#honestly one of the few good characters and i’m glad she at least got a good ending | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

trancylovecraft · 3 months ago

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*ੈ✩‧₊˚ WANDERILLUSTREOUS!: Chapter One!

(YANDERE GENSHIN VARIOUS x READER)

[F/N] [L/N], A twenty-two year old college student goes about her mundane life. Most people would describe her as content, And maybe [F/N] would've described it as such too- Her life. Over and over again, Day after day, The cycle never stops. That is, However, Until she suddenly drops into Genshin Impact out of nowhere. In any other case, [F/N] might have been glad to be there. In a fantasy land where she had only ever visited in her dreams, With a feeling she couldn't describe flooding her entire being. However, [F/N] couldn't be further from excited.. She had never played Genshin in her life. [F/N] threw her head into her hands, Holding back the urge to scream. “I’m absolutely screwed, Aren’t I?”

*ੈ✩‧₊˚AO3 LINK *ೃ༄

GENDER: Femme LIST OF YANDERE'S: https://pastebin.com/ErsuA2cz SONG: RISK, RISK, RISK! - Jhariah NOTE: N/A

PROLOGUE *ੈ✩‧₊˚ MASTERLIST *ੈ✩‧₊˚˚ NEXT PART *

To say that [F/N] had never played Genshin Impact in her life, Was a bit of an exaggeration.

She had played Genshin. However it was a good couple of years ago, And even then it had only been up until she had arrived in Mondstadt.

It was a rather boring night, [F/N] could recall. She had only downloaded the game after seeing it all over her social media, Flickering through her TikTok with thinned lips as she saw edit after edit, Listened to audio after audio, Read reference after reference of which she couldn’t understand.

Her thumb was hesitant as it tapped the download button on the app store.

It really didn’t seem like something she’d be interested in..

But when even her friends began to start raving about it..

After waiting the nail-biting time it took to download on her phone, She finally got to play, Her phone held landscape in both hands as she gripped it tight. Blue light lit up her face, Eyes burning at the sudden glare within her dark room.

She had ran around after the cutscenes ended, When she had chosen the sister and her brother was subsequently taken away. [F/N] went around, Hit a few of the enemies, Did a few of the character cutscenes, Picked up a few apples..

In all honestly, [F/N] couldn’t understand the appeal.

The characters she had so far met, A girl with reddish clothing and an effeminate boy coddling a dragon, Both weren’t really that promising. The girl especially. [F/N]’s eyes rolled after the fifth dialogue box flew by.

[F/N] had then uninstalled the app with a display of disappointment on her face.

It really wasn’t for her after all.

“Jesus-! Does there really need to be so much twigs..?! Man- My feet are gonna be bleeding at this rate.”

“Jesus? What’s a Jesus?”

“Uuh- No- It’s uhm..”

Which really sucked, Considering her current predicament.

“Woah..! Look at that!”

[F/N] pushed herself up, Finally trudging uphill to now stand perched atop the peak of the entire valley. The sky, A bold blue with white clouds stricken across such a wondrous canvas- [F/N] could only marvel, Feeling her breath be taken by the wind as she looked out over the sea of her surroundings.

Mountains and valleys, With the named city faded off in the distance- Towering windmills cutting the sky open like blades as the bird continued to soar around them. [F/N] could only watch as their wings beat against the wind, Wild and free.

Her eyes trailed down, Centring on what was now before her.

A crescent shaped valley, Careened off by the surrounding headlands. [F/N] felt her heart pound in her chest as she gazed across the trickling ring of water in the middle, Surrounding a small island like a moat.

And a carved stone pillar, Holding a beautifully chiselled statue atop it.

[F/N] let go of her breath, Her eyes ablaze.

Mondstadt. She was in Mondstadt. The first location within Genshin Impact, At least she knew that. By the cool winds that danced across the grasslands she was traversing through, Carrying the revitalising scent of saccharine rosebuds and rejuvenating sweet flowers-

The wide horizon with far away mountains- Snow-capped peaks fading into the ocean blue of the sky as the gulls above continued to soar-

Yeah, This place was way too good for real life.

She was in Mondstadt, No doubt.

“That’s a statue of the seven..!” Paimon gasped as she looked out across the valley, Excitedly pointing down towards the statue below them. “There are a few of these statues scattered across the land to show The Seven's protection over the world.”

“The seven?”

“Yeah..! The seven! Though.. Paimon guesses that you haven’t heard of them.. They’re the gods that rule over Teyvat!”

A neuron clicked in her head.

Oh yeah, The Archons, [F/N]’s heard of them.

Mostly from thirst traps.

“No, No. I think I’ve got an idea about who they are.” [F/N] nodded her head as she looked out across the valley, Sweeping the dirt and dust and hair out of her eyes as she took in the cool air.

Paimon nodded happily, Turning back towards the statue.

“Mondstadt is ruled by the Anemo God, Barbatos! You think he has any idea about how you ended up here?” She asked in thought as she began to float away, Beckoning [F/N] to follow her down towards the statue.

[F/N] shook her head, Beginning to trail along with an uneasy look.

“I don’t know-” She exasperated, Yelping as she almost trips over a stray rock. “Look- All I want to do is just- I don’t know.. Find a place to gather my thoughts, And get a good meal. I don’t know if this ‘Barbatos’ guy knows what happened to me, But I’ll figure it out once I get my stomach full and my head to stop pounding.. Ah, Jeez..”

“Paimon agrees! Spinning around and around in a whirlpool really builds up an appetite..!”

And fishing a fairy out of one too. [F/N] could almost feel her stomach doing kickflips.

[F/N] groaned as she trudged along. According to what fleeting memory she had of the beginning of this game, The traveller- The sister- She had made her way to the little island in the middle of the statue- Pressed her palm against the cracked stone and suddenly she was able to control the element of Anemo.

Was [F/N] capable of doing the same? Was she meant to do the same?

She had taken the traveller's place after all.

Eventually, [F/N] managed to stumble along, Following the fairy to the miniature shore of the ring pool with only a few more scrapes added to the bottom of her feet. She winced. As soon as she got the chance, [F/N] was getting a pair of shoes, Supposing that was another thing to add to the list.

Snapped out of her thoughts, [F/N] shot Paimon the dirtiest look when she said she had to swim.

[F/N] shuddered.

Tossing her bag to the side, [F/N] took in a deep breath.

Anything to progress the plot, She supposed.

“Ugh, Dangit.. There goes any semblance of warmth I have.”

[F/N] whimpered, Absolutely drenched in spring water. Dripping from her hair, Her clothes and the tip of her nose all cold soaked in dew. Making her look like a wet cat as she stood in the centre of the small island, [F/N] tried not to shake as she felt the water crawl down her back.

Turning away, She tried to refocus.

[F/N] took a deep breath in, Shuddering as droplets continued to trickle down her body, Her legs. With a sharp exhale she reached out her hand towards the cracked stone pillar, Her fingers twitching.

Her palm pressed flat against the stone, Just like the traveller did in canon, Cold and coarse against her touch.

The wind continued to blow through the valley, The floral scent still invading her senses. For a moment, Nothing had happened. [F/N] almost expected it not to work, Did she want it to work?

“What the-”

The statue began to glow, The sphere held up like the moon in the statue’s hands began to radiate light like the sun.

[F/N] stumbled back, Eyes widening in shock as she felt the wind begin to pick up around her. Roaring and waving- A speck of light picking up from the sphere, Swirling and swaying in the wind-

Heading right towards [F/N].

“Ack-!” [F/N] yelped out as she felt the wisp crash into her chest with the toll of a wind chime. She backed up, Almost tripping over the stray rocks as a sudden spark spread across her body like wildfire.

Her headache began to cool, The ache in her feet began to dull.

A strange tranquillity (?) washing over her.

“Ooh! Did you just feel the elements of the world?” Paimon gasped as she almost zoomed towards her, Eyes batting as she looked over [F/N]’s figure.

“I-I guess so..?” She replied hesitantly, Her hands patting down her body, Almost frantic, As if looking for some kind of injury. Though thankfully to her relief, She found no cuts or gashes or whatever else Her body was uninjured-

Quite the opposite, [F/N]’s eyes widened when she realised the cuts on her feet were no longer present.

“Huh.. It healed me..?” She whispered, Her eyes shining, Amazed.

“Seems all you had to do was just touch the statue and you got the power of Anemo!” Paimon marvelled, Blinking in wonder as she turned to look at her.

“I.. I did?” [F/N] blinked as she felt a sudden power wash over her- Cool and sublime just like the saccharine winds that danced throughout the little island she stood on. How strange. She felt a shiver trail down her spine as the wind crept up her back.

She got the power of Anemo? But she didn’t feel any different..

“Searching for the Anemo Archon should be our long-term goal! Finding out why you came into Teyvat is your goal right? Or is Paimon getting that messed up..?” Paimon asked, A hand on her chin in thought.

[F/N] blinked.

Her goal?

[F/N] hadn’t thought about a goal.

“Yeah. You’re right..” She spoke slowly, Controlled. Her head nodding. [F/N] supposed that she needed to set some kind long-term goal set in mind. “I need to find out how I got here. Yeah. I need to figure out how I got into this world- You’re right.”

Paimon smiled.

“Of course I am, Paimon’s always right!” The fairy hmphed, Arms folding as an expression of pride across her face. “Perhaps, because you got power from the God of Anemo, you can find some clues in Mondstadt! And as your guide, Paimon will be glad to take you!”

[F/N] took a deep breath in, Took in the flowers- The pollen. The air so much clearer than in the suburbia she was use to kicking about in. She shuddered. [F/N] still felt like a fish out of water, Like a sheep out of her pen- Like a person who was never meant to be here-

But she needed to stay calm. She needed to stay focused.

Turning to Paimon, [F/N] gave her a curt nod and a short agreement left her lips. A grateful look in her eyes, Thankful for at least some kind of guide in this place- This foreign planet. Even if her guide was a little uncanny- With her big eyes and the way she seemed to float mid-air- [F/N] was glad she had at least some form of guidance here.

Paimon grinned, Beckoning her forward.

“Come on then, Let’s head to Mondstadt!”

⭒❅✸✪✸❅⭒

“Agh-! The hell is that!?”

[F/N]’s bag dropped to the ground.

Her voice was drowned out by a roar unlike any other, A bellow shaking the earth-

Shaking the trees as the mass careened over the horizon. It’s roar like an avalanche- Crashing, Enveloping everything-

Tallgrass whipped back from the gales, Pushed by the sheer force of the gale. Flowers trembled. Bugs began to scatter. Worms became unearthed as the ground shook with such vitriol.

[F/N] could only watch in horror.

A dark shadow flew over her. She stood frozen in a down-turned field, Waist-deep in tallgrass that tickled at the dampness on her skin. Her eyes were just as agape as her mouth was, Gasping, Trembling, Head pointed straight up.

It was a dragon.

A massive- Impossibly sized dragon.

And it was flying right over her.

Talons shining under the heat of the sun, A white underbelly, Horns pointed behind it’s head like a crown. Beady eyes paying her no mind as they wildly searched for a suitable spot.

The wings, Feathered and ruffled- Gliding across the sky making birds wildly soar away from the bigger fish- Feathers like diamond and crystals scattered across it like a butterfly’s- Tufts flying off as it crashed down upon the forest.

[F/N] tried not to fall from the quake, Rippling out across the land.

“Holy-!” [F/N] cried out as the earthquake finally subsided, Only proving to make her stumble back a few steps. Goosebumps travelled across her skin as she let go of the leather strap of her bag, Slipping out of her grasp.

“Wow! What is that!?”

Paimon's voice cried out from beside her, Shrill and squeaky as it always was. A dragon, Of course it was, [F/N] had no idea how she had forgotten about this part of the game- A dragon whose mere claw was the size of her- Gliding and crashing into the forest with a roar.

[F/N] knew that she wouldn’t forget it now.

She took a step forward, Then another- Her eyes trained in the direction that it had fallen in. Paimon floated forward too, Stars fading in her wake as she

“It's landed in the heart of the forest. Come on, We should go check it out..!”

“What..!? Are you insane?!”

There was absolutely no way Paimon had just said that.

[F/N] looked at Paimon, Wide-eyed and absolutely baffled. Check it out? What. The massive, Several-story tall dragon that had crashed into the forest and seemed absolutely livid out of it’s mind?

“Yeah- No.” [F/N] shook her head rapidly, Laughing almost sheepishly as a bead of sweat ran down her brow. “Look- Paimon- I don’t know about you but I don’t have any weapons- Or- Or any actual abilities I know how to use yet- But you know what I do have?“

“What?”

“A will to live.”

“Aha..” Paimon giggled awkwardly. Scratching behind her head sheepishly, Almost flushed as the redness of her face began to flare up in embarrassment.

[F/N] sighed, Pinching her brow.

How did it go in game again?

The traveller had made her way into the heart of the forest after the dragon crashed into it, Fighting low-level enemies with her newfound power and gaining XP quickly rendered useless by the resources she found.

She had hidden behind a tree, Eavesdropping in as the dragon began to communicate with that effeminate boy- Venti, Was it? [F/N] knew of him at least, If only by name. He had been trying to soothe the dragon from what she could recall, However thanks to the traveller- Her presence had disturbed them and therefore made an issue in the plot.

So all [F/N] had to do was just.. Not get involved.

All she had to do was just pretend she saw nothing and go on about her merry way.

[F/N] sighed, Turning towards Paimon.

