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aeor-is-for-reccing · 7 months

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Shadowgast Recs: Based on A Movie/Book/TV Series

This week, we have fourteen shadowgast fics that were based on a TV, movie, or book series. Check under the cut for fics based on This is How You Lose the Time War, The Witcher, Ghostbusters, and more! As ever, don't forget to kudos or comment if you like them!

Lucidian Rim by literalfuckinggarbage (60266, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: Graphic Depictions of Violence

A Pacific Rim AU with Caleb as the burned out Jager Pilot and Essek as the one who has never been drift compatible

Reccer says: Drift Compatibility is a great way to explain Caleb and Essek's connection, and I love the other little bits of worldbuilding, too

To be Defeated and Victorious by basically_npr_trash (6394, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

While on a mission for Master Ikithon, Bren receives a letter from a mysterious Dynasty stranger offering a tenuous olive branch. Bren's rational side tells him to burn it immediately, but something pulls on him to follow through. Based on This is How You Lose the Time War

Reccer says: I love all of the clever and strange places that they hide the letters and absolutely amazing love confessions

Another Time, Another Place by Operafloozy (9780, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek and Bren travel through time attempting to assassinate each other before falling into a collaboration (and in love.) Based off of This Is How You Lose the Time War.

Reccer says: Nothing says Shadowgast like rewriting reality to be with each other.

More Things in Heaven and Earth by kaeda (76998, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Magic in aeor goes VERY wrong. Essek and Caleb end up in Tusk love as Oskar and Guinevere.

Reccer says: This started out as a riot but then it actually gave me some major feels (I totally cried and reading this and that is the highest of compliments) I did not anticipate. I enjoyed every second of this ride it's the parallel universe Tusk Love fic I didn't know I needed.

some things time can't fix by Chrome (25930, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek is arrested for treason and gets his daemon severed. The Nein try to find a way to save them.

Reccer says: This is such good hurt/comfort

into the desert of your pitiless faith by burningdarkfire (24913, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn

A Memory Called Empire Fusion. Essek is a newly-arrived ambassador in Rexxentrum, Beauregard is his assigned cultural liaison, and Caleb is the consecuted soul at the back of his mind. Empires and Dynasties do not serve: they consume.

Reccer says: An amazing take on the source material, with plenty of twists and turns

Breaking Inertia by futureshieldmaiden (31096, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Caleb and Essek get stuck in a time loop, and have to work together to get out of it. Based on Palm Springs

Reccer says: I loved Palm Springs, and I love the dynamic and secrets and forced intimacy of being stuck in the time loop together.

Cat's Paw by mllekurtz (TheKnittingJedi) (20628, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

A Shadowgast Witcher AU with Caleb as a Witcher and Essek as a sorcerer

Reccer says: I liked it!

you must first invent the universe by renquise (3466, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Imperial Radch AU. AKA, what if they were spaceship AIs?

Reccer says: I liked it!

little annihilation by 06151126 (6605, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: power difference, manipulation (minor)

Only one chapter so far - Greys anatomy but the m9 are interns at the hospital. Caleb wants to be the first to operate with Dr. Thelyss

Reccer says: This chapter was so brilliant! The author has medical field knowledge, and it shows. It also stuck fairly close to the first episodes of Greys which was lovely.

a guilty thing, a fearful summons by Anonymous (8593, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: canon typical body horror

A very loose ghostbusters AU, where Caleb and Essek are rival ghostbusters

Reccer says: The first chapter was just published, but I already love the characterization and the premise!

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week, we’ll be back with a recurring theme: Works in Progress!

#critical role #shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #cr fic recs #fan fiction rec list #aeor is for lovers #fusions

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ariadne-mouse · 10 months

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🌀🌧☔️ for the ask game?

Hi there! :) The first two are for The Unhinged AU, since that's what I'm trying to work on at the moment.

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing...

Supermodel and fashion entrepreneur Essek Thelyss doesn't believe in fate - only probability. But it seems probability has it out for him too, because his life is getting turned upside down by a series of ridiculous situations, each more improbable than the last. Why does he keep running into the same man? And more importantly... does he want it to stop?

🌧️Share something angsty from your WIP.

