#nott/veth week

[revvethasmythh]

He's just like me fr part 2

[critter-genfic-events]

Alternate Meetings Fics!

Ever wonder what it would have been like if your favorites didn't meet in a tavern (or fighting some chairs?). Maybe if canon was a little darker, or sometimes a little kinder. Maybe they got to meet a little earlier, or missed their cue? Well, here's six fics that explore this behind the cut - and as always, comment and kudos if you like them!

kintsukuroi (broken pieces laced with gold) by Ford_Ye_Fiji (34932,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Caleb Widogast & Nott the Brave

AU Series where Veth rescues Caleb from Vergesson

Reccer says: Have you ever wanted early Caleb to be even more messed up and Caleb and Nott to be even more codependent? Because this is the series for you! Lots of amazing hurt/comfort

The Star and the Wildflower by devil_seabird_king (ShaaKi) (8173,Teen) Warnings: suicidal thougts Pairings: Caduceus Clay & Essek Thelyss

A series where Essek is taken to the Clays for healing as a child, and meets Caduceus then

Reccer says: Usually when you see this pairing, it's at the end of their long lives - it's really fun to see how they could influence each other as children

Deep Seas, Deep Secrets by RedTeamShark (1496,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Fjord & Jester

They’re each other’s little secret. Jester, sneaking out of her room late at night. Fjord, swimming away from the safety of the depths. (A fic where Fjord is a mermaid and Jester visits him from the docks)

Reccer says: Mermaid Fjord! Fjord making a pact for legs! This is amazing!

Precipice by faridsgwi (29215,Teen) Warnings: Pairings:

In the early 800s, the Empire conquered and annexed the Menagerie Coast. Now, as the Dwendalian military machine continues to demand fresh recruits for their war in the northern wildlands, a group of young conscripts in Rexxentrum find their destinies drawn close together.

Reccer says: There's so much here! I love the concept and the worldbuilding, and it's fun to see how and when canon will intersect with the story - and what all has changed

where the ache came from by cestmabiologie (1703,General) Warnings: Choose not to warn Pairings: Laudna & Imogen Temult, Imogen Temult & Otohan Thull

AU where Imogen was raised with her mother adjacent to the Ruby Vanguard - Imogen and Laudna meet for the first time at the Malleus Key in the Tishtan excavation site.

Reccer says: It's so fun how this plays with canon and imagines an Imogen that was raised in a much colder environment.

Otherwise by Erisette (13783,Not Rated) Warnings: none Pairings: Kaylie & Scanlan Shorthalt, Scanlan Shorthalt & Vox Machina

"Every year you've been alive is a year I could have been a better person." (Scanlan meets Kaylie when she's a baby. It changes nothing and it changes a lot.)

Reccer says: I love every character in this and the insights into them. I just would've loved for the fic to be longer!

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

November 1st, it'll be time for Beauregard Lionett - followed by One shots, Imogen, and then Character Studies!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[maudlinjane]

Banner version of my Mighty Nein bust icons!

I finished C2 last week and woof!! I love this group so much and the chaos they bring. My favorite C2 character is Nott/Veth because she is honest, real, and loyal to the people she loves. But again, I love them all!

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

We are halfway through another week, my friends, and so we have yet another recc list for you! This week, we have twelve angsty fics! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

I Have Been A Fool For Lesser Things by A_Orbit (3,149 words, Teen) Pairing: Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast (Widobrave) Warnings: None

Trying to get a hotel room for the night leads to Caleb and Nott pretending to be married to each other. Fluff and angst.

Reccer Says: Amazing character voices!

Looking for a feeling that I can't remember by CatcherWrites (2,684 words, Teen) Pairing: Ashton Greymoore/Laudna Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Swearing, General Laudna and Ashton Trauma

Team Issylra are making camp by a river when Ashton and Laudna discuss how slow their hair grows. Angsty conversations ensue and they make a pact to cut each others hair.

Reccer Says: It's not too heavy of a fic but that doesn't take away from the tragic implications.

The Last Safe House in Rexxentrum by Operafloozy (13,266 words, Explicit) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Original Female Character Warnings: Unhappy Ending, Modify Memory, Discussion of Feeblemind

Five years before a group of misfits came together in Trostenwald, Astrid Beck asks a stranger to look into some potentially modified memories.

Reccer Says: It's a juicy and complicated look at how Astrid might have reacted to Bren's escape, from an outsider's point of view.

polishing the apple eris threw to shake the dead leaves down by grayintogreen (3,558 words, Teen) Pairing: Cree Deeproots/Lucien Tavelle Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Minor Character Death

A Locked Tomb fusion fic featuring Necromancer!Cree and Cavalier!Lucien and the horrifying implications of the Lyctor process.

