#kingsley can have a pirate crew of his own | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fruitzbat · 9 months

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happy mollymauk week, everyone! as it's threeleaf day, I thought I'd use this time to spread the word about my fan novel trilogy to any enthusiasts who might not be aware.

The series is called “Devil & The Details”, but it’s more commonly referred to as “Devilverse” for short. The first two books are complete, and the third is currently being serialized.

Linked beneath the cut, we have an epic about Kingsley getting into new trouble on the seas, his captaincy of the Mollymauk, and ultimate rise to the throne of Darktow. While both Molly and Lucien make appearances — along with some other members of the Nein — the story is chiefly about Kingsley and his efforts to forge a unique path for himself. Since this is also a story where all three make an appearance, this trilogy potentially carries the dubious honor of being the longest threeleaf fic on ao3.

The goal of the series was to explore some of the things referenced by Taliesin about the ideas he wanted to explore with both Molly and Kingsley's existences, such as the notion of "soullessness" in mermaids and the philosophical concept of the tabula rasa. The overarching story is also about healing from different kinds of trauma, grief, breaking cycles of abuse, myths and realities of "the pirate's life" and "the resistance" as a concept, accountability, and how T4T love transcends petty things like death and fate. Think Black Sails meets Baldur's Gate with a Candide rising.

CW for: canon-typical violence and gay sex,* gore, mild body horror, frank discussions and depictions of slavery and genocide, cannibalism, suicide (especially in book III), and mentions (but not depictions) of sexual assault.

*There are also two short stories in the series that trend more towards the NSFW/PWP side and are about King and his love interest in the novels; their promo post can be found...

UPDATE: post deleted, flagged by tumblr censors since it's about two trans people in love, lmao.

The novels are written in what could be loosely described as historical fiction style, with other heavy influences taken from 90s anime and camp fantasy. They follow a standard fantasy trilogy setup, with the first book being more plotty, the second more character-driven, and the third currently shaping up to be a mix of the two.

BOOK I: Crowned Teeth (or, An Offering Revoked) [complete, 130,670 words]

We find Kingsley in dire straits after being betrayed by his crew and sold into slavery in the Hespet Archipelago. Breaking out with nothing to his name except a pair of enchanted pistols and a ragtag handful of other escapees, Kingsley vows to see himself avenged upon the leadership of the Tempest Fang.

BOOK II: Wine-Dark Sea [complete, 161,010 words]

With the Fang defeated and Kingsley trying to make things right in their absence, Fjord and Jester accept a quest to uncover a lost relic near the island of Glintshore. With the archdemon Maxima and the Abyssal Plane's intrigue unfolding in the wings, the three of them discover that there is more than what meets the eye.

BOOK III: Home to Roost [in progress, projected 300,000 words]

At long last, Kingsley and the other ex-Revelry members that make up the Diamond-eaters are sailing on Darktow. The long awaited showdown with the Plank King looms, and the archdemon Samiel plots to take the throne from Graz'zt. To his great misfortune, Captain Tealeaf catches the eye of both of them. To protect his new friends and ensure his path to the throne, Kingsley has to call on unexpected allies.

This is very much a labor of love on my end; King, specifically, is very important to me for many reasons. In case we never got the opportunity to explore his life and times on-stream, it was imperative to me that he get at least one story to call all his own.

If you want a proper pirate epic to tuck into, this is it!

#remy peddles his tiefling yuri #critical role #mollymauk week 2023 #threeleaf #kingsley tealeaf #mighty nein #mollymauk tealeaf #devilverse tag #mollymaukweek2023

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saphirered · 1 year

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Hello :), id love to request a kingsley x reader where theyre a member of his new pirate crew perhaps first mate after he steals that ship from fjord at the end of campain 2

Sorry for the wait on this one! Too many ideas to approach this request turned into procrastination but I finished it! It's pining, it's sweet and fluffy. Hope you like how it turned out! And right in time for the Mighty Nein reunited! 😘

He still doesn’t quite know how this happened or when and don’t get him started on the why’s because every time he tries listing them, he can’t put actual words to it; you’re just everything perfect. When did he turn into some fictional cliché? His fellow chaos maker tiefling would use this to fuel her next novel to be sure. Captain falls in love with his first mate. A match made in hell. Perfect. Just perfect. Kingsley’s tried to play it cool but during mealtimes he finds himself sit next to you, relishing in even just smalltalk. When you have a shift together he’ll be paying more attention to you than to what he’s supposed to be on watch for. When another totally unavoidable skirmish arises, he worries for your safety and always makes sure he’s within some kind of reachable range because he feels safer when you’re near. He trusts few people, and you are no exception. You’re all pirates after all. But unlike anyone else, he actually wants to trust you. He wants to be able to count on you, as you can count on him. Were he ever to tell you this, you’d laugh in his face of course. The last deckhand that did, you literally laughed in the poor man’s face. He’d rather not be verbally torn apart and take that wound to his heart.

You look over the waves, your post at the helm is one you take seriously. You always have. You’re the goddamn first mate of this ship. You do your best to ignore the staring of your captain who is rather disinterested in the suggestions of the bosun, and favours simply nodding or humming along, when he looks past. He’s focussed on you. You feel heat rise to your cheeks but luckily the appearance of such could be brushed off as the harsh wind cutting at your face. Those ruby eyes, you cannot set out of your mind. Are you not doing your job correctly? Are your capabilities being brought in question? Is there doubt in your loyalty to this ship, to this crew? Did you do something wrong? Are you no longer worthy of this position? All these questions are easier to ask, to consider than to admit to the truth you’re denying; that’s the stare of admiration. There’s a tap on your shoulder and you nearly jump out of your skin. It’s just the helmsman ready to relieve you.

You retreat into your own mind, build a shield to keep your thoughts from going rampant as you make your way down the steps onto the main deck. It’s probably a good thing you have got your sea legs because a particular wave has some catch themselves just in time. Kingsley, who you missed was midway towards you, lunges and barely manages to catch himself on the railing of the stairs. You didn’t even realise he had moved, but now he stands in your path. Quickly you respond out of reflex, catch his other arm, and help him back to stable feet. Everything around feels numb but the moment you touch him, feel his hand wrap around your lower arm, as you balance him, your cold skin burns and find yourself short of breath, eyes wide.