“You weren’t focused in your shoot.” Essek continued to seek the meaning of the universe in his ghostly reflection in the hotel room window. Uraya was a faint blob of color in the background. He sighed. “I know. I just haven’t been feeling… motivated.” The blob drew closer. “Burnout?” “Language,” Essek tutted. “Do not speak such evil here. …And no, not exactly.” “You had a nice time at the museum, didn’t you? You certainly stayed late enough.” “Yes, it was fine.” Essek flicked his wrist, fanning away further inquisitiveness. “It is only just… I feel like I go to these shoots and everyone knows me already and they have all these expectations and presumptions. It’s like a trap. I’m obligated to be the popular version of myself.”

“That’s being famous.” The couch cushion dipped next to him, and Uraya’s face became more clear in the reflection overlaying the far-below topography of Zadash. “Or so I’m told. I’m only the PA.” “The best PA,” Essek corrected. “Yes, yes, that’s understood every time I say it.” A pause. “You could call Verin.” “No.” “Deirta?” “Not looking for a lecture about the family legacy, thank you.” “Hm.” Essek laughed. “The list does run out rather quickly, doesn’t it?”

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Oh good question. Hmmmm I don't have a nice meaty fic concept to explain because I store those in my cheeks like a chipmunk does chestnuts for winter & the optimism of actually writing them someday. But! Sometimes my brain likes to process other media I watch by suggesting very niche crossover ideas. They don't have many legs to stand on other than the novelty of mashing worlds together, so they have the least momentum to mature into actual writing. For example:

Witcher crossover where Essek, Jester, and Caleb land in Witcher!verse? Excellent, inflict Essek and Yennefer on each other. The townsfolk probably would be alarmed by drow and tiefling looks, too, not being present in that world.

Riddick crossover purely for the fun of Essek with Darkvision looking at Riddick's silvered eyes and going "lol you're not special"? Great, put some of the M9 on a spaceship and have the fish-out-of-water experience. I like Essek and Fjord for that team-up, and maybe a hypothetical Fjorjester kid to activate Riddick's moral code about not endangering children.

Shadowgast wash up on a deserted island, their magic isn't working, and something is hunting them? Why yes I did rewatch some of the first season of Lost.

Anyway these are all in the "very indulgent snippet" kind of category, or maybe "brain movie to pass the time while you're in a boring meeting" stuff.

#thanks for the ask!#asks #WIP tease ask meme

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iwillbringyouruin · 7 months

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Fic writer questions

@loki-is-my-kink-awakening suggested I do this (thank you!) so here we go :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

12 (only counting those on my current account)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

139,192 (see 1.)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only The Witcher currently

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Bardic Intelligence (Radskier, T)

Perfect Strangers (Radskier, T)

I Find You All Unwoven (Radskier, T)

Be Good To Me (Radskier, M)

The Touch You Crave (Radskier, E)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I love it

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I would say I Find You All Unwoven. It's hurt with next to no comfort and grief

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

So far, Perfect Strangers probably

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. Years ago, I used to have people urge me to continue writing stories in comments that could have been nicer, but I wouldn't count that as hate

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I used to a lot but not that much anymore. Mostly M/M, smut and feels or smut and humour, non-penetrative sex these days. I'm open to writing more and branching out and I already have some plans for that, but I need to be in the mood for it

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not really. Just very silly AUs based on movies if that counts

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I am translating one of my own stories from English to my native language at the moment, Bardic Intelligence. Which is taking a long time since it's 43k words long originally, who could have seen that coming /s. I might translate some of my shorter stories in the future as well

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I've helped people with background info from canon and done some beta reading

14. What's your all time favourite ship?

all time favourite? good gods, I have no idea. Right now my mind is consumed by Radskier (The Witcher), but other than that the one I think about most is Shadowgast (Critical Role campaign 2).

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

There is a band AU that I started ages ago. The premise was cool and spooky, but I'm just not interested in the fandom and pairing anymore :/

16. What are your writing strengths?

I can write a lot pretty quickly

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have too many WIPs that I try to work on at the same time

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Absolutely love it if there is a good reason for it. Personally, I like using language barriers as a plot device and it's going to play a bigger role in one of my upcoming fics (the gist of it being the future antagonists communicating in another language and the protagonist is given the wrong translation, kept in the dark and lured into a trap that way)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Muse (the band) back in... gods, 2014/15 or something?

