#like if there's active deception happening they're just [confused white lady surrounded by math.gif]

[essektheylyss]

This isn't inherently related to last night's episode, but it did feel very present even in absence and I was reminded of it, so:

I talked about this a while ago here, but Caleb and Essek actually communicate astoundingly well, once they are willing to approach each other without imposing their own fears upon them—either because Essek is afraid of being found out or because Caleb is afraid that Essek is too much like himself to be trusted. It's simply that they talk in such a way amongst themselves in particular that those around them (and, frankly, fandom) do not parse it as clear communication, but every time they have any significant engagement after the Nein come back to the outpost, they seem to proceed with the air of having reached an understanding.

And I've talked about that, and you can read the post linked above, but the thought I had about it that I haven't really discussed is that it is a PHENOMENAL choice for playing two assholes at or over 20 Intelligence in a relationship.

They're talking in circles and sounding enigmatic! They're dancing this strange dance about who reaches out when and on what terms! But the thing is, as bewildering as that may seem from the outside, they both give the impression that they understand the other implicitly, because they're operating on very similar wavelengths.

That is their communication. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a level to which that's intentional—what is between them stays between them. Likewise, it felt last night like Caleb did not necessarily want to make whatever their arrangement is known to the rest of the Nein, and that is part of it; they understand each other, and they're comfortable with their relationship at whatever pace and stage they're at, and letting other people know about it or be party to their discussions would allow a level of external scrutiny that they have no interest in.

It's just a really fun choice on a meta level, and it's what makes them insufferable to write, and I absolutely love them for it.

#critical role #cr spoilers #shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #cr meta #i was laughing parsing through my meta tag to find the linked post cuz like #man i really only write meta when theres a wizard on screen apparently. #head empty no thoughts unless wizards. #like sorry!!! i just have a lot of feelings about high int characters with former gifted kid complexes! #but anyway i still maintain that the ninth floor scene was on the level of a dtr relationship. #not inherently in the sense that they were then IN a relationship but #they both left that room with a very firm sense of their priorities and how they featured in each other's #they are insufferable to write though this is why if an emotionally charged scene with them isn't working i have to go cut dialogue lol #tbh it's also why imo they get VERY thrown off if the other is hiding something #even down to Caleb having no idea how to parse Essek's loyalties before finding out he was the traitor #like if there's active deception happening they're just [confused white lady surrounded by math.gif]