Reccer Says: I enjoyed it!

though the scars remain by amateurwordbender (1,472 words, Teen) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve (Blumenduo) Warnings: Implied/Referenced Torture

Astrid is punished for letting the Mighty Nein escape, and she and Eadwulf talk about it.

Reccer Says: So much juicy Blumentrio angst packed in one short fic! Several of the lines in this have stayed in my head since I first read it.

Victim of Convenience by se1ze (54,243 words, Explicit) Pairing: Kingsley Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidoking) Warnings: Sex While Sick

Essek has been bailing Kingsley out of legal trouble in Rosohna and letting him crash at his towers for some time and the pair have grown close. When Essek falls severely ill, Kingsley with him to look after him. Things escalate between them, which both are pleased about. There's just one complication, in the form of one Caleb Widogast, who Essek has recently begun a relationship with and who Kingsley has been hopelessly pining after for months. Things get messy.

Reccer Says: A wonderful combination of fun dynamics, messy relationship angst, sickfic goodness, and hot sex. Kingsley and Essek are such a good pair, I love their banter. The absolutely disastrous state of King and Caleb's relationship at the start is the fic is so heartaching, with the shadow of past Widomauk hanging over them. And the recently established Shadowgast compliments both of those duos so well!!! I adore the different complications that crop up along the way and the way they're all resolved in the end. Highly recommend! Also, the two previous entries in the series are excellent, though they're just Shadowgast on their own.

His Last Night by Twistmalchik (2,617 words, Explicit) Pairing: Thorn/Vax'ildan Warnings: None

Set during the events of Kith & Kin, Vax's first kiss with Thorn leads to his first time with him. All the while, the shadow of the Shademaster hangs over them.

Reccer Says: I adore Kith & Kin to no end and I loved Vax and Thorn's relationship. This is a fun expansion of what they were able to have together during the events of the book!

Time Will Tell by DEV0URMOUS (25,639 words, Mature) Pairing: Yussa Errenis/Original Male Character Warnings: None

Yussa invites Iskamyr, a long-time friend of his from the Dynasty, on a trip into the Happy Fun Ball with him. Both are oblivious to the other's long-standing feelings for them. Pining ensues.

Reccer Says: There is no fic that demonstrates the absurdity of wizards better than this. Two hundred years!!! These idiots pined over each other for two hundred years!!! Oh my god! It's great, it's so great. They're both 1200 years old (Yussa is a dragon and Iskamyr is consecuted) and they're still terrible at feelings. But also! A lot of it comes down to cultural misunderstandings, like Iska doesn't know until the fic ends that Yussa is a dragon and if he did, maybe he would've caught on to Yussa's affection sooner. But he didn't and it took the two of the forever and honestly I love that for them.

woven of (moon)light by viciousmollymaukery (2,315 words, Teen) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: References to severe injury

After his wizards Teleport into the middle of the Blooming Grove, nearly dead at the hands of an Aeorian creature, Molly has a lot of feelings about his partners and their mysterious city in the north. Luckily, he has a simple solution in mind.

Reccer Says: It's the perfect balance between sweet and angsty. I love Shadowidomauk so much and it's fun to see someone look at how the wizards Aeor expeditions might look in a world where they're dating Molly too! Also, Moonweaver cleric Molly is too damn perfect, I love it so much.

it's 3 am (I must be lonely) by Meridas (1,024 words, Teen) Pairing: Queerplatonic Mollymauk Tealeaf/Yasha Nydoorin Warnings: None

Yasha has a nightmare while out camping alone. She calls Molly in her panic and he comforts her.

Reccer Says: I love this series so much and this entry in particular has stuck with me since I first read it!! QPP circus kids are kind of everything to me and this is just such a perfect little snippet of them; they’re hurting but they love and take care of each other above anything.

I blame it on my own sick pride by MarsBar2019 (11,918 words, Explicit) Pairing: Fjord/Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast (Widofjolly) Warnings: Non-Consensual Voyeurism

Fjord overheard Molly and Caleb having sex one night and gets off on it. But paper thin inn walls work both ways, Molly and Caleb know Fjord heard them, and they take the opportunity to invite him into their bed.

Reccer Says: It’s very very hot and Fjord’s self-loathing (which is only amplified by him getting off on listening to the two of them) is such a fun complimentary pairing to the overall horniness of the fic.

