~Danger at the hurrizin~

@jamestheenderman

@brimstone-and-cinnabar

Shadows Creeping

Book: Blades of Light and Shadow, Book 2

Pairing: Aerin Valleros x elf!f!MC (Reina 'Ray' Nightbloom)

Genre: Angst

Rating: Mature

Warnings: violence, mentions of blood, torture, involuntary drug use, vague sexual themes, crippling guilt, general sense of hopelessness, Valax is exaggeratedly evil

Word count: 3.2K

Summary: After a botched raid on the Ash Empire outpost, Aerin finds himself locked in a tight chase with Princess Valax. The labyrinthine dungeons beneath the Shadow Court Fortress stir up some of his darkest memories. Will he be able to escape Valax, or the ghosts of his past?

A/N: Post book 2 chapter 8. The story is mostly inspired by @secret-fungi with a little bit of @spacetravels. Valax is very OOC in that I made her so evil (for the plot!) I actually feel kind of bad about it. Also, shamelessly using this as an opportunity to practice writing action sequences. Enjoy (you won't).

Taking a sharp left, Aerin dives into the secret alcove behind an inconspicuous shabby tapestry and slowly slides down the cold stone wall, greedily gasping for air. Thank the gods he has memorized the layout of the dungeons beneath the Shadow Court Fortress so well, even if the Ash Empire has… redecorated the place since they took over. Admittedly, he hasn't had the chance to properly look around—and he really, really hopes to keep it that way. Still, this little chase, unfortunately, left him enough time to notice the fresh blood spatters in some of the empty cells and hear the blood-chilling screams of unfortunate souls trapped deeper in the labyrinth of these wretched hallways. 

'Lovely,' Aerin mutters to himself, allowing his eyes to close for just a second. 'Very lived-in.'

His solace is hopelessly fleeting, shattered by the distinct clicking of heels against cold stone. Distant for now, the footsteps echo ominously in the dim candlelit hallway—the only path that could lead Aerin to freedom. And each one of them is louder than the last.

'The famous Prince Aerin,' Valax's voice seems to resonate through every nook and cranny of the dungeons, a low purr of a big cat about to jump its prey. 'Please forgive us for the cold welcome, your highness. We didn't realize we would be receiving such an esteemed guest.'

So they have identified him already. That's unfortunate, though not entirely unexpected. One of the guards must've recognized him during the earlier scuffle. Aerin bites his tongue, fighting the urge to curse, knowing that any sound would instantly reveal his hiding place. It was supposed to be a straightforward mission — get in, grab the supplies, get out. Two hours, maybe three, tops. Or it would be, hadn't he run directly into a squad of the most elite Ash Empire soldiers, led by Princess Valax herself. Why was she here, anyway? Last he checked, she was supposed to be chasing Ray and her merry band of intrepid adventurers all over the forests of Morella.

And yet, here she was.

'I've heard so much about you, you know. It's almost as if we're acquainted in absentia.'

Of course she has. Aerin knows what they say about him in the Ash Empire. Dreadlord's errand boy. His resident Lightrealmer lap dog. His little—

Aerin bites the inside of his cheek, hard. Distracting him is precisely what Valax wants. The self-pity can wait until after he's free. Now, he needs to think.

His bag of supplies has grown much lighter after he parted ways with Ray and others. The Shadow Realm's charred wastelands can be challenging to find herbs in. Especially the healing ones — the migraine has been killing him. And the skirmish with the soldiers earlier has depleted his already very unimpressive reserves even further. But surely, he can come up with something?

His fingers fumble through his bag, searching for something—anything—until finally closing around a half-empty pouch of dry resin, and Aerin clutches it so tightly that his knuckles grow white. Yes, it isn't much, but it will suffice—and at that moment, that's all he's asking for.

