#flashhwing

based off of this post spiral started by @flashhwing in which caleb is groundhog daying the day of essek’s execution

warning/s: angst, injury, results of off screen torture

title from the amazing devil song - welly boots, please forgive any errors, i’m still learning the mechanics of this world

(ao3)

They land hard, the breath forced out of them in a pained sudden whoosh. Caleb clutches Essek to his chest, shielding him and pinning the drow to the ground with his weight as he catches his breath. 

The weak evening sun is almost blinding after the endless night of Rosohna and it takes a moment for him to adjust to the light, however soft it is, after being so used to the darkness. The winter rays and bitter bite of the cold wind are almost heavenly after months of the same terrible day over and over and over. 

Caleb waits a beat. 

And then another. 

No attack is launched, there’s no rush of air being displaced as the Aurora Watch follow them with their own teleportation. Though how they would have he doesn’t know, not even Caleb has any idea where they’ve landed. He’s just grateful it worked. A brief respite against the continuing horror. Nothing truly gained from this loop except he doesn’t have to watch Essek die again.

He tightens his grip around Essek, ignoring the burn of a barely missed flurry of Eldritch Blasts across his back. The skin pulls in a familiar way, taught under the curled edges of his jacket. It’ll be gone with the sunset, as all injuries he’s acquired over the months have faded with the resetting day. He doesn’t let it bother him as he would have done.    

“Caleb?” Essek murmurs into his shoulder tentatively. His fingers shake as they clutch at Caleb’s shoulders tight enough to hurt.

To clarify; I’m not caught up on Critical Role. I’m like seven episodes in but I’m very much trying to binge through it soon. I am definitely taking liberties with ‘time travel’ but I have ideas. I’m going with the Mighty Nein because I haven’t watched Campaign One. I really went off with this but I hope that’s okay!!

Okay, so I’m making it a kinda ‘partial’ time travel AU.

Both Caleb and Veth are from the modern era but they don’t really know each other. Caleb has his regular brand of Trauma as Bren but Veth is pre-Nott.

The day the two meet for the first time is actually Veth bumping into Caleb practicing a new spell. However, her knocking into him caused him to uhhh Fuck Up Badly and the two get yeeted back in time.

However, they get separated and sent back to slightly different points in time when they do. Veth meets Yeza, has her son, and becomes Nott following her canon backstory. Veth is already Nott by the time they get sent back to.

When Caleb meets Nott in prison, he’s actually there after being arrested for being ‘drunk and disorderly’ (aka panicking and talking ‘nonsense’ about the present day because there’s no sensible way to react to being thrown back in time).

Nott doesn’t reveal her backstory to him but the two share a ‘holy shit! You’re from the future too! I’m not just imagining it!’ moment and stick together.

Caleb continues to buy up as many books as he can on the arcane, desperately trying to find a way to recreate the spell and send the two of them back to the present. It’s going...as well as can be expected. But he really is trying!!

Canon meeting with the rest of the Mighty Nein happens. There are Many Moments where Nott does her best to cover for Caleb when he screws up and mentions things that haven’t happened yet or things that don’t exist yet. Half the time the Nein do Not believe them but it’s okay. Caleb and Nott are just Like That.

A lot of canon still goes as planned. Mollymauk does NOT die because I refuse. Caduceus joins the Nein. Nott becomes Veth again etc.

Once she’s Veth again, she’s very...hesitant about going back to the present. She has a new life here. She has friends and family; she feels loved. She doesn’t want to go back. But Caleb is seemingly unconvinced.

This entire time, Molly has been fascinated by Caleb. This strange, reserved man that talks of seemingly prophetic things that haven’t happened yet. He finds the moments where Caleb is just...amazed by the world around them endearing. The two grow a lot closer a lot quicker than they do in canon. Even if Caleb is more than slightly oblivious with Molly’s attempts at flirting.

But Caleb and Veth find a family amongst the Nein. They find a sense of belonging. Even when they open up to the others about being from the future, there’s a lot of confusion but they’re not rejected for it. Caleb is able to sorta deal with his trauma and come to terms with the things he did because we sure do love caharacter Growth in this household.

But then it happens.

Caleb finally reaches his goal and completes the spell. He can go back to the present.

So he gets ready to go but the rest of the Nein are NOT having it. They start pointing out that he doesn’t have anything in the future, and ask what he’s returning for. They remind him that he has a family here; he’s wanted. Beau definitely hits him at least once (probably twice).

As everyone demands he stay, Caleb turns to the one person who’s stayed oddly quiet. Molly. He asks what he thinks. Because I’m deeply into cliches, Mollymauk kisses him in response.

I started writing this as JonGerry but Martin was suddenly there too and I was like “well who am I to tell him to get out”? Sorry!

"S'mores, anyone?" Gerry calls out from where he's rummaging on the plastic cooler by the tent. 

"Just come over here already." Jon's voice is testy, and Gerry arches an eyebrow. He does grab the marshmallows, chocolate and crackers, however. Jon being cranky for whatever reason is no excuse to not enjoy a sweet treat.

"Someone's cold." Martin gives him a shrug and a smile, when he comes to sit by the fire with them. He's holding Jon in his arms, both of them bundled over in a thick blanket.

"You're sitting a foot from the fire, Jon." Gerry rolls his eyes.

"So?" Jon arches an unimpressed eyebrow. Gerry responds in kind, stabbing a marshmallow on a stick.

"So stop being ridiculous and just say you want to cuddle, I promise you won't die." Gerry's suspicions are immediately confirmed, when Jon flushes so deeply it's noticeable even by the soft light of the fire, and burrows deeper into Martin's arms.