I'll crawl home to him by BananasofThorns (20,262 words, Teen) Pairing: Queerplatonic Fjord/Caleb Widogast (Widofjord) Warnings: None

AU where Caleb and Fjord met a few years pre-nein. Now Fjord has been taken by the Iron Shepherds, and Caleb has to team up with the "Mighty Five" to have a chance to get him back.

Reccer Says: Looove that Iron Shepherds arc angst. Plus queerplatonic widofjord, and the *devotion,* like Caleb was willing to go in there after him *alone,* aaaaa

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 💕 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 💕

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Spring. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Jester Rarepairs and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Alternate Universes and Hurt/Comfort! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 💕

[vesselsart]

Nott! Late post today because I slept in after being up all night celebrating a university tradition, but it's always better late than never, ay? This is one of my favourites of the new sticker designs! I spent many hours cutting out 120 stickers yesterday in time for Rai Con in a few weeks. If you want to secure any of them prior to that, drop me a message, I ship anywhere that international mail is accepted! I also started drawing up a design for a Veth sticker, but I didn't like it enough to commit to it. It has thus been condemned to WIP purgatory in case I do decide to use it at some point in time.

[piratespencilart]

I read the Nott the Brave comic the other week and I'm still thinking about baby Veth... 🥺

[ID: Digital art of a young Veth from Critical Role. She is a halfling with long braided hair and is dressed in the green and beige outfit she wears at the start of her comic. She is sitting in some bushes with her knees to her chest, looking scared and sad. End ID.]

[critterfloozy]

Summer Wildflowers Reveals and Recs!

I did less for wildflowers than typical this year - it's the first time that I haven't written more than one fic. Mostly because I'm still gearing up for Critter Gen Week (next week!). But I still enjoyed reading through a lot of them, and here's a couple that I enjoyed. Created with the reccing template I created, small plug small plug small plug

Vicissitudes by firefright (1818, General) Pairing/Characters: Essek Thelyss & Verin Thelyss, Background Caleb/Essek Warnings: none

When Verin and Essek were small, perhaps not even eight yet, their mother took them into the sealed vault that lay at the heart of their den to show them their history. Recced because: I enjoy it when Verin is allowed to have some complicated feelings about Essek's growth, and this delivers

mask of many faces by SongOfWizardry (1638, Teen) Pairing/Characters: Dairon & Essek Thelyss, Beauregard Lionett & Essek Thelyss Warnings: None

Long after the Xhorhaus, a (disguised) Essek runs into an (undisguised) Expositor Dairon. Recced because: Literally and figuratively written for me! I love the little subterfuge and tension between Dairon and Essek, and the amount of double speak going on between the two.

driftwood and light by Windward_wings (3220, General) Pairing/Characters: Fjord & The Mighty Nein, Beauregard Lionett & Nott | Veth Brenatto, Jester Lavorre & Kingsley Tealeaf, The Mighty Nein & Original Character(s) Warnings: None

Tavi's lived in the Driftwood Asylum in Port Damali for as long as she can remember, and there have never been any other tieflings besides her. And today, there are two of them, talking with the Headmaster, and that's how everything begins to change forever. Recced because: It's everything I would want for orphanage heist - the POV character is darling, and the fic is very sweet.

Just Swim Towards the Storm by CitizenMocha (2603,Teen) Pairing/Characters: Fjord & Nott Warnings: None

Fjord takes first watch and Nott picks at her wounds. Recced because: The characterization is just right - both funny and allowing for depth underneath

fata morgana by quanshi (burningdarkfire) (1877,Teen) Pairing/Characters: Astrid Beck/Jester Lavorre Warnings: None

An attack on the Tide's Breath leaves Astrid and Jester stranded, together, alone with their secrets. Recced because: It's got a great dynamic between a serious mastermind Astrid and a trickster Jester. I also love the little bits of worldbuilding in the background of this AU.

And then there's mine:

Sick Leave (2518,General) Pairing/Characters: Caduceus Clay & Kingsley Tealeaf Warnings: None

Kingsley sends Caduceus a message when he's feeling ill. He's the only one Kingsley trusts. Author's note: The prompt was for soft Caduceus and Kingsley, and the Writer's Corner suggested some hurt/comfort to help achieve that dynamic. I think this is the first hurt/comfort I've written? It was fun thinking of reasons why he wouldn't just cast cure disease without making it too serious, plus letting Kingsley have some post-fever/post-migraine euphoria, which is a trip (I got the post-fever version after my last covid vaccine).

[mareastrorum]

The Fool and the Soldier

Chapter 6: Tavern & Lust

Rating: Mature

Summary: Mollymauk Tealeaf survived the Mighty Nein's encounter with the Iron Shepherds on Glory Run Road, but a short time later, a spirit began hunting him, claiming that he stole his body. This Campaign 2 AU begins with Episode 26 and continues on from there.