The approaching footsteps grow uncomfortably closer, each one counting down the seconds before his demise. Aerin's heartbeat matches their eerie rhythm, but he's ready. With swift precision, he sends a tiny pouch of flaming resin skidding across the floor toward Valax's feet and the next moment, it erupts in a thick cloud of bitter black smoke. Aerin launches. He can feel the rush of air as Valax's hand nearly grazes his hood, but the surprise is on his side. Twisting like an eel, he slips away from her outstretched grasp and bolts.

He knows better than to believe that his little diversion will stall Valax for long, his instinct keen as ever. Behind him, a fierce gust of wind, strong enough to bend trees, sweeps the smoke away in one fell swoop. A second more, and it might have toppled Aerin too, but he lunges into the nearest open chamber just in time. Behind him, the heavy metal door slams shut with a deafening boom. 

The room he finds himself in is peculiar. A large, dimly lit chamber welcomes him with the quiet hum of strange machines, the ticking and clicking of odd knick-knacks and the soft glow of iridescent vials. Metals cages bare their bars ominously in the dark corners of the room. His gaze takes it all with greedy interest. At a better time, Aerin could spend hours here, figuring out the purpose of each strange device and weird contraption. Now, though, he scarcely has a moment to take cover behind one of the towering metallic cabinets and calm his breath. Just in the nick of time before the door opens again.

Valax pierces the room with her dark, heavy gaze, no doubt noticing every minute detail before stepping inside. Her steps are slow and deliberate as she circles the room, a shark sensing the smell of blood, and each time her heel connects with the floor, it's a sledgehammer blow to Aerin's temples.

'Your friend Reina told me so much about you, you know,' Valax purrs.

Every one of her words is a stone in an avalanche. But it's not even the words themselves; it is the sheer wrongness of hearing that name uttered by this voice that truly shakes Aerin to his very core. He knows Ray is not particularly fond of her full name, not really. She told him she'd always found it too old-fashioned. It made her sound like some stuck-up Whitetower noble, she said.

Unless it was him who called her that.

'Ah, we've had so many wonderful times together. In this very room, actually,' Valax continues. From his vantage point, Aerin can clearly see Valax's hand as it tenderly caresses the large stone table in the centre of the room. As his eyes follow her movement, it dawns on him that the table has leather straps at each corner. 'Yes, she became quite talkative at times. Especially after I treated her to a bit of belladonna and dreamroot tonic.'

A chilling shiver slithers down Aerin's spine. He's familiar with the effects of belladonna tonic. Thank Vostrasz, that sadistic bastard. He loved dosing his victims with this vile concoction and watching them as they screamed, unable to escape the visions of their worst nightmares. Aerin has witnessed its effects once, the memory carved into his mind. A young man, skin glistening with cold sweat, empty eyes with freakishly wide pupils staring at something only he could see, dry lips whispering a desperate plea as tears streamed down his face. 

As if compelled by some wicked force, his gaze is drawn back to the stone table. For a haunting second, he can see Ray's lifeless body sprawled upon it. Bile surges in his throat. He shuts his eyes and clenches his fists.

'She screamed so loudly. Screamed until she had no voice left to scream with. Would you like to know what she screamed, your highness?'

He needs to get out of here.

As Valax turns her back to him, Aerin seizes the opportunity and hurls a small pebble to the far corner of the room, where it lands in a tiny clink. Valax's head snaps towards the sound, and Aerin jumps, throwing his whole body onto the massive cabinet serving as his cover. The cabinet creeks, staggers, and topples right towards Valax's head. Vials and boxes spill across the chamber in a cacophony of clatter and crashing. Amid the ensuing chaos, Aerin rushes towards the exit, swiping a bunch of supplies laid out on one of the side tables into his bag.

Unfortunately, he doesn't make it all the way. Valax, with her inhuman strength, halts the toppling cabinet mid-air with a single hand. Crouched behind an overturned table, Aerin can see the dark veins pulsing on Valax's forearm as she holds the cabinet still for a moment, metal crumpling like paper tissue under her fingers, then shoves it back into the wall. One of the glass vials must have shattered against her forehead because he can see a strange iridescent liquid mingling with dark blood as it slowly trickles down her brow, but otherwise, Valax doesn't look hurt at all. Just pissed.