“Come on, Let’s just get to Mondstadt- I don’t think this is something we should be getting involved.. In..” [F/N] blinked, Her voice slowly trailing off, Quieter and quieter as her eyes began to focus on something.

“Eh? Traveller? What’s with that face?” Paimon tilted her head, Blinking as she observed the rather befuddled expression crossing her new-companions face. [F/N], In turn, Only narrowed her eyes further, Looking directly behind Paimon.

Raising a shaky finger, She pointed.

“H-Huh..? What is that?”

[F/N] double-takes, Her eyes batting as they observed a hunched over figure sat crouched a good few feet away from her.

It was curled over, A thick mass of matted fur around it’s hidden neck. [F/N] could almost puke at the sudden smell it gave off. Body the colour of coal, Spine jutting out on it’s back- [F/N] almost wanted to look away-

“Oh- It’s a hilichurl..!” Paimon gasped.

“A hilichurl..?!” [F/N] squeaked.

Well, That explained what it was- A low level enemy in the game. [F/N] was almost prepared to slowly turn around and quietly make her get away. She didn’t have any weapons to fight it, Not that she had much experience anyways.

But she didn’t move an inch. Not when her vision trailed to it’s hands- Fingers thick with chipped nails the colour of dirt and grime as it fiddled around with something unsee-

[F/N]’s eyes widened.

“H-Hey-! Wait- That’s my bag! Stop touching that, It’s mine!”

Her bag, The one she had dropped in shock after that dragon had flew right over her head, The one she had grabbed onto for dear life when she had first fallen into Genshin- It was being raided by what looked to be a decrepit little beast- Hands deep with in the compartments, The zipper ripped right open.

[F/N]’s eyes widened. Her phone, Her food, Her notebook-!

The hilichurl’s head jerked around, Eyes glaring at [F/N] from behind the shoddily painted mask it wore. [F/N] shuddered. The fur around their neck fluffed up, The hilichurl angrily garbled out a war cry.

Or maybe it was more akin to a ‘catch-me-if-you-can!’

Because it was only a moment later until it began sprinting off in the opposite direction- Bag clutched tightly in its arms, Swiftly sprinting away on it’s hobbled feet while letting out garbled laughter.

“Oh no you don’t-! Come back here!” [F/N] yelled out as she began to take off after it. It didn’t matter whether she had a weapon or not, Or shoes, Only wincing a bit as the pebbles hit against her skin. There was no way she was going to let some small little man run off with her stuff-!

Paimon gasped as she watched [F/N] sprint after the creature, Her voice reaching a peak as she called after them.

“H-Hey! Wait for Paimon..!”

⭒❅✸✪✸❅⭒

“Finally! Got you..!

The hilichurl cried out in a panic as it scurried away. Bag falling to the floor as it ran off into the cover of the trees, Scattering, Sprinting away from [F/N]- Who was just about ready to lunge at it.

“Yeah-! You better run..!” [F/N] heaved as she collapsed onto the grassy, Teeth gritting as she tried to calm down the fire in her chest. Damn it. [F/N] really needed to start doing cardio..

[F/N] gasped.

Her bag.

[F/N]’s hands snatched the leather strap of her fallen bag, Lugging it towards her. What damage could that thing have done to it? Most importantly-

What it could have done to the things inside of it.

[F/N] searched through her bag, Her hands moving feverishly as she counted her belongings. Her dead phone. Her energy drinks. Her notebook? Thank God, Her notebook. Thank God it was all there.

As for the outside?

The Hello-Kitty Charm? Intact. The silver zipper running up the leather? A little muddy but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. [F/N] sighed, Almost feeling her body deflating from the sheer relief she felt in that moment as she grasped onto her poor bag tighter.

“Oh my gosh.. I feel like my heart could explode..” She breathed out as she clutched her bag to her chest, Lungs burning in her chest from how fast she had to run. [F/N] breathed out. She hadn’t any idea how long it had been since she’d had to run that fast.

[F/N] blinked.

“Paimon..?”

[F/N] raised her head from where it had been resting atop her bag, Confused upon the lack of response. Huh. It seemed the fairy had gone missing.

Or more accurately, [F/N] had left her behind.

“Damnit..” She sighed as she sat there amongst the weeds and the dirt, Having lost her only guide to this entire place- To this video game. [F/N] just sat there breathing in and out, Her chest constricting, Her pyjamas still a mess both damp in saltwater and sweat.

Dang it. [F/N] was a mess.

She breathed out.

Wait..

“Where am I..?” [F/N] blinked, Her head jerking right to left. Eyes as wide as dinner plates as she observed her surroundings.

A forest.

[F/N] sat within a small clearing in a forest, Collapsed to the side of an old trail no doubt made by years of travellers coming through here. It was cool here. The wind quieter than usual yet the floral aroma still lingered in the air.

Tree’s shrouded her, Surrounding the vicinity in all directions. [F/N] bit her lip, Trying to figure out where she had came from. The leaves acted as a canopy, Only letting darting lines of light through to hit the forest floor, Yet not enough to show her where she was going.

[F/N] blinked.

Well, She was lost.

[F/N] cursed herself under her breath. How could she have been so stupid? Running after that thing? Leaving her only guide behind? How could she be so clueless as to not even notice her surroundings.

Pinching her brows, A sigh left her lips.

[F/N] winced as she pushed herself to her feet, Stumbling like a new-born foal as she tried to gather her balance. Great, She was in the middle of an unknown forest without her fairy guide to tell her where exactly to go.

It was a stupid idea to run off like that.

But she couldn’t have just let her bag fall into another’s hands!

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, She began to follow the old path. If [F/N] couldn’t figure out where Paimon was or which way she had to go- Then she’d just follow the path, Right? Sticking to the trail was just common sense, Taught ever since she was little and old enough to go hiking through the woods in her big yellow raincoat.

A smile crossed over her face for only a second, Faint but meaningful. As [F/N] continued to follow down the old path.

Though this trail wasn't as wonderful and adventurous as they felt when she was small.

It didn’t have that same feeling.

That feeling..

“...Don't be afraid.”

What?

[F/N] paused just as her foot was about to press down on the dirt. A young- Feminine sounding voice echoed out from somewhere ahead of her- Around the bend, Further nestled from within.

It was soft like the wind that drifted throughout the trees. It was calm and soothing, Trying to calm down something- Someone. [F/N] raised an eyebrow. It was a rather beautiful voice, One that would sound rather beautiful if it were to sing.

Broken out of her thoughts, She could hear something else too.

[F/N] felt her body move for her. One foot after another. Slowly. Walking towards the sound of the voice and the low- rumbling sound that revved like the engine on a car. It was low, Quiet, Yet it felt intense and threatening all the same.

[F/N] didn’t know why she was heading towards it, Her eyes wide- Searching as she approached the stalk bark of a nearby tree. The rumbling grew louder, And as it did, [F/N] peered around it-

Oh.

You gotta be kidding..!

“ ..It's alright now, I'm back. ” The boy spoke softly as he stood there, Sage green cloak flowing behind him as his hand outstretched to the dragon- Almost touching the snout, But not quite.

The dragon was there, Body hulking over the small frame of the boy yet it stayed back- Either out of hesitation or trepidation- Perched upon a rockside as it almost tried to read the boy’s mind. Steam blew out of it’s nose. A rumbling reverberating from inside of it’s chest like an engine about to take off.

It was a scene [F/N] never thought she’d remember so clearly. Watching as the boy tried to take a few steps closer to the beast, An expression that could only be described as concern struck across his features.

It was him- Venti.

[F/N]’s heart thundered in her chest as she gripped onto the trunk of the tree tighter. Her lips parted, A display of shock and terror upon her face. It was one thing to witness this on a busted up iPhone, It was another to watch this play out before her very eyes.

A cold sweat drew over her.

[F/N] needed to leave. Now.

A quiet yet frantic step back. Her eyes eternally locked on the scene in front of her- Like the dragon would turn to her and lunge any second. Jaw snapping, Teeth clanking, Swallowing her whole in a single bite.

She wasn’t meant to be here-

[F/N] took a step back, Barefoot pressing down against a feeble twig-

SNAP!

[F/N]’s eyes widened.

The dragon let out a roar.

It shook the forest. Leaves flying off their branches, Squirrels squeaking and beginning to scatter away from the scene. [F/N] yelled out, Almost toppling over from the sheer force of the dragon’s roar-

“Who's there!?” Venti called out in alarm, Eyes darting between the dragon and [F/N]’s general direction.

The dragon grew restless, Wings batting, Creating gusts of wind that could cause planes to crash out of the sky. Tornadoes to form. It’s beady eyes began to dart wildly in every direction until they landed on Venti, The one trying to soothe it-

With a snarl, It lunged.

In a sudden disappearance- A flash of blue and green he vanished into the wind- Just like that. The dragons jaws snapping down into thin air. A low growl erupting from it’s throat as it realised this- The dragons eyes now latching onto [F/N].

She managed a look up.

And it was coming straight for her.

She gasped, Stumbling back, Afoot caught on an ankle.

THUMP!

“Agh!” [F/N] cried out as she hit the floor. Hard. Her head crashing against the hard surface of a nearby group of rocks. Her body winded and and sore as the beating of the wind hitting against the dampness of her clothes, The dirt across her skin.

The dragon avoided her entirely, Wings beating as it flew over her in a frenzied rage- Taking off into the sky, Wind parting as it carried the beast along. Higher and higher. Raising until it was nothing but a splotch within the clouds.

Gone, Along with the wind it carried.

[F/N] exhaled.

As she laid down against the dirt, The grass tickling her skin- She couldn’t help but feel reminiscent. [F/N] thought it was a little silly considering everything that had just happened- Especially since it was for a time that had happened such a short while back.

She was back exactly where she had started only an hour or two ago. Lying upon the grass, In the dirt and the mud. Bugs scurried around her form like the chalk outline a detective would grimace at, Creating a picturesque outline upon the ground, Her eyes hazy.

Dang. She was tired.

[F/N] hadn’t gotten any sleep, Not a single bit of shut eye- Even before she had came here. If she was any less sleep deprived she would have regretted her time spent during the early morning hours. For what? Just another chapter to read through on her phone?

[F/N] breathed out.

It was strange, Per se. Despite the usual lack of tiredness there was something else- A sort of sensation that felt like water beginning to pour over her skin, Seeping in, Flooding throughout her system. It was also reminiscent of her first few moments here, Something that made [F/N]’s breath hitch in her throat-

It was that feeling.

[F/N] shut her eyes.

What was it called again?

“Hey..! Are you okay..?!”

210 notes · View notes

vengeful-velvette · 1 year ago

Note

Hey stranger!

So a couple of days ago you asked what my list would be for least to most brattiest hazbin characters would look like, and i’m incredibly curious as to what your list would be!

This concept is really fun to me omg I really want your opinion on this 🤔

Hey random stranger who I have never met before! Fancy seeing you in my little ask box.

Here are my own thoughts regarding the tier list, also ranked from least to most to build tension:

---------

- Charlie: I'm glad we both agree that Charlie is at the bottom of this list lol. She's just too sweet! I feel like she doesn't even think to brat either, like she thinks "we're both enjoying this, why would I tell you to stop or not listen to you when I want to?"

I also feel like Charlie really enjoys sweet sex, like she just doesn't understand how someone can enjoy being called derogatory names during sex. She probably also says "I love you" during sex and wants to hold your hand.

At the absolute worst, she'll get embarrassed (especially when you two are first dating) and put her hands over face to hide from your sweet words.

Though, I do think that she has a hidden animalistic side to her (did you see in in the finale? 😳 I'm a dom, but oh, that got to me), that I bet that even she's unaware of. I imagine that she finds this out about herself when you two are play fighting in bed and wrestling each other around. You're able to pin her to bed and as you tease her; "Not so powerful now, are you princess?" She can't help her eyes from going red as she snarls at you.

Which of course shatters all playful energy as you reinsure her that you weren't scared - you actually found it really hot. (Also, fun fact, but as much as I go crazy about Velvette, Charlie is actually my favorite Hazbin character. Idk, she's just so cheerful, hopeful, apologetic, and nice in a show filled with loveable assholes that I couldn't help but get attached. I love her, she's my baby girl.)

- Sir Pentious: I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't see him as the least bratty character ever, lol. He's just so precious! I imagine him as being extremely shy in bed and extremely reactive. Even the most chaste kiss can embarrass him.

I also think he isn't used to hearing compliments since he's visually very more animal-like than most sinners, so some people are little put off by his appearance. So hearing you call him your "pretty boy" and "darling snake" has him flushing and squirming.

I also doubt that he could handle any mean words. It just absolutely kills his confidence. Though I do think he will find some embarrassing enjoyment in being teased, I think that it could never cross into actual mean words. He absolutely loves to please, though, and it's honestly really cute seeing him try to pleasure you even though he doesn't really know how to. What he lacks in skill, he definitely makes up in enthusiasm, though.

- Vaggie: Man, three in a roll that's exactly the same, lol. But I totally agree with you, I don't think Vaggie is much of a brat. I think she also doesn't like not pleasuring her partner (because my girl has self worth issues), so I feel like if you told her to lie down and relax while you pleasure her, it wouldn't take long before she's trying to touch you and get you off too.

That's really the only way I can see her "bratting", and I bet that after awhile with you proving to her that you want to please her, that it brings you pleasure, she eventually relaxes.