Relationships: The Mighty Nein & Mollymauk Tealeaf, Lucien & The Tombtakers (Critical Role) (will update as the story progresses)

Characters: The Mighty Nein, The Tombtakers (Critical Role), Mollymauk Tealeaf, Beauregard Lionett, Caduceus Clay, Caleb Widogast, Fjord (Critical Role), Jester Lavorre, Nott | Veth Brenatto, Yasha (Critical Role), Lucien (Critical Role), Cree (Critical Role), Otis Brunkel, Tyffial Wase, Zoran Kluthidol, The Somnovem (Critical Role), Sehanine the Moonweaver (Critical Role) (will update as the story progresses)

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mollymauk Tealeaf Lives, not canon compliant with the nine eyes of lucien, Beta Reader - fruitzbat, that's why Molly lived, Action/Adventure, Book: Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, Dungeons & Dragons Game Mechanics, Canon-Typical Violence, Dreams, Body Horror, Mind Manipulation, Curse of Undeath, Possession, mechanics based on Azazel from Fallen (1998) (will update as the story progresses)

Notes: This longfic will update every 2 weeks, usually on Friday. Tags, relationships, and categories will update 1 week after the latest chapter to avoid spoiling the story for those who want to be surprised. Similarly, the total chapter count is hidden to avoid giving hints on the story pace. However, the ending is already planned, the outline is a few hundred pages long, and most plot points are already written. (In addition, chapter, world-building, and character design commentary will be posted on off-Fridays on Tumblr.)

Current total word count (as of 10/13/23): ~452,000

[justalittlebluetiefling]

What are your hopes for the animation of the mighty nein

Listen, I am sorry for what this answer has become.

If you mean what am I looking forward to in general? Fjord, hot. Jester, amazing. Essek, also hot. Veth, agent of chaos. Early Fjorester flirting that Fjord doesn't understand is flirting. Early Beauyasha that is just Beau being thirsty af. Dunamancy ANIMATED. Polymorph shenanigans. ORLY. Pirates. Jellyfish talk. Fjord kissing Jester on the cheek and her malfunctioning (which they would HAVE to leave in, I mean COME ON). Yasha slowly falling for Beau. Beau slowly falling for Yasha. Fjord slowly falling for Jester. Jester's feelings for Fjord evolving into something real and beautiful. Veth pining for Caleb, but being so happy to see her husband and son again. THE RUBY OF THE SEA. Jester's reaction to the Gentleman when they first meet him because Laura was sick during that episode and we didn't get it in campaign. Fjord giving up his powers. The confrontation between Caleb, Fjord, and Nott at the High Richter's house.

LISTEN I COULD GO ON I WANT IT ALL.

If you mean season one, here is what I hope happens in the season. And I would like to say that this is me shooting for the moon, not necessarily what will realistically happen.

I would like an episode of intros. Show me the groups arriving and setting up and then meeting at the inn in Trostenwald and going to the carnival together and the whole fucking carnival show. That's my ideal episode 1.

Then, we get the carnival fight and everyone getting arrested

An episode for the investigation and finding the island

An episode for fighting Kylre and clearing their names and Beau seeing Cobalt Soul people

Travel hijinks aka just them arriving in Alfield and jumping in to help, then going into the mines and SHAKASTE (two episodes here)

More travel hijinks because if you think they'll skip the syphillis bandits something is wrong with you. But also Zadash arrival and running into Yasha again.

We've got to see the Crownsguard job and rescue the guy to get the Gentleman hint.

Also, meeting the Knights of Requital and going to do that job.

Then they have to break into the houses and the finale ideally for me would be them blowing up the High Richter's house, them running away, and then seeing the tower explode. And that would be where the season would cut.

Honestly, I don't think they need to condense much. I like the idea of seeing the growing pains here and watching them figure out how to interact with each other as a group and some awkwardness.

NOW. Do you mean WHAT DO I WANT FROM THE WHOLE THING?! I want eight seasons. I have a summary.

Season two:

Getting the beacon

Meet the Gentleman and accept the jobs

The Labenda Swamp stuff/Kiri/Hupperdook

First Lorenzo fight/Molly death

Rescuing the friends

Finale would be Molly's funeral and Yasha leaving again

Season three:

Finish up the Zadash contracts and totally cut out the two weeks of downtime, just head straight to Nicodranas

Meet up with Yasha again, Nicodranas adventures, stealing a boat.

