired. give artura his vacation days please
-he has a special room in the castle he goes to when he needs alone time and doesn’t want to be bothered. vio is allowed in but only grudgingly and only if he’s maintained at least one (1) week of decent behavior
-works a lot with younger trainees (mostly around link’s age); has a lot of instructional tasks on top of his regular patrol duties
-he doesn’t take off his armor in public a lot, so most people haven’t seen him out of it. there’s a joke among the younger groups that artura isn’t actually a person but rather a darknut or one of the phantom knights animated by the royal family’s magic. (actually it’s just because he’s secretly a twink and he doesn’t want people knowing that Mr. Top Knight/Mr. Living Darknut couldn’t hit 160lbs if he was soaking wet.)
Valensuela
-keeper of the water key
-close friends with leonel since childhood; was in the same trainee battalion as him
-trained for armored combat but dislikes wearing heavy plate- if he wears a lot of armor, it’s usually maille
-can dual-wield, but usually opts for one larger sword instead of two smaller ones
-basically adopts green after the pyramid incident. just steals him from leonel. green is his son now. green accidentally calls valensuela ‘dad’ once and leonel’s parentship of green ends right there.
-appears very dignified and serious but actually has a flair for the theatrical. most people are not aware of this but his friends know.
-leonel’s second-in-command, but he’s far more task-oriented and doesn’t deal with people as well as leonel does. he can come across as a little brusque with people he isn’t familiar with so he tries not to take that role if he doesn’t have to.
-not a personality headcanon but he has a scar on his forehead from when green shattered his helmet in the pyramid. and after he’s overcome the trauma that came with that whole ordeal, he definitely brags about it. someone asks what happened to him for him to have a scar like that and he’s like “oh my son did that isn’t he talented?”
Lucien
-keeper of the fire key
-so chill. extremely laid-back guy. the kind of guy you go to hang out with when you want to do something social but you don’t want to leave your house (or even your couch).
-kinda lazy when it comes to little mundane tasks, which he caught a lot of flak for while he was still in training, but wholeheartedly dedicated to his job when it comes down to it.
-basically adopts red. they’re like best buds. red makes lucien carry him around on his shoulders so he doesn’t have to walk but lucien doesn’t mind.
-absolutely the kind of person to disappear for an entire day and when you find him again and ask him where he went he says he was in the living room the whole time
-very good at cooking, but only the really time-consuming, complicated recipes, which goes directly against his low-effort nature. he rarely cooks, but everyone looks forward to the days that he does.
-also the kind of person to “work out” by doing one push up every five minutes. the second he hears someone approaching he’ll stay in mid-push-up position and when they walk in he’ll say “one thousand”. (he only actually made it to nine.)
-if he isn’t in armor he’s in sweats. “dress more professionally” the captain says to him one day. he shows up to breakfast the next morning wearing sweats again, but this time he also has a tie on.
-the tallest of the group, which artura makes fun of (it’s all in good fun. he just makes fun of artura for being so small.)
Wes
-keeper of the earth key
-the high-energy go-getter of the group. his energy alone balances out the chronically low-key natures of artura and lucien. basically an eternal child at heart.
-ALWAYS ready to throw down. it isn’t even that he has anger issues, he just needs a way to get rid of his restless energy while also triumphing in his various conflicts, and to him, fighting (within the controlled setting of a spar) is the easiest way to do that.
-one of those people that has to be physically restrained from doing dumb things. “hey i bet i could land in the hot spring if i jumped from the third story balcony” “wes you will break all of the bones in your lower body” “and??”
-also the guy in the group that’s constantly making bets and daring people to do things. he violates the sanctity of the triple dog dare by using it literally every time. he is also eerily good at predicting the correct outcome of bets.
-learns little things like sleight-of-hand tricks just to fudge them at the end; he’ll keep a group of little kids enamored with the “magic” before asking if they want to see the finale where he makes the cards disappear. the kids say yes and he just hurls the entire deck into a nearby bush. “there,” he says with pride as he walks away, “they’re gone.” (he would never actually upset the kids. if they look too disappointed he’ll sigh and go get the cards and do an actual disappearing trick just to make them better.)
