#glossofic

more heroforges from my SWM cyberpunk h/c fic! part of my winter's crest gift exchange fic for @wanderingbasilisk aka wandie bc they gave me scifi/android/cyberpunk brain rot and so i gave them 6k of said brain rot lol

Fjord and Jester just announced that they're engaged to be married in the next year. 

He is of course, incredibly happy for them, but he can't help the sinking feeling in his chest, especially when his eyes land on Essek, who smiles fondly at Jester's beaming, proud little face.

He's making him wait for so long, and it's been six months, but not yet. He's not ready. There's still so much left to fix– in the world, and in himself.

He lays a hand gently on top of Essek's when he gets the chance next, and he doesn't know how to say 'Thank you' and 'I've missed you' and 'I wish much for us' so all that comes out is:

"I'm sorry."

Essek, perplexed, says quietly between them, "For what?"

He feels a sad smile grow on his lips and his words leave him again, so he shakes his head and says, "Later."

Soft violet eyes meet his searchingly, then Essek nods, smiles kind and warm, then squeezes his hand and moves on.

When Caleb looks away, he sees Caduceus approaching to put down a bowl of stew in front of him, then sits next to him with his own and hums thoughtfully.

"Do you remember the green beans?"

"Ah– ja, ja– of course." His voice comes out far more timid than he'd intended.

"We are planted, and so we have to grow. But each plant grows differently, some fast, some slow, some tall or short. Some grow in the fall, and some in spring."

Caleb swallows the spoonful of food in his mouth and it goes down past the lump in his throat.

He didn't realize he was so easy to read.

Then again, it's Caduceus.

"You are not slow or out of time, Caleb. You are growing exactly as you are meant to."

Dammit.

He feels his eyes well up quick, and a traitorous tear rolls off his lashes and into his lap when he blinks to look away, embarrassed.

Caduceus' large, warm hand lands on his shoulder.

"Th– thank you, Herr Clay."

–

shadowidomauk

post-canon, domestic fluff, sleepy summery vibes, essek pov

swmmer of love collection on tumblr, on ao3

1.1k

AO3

-

A cool breeze flows through the window, rustling the pages of the book Essek reads. He adjusts and holds down the corners, careful not to jostle the half-napping tiefling on his lap. When Caleb comes in from the garden and pauses to put down his tools and take his shoes off, his gaze meets Essek's above the edge of his tome, and the sparkle in the redhead's eye and the gentle pull of his lips further light up his lovely, sun-kissed face.

"Hello, dearest."

"Mmm.. how's it looking, love?" Molly pipes up, voice sleepy and lilting. They seem to be especially cat-like in the summer, heat and sun lulling them into a softer, lazier version of themself. Essek's thumb rubs a gentle back and forth absently at their cheek where his hand rests, ever endeared by them. Molly's quiet chest purr grows and they nuzzle into Essek's thigh with a cute hum.

"Ja, good. All the little ones are doing well."

Essek's face breaks into a smile at Caleb referring to the plants as if they are his children. He is so very adorable when speaking about his cats or plants, and if he happens to go on about it for a bit, Essek loves nothing more than allowing him to do so while listening raptly and watching all the wonderful ways his expression changes as he speaks with as much passion about this work as his magic.

Essek is pulled inexorably to him, and suddenly his book is the least interesting thing in the world, so he sets it aside to greet him properly. Molly must sense his intentions, because they roll away for him and curl up on another pile of cushions on the plush rug with a little smirk, a wink, and a nod towards the redhead. 

"Go on then, love." And the end of his sentence dissolves into a big yawn then a prompt, grumbly return to his nap.

Essek pushes up and off towards Caleb, and the redhead's smile widens as he approaches, the circle of his arms rising to beckon Essek into his hold. 

"Schätzchen."

Caleb envelopes Essek fully, encircles him with his slightly larger form, and pulls him in and squeezes, causing a little bubble of joy in Essek's chest to erupt from him in a soft laugh.

Being wrapped up in his loves' arms never fails to feel like a homecoming– even while having the privilege of their proximity so often nowadays.

He is so very warm, and despite the inherent heat of the season, Essek enjoys it, basks in it, and can't help but nuzzle and drop kisses against his sun-warmed cheek, over and over, softly, till he's sated of him.

"Not that I want to part from you this soon, but I don't want to get your nice clothes all soiled from mine."

Essek hums in acknowledgement and continues to press lingering kisses against Caleb's cheek, crow's feet, the corner of his smile anyway.

"You're very cuddly today."

"You were away for a while. I missed you."

"I was right outside, under the bright scorching sun, my dear." 

Cheeky.

Essek tuts and softly bites the edge of his jaw in mock abuse, reveling in the laugh Caleb gifts him.

[read the rest on AO3]

or read the rest under the cut~

Shadowmauk

1.9k

fluff, language of flowers, gift-giving, pre-relationship, confessions (sort of), polyamory, background Shadowidomauk

–

Molly gives him a funny look once or twice, and receives no answers, just anxious, furtive looks. He looks slightly annoyed and… constipated perhaps, so Molly probably said or did something untoward and didn't notice and he's about to tell him off about it.

In proactive retaliation, he's wondering which would be more fun, and which would show him even more special, secret sides of Essek – let this get drawn out till Essek says something and simply sit back to observe, or just corner him and antagonize him a little– gently, socially?