“Looks like I can count on my first mate to save me collecting my teeth from the deck.” Kingsley appears as short of breath as you. The moment you’re sure he’s stable again, you pull your arm from his grasp and step around him without another word, making for the stairs down below deck. The tiefling watches you go, and you move so fast, or perhaps his mind has slowed that much. He can’t say anything else, do anything else. You’re gone and he won’t follow.

So ends another day. And he’ll spend the next night staring at the ceiling of his cabin, unable to take his mind off you; the electricity that ran through his veins when you caught him, and the numbness when you let go. It may sound cliche but when he stood so near to you, when you held onto him, he felt as if he had never seen the world in colour, had never used his senses to their full extend, suddenly everything made sense yet nothing at all did but he couldn’t care less, and when you rushed away, you took that feeling with you and he felt lost again. He’ll day dream about that feeling because he could not find sleep until the early hours of morning. He’s completely and utterly in love with his first mate. No way around it anymore.

————

Kingsley dodges a punch as someone tosses a chair at another drunkard. The tavern took a turn for the better when an incredibly dull night turned into a bar fight, and a glorious one at that. He’s pretty sure he’ll be covered in bruises, the bloodstains he’ll never get out of his shirt, his knuckles are busted, and his nose just might be broken, still he is filled with cheer and adrenaline. The next punch to the gut sparks it only further as he counters by grabbing the arm, getting close and delivering a punch straight to the face of his opponent. Knocked out cold. Next. He’s distracted when he sees a familiar flash resembling your shape, legs wrapped around someone’s shoulders as they desperately try to throw you off, but you hold on tight, even when your back hits that thankfully sturdy table. This time you let go and deliver a perfect kick to the throat and get back up to tackle the next one coming at you. Then for just a brief second things go dark as pain erupts through his head. He recovers, looking for the source to see the blurred form of some kind of brute. Did he just get punched in the face? His ears are ringing. Just barely does he manage to deflect the brunt of the next hit.

You let out a battle cry as you kick low, high and strike. You’ll have to admit that when this fight started you were exhausted and didn’t feel like getting into the fray. You don’t exactly know why it started but your captain seemed to be one half of it and then it became crew against crew, and the rest of the bar got pulled in. Your exhaustion faded quickly when some poor sod made the wrong call and made you spill your drink. Screw exhaustion. That’s what you told yourself because in reality, you felt your blood boil when Kingsley took a foul hit. You’ve been on a good track record for the past few minutes. Sustained some damages yourself, but nothing you couldn’t handle. You’ll probably be sore in the morning and have some bruises to show for the eventful evening but such is your life. Everyone needs a good bar fight every once in a while. Every once in a while you’d check up on your captain, search for him in the room. When you have the opportunity to do next, you see him cornered, disoriented and opposing a man twice his size. He takes another hit and is thrown against the table, it shattering beneath the impact of his weight.

The groan on his breath is cut short as air escapes his lungs and he’s coughing. He barely has time to recover or get up when he’s grabbed by the front of his shirt, the movement registering a second or two later than it should. The brute in front of him has no intentions of letting him go it seems. Squinting he’s pretty sure this is the first mate of the captain he went fist to cuffs with in the first place. Maybe this wasn’t one of his better ideas. Does he have any regrets? No. That captain is short a couple of teeth. Serves ‘em right. Though, given his place now, he might be short a couple of teeth. The punch is incoming and while he does his best to deflect, there isn’t much he can do to turn this into a favourable position for him, so he prepares for the impact best he can though he doubts he’ll be awake to make any counter move. Then, it rains something, shatters. Glass. Glass shatters above him. His opponent goes dazed and the hold weakens. Next a fist swings to bring home the attack and the brute hits the floor with a heavy thud. He’s grabbed by the front of his shirt again and when he thinks the next blow is coming, he just focusses in on your face. With force you get him to his feet, never letting go of the red stained linen as you pull him along, dancing around other fighting patrons until the cool night’s air hits him. He hears shouts behind, but you run, and thus force him along until the sounds muffle and he walks the plank onto the ship.

Out of breath you set the tiefling on one of the crates on deck as you bend over, take a deep breath and straighten again. Kingsley watches as you run a hand through your hair, and wipe some remnants of blood from your cheek. Your gaze turns to him, analytical. You check him for injury, step close, hold his chin, move his face, touch some scrapes to which he hisses in discomfort, then look him straight on. You hold his nose between both your index fingers and give him a serious look. He can feel the crunch back in his skull as you reset it. He tastes metal on his tongue. Blood. You press a scrap of cloth to his nose and when his response is too slow for your liking, grab his hand and make it take over the position you held it in.

“You good?” You ask. You sound mostly neutral, as if you would have after any fight he’s gotten into. There’s a hint of exhilaration. Good to know you had your fun too. What strikes him though is the concern that’s hidden beneath. You’re actually concerned for his wellbeing?

“Yeah.” He groans leaning back only for you to interfere. Right. He’s sitting on a crate. “Saved me yet again. What would I do without you?”

“You’ve got brain damage. And you’re drunk.” You roll your eyes.

“I’d hate to tell you, but I’m perfectly sober. The brain damage? Now that, I won’t make any statements on.” Ever the witty remarks you snort and cross your arms.

“Oh really? Captain Kingsley, started a bar fight perfectly sober? What would the people say?” You retort. Maybe it’s the buzz of what little alcohol you did manage to consume, or the adrenaline beginning to wear off but it’s so easy again. You don’t feel like you’re running away from a truth right now. This moment, is just so easy.

“There’s the sass I love.” He grins. He’s missed this. The times where you’re so easy going. You’ve been avoiding him, you’ve been distant and he’s missed this nature of yours, the one you reserve only for public settings and anything not to do with your person. And yet you close up again after that comment. Your shoulders move in and you rub your arm, only to be reminded of the forming bruises when you find your skin tender.

“Do I want to know why this fight even started?” You try to change the subject, ignore the comment, pretend it was never said. Love. Love. Love. The word echoes through your mind. Kingsley sighs deeply and the usual attitude dissipates for a slightly more serious one.