-definitely takes blue under his wing. they spar like every morning. the other links might try to go on kitchen raids without their parents’/mentors’ knowing but blue goes WITH wes to go steal the best-looking cookies fresh off the baking sheet. arcy always gives wes grief for enabling that behavior but wes knows she won’t actually do anything about it
Selenas
-another of the captain’s high-ranking knights
-the exasperated lawful good of the group. he tries so hard to get the rest of them to follow the rules but it never works. he knows there’s no point to the efforts anymore but he still tries.
-the constant sigh-er of the group. you’d think he had respiratory issues if you didn’t know him.
-is tasked with helping to keep shadow in line because of his lawful good status. he’s the strict parent who insists upon balanced meals with a lot of vegetables and who believes in a strict 8pm bedtime. he will not hesitate to confiscate shadow’s laptop if he’s misbehaving. shadow despises him but he’s doing all of hyrule a great favor.
-doesn’t safeguard a royal jewel so he’s kind of an outlier but it’s fine, everything’s fine, he doesn’t need a jewel to prove that he’s a good knight and no, he isn’t envious, no not even a tiny bit, why would anyone ask that,
-prefers long-reach weapons like pikes and halberds over swords/daggers
[all of the above-mentioned knights are collectively referred to as the cape squad by the links]
Arcy
-one of the castle chefs
-an ex-knight; had barely made it into full knighthood before receiving a career-ending injury
-decided to continue work at the castle as a chef so she could still be around friends + to provide for her daughter
-was in the same trainee battalion as artura for armored combat, so they’re old friends
-her daughter is adopted; keina is the biological daughter of a late friend of arcy’s who died from birth complications
-is actually still technically in reserve for the guard; in a state of emergency she’s tasked with aiding evacuation efforts
-she’s the most popular chef among the knights because she takes requests. there’s a weekly competition among battalions and the winning one gets to choose the weekend meals that she makes. it’s a good motivator, especially for the ones in training, and it also gets her friends in high places (:
Keina
(see above images)
-arcy’s adopted daughter
-she’s very sickly; she’s never gone beyond the gates of castle town and barely even leaves the castle grounds. the only time she’s been beyond castle town was when she fled the castle with arcy, and she was in extremely poor health the entire time.
-she’s friends with the links + erune; they’ll often visit her and bring her things from other towns (or in erune’s case, her hometown) so she can still experience new things
-has a lot of pen pals all over hyrule since she can’t leave her home to go see people- she gets like two dozen letters a week and it helps keep her busy
-very knowledgeable on a lot of different subjects! because she’s often home- and sometimes even bed-bound, she spends a lot of time reading and writing and will sometimes illustrate as well. she’d like to be some kind of professional scholar so she can still contribute even when her health prevents her from travel.
#four swords#four swords manga#link's dad#valensuela#artura#lucien#wes#selenas#arcy#keina#tagging under their individual names for archival purposes#my headcanons#(only partially but yknow)#anyway No More Link Content only these guys waiofklfafwaionkfa#in just a couple brief weeks i have come to love these people who were barely even part of the manga#anyway fanta and i are having fun dont @ me whdaiokndnkwa
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I'm so sorry to hear about Molly! I never followed crit role besides your updates and the fanart of him you reblogged; he seemed very nice! if it's okay (because I don't know where to go to get this info) , may I ask you more about molly? what does he do? what's he like? and how'd he... ya know...
asjsdsfkdl thanks that’s very nice of you!! ;; And sure of course I love talking about Molly!! His full name’s Mollymauk Tealeaf and he’s played by VA Taliesin Jaffe. He’s this really charismatic, charming tiefling. His backstroy is really shrouded in mystery, but here’s what we know–“Molly” has only existed for two years. Before that, he was another person entirely, and went by Lucien. Lucien was a blood hunter–a homebrew class that can track and kill monsters with a kind of blood magic. He was the leader of a group of members with similar abilities, and they were trying to achieve some kind of miracle. We’re not really sure what, but I think it might have something to do with–ironically–cheating death. At the very least, that ended up being a side effect of it.
They performed some kind of ritual, and Lucien died in the process. When he next awoke, he had no memory of his former life, and he was buried alive. He had to claw his way out of the ground and ended up roaming aimlessly until he was picked up by a traveling circus. Molly was catatonic at the time, he was completely out of it and would only repeat the word “Empty.” One of the people who took him in gave him the name Mollymauk Tealeaf, and overtime, he gradually grew more aware and started speaking again. He’s said that he genuinely enjoyed the circus and he was happy there. “Molly” was a completely new persona he had developed, his own separate person–and he wanted nothing to do with Lucien. He considered himself completely different than whoever had his body before, and he wanted nothing to do with that life. He despises any situation where he’s forced to confront his past and wants it to disappear forever.