Holding his breath so as not to make a single sound, Aerin frantically sorts through the ingredients he managed to snatch. There is some dry hemlock and foxglove. A vial of dragonfly wings. A pouch of saltpetre and sugar. Oh, if only there was sulphur… Please, let there be sulphur…

In his frantic state, Valax's voice is cold and still like a blade. 'Don't do it, Aerin. That's what she said... She seemed so scared, too. Terrified. I wonder what you did to scare her so badly, your highness?'

Aerin grits his teeth, forcing his hands to keep working through the tiny vials, but his mind is, unfortunately, much harder to control. He knows nothing of Ray's nightmares—there is no way he could know—but he's got plenty of his own. And as Valax's words keep ringing in his ears, one in particular raises its ugly head. 

Smears of blood blooming on the throne room floor. A portal buzzing with dark magic. Tang of metal and ozone in the air. Nia—the priestess's limp body in his arms. He tries not to look at her face—it's easier this way. Instead, he only looks into the portal, Shadow Realm's lifeless landscape spread out before his eyes. He's so close. One tiny step away. But just before he's about to take it, he glances back.

Briefly, his mind registers Mal's face, twisted with rage. The terror in Tyril's eyes. Imtura's teeth bared in a scorching scowl. But in the end, it's her face that is burned into the back of his eyelids.

Her cheeks, oddly wet. Her body, trembling ever so slightly. She looks so tiny at that moment. So lost, like a puppet with her strings cut. And so utterly, heartbreakingly sad. She doesn't make a sound, but her lips curve around the words, and Aerin swears he can hear her voice as she pleads, 'Don't do it.'

'Maybe you should try being afraid of me as well!' Aerin erupts, letting go of the pent-up anger as he hurls the burning concoction he mixed up at Valax, then dives through the doorway. Behind him, the makeshift bomb explodes with a deafening roar of fire, its fiery breath shuffling the hair on Aerin's nape. The skin on his hands and knees burns, scraped from the clumsy fall. But the pain is so worth it. So worth the feeling of dark satisfaction blazing through his veins. Having this place where Ray suffered countless days and nights reduced to ashes… It's invigorating. 

Celebration will have to wait, though. Aerin knows that destroying Valax herself won't be as simple as her laboratory. The echoes of the explosion still ringing in his ears, he scrambles to his feet and takes off in the direction of the dungeon's exit.

He doesn't get far before the sinister sound of Valax's approaching footsteps reaches him again.

'So, the Dreadlord's little lapdog has some bite, too. Still, that won't be enough,' Valax… giggles? It's a disturbing, chilling sound that makes the hairs on Aerin's arms stand on end. 'Unfortunately for you, you don't have quite the same… effect on me as you do on the Realmwalker.'

In this dark, horrifying dungeon, her voice rings with eerie delight, as if she's remembering a very funny joke, and Aerin is not in on it.

Aerin has no time to dwell on it, though. Reaching a crossroads, he takes a sharp right and, hiding behind the corner, steals a glance over his shoulder. As expected, Valax is closing in, tendrils of smoke and shadow swirling around her body as though she carries a piece of the very fire he started on her.

'You see, the Realmwalker and I have spent so much time together. Months… Why, I would almost consider us to be close friends! And she has told me many, many things over those months… About you, too! Aren't you curious, little princeling?'

Why are you listening to her, his mind screams out. She doesn't know where he is. She's just baiting him. Trying to get a reaction, provoke him into revealing himself. There is no reason to believe a single venomous word that escapes her lips.

'I'm sorry, Aerin. That is one of my favourites. Do you like it, princeling?'

Lies, lies, lies, every single word of hers. After all, whatever would she ask his forgiveness for when everything… Everything is his fault. And yet, as Valax's words echo in his ears, Aerin swears he can hear her voice—

Ray has always been so strong. He's seen her in battle, the hero of Morella, as deadly as she is beautiful. But her heart… He knew her tender, bleeding heart. Always too kind to people who didn't deserve it. To people like him.