“I don’t think you’ll like the answer.” His eyes cast downward. At first you’re brushing it off like a child being caught doing something they shouldn’t but then you see it for what it really is; avoidance. Like you’re avoiding certain things. Your heart clenches. You bite your tongue. No more running. May this tail-end of an adrenaline rush give you the courage to see this through.

“Humour me.” He looks up and you see his eyes. Gone is the playfulness he usually displays, or the self-confidence and pride. The fuel of an epic bar fight is not enough to linger.

“A captain from another ship had some choice of words about someone I happen to care about.” Kingsley admits. “I asked the captain if he’d like to take back his words. He did not.”

“So you punched him in the face?” He drops the rag from his nose, the bleeding stopped and wipes away the remaining blood best he can before he simply shrugs. It’s not like he’s going to deny it and he’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.

“They were some very offensive words. I take it to heart when my first mate is brought into question.” You thought you could brush over the implication it might have been you, not wanting to get any false hope but this blatant confirmation, that’s it. A small smile creeps onto your features and a warm and fuzzy feeling spreads through out.

“So what you’re saying is, you knocked out another captain because they insulted me, spiked the ire of their crew until a tavern brawl erupted in which you took a further beating to the point I had to save your ass before their first mate could return the favour?” You step closer and closer until you’re right in front of him. Kingsley looks up at you nodding along and getting smugger with the second. That pride returns.

“When you say it like that-“ You press your lips to his, your hands falling to his cheeks when he responds to your affections gleefully. Without breaking the kiss he scoots over on the crate and makes space for you. You sit next to him, thigh pressed against his, as you feel a warm palm against your cheek, and the other brushes along your arm, onto your shoulder until it settles on the small of your back and pulls you closer.

Many things run through his head and most thoughts come as fast as they go because he has no room for anyone but you in his mind. At surface it’s easy. The taste of your lips; remnants of the ale mixed with some metallic taste of blood either yours, or his or both. Then when he feels daring enough to brush his tongue against you and you respond favourably he continues. He feels your arms move from his cheeks where they cupped his face curve around until you wrap your arms around his neck and allow yourself to move closer against him. He runs his fingers along your cheek, into your hair where they tangle, the other pressing against the small of your back, brushing along in gentle circles. Secondly words finally appear in his head, cohesive strings of thought; why did he wait so bloody long? This now, this moment is a blessing but if this is how you feel, and might have felt ever since you retreated from him, he should have done this earlier, should have confronted you earlier and cleared up that misunderstanding.

Thirdly, Kingsley wants this moment to last forever. He’d fight an entire armada on his own if it meant you would grace him a kiss, even just a single one. But you do pull apart. Forehead against his, eyes still closed, he takes in the proximity to you. previously when you had a moment of physical closeness, you’d bolt the first chance you got. He hopes you won’t. He hopes you’ll stay. But he still makes it clear; if you think this a mistake, something you regret now, you can. He would never hold something like that against you. Sure it would hurt his feelings, but such is the way of life. It’s not just his word that matters here. If you are not one-hundred percent behind this, then it simply should not happen. He wants to be sure you don’t feel there’s no way back, that you feel trapped or like you have to but then he feels your lips peck his once final time before you pull back, unwrap your arms from him as he lets go of you. What he does not expect is for you to grab onto one of his hands, and pick the rag with the other, only to press it to his nose again.

“Your nose bleeding again.” You try to hide your gentle laughs as he just shakes his head in amusement causing you to reach out quickly and hold his head still. Kingsley responds but you can’t make out the words so when you raise an eyebrow he pulls the rag away once more, holding you at the wrist ever so gently.

“Injury. Forever to ruin the moment. At least I have a good healer.”

“I’m a pirate. Not a healer.” You deadpan. “If you’d like me to go fetch the healer I’m sure he’s deep in his cups but should be perfectly-“ Kingsley grabs your hand when you poke at one of the forming bruises.

“Oh, you think you’re funny now, aren’t you? Don’t backtalk to your captain.” You wipe away some more blood, and prevent any further response.

“My dear captain seems to be incapacitated.” You hum. He pulls away the rag again. This time the bleeding seems to stop and you feel safe to put it down.

“Well then, first mate. I’m pretty sure that puts you in charge. What are your orders?” You grin and tap your chin.

“I’m sure I can think of something.” You purse your lips every so lightly and Kingsley takes the opportunity to peck them in jest. He’ll have some ideas. Some inspiration for you. The ice has broken and with it all previous tensions. The morning can only tell how things will be when you’re both down from your adrenaline highs and when the world has returned to normal, or as normal as can be on this ship, given that Kingsley did just spark a conflict between his crew and another but he couldn’t care less. He lives in the moment and this is a good one. You’re living in the moment too. You can talk later about how much your lives have been one romantic cliche for the past few weeks.

#critical role x reader #kingsley x reader #mighty nein x reader #kingsley tealeaf #critical role #mighty nein #mighty nein reunion #critical role fanfiction #critical role fanfic #the mighty nein

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captainkingsley · 1 year

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I really love Kingsley and what he's becoming. There's a bit of Molly, a bit of Lucien, but ultimately he's his own person. Without the tattoos or the eyes, he's literally a blank slate — a little influenced by his past, but interested in finding who he is.

He's got Lucien's leadership, a bit of his smarts, and he's got some of the upbeat qualities Molly had. But he's not interested in chance or luck like Molly was, and I love that for him. He's a leader, like Lucien, but he cares in the same way Molly did.

I can totally see why he's able to eventually steal a ship from Fjord and become a captain of his own crew. ( Still wondering if Matt meant to have Orly call Kingsley 'captain' or not. ) He was running that ship pretty efficiently with only six months of experience — six months being alive.

I do hope eventually some of the past memories from both lives creep in, but mainly to fill in the gaps of the time his body has been around. I don't know if he'd be particularly influenced by it — he definitely cares more about learning who his body was than Molly did. Which, again, I love, because it kind of solidifies the fact that he's not Lucien, he's not Molly, he's Kingsley, and that's what matters.