The intro Taliesin gave for his character is, “A lavender tiefling with red eyes and very curled, extremely pierced, ostentatious horns that are pierced with little gems and little baubles. He’s got a tattoo that seems to be running up the side of his face, a peacock tattoo that goes off into his very ostentatious, ridiculous, overblown robes that he wears. And his two swords and pouch dangling at the sides of his hips. Yeah, he’s very, very broad in his dress.” “So literal and figurative peacock?” “Oh, yes.”
Molly’s very much an entertainer. He’s a performer with a flair for the dramatic. He reads fortunes with his cards, juggles swords, and can do a bit of fancy acrobatics. There are times when he’s done a trick to cheer up passing children and little things like that. There’s no actual divination to his fortunes, but he’s good at reading others, and tries to use the cards to give them advice based on his observations. He sees the cards as more or less a means of just conveying whatever advice he thinks will be helpful to that particular person.
He’s someone very friendly and familiar with others, even strangers. When he first meets another tiefling in the party, he says, “My friends call me Molly. And we’re friends now, aren’t we?” He often uses endearments like darling, sweetheart, ect. He’s kissed one of his teammates on the forehead while calming them during a panic attack, and has casually kissed others in greeting. He’s very much comfortable being tactile. He can also be a bit mischievous and chaotic for the fun of it. He enjoys some playful teasing and poking fun at his teammates every now and again. Loves fun, luxury, and interesting adventures. Doesn’t believe in judging others for their past and really wants everyone on the Mighty Nein to be a team that’s all in this together. Also, and I just have to mention this–he’s pan, which of course is pretty cool to me, since I’m a bi guy. He’s also incredibly charming and I love him dearly,,
Some iconic Molly quotes:
“I don’t know anything. It’s part of my charm.”
“Let me make this abundantly clear—my name is Molly. That person is dead and not me. It’s just a person who had this body. They abandoned it, it’s mine now.”
After being asked why he was in a circus with such weird people: “BECAUSE I’M WEIRD!”
“I’m always ready to make a fool of myself.”
“Be the chaos you want to see in the world.”
“That sounds terrible. I don’t want to remember anything, I don’t want anybody else’s baggage in my head, I don’t want anybody else’s problems, thoughts, ideas… I like this person—[this person] right now, is a good person, is a fine person, is a happy person.”
“I spent two years before I met you all cajoling people, occasionally ripping them off, occasionally doing a good turn here or there. Never trust the truth. The truth is vicious, the truth thinks that you owe it something… None of that. I like my bullshit. It’s good, it’s happy, it makes other people happy.”
“I may be a liar, but I’m never a betrayer. I’m honest in my work, and I believe in doing a good turn…I’ve stayed with that circus for two years, and I know how people treat each other. It’s important…I don’t care where you’ve been, I don’t care what terrible things any of you have done. You’re here now. That’s how it works.”
After being asked if he was a good person during a spell where he cannot lie: “I’d like to think so.”
When asked if he could really read fortunes under the truth spell, “I use fortunes to tell people what I see in them. But sometimes, sometimes I feel like maybe there’s something that tickles that back of my head, I will admit…I always try to be helpful when I turn cards for people…I’ll tell you, and this is true—I did my best every town I went to and every town I left, no matter how they treated me, and a lot of them treated me with deep disrespect. I left every town better than I found it.”
While wearing nothing but a gaudy dragon tapestry and eating off a fancy fruit platter, “I am a god! Long may I reign!”
“Don’t you dare have fun without us!”
Taliesin was given the option for Molly to say some last words to his killer. But instead, he just said, “I’m going to spit in his face, with blood,” which was very true to character. And when Molly died, he added, “[My] Eyes never shut.”
It’s really quite unfortunate, but my understanding is, Molly had some bad rolls and the team had lost their cleric at the time. He knocked himself unconscious using his own blood magic (again, terrible rolls), and his attacker decided to finish him as an example. I didn’t get the chance to watch the stream so I’ve yet to see the full episode, but I saw a clip of how he died and I was pretty upset ;; I’m heartbroken just thinking about it to be honest. Maybe they’ll find a higher level cleric soon and be able to revive him, but even then…there’s no telling whether he’ll come back as Molly, as Lucien, or…be catatonic like before. But the risk of losing Molly as his own person is pretty high, and I’m…really worried for him ;;
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Okay, what now?
a.k.a. coping with feelings by making meticulous lists.
