#if you like Mighty Nein I feel like you'd like Bells Hells too

[topaz-mutiny]

Critters laud the Mighty Nein as unhinged chaos baboons, but have they:

Won a heist contest (and repeatedly set the other team on fire (non-lethally))

Won a Mad Max death race

Faked filming a porno in a stranger's basement

Hid multiple dead (and soon-to-be-dead) bodies in a loony tunes hole

Trojan horsed a nonfunctioning robot to infiltrate the enemy base

Dropped an entire airship onto a doomsday device

Danced Flirted with the devil('s champion) in the pale moonlight

Convinced 300 pyromanic lizard fairies to poop on them (which is bioluminescent and smells like lavender) to mask their scent from a giant lethal komodo dragon star-nosed mole

[railroad-migraine]

Hello! I was wondering if you could write a Mighty Nein version of the hiding in the alley together Bell's hells scenario you wrote? I really loved your Bell's hells one! Thanks!

Thank you darling! I love that post so much too 🥰

Bell's Hells version 💙

Tight Squeeze (hiding in an alley together)

Beau 💜

You're standing on her toes, and her elbow is poking harshly into your side, and you both just don't know where to look. "Sorry, I'll scoot over a little bit-" "No, wait, hang on a sec-" Awkward scrambling ensues. You whisper and try to convince her to put up with the closeness until you guys are safe, but she. Just. Won't. Listen. Eventually, her squirming has you both off centre and reaching for each other for balance, and she murmurs a quiet: "... oh."

Beau isn't a romantic, never has been, and she's never really gazed into someone's eyes as purposefully as she is right now. You're fucking gorgeous. How has she never stopped to just look at you before? Have you always been so... You blink in confusion as she seems to soften, ever so slightly, calming down enough to breathe in sync with you.

You feel a palm drag itself up your arm, up, up, up until she finally cradles your jaw. And you both stand there, unmoving, for who knows how long, before she eventually tears herself away from you and the alley with a grumble. You take a moment to recover from the intense look in her eye, running after Beau only when she calls your name to hurry up.

-

Caleb 💜

His mouth is puckered in a tight frown as he looks anywhere but your face. It's an incredibly tight squeeze where you've found yourselves, so narrow that you're effectively pinning the wizard to the wall behind him. Your palms rest flat at either side of his neck and his hands have curled into little fists between your chests. Your heartbeat is thundering in your ears - or maybe it's Caleb's - you're not quite sure whose it is when you're this close together.

It's incredibly quiet. Awkward, even. So you say something. Anything. A stupid comment on how this is like a cheesy scene in one of the awful smutty books that's been passed around the group, and he can't help but huff a laugh and try to hold back an amused smile. His shoulders relax and he rests his head against the wall to finally get a better look at you, and something makes you lean your head towards him, following his lead. His lips part slightly as you move closer and-

Nott/Veth calling both your names from outside the alley jerks your faces apart, and Caleb very hurriedly inches away from you. "We should, ah..." He reluctantly shuffles towards the road, adjusts unkempt hair and smooths down the front of his coat, fingers twisting the buttons shyly. "W-we should go join the others, ja?" His heart sings at the simple touch of you linking pinkies with him. It's a quiet message he doesn't need to worry about deciphering.

-

Fjord 💜

"Beggin' your pardon." You can't help but snort. Even in times of peril, in situations where you're taking cover from the intense fighting outside of alleyways, Fjord still manages to treat you well and act the perfect gentleman. He shushes you, smiling himself, and it briefly feels like you're the only two people in the world - except for those in the battle mere feet away from your hiding spot.

His eyes soften as you share a secret grin with him, but not in the way you'd like. He clears his throat, peeks out of the gap of the alley."Look, I know this isn't an ideal situation but..." You say his name sweetly, urge him to look up from the ground to meet your gaze, and you see colour quickly spread across his neck in embarrassment. He swallows thickly and looks away, and breathes out the quietest shuddering sigh.

A hesitant hand reaches out for yours, and you grip it tight before he can regret taking the leap. The rest of the Nein find you both in that same position minutes later once the battle had officially ended and it was safe to leave, all tangled fingers and soft gazes. Fjord never wants to let go.

-

Jester 💜

"Are you gonna kiss me?" She's a little cross eyed, a little flushed and out of breath, and so so pretty this close up. Her eyes flick between your own, both your noses just barely grazing. "It feels like now would be a good time to kiss me." And it does.