Of all things, his mind goes back to the night of the fair in Riverbend—their night. He remembers her skin, dressed in nothing but candlelight, her body melting under his touch like wax as he kissed her thighs. The mighty hero, in his arms, exposed down to her very soul. It struck him then, the power he held. At that moment, he could break her. It wouldn't even be hard.

The thought terrified him. He had power, once. And look where it got him. Power… It brings out the darkness within people. Most live and die without ever truly experiencing it, but Aerin has seen his shadow already. He looked it in the eye. And that is how he knew he could never allow himself to touch her again.

He clenches his teeth and tries to melt into the shadows, away from Valax's piercing gaze.

'Come back, she said. Oh, why wouldn't you come back to her, princeling?'

Aerin knows he shouldn't listen. But every word that falls from Valax's lips is a drop of acid eating away at his very soul. Perhaps that's why he doesn't notice the shadowy tendril winding around his ankle.

Pale rays of early dawn filter into the tent as Aerin hastily packs the last of his admittedly unimpressive belongings.

Ray still lies amidst the crumpled sheets, her hair tousled on the pillow. She's asleep, yet her brows are still knitted together in a painful frown.

That night, he didn't sleep at all, the chatter of his own thoughts too loud to let him rest. For a while, he just laid there, silently studying her face. She whimpers in her sleep. What awful things does she see when she closes her eyes? He didn't know; he just stroked her hair tenderly until she seemed to calm down. Her frown never went away, though. Why is it that every time she is with him, she looks like she's in pain? The thought made him feel ill.

Finally, he secures his bag and steps toward the exit, his goodbye letter resting on the nightstand. Before him stretches the forest that skirts the edges of Riverbend, tranquil and beautiful in its robe made of golden dew. But just as he's about to step into the dawn, he glances back. He just can't help himself.

As though sensing his gaze, she stirs in her slumber and raises her head. Aerin freezes. Her lavender eyes twinkle for just a second, half-obscured beneath the heavy fawn lashes. From her perplexed expression, it is clear she's not yet fully awake.

'Aerin?' she exhales.

'Yes,' Aerin replies, the word sticking in his throat. 'It's me.'

He's utterly still, fearing that any sudden movement or noise will awaken her further, revealing him standing there. Fully clothed. With his belongings in tow.

'Come back,' she asks, her feather-soft voice piercing right through his heart.

'I'm just getting some water. Go back to sleep.'

It's so hard to keep his voice straight, but he manages. He's lied for so long it's become second nature. Finally, Ray lets out a compliant hum, seemingly convinced by his words, and falls back onto the pillow. Aerin lingers for a few more moments, then finally walks away. Her voice still echoes in his ears, but his mind is made up. This is for the best. If he stays away, he won't be able to hurt her again.

That's the lie he keeps telling himself.

The shadow yanks him closer to its master. Aerin almost loses his balance but rolls away at the very last second. In one fluid motion, he draws a short blade from the sheath on his shin and slices through the tendril, freeing himself.

But it's too late. Valax stands in front of him, and behind his back, the corridor stretches into a dead end.

In one last desperately hopeless attempt, he tightens his grip on the hilt and lunges at Valax.

'Help me,' Valax whispers, the plea laced with cruel amusement.

His stomach drops, and his head spins, but he almost manages to keep his composure. Almost.

Valax leans into his attack, sidestepping at the very last moment, and strikes his wrist with an open palm, sending his dagger clattering across the dungeon floor. Her other hand grabs his throat and slams him into the wall like he weighs nothing at all. The back of his head connects with stone in a hollow thud. It's over.

Valax's clawed fingers tighten around his neck as she studies his face with a ruthless smile.

'You'll serve as bait quite nicely,' she declares.

'You're wasting your time,' Aerin chokes out. 'She won't come for me.'

But his lie rings hollow. He might have believed it once, but not anymore. Not for a while. As if reading his mind, Valax smirks.

'Oh, but I think she will.'