Spoilers for campaign 2, episode 26 below the cut.
So. Molly took four failed death saving throws from Lorenzo’s two execution-style hits, more than the three required to bleed out. His Periapt of Wound Closure, sadly, did him no good, as he was already dead by the time his turn rolled around again. Molly is dead, but this is D&D and dead does not mean gone. What are the options?
Resurrection spells
There’s no one we know of in the immediate area who can cast these, nor do the Mighty Drei necessarily have the funds needed. However, here are the exact bars they’ll need to clear if they go this route.
Revivify
3rd-level spell (requires 5th-level cleric)
Material components: Diamonds worth at least 300 gp
Not an option, as it must be cast within 1 minute of death. It was probably already too late by the time Lorenzo and the Iron Shepherds left the scene.
Raise Dead
5th-level spell (requires 9th-level bard or cleric)
Material components: A diamond worth at least 500 gp
Technically still an option, if they can find a way to cast it within 10 days. They’ll need to hold on to Molly’s body if this is the plan. Depending on the exact nature of Molly’s relationship with Lucien, there could potentially be some weird soul-custody complications.
Reincarnate
5th-level spell (requires 9th-level druid)
Material components: Rare oils and unguents worth at least 1000 gp
Still needs to be cast within 10 days, and he would come back in a different body. No better than Raise Dead, really. Intriguing mostly because the nice firbolg lady they met could be a druid -- though probably not a 9th-level one.
Resurrection
7th-level spell (requires 13th-level bard or cleric)
Material components: A diamond worth at least 1000 gp
At 100 years, the time frame on this one is much more forgiving, but 13th-level casters don’t exactly grow on trees.
True Resurrection
9th-level spell (requires 17th-level cleric or druid)
Material components: Diamonds worth at least 25,000 gp
I’m really just including this as a formality. Even Vox Machina never cast this spell, though Keyleth came close once.
Time magic?
I mean, it is Caleb’s thing. That nice rock he picked up a few episodes ago was most likely for his Transmuter’s Stone, which he can create at level 6. In the distant future, at level 14, that stone will become capable of the Raise Dead spell. As of right now, Caleb has no spells or tricks I can think of that would undo what happened, but listen, I could see him trying to make a test run of some wacky theory. I don’t think it would work, but he could try.
Character choices (with DM approval)
Lingering Soul
Character class
This is Matt Mercer’s own brew, so the cast is certainly aware of it. Whether Taliesin might choose to pursue ghost-Molly is another question entirely. From the DMG description, this choice can be used “when a player character death is surrounded by enough violence or mystery to cause the soul to cling to the mortal world,” and “It should be offered with good reason, and it should be an option granted sparingly.” Narrow, but possible.
Revenant
Character subrace
[vague spoilers, campaign 1] Veterans of Vox Machina will be familiar with this option, and also with its dire consequences. “As a revenant, you thirst for revenge against those who wronged you in life, or seek to complete a final, critical task you left unfinished.” Molly did die trying to rescue Yasha, who remains un-rescued, which might be enough justification for this choice. However, this is not a long-term solution. On completion of his mission -- that is, say, on being reunited with Yasha and his friends -- Molly would depart for good. Do you like angst? Because this is how you get angst.
DM's privilege
a la Pike
There’s some precedent for a PC dying early with no hope of resurrection; it did happen to Pike in the pre-stream home game. In that case, Matt allowed Pike’s body to be brought to a nearby temple for healing. Whether Vox Machina had to pay out of pocket for the material spell components isn’t clear to me (I suspect, based on nothing, that they did not), but the point is, Matt found a way to let Pike keep playing.
It’s worth noting that, in this case, Pike was a cleric in good standing with the temple and had just helped rescue the royal family of Emon, so there was a lot of incentive for the temple to help her. Molly has a little less going for him at the moment, so I’d be surprised if this exact route gets taken again. Still -- options.
a la [spoilers c1e103]
There’s also precedent for a PC dying rather late, but still being beyond the usual measures. Pacts were made. A solution was found. Kinda. Again, the point is, Matt found a way.
a la Lucien
Listen. We know so little about that shifty boy Lucien, and the only thing we really do know about our purple tiefling is that he’s already climbed out of one grave. What did that ritual do to him, exactly? Who are his allies? Are any of them in the area? What might they be able to do? There’s a whole playground of possibility here.
a la ????