But the moment is ruined when a swarm of soldiers charges right by the alley's entrance, and Jester lunges forward to hug you close. Together you find yourselves huddled further in the shadows while the enemy runs right by your hiding spot. She's so soft in your arms, perfect - it's like she belongs there - and you want to tell her that, but saying so out loud would easily blow your cover. So you settle for keeping her close, a hand in her hair while she ducks her head under your chin.

You wait until the last soldier has gone before you reluctantly remove yourself from the tiefling (who visibly pouts) and peek outside the alley. Once the coast is clear, you look over your shoulder, only to find Jester already looping arms with you. She smiles, this time confidently, and you enter daylight once more with no mention of the almost-kiss.

-

Mollymauk 💜

He doesn't say a word. Which, y'know, is ideal when skulking about in an abandoned alley, away from prying eyes of spies and mercenaries - but the way how Mollymauk is not-so-subtly glancing your way every few seconds is awfully distracting. You lightly push against his chest, tell him in a hushed voice to stop smirking so much, that this is a very serious situation. "What? Can I not look at you now? Can I not enjoy the little things while we fear for our lives? Who knows when I'll see something so lovely again~"

You push him again, a little more forcefully this time, and he actually barks a laugh, sways back to you and tilts his head with sticky fondness. There's a sudden commotion nearby - heavily armoured folk who suddenly look in the direction of the sound and touch their weapons suspiciously. Quick thinking in the moment has you press your body closely to Molly's, making your forms fit within shadow, and cover his mouth with your hand.

And he's silent again, but his expression has changed. He never looks away from you, nor you him, both of you holding breaths in anticipation - of being discovered, or of something more passionate, you are not completely sure - but the moment is never interrupted. When all is safe and sound once more after the hired fighters evacuate the nearby area, he slowly peels your hand away and presses a single, simple touch of his lips to your palm. It's barely even a kiss, but you don't mind. It's nothing. It's something. It's a promise.

-

Yasha 💜

She's... Well, you already knew that she was tall before this, but you never really knew exactly how tall Yasha was until you were up against each other in a tiny alleyway in some fancy town neither of you know the name of. It's a small space, and there are hired thugs sniffing around town looking for you and the Nein, but you feel so safe with the barbarian - a protective barrier between you and the rest of the world. Your face warms at the thought.

She peers down at you with a blank expression, and you expect awkward silence, but she surprises you with: "Well this is quite cosy, isn't it?" It's dark in the alley, but she can see the wrinkles by your eyes when you smile at her. Good. That'll ease the tension immensely... And the slightly nervous pitter patter of her heart.

Despite it all, she's a little flustered being so close to you. It's weirdly intimate caging you in, and she curses under her breath quietly when you look away bashfully and bite your lip with a grin. She's obviously done something right when you gently rest a hand on her arm and ease her wandering mind. She still feels that touch hours after, and wonders if you're thinking of it too.

-

Kingsley 💜

You don't want to admit it, but you're panicking. What started off as a cheeky side quest quickly spiralled into a catastrophe, and you now find yourself in a claustrophobic space with bad guys on your tails, and you have grazed knees after tripping earlier and you're stuck with your most charming friend who looks at you like he loves you, and it's all too much, and- "Hey, keep your eyes on me."

Kingsley is holding your face in his hands, and you can barely make out his crimson eyes in the dark, but you know he's giving you that look again. "We're gonna be fine, we're gonna get out of this. I'll buy you a drink later, you'll see." You want to believe him, even as your heart drums loudly in your chest, leftover adrenaline dulling in your veins. You follow his lead, breathe in, and breathe out as you move to hold the wrists of his hand that are cupping your face still. You find calm, and he looks proud. Maybe it's only a shadow of an expression in the dark though.

Instead of leading you back towards the ship, Kingsley takes you by the hand and dances around the crowded marketplace towards a quiet tavern on the outskirts of town. He reaches out and holds the door open for you, and grins when you look puzzled."I owe you a drink, remember?"

[utilitycaster]

If you're willing, totally get if you aren't, would you rate the campaigns you've watched? Not best to worst but out of whatever stars? I'm just curious and feel like you'd have interesting answers.

Hey anon,

I must admit that unless I genuinely liked all campaigns exactly equally this still ends up being a ranking in that they're going to have different numbers of stars and some will have more. I will strive to explain myself though since that's where the interest is, but, spoiler: my opinion is a fairly common one and I don't know if you'll find it interesting.