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Bardic Intelligence I think. It's the first Witcher fic that I ever wrote and published and it's a combination of Radskier fluff and angst that just feels like a comforting hug whenever I look back at it

#tag games #fic stuff #fandom stuff

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firefrightfic · 3 years

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top 5 fics you've read?? for your most recent ask game

This was super hard, first of all. My favourites tend to change a lot depending on what I'm most into at the time, so I tried to base this mostly off stories that spoke a lot to me or I've found myself coming back to time and again. I also decided to only include one from each particular canon, as well as pick from only fully completed works. That said, I have so many more amazing favourite fics that what are listed here, so check out my bookmarks page for them (also not included are the many wonderful fics I've lost or forgotten to bookmark over the years and now only recall in shreds of memory).

p.s Again, these are in no particular order other than me finding the links for them when going through my bookmarks on Ao3

1) A thousand fingerpints on the surfaces of who I am by SkyScribbles, Critical Role campaign 2, mostly Essek focused with developing Shadowgast

Summary: 'Changing is hard. For most of us, it happens little by little in in the smallest moments and we don’t notice it, we don’t choose it. But looking yourself in the face and deciding to be different – that is hard. You are unpicking threads of who you are that were put in place more than a century ago.'

[This is a series rather than a single fic, but I figure that's really just the same as including a multichapter here. Very much an AU of canon from episode 97 onwards, as it was written during CR's forced hiatus through the first covid lockdown, but still an excellent character study of Essek and the first Shadowgast/Essek focused work I binged through, so of course it holds a special place in my heart.]

2) How River Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Moon by Oriflamme. Books of the Raksura, Moon/River, plus others

Summary: Chime is, apparently, useless. No one else seems to notice or care that their first consort wears almost the exact same jewelry to every formal event.

Really. It's been years.

So River takes matters into his own hands.

[Playing off the rivalry between River and Moon in the books and adding foe-yay/rivals-to-lovers into the mix. I absolutely love the thought and detail put into this. Plus I gotta shout out this author's Transformers fics as well]

3) Eversion by thespectaclesofthor. Detroit: Become Human, Hank/Connor

Summary: Connor, a postgrad taking a semester off from forensic science, liaises with his father’s police station, occasionally working cold cases. When he picks up a cold case conspiracy that indicates a plot to revert all Deviant androids back to their original state, he realises he’s onto something huge, but his bad habits and drinking have made his father annoyed enough to get the HX800 – Hank, one of the only reverted once-Deviants in the world – who serves as bodyguard, nanny and curfew enforcer. Connor, frustrated that he can’t properly work on the case and looking to get Hank off his back, decides what better way to do that, then to make him a Deviant again?

[Look, DBH is not a great game, it's full of plot holes and clumsy racial allegory, but it's appeal lies in the potential it could have had, and this fic reverses two of the primary character roles in a super interesting way. It's also extremely heavy on BDSM themes, sex, non-con and trauma, so please make sure you look through all the tags thoroughly before reading]

4) Blood and Darkness by felinefelicitations. Hades, ThanZag

Summary: Zagreus stops in front of him, head tilted up to look at him. There’s a cut on his face, and without thinking Thanatos reaches out, runs his thumb over it to soothe it shut so at the least he does not bleed.

Zagreus is still looking at him, quiet.

“Zagreus?”

“You came,” Zagreus finally says. He smiles; it makes all the flames that curl around his laurels spark. There is such a soft and tender pleasure in his words. “After all this time.”

[I really love the way this one plays with the idea of the nature of gods. Thanatos/Death in particular in this case. Deviates from the actual plot of Hades quite thoroughly by the end, but a lovely read]

5) The New Hire by starkraving. Blade Runner 2049, gen, K focused.

Summary: Officer KD6-3.7 is brought onboard to replace the LAPD's most recent dead blade runner. It's a steep learning curve.

[all of this author's Blade Runner fic is great, as is their CR stuff. This one stuck with me particularly for the worldbuilding aspects, though. Big warnings for themes of dehumanisation of a sentient artificially created being, threats of violence etc. Blade Runner is not a happy canon and this is not a happy read.]

6) (when you just can't seem) to shake the weight of living by WingedQuill. The Witcher, Geralt/Yennefer/Jaskier

Summary: Geralt's muscles heave backwards, flinging him down against the bed. He tries to struggle upwards but it feels like he’s been buried beneath a mountain. Every inch of him is pressed completely still. His eyes close, and he’s left in the dark with nothing but his racing heart for company. He’s not tired, he’s never been less tired. But the curse wants him to sleep, it seems. It’ll force him to lie here until he does. How much of his life will it start to control, now that he’s declared war against it? Now that he knows it’s lurking in his bones, now that it doesn’t have to be subtle?