It’s the DM’s world. Matt could, and so often does, surprise us. Here’s the thing: Matt cares deeply about his players. He is, by many metrics, a merciful DM. He does not play consequence-free, but he has a way of collaborating with his players and giving second chances. If Molly being dead isn’t what Taliesin wants -- if Matt still has more story to put him through -- I’m confident something interesting will happen.
If All Else Fails...
... Taliesin will roll up a new character. (He might even do that anyway and pull a Taryon Darrington on us.) If that is the case, I have no doubt that we will initially resent and then slowly, begrudgingly, learn to love that new character.
I really love Molly, and I love his narrative, and I desperately need to know more about the weird circumstances that created him -- and listen, Matt had just started using nonbinary-coded language to describe Molly, so that’s real fucking important to me -- so I’m pretty torn up. But I can’t wait to see what happens next.
#critical role#critical role spoilers#cr spoilers#mollymauk tealeaf#pc death#death cw#violence cw#long post#let me know if i've missed anything bc i'm sure there's more
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rhycien or azrien or maybe tarcien for the shipping meme? you can choose whichever you like the most i just need lucien to be in it bc you know SMOL, GAY GINGER FOX IS MY WEAKNESS
I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE BECAUSE ANON BUT SAME
and because I have No Self-Control I’ll write all three of em it’s your lucky day
Rhycien
falls asleep on the couch
Rhys. The loser. Lucien rolls his eyes but takes the opportunity to pet his hair very gently because Rhys can tend to be overdramatic when he’s awake and that does not leave very many gentle hair touching opportunities.
makes friends with the neighbors
Rhys. And then before they know it Rhys somehow has control of their stocks and their bank account, but they don’t mind because he’s such a charming young man.
is the adventurous eater
Neither. They’re both kind of snobs about that kind of thing. The trick is that Rhys pretends he isn’t, and orders adventurous stuff and then just eats half of what Lucien got. Because Lucien has accepted his picky eating as a fact of life.
hogs the covers at night
Rhys tries to, but honestly, he’s no match for Lucien. Lucien is a master cover-hogger and ends up with all the blankets every single night. Rhys complains about this constantly. Lucien doesn’t care.
forgets to do the dishes
Lucien. Rhys was never going to do the dishes in the first place. Either way, the dishes don’t get done.
tries to surprise their partner more often
Rhys, going off of @valamerys‘s recent headcanons, usually with ridiculously over-the-top gifts that Lucien loves to hate.
leaves dirty laundry on the floor
Rhys. You can always tell it’s his clothes because it’s literally all black. Lucien couldn’t quite believe it when he saw Rhys’s closet. “You dress like a cartoon character. An evil cartoon character.”
stays up til 2 AM reading
Lucien. Rhys doesn’t particularly like to read, unless it’s smutty romance novels. Lucien, on the other hand, reads everything, including a bunch of nonfiction. Rhys so doesn’t get it.
sings in the shower
Rhys. Loudly. Sappy love songs in which he inserts Lucien’s name. And then he makes up his own lyrics. He’s very bad at it. [you know who would be good at this??? tamlin??? oddly enough???]
takes the selfies
Rhys. Because despite Lucien’s obsession with photography, Rhys loves his own face, so…
plans date night
Rhys. He loves planning dates, especially expensive, ridiculous ones. Or, you know, trips to lingerie shops. He never tells Lucien about these ahead of time. (See the answer about surprising one’s partner.)
Azrien/Luzriel
falls asleep on the couch
Azriel. The poor guy has nightmares all the time, so he gets up and walks around, looks out the windows, lies down on the couch. Lucien wakes up to an empty bed and goes to find him. He snuggles into Azriel’s arms and Azriel holds him very, very tightly. So tightly it hurts. Lucien doesn’t mind.
makes friends with the neighbors
Honestly… neither of them. Lucien charms them and gets them a place in the local Homeowner’s Association or whatever, but they aren’t friends. He and Az prefer to stay to themselves.
is the adventurous eater
Azriel. Well… that’s not really accurate. Az will eat anything. He doesn’t have a preference at all. And Lucien’s super picky. It’s a very odd combination that will occasionally result in them literally only having packaged junk food in the house for two straight weeks until Cassian turns up and fills their freezer with hamburger casserole because he says they look terrible. (They do. Cassian is considering moving into their spare room until they can get better at self-care.)