- Lucifer: I know you put him up higher, but to me, Luci would never not crumble immediately in bed. This man has a praise kink a mile long and loves to hear you call him your "good boy". Though, there's a reason he's placed here and not all the way at the bottom.

While I do think that the first few times (or, more accurately, first 50 times) he's a blushing mess who crumbles immediately, I feel like after a while he starts to gain some self confidence (and internalized the idea that he wouldn't fuck everything up with you if he messes anything up), he feels a lot more comfortable teasing you back and bratting.

I still think it's laughably easy to get him to crumble, but an attempt is still made!

- Rosie: I know you said you didn't know where to put Roise, but I do! Gosh, I love Roise so much. Every single one of her lines is my favorite. I ultimately find her to be a rather sweet character, hence why she's pretty low on the list, but I still think she has a bite to her that can make her seem brat adjacent.

Like, if you're up for it, she will totally bite you until you don't have a single unmarked bit of flesh.

- Cherri Bomb: Now we're getting into "slightly a brat but can turn it down" territory. I definitely think that Cherri has some spark in her, but I also think that it wouldn't take much to flip her over and make her show her stomach. She's kinda explosive in that way, in the sense that she's hot and quick in the beginning, a bit very quickly flizzes out.

I also think that she's not really used to pleasure? It's implied in the Addict music video that she used to have a lover, but based on her facial expressions, I don't think she really likes him all that much? Or it's complicated, at least. But judging purely by his looks and the fact the two still aren't together, I'm assuming that he wasn't that great of a partner and Cherri isn't used to getting more pleasure than she gives.

- Husk: I think he's actually a bit of a brat. You've seen him bristle whenever someone pets him in the show, I think he's kinda predisposed to ruffling up when you call him your "pretty little kitty" or pet him (even though he really likes being your pretty little kitty). I feel like he's prone to get embarrassed very easily, and this means he can be quite bratty when you lay on the compliments a little thick.

I do think that Husk would get a little off on the humiliation aspect, but it takes him a bit to really accept this fact about himself that bratting to you is easier.

I agree that he's probably used to pleasing his partner during sex, so that probably adds to his brat score as he tries to wrestle control away from you to make you feel good, too. Though, after a while, I think Husk realizes that he feels truly comfortable with you taking care of him (while calling him your pretty kitty) and won't brat as much.

- Alastor: since Alastor is canonical asexual, and I like to include this fact, I don't think he gets the same out of sex as non-asexual characters do. What I mean by this is that he isn't so interested in the physical sexual experience, but how sex can lead to many situations he isn't familiar with. I do think he finds those situations entertaining and thus finds enjoyment in them.

For example, in @/prince-liest fic Station 66.6, Now Playing: The Irreversible Ruination of Your Self-Respect (that I think everyone should read, really it's so good), introduced me to the concept of Alastor really like prey/predator play because he has some deer instincts in him. I really, really, really love that idea!

I think Alastor likes experiences like that, ones he isn't accustomed to. Especially when he you mix that with sex, something he usually has no interest in, but adds a neat layer to the whole thing.

Because of this, I also think he's somewhat of a brat. Mainly, he really wants to see what you will do to him if he says "no", will you force him? How will you force someone like him to do something he "doesn't" want to? I can see him as a sub who likes to make their dom work to get their submission, as it feeds into his massive ego.

- Velvette: she's so used to barking orders all day long that it can be hard to turn that aspect of her "off". So she can be quite bossy during sex. She doesn't really understand that you want to take it nice and slow tonight and will start demanding that you hurry it up as you eat her out.

She thinks she knows best, so she isn't shy in voicing her opinion when she thinks you're doing something too "slow" or "softly" or you're being a "tease". She absolutely hates being called a brat, too, and huffs and puffs and pouts when you call her one.

- Vox: I'm glad we can both agree that he's extremely bratty, lol. He definitely has this image in his head that he's some big shot dom, and probably doesn't even realize he's a sub until he meets you and you take him apart bit by bit. The only reason why I haven't placed him higher is because of how fast he crumbles when you have him underneath you. I wouldn't go into too much detail because I think you already nailed how Vox can turn into a dom, to a brat, to a squirming sub.

- Lute: I know you don't see her as a brat, but I definitely do. I see her as someone who can be pretty bossy in bed. I can also see her as someone who loves being "forced" into submission. She's a fighter! She wants to wrestle into you pin her to the bed and force your fingers into her cunt before shoving your fingers into her mouth to make her "taste her desperation".

I also thinks that she gets really embarrassed by sweet words, and thinks that you're just teasing her when you say she's your "adorable little angel", and thus isn't afraid to bite back at your words.

- Adam: I'm glad he's at the top of both of our lists lol. Yeah he's a terrible brat, and he doesn't really have the excuse of "wants to please you too" or "wants to be forced into submission" like other characters. He's just a brat! He wants all the pleasure for himself, and he wants it right now! I feel like the biggest struggle is actually getting him to try and please you. (Maybe you even have to lock him up in a cock cage to get him to behave - woah who said that?)

------------

Sorry, this is kinda half "tier rank of least to most bratty characters" and half "random smut headcanons I have". Also some of these characters got wayyyyy longer parts because I have!!! Lots of Thoughts!!! About them!!!

Anyway, I hope you like my tier list!!

#hazbin #hazbin hotel #hazbin smut #my post #my smut #oh shot i forgot Emily #i love Emily #she'll probably be around the Sir Pentious area

157 notes · View notes

berberriescorner · 2 years ago

Text

“Are You Listening?”

Part Three: “Bad Idea”

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader.

Summary: It’s part three…expect the unexpected.

Warnings: Profanity, angst, fluff, drinking, and drama.

Word Count: 5,900+.

A/N: I just wanted to thank my lovelies again for showing this story so much love. I had no idea people would love it this much. Thank you for all the sweet, hilarious comments and asks💓. Enjoy the chaos😂😏��.

"Are You Listening?" - The Playlist:

Apple Music.

Spotify.

Part One Here.

Part Two Here.

Inspired By:

Dark clouds filled the evening sky as a drizzle fell against your windshield. Your thoughts were adrift as you fought to make a proper decision. There were only two choices. Accept the offer and hope for a positive outcome, or leave immediately. The loud vibration of your phone halted your decision-making. Sucking in a shaky breath, you accepted the call. It was your best friend. The word hello barely left your lips as she began firing off questions.

“Did you make it to your destination safely? Are you sure it’s smart to be around him right now? Should you trust him?”

You cut your friend off.

“Sis, calm down. Let me answer at least one of your questions.”

“Seriously though, Y/N. How did he find you?”

“He didn’t find me, per se. We’re just in the same state, city, and establishment. Ironic as it may seem.”

“That’s just a little too coincidental for my liking. Look, just be careful and keep your guard up dealing with him. Y/N, you’ve got enough shit going on. There’s no need to fan the flames. Your situation is bad enough. Accept his offer but keep your head on a swivel. Now, take your ass inside that building. Call me once you’ve settled for the night. Do you need money, sis?”

“How’d you know I’m sitting in the car? Yes, I’m good on cash. I withdrew half of our joint account before I left town. I should’ve emptied the account and made his damn pockets hurt.”

“It’s my job to know. You’re my best friend. I agree you should’ve drained that account, girl.”

You inhaled, attempting to calm your nerves, “alright. I’m going in. I’ll call you later with an update. Love you, sis.”

Even after ending the call, you spent a few more minutes in the driver's seat of your vehicle.

Oh, fuck this. Let me just see where it goes. It’s been years since I’ve been here. It wouldn’t hurt to accept the help of a familiar face.

Exiting the car, you enabled the lock as you walked towards the luxurious hotel lobby. Halfway across the threshold, you felt his presence to your left.

“I was starting to think you had changed your mind. It was as if I could see the thoughts racing through your pretty little head from the lobby window, sweetheart. I’m glad you decided to accept my assistance.”

“I’m not sure I’ve decided to do so. Listen, I appreciate the hotel recommendation, but don’t you think it’s odd, maybe even inappropriate?”

“Why’s that? Are you afraid that I’ll inform your husband of your whereabouts?”

“Cut the shit. Why are you being so helpful? What’s the real motive here?”

“Listen, believe it or not, we’re family. Just because you’re mad at Rio doesn’t mean I should just leave you out here all alone. I don’t plan on telling him I saw you. There are no plans to notify him of your location. I’m securing a place for you to stay because I wouldn’t feel right leaving you to sort everything out alone. I have no idea why you’ve left my dumbass cousin. The fact that you packed your bags and just left suggests it’s serious. I won’t pry. Tell me or don’t, but I will secure and pay for your entire stay here. No arguments.”

“If Christopher finds out you’re helping me stay away from him, he’ll explode. The two of you already have a strenuous relationship.”

“If he finds out. Then he’ll just have to get over it. I honestly don’t give a damn, darlin’.”

“What are you even doing in California, Nick?”

“I’m here on business.”

“What kind of business?”

“I’ll answer that once you explain why you left your husband. What exactly did my cousin do, sweetheart?”

Rolling your eyes at Nick, you walked over to the hotel clerk. She greeted you with a warm welcome, offering you help. Giving her your last name, she informed you that you were staying in the penthouse. About to object and ask for something smaller and less expensive, Nick interjected.

“It’s already been taken care of, cousin.”

Your head snapped in his direction with an incredulous expression.

“Are you out of your mind? No, on second thought, you're not paying for my stay here. I’m not letting you put me in a penthouse and allow people to think I’m your whore. Do you have any idea how that will look, Nick? Are you crazy? You must want Christopher to kill both of us. No wonder you two don’t get along. You love pushing his buttons. The whole damn family’s crazy.”

“Are you finished with your little tirade?”

“I see that you’re also a sarcastic asshole like Christopher.”

“Did you miss the point where I had no intentions of Rio finding out? Just take the room, and enjoy the luxury. I’m sure my cousin has been putting you up in the nicest of places since the day he laid eyes on you.”

“I’m starting to feel like you’re implying I’m a gold digger. Tread lightly. I’d hate to have to kick you in the nuts. Now do us both a solid and change the damn room. Be glad that I’m accepting your help, to begin with.”

“I think it’s best if you know something. I'm just as pushy and controlling as your old man, sweetheart. We both know I’m helping and paying, no matter what you say.”

“Switch. The. Damn. Room,” you growled.

“Fine. Jesus, you’re just as stubborn as your husband.”

“That offer to kick you in the balls still stands. Please stop tempting me.”

“I have a business meeting here at the hotel. I made arrangements for my associate to stay here for a few days. He’s a man of luxury. I’ll switch the rooms for the two of you.”

“Yes, do that, Nick.”

“I’ve got to admit I enjoy hearing you say my name.”

You had grown tired of his antics and landed a sharp jab on his chest.

“One more inappropriate comment and I’ll leave to figure things out myself. I don’t know what you think is happening between Christopher and me, but we are married.”

Not for long, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“Even if I were single, I wouldn’t give you a second glance, honey. Please do not fool yourself.”

“Why is that? Am I not rough enough around the edges, like your hubby?”

“You honestly want to know?’

Nick shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “sure, why not?”

“You’re overly arrogant, and your sense of entitlement is ridiculous.”

He started to interject, but you pressed on.

“I’m no fool, Nick. Deep down inside, you’re hoping that somehow, some way, Rio finds out. I see you. You’ve been sparring with my husband his entire life. You’ve spent your life trying to prove that you are the bigger, better man than Rio. What’s the difference between you two? Nick, you’ve spent your entire existence having everything handed to you. All while my husband did the heavy lifting, grunt work, and the bids. Or have you forgotten about that? Rio earned his empire. He got it out the mud. You just sat and watched, sticking your hand out to take a chunk when it was all said and done. While Rio can be arrogant, it’s warranted. He can talk his shit and back it up.”

Although I’m pissed to the highest level and treading the waters of divorce, I’ll be damned if he sits here and insults everything Rio has worked hard to accomplish.

“Do not flatter yourself. You’re nowhere near half the man my husband is.”

Even if he is a cheating ass bitch.

“Such a beautiful, passionate rebuttal, and yet you’re here. With me, might I add, after walking out on mi primo. Let’s just call a truce. I’ll try not to flirt with you, but I won’t lie and say my cousin doesn’t have good taste,” he teased.

I just insulted him, and he’s still thirsty. Lord, help me.

“For the love of God, Nick!”

“Okay, I’ll back off. Now let’s get you settled into your room, shall we? I’ll accompany you back to your car. Carry your bags up to your room,” he responded, throwing his hands up in surrender.

With squared shoulders, you lifted your chin into the air.

“That won’t be necessary. Don’t you have a meeting to get to?”

“Why do I feel you’re trying to get away from me? Are my good looks too much of a temptation for you?”

“Boy, stop! Don’t nobody want your shallow, overconfident, big-headed ass.”

“You’re so mean, mama.”

Did this motherfu-I know he didn’t just say that! Now he’s pushing it!

Moving closer, you crowded his space. The smirk dancing along the corners of his lips proved he knew the nickname he used was out of line and disrespectful. You looked around. Making sure he’d be the only one to hear what you had to say. Through clenched teeth, your words dripped with venom.

“So long as we both have breath in our bodies, don’t you ever make the mistake of calling me that again. Please do not get it confused or twisted. Rio did not marry a weak bitch. Call me that again. I’ll do Rio a solid and spray you full of bullets myself.”

“Aww, why not, sweetheart? Does it make you miss hubby?”