I'm using the Goodreads 5 star system of 1 - didn't like it, 2 - it's ok, 3 - liked it, 4 - really liked it, 5 - it's amazing.

Campaign 1: 4 stars. I think the one-two punch of the Briarwoods and Chroma Conclave - half the campaign - is an incredible story, and greatly enjoy both the lead-in and fade-out (yes I know Vecna is the final BBEG but the emotional heart of the campaign is Briarwoods/Conclave). Perhaps because I've been thinking about the Drizzt novels again but it feels like the closest, most archetypal form of that kind of This Is D&D story. I enjoy all the characters, though some took longer to grow on me; the emotional beats and the relationships all hit (Perc'ahlia exceptionally well for me, but Percy and Vex are just characters who happen to be directly up my alley), and while the shift from Pathfinder to D&D shortly before airing/incompleteness of some of the world occasionally peeks through that's very minor. Fantastic campaign, would recommend highly.

Campaign 2: 5 stars. I think this sets the standard of what a long-form actual play D&D campaign can be. Without going on too long a tangent, I think the great thing about the medium of actual play is that it can go to places that something scripted likely wouldn't, and in doing so, show us something we (as consumers of scripted/written fantasy media) didn't know we wanted but desperately did. Campaign 2 does this; Worlds Beyond Number is the only thing that has shown that same potential that I can think of. I think it is character-driven in a way even D&D often doesn't get a chance to be, I think the characters are made with incredible love and care, and I think that in the end pretty much every single beat - plot, character, romances, worldbuilding - lands. When Critical Role stops airing longform campaigns, whenever that may be, I will be sad, but I will be excited to have the time to finally get around to a Campaign 2 rewatch.

Campaign 3: 3 stars. I like that having established this world in Campaign 1 and further in Campaign 2 we are threatening it in a unique way that could truly change it forever without destroying it, though it also may destroy it. I'm enjoying the plot: while it takes some time to settle, there is a domino effect to it that, while present in the other campaigns, is deeply satisfying due to its cross-campaign, years-in-the-making nature. I also think the role that Bells Hells plays within this plot is unique: whereas Vox Machina are already near-legends by the time their arc of reckoning comes about, and the Mighty Nein are by and large unsung, Bells Hells finds themselves as one piece in a vast machine, and that's a different perspective uncommon in D&D narratives that's fun to see. I have said in the past that I think the only thing holding it back from being...well, under this system, 5 stars, is the character creation process was likely lacking and did not adequately set up for the very intentional and structured plot. I maintain that is true.

[utilitycaster]

If Gonchrav made it to Critcal Role, which group do you think would fit the characters of the movie best? VM, M9 or BH? Or do you think a mix of characters?

Oh great question! I'm surprised it hasn't come up before.

If you'd asked me about which party fit the vibe of the movie best I would absolutely have to say the Mighty Nein - and this isn't just because of my own love for the Nein and my feeling that they are enjoying a justified renaissance. It's because of the darker and more European-inspired setting; the entanglements with organized crime; and of course the presence of the sea. I know the obvious call for the clock motif is Percy, but if you consider the deeper symbolism - of time, and its hold on us - then naturally, it's got to be Caleb.

But with that said the characters don't fully map onto the Mighty Nein so I think it has to be a mix. The specifics of the party dynamics actually fit Bells Hells much better but the individual personalities don't quit fit, so:

Mariella - I mean, obviously Vex survives the narrative, but otherwise how could you pick anyone else?

Sofia - I'm so torn between Veth and Yasha and while I think Veth fits into the social class better, Yasha really embodies where Sofia came from.

Mario Ambrosini - you know, the funny thing is that like, the bird imagery does have me like...Cerrit, but it doesn't quite fit and anyway you didn't ask me about EXU. Then I was like. oh duh. Percy.

Goncharov - Scanlan. That glitzy exterior, the becoming a mob boss in a foreign city...need I say more?

Ice Pick Joe - Molly, natch. Here for a good time; not a long one.

Andrey - FJORD. Self-explanatory.

Katya - Keyleth would be the funniest answer but she doesn't have the charisma to pull it off, even though Marisha has shown that she can play a Katya-like figure with Patia. (Honestly, I think the tragedy just means I'm going to have EXU Calamity on my mind the whole time even though that doesn't map perfectly). But of the main campaigns...I think it has to be Fearne. It could be Jester but I think Fearne, in the end, has a certain darkness that Jester does not and you need that for Katya.

Valery - Well, if Katya is Fearne, Valery must be Orym, and frankly the soldier background fits almost too well.