Ray will come for him. Once upon a time, this thought would've filled his stomach with butterflies, but at this moment, it sounds like hollow dread. She will come here, into the Shadow Court Fortress, right into Valax's eager clutches. Because of him.

How foolish he was to think that her anguish would end if he just stepped away. Even now, even here, he's still putting her in danger. Still hurting her. He really is good for absolutely nothing, isn't he?

Darkness begins to engulf his vision, but just before it consumes him entirely, Valax abruptly releases her grip. Aerin collapses to the ground, his body limp, coughing violently.

'But until she does, we have much to discuss,' Valax says, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling until Aerin meets her gaze. Her eyes are dark and cruel as she studies his face. Then she grins. 'I wonder if you'll scream her name too, little princeling.'

She doesn't need to guess. She knows he will.

Skeleton King [Obey Me! Barbatos/Lance]

Note: I uh...Have no idea what this is. I feel like it’s all over the place. It was supposed to have more of the Skeleton King, but uh...Things happened. Sprinkled in my headcanon that the demons see MC’s soul over their physical appearance most of the time.

Inspired by a conversation by @yu-shi-lost-in-wonderland​....Yeah, what we discussed was more funny than this. Sorry. ._.

Warnings: Violence, blood, disability (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome), abduction, near death. Rating Mature

Obey Me! Masterlist

--

Lance groaned as he opened his eyes. A splitting headache wracked his brain. He felt where there was a lump on the back of his skull. His hair was crunchy. He sighed, realizing that he bled there. Sitting up, Lance gathered in his surroundings. He cringed as a sharp pain emanated from his shoulder. He felt around the socket, it was dislocated.

“Great,” Lance muttered. His eyes traced the room he was in. It was damp, some vines crawled down the brick walls. Laying in the corner was a skeleton, causing Lance’s heard to lunge for just a moment before calming down. A golden crown was crooked off of its head. A tattered crimson cloak hung from its neck and covered plates of bronze armor. Lance eyed it for a moment and sighed, a skeleton was the least gory thing he’s seen. “Wonderful.” He tore his eyes away from the remains and gripped the bicep of his injured arm. He took a deep breath and tried to relax the muscles.

“Don’t set it back.”

Lance screamed and flung himself back against the wall. His chest heaved as he stared at the skeleton's movement. Pinpricks of light shined through its eye sockets. The bones creaked as it shuttered to a standing position, towering over Lance’s body.

"You’re,” Lance tried to form his words as he stared in horror at the monster before him.

"Alive?” the skeleton croaked out. His feet scraped against the stone floor as he grew nearer. “Yes.” The glowing of his eyes darted to Lance’s dislocated arm. “And it appears you’re similar to us.”

“Us?” Lance swallowed.

“My legion. I am the Skeleton King,” he somehow spoke. His voice sounded like he was gargling marbles.

“But Diavolo—”

"He’s the prince of demons,” the skeleton cut him off. “There are more beings in Devildom than just demons, dear Lance. And you are more like us than those swine. If only it weren’t for that flesh covering your bones.” The Skeleton King’s sight turned back to Lance’s petrified face. He made a clicking sound with his teeth. “Ah, but we can fix that problem.”

Lance’s eyes caught the glimmering of metal as the Skeleton King held a sword in his boney claws. He scrambled to try and get away, but the Skeleton King clawed at the collar of Lance’s shirt. Its collar choked Lance as he coughed for air.

“No getting away from me.”

“What do you want?” Lance lifted his uninjured arm to try and pry the fingers from his shirt.

“You’re immensely valuable, you know?” The king dragged Lance out of the cell and down the darkened corridors of a dungeon. “To demons and angels alike. I could use you for bargaining power. Or, with your power, I could use you to control all of Devildom.”

“I’m not that powerful!” Lance yelled as he still tried to get free.