–

happy birthday quinnieeee @quinn-of-aebradore

shadowidomauk, shadowmauk

hurt/comfort, sci-fi au, cyberpunk au, relationship negotiations, touch aversion/ sensitivity/starvation, essek pov

gift for @wanderingbasilisk 💜

6k

AO3

—

“How are you feeling?”

Molly sits across from Caleb, and both hands, prosthetic and natural, lay in Caleb's outstretched palms atop his knees. Molly flexes the natural one easily enough, but the other is in a tight fist, and he's frowning at it, seemingly frustrated.

At Essek's prompting, he looks up, and it takes him another moment or two to focus his gaze on Essek’s face proper, who stands in the doorway, his own hands clasped together anxiously. Essek is patient and steady as he can, and even if his heart aches for him, he sequesters that away to a private place. He would hate to seem anywhere near pitying of him.

“I'd love to say I'm right as rain, but that is not quite the case.” Molly tries for a smile but it doesn't quite reach his eyes and falls too quickly, and he ends up revealing instead how tired he is.

“Uhm... I'm still numb in some places, and in others, it hurts. And I can't stop twitching since yesterday. This hand,” and he gestures to his left, the mechanical one, “Has been locked in a fist since last night. It usually takes a few hours to unlock on its own, but it seems to be stuck this time.”

Molly's left arm has been jerking intermittently, a clearly uncontrollable motion that shifts his whole body and translates all the way down to his clenched hand, and seems to be bringing him some distress, and pain.

Caleb's eyes follow the motion and turn a shade more somber, though he secrets that away swiftly while Molly is turned around. Essek can almost see Caleb's heart take a tumble and break into pieces as Molly speaks, as upset as he himself feels. Caleb's circuitry scarred hands squeeze Molly’s lightly, then return to their former position where they cupped them.

Essek can't help but feel utterly awful. After all, he's the one that did this to him.

He recalls with a pang the distressed message Caleb had sent him, then Jester's, begging for his help to save their friend, Mollymauk. He'd met the tiefling in passing, finding a chaotic and colorful being who never stayed in one place for long enough for Essek to parse him out properly.

A few days after the Message, the entire Mighty Nein appeared at his doorstep. When they ensured Essek's lab was secure, Caleb fetched what was left of their dear friend's bloody, mangled body from an Amber Vault – a digital, portable safe– and handed that over to Essek, alongside a memory drive that had Molly's mind uploaded to it in a combination of efforts by Caleb and Caduceus.

Essek had been terrified at the responsibility inherent in saving such a precious person's life, but he had done his best to focus on the cybernetics puzzle at hand and to take the anxiety out of his mind. There was no room for mistakes or missteps.

He was successful, much to his relief, and his friends’ collective joy.

The tears and yells as Molly had opened his eyes for the first time rang clear in his memory. The tiefling had startled, covered his ears, and ran from the room– only to collapse in a heap a few steps into the next one.

It wasn't an unexpected sign of failure by any means– the collapse, that is, not the fleeing– after all, Mollymauk’s body was half machine now, and it had yet to be calibrated and tested properly. More specifically, it was costly, state-of-the-art cyberware mods and prosthetics, provided for free of course, connecting what of his ravaged body Essek and his team could salvage.

As a scientist who'd lived through the last hundred and twenty some years watching the world and its technologies develop at an alarming pace, he'd slowly grown more and more doubtful of the ethics of the now normalized practice of cyber modification, or ‘cybermods’. It's even worse that his current patient– ward, friend, whatever their odd relationship now was– hadn't been able to consent to these operations at all.

It made Essek hate himself just a little bit more, made him doubt his work– political and scientific– his family, their wealth, their entire society, his everything, even more deeply, despite how thankful all his friends, and Molly, were in the aftermath of that incident.

“Essek?”

Molly's voice has now taken on a subtle digital tone to it due to his voice-box being modded, and in addition, he sounds… lost, exhausted. Nothing like the person he once was.

Essek tries not to wallow right now. That can be for later, when he's done his job and is alone once again.

“My apologies. Just thinking.”

He goes to them. A person he is helping take care of needs his care right now. He has a function to serve, and that is the priority.

hieeee the server came up with this fun summery shadowidomauk theme for one of our writing nights and are sharing it so we can all use it and bask in the swm goodness together 💜💕🧡

use the tag #swmmeroflove and add your work to the ao3 collection to join us!

caleb/essek

post-canon, domestic, hurt /comfort, introspective, essek pov

1.5k

AO3

-

Being within the same four walls for a long period of time with Caleb is a new experience for him, and a fulfilling one in many ways.

Essek has the chance– the privilege really– to see him as he is, without all of his protective layers. He is without the air of humble confidence and charisma he carries himself with as a teacher and a mage– without the slight tension in his shoulders he always holds in public, especially when the Nein are around, attentive and protective of them as he is.

It's a pleasant surprise to see a side of him that can be wholly unwound– humming as he cooks, speaking gently with the stray cats that visit him, napping in the shade underneath his apple tree.

Matters of the heart have always been complicated for Essek, but he is honest enough with himself to at least admit that somehow, within the liminal spaces of the chaos of their lives, he's fallen for him– as inadequate a phrase that is at describing how he feels about him. But– it is the truth, and he knows seeing him as he is now has only made him fall harder.

Tonight, they read together in the tower's library, Essek's cold feet tucked under Caleb's thigh, and one of Caleb's hands casually over his bare ankle, thumb absently sweeping against the skin there; a welcome distraction that draws Essek's gaze away from his book, and onto Caleb.

[Read the rest on AO3]

Or read the rest under the cut