Pirate adventures all season. Avantikaaaaaaa.

I want the Happy Fun Ball to be included please.

Finale is the second Uk'otoa temple

Season four:

Back on land, head to Felderwin

Xhorhas (essek essek essek essek)

Asarius and the rifts, then giving up the beacon early/mid-season

Fjord/Uk'otoa power struggles

BAZZOXAN

Finale is Yasha getting stolen by Obann

Season five:

Fjord giving up his powers!

Reani!

Fjord and the Wildmother become buddies

Rescue Yussa from the Happy Fun Ball

The Permaheart!

Tbh the Happy Fun Ball could be half of this season and I wouldn't complain.

Then getting Yasha back and killing Obann!

Season six:

Rexxentrum to start the ball rolling on peace talks

Xhorhas to talk about the peace talks

Isharnai

White Dawn Lagoon

Essek reveal

Uk'otoa attack

Finally the finale is the actual peace talks and continuing on or arriving at Rumblecusp

Season seven:

I would also be cool with s6 finale being the Uk'otoa attack on the even of the peace talks and s7 starting with the peace talks

Travelercon!

Vokodo! Vilya!

Rexxentrum dinner!

Vess Derogna/Eiselcross

Finale would be death of Vess Derogna

Season eight:

Aeor exploration

Palling around with the Tomb Takers

Essek is a safe place.

Family goodbyes

Back to Aeor

Cognouza

Epilogue

I'm not saying this is what is GOING to happen, but this is how I would like to see events distributed, because of narrative beats and stuff.

[rochnariel]

Critical Bakes - Nott/Veth Week

When @criticalbakes​ released this week’s prompt, I immediately reviewed what alcohol we had in the house (and what other supplies. quarantine is a bitch when no one has open delivery spots), and we came up with this spread: whiskey bacon hamburger (with homemade bread bun cause that’s what a tiny tavern would have. not because we have no hamburger buns in the house), bread pudding with a brandy sauce (and the leftover raspberry curd from last week), and a moonshine drink (because someone must be making their own alcohol in these tiny towns and nott would probably love it).  

Yeah we apparently had a decent amount of alcohol in the house….

(and that’s not including the wine. maybe we’ll revisit that when beau week comes around) 

Recipes, such as they are, under the cut. I did my best to give actual measurements because I never measure anything when I cook. Baking, especially finicky macarons, is different which is why last week had actual weights.

Whiskey Bacon Hamburger

1 lb of ground beef

 Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Paprika

Cheddar cheese

4 strips of bacon cut in half

½ cup whiskey

1/8 cup brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Buns

I know, I promise ingredient amounts and then I don’t give amounts for any of the burger spices. But I really have no idea.

Anyway, make your favorite hamburger recipe. I use ground beef and the spices listed above. Use your hands to mix the spices in making sure to now compress the ground beef too much. It can make the burgers tougher if you do. Form into patties. Since this was the only day we were eating this, I made ½ pound patties.

For the whiskey cause, cut the bacon in half and cook in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Once bacon is done, remove from the pan and set aside on paper towel to drain.

Add brown sugar to the pan and cook for approximately 3 minutes. If you have onions at home (and like them), you can add onion before the brown sugar and cook those down before adding the brown sugar.

Add the whiskey, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Cook down for another 2-3 minutes until it forms a thick sauce for your burgers.

Cook your hamburgers however you like to whatever doneness you like. Since it is actually snowing here again, I cook might in a skillet over medium high heat on the stovetop until they were medium-well. 150 degrees on the inside.

(if you cook meat and you don’t have an instant read thermometer, i suggest it. it’s an easy way to know for certain that whatever you’re cooking is done and done how you like. no worries about undercooked meat. no overcooking things because you’re afraid it isn’t done. no cutting into it and trying to see if it is done. and they’re pretty cheap)

Assemble your burger and eat. We’ve got bacon, whiskey sauce, and cheese on our rustic bread.

(if anyone is curious about the bread recipe, let me know. it’s a no knead baguette recipe that you make and toss in the fridge and then pull out and shape as needed. dough lasts about a week in the fridge)

Note: I made the sauce with way too much brown sugar. It was a new recipe and I didn’t trust my instincts. That’s why it looks funny in the picture. I changed the amount for this recipe.

Bread Pudding with a Brandy Sauce

Loaf of challah or other soft bread, cut into 1 inch-ish cubes and left to dry over the course of a few hours or two days….

8 eggs

4 cups milk

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp all spice

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup butter

2 tablespoons cream (or milk if you still have no cream)

¼ cup brandy (or more if you want more alcohol)

Heat the milk and ¼ cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted.