Martin bursts out in surprised laughter. "How did you know?" Martin asks, which only makes Jon sulk harder.

"Call it an educated guess." Gerry smiles fondly, sticking the marshmallow into the fire. "We went camping a lot in college."

"Well, I don't want to cuddle with you anymore. Well done." Jon's practically just a pair of narrowed eyes glaring at him from between the folds of the blanket and Martin's arms around him, as Gerry pulls the melting marshmallow out of the fire, before squeezing it between two crackers along with a chunk of chocolate.

"But love, I thought you were cold." Gerry shrugs, taking a bite out of his s'more. 

Martin chuckles again, shaking his head "You two are the worst." Gerry holds the treat up to him, and Martin takes a bite as well. " 's good!"

"Not as sweet as you, though." Gerry gives Martin a cheesy smile, stretching a hand to wipe a smudge of chocolate from the corner of his lips. "Jon?"

"You're a horrible man, and I want nothing from you," comes the still sullen voice, and both of them laugh.

"You hurt me. Martin, I'm hurt."

"Poor, sweet Gerry, come here." Martin leans down and sideways, and Gerry finds that the chocolate is even better when mixed with the taste of Martin. "Is that better?"

"Much." Gerry finishes the rest of the s'more in a few bites, uncaring of the melted marshmallow and chocolate around his mouth. "I'm ready to counterattack."

"Oh?" Martin asks, mirth gleaming in his eyes.

"You know me. A terrible man." Gerry crouches to loom over Jon, who catches on to what's happening much too late, only after Martin's arms have tightened around him. "Spiteful."

AFSGSHSHJAKAKSKSHSH AS ALWAYS, YOU SAY THE WORD JONGERRYMARTIN AND IM GONNA START SCREAMIBG AT YOUR FACE

Who sleeps in the middle?

Jon, he gets cold too easily, he needs the two human furnaces on each of his sides

Who is the best cuddler?

Martin! Jon and Gerry sometimes race to him as if he isn't big enough for the both of them

Who gets hurt the most?

Physically? Jon and Gerry ties but for different reasons, Jon is the cat that gets into increasingly ridiculous encounters that Do Not End Well (depending on the universe it varies from shaking hands with a Fear Avatar known to burn flesh off the bone, to getting stuck hanging from the college theatre's ceiling, to accidentally raising the poltergeists Gerry was stopping from reemerging) while Gerry pull him out if each, earning scrapes and bruises for all his troubles (you can hear Martin's faint screaming of 'WHAT THE FU-' at his bfs shenanigans everytime)

Who acts like the baby?

Jon 🙈🙈🙈

Who teases the others the most?

Gerry!!!

Who proposes?

Hnngghh Gerry and Martin because I project onto Jon my skittishness to verbalise any and all of my emotional attachments to a person

Who is the most protective?

ASgshfjks ALL OF THEM BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND with varying levels of success

Who is the closest to the child? (Whether it be a fur baby, scale baby, or human child.)

Hngghhhh all because Gerry will be the one always energetic enough to play catch/tag/laser pointing/skiprope with the little one, Martin feeds them with all the yummy foods and gives them the nicest headrubs, and Jon is the one that memorized the Parenting 101 book but absolutely melts and does what the little one wants when those big woeful pleading eyes are turned upon him.

Who gives the best advice?

Gerry, until it's about leitners in which he'll just say 🔥💥🔥 (which on second thought is a great advice)

Who is like a therapist?

Gerry, until it's about his own issues asdfgbd

Who sings B and C to sleep?

Jon 😍😍😍

Is the relationship healthy?

I LIKE TO THINK IT FUCKING IS

Do A and B have a stronger bond with each other? Or do C and B or C and A have a stronger bond? Or are A, B, and C close together [equally]?

HhnnGGHHh there's no way to compare because I feel the two-way relationships are so different from each other and to say the three of them are "close together equally" is grossly simplifying things. Like JonGerry is the pair that understands and agrees with each other's humour and snark so easily? While GerryMartin is the more emotionally mature of the three (and has shared Mom Trauma!)? JonMartin is the one with lots of bickering but with still a strong desire to be with each other? Together they make sugar and spice and everything nice ashshsjd

Who can be trusted to be left home alone?

Martin, because: He's standing on his tiptoes to turn the stove's knob, Mum left him a note that she'll be home late so he'll have to cook his own dinner and that's okay, he can do it, he must so she doesn't have to worry about him anymore, oh, maybe he can even cook something nice for her, he'll make her a cup of tea, she'll like it for sure (she doesn't, not the first time, nor the second, not even the third, said he made it taste like burnt leaves, but Martin always makes sure there's tea waiting for her anyway) // He reads the note Jon wrote and Gerry framed with doodles of hearts and eyes, "Off to burn The Googly Eyes Leitner, be back by dinner". He turns the stove on and whistles as he makes their tea and readies their stir fry and soup.

Who cries the most?

Jon ashsjajddjks

Who is the softest?

Gerry, he tries to hide it but he cries everytime they watch Bambi and The Good Dinosaur.

Who is the shortest?

Jon 😂😂😂

Who is the tallest?

Martin 👀👀👀

Who likes cuddles the most?

JON. JON WILL JUMP ON THEIR LAPS AND CLING TO HIS BOYFRIENDS UNTIL THEY GIVE HIM HIS DAILY DOSE OF CUDDLES

Last of all, who sings terribly in the shower?

ASGAGHAJS ALL OF THEM THEY TRY TO SING THE MOST OFF KEY BEAT TO SEE WHICH ONE OF THEM WILL CRACK WITH LAUGHTER FIRST