And I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see how compatible he and Caleb are. This tiefling has a Thing for that wizard no matter the mind that's in the body, and I think Kingsley would be ... Really interesting, with Caleb. Obviously Molly and Lucien both had a bit of an interest in Caleb, but I think Kingsley could not only be fun for Caleb to be around, but also someone willing to learn from him. Caleb's smart!

And Kingsley wants to learn "a bit of everything", and while he's never going to be on the level of wizard flirting with another wizard through intense magical theory discussion, it would be fun to see the difference between how he and Molly act on these things.

It's also funny to imagine Caleb's face at Kingsley bringing him a bunch of a books and maps and whatnot. "Functionally illiterate" Molly vs Kingsley being ... Well, a smart pirate who reads and does math to improve his navigational skills at sea.

At the end of the day, though, I'm just happy King exists. No matter what happens with him, I'm sure it's going to be great.

#critical role spoilers #i love Kingsley!!!!!#i love him so very much!!!#im glad he exists but also doesnt erase the original idea of the character #that question of whether a soul is a predetermined thing #or a result of lived experience #king gets a bit of both i think #he's 100% his own person #but also defining who he is and what he wants as he goes #anyway. take my ramblings while i wait for my bus

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arclundarchivist · 3 years

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Home, Again.

(Spoilers from Campaign 2 Episode 141, it has been a lovely ride, and I will admit, this mostly going to be me getting a bit into my own personal fantasy, but I hope it is enjoyed.)

Caleb, a little grayer in his hair, stands on the beach staring out into the ocean, a wide smile on his face as he turns and sees several small forms racing about, clashing fake swords, delving into the water cautiously, or just doing what children are want to do. Veth's little "camp" had picked up steam, numerous children from across the breadth of Nicodranus coming to learn how to be, well, how to play at being adventurers. He'd managed to take a bit of time off from the academy, nervous still about the prospect but...he'd been drawn away for an excellent reason.

His family.

Nine years had passed since their battle in Cognouza. Nine years since they had become the unsung, though oft whispered. heroes of all of Exandria.

He'd seen them all from time to time across the years, coming together for birthdays and moments of joy and surprise, but now, was a time for true celebration.

He turns and spots Veth and Yeza, standing shoulder to shoulder nearby, watching the waves roll in, hunting perhaps like he was, for the behemoth that was the Nine Heroez to pull into port. On Veth's hip is a little girl, with a mane of curled, wild hair much like her father with a deeper skin tone like her mother: Molly.

Veth turns and looks up at him, "Do you seem anything?"

"Not yet, but they'll be here. I can't imagine they'd miss this for the world." Caleb responds, squeezing her shoulder before reaching down, letting the gently cooing Molly take his finger and squeeze.

He turns and looks back, spotting several other figures arrayed across the beach that he had reached out to in the planning of this event.

Shakaste is perched on a rock, telling a soothing story to an enraptured crowd of kids, which included Luc, and to his amusement Twiggy, who had arrived at the party seemingly out of the blue.

Running towards him, chased by her youngest adoptive siblings is Kiri. Veth invited her family to partake of Nicodranus and allow the kids a bit of fun during the summer months.

Kiri skids to a halt kicking up sand, standing almost to his chest now, several makeshift bandoleers and her collection of tinkered baubles resting on her chest and along her belt. She smiles up at him widely, chirping excitedly.

"Come on! Beau, Yasha! She's probably a good egg!" Kiri warbles, mimicking several voices she'd heard, tugging on his and Veth's hands.

Laughing, Veth passes Molly to her husband, and the pair allow Kiri to drag them all the way to the edge of the beach, where Beau and Yasha are approaching. They both look a bit older but more at peace, Yasha dressed in dark but less severe clothing, hints of Dynasty garb on the both of them. He also notices two figures walking a step behind them, looking a bit shy.

"I missed you!" Kiri crows, darting for the pair and hugging tight to their legs.

"Hey, Kiri," Beau says with a soft smile.

"Hello, Little Bird," Yasha says, giving Kiri a head scritch.

She coos cheerfully before darting back up onto her perch and scanning for signs of the others.

Beau looks at Caleb and wraps him in a tight hug, "Hey, Professor."

"Expositor," Caleb mutters, wrapping his arms around her and then doing the same to Yasha, who practically picks him up off his feet.

Beau kneels and hugs Veth, whispering, "Chaos Crew!"

"Almost." Veth states, "Hopefully, she'll be here soon."

Caleb looks past his dear friends and blinks in surprise as he spots Beauregard's Mother and younger brother TJ.

"Oh, uh, hello, thank you for coming." Caleb mutters, rubbing the back of his head, "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Caleb Widoghast."

Veth narrows her eyes slightly at Beau's mother: "Veth Brenatto."

"Clara, I do remember you," she remarks, nodding to them both briefly.

"Good, because I-" Veth begins only for Beau to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Down, Veth," Beau remarks, earning a chuckle from Yasha.

"Fine," she remarks, still giving Beau's mother a bit of a stink eye.

"Please, make yourself comfortable. There is some food and drink nearby, and blankets to spread out as you wish," Caleb states.

"Thank you," Clara says, turning to leave the four of them while TJ hangs back next to his sister, looking up at her uncertainly.

"Go have fun." Beau says, pointing to Luc and Kiri, "Those are the other kids I was telling you about, just don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

TJ gives her a shy grin, "No promises."

And then runs off, Caleb noticing the small sticks that he wears across his back.

"A chip off the old block, eh?" Caleb asks as Beau throws an arm around him.

"Not exactly, way more shy!" Beau states, looping her arm around Yasha's as Veth grabs his hand, "Four of the Nine, any words on the others?"

"Not yet, but they'll come," Caleb says.

"Good, I brought you all flowers from our garden." Yasha states, holding up a new book, filled to the brim with dried flowers, "You both look very good."

Veth smiles: "I'm with my family, and even more are on the way; I'm wonderful."

Caleb nods: "It will be good to see everyone again."

"Speaking of everyone," Beau states, unlooping her arms from her partner and friend, "Yo, Shakaste! I think it's past time you and I compared notes on some things."

Shakaste turns from his story to Luc and the other kids, the former getting dragged away by Kiri for a conversation with TJ, while Twiggy looks around him and her face widens in a deep grin.