In another bowl mix the eggs, ½ cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, vanilla, and cloves (and raspberry curd if you happen to have some) until well combined. Add the hot milk mixture slowly mixing the whole time in order to not cook the eggs.

In a casserole dish, dump in the bread and spread into an even layer. Pour the milk and egg mixture over it. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until a knife stabbed into the dish comes away mostly clean.

Remove from oven and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup butter, cream, and brandy until everything is dissolved and combined evenly.

Pour over the warm bread pudding.

Eat! (clearly the most important step)

Moonshine Cocktail

2 shots blackberry moonshine

1 ½ cups-ish chokecherrry tea (cold)

Pour together.

Mix.

Drink!

btw this is chokecherry tea. its apparently a north dakota thing. i think. i don’t know. my friend there sends it to me.

feel free to message me if you have questions. although i am out of quarantine and back on the road in a few days, so it might take me a bit to respond.

[critter-genfic-events]

Found Family : A Critical Role Gen-fic Rec List

And so it begins! Please enjoy our first Gen-Fic rec list, featuring 10 great fan fics nominated by our community! Oh, and don't forget to show the authors some love if you liked their work!

The Harrowed and the Haunted by PryingBlackbird (13383,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Caleb & Nott

An exploration of Caleb and Nott meeting in a prison cell and growing close before the campaign.

Reccer says: How two skittish, traumatized people learn to trust and care for each other.

hope is a thing that waits by royalgreen (allyoop) (328,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Essek Thelyss & The Mighty Nein

Essek gets used to his new post and yearns for his friends

Reccer says: It really captures the essence of time well, and how that impacts the yearning

Winter by Clare_Hope (5780,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Orym & Bells Hells

Halflings hibernate in the cold, but it's a very vulnerable state, and Orym isn't sure he's ready for that. The Bells Hells are there for him though

Reccer says: amazing hurt/comfort

Don't Expect Payment by ohjustdisarmalready (11700,General) Warnings: no Pairings: Jester & Molly, Molly & M9, Molly & Yasha, Molly & Caleb & Jester, Jester & M9

Molly and Jester using infernal with each other and the nein over time

Reccer says: fic of characters speaking different languages is always fun

Catch A Falling Star by RainyDayDecaf (1038,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, The Mighty Nein & Essek Thelyss

The Mighty Nein find a Feebleminded Drow and try to take care of him as best as they can

Reccer says: It's all very sweet

For Inside There Is Love by Professor_Rai (5484,General) Warnings: None Pairings: The Mighty Nein & Caleb Widogast, Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast

Caleb's room in the tower has very little to show that it is his. The Mighty Nein take matters into their own hands.

Reccer says: Nothing

Anything You Can Do (I Can Sorta Do Too) by Schistosity (2597,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast

Did you know wizards technically have proficiency in quarterstaves?

Reccer says: Nothing

A Name Pronounced by Moonsp1r1t (2398,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Caleb Widogast & Everyone

The man once known as Bren reflects on his new name and what has given it meaning

Reccer says: Nothing

both my broken hands are true by quothhh (1805,Teen) Warnings: none Pairings: Caleb Widogast & Veth Brenatto

In a world where Veth never becomes Nott, she and Caleb still find each other

Reccer says: There's some wonderful lines in it, but it really gets to the found family aspect of two broken, lonely people finding each other and supporting one another.

Festivals of Light by Operafloozy (21202,Teen) Warnings: none Pairings: none

Caleb, Beau, Fjord, Veth and Essek have Feelings about various winter Holidays. The rest of the mighty nein help.

Reccer says: I like that it shows a range of different traditions and a range of different ways people can feel ambivalent about the holidays. But the way that the Nein come together to help - at least in most of the stories - adds to the found family feels.

If you liked this rec list, follow along for more! We'll be posting a new list with a new theme each Monday. And if you would like to make a rec yourself, feel free to reach out to @professor-rye to request access to the submission form! Next week's theme is Queer-Platonic!

[mycatts]

I'm sticking with you 'Cause I'm made out of glue And anything that you might do I'm gonna do too

I'm sticking With You - The Decemberists

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Hello and happy Wednesday, everyone! This week, we have nine fics that star relationships between PCs and NPCs! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

A Drow, A Tiefling and an Empty Closet by devil_seabird_king (1,086 words, Teen) Pairing: Kingsley Tealeaf/Verin Thelyss (Verinking) Warnings: None

Essek notices Verin is having relationship trouble and feels lonely. Shenanigans ensue to set him and Kingsley up.