“Keep playing with me, Nick. It won’t be funny to you when I want to laugh too. I’m over this conversation. Thank you for the room. Now, leave me alone. Go make yourself someone else’s problem.”

“Fine. I’ll come by and check on you later, prima.”

“No, you will not. Goodbye, Nick.”

If Christopher finds out about this, he will lose the little sense he has left. Wait, why do I even care? It’s fuck him from here on out.

“I Gave You More Than You Wanted. I Gave You More Than You Needed. So Tell Me, How Does It Feel To Lose The One You Believe In?”

-Chloë.

The suite turned out to be very spacious and elegant. Much better than the cramped room you had stayed in the night before. You trudge through the doorway of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. It hadn’t taken long for you to unpack and settle in. Fresh out of a hot shower, you mope to the bed and fling yourself backward. Thoughts race through your head. You hadn’t taken the time to soak in everything. You were too busy trying to run from the situation at hand. Yes, there had been many crying sessions and stewing in anger. Now that you were in another state and settled, it hit you.

Did I just walk away from everything I’ve known for the last four years? The one person I trusted with my heart. My soul. He ripped it out and stepped on it. The audacity. The unmitigated gall to play with my love and emotions. Did he? Rio did that shit, right? How can he possibly have a reasonable explanation?

“You Never Miss A Good Thing ‘Til It Leaves You. And Finally, I Relaize That I Need You. I Want You Back. Baby Girl, I Need You Back. Gotta Have You Back, Babe.”

-Usher.

Just as the tears started to roll down your face, a call came through. You huffed, tapping the ignore button. Seconds later, it started again. The call went unanswered a second time, and a text came through.

It’s me. Please answer your phone.

The phone lit up once more. With a heavy sigh, you accepted the call.

“What do you want, Mick? I don’t want to talk to him, and he knows that.”

“Since you won’t communicate with him. I’m in charge of finding out if you’re okay. I’d personally like to know myself. You good boss lady?”

“Mentally and emotionally, we both know the answer is no. Physically? I’m breathing and somewhat eating. That’s the best I can give you. I appreciate you checking on me. As for your boss? He can go fuck himself. Goodbye, Mick.”

“Hold up, boss lady. I need to see it for myself.”

Mick sent a FaceTime request. With an irritated sigh, you angle the camera so he’d only see your face and a white wall. You begrudgingly accepted the call.

“See. Just fine.”

He frowned as he looked at your red puffy eyes. Mick could tell you hadn’t been sleeping much.

“Yes, I’m aware my eyes are puffy. I’ll be fine. Bye, Mick.”

Mick was about to plead with you to come home, but his face vanished from the screen. Your eyes sparked with resentment and anger as Rio appeared.

“Mama…”

“What part of I don’t want to speak to you don’t you comprehend,” you spat.

“Can you just fuckin’ listen to me?”

“You suddenly have so much to say! That’s because you no longer have me sitting at home. I’m no longer playing my role as your stupid little unsuspecting wife. No, not anymore. Stay the fuck away from me. Don’t call, don’t text me. Tell your boys to stop looking for me. There is nothing we need to discuss!” “Oh, I’ma keep calling and texting. Please, believe me. Mama, I will find you. You’re coming home; we gon’ work this shit out. Just let me explain everything. You’ll feel silly when it’s all said and done, darlin’.”

“You Didn’t Say It, But You Said It…”

-Chloë.

“Did you fuck that bitch, Rio?”

He looked at you with anger written on his face as his jaw flexed.

“That’s what the fuck I thought. Silence speaks volumes. Fuck out my face. Go find your whore and live a shitty life.”

“Ma-.”

You ended the FaceTime, not giving him another moment of your time.

I'm Going Out Of My Mind, And I'm Running Out Of Time. Oh, I Just Wish I Could Find You, Girl.

-Usher.

Rio stood there, rage coursing through his body. He gripped the phone in his hand tightly, “Fuck!”

“Anything I can do,” Mick questioned.

Rio took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He handed Mick his phone.

“Let’s take a ride. Red better have a plan. If I don’t get my wife back soon, it’s game over for her.”

“You think she’s the reason behind this?”

“It doesn’t appear that she knows what’s going on. We both know that her innocent deer-in-headlights expression can sometimes be a facade.”

“You’re right about that.”

“We have to find her. I have to fix this. Real shit, man, I need her. I love that stubborn ass woman.”

“Then let’s handle business and get her back.”

“Loved You More Than Ever, More Than My Own Life. The Best Part Of Me I Gave You, And It Was Sacrificed.

-Beyoncé.

Still reeling from the conversation, you tossed your phone across the bed. Everything was just too much. You were overflowing with anger, sadness, and grief. The betrayal of it all had you drowning. A sorrowful cry spilled from your lips as you curled into a ball. You remained in that position, cradling your face until sleep consumed you.

Hours later, your eyes fluttered open. The sun had set, and your room darkened from nightfall. Your feet flung off the side of the bed as a headache throbbed in your temples. The rumbles coming from your stomach echoed throughout the room.

I haven’t had shit since this morning. This stupid ass man got me going through it. I need a damn drink.

You called the front desk to ask if room service was still available. To your surprise, the clerk recommended the hotel restaurant. She explained that both tables and bar space were available. You thanked her for the recommendation as you dug through your wardrobe.

Let me at least look presentable. I can’t be walking around this nice hotel looking bummy. If I play my cards right, I may find my next husband. Nope, scratch that. Fuck these cheating ass men.

Rio sat slumped in the passenger seat with Mick at the wheel. Leaning back on the headrest with his hood pulled up. Rio sat there as his mind kept going over everything. They pulled into the park, waiting for dingbat and her crew. Once they were in sight, Rio gave his boy a nod. Mick exited the car, exchanging duffle bags with Beth. She told him she would have the next one ready at the appointed time.

“Did you find a way to handle the situation we discussed the other day?”

Beth shook her head with pleading eyes. She promised to find a way to get to the bottom of it. Mick nodded in reply. As she started to leave, Mick halted everyone’s movements.

“Backseat now. We’re going for a ride.”

With a frightened look, Beth started walking toward the vehicle. Mick stopped her again.

“Not you. I’m talking to you half pint,” Mick ordered, pointing at Annie.

Annie’s eyes stretched wide as the three women gawked at him. With a devious smile, he taunted, “don’t worry, I’ll take real good care of her.”

Beth walked over to the passenger window and pounded on it. She took two steps back when Rio rolled down his window. The look he gave stole the breath from her lungs.

“Is there a problem, darlin’,” his question dripped with danger.

“I told you I would get you answers. I-I just need a little more time.”

“That’s cool, but you may want to watch your nephew for little sister. His mama’s going to kick it with Mick for a bit. Got a little side hustle for her.”

“I can do it.”

“Did I ask you to?” Rio snapped.

“Please keep her safe,” she whimpered.

“Get me that information. Baby sister will come back better than she left. Stay safe, Elizabeth. We don’t want anything bad happening to the little mama to be right? It’s not very responsible of you to be downing liquor bottles, don’t you think,” Rio questioned in a knowing tone.

Elizabeth looked at him with fear in her eyes.

“I notice everything, darlin’. We’re going to take a ride tomorrow. Just the two of us. Check on the little bambino.”

He rolled up his window before she could say anything else. They sped off, leaving Beth to explain everything to Ruby.

Not wanting to turn too many heads, you settled on a simple black dress. You figured it was appropriate, given that it matched your mood. The form-fitting bodycon paired well with the dark red heeled sandals and lipstick you sported. Checking that the room key was inside your handbag, you exited the room.

The hostess gave you a warm greeting. She granted your request for a seat at the bar. As you claimed your spot, the gentleman behind the bar asked for your drink of choice. His eyes had roamed your body from the minute you sat down. It hadn’t gone unnoticed. Prepared to answer his question with disinterest, someone stepped up next to you. Strong hands braced against the top of the bar. A silky baritone sounded, making your breath hitch.

Are you serious? Who else am I going to run into? This day is beyond me. Maybe it’s not him. I have to be trip-.

“She’ll have a whiskey sour. That’s what she used to drink whenever a frown touched that beautiful face.”

Yes. That would be the one and only.

You turned your head slowly to take in the familiar voice. His face was as beautiful as you had remembered it.

“Hello, mi amor. May I join you? I could use a drink myself.”

Confusion and shock danced across your face. You looked back and forth between the thirsty bartender and your long-lost friend. His eyes connected with yours as that handsome smile crept across his face. He signaled for the bartender to go ahead with the order. Taking the seat next to you, he chuckled at your expression.

“It’s nice to see you after all these years, querida. What brought you back here? Last I checked, you were happily in love. Are you and the husband here on business?”

Hearing him mention Rio snapped you out of it.

“Miguel,” you whispered.

His eyes crinkled as he gave you another beaming smile.

“It’s good to see you again. How have you been? Are you enjoying married life? What’s it been a year or two since the I Do’s?”

The smile that had occupied your lips for a moment faltered. Your eyes started to water as you looked away and faced the bar. Miguel’s hand covered yours gently.

“What is it, sweetheart? Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Just as you were about to answer him, a familiar pain in your ass sounded off behind the two of you.

“Yes, prima. I’d like to know what’s going on as well. Most importantly, how do you know my associate here,” Nick questioned.

Nick waited for an answer as he sat there looking smug. A knowing look crept onto his face as if he had discovered a secret.

“How do you two know each-wait? Prima? You’re related to her husband?”

“What business are you two dealing in? Are you working with Rio, Miguel?”

Before he could answer, Nick answered for him.

“Relax, prima. It’s my business deal. Rio isn’t involved. We do have individual businesses. We butt heads too much to do everything together.”

“I wouldn’t do business with your husband without telling you, querida. Then there is the fact that we’ve never met in person. The meeting is my first encounter with your cousin. I’m sure you know Rio wouldn’t want to go into business with me.”

“And why is that? He used to tap that or something, prima? Maybe I should give Rio a call.”

“Are you interested in talking about business or not, Nick? That is the only thing that needs to be questioned or discussed,” Miguel responded in an aggravated tone.

“Hey, whatever you say, man. She knows I’m just teasing.”

“Then perhaps you should find someone else to aggravate. The lovely lady certainly doesn’t enjoy it. Is our table ready?”

“Yes,” Nick bit back.

“Then let’s get this over with. I do have other business to attend to. You have my attention for the next hour. We aren’t starting on a good note, wouldn’t you agree, Nick? You need to fix that. I assume the warehouse visit has been scheduled and prepped for tomorrow. Let’s make our way to our reserved table.”

“Right this way.”

Miguel’s hand gave your shoulder a light squeeze before he got up to follow Nick.

“I’m sure you still have Nestor’s number,” he asked, tilting his head toward his security/cousin.

“If you need anything, give me a call. It was a pleasure running into you, querida.”

You gave him a weak smile and nodded softly. Turning back to the bar, you downed the whiskey sour. Your fingers tapped the bar for another. The drink was halfway to your lips when Rio started blowing your phone up. With a deep sigh, you ignore it and turn your phone off.

“Bartender? Go ahead and bring me two more.”

The universe is funny as fuck. This man’s going to find me. I can just feel it.

You rubbed your temples as you contemplated where to go from here. One hour, four drinks later, you sat there wallowing in your pain. Thankfully you had made a conscious decision after the last drink to switch to a glass of red wine. Feeling buzzed, you decided it would be your last drink of the night. Taking your time with it, you nursed it for a while. Just as you had swirled the remaining liquid in its glass, Miguel reclaimed his seat from earlier.

“A penny for your thoughts, querida?”

Your eyes drifted from the stem of your wine glass to Miguel’s face. He noticed that you were slightly inebriated. His hand reached up and brushed your hair out of your face. The palm of his hand rested on your cheek.

“Don’t you have other meetings to get to?”

“I just wanted that smug asshole to hurry up and discuss the deal. The sooner we did that, the quicker your dear cousin would be gone,” he replied sarcastically.

“Hmm. Smug bastard, huh? That best describes his thick-headed ass,” you toast, downing the last of the wine.

“You shouldn’t be drinking at a bar by yourself, amor. I’ve watched half the men in here ogle you the entire time you’ve been here. Come. Nestor and I will escort you to your room.”

Miguel didn’t want to give you time to protest or continue drinking. He paid your tab and held his hand out. You stared at it for a moment.

“Though you’re wearing heels, those cute little legs still dangle from the stool. Come, sweetheart. I promise to be a respectable gentleman. I don’t make it a habit of approaching married women,” he chuckled.

Not giving it any more thought, your hand gently grasped as he helped you down. The elevator ride was quiet. That was until you blurted the one question that lingered in the back of your mind.

“Where’s your wife, Miguel?”

You noticed how his jaw ticked, nostrils flaring slightly.

“She had other plans tonight,” he answered.

Before you could ask him to elaborate, the elevator dinged.

“I do believe this is your floor.”

Miguel placed his hand on the small of your back. Nestor stepped aside, allowing you two to step out first. He asked for your hotel key as you walked down the hall. You turned the corner as you placed the key card in his hand.

“You said the first door on the left, right?”

“Ye-.”

You lost your train of thought as you started to panic. There was a large bouquet of yellow roses in front of your door.

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong, querida,” Miguel asked as he rubbed the small of your back.

The worry in your eyes set off alarm bells in his mind. Miguel took a look and noticed the flowers. The distress about possibly working with Rio. The teasing from Nick. He turned to face you, blocking the view of your door. His hand caressed your face.