He swallows. Takes a long, deep breath, gathering every bit of courage he has to stop himself from slipping back into panic. He still has control over his lungs. He still has that.

For now.

(Or: Witchers don't retire. They stay on the Path until it kills them. They hunt monsters and they want nothing from life. This isn't exactly by choice.)

[Yes I'm cheating including this one, but it was so hard to choose and it's so good just like all the rest. This fic absolutely broke my heart and put it together again with idea of all Witchers being forced to operate under a curse that never lets them retire and essentially traps them in their own minds when they try to fight back against it.]

Bonus shout outs to:

Everything by my lovely Skalidra (shush, I'm biased and you can all deal with it) Take the Heat Out of Me by quipquipquip, the JayDick fic that thoroughly influenced all my DC comics writing Ouroboros by bedlamsbard, if you want incredibly detailed worldbuilding Star Wars fic, featuring universe hopping by the prequel characters, this is the series for you (I particularly recommend Queen's Gambit)

#top five ask game #fic rec

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mllekurtz · 4 months

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I haven't been talking about it because it feels too good to be true, but lately I've been working on a shadowgast fic consistently again for the first time since the vibes au 🙏🏻

The fic is the follow-up of my shadowgast Witcher au, there are roughly 12k words in it right now (including some outline), and this is one of my favorite passages so far:

In the silence that followed, Caleb took a deep breath and conjured happy memories. The smell of his mother’s kitchen. The moment he mastered his first Sign. Killing his masters alongside his peers and ending decades of torture and oppression for good. The first time he made Essek laugh.

I really hope I can bring this home and share it with you soon. Not being able to write (due to covid, bg3, work, general burnout, my dog's illness, probably other stuff I'm forgetting) sucked massively these past few months. This fic in particular has been on the back burner for literal years, and I'm so excited to be inspired to work on it again. I shall hopefully be sharing more soon!

#i'm also rereading the novels and replaying tw3 #i missed this world a lot #i wrote and deleted this post several times because again: too good to be true #what if it doesn't stick etc etc #but sometimes you just have to embrace the uncertainty and the impermanence #even if i never finish this fic i really love what i have so far #and i had a blast writing it #critical role #shadowgast #shadowgast witcher au #fic: heliotrope

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mllekurtz · 1 month

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Shadowgast Witcher au sequel update for accountability: it's been a busy week at work, and I was also in a rut plot-wise, so I've barely cracked open gdocs these days. HOWEVER, I took most of the day off today, went on a long walk this morning since the rainy season seems to finally be over, and when I came home I finally wrote some words.

I have 58k words in the main doc, roughly 50k of them are the actual fic. I'm not close to the ending at all (sad clown noises).

#womp womp #but it's been a good writing day #i'm satisfied with my progress and i think i have enough impetus now to keep writing for a while #taking a break was both necessary and good for my brain #fic: heliotrope #shadowgast witcher au #my writing

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mllekurtz · 2 years

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Chapters: 3/3 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast Characters: Essek Thelyss, Caleb Widogast Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - The Witcher Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Witcher Caleb Widogast, Sorcerer Essek Thelyss, POV Caleb Widogast, Dungeon Crawl, plot heavy, Canon Typical Violence, mentions of canon typical torture, (for both canons), proper and improper use of Tether Essence, Fantasy Racism, playing fast and loose with d&d and video game mechanics, Cat School (The Witcher), basically a Witcher 3 quest but make it shadowgast, Spiders

Or: a Shadowgast Witcher AU in three parts, with art by @kurocyou.

Sometimes, when Caleb was in combat, his body took over his mind, turning him into a creature of instinct and muscle memory, of strength, perseverance and a willingness to survive, and most of all to kill. He didn’t like surrendering to the killer, but sometimes he had no choice.

This was one of those times.

#it is done! if you were waiting for this to be complete before reading: here you go #if you were waiting for the final chapter: here you go as well #ngl i'm very proud of this last chapter so i am stoked to share it with y'all #and obviously to share kuro's art wich is (as always) stupid good #shadowgast witcher au #critical role #cr fic #my fics #shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss

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mllekurtz · 2 years

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🌹

In the end notes of the Witcher AU, I mentioned I was collecting thoughts and ideas for a sequel; among them there's a short conversation I wrote out about Caleb's eyes, because I have Feelings about the mutations changing them into cat's eyes (and Essek has, too).