Reccer Says: It’s very silly and cute! It’s the only Verin/King I’ve read but I think they’d be a fun couple.

like being a little bird by annie_blackbird (513 words, Mature) Pairing: Yussa Errenis/Caleb Widogast (Widoyussa) Warnings: None

Yussa and Caleb play with rope. Caleb needs to call a halt. They work it out.

Reccer Says: It’s very tender and very hot!

threads of fate by viciousmollymaukery (1,812 words, Teen) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: None

Essek knits gifts for his partners.

Reccer Says: It is sooooo soft and so sweet, gift giving is The wizard love language, truly. Also the Molly voice is so on point.

Fabric by the_deep_magic (62,807 words, Explicit) Pairing: Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan (Vaxmore) Warnings: None

Vax pays a visit to Emon’s premiere BDSM club, looking to find a dom who knows what they’re doing. By chance, he finds that, and a whirlwind romance, in the club’s owner, Shaun Gilmore.

Reccer Says: Hot, fun, heartfelt. Overall a really enjoyable read.

Grass Stains by Luddleston (3,026 words, Explicit) Pairing: Orym/Will Warnings: None

Young and in love, Orym and Will have to get creative to find ways to get alone time away from their families.

Reccer Says: Sweet, sexy, and full of emotions.

So About The Minotaur… by OkaySoWereDoinThis (3,697 words, Teen) Pairing: Yeza Brenatto/Veth Brenatto Warnings: Body Dysphoria for Goblin Reasons

Nott/Veth thinks she’s gonna get dumped but she gets kissed instead (it’s what she deserves).

Reccer Says: It's set shortly after they rescue Yeza and it's cute and angsty and funny and yeza is the best everrr

brighter than before by royalgreen (1,119 words, Teen) Pairing: Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan (Vaxmore) Warnings: None

Following a near-death experience and realizing he might have an 'after' in the aftermath, Vax follows his heart.

Reccer Says: A very sweet snippet of vulnerability and promise!

A Friend in Hand by Eunicorne (10,085 words, Teen) Pairing: Yeza Brenatto/Caleb Widogast Warnings: Major Character Death

After Veth's death, Yeza finds himself picking up the pieces of his life, helped by a dear family friend, Caleb Widogast. Aka, a grief stricken Caleb takes care of his dear friend's family after her death.

Reccer Says: Oh my goshhh it's so bittersweet and sweet and cute. Yeza enjoyers will love this. Grief enjoyers will love this. Caleb enjoyers will love this and honestly Veth enjoyers probably too.

Today I Love You Even More by wtgw (5,687 words, Teen) Pairings: Yeza Brenatto/Caleb Widogast, Yeza Brenatto/Veth Brenatto, Yeza Brenatto/Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast Warnings: None

"Yeza Brenatto is a creature of infinite anxiety, but he’s not blind. He can see how much Veth loves Caleb. He can see how much Caleb loves her back. And he can also see that Caleb is really attractive. But it’s not like he’s not going to do anything about that…"

Reccer Says: Funny and cuteee, Yeza my beloved<3<3

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 💕 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 💕

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Proposals & Marriages. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Oneshots and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Laudna Rarepairs and Grief & Mourning! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 💕

[mighty-polynein]

Mighty Nein Dragon AU

Or more specifically, a Temeraire AU. 

Basically, all the Nein are dragons in a low magic world. Dragons are seen as useful beasts in many countries instead of the powerful magical beings typical in D&D. The world is still Exandria, but with a few tweaks based on these changes.

The Mighty Nein are a rogue band of dragons not beholden to any country. Some had riders in the past, but now they have decided to just stick together (and become an epic dragon polycule).

This is a rough size chart (colors not accurate, just to mark who is who). Yasha, Fjord, and Caduceus are heavyweights, Caleb, Beau, Jester, and Essek are middleweights, and Nott/Veth is a lightweight. I stuck a little human in there for reference.

Individual descriptions below.

Yasha still has angelic heritage, just as a dragon. She has feathered wings, which is basically unheard of for dragons. Her backstory is mostly the same, though she was one of the few dragons in her tribe.

Caduceus is a kind of dragon very in tune with the natural magic of the world. This allows him to fly without wings. Most people who see him are baffled by his flight as well as his sheer size. His family tends to the ancient dragon burial site in the Blooming Grove and worships the Wildmother, gaining some magical ability for their faith.

Fjord used to work for the naval division of the Port Damali aerial corps, with Vandran as his captain. He would sail on carrier ships and help defend them from sea serpents, as well as hunt large game like whales. After waking up on shore after his ship exploded, he discovered a new ability - breathing an extremely powerful water jet. He also gained some level of magical ability.