“Tell me the truth. Are you in danger? Did you leave your husband, querida,” he whispered as he searched your eyes for the truth.

No longer able to keep the emotions bottled up, your lip trembled as the tears slipped down your face. You nodded slowly. Miguel frowned at the response. He pulled you into an embrace as you cried into his chest. His hands rubbed your back as he attempted to soothe you.

The two of you stayed that way for a few moments. Pulling back from his embrace, you wiped at your tears. Miguel’s hands slid up and down your arms.

“Did he hurt you,” he asked, jaw ticking again.

“Rio would never put hands on me. He-he.”

Unable to finish the sentence, a fresh set of tears spilled.

“Okay, okay. Shhh. I think I’m starting to understand. Come here.”

He embraced you again. Once he calmed you, Miguel escorted you to the door. He nodded at Nestor, signaling him to pick up the flowers. Unlocking your suite, he grabbed the flowers and followed you inside.

“Thanks for getting me here safely. Sorry, I just unloaded all my emotions on you like a crazy person.”

“It’s fine, querida. That’s what friends are for. We were close once. Lost time won’t affect that.”

His thumbs swept residual tears away. He bent to your feet and helped you out of your heels. Standing, he grabbed your hand and held it. His finger lifted your chin.

“Try and get some rest. Come deadbolt the door behind me.”

Following him to the door, you watched as he opened the suite door. Stepping into the hallway, he turned to speak with Nestor.

“Have one of the other men come and watch her door for the night. If it’s not me, no one gets in here. Don’t even let them knock. Watch the door until your replacement gets here.”

Nestor nodded in agreement taking his position in front of your door. Miguel turned to you, his hand running down your arm again.

“If you need me, I’m on the top floor. Just ask whoever is guarding the door to call me. Better yet, here. Call me if you need anything.”

Miguel handed you a card that had both his business and personal number.

“Okay,” you whispered.

“I’m serious.”

“I’ll be fine, Miguel. Rio’s just adamant about us staying together. He would never physically harm me.”

“You can’t blame him for wanting to work it out. Any man would be a fool not to fight for you. Still, if you need me, call me.”

“Yeah, because Emily would just love that. She’s never been fond of me.”

“Don’t worry about her. I’m the least of my wife’s worries at the moment.”

No longer wanting to discuss his personal life, Miguel pecked your forehead.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

Locking the deadbolt behind him, you made your way to the bedroom. Stripping out of the tight dress, you bundled up in a complimentary robe. Falling into the couch, you turned your phone back on. Six texts and two voicemails. You rolled your eyes. Noticing the flowers, you mumbled to yourself, “fucking Nick probably snitched. Little shit.”

You snatched the card from the bouquet and flipped it over. Your breathing sped up as your mind started to race.

What the fuck? I don’t need this shit. What next?

Hands trembling, you re-read the card.

“I see hubby’s out of the picture. Who’s going to protect you now? What better way to kick Rio when he’s down? He would probably be beside himself if his precious jewel came up missing. Stay safe, pretty lady.”

To top it off, now I have to run from his ops too? You have to be shitting me!

Snatching the door open, Nestor saw the look of fright in your eyes.

“The flowers aren’t from my husband. I’m pretty sure whoever sent them just threatened me. Tell Miguel I appreciate everything he did tonight, but I’m getting the fuck out of here.”

Nestor talked you down. He instructed you to grab anything needed for the night and lock up. In less than twenty minutes, Nestor was escorting you to Miguel. He was anxiously waiting for your arrival. His hands instantly cradled your face.

“You’re staying with me for the night. We’ll figure out where you’ll go from here in the morning. Sleep in the bedroom. I’ll take the couch.”

“That’s nonsense. I can sleep on the couch.”

“No, you won’t. No arguments.”

“Why are most men in my life so damn bossy.”

“They also seem to have the same types of occupation. You don’t seem to like men who like legal work, querida.”

“Ha, ha. You’re so hilarious.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Those mentioned tend to be extremely successful at it,” Miguel replied with a shit-eating grin.

“Anyway.”

The conversation was interrupted by yet another call from Rio.

“Look, I'm going to have to answer him. I’ve been ignoring him for hours now. I know his veins are about to pop out of his neck.”

You excused yourself, taking the call in his bathroom.

“For someone who’s always so busy, you sure are blowing up my phone. Go back to ignoring me, please. I don’t have the energy to go back and forth with you, Rio. I’m tired and stressed out.”

“Just come home, mama. I’ll leave and stay somewhere else. Just come home,” he slurred.

“Are you at that stupid bar that demands your attention as well? Go home, Rio. Sleep off the liquor.”

“I gotta be near you, mama. Who's going to protect you? What if someone tries to harm you while you’re not with me? I can’t live with that shit. I need my wife to come home. Come on, mama.”

“It’s a little too late to protect me now. Isn’t it? Don’t worry about me, Rio. I can handle this shit myself,” you snapped, quickly regretting the last sentence.

“Handle what shit, mama,” he barked.

Fuck.

He instantly knew something was up.

“It’s okay, Rio. I’m a big girl. Luckily my stupid ass husband taught me how to use a gun. You know I stay strapped.”

“Either come home or tell me where the fuck you are. I’m going to light whatever city you’re in up. Better yet, I’m about to spray any suspected target.”

“Don’t be stupid. There is no need to start a war on my behalf.”

“I’m not going back and forth about this anymore. Tell me where you are.”

“No, goodbye, Rio.”

“Don’t fucking hang-.”

Miguel stood propped against the door frame.

“I know he fucked up, but it sounds like he wants to keep you out of harm’s way.”

“Don’t, Miguel.”

He placed his hands up in surrender.

“If he can’t do that for you, I will.”

Yeah, cause my husband would just love that. Jesus, be a therapist. I need Iyanla to come and fix my life, bruh.

“I Can Understand Why You Want A Divorce Now. Though I Can’t Let You Know It, Pride Won’t Let Me Show It.

-Jay Z.

Rio had been sitting in his bar for a few hours. Though the argument made him even more aggravated, he took your advice. He wasn’t in the mood to take a chance at catching a DUI. Rio instructed Mick to drive him home.

He swaggered into the family room and lounged on the couch. The house was painfully quiet without your presence. Rio’s thoughts drifted to you as his chest tightened at the thought of you being in danger. Sighing, he closed his eyes in an attempt to shake the negative thoughts. Your scent still lingered throughout the house. Nothing seemed to help him shake the memories and intrusive thoughts. His eyes fluttered open, nostrils flaring. Rio was trying to be patient with you, but it was starting to wear thin. You could be mad for however long, but divorce was out of the question. Could he do a better job at loving you? Yes, and he was willing to do so. Would you be willing to give him another chance?

Rio’s buzz had started to wear off. Blowing out a breath, he stared at a picture of you two. The frame on the console table contained a photo from your first anniversary. Shaking his head, he stood up and walked over to the bar cart. Throwing back another glass of brown liquor, he fixed one more and reclaimed his seat. He asked Alexa to play a specific song. The lyrics hit home as he nodded to the beat and recited them. Song Cry by Jay Z flowed through the entertainment system.

“They say you can’t turn a bad girl good, but once a good girl’s gone bad, she’s gone forever. Mourn forever. Shit, I gotta live with the fact I did you wrong forever.”

What happened to everybody deserves a second chance, mama? Damn, I miss my wife.

Sis can't catch a break, huh lovelies😩😆? I hope you all enjoyed part three. More drama to come in part four! I can't wait for you all to read what happens next. Can't say for sure when part four will be done and ready for posting. I'm still taking things slow. Please, please, please love, reblog, and comment. I would love to hear from you all. My ask box is open as well. I missed y'all, man!

Be sure to check out the playlist I created for this fic. It's on both Apple Music and Spotify. The links are towards the top of this post (in case you missed. Still adding to it, so if you have any song suggestions just drop an ask. The playlist is pretty lengthy and it's best on shuffle in my opinion. Thank you once again for all the support. Words can't express how appreciative I am. Love y'all🥹🫶🏾! Keep scrolling for another bomb-ass mood board (saved it for the end so it wouldn't spoil the reveal)🥰.

Divider Credit: @firefly-graphics

Taglist:

@4everbrookemarie @nightlywords7 @amorestevens @rio-reid-whoreee @abcdestinyyyy @hihellogoodbyebruh @sunshine-flower @lemmewritesomeish @catxo @naughtyslashers @realhotgurlshit @peaches007 @gardenof-venus @aizawash0e @minton131 @novaniskye @90sisthenew80s @cjricks98 @skyesthebomb @myownworstenemydw @lifeofthelovelyone @tashawar @gabbywontlose @skelly-baby @adg1115 @blessedboo @fandomcitysstuff @drinaj @being-worthy @sxkxna @elliesrealgf @batgurl42 @gotbeefbitch-blog @thedopestblackgirl @imjustheretoreads-blog @memeaaaa @djconde58 @astoldbychae @fineanddandy @1andonlytashae @alertyoulikeitsamber @blackmissfrizzle @darqchilddaydreamz @heytaewrites

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myfairkatiecat · 4 months ago

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nightfall was crazy, but I'm also kind of confused??? It went by sooo fast I was like WHAT? WAIT, WHAT? WAIT WAIT WAIT-

Love the fact that they went on with keefes whole "I'm not worth it, but you are, so I'm going to take over decisions we need to make (as a team) and screw them over so that they cause harm to me and not you!" Kinda vibe, honestly thought that after he came back from the neverseen in lodestar they were just going to forget about it, yk??

Only thing I really didn't like is that like...everyone has a slight distrust to keefe (at least in the start, till he apologized ) but Sophie, the person who was (in my opinion) most affected by his 'betrayal' never once had a doubt???? Like, if someone betrayed me, right? Yk they're my friend whatever whatever, ID STILL HAVE SOME KIND OF LIKE ISSUES WITH THEM???

I feel like her distrusting keefe and then slowly learning to trust him would have made the book MUUUCH better!!

Also, I'm still not getting where the Fitz discourse is coming from, like, his sibling just betrayed him, fell unconscious and WOKE UP WITH NO MEMORY OF ANYTHING?? I can see where the anger issues come from

Holy shit this was long, sorry!

-- @localburntoutkid

Had a blast reading this!

You’re so right about Keefe. That definitely doesn’t get dropped after lodestar, or even nightfall—it’s one of his character’s main flaws, and while it does shift and evolve as the series moves on, it’s kind of there, you know? And I’m really hoping it resolves in some way by the end of the series, because his arc is just… so interesting to me. Because it is NOT arc-shaped. At all.

I get what you mean about Sophie being the only one who doesn’t distrust Keefe when he comes back. I really like that too acknowledge that it’s a Sophie-specific thing, though! Too many people forget that this is a third person limited story told by an unreliable narrator, and act like Shannon Messenger herself is telling us Keefe deserves to be fully trusted. Sophie Foster decides, at the end of Neverseen, not to hate him, and Lodestar is where she has her moments of doubt and distrust, but even in Lodestar, she always believes in Keefe’s good intentions. There’s even a scene where she says something like “Yes, Keefe’s plan is horrible and I hate it, but his heart is in the right place. I have to believe that.” The part about keefe’s plan is paraphrased, but she did say she needs to believe his heart was in the right place, in that wording, and it’s fascinating to me. She’s very attatched to Keefe (obviously) and I think it’s mostly for her own sanity that she chooses over and over to believe that there’s something right about what he’s doing, because letting him go sounds excruciating, even by his own fault.

I actually have no issue with this being Sophie’s perspective, and I actually find it interesting especially in the context of sokeefe, but I wish we got to see this portion through another character’s eyes. For example, Fitz. Someone who does distrust him afterwards, and rightfully so.

As far as Fitz discourse goes, that stuff stemmed less from nightfall and more from flashback and legacy. I don’t hate Fitz in either of those books, but you’ll probably notice the moments that made people kind of go nuts about hating him and ran away with his character (personally, I think Fitz is fully understandable in both books, but don’t fully condone the way he acts in a few scenes, particularly in legacy. I’ll explain later after you’ve read it)

Don’t apologize for length, I’m literally Katie, have you met me? Everything I write is longer than I intend

I’m glad you’re having fun with the KOTLC series. Keep me updated!!!

#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #keefe sencen #sophie foster #fitz vacker #kotlc nightfall

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tapwater118 · 6 months ago

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The Post-Split Rant, part 3

a.k.a.: Grown Woman really should have finished this like 3 weeks ago give me a break

Part 1 | Part 2

yes i did just section the parts out like this just for the visual gag shut up

BFB Post-Split is my least favorite season, so now I’m gonna wrap up my whinging about it and move on with my life. These are my opinions, you’re free to disagree, bluh bluh bluh let’s just get on with it already.

BFB 28

Okay, I said I would talk about the eliminated contestants here, but I remember them doing more in this episode than they actually did for some reason. I guess I’ll get to them in BFB 29 I suppose.

Anyway the Announcer is back! Announcer’s actually my favorite host out of all the seasons (sorry Four), so when I watched this the first time I remember being really stoked to see him again. And I am glad to say they did him very nicely! He still has his slightly snarky demeanor (in spite of his monotone TTS voice), and is overall used in a very interesting way here. I’ll get more into it later, but it is very clear they didn’t just bring him back for nostalgia points, which I appreciate.