hogs the covers at night
Neither. They both just clutch each other under a million blankets, since they’re both always cold, even with Lucien’s powers. (Once he becomes happier on a regular basis, his glow helps.)
forgets to do the dishes
Lucien. He really does mean to, but he just forgets. Az rolls his eyes and washes them when Lucien isn’t there. It’s like magic.
tries to surprise their partner more often
Azriel. Since he’s unsurprisable. It’s all small stuff, like a pretty stone he saw on the banks of the Sidra, or a pastry that was in a window he thought Lucien would like, but it means the world to Lucien.
leaves dirty laundry on the floor
Lucien, the slob. Azriel is immaculately neat at all times. He doesn’t understand how Lucien isn’t. Lucien is working on teaching him his ways.
stays up til 2 AM reading
Lucien. Az may be up at all hours, but it’s not to read. He just can’t sleep, but he can’t concentrate enough to read.
sings in the shower
Both of them. Duets when they shower together. It’s one of the only times Lucien hears Az giggle, and it makes him so ridiculously happy that he wants to dedicate the rest of his life to making Az that happy.
takes the selfies
Lucien. Az hates getting his picture taken. Lucien is always having to tug him back into the frame.
plans date night
Neither. All their date nights are completely spontaneous. They usually involve sitting together and talking quietly and listening to music and lots of kissing.
[okay that was Sad so let’s do the Fun Happy Fluffy Lucien Ship now shall we]
Tarcien
falls asleep on the couch
Lucien. Everywhere. Tarquin’s courtiers are constantly tripping over their High Lord’s sleepy boyfriend. I think I mentioned in a previous Tarcien post that Lucien finds the Summer Court sun soporific for quite some time. I stand by that headcanon. Tarquin never ever lets anyone wake him up.
makes friends with the neighbors
Tarquin. No one can help liking Tarquin, and Tarquin likes nearly everybody. Lucien does not understand this, as he’s one of those people who has His People and then Everyone Else.
is the adventurous eater
Tarquin. He’ll try anything and likes almost all of it. He keeps trying to get Lucien to try sushi. Lucien keeps refusing. “That fish was alive five minutes ago, Tarquin, you didn’t even cook it, and now you want me to eat it???”
hogs the covers at night
Neither. It’s hot in the Summer Court, and Tarquin practically radiates heat. Lucien likes this a lot.
forgets to do the dishes
Tarquin. He’ll start, and then abandon them halfway through. His servants always sigh and finish them. They know he’s trying.
tries to surprise their partner more often
Lucien. Especially on days when Tarquin’s very busy, Lucien will do something very romantic for them, or get all his meetings cancelled the next day so they can go sailing, or pounce on him with surprise kisses. (They’re Tarquin’s favorte kind.)
leaves dirty laundry on the floor
Lucien. Tarquin folds his neatly and leaves it on a chair. He’s trying to teach Lucien to do the same. He is not succeeding.
stays up til 2 AM reading
Tarquin. “Lucien, did you know that dolphins only sleep with half of their brain at once?” “Go the fuck to sleep, Tarquin.”
sings in the shower
Tarquin. He has an amazing voice, and isn’t afraid to belt out songs at the top of his lungs. Plus, he really likes showers. Anything with water is his favorite. Sometimes if he takes too long, Lucien will heat his water until he has to get out.
takes the selfies
Lucien. But Tarquin’s the one who gets them framed and hung around the palace, much to the dismay of Varian and Cresseida. Tarquin is just so proud of his boyfriend and loves him so much and WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT. “Tarquin. Everyone does. Literally. Everyone. Lucien’s been kidnapped five times now by separate people because everyone knows it.” Tarquin, frantically pinning more pictures of Lucien to the wall: “I DON’T CARE THERE AREN’T ENOUGH PICTURES OKAY”
plans date night
Tarquin, since he’s the one who knows his way around the Summer Court. He shows Lucien all his favorite places, takes him out sailing, teaches him to dive for pearls, is super impressed when Lucien catches a fish in his bare hands… They’re just very happy and fluffy and it’s Good and what both of them deserve.