"I mean, I agree, but I thought this was gonna be a day of fun, not work?" Shakaste remarks with a knowing smirk.

"I can do both," Beau says with a shrug of her shoulders as she walks towards them.

"I have notes too!" Twiggy cries, darting towards Beau and beginning to ramble, while Yasha turns and walks towards Yeza, the pair beginning a softer conversation as Yasha, ever so gently gives her hand out for Molly to play with.

Caleb and Veth end up sitting shoulder to shoulder on the beach, waiting and watching as their friends and number of children mill about them and are deep in conversation, when the sound of a firework going off draws all of their attention.

There is a collective jump amongst the party, the more martial figures immediately going on the defensive, with Yasha pushing Yeza behind her only for it to be quickly revealed to be Kiri once more, tearing away from Luc and TJ, now shouting.

"Jester! Jester! I missed you!"

Not a moment later, Twiggy is peeling off as well, with Veth, Caleb, Beau, and Yasha at a more sedentary step behind as approaching them arm in arm is Fjord and Jester, wide smiles on their face, Nugget loping ahead of them and teleport tackling Luc, who falls with a laugh as the dog begins licking his face.

Behind them, walking arm and arm is The Gentleman and Marion, followed by Orly and Vandren, and next to them, to Caleb's surprise, is Caliana.

"Kiri!" Jester cries out, sliding to her knees and wrapping the young Kenku in the tightest hug and spinning her about, revealing the swaddled bundle on her back which giggles in surprise at the momentum.

"And Twiggy!" Jester cries, drawing the gnome into a tight hug as well before ping-ponging to her friend with deep, tearful hugs and cheek kisses, going from Veth to Yasha, to Beau, and then to Caleb.

"Veth, so, about the Detective Agency...I'm sorry that I've been so busy...but." Jester began as she hugs her.

"Don't worry, Jessie, I'm glad you're here," Veth says, hugging her tightly.

"Yasha, my god, you look so beautiful! I missed you so much!" Jester cries, running her fingers through flower-filled hair.

"Thank you, Jester, I missed you too." Yasha states with a soft smile as she looks down over Jester's shoulder into the teal face of a small Tiefling toddler, the hint of a tusk coming in on the left-hand side, "And this little joy."

She tickles the bottom of his chin, eliciting a laugh, a smile widening on her face: "Hi, Charlie."

"Beau!" Jester cries, pulling her into a bone-cracking hug.

"Hey, Cutie." Beau returns, hugging her back and patting her cheek.

Jester giggles and then turns to hug Caleb, a soft but deep embrace, "You look very happy, Caleb."

Caleb whispers back, "I am happy. So very, very happy."

Fjord walks up next, looking down at Veth: "Veth."

Veth looks up at him with narrowed eyes, "Fjord."

They stare at each other for a moment before wrapping each other in a hug, "You look good, Fjord."

"I feel it." he returns, "And so do you."

Yasha and Fjord clap hands together with a smile while Beau comes in on the other side and punches him playfully on the shoulder.

"You know neither of those hurt as much as they used to." Fjord states with a grin.

"Good, where's Kingsley?" Yasha asks.

"Well wouldn't you know it...the tricky bastard went off and made himself into a pirate." Fjord said with a laugh, "I...I don't know if he'll be here."

Yasha looks down a bit crestfallen, "Oh."

"This does mean, though, that I need my old first mate back if she has an inkling to come to sea, just for a bit." Fjord said with a slight smile, looking to Beau.

Beau smiles and shares a look at Yasha, who shrugs but smiles softly. "Maybe, maybe."

"Nice to see you again, Caleb," Fjord says, pulling him into a hug.

"Nice to see you too, Fjord," Caleb says.

"Gangs almost all here; it's been quite a while, hasn't it," Fjord says.

"It has." Caleb agrees as he watches Jester place her son into the arms of her mother and then scoops up Kiri and twirls around with a laugh.

"Mighty fine to see all of you again, ain't that right, Miss," Orly says, nodding to each of them and nudging Caliana.

"OH! Yes, of course. Hello, again, Mr. Caleb, Beau, Yasha," Caliana states, with a nervous bow before looking at Veth and opening her mouth a bit awkwardly.

"It's Veth; good to see you again, Miss." Veth says with a smile, "How have you been?"

"Well, I..." Caliana begins, blushing slightly, only for Jester to spin by interrupting.

"We found her when we stopped her in Port Demali! Kingsley did actually, and then we caught up, and Fjord managed to convince her to join our crew, and she has been very helpful with the magic things at times like you were Caleb, and sometimes she scares the living daylights out of people that try and steal from us!"

Calianna blushes deeper, "I don't mean to."

"She's a good crewmate, and a good friend, speaking of which." Fjord says, turning to the older man beside him, "Vandren, this is my family, not everyone, but most."

Vandren gives them all a once over, "Eclectic group. Makes sense. Nice to meet you. Any drink to be found?"

"Yes, right over there," Caleb says, pointing towards a large picnic table.

"Right, Orly, let's get to it," Vandren says, clapping Fjord on the shoulder and heading over, followed by The Gentleman, who gives each of them a respectful nod, kissing his daughter on the cheek as he passes.

Marion smiles at them all, "I'm glad to see you all healthy and hale. You've all had quite the journey."

The assembled Nein shared a look, "That we have."

Jester smirks and then speaks up, "Speaking of which..."

She enters into a tirade of her and Fjord's most recent adventurer's interrupted at times by Fjord and a more tentative Caliana, while the others listen, sitting down as the sun hangs lower and lower in the sky, Veth's students heading for home, leaving the children adjoined to the party alone to chase each other, play fight, and ride about on Nugget. Charlie spends much of the time in his Mother or Father's lap, occasionally being passed to Yasha, who at one point ends up holding him and Molly in a moment of what Caleb could only describe as awed bliss, as their respective parents got drawn away by something.

A while later, Luc turns to trying to entertain them, showing off the few cantrips he'd learned to the other kids, including the assembled Shusters, and TJ. Kiri makes a game of picking at him after a bit.

As he begins talking about how strong he will be, Kiri walks up and pokes her beak directly into his ear.

