#it’s a shadowgast fic so

[wormspoor]

Inspired by “do you have enough love in your heart, to go and get your hands dirty?”

[hemisphaericas]

[folksong-weaver]

“They’re married” “they’re boyfriends” no no no, they have a weird, queer platonic, intellectually based mutual attraction going on with lots of strange flirting, oppressive guilt, unpaid debts, unconditional love, and the ever present tragedy of unequal lifespans.

[sea-buns]

Essek willingly leading a group of complete strangers down into Aeor, and trusting them with his true identity, AND telling them little factoids about him and his partner is already SO MUCH

But he also did it all KNOWING he'd likely encounter Ludinus for the first time since he gave up a beacon and became a traitor all those years ago. And, again, WITH TOTAL STRANGERS. FULLY absent of the comfort of his wonderful partner

I'm so proud our anxious hot boi look how far he's come ;-;

[mllekurtz]

Fox's Claw

aka the Shadowgast Witcher AU part 2

Prologue

Morning came like drops of honey in warm milk. The golden sunlight filtering through the curtains traced slanted columns of amber in the room, highlighting the motes of dust that danced in and out of them. Caleb blinked, not asleep nor awake, surfacing from a dreamless sleep. Neither the dust, nor the room nor the sunlight were real, at least not in the conventional sense. Still, they didn’t feel more unreal than the arm slung across Caleb’s chest, which, on the other hand, wasn’t the result of some creative, intricate spell-work. His eyes followed the downy curve of a slim bicep, skimmed over the soft swell of a shoulder and finally landed on mussed white hair. He was aware of the pressure of a round cheekbone on his own bony shoulder (the sharpness of which was often complained about, but never renounced). The moist sensation of drool on his skin was charming, although he could imagine the horrified reaction if he ever voiced this thought. He turned his head to press a lazy kiss on the crown of that head, inhaling a ghost of lavender and rosemary. A tapered ear flicked sluggishly, but Essek didn’t move. “I know you’re awake,” Caleb murmured. The sun wouldn’t be up otherwise.

Read the rest of the prologue and subscribe to the fic 💫 here 💫

[hello-eeveev]

hey remember how i said i wasn't going to write this out properly?

haha anyway :)

Instead of a reply in his mind, Caleb heard the familiar arcane whoosh of teleportation a dozen or so feet away. There, a little further into the Grove, facing the temple, was the familiar form of Archivist Seth Domade. Seth spun around, eyes wide and searching before they locked onto Caleb. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words seemed to get stuck. He took one step forward, then another, and then he was sprinting. His disguise melted away, and then it was Essek barrelling down the path and into Caleb's arms.

[augentrust]

The Bone That Has No Marrow

[find it on ao3 here]

Words: 28k | Rating: T | Shadowgast

One moment makes all the difference during the battle at Blumenthal. In the aftermath, the Nein grapple with what comes next.

Featuring:

✨ A twist on Echoes of the Solstice ✨ Mighty Nein-typical emotional regulation and processing ✨ Angst with a happy ending

Header Image: Page 187 of "The Half Hour Library of Travel, Nature and Science for young readers" (1896) courtesy of the British Library's online collection here

[alliekitaguchi]

so as of the current canon, essek and caleb have been together somewhere between 6.5-7 years because in the mighty nein reunited, it was six months after lucien and they were already kissing and together

i know liam said that eventually they separate but seeing essek “my partner” thelyss gush over caleb after nearly SEVEN YEARS of being together, i think more and more that they never separated at all because essek loves him too goddamn much to let him go

[essektheylyss]

if you must live, darling one — chapter 4

Chapters: 4/11 Rating: M Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, Essek Thelyss/Original Character(s) Characters: Essek Thelyss, Caleb Widogast, Verin Thelyss, Essek Thelyss' Father, Deirta Thelyss Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Complicated Relationships, Demisexuality, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Anamnesis, this is about the inherent confusion of growing up demi., and also relationships based in things other than attraction., and yanno. many different types of love., and how sometimes that just gets weird and muddied, shadowgast in this is, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, (they just gotta talk things out first but they get there), POV Alternating

Summary:

For the last week of their excursion into Aeor, Caleb's companion has largely withdrawn, just when they'd begun to grow closer physically, even while they have avoided discussing what is between them.

Fearing he's overstepped, he follows Essek to the top floor of the Tower to ask, and finds him caught up in the fear of gaining a partner but losing a friend.

[bloopitynoot]

I just reevaluated all my Ao3 subscriptions and now have space for WIPs to follow!

If you have any absolute banger wangxian, shadowgast, or binqiu/liubingshen fics in progress I would LOVE to read along :'3

[sky-scribbles]

Fandom: Critical Role (Campaign 2) Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast Characters: Essek Thelyss, Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre, Uraya Hythenos, Beauregard Lionett, Devexian Tags: Aeor Is For Lovers, Developing Relationship, Slow Burn, Wizard Study  Sessions, The Aeor trip but with twists, Character Growth, Demisexual Essek Thelyss, Worldbuilding Warnings: Canon-typical violence Summary:

Two  wizards venture into Aeor - and find that something has woken in the  dead city’s depths. Something dangerous. Something that will force them  to decide what their pasts mean to them, and what they mean to each  other.

Chapter Eighteen: Fortune's Favour

Five months after their journey to Aeor, Caleb invites Essek to Rexxentrum.

[ariadne-mouse]

Here's some cover art for @saturdaysky's dark and compelling character study, poisoning the well, in which Caleb receives a Sending from Trent Ikithon while the travelling through Aeor with Essek and the rest of the Mighty Nein. If you enjoyed their other works Rare Gift or fulcrum, check this out! As always, mind the tags.

A few stills below the cut; I like the middle one as a nice visually balanced cover:

[glossolali]

more heroforges from my SWM cyberpunk h/c fic! part of my winter's crest gift exchange fic for @wanderingbasilisk aka wandie bc they gave me scifi/android/cyberpunk brain rot and so i gave them 6k of said brain rot lol

pls enjoy 🙏💜

[themperor-rae]

Currently crying over this shadowgast fic courtesy of @shadowgast-recs-weekly

go read it it's so good😭😭

[kmackatie]

After an unexpected turn in what was an otherwise normal day, Essek Thelyss casts sending, hoping his partner will have a moment to spare.

read on AO3 here

This fic is loosely set in the same universe as pieces of (you) me, but you do not need to read that one to enjoy this.

Spoilers for c3e95 - A Gathering of Needs.

Cover image by Jez Timms on Unsplash.

Rating: T Fandom: Critical Role Relationship: Essek Thelyss / Caleb Widogast Additional Tags: established relationship, a reunion and a moment to rest, the manifestation of home in a person and a demiplane you create together, playing fast and loose with 5e mechanics, comfort fic Words: 4,746 Chapters: 1/1

[mllekurtz]

There's a man Essek meets on the train every morning.

🏙️ modern au shadowgast one-shot 🚆 they’re commuters and they fall in love! 🛣️ 7k of moody, romantic vibes with a helping of existential crisis