He was brought back from his thoughts by the tender touch of Essek’s hand on his cheek. “What colour were they before?”

Exhaling from his nose, Caleb leaned into the touch, hiding half his face into Essek’s palm. “I don’t remember,” he said. “We didn’t have mirrors in my home, and it was a very long time ago.” He frowned, closing his eyes. “I think… I think they were like my mother’s. The colour of cornflowers.”

When he opened his eyes, Essek was smiling encouragingly. “I like that.” He ran his thumb on Caleb’s cheek. “I like them now, too.”

“There’s nothing to like in them,” Caleb protested, holding Essek’s hand and bringing it to his lips.

#thanks for the ask! i hope this qualifies as mildly heartbreaking ahah #this is literally the only bit of prose i have for this wip among increasingly vague bullet points #wip wednesday #ask game #shadowgast witcher au #critical role #shadowgast

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mllekurtz · 2 years

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Helloo I am several days late to seeing the ask game but would love to hear about the Witcher AU sequel if you are still up for talking about it!!

Not late at all and yes, I'd love to talk about it!

... even if there's not a lot to talk about 🥲 at the moment it's mostly vibes and a snip I've shared here. I have some bullet points of things that I may or may not end up incorporating in it, including:

Molly is a changeling and impersonates Caleb because he wants to do some good and the first good person he could think of was Caleb

except of course it backfires and Caleb ends up in jail for something Molly did but is released when a mage bails him out; he thinks it's Essek but it's actually [redacted]

Correspondence between Jester and Essek?

Also my main inspiration for the sequel is not a quest, this time, but Season of Storms, the standalone Witcher novel.

#i'm once again asking this fic to please write itself but no luck so far!#i'm sure i'll reach a breakthrough at some point and it'll all flow seamlessly from there. maybe i should play some more witcher #thanks for the ask kayley! ♥#shadowgast witcher au #wip ask game

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mllekurtz · 3 months

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WIP Ask Game

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

(Disclaimer: you don't have to send me an ask, I'm just happy that my list doesn't consist of 0 wips anymore, but of course feel free.)

@the-kaedageist, @kmackatie, @capitola and @burningdarkfire all tagged me in the WIP ask game in December. I wasn't in the right headspace to engage with it back then, but I feel better now, both in general and about my writing, so I thought I'd round up my active shadowgast wips and make a list.

heliotrope (witcher au II)

emergency contact au_def__final_FINAL

prequel chapters to emergency contact au

bookbinder au

losing hand (bop part 6)

modern au romcom shadowgast 5+1 fic

Untitled Witcher au pwp

(By 'active wips' I mean works that have a chance to be posted/are fit to be shown in public/haven't been shelved yet. I left out the wips I know I'll never finish, like the sequel to a better man than me and the Antarctica fic (rest in peace, hours and hours of research). The good thing is that I have matured enough as a writer to be aware of the flaws of those old wips, who were outlined and written by someone who was still finding their footing. Sit eis terra levis, no words are wasted etc. etc.)

I am not tagging anyone because y'all have all been here 40 days ago already, thanks for your patience.

#ask games #wip ask game

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kurosmind · 2 years

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your art is so beautiful! how do you manage to make it look so… is cinematic the word?

Thank you so much!!

And hmm, the cut of the frame does a lot of work I think. For the witcher au sketches, I went for a very wide aspect ratio both to make it easier to include in the Ao3 text and to push the cinematic feel.

I also tried to imagine the scene as if it was a movie storyboard. How would the camera move in that particular shot, what kind of feel do I want the audience to get from it? That kind of aspect ratio works well for zoomed out images I think, which reinforces the sensation of looking at something from a respectfuk distance (which is perfect for shadowgast Imho - I still can't listen to certain scenes without feeling like I'm intruding).

Keeping in mind the rule of thirds for composition also helps a lot, and it provided a fun challenge since the framing was so different than what I'm used to :)

#I encourage people to experiment with aspect ratios!!#When you don't plan on making something a print you can do fun stuff

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kurosmind · 2 years

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The three illustrations I made for the first chapter of @mllekurtz‘s witcher au! check it out here ♥

#shadowgast #critical role #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #shadowgast witcher au #kuro art

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mllekurtz · 2 years

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shadowgast witcher au (wip wednesday)

...originally something quick and easy to take a break from the evil au, has turned into a 20k multichapter instead.