The Skeleton King raised his sword and pressed the blade against Lance’s exposed neck. Lance froze in his struggles. He tried to slow his breathing, not wanting to move more than what was necessary. “Good,” the king purred as Lance complied with him. “You do have that power. Nine of the most powerful demons are wrapped around your finger. That, and you have two angels and the most powerful sorcerer on your side. That’s power, Lance.”

“I’m not going to be your puppet.”

“Oh, you will be. You have no choice,” the King drawled out. “You know, when I first saw how your joints moved, I just knew I had to have you. I had to strip you down to the bone and free you from your fleshy prison.”

“You’ll kill me,” Lance protested. “Humans, we have to have that.”

“And how do you think us skeletons came to be?” the Skeleton King asked as he scraped the blade against Lance’s neck and down the dislocated arm. The king kicked a door open and threw Lance against the ground. “This will hurt, but please, don’t try to conceal your screams. I want to hear everything.”

Lance stared up at him with widened eyes. Cold beads of sweat ran down his face. The king dragged the sword against the wall of the new room as he circled the human, like a hungry lion. Lance tried to stay calm, but the panic kept rising further and further up.

“This isn’t going to work,” he tried to plead.

“It will if you survive,” the King noted. The glowing in his eyes increased. “And then you will be wedded to me, fully under my control.” His feet clicked against the floor as he grew newer.

Lance tried to run but was caught once more. The blade pressed into his arm. Lance’s eyes bugged out at the sudden pain. Blood splattered on the ground as the king sawed the sword back and forth against Lance’s flesh. Lance sealed his lips tight, trying to not let the king have the satisfaction of hearing his screams.

“I thought I told you to not hold anything back,” the king growled and removed the blade from Lance’s flesh. In an instant, he slammed the blade back in. It was only then that Lance realized how dull it was. How much more pressure the king had to apply against his flesh.

“Stop!” Lance screamed. Tears streamed down his cheeks despite his eyes being clenched shut. “Please stop!”

“Ah, there’s the bone,” the kind sounded, ignoring Lance’s begging. The sword pulled out; streams of blood dripped down Lance’s arm at the gushing wound. Lance sobbed as the king slammed the blade back in. “I do hope you stay conscious long enough to enjoy this as much as I do. I want you to be awake when I start peeling layer by layer of your flesh off of your bones.”

“Yes, Lance, stay awake,” a voice sounded from the corner of the room. Lance tried to pry his eyes open to see who was there. Then, the sword was ripped from his arm. He screamed and fell to the ground. His knees were covered in the puddle of blood below him.

“You!” the Skeleton King roared.

"Cast a healing spell, Lance,” the new voice demanded.

Lance’s vision blurred as the blood continued to slop out of him. His hand shook to try and cover where his bone was revealed. He clenched his eyes shut at the pain and started to chant the incantation. He ignored the screams of the King and the sudden heat of Hell-Fire blistering against his skin.

“It’s not enough,” the voice sounded next to him. Something coiled around Lance’s injured arm and he screamed at the pressure. Lance cried out as his breathing increased, as he started to hyperventilate. “I know, I know it hurts. But I have to try and get the bleeding to slow until we can get you to Solomon.” Arms lifted Lance from the ground. “Try to stay with me, Lance.”

Lance rolled his head onto the person’s shoulder. “Barbatos?” he asked quietly, his breathing immediately starting to regulate.

“Yes, I’m here. Try to stay awake.”

“I’ll try,” Lance’s words slurred. He blinked slowly, trying to keep his vision focused, but it was fruitless. “Am I…Am I going to be a skeleton?” Lance tried to joke through the pain.

“No,” Barbato's voice showed nothing light-hearted in his tone.

“It was funny,” Lance breathed out, wincing at the pain throbbing in his arm. “You should laugh.”

“None of this is funny,” Barbatos spoke lowly. Barbatos lowered Lance onto a bed. “Solomon, heal him.”

"Right,” Lance barely registered Solomon’s worried voice. The sleeve to his shirt was torn off as he felt magic start to stitch together the shredded muscles.