For an “all-in-one” challenge, this episode did it a lot better than BFDI 23, dare I say. Instead of spending a bit too long on the first few challenges and speeding by the rest, they spend time just on the challenges that they can get good bits out of and briskly walk past the others. I feel this approach works a lot better than BFDI 23.

Honestly, pretty nice episode. No real issues here. Not as good as BFB 20 or 26 I’d say, but a good deal better than BFB 22. Moving on.

BFB 29

They said it was impossible. They said it couldn’t be done. Post-Split actually has a second good Taco and Blocky interaction. They’re having an actual conversation! With witty banter and such!What is this wizardry? Why couldn’t we have more like this?

Not related to anything else really but I have to get this out. I find the over abundance of nicknames in Post-Split to be kind of grating at times but NOTHING grinds my gears as much as the stupid “blank”-ster nicknames. “Tacster” “Blockster” “Teadster” SHUT UUUUUUUPPPPPP. They’re just fine in isolation but they use them SO FREQUENTLY I HATE IT. Gelatin uses these the most and I honestly think it’s lessened my opinion of him to a non-negligible degree. Leafster is the only one that gets a past the rest suck so much shit.

Ok sub-rant over. Back on topic.

The whole, well not really backstory… interstory(?) they give Announcer here is very neat, I like it. Really adds a lot of depth to his character. Whoa, Post-Split just had compelling character development. I think I need to sit down. I guess I’ll also add here that it’s nice Taco has something to do other than whinge at Blocky. I mean, there’s a handful of other characters just kinda sitting around that they could also have investigating the Announcer, but I feel Taco fits this role the best (out of the characters available to do so).

The quality-downgrading bit near the end is also fun too- okay enough beating around the bush. I’ll talk about it here because I already have enough to say about BFB 30 on its own; they pretty obviously set Flower up to win. Having her be repeatedly ignored and tortured for those sympathy points, and then having her be the one to save the show to cap it all off.

I voted for Flower to win, and even if they didn’t set her up like this I still would have. She’s one of the few characters in all of BFDI that actually has a serious degree of character-growth throughout the series, from being the prototypical “mean for the sake of it” character in season 1 to having genuine compassion for those she cares about by the end of BFB. Gelatin doesn’t have any of this, and if I can be candid, I have no clue how he got so far in the season.

BFB 29 is good overall, but let’s not dwell on it any longer. The real meat and potatoes of this part of the rant is going to deal with the final episode, one I have so many thoughts on I have to split it into multiple segments. Let’s talk about BFB 30.

Smaller Thoughts on BFB 30

The scenes with the fake seasons add a lot to Four’s character, and are a nice lead in to the fact that he’s actually a huge BFDI fan who really just wanted to be in that show he really loves. Judging by his actions in the early days of BFB it’s obvious this was a rather late addition to his character, but his cruelty to the objects could likely be interpreted as just a culture difference between Algebraliens and objects. I could make a whole separate analysis about this, but right now I’ll just leave it that these aspects of Four’s character are rather interesting.

This is going to be really nitpicky, but I have no clue why Bubble would want Gelatin to win. He’s been nothing but horrible to her the entirety of Post-Split. Maybe you could say the same for Flower’s behavior towards her both here and in season 1, but in that case have her indecisive over her vote, not overly enthusiastic. This choice makes no sense. (Can you tell that Bubble is one of those characters I care way too much over how they’re written?)

Gotta say, very nice how they have Firey reflecting on his actions without outside prompting here, good sign of character development. Now if only they could have had him say something to this effect eight episodes ago… sigh…

From here the episode splits into two plots that it jumps between repeatedly. Going through every scene in the order they happen would start to get confusing, so I’ve given them their own sections. Gonna be honest, not really a fan of how either of these went. Let’s start with the better of the two.

Flower and the Battle for the BFDI

So, Flower and the Announcer start fighting over who should get the BFDI, and Purple Face comes out of nowhere to steal it for himself. They get in the bus, a bunch of other people give some silly reasons why they should have the BFDI, and then the bus is dangling off a cliff. Everyone hops out except those still fighting over the BFDI: Flower, the Announcer, and Purple Face.

Purple Face does not need to be here.

Flower wants the BFDI because she won, it’s her rightful prize, very valid. Announcer wants the BFDI because it’s his life’s work and, as he reveals here, the only remaining copy of that work, very valid.

Purple Face wants the BFDI just because he thinks he deserves it. His reason for wanting it is just as stupid as all the reasons the other characters (who aren’t Flower or the Announcer) gave for wanting it, and those were all treated as jokes. Hell, Firey (and by extension Leafy) DEFINITELY had a better reason for wanting the damn thing.

Why are we supposed to be taking this seriously? Purple Face has been nothing but a joke character the entire season, and now they suddenly want people to feel bad for him. So much of this scene is dedicated to him over Flower and the Announcer, the two this scene should have been focused on.

Time to get to the much weaker of the two plots.

Gelatin Helps Four Find Out His Value

Okay, I’m about to be way too overly negative, so let’s have something positive for a breather. “Choo Choo! Think again, Balloon Buddy!” is one of the best jokes in the entire series. I will not elaborate.

So, Four starts to run away, and all the characters who didn’t go after Purple Face (except Profily) chase after him. After a bit, they all end up on the sun, and a character gives a speech about how they’re all mad at Four, how he’s hurt them and been mean to them throughout the entire season, and he still expects them to all stick around for him?

Pretty nice speech, I wonder which character gives it?

Maybe Bubble? She’s constantly going under ire and has had to take a lot of shit this season.

Or maybe Flower! Maybe she could reflect on when she was a bad person, and how she turned around to better herself, and try to impart the things she learned onto Four.

Perhaps X! They’re Four’s best friend, and have certainly been hurt by him throughout this season. Maybe he could show Four sympathy for the objects? This is probably the best option, because of how close these characters are.

But no, none of these characters make this speech.

Gelatin makes this speech.

Gelatin.

Motherfucking Gelatin.

MOTHERFUCKING. FORK-FLINGING. PEOPLE-PUSHING. BOMBY-EXPLODING. GELATIN.

Gelatin is the last character who should be giving a speech about how being mean to people is bad. HE IS A GODDAMN MENACE! HAVING HIM SAY THIS MAKES HIM INTO A GIANT HYPOCRITE!

And then they play a montage on the BFB to show how fun this season actually was, and convince Four that they all really do like him. Am I the only one that thinks Four got off a little scot-free for the whole murdering and tormenting his contestants thing?

Whatever, let’s take a look at the supposedly “fun” moments of BFB that they want to give Four credit for:

Flower getting excited for like a second that she didn’t get eliminated, before running off in embarrassment because she tried to celebrate with the contestant who actually did get eliminated

A scene mere moments before Four despawns X again

A bunch of people playing with the popper toys, something that had no involvement from Four and likely would have happened regardless of his presence

A scene mere moments before Leafy painfully burns to death

Gelatin’s fork stack, which definitely didn’t involve Four because it happened before they showed up

The boring-ass train ride from BFB 21

Four’s almost-four-way-tie song, which I guess gets a pass

Aside from the last one maybe, how is ANY of this meant so show how much fun the cast has had with Four? And to top it all off the most unfitting piano music plays over the whole thing. Absolute dumpster fire of a montage.

Ending Thoughts on BFB 30

Everyone gets together to have a party and all is well in the world. Except for those 50000 dead Davids in Davidland. A shame, really. (that was a joke)

Wow, this best friends line sure aged well, didn’t it, Teardrop? (Actually thinking about it now they probably planned for Teardrop to join TPOT by this point. So why include this line when they already knew one of his best friends ditched him?)

This line is really corny. But also kinda charming? Weird. I guess all she really wanted in the end was friends, and now she has them! Good for her.

And you know, if I ignore how much I dislike how Post-Split reconciled Firey and Leafy, this scene is really cute. Very nice note to end on.

For the episode, that is. We still have stuff to talk about here.

So, about BFB 30 as a whole. Do I think it’s a good BFDI episode? Yeah, I guess. I have my problems with it (as I have more than made clear), but it still has a lot of laughs, and things conclude in a halfway decent way. So yeah, it’s a good episode.

But is it a good finale? I don’t think so. This is supposed to be BFB’s last hurrah, its final impact on the viewers. It should be putting its best foot forward here, but it drops the ball on so many things I can’t in good conscience say it was a satisfying conclusion to the season.

I just hope TPOT handles its finale a lot better.

Post-Split as a Whole

Welp, that certainly was a ride. Time for some closing thoughts.

While it might seem like I dislike characters like Gelatin from what I’ve said in this rant, I really don’t. I like these characters in the other seasons they’re in! Post-Split just kinda doesn’t do all that great with them.

Additionally, I don’t hate Post-Split either. I don’t love it, though. It’s just okay. It has some high highs, and some pretty deep lows. It has a lot of little things (and some major ones) that all together keep me from loving it like I do all the other seasons.

I’ve seen some people say the Split was the nail in the coffin for BFB, that there was no way Post-Split could have lived up to what came before. I don’t share this opinion. Episodes like BFB 20 and 26 (and to a lesser extent, 28 and 29, and to an even lesser extent, 22) show to me that Post-Split could have been something special.

So what happened? Why did Post-Split turn out the way it did?

I don’t know. I’m not here to do any meta-analysis or anything.

I’m just here to rant.

And rant I have.

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shmaptainwrites · 1 year ago

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Pay It Forward [Richard Castle]

Pairings: Richard Castle x GN!Reader

Characters: Richard Castle, (mentions of) Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito, Kate Beckett, Martha Rodgers, Alexis Castle

Summary: Reader jumps in between Castle and a suspect before a fight and ends up spending the night confronting her feelings for the bestselling author

Warnings: descriptions of injury (non-graphic), insecurity, hospital mention

Note: And yet another Castle fic, again honestly most of this was written a few consecutive late nights in a row so I don't really know if the progression makes much sense, but I like it so who cares ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ this has been in my drafts for months wtf is wrong w me

Getting hurt in the line of duty was something in the back of the mind of every law enforcement officer. Even author Richard Castle suspected there would be an occasion or two where he’d bite the bullet (figuratively and literally).

What he didn’t expect however was when following a lead an officer would jump between him and a suspect right before an altercation began.

To be honest, you didn’t expect to do it either, but there was something about reflexes that you just didn’t have any control over.

Castle tried to get in and give you a hand, but you yelled at him to stay back even though you knew you were in over your head. Your body was hopped up on so much adrenaline that it took you a moment to register when you were down.

It wasn’t the worst you had been hurt, but you knew each of the small injuries added to one another would mean you’d be benched for the foreseeable future.

“Shit!” you cursed as the suspect managed to get away. “Castle, call Ryan and Esposito I’m in no shape to go after this guy, make sure-ow,” you gripped onto your side as you sat up. “Make sure they have uniforms canvassing all the spots he might have gone to.”

Castle nodded and quickly made the call for you before hanging up and putting his phone back in his pocket.

“Hey, you don’t look too good,” he bent down next to you, noticing your split lip and a few other cuts you had around your face. Not to mention what looked like it could be a sprained ankle and a few bruised ribs.

“Been through worse, Castle,” you tried to push yourself up without much success.

“I should take you to a hospital.”

“No hospital,” you shook your head adamantly. “I’ll be fine.”

“Like hell you will be,” he placed a hand around your back and helped you up, confirming his suspicions of a sprained ankle when you winced at the pressure you placed on your right foot. “If you won’t let me take you to a hospital, at least let me patch you up. I must have some things lying around at home we can make use of.”

“Castle-,”

“Don’t even try arguing with me on this,” he gave you a stern look. “I signed my papers, you didn’t have to jump in like that.”

You sighed, “I know, it just sort of happened.”

“It’s okay,” he assured you. “Just let me pay it forward.”

You nodded your head and Castle supported you as you limped to the car.

During the ride to Castle’s place, Ryan and Esposito called to inform you that just as you had suspected your perp had gone to one of his usual hideouts and had been intercepted by uniformed officers. Not without a fight, of course.

“Glad that’s over,” you let out a breath and massaged your wrist. You had used it to break your fall when he had knocked you down, but you figured it was nothing that some ice and a tensor bandage couldn’t fix.

Castle agreed with you as he pulled into the parking of his building and got out to give you a hand. You knew it was better not to fight him right now so you let him. You sent out a silent thank you to whoever invented elevators knowing your trip up would have been much more uncomfortable without it.

As you entered Castle’s apartment, you noticed it was quieter than usual. You sat down on the couch and looked around,

“Where’s Alexis?”

“She’s staying at a friend’s house tonight,” Castle said while bringing the first aid kit and two ice packs to the couch.

You stayed quiet as Castle examined the cut on your forehead, his fingers carefully brushing the skin next to it.

He then grabbed an alcohol wipe and gave you the time old warning about it stinging. You scrunched your nose as the wipe made contact with the wound, but as soon as it started it was over and he placed two steri-strip bandages to keep the wound closed.

“You seem like you’ve had a bit of practice with this,” you said.

“Nope,” he shook his head. “First time.”

You chuckled a little to yourself, “Happy I could be your first something, Castle.”

That made him break his concerned face with a small smile before turning his attention to your wrist that was already on ice.

Similar to your own thinking he used a tensor bandage to wrap it,

“Are you gonna tell me why you didn’t want to go to a hospital?” he asked.

You shrugged, “I’ve been ignored in one enough times to know when I can try my luck outside.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he said while wrapping up your wrist. “I think by this time you know my door is open if you ever need anything.”

“Yeah, I do,” you smiled. “Thanks, Castle, really.”