"Kiri! Don't embarrass me in front of my apprentices!" he cries with a bit of a blush as Kiri made a joking kissing sound, gesturing to Molly and Charlie who stared at the pair in the muddled, joyful confusion that is Toddlerhood as they rest on their respective parent's laps.

"I don't think a little peck is all that embarrassing." a low voice states, drawing the assembled Nein's attention to a tall figure, his staff glowing a low pink, a wide smile on his face as Caduceus Clay approaches with several others in tow.

"Sorry, I'm late," Cad says, not even pausing as an elated Luc races for him and jumps into his arms, "I had a few friends to pick up."

Calliope waves, "I'm just his tagalong."

Behind her stands Nila and her son, Keg, quickly dashing out a cigarette and looking more than a little awkward, with Reani at her shoulder.

"Hello again," Nila states with a soft smile as the other curious youngsters readily approach her son.

"Long time no see, heard y'all did some really good work." Keg states with a smirk, sharing a look with Beau, walking over, and hugging Veth.

Reani darts over to Jester, wrapping her in a hug, then several of the others, cooing over the babies for a second before tackle-hugging Beau and then Caleb.

"Hey, Reani," Beau says, looking a little awkward but still happy to see her.

"Hey guys, also thank you, Caleb, for sending him my way."

"Him?" Caleb queries, a bit confused.

Clay walks up, hugging Fjord deeply, and then Jester and Yasha: "God, it's good to see you all again, but as I said, I had some friends to pick up."

And out of the shadows, melting into view with a soft yet nervous smile on his face, comes Essek Theylas.

"Hello everyone." he states, eliciting a few gasps and a tackle hug from Jester, "And let's just say Reani, and I have been working on...seeing all the colors and shades as it were."

He gives Beau a pointed nod.

Reani smiles, "He's a sweetheart."

Caleb gets to his feet, walking over to Essek with a cautious smile, "Welcome back to the Mighty Nein."

"Glad to be back...if just for a little while, it will be good, to..." he pauses, looking deeply into Caleb's eyes, "Take a bit more time with you."

As Jester lets him go, Essek slowly glides towards Caleb, and he feels their fingers intertwine, a soft smile growing on both their faces.

He turns and notices a few smirking faces amongst his friends, while the adjoining members are beginning to shuffle about and begin conversing, Reani and Twiggy hitting it off like an unending wildfire, while Keg mills about before choosing to sidle up to Caliana and begin asking her questions, Shakaste sits down next to Caduceus and begins to query him on how everything is going in his neck of the woods.

Fjord looks around at his family as several fires roar up around them. TJ, Kiri, Luc, the Schusters, and Asar are sitting around their own cooking marshmallows, watched by Clara, who has found herself the subject of affection for Nugget, his large head now splaying across her lap. Jester is sitting between Fjord and her Mother, Charlie asleep on her lap, head on her mother's shoulder, with her and Fjord holding hands. Beau is leaning against Yasha, next to Yeza, holding Molly while Veth sat between him and Caleb, with Esseek on his other side, their fingers just the faintest bit intertwined. A bit back from the fire, behind Fjord and Jester, Nila, Cad, and his sister are leaning forward, Cad's hand resting on Fjord's shoulder. Calianna sits next to Fjord, while Reani and Twiggy sit across the fire from Yasha and Beau. Vandren, The Gentleman, and Keg are deep in conversation at the nearby picnic table while Shakaste and Orly are seated between the Nein's fire and the kids, the former humming along as the latter plays some softer music.

"Gangs all here finally." Fjord remarks, "And on a beautiful night too."

"Well...almost all of them are here," Yasha states, somewhat sadly.

"No, everyone." a familiar voice states, as coming across the sands is Kingsley Tealeaf, with Marius in tow.

"Hi there, Angel, there was no way I was missing this party, especially since Joybuzzer reminded me every day about it," Kingsley states, kissing the top of Yasha's head as he walks by, doing the same to Jester and then clapping Fjord on the back and gently hugging Caliana as she scoots over.

"You too?" Essek asks with a knowing smile.

"So it would seem." Kingsley returns as Marius walks by, headed for Orly.

"Kill anyone yet?" Fjord calls out after him.

"No, Captain." Marius returns with a sheepish grin.

"Pity, good to see you still breathing, Lepual." Fjord states with a smirk.

"Likewise, Captain," Marius states, falling into a seat beside Orly.

Keg turns at the arrival of the newest figure and does a triple take before walking over and clunking to the ground next to Reani and staring at him.

"You...are making me extremely uncomfortable," Kingsley states with a smirk.

"Yeah...sorry, this is a little weird, honestly." as she turns to Beau, Veth, and Caleb, and mouthed, "Why didn't you warn me?!"

Beau blinks, "Sorry."

Kingsley chuckles, "Right, this is awkward, but I've got time to catch up with whatever that is and the rest of y'alls stories in a moment. Cause I need a fucking drink!"

He crows that with a laugh and a second later, he is mimicked by a surprised Kiri which is then picked up by Luc, who instead starts yelling: "Well, get a fucking drink then!"

He and Kiri begin to chant that back and forth turning it into a bit of a song, which Orly chuckles at and begins to play a bit of a jig, eliciting a few smirking laughs from the others, while Kingsley blanches a little bit.

"I feel like I'm a bad influence," Kingsley states as he stands up.

"Oh, we all are." Fjord agrees.

"Most of us." Cad amends with a smile.

Caleb chuckles, gripping Essek's hand a bit tighter as he smiles as well, listening to the chaos begin to pick up around him, as Kiri and Luc begin to dance around them, drawing others to join them as Orly begins to play in earnest, joined by Marius, as he draws a lute from his back. First Beau and Yasha, then Yeza and Veth holding Molly, then Fjord and Jester with their son between them, Marion and the Gentleman, Keg shrugs and begins tapping her foot while Twiggy begins dancing by herself, twirling in a flurry of spinning skirts, leaving Caliana, who is quickly offered a hand by Reani, taking it with a vibrant blush' Kingsley looks about before offering Cad a hand with a smirk, who shakes his head just looking about contently. Kingsley shrugs only for Calliope to vice grip his hand and twirls him away while Nila and her son are the last to stand up and dance, with TJ joining his older sister and her partner. Caleb shoots Essek a questioning look, who smiles and stands, resting his forehead against his silently, before in the moon and fire-light, missed by all but a cloaked green figure at the edge of the revelry their chins tip up towards each other into a soft, gentle kiss.