Lance clenched his teeth tightly and fought the urge to thrash about. Small whimpers past his lips as he held back his screams. “One, two, three,” Lance gasped out as he started counting to ten. If he could survive getting to ten, he’d be fine. It was just like surgery, he told himself. He would be fine.

Barbatos held onto the hand of Lance’s uninjured arm, letting the human do his best to crush the demon’s grip. “Keep counting,” Barbatos encouraged.

“I’m almost done,” Solomon sounded.

“Eight, nine,” Lance whimpered as the skin started to force itself back. He sobbed.

“Lance,” Barbatos spoke and brought his hands up to his lips. “One more number.”

“Ten,” Lance gasped out as the pain of his flesh being stitched back together faded.

Barbatos collapsed to his knees, his tail loosened its grip, but his hand still grasped onto Lance. He rested his forehead against the bedside. His usual even breaths came out ragged. “Solomon, please get some clean clothes and warm water,” Barbatos asked, but left no real room to protest. The sorcerer nodded before he quickly left to gather the supplies.

“Are you okay, Barbatos?” Lance asked as he finally pried his eyes open and stared up blankly at the ceiling. His thumb ran along the back of Barbato’s hand.

“Are you asking if I’m the one that’s alright?” Barbatos questioned with exasperation. “Lance, you were the one that almost died. Please, worry about yourself for once.”

Lance hummed as he slowly turned to face Barbatos. He winced at the stinging in his arm. “It’s easier to care about you.”

Barbatos raised his head to gaze at Lance. He ran a hand over his cheek and into his hair. “Promise me you won’t scare me like that again.”

Lance nodded. “I’ll try, though I don’t remember how I got there.”

“I don’t know either. You left to go and grab something and didn’t return,” Barbatos whispered. “When I went to search for you, I found a splatter of blood on the floor.”

The door opened as Solomon returned with the water and rags. “Here you are. I’ll be outside if you need anything.” He nodded to the two before quickly retreating outside.

Barbatos quickly grabbed the rags and started to dab the blood from Lance’s skin. Lance watched where he wiped it. His eyes trailed to the sheets below him. Lance startled. “The sheets! They’ll—”

“You’re more important than some stains,” Barbatos interrupted Lance, he held him firm to where he was sitting. He dipped the cloth in the water, watching it as it turned pink. “Although, it would be better if you were in the bath with how much blood there is on you.”

Lance peered up at the butler as he hung his head. His hands shook while gripping the cloth. With a frown, Lance placed a hand on a part of his sleeve that wasn’t covered in blood. “Barbatos?”

“I can’t stand the thought of you being out of my eyesight for just a moment, I’m sorry.”

Lance nodded numbly. His eyes traced down the splotches of blood that would have soaked through the fabric of Barbatos’s clothes. “You could use a bath, too.” Lance’s cheeks burned slightly. “We could just bathe together.”

Barbatos sat up as he gazed into Lance’s eyes, looking for any hesitancy. The demon hadn’t seen Lance wear anything that revealed too much skin, let alone what would happen. “Are you certain? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I trust you.” Lance moved to grab Barbatos’s hand. “And I feel safer with you.”

Barbatos stood and helped Lance rise from the bed. “Please tell me if you start to get uncomfortable at any time.”

Lance squeezed onto Barbatos’s hand. “The same goes to you.”

Barbatos nodded as he led Lance to the ensuite bathroom. He let water flow out of the tap to allow the basin to fill before he went to turn on the shower to help rinse the blood. He turned around to see Lance avoiding eye contact with him. “Lance, we don’t have to do this if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Lance peered up at him as he tried to weigh his options. “I have a lot of scars.”

“Yes, I figured you would with Ehlers,” Barbatos spoke softly. “I hope you know that I won’t think any less of you for them.”

Lance looked down, his shoulder slumping down. “I know it’s just—”

Barbatos tilted Lance’s chin so he would look back at him. “I see your soul before I see anything else about you, Lance. I have yet to see a more beautiful soul than yours. I won’t ever see a more beautiful soul than yours.”

Lance quickly wrapped his arms