He lifted your hand up to examine his work with a smile at a job well done before pressing a small gentle kiss to the back of your hand.

“So it can get better, of course,” he winked and you shook your head with a light laugh at his antics. “Your ribs,” he pointed to your chest. “He hit you pretty hard there, do you mind if I take a look?”

“Castle, I thought you were a writer not an MD,” you crossed your arms over your chest.

“Okay, you’re right I’m not a doctor, but I’ve hurt myself before. Many, many times. At least maybe I can tell you if it’s worth seeing someone about it. Hey, I mean Lanie went to med school you could probably just go to her if you need to.”

“And deal with Perlmutter if she’s not in? That’s my nightmare,” you shuddered.

“Come on, just give me a look. I promise no funny business,” he assured you and crossed his heart.

You sighed deeply and winced a little, only prompting Castle to send you a pointed look which you acknowledged.

“Fine, but not a word of this to Beckett, Esposito, or Ryan. They’ll chew my ear off if they hear I took my shirt off in front of you.”

“Mum’s the word,” he nodded and with Castle’s help you slipped your shirt off. When you finally caught a glimpse of Castle he wasn’t even looking at your ribs, but instead right at you.

“Castle, come on you said no funny business,” you whined.

“No, no,” he shook his head. “I wasn’t-,”

“Then what were you thinking about?” you raised your brows.

“Nothing,” he shook his head. “Not important.”

He then turned his attention to your newly formed bruise and tilted his head a little, curiously examining it.

“I think you should get this one looked at. Doesn’t have to be tonight, but that’s a nasty hit if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Whatever you say Dr. Castle,” you sighed and laid back on the couch.

You looked straight ahead for a while before turning back to look at him, only to see he was staring at you again.

“Castle, you’re really bad at pretending not to stare,” you chuckled humourlessly. “Honestly, right now I don’t think I could care less.”

“You make it kind of hard not to stare,” he retorted.

“Oh yeah, how so?”

“I just can’t seem to wrap my head around how someone who just got their ass kicked can still look so beautiful.”

You snorted, “Really, you’re a writer, Castle. I expected more from you.”

“I’m not lying,” he handed you your shirt back. “Shirt on or off, ass kicked or not.”

“Tell me why I don’t believe you then?” you took a moment to slip your shirt back on with a little bit of difficulty, but you managed it nonetheless.

“Maybe I haven’t given you much reason to,” he shrugged. “Can’t blame you there. Or maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

“You can’t see it yourself.”

“Can’t see it-Castle, what are you talking about?” you frowned.

“I’ve been working with you guys for over two years, it’s kind of my job to notice things,” he started.

“And what did you notice about me?” you ventured asking.

“You have the capacity to do your job and excel at it like no one I’ve ever seen,” he said. “But not once do you believe maybe your hunch is right. It’s always, no, let's do Beckett’s idea that seems better, you even indulge me more than you indulge yourself.”

You chewed on the inside of your lip, he wasn’t wrong.

“I just hope that mentality doesn’t find its way into the rest of your life too.”

You nodded your head, lips pressed tightly together, what he had said struck a chord with you. Resonated deep inside your heart where you knew he was right.

“And why do you care so much about me, Castle?” you dared to ask him. “Why did I jump in front of you to just get my ass kicked by our suspect? Do you have an answer to that too?”

“I might, but I don’t think you’re gonna like it,” he chuckled lightly.

“Maybe we should save it for another time then,” you whispered. “I think I um…I need to get back home.”

You pushed yourself up off the couch, but Castle blocked you before you could leave.

“Just stay here,” he said. “It’s late, you’re hurt. I-I don’t wanna leave you alone.”

“Castle, I know your mom’s living with you again. I don’t wanna impose-,”

“It’s not,” he shook his head and put his hands on your arms. “I swear it. You take my bed, I’ll sleep in Alexis’ room tonight.”

You had almost already had one foot out the door, you were so ready to get the hell out of there, run away from your feelings, but before your mind could catch up your hearts words made it to your mouth and you said,

“Okay…I’ll stay.”

Castle smiled and nodded his head a few times, like he was taking in the fact that you had just agreed with him, to be honest, so were you.

“Just give me a sec, I’ll grab you some stuff to take up with you,” he said before walking off to the linen closet to grab you a towel, a pillow, and an extra blanket. He came around to the stairs and motioned for you to follow him which you did

The door at the end of the hallway upstairs was the one that he led you to, pushing it open and allowing you to enter the room while he placed the things he had grabbed for you on the bed.

“Um washroom is over there,” he pointed, “Alexis’s room is the one by the stairs. D-Do you need something to wear?”

“Uh, no I think I can manage in these,” you looked down at the t-shirt and joggers you were wearing, thankful you had changed into your civvies before going out of the precinct. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, no worries,” he nodded, walking back from his bed and coming past you. “If you need anything, I’m just down the hall.”

You nodded your head.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he pulled a package out of his pocket. “Toothbrush.”

You smiled as he handed it to you. clearly having thought of everything.

“You sleep well,” he placed a hand on your shoulder and leaned in to press a kiss to your cheek. As he began to pull away, his eyes met with yours and before you could control your actions you could feel yourself reaching out to him. An arm wrapped around his neck, toothbrush still in hand, one hand holding his face, and before you knew it you had pulled him fully into you, your lips pressed gently against his own.

At that moment, you didn’t care anymore, you didn’t care about fighting your feelings, about whether or not this would end terribly and whether it was a good idea in the first place. All that mattered is that you knew what you wanted, and you were going for it.

Castle pulled away after a moment, looking again into your eyes almost asking permission. Giving you a chance to back out in case this was all some mistake.

But when you leaned in again, he took his cue and met you in the middle.

His hands were wrapped so gently around your waist, careful not to squeeze or press too hard, avoiding your sore spots.

The second time you pulled apart it was for air, your foreheads resting against each other, the only sound in the room was your breathing.

“Would you…would you stay with me?” you asked.

He pressed another kiss to your lips and nodded.

“Anything you want,” he whispered, and he meant it.

You unwrapped your arm from his neck, looking down at the toothbrush in your hand with a small smile.

“I’m gonna go…” you looked to the washroom and he nodded saying something about getting changed.

After you finished brushing your teeth, you came back into the room just as Castle was about to slip on a t-shirt.

“Now we’re even,” he said. “And not a word to Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan,” he teased you.

“Come on, we both know you would love it if they knew,” you rolled your eyes and made your way closer to his bed.

“Nah,” he shook his head and slipped on his shirt. “I think I’m okay keeping this one to myself.”

When you sat on the edge of the bed, Castle stayed where he was, that same knowing look in his eyes.

“What are you staring at?” you asked, pulling your legs up and sitting cross-legged.

He just shrugged and came to the other side of the bed, it was odd how you’d never noticed that look. Had he always looked at you that way?

“Rick,” you said quietly and he nodded, showing you had his attention. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

He chuckled a little, “I-Well I always thought you kind of hated me.”

“I kind of hate everybody,” you leaned back against the headboard. “I hate you a little less.”

He laughed and you did too, until you felt the ache in your ribs, prompting you to stop.

“I’ll take it,” he reached out to hold your hand and you took it, pulling him closer until this time he took the lead and cradled your face, kissing you again.

“You know,” you mumbled in between kisses. “You don’t have to not say things on my account, ever.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he assured you. “And you know you’ll always have a place here.”

“I could get used to that,” you nodded, holding his face in your hands and pulling him in even closer, until there was barely any space left between you.

He used the proximity to wrap one of his arms around the side of your waist that wasn’t bruised and pull you over more towards him, having you practically lean into his chest, until you both sunk down into the plush mattress.

“I don’t think I’m doing your lip much good,” he murmured while brushing his thumb across where you had split your bottom lip.

“It’ll heal,” you kissed his thumb which was still resting against your mouth.

“And so will you, but not if we stay up all night.”

You let out a small chuckle, “Alright, Doctor Castle, I’ll rest,” you conceded, letting your head rest against his chest, just high enough that he could bend his neck and press one last kiss to your forehead.

Closing your eyes, it felt nice to know that someone would be there to hold you when you woke up.

#richard castle #richard castle x reader #rick castle #rick castle x reader #castle abc #castle #richard castle fanfiction #richard castle fanfic #rick castle fanfiction #rick castle fanfic #castle fanfiction #castle fanfic

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backjustforberena · 3 months ago

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Hi! I just wanted to say that I absolutely adore your takes on Rhaenys. Unironically, there are so many times where I am having A Big Thought on the subject and come on here and you have said the exact thing I do not have the words to say myself and it is wonderful.

Also, I just saw your reply to someone else who said something similarly, and I am glad to know that your current fixation on all things Eve and also Rhaenys as a character isn’t going anywhere. I always feel like I’m late to the party discovering things so I wind up missing all the good discourse and squeeing over actresses and characters, so knowing that at least for the foreseeable future you will also be out there in the world losing your shit over her is good for my soul.

Also also, I do not know if you are still taking the rose asks, but the excerpts of yours I have read from that so far are all so good. I am very (im)patiently waiting for whenever you see fit to finish the things they are a part of so I may enjoy them just as much in context as I have in snippet form!

Hello! I let this sit in my inbox for a few days just so I could keep looking at it and smiling broadly. What a lovely, lovely thing to say and to take the time to write.

I'm glad that you've enjoyed my meta, thoughts and opinions about Rhaenys. She's just a character that's got a very big hold on me at the moment (along with her husband and her relationships with others) and no one in my real life actually watches HOTD for me to talk to them about it, and not in this detail! So Tumblr is a great place to really indulge in all that sort of thing, and get genuine debate and engagement from others who may be feeling the same way. And it's a creative outlet, as much as anything else, with the fic and the gifs and all of that. I really love it.

You're not late with me! And the good thing about Tumblr is that the internet is permanent. If you are interested in meta and thoughts and all that stuff, then you can search my blog. A lot of tagged with "bad meta" because I like being ironic, or else with the character name. And, honestly, I'm always happy to re-hash. You could come into my inbox any time.

I've always got something percolating, fic-wise, and, for being so lovely and nice, here's a longer extract of something - it's an AU in which, in Episode 01, Viserys summons Rhaenys over Rhaenyra, and offers the crown to her. A lot of the time, I do "what-ifs" to explore the politics and the interpersonal relationships. This one has been a doozy to actually finish because, as you can read, Rhaenys is basically thinking Viserys is out of his mind - that it can't be done:

I like writing Viserys and Rhaenys - the tragedy of that relationship. I don't do it often enough because, unfortunately, there will always be barriers preventing true honesty between them, which curbs any progress between them and a lot of opportunity for storytelling that's true to them.

There's always pain and distance despite deep love. This delves into that a little bit but because Viserys needs Rhaenys to see his earnestness, and they are in private, and he needs her to accept his plan (giving her the crown), the walls come down a bit. So, for example, in this, after this extract, Viserys actually asks her why she never had more children. And she's actually honest about it.

It's fun to explore. Asking yourself questions.

#house of the dragon #rhaenys targaryen #you give me a WORD and I will talk your ear off about an (always) unfinished WIP or just rhaenys targaryen in general #so don't be shy xxx

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rius-cave · 7 months ago

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Hey! It’s the anon that hadn’t watched Hazbin or Helluva before and wanted some encouragement to try it out 👋 I wanted to let you know that I did it! I watched the pilots for both series as well as helluva boss episode 1 (as I heard that was a better introduction) and 👉👈 I actually liked both. I thought that Charlie was cool she has an attitude that I really like in characters believing in others when she has no reason to. Angel was cute Pentious was really adorable (I like weirdos) and Husk was pushing a lot of buttons for me. The only character from Hazbin that I still don’t really get is Alastor and tbh it’s 90% cause of the hair like I can’t think he’s hot with that haircut I’m sorry 😭. But I really liked it I really took to the humour and tone.

Helluva Boss was the same I was actually surprised that the kids dying didn’t really bother me at all and the death of background guys were not as uncomfortable as I thought. I think I worked myself up about that aspect which is good cause I liked how horny and gay it was. After seeing so much nsfw of them I do get simping for Blitzo, Moxxie and Stolas now they were all kinda cute in their own way (You can tell I’m a gay guy huh?) and yeah I liked quite a few of the jokes as well. So I feel like I can go on with these shows!

I know this is a really random place to do this but I wanted to tell you since it was seeing all the nice adamsapple stuff and the storytelling possibilities from that as well as you’re specifically more chill and fun side of the fandom that made me want to take the plunge and actually watch it so thank you.

Heya!! Yay!! We got another one boys 💪

I think I probably said this in your first ask, but well yeah Hazbin and Helluva are definitely... for specific tastes, it's not for everyone, I think if you're someone that gets offended easily they're probably not for you (which is why sometimes I'm surprised at the absolute stupid things some people say in the fandom lol) but I'm glad you gave them a try and liked them!

It's been a couple days since I received this ask so hopefully you've watched more by now and still like it? :D at least I hope so lol. One disclaimer, I believe the Helluva pilot is not considered canon anymore? I'm not a 100% sure exactly what parts are canon or not, but yeah just keep that in mind.

Your faves are absolutely completely valid, I really love those characters too! And it's not just that you're gay, I honestly think the male characters are just more interesting in the writing in general sfdggdf (unfortunately, please Viv throw us a bone here).