Jester is a Longwing, acid spitting dragon. She grew up with her mother in the Lavish Chateau, headed by her mother. The Chateau is a place for dragons to visit the famous Ruby of the Sea for her expert company, as well as stay the night in the large pavilions there. After angering a local dragon lord, she had to flee into the world. 

Her friend the Traveler grants her some divine powers, and sometimes goes on flights with her. If anyone asks who her captain is, she says “the traveler”.

Beau grew up as part of a rich family’s property in Kamordah, a situation her father agreed to long ago. Her family was used for maintaining the vineyards and flying around the nobles and their products. She naturally grew sick of this and started causing trouble, at which point her father had the Cobalt Soul take her. 

The Cobalt Soul is one of the only places in the Empire where dragons are treated as equals with humanoids, and are tasked with memorizing vast amounts of knowledge in their long lifespans. They also guard the libraries against danger. Beau resented being brought there against her will, but still learned much at their hands.

Caleb is a firebreather. He was born to feral dragons in the wild, but his egg was found by two humans, Una and Leofric Ermendrud. He was raised by them in secret for some time before the Empire found him and conscripted him into the Aerial Corps. He was put under Trent Ikithon, who was experimenting on the dragons in his care with Celestial shards in an attempt to give them the magic wielded by the Celestial dragons in Xhorhas.

When he ‘broke’ during his final test, Caleb was put in the Vergesson Dragon Grounds, a place to dump dragons the Empire can’t use. He spent his time there holed up in a cave and didn’t interact with the other dragons much, though he doesn’t remember it. He escaped some time later and wandered the Empire wilderness as a feral.

Veth Brenatto was a halfling woman living in Felderwin with her family, before she angered the local dragon ferals raiding her village, who had her cursed into one of them. She met up with Caleb and they lived together in the wilderness before meeting the Nein. She wants to return to her original form and reunite with her family, though she has learned to enjoy being a dragon and also wants to remain with her friends.

She wears lots of jewelry and trinkets too, which I didn’t draw.

Essek is a Celestial dragon living in the Kryn Dynasty, a land ruled by the Celestial Bright Queen. Celestials have magical ability, something extremely rare in dragons. They are born so infrequently that they are seen as holy and are the ruling class of the Dynasty. The Kryn worship the Luxon, and Celestial eggs are kept next to the beacons as they incubate in order to absorb its magic. 

Essek still traded two beacons to the Empire in hopes of understanding them more, but he also gave them the shards of some hatched Celestial eggs. When he met the Mighty Nein, he taught Caleb how to further develop the magical ability given to him by Trent’s experiments.

~~~

The Mighty Nein meet up close to how they did originally, just with more suspicion of them because they’re dragons. Molly is a middleweight, probably a longwing like Jester though I still need to draw him. 

They travel around as dragon mercenaries, becoming a very powerful independent band. They bond very strongly with each other and become very close, with all sorts of relationships connecting them in a polycule. 

Because it’s my AU I get to make it Polynein >:)

@polynein-week​

[mollymaukscoat]

everyone’s favourite girl boss <3 hashtag working moms

[Click for higher quality.

ID: A digital drawing of Veth Brenatto and Nott the Brave from Critical Role standing back to back with Veth in the front, facing the viewer, and Nott in the back, looking over her shoulder. Veth is a halfling with South Asian features in a red and black lolita-style dress with dark brown hair in twin braids. She holds the Aeorian security cannon in her right hand and a small magical flame in her left. A blue tattoo wraps around her forehead and cheekbones in the style of henna markings. Nott is a green-skinned goblin woman with dirty bandages wrapped around her arms and neck. She wears a dark grey cloak and green pants with a knife strapped to her thigh. She holds a lit Fluffernutter in her right hand and a flintlock pistol in her left. End ID]

[talkshitgetcrit]

Something something Caleb saying „I was scared something like this would happen (to Jester’s mum and veth’s family) since the moment we first arrived in nicodranas“ and then TRENT IKITHON is the catalyst to the events that lead to Luc Brenatto dying?!

Something something cruel poetic irony of caleb using fire to kill his parents, and running from it for a huge part of his life, and when he finally stopped running his past catching up and Luc being killed by a fire elemental?!

Something something caleb is responsible for his parents death vs veth is responsible for her son‘s death (albeit in a way a lot less direct and also Luc not permanently dying but!! You get my point)

Sequences like this are the ultimate proof this show could not be scripted, because no living human being could even come up with a story arch so painful and multilayered and brilliant. That‘s some Shakespearean level of mindfuckery right there.