But! The premise is still simple--Caleb is a School of the Cat witcher and Essek is a sorcered and a (former) royal advisor now into hiding. Heavily inspired by the Keira Metz quest in The Witcher 3, and of course by the events of CR campaign 2.

This idea has pretty much grabbed me by the throat and I have spent the last three weeks writing this, so I hope you will enjoy when I start posting (soon!) In the meantime, have a snip!

***

Caleb found the man he was looking for in a hut not far from the village.

He was standing on the doorway of the hut, to be precise, with his hands on his hips and—judging from his expression—a migraine, facing a group of villagers. From what Caleb knew of him, and from what he knew of villagers everywhere, the fact there wasn’t a torch or a pitchfork in sight was surprisingly good news.

“It’s the sheep,” one of the men said. “They are disappearing one by one.”

“And the chickens,” a woman added.

The man on the doorway raised his hands—to silence the bystanders or to conjure a firestorm from the sky, Caleb wasn’t sure. Since no fire rained down from the heavens, it was probably the former.

He was short, with a lithe frame, and yet he had a presence around him that made you think you’d better do as he said. The clothes on him were not elaborate or rich by any definition, and yet their cut and the way they were layered and worn—the asymmetrical hem of his blue surcoat, the bright green sash gleaming in the sunlight, the strings closing the cuffs of his chemise around his wrists, the knitted half-gloves—had purpose and intentionality that went beyond the utilitarian.

He would also appear human at first glance. The illusion spell was convincing, but it shimmered a little around the edges if you looked at it just right.

Confident he’d found the man he wanted, Caleb looked for a spot of shade and leaned against the wooden wall of an outhouse, crossing his arms on his chest as he waited. The weather was getting warmer, but he was comfortable in his light armour.

“I will give you herbs that you may burn in your sheep pens and hen houses to keep the foxes and the wolves away,” said the elf, just as Caleb felt his eyes on him.

It was a quick, neutral gaze. There was no reason for the elf to recognise Caleb, after all, since their previous meeting had been short and not particularly pleasant. Many years ago, Caleb had been summoned to Dol Aine to be received by the Queen herself, who seemed to distrust humans and witchers alike, but didn’t turn her nose up at a spot of good old political assassination. Whatever she had heard about the school of the cat, though, it had been old news by then, and when it turned out that Caleb did, in fact, turn his nose up at games of powers leading to senseless deaths, he had been politely but firmly invited to leave.

The Queen’s advisor had said nothing. Caleb had noticed the dark elf staring at him only once, his eyes looking right through him as if he wasn’t even there. They had been remarkable eyes: Caleb remembered them well, but then he remembered everything well.

As he was considering this memory, the figure went back inside, all but slamming a rickety front door which looked like it could barely take it.

The handful of villagers started streaming back to the muddy Midcopse. “He’s in a foul mood today,” someone said. “Better come back tomorrow.”

Patiently, Caleb let the villagers disappear down the path, nodding when they noticed him but otherwise paying them no mind. Then he stepped out of the shadow.

The door to the hut was unlocked, and no trap sprung when he pushed it open.

“May I come in?” he said to the empty room.

The hut was simple: one main room with a stove, a table and a few cupboards. Some books scattered around, notes that revealed nothing when he glanced at them, a few jars and bundles of herbs that smelled medicinal. To his left, a doorway led to what Caleb imagined was a bedroom.

Since his request to come in wasn’t technically denied, he stepped inside, easing the door closed behind him with more gentleness than its owner did.

The bedroom had nothing but a closet, a table and a small bed (hay, burlap and cotton, from the look and the smell of it) pushed against a wall. No windows, no decorations, no personal effects. Caleb had seen the inside of a few mages’ homes, and he couldn’t see a speck of the opulence he was accustomed to here.

Maybe his man was fully committed to his disguise as a village wizard. Or maybe, like any other mage Caleb had met, he had a trick up his sleeve.

But where had he gone?

Since he somehow seemed to be alone, Caleb dropped to his knees, checking under the bed for pentagrams or trap doors. Nothing there, or on the ceiling or any of the walls. He left the closet last.