I absolutely feel you in not understanding why people love Alastor so much LOL. I love him, I really do, but I do think he's a taaaad overrated because he scratches a specific part of tumblr people's brains. It's... hard to explain, but yeah if you don't simp for him then he's kinda just alright lol.

Don't worry about chatting with me! Happy to hear about a new fan!! Just a heads up though, if you expect to understand why we ship adamsapple after watching the show.... you probably won't LMAO IT'S MOSTLY BASED OFF OF OUR OWN DELUSIONS TO BE FAIR (I have two friends that I got into hazbin after they saw all my adamsapple art and brainrot, and they were like ".... yeah Riu we don't get it" haha)

#hazbin hotel #ask

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sieglinde-freud · 6 months ago

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so the way endings in awakening work is a bit off if you have the gay mod because it reads single people normally, but married people have the man’s ending read, and then his wife just. attached. and so that alters which ending you see for both of them. unfortunately, that means if i have f/f pairs, which most of them were, i dont get to see any because none of them were read. and at least with the second gen, i did almost entirely f/f pairs, which dont show up, or m/m pairs, which had nothing written, so. everyone please give it up for gerome and cynthia, the only second gen ending i got to see!

😭😭 good for them!!! anyways unorganized final thoughts under cut so i dont have to make a whole other post for it

awakening lunatic sucks! but project thabes makes it suck a little less. in all honesty i had a lot of fun, awakenings a good game to revisit, and finding a way to make it challenging while being able to use my favorite units (awakening second gen) ever was awesome. normally having all 13 (or 14 in this case, with both morgans) would break the game, but lunatic kept the enemies strong, so it didnt matter what my units had. i actually got overwhelmed a lot 😭 HUGE difficulty jump between hard and lunatic all i’m saying. and then the games like “hey now u have lunatic+ if that interests you” NOOOOO THANKS.

anyways. here are my top three guys according to the medal thingies at the end

im so proud of them :3 of all the kids really but yeah these three were huge standouts. virion actually got a change in the mod where one of his subclasses was swapped for myrmidon, so yarne got to inherit astra which was actually insane? it procced ALL THE TIME so. that was crazy. chrom!inigo and fred!cynthia are always good thats not new but they were really clutch in the last few chapters. i had them both hopping around classes for most of the game bc thabes redoes skill progression so. IT TOOK CYNTHIA SO LONG TO LEARN LUNA. ITS FROM WYVERN LORD. GOD. she went through a LOT of classes yall dont even know. also honorable mention to marc and morgan, the best rallybots ever, and dancer lucina, who was outserving everyone she was in a scene with. my girl.

like ok serving cunt on the back of the god youre about to kill? get it girl!

anyways so for second gen pairs i did: lucina/f!morgan, owain/m!morgan, inigo/laurent, yarne/brady, severa/kjelle, nah/noire, and cynthia/gerome and you know what. i think i have a great taste. a lot of these were born from being unable to do other pairings but thats ok. i liked how it turned out. though i was gonna do nah/noire anyways because they were actually like. an insane duo. honestly im surprised noire didnt get a medal thing bc i feel like her nostanking with nah backing her up got me out of so much shit. maybe its because i didnt see her ending… oh. oh wait thats probably it. well. anyways.

i think awakening is not a properly balanced game, nor are the maps made for a difficulty like this. towards the end game especially, the maps are just. flat. most of them anyways, and they just become really repetitive and bland and boring. and despite this being the game with the tactician character of all the time, they dont really allow you flexible strategies, because if youre not pair up stat stacking, you will die! and that sucks. mid game is alright, but the last arc is really weak and kinda dampered my whole experience. im glad i did it, but i wouldnt actually reccomend it to anyone unless you like to play like that (which is totally fine! its just not my thing). definitely requires some solid planning as well. all in all, not the worst fire emblem ive played but… well. im not doing it again. ok anyways heres inigo mouthing off at grima

#ann plays awakening #IM DONEEEEEEEEEEEEE #WOOOO #never doing lunatic again im so happy #i did have fun. i did. but god. never again #but i think this is one of the first times in a long time ive had to THINK while playing awakening #which obviously lets me view the game part of the game in a more critical manner #which i think is good #i LOVE awakening but its a VERY flawed game and its good to point that out #not that people havent been doing that for years but. you know.#i think a lot of the flack awakening gets is for its plot and characters and i just dont agree with most of it???#i feel like the most i see gameplay wise is just ‘maps boring lunatic too hard’ ok tell me why #so now i get to SEE why for myself after avoiding lunatic for all these years #if that makes sense #and oddly enough i think its made me like the game more in a weird sort of way #whatever. girls when the fire emblems get awakened or whatever

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writefullyrobin · 4 months ago

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No spoilers past 1x10 folks!

1x01 – Pilot thoughts

Plots

My friend said that I needed to watch the “firefighter show” she’s just finished and I always see it on my Disney account so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m trying to avoid spoilers by just not looking up anything 9-1-1 related on here until I’ve finished, so let’s see how far I can get!

This was such a fun opening episode! It had me hooked from the get go! I loved the energy and pace it moved and we got loads of different emergencies all in one. This is a first responder drama so I was nervous about the baby in the pipe and the little kid in the house break in actually being OK but this ep at least, no sad deaths! Yay! Buck’s future career came close to termination but he managed to save that too. Happy start, happy ending!

I’ve decided to break it down by character for my thoughts for this opening since it’s a well-rounded ensemble.

Bobby

Tough but fair, I guess? He was well within his rights to fire Buck like he did. I’m glad he gave him another change though all the same. I like his leadership. He has good chemistry with the rest of the crew and he feels like the leader. Sometimes with main characters who are meant to be in charge, their actors take a while to settle into that authority but not a problem here. I really liked his explanation to Buck that their relationship with patients end at the glass doors of hospitals.

Chimney

Not convinced I’ve actually seen the real Chimney yet so I will reserve judgment for now. I do admit I feel a bit sorry for him for feeling the need to take other people’s rescues for his own to impress a girl(friend?).

Hen

I’m going out on a limb here and going to guess she’s probably one of the more level-headed members of the team? She feels very big sister-y to me in how she interacted with Buck in particular.

Buck

Obviously the baby of the team in terms of age and job. I won’t lie, I honestly thought after his first few scenes he would be the cocky jock who didn’t think they could do any wrong but by the end of the ep, I realised he was just a loveable goof who wears his heart on his sleeve. He recognised Abby as the hero of that break in rescue and acknowledged it, rather than claiming the glory. He can also think on his feet! That trick with the water gun from the engine to help Athena was clever.

Athena

I’m pretty sure it's actually illegal to dislike any character played by Angela Basset. I adore her, she’s a brilliant actor in everything I've see her in previously and she didn’t disappoint me here either. Athena had that great balance of being tough cop but you can obviously see how much her family mean to her. She’s had her world rocked recently with her husband coming out as gay after I don’t know how many years of marriage. Interested to see how she copes with that particular change.

Abby

As the one who literally can only listen to these emergencies, I have full admiration for her. My RL friend once worked as a 999 dispatcher and it’s a very tough job. She looks like she’s got it rough juggling both a hard job and a sick mother at home. I’m not sure if that’s a sustainable situation so I sense something is going to give with that at some point.

Michael

I’m happy he’s finally getting to really be himself. I think it might take the rest of his family a little while to catch up to him though. He’s obviously had time to adjust to being a gay man as I guess he’s been thinking about it for forever but the rest family just been told so probably need a minute to catch up.

#robin watches #911 fox #911 show #911 season 1 #911 abc #bobby nash #athena grant #hen wilson #chimney han #evan buckley #abby clark

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parachutingkitten · 10 months ago

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Not an ask per se, just a similar feeling. You’re someone whose Ninjago stuff, here and on YT, I’ve really enjoyed for at least a few years. And I’ve been similarly obsessed with the show for some time. But… it’s as you say — DR is objectively fine, objectively nice, but I don’t feel the same obsession about it and its characters, plot, etc that I used to feel all the time with Ninjago. And I *cannot* figure out why, and it’s also been driving me slightly up the wall. It’s maybe because I genuinely try to give media the best chance when I interact with it, but despite multiple DR rewatches I don’t see what everyone else sees. And the disconnect is a sad, like you mention — I joined the community here because I was so glad to have people who loved this show in the same ways I did, and now it’s like they’re all on a different wavelength and I want to be there but I’m not. It’s definitely strange for sure, made worse I think by the fact that DR isn’t like horrifically bad or anything, I just feel… okay, when watching it, and can’t even explain why.

I don’t know how much sense this makes, but I thought it might be something for you to think about if you’d like. I’ve been tossing around the idea that I don’t love DR because it is… good. It’s good, but too neat — if that makes sense? The new characters — I love them all, but their personalities and backstories and situations they’re put in all remind me of several other stories. The subplots of the episodes always have an end goal in mind, often an emotional realisation, and whilst that’s a neat way to tell stories, it doesn’t feel like, to me, the way Ninjago used to tell stories. Like, the first thing that comes to mind is Sora feeling hopeless and that episode with the djin where she realises that it’s important to hope. And maybe this isn’t a great comparison (as I’m typing it out, I realise that it isn’t the best example oof), but I immediately thought of Zane after Seabound, when he’d turned off his emotions. Sora’s bad feelings, whilst not as ‘significant’ as Zane’s in that context, began just before and were wrapped up neatly in that episode and not brought up again. Zane acts detached from the start of S16 if I remember, and it’s only near the end of the season (I think! I know that it’s a few eps at least) when he meets Sally, talks to her, learns a little about her life, and is able to come to the realisation that he shouldn’t be repressing everything. I think DR, because of the amount of characters it has, especially those that are new, and the amount of new worldbuilding, plot stuff, etc that they have to add in, it being a reboot/sequel type of thing, leaves less time for the nuance and time devoted to the character arcs in the original show. Or maybe I’m just crazy, honestly idk.

Something else that stands out to me is the fact that DR has to establish so much about these new characters and their world that they… they do something that old Ninjago didn’t do, and whilst it’s maybe objectivity a better storytelling choice, I think it’s part of the reason I’m not really feeling it. What they do is that they have the characters act kind of realistic. Arin worries about his parents, often. Sora did too. Wyldfyre and Kai definitely have a few moments where it’s implied that they’re confused about what’s up with their powers. In Ninjago up to s16, because they wrote a lot of it without intending much or anything to come after it, I feel like they thought less about this than the DR writers, who know that they’ve got a few seasons lined up, do. For example — hands of time is when we find out about Ray and Maya, but it was never often addressed by Nya and Kai. It’s brought up in s4, of course, but if they were real kids whose parents had vanished one day they’d probably bring it up more often, like Arin did. But it’s often not done in the narrative because the writers gave them other things to focus on, because they’re storytelling devices and not real kids. There was no real buildup to Nya being the water ninja, for example, but Sora’s said to be good with tech a few moments after we meet her. This ain’t a critique of either show — just a different choice I sort of picked up on, if it even makes any sense. And as crazy as it may sound, I liked that about the old Ninjago — it saw the characters more as storytelling devices, I think, than relatable to the audience (Kai was the hothead, Jay the humour, etc — ofc they were more than that, but they retained that sort of vibe from S1 a little all throughout the show I think). DR, on the other hand, seems to want their characters to be more relatable, more multifaceted, make more sense — which, when coupled with the fact that they’re new characters and that the ninjago fandom has historically thrived on gaps in the show to enjoy it (we’re a very AU, OC, heavy fandom, etc), I think DR attempting to flesh out their characters in the way that we’re often used to doing with the old characters in fic, art, etc means that I like DR a little less because there’s less to ‘work with’, and less that inspires thinking of the characters in different situations — bc whilst relating is nice, it is also enjoyable when the characters are written with some core characteristics in mind and you explore other parts of them or those characteristics in different contexts. I don’t think makes much sense, but I hope that it maybe gives you something to think about — as you can probably see, I’ve been going a little crazy over not liking it and not knowing why, so I know that the feeling isn’t great.

I'm picking up what you're putting down here. My next video has a bit about getting disillusioned with a fandom, and it sucks. It always does. It's heartbreaking when you feel like that special bond between you and your show was somehow broken. I empathies, and it's important to feel it out.

Now, I don't think ninjago was better at character arcs, i don't think having a character arc be longer is better, or even really a characteristic of classic ninjago, but I do think the DR character arcs feel very by the book. They're following the screenwriting 101 guide perfectly, but it ends up feeling a bit lacking because of it? If that makes sense? Now, ninjago was historically very bad at character arcs, but when they got it right, they always had a bit of a spin on things, and interesting visual payoff, whatever. I think the zane's emotions arc isn't particularly great (and the sally piece is sort of at the end of the first half of the season ;) I would argue sora's arc in season 1 about finding confidence is better, but that doesn't mean I find it much more enjoyable.

I will agree that that the characters in ninjago definitely feel more like characters, while the DR cast (old cast included) feel more like people. Neither are a bad thing, but I think it definitely has an effect on the tone. Characters allow for a more lighthearted goofy vibe, because the show is operating on a higher suspension of disbelief most of the time. DR on the other hand, does want a little more vulnerability from its audience on a regular basis.

Lastly, I do think you're onto something with DR being fully planned. The two seasons we have so far feel very indistinct. There is less of a defining singular "adventure" in each season. And again, that's not a good thing or a bad thing, but it ends up making things feel different. Ninjago is an episodic series of adventures. DR is a continual evolving set of circumstances. Those are just going to feel different.

#ninjago #dragons rising #dr spoilers #asks #thanks anon!

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