#yo this got so long and I don't even care#acowar#headcanons#tarcien#azrien#luzriel#rhycien#asks#anonymous#lucien#tarquin#azriel#rhysand
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The Fifth part of Noir and Lumière’s story
OMG Young Chevell <3
Begin:
http://martiigr5.tumblr.com/post/139230499168/the-first-part-of-the-story-about-noir-and
Previous part:
https://martiigr5.tumblr.com/post/153519546668/the-fourth-part-of-noir-and-lumi%C3%A8res-story-part
Next part:
Comming soon
The story and it’s characters © martiigr5
Artwork and the characters © martiigr5
do not steal, repost or recolor
“Welcome young princes, my name is Lucien and I’ll be teaching teaching you about the power of magic.“ An older looking rabbit was sitting in a round room together with Noir and Lumière. It has been a month since the incident. Lumière had been by his mother’s sides as Noir would play with Claire outside.
Now they were home again and needed lessons in controlling their magic immidiatly. Noir was eager to learn, he wanted to know what his magic could do. But for Lumière, these lessons only reminded him of that fearful evening, the orange flames that swallowed the forest. “now first, let me explain to both of you what magic is. Your magic, also called the Royal Ability, is a source of power living inside you both and can be activated while concentrating and calling forth the elements.”
The teacher continued, “our first lesson is levitation. An easy trick but cost quite some concentration.” Lucien showed the two the spell and helped them prenounce the spell. It was Noir who got it on his first try, letting the leaf in front of him float in the air with a simple wind spell. The teacher was impressed by the talent of this young rabbit. “Well done my young prince, you really have the talents of your father. He was very skilled himself when he started to learn the magic.”
Lumière however had more trouble to concentrate on the leaf, his mind dashed to differend things. When he tried to cast the spell, only a small gust appeared, messing up the paperwork of Lucien. “Almost my prince, try to imagine the leaf floating in the air, being carried to it’s destination.” Again Lumière tried, making a small tornado in he room. messing up more in the room. One it was settled down, the two princes looked at eachother and began to laugh while Lucien tried to maintain order.
The lessons continued the upcomming days and Lumière continued to have troubles while concentrating. from enourmous plantgrowth, to a flooded room. It was hard for him and made him feel uneasy. Luckly dinner came and he could stop his training. The family was sitting together at the table, enjoying the food their cooks prepared for them. Noir was enjoying a well made mushroom stew while Lumière had already settled down for the strawberries when a knock interrupred the family.
A hare stepped inside and bow before the King. “my apologies for this rude interruprion my Lord.” he spoke and the King gestured to him with a laugh. “Nonsense, my General is always welcome;.” Harris stood up in his proud manner. “General Windshield, Father’s most praised warrior.” Noir whispered to Lumière who had stuffed his mouth with another strawberry. The General smiled, as if he had heared the young prince whisper. “My Lord, I wish to introduce my son, Chevell, to the princes. He is currently training to become a warrior himself.” Another hare entered the room, Young, but older than Noir and Lumière. At least 17 years old. This hare also bowed before the Royal falimy but didn’t said anything.
“Chevell is very promising and will serve the princes well once they are older.” The General continued proudly while he gestured to Chevell. Noir took a long look at the young er hare, his eyes were narrow and cold, like that of a killer wolf. Next was his posture, broad and well trained. “I would like to see him batteling with prince Noir.” King Harris placed his broad paw on the shoulder of the General.
Wait what?! Noir was suprised by what his father proposed. “Splendid, we will prepare the practise field.” the General and Chevell left as Noir was still confused and nervous. Lumière placed on his brother’s back. “It....it will....will be....alright...yes alright... hehe....you ....you are....strong.” the black rabbit tried to cheer him up when he saw how worried hs brother was.
Noir was not hungry anymore and kept on worrying. he was afraid that he would fail and let his father down. He wanted to make his father proud, wanted to become a succesful successor to his father’s throne. “Father, why do I need to battle with Chevell?” He asked out of curiousity, but sounded more like he was afraid. “My son is a swordman from birth, yet he has no confidence in himself.” Harris replied, silencing Noir completely. “Harris, that was uncalled for. At least you could give your son an explanation. “ Mira got in between the conversation, leading on to an discussion between her, the Queen, and Harris, the King.
Not long after dinner, Noir was standing with a sword in his paws. He was facing the young Hare, Chevell. The cold eyes stared right at the prince. His grip on his sword was lose and relaxed, implying that he was not nervous at all.
#martiigr5#story#Lumière#Chevell#Harris#Mira#New ways#writing#my writing#my arts#digital drawing#photoshop#Noir
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