It was not the lack of clothes that surprised him; more the fact that it wasn’t a closet at all.

The door opened on a huge room, with a high, wooden ceiling, columns and windows that let the orange-violet light of a clear sunset pour in like water for a warm bath. The space was filled with furniture: plush carpets, padded chairs and, most remarkable of all, rows and rows of hardwood bookshelves. A low, harmonious music played in some corner of this impossible library.

It wasn’t a closet. It was a whole demiplane.

Caleb wasn’t so surprised as to miss a shadow darting quickly from one bookcase to the next.

“Essek,” he called out. He walked over, poking his head from one aisle to the other—the carpets gave pleasantly under his weight, entirely as plush as they looked—until he saw him.

And the glyph on the floor between them, peeking from under a hastily repositioned rug.

“Country life has made you sloppy,” he said, side-stepping the rug to reach the mage. “What was that supposed to do?”

Affecting the look of someone whose plans to get rid of an unwanted guest hadn't just been uncovered, Essek placed a book back into its shelf with a weary sigh. “Teleport you very far away from here.” His tone was too acid for it to be a lie.

Without his disguise, the dark elf looked exactly as Caleb remembered him. The court fineries were gone, true, along with most—but not all—of the jewels. But seventeen years hadn’t brought a single wrinkle on his high, smooth dusky-violet brow, and his figure was as lean and svelte as it had been back then. He was wearing the same clothes as before, which meant they were either real or he liked them enough not to change them. His feet weren’t bare anymore, but encased in a pair of fine slippers. They also hovered a few inches above the floor.

“Essek Thelyss of the Aen Dhuibe, former advisor to Queen Leylas of Dol Aine and current village wizard.” Caleb waited for a response and got none. He huffed in amusement. “You’re a tough man to find.”

The look Essek levelled at him could have melted ice. “That’s the purpose,” he said, “of being in hiding.” His tone was haughty, which somewhat soured the effect of his otherwise pleasantly accented voice.

Raising an eyebrow, Caleb gestured at the room around them. “You’re not exactly keeping a low profile.”

“I don’t let just anyone into my inner sanctum.” Essek turned towards him fully and tucked his hands in his sleeves with fluid, graceful movements. “Usually I place my traps much sooner than that, and with more accuracy, but I was curious to see how far you’d go. I remember you, vatt’ghern.”

Caleb didn’t flinch: he was used to being off-handedly addressed as ‘witcher’—or less tasteful equivalents—by people who didn’t bother learning his name. “I’m flattered.”

“Don’t be. It’s not a fond memory.” The elf’s lips curled in a barely-there smile. “But, as much as the consequences were painful, I have to admit it was amusing to watch someone say no to Leylas for a change. You clearly went through some effort to find me, Caleb Widogast. What do you want?”

So the Queen’s former advisor did recall his name. Caleb smothered his surprise and crossed his arms, making the leather of his armour creak. “Shall we go straight to business?”

Essek cocked his head, batting his lashes with faux courtesy for good measure. “Are you here for tea and gossip? I’m afraid I’ve run out of the former, and there’s nothing I could tell you about the state of the world that you don’t already know.”

“I find it hard to believe such ignorance, Shadowhand.”

“Don’t,” Essek said, his expression souring. “I don’t bear that title anymore. If I wanted salt rubbed into the wound while everyone around me complains about how tragically we’ve fallen from grace, I would have fled with the rest of the court.”

“How’s Skellige treating your Queen?”

“Ask her.”

“You truly do not know?”

“It seems my imperial messengers are a bit slow to reach Middle-of-Nowhere in War-Ravaged County.” Essek’s manners were evaporating along with his patience. “What do you want, vatt’ghern?”

“Information,” Caleb said hastily, before Essek found another way of teleporting him to the bottom of a lake. “About something called a beacon.”

As soon as those words left Caleb’s lips, Essek became as still as a statue. That alone was an interesting reaction. Caleb waited to see what would follow.

“Let’s talk,” Essek said.

#it's unreal how well they both fit in this universe??#unfair really #anyway i've found a way of channelling my knowledge of the witcher universe without actually writing witcher fics lol #add this to the 'this was going to be a quick one shot' pile #please join me in being obsessed with the idea of cat school witcher caleb #critical role #shadowgast #the witcher #critical role fic #wip wednesday #shadowgast witcher au

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