Caleb is glad to be home.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #beauyahsa #fjorester #shadowgast #cr veth #cr caduceus #kingsley tealeaf #orly skiffback #cr reani

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circuslollipop · 3 years

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This may have been asked before but please tell us about the Tealeaf triplet AU!

ooooh i'd be super happy to!! so i'm not the only person with this kind of au, but i'm sure that every person's will be different, and mine is no exception!

so. threeleaf au. i'm not sure whether to make it so that they're all biological triplets from the beginning, or that the wildmother's blessing in ep 140 gave three different rebirths: a chance for lucien to live without the somnovum, a second chance for molly to continue living his life to the fullest, and a third soul getting a fresh start

both would offer different dynamics: the first, an established sibling dynamic with all the hijinks and ease and comfort and protectiveness of three triplets who knew each other their entire lives. the second, a sense of having to get to know and get used to each other.

honestly the way i think of them i'm leaning towards siblings from the get-go, as i like to think of them with an established sibling dynamic already. lucien is the eldest, followed by molly and kingsley

i mainly focus on the post-campaign aspect of this, where all three siblings join fjord and jester on their sailing adventures. hilarity ensues

kingsley is a natural sailor. the other two are not. molly is happy to be with friends though, and lucien admits that it's a lot better than other alternatives

jestermauk is a thing in this because it's my au and i choose the ships (fjord and jes either break up amicably or they just never get together)

also thinking about making fjord/kingsley a thing. you get a tealeaf! and YOU get a tealeaf!!

in that case both lucien and molly give fjord their own shovel talks. (sidenote imagine getting a shovel talk from lucien. talk about TERRIFYING)

as i mentioned, marius gets the very wrong idea one day that lucien is a vampire. lucien is annoyed at first but then begins to "humor" him

orly gives them all tattoos. molly gets a chaos crew tat and a gem tat with imagery of the m9, kingsley gets some cool sea themed ones, and lucien gets a really small one on his hand or something. maybe of a butterfly (one of those butterflies with eyes on their wings maybe?)

jester is of course VERY happy to practice tattooing on them, mainly molly is willing to be her practice canvas

of COURSE they all get captain tusktooth tattoos. kingsley's is on his shoulderblade, lucien's is on his other hand, and molly's......let's just say it's on his lower back

marion adopts them all

kingsley tries to get the other two to come up with their own pirate names, with mild success

"no one knows what a nonagon is; it's not gonna strike fear!"

both molly and lucien are super protective of king; even though he's two minutes younger than molly, king is the baby of the trio and therefore gets away with a lot

that being said they do squabble quite a bit

jester is super happy to be surrounded by other tieflings

so. many. hijinks. this is about all i can think of but i'll maybe add to this when i can think of more stuff!

#anonymous #threeleaf au #tealeaf triplets au #mollymauk tealeaf #kingsley tealeaf #lucien nonagon

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ghostofaminaanima · 3 years

Text

This post contains opinions

SPOILERS FOR THE END OF C2E141

I never post my thoughts for Critical Role, but I want to read this for whenever I watch the finale again. Maybe in a week, month or year from now.

Right now, the finale is still fresh and emotions are high in the fandom. Not everyone is happy with the ending and I try to avoid those posts as best as I can. (I once let a negative meta post interfere with my enjoyment of a character and I never want that to happen again.) But I have to get this out:

For me, Kingsley is definitely the same person as Molly. I think people sometimes confused the person Molly was with the person they made him out to be. They missed the person who sacrificed themselves in a risky attempt to save Jester, Fjord and Yasha. They missed the person Molly could’ve been or could’ve become alongside the Nein. They missed a Molly during the pirate arc, the Xorhas arc, the Obann arc, the peace treaties and Rumblecusp. They missed Molly then and they miss him still. They felt an absence where a person could’ve been all that time.

Is that bad? No!

I missed that person too. I felt Molly’s absence just as much as anybody else did during these months. Who hasn’t thought about what Molly might have done at certain parts of the story? But that imagined Molly isn’t real. The real person at the end of the Campaign is Kingsley.

But this is the biggest point I want to make: Kingsley is, to me, still Molly. There's nothing to mourn, because it's the same person with the same mannerisms, the abrasive jokes and the sharp, sarcastic responses. This is still the same Tiefling, minus the memories plus a new name. This is his new life, but it’s his third one too.

Molly said this about Lucien too: “I am not that person anymore.” Yet we all saw the comparisons between Lucien and Molly: the mannerisms, the accent, the choice of words. If you can believe Lucien is still Molly, then you can believe Kingsley is still Molly.

And isn’t it the most Molly/Kingsley thing to do to cast off the person they were before and start afresh? Wasn’t that the exact same thing that made Molly tick? Molly, the person who tattooed their body to make it their own, who chose a new name for himself and avoided everything he had to do with their past? Of course Kingsley would start his life by doing the same! I don’t fault him for that. I actually love him for that even more. This shows to me Kingsley is the same person as Molly, as was Lucien.

Kingsley(Molly) has nicknames for everybody. Kingsley(Molly) is soft with Yasha, gruff with Beau and flirty with Caleb. Kingsley(Molly) loves parties and makes impulsive decisions to join a pirate/circus crew. Kingsley(Molly) likes traveling with a ragtag group of adventurers to see what they can get up to.

This is the exact same person we last saw in Hupperdook and you cannot convince me otherwise. The fact that Kingsley(Molly) doesn’t remember this, is what some people find disturbing, but the memory loss was always a possibility. It happened when Lucien became Molly, thus it could happen when Lucien becomes Kingsley.

The missing memories aren’t a ‘problem’ in my opinion. On the contrary: they present an opportunity. An opportunity of a fresh start. With this, the Nein can get to know Kingsley(Molly) again, become friends again. Molly died before they truly got to know him the last time around and this time, this time the Nein can do it right.

They can make new memories. And hasn’t the theme of making something new been there the whole campaign long? Yasha with her missing memories, Caleb with his years in Vergessen, Veth becoming Nott and then Veth again, Jester who had been hidden away most of her youth, Fjord who had to unlearn his Vandran act, Caduceus who had to leave his home and his ‘destined’ job of being the one who stayed. They all found something new, because the old life chafed and even hurt at times.

And now we have Kingsley, who got a third chance to make something new of his life. And I wouldn’t want him to be some hollow shell of Lucien, or some echoing ghost of Molly. I wish Kingsley the life he never got before. No, this isn’t some sad ending. For me, this is the perfect beginning.

#crspoilers #c2e141 #kingsley #lucien the nonagon #mollymauk tealeaf

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missizzy · 3 years

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After seeing all the post-finale discourse

Since I’ve been watching my way through all the earlier episodes of Critical Role and recently watched episode 31, I have one thought of a cheer-inducing thing that should happen after the campaign (there be spoilers beyond this point):

When i was watching episode 31, since I’d already seen the later ones, I knew Jester wasn’t going to get her axe of dance-inducing, which made me sad immediately. But post-campaign? She could probably get the gold together to get the enchantment done.

So let us imagine Jester, in the midst of battle at sea, whacking foes with that axe and making them dance if they fail the saving throw. Indeed, it becomes one of the tales sailors tell, of the tiefling of the Nein Heroez, who has made bloodthirsty pirates lose their heads and start doing the hornpipe with her magic axe.

Kingsley absolutely loves this, by the way. When he goes off on his own, he swears that as soon as he can find both an axe and someone to enchant it, he’ll get one of his own. Veth loves it even more. On those occasions she’s on board (because all of the the Nein find an excuse to sail with their old friends at some time or other), she’s been known to “borrow” it, sneak up on the ship’s crew, and lightly knick them with the axe just to make them dance. They dread the prospect of Luc getting strong enough to wield it.

#critical role #the mighty nein #jester lavorre

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fruitzbat · 5 months

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Food in Devil & the Deep Blue Sea

I thought we'd kick off the Devilverse commentary on this blog with a topic that I get asked about a lot when it comes to my writing. I'll break it down by book and put it under a readmore!

To wit, the one and only thing I can say I ever felt bummed out about with regards to the worldbuilding of Exandria (par for the course for an RPG) was how little focus Exandrian cuisine gets! But I'm not writing an RPG, I'm writing books! And I love food!

Let me know what other topics you're curious about!

Book I: Crowned Teeth

The idea behind a lot of the cuisine in the Hespet Archipelago is that it's supposed to reflect the history of the area: a lot of the free cuisine has a basis in a Nurari custom or cooking method that they taught to those that had come to Nurari communities after having escaped from pirates, but it took on a very different appearance once the communities went their separate ways. For instance, we have the "timanya" that some of the crew eat, which is a free take on a Nurari dish. The word "timanya" is a corruption of the Sardinian dialect word "timagnera", which means an incense burner/thurible. In Nurari tradition, these dumplings are called as such because they're simmered in a pot -- when you lift the lid, the fragrant steam rises in the same way that incense does. The shape of the parcels, as well, is reminiscent of an incense burner.

We see this, too, early on in Vasta when we go to market. Compare the honey-bread and candied currants to the foods that we see in Ganatar: honey and berries are both sweet staples in the region, but where the Nurari put regional berries in barley milk, the free are using foreign products to emulate a similar result.

The Hespet Archipelago in the series is based considerably on the social and economic history of the islands Corsica and Sardinia. This inspiration is also reflected in one of the Hespet's bigger quirks: there are very few cows. You notice that most of the meat and dairy comes from goats/sheep! Sardinia is known for one of its own varieties of cows in the Sarda, which is considered a very small breed. One could also make the argument that the cows are also too busy sunbathing to make milk for the Hespetarians.

Book II: Wine-Dark Sea

"Timanya", as mentioned before, is a corruption of the Sardinian word "timagnera", meaning a thurible or incense burner. We actually see the Nurari dish when Fjord and Jester have lunch in Visumïa, and it's much lighter fare than the free version that Felaun and the Oxendines ate in Viga. While the Nurari still eat boar or cheese as the filling, instead of the dumplings being fried in pink dough, the filling is wrapped carefully in a thin leaf. This and the marrow and beans from the night before are both supposed to illustrate the reversal in the relationship between Fjord/Jester and King, where it's now King leading them through a world that they don't quite understand.

Kingsley's commentary on how to find nice food and drink in Gallu is supposed to serve as an ironic echo of Giada's own predicament, in which all of the good things on the islands and the best of its products are sent far away to succeed.

There's also the granita scene, which was supposed to reflect how much Marquesian influence has touched both the Hespet and the Menagerie Coast (it's the same word, but Jester realizes that the flavors are completely different -- how can a granita shop not have strawberry?).

Book III: Home to Roost, Act I

The Plank King's lunch in Darktow is supposed to show subtle disdain for how much bounty he actually has, and the way he abuses that prosperity (his copious amounts of white wine is for 'swilling out seeds' from between his teeth, for instance) -- a major theme for him in general. These are all things on his table that would take a great deal of effort to acquire, even for him: chilled soup, citrus, parsley, branzino. We see all kinds of feasts with kings where the meat in question is chicken or a suckling pig; I was trying to go for the Denethor vibe while taking into account that Darktow is an island and a maritime power.

But the most important example I can think of when it comes to this part of the book and food would have to be the "henweigh" concept in the Greying Wildlands. The henweigh's specific selection and serving method is very loosely based on something we have in Dublin called a spice bag. I also thought it would be a fun way of alluding to the purple tief's sliding scale of Irishness on the stream (while Tal was going for a Belfast accent and Lucien's accent is somewhat Generic Southern Irish, the inverse is true of spice bags: they're very popular in the Republic, but not so much in the North), and also referencing his bit in canon where he talks about his favorite food being "spiced cream", which as most people have pointed out isn't really A Thing.

Also, "henway" is a Pun Trap much like "updog", "Greek urn," or "Candice". You now have an answer to the question that isn't "8-10 lbs." You're welcome.

#devilverse tag #devilverse meta #devilverse spoilers #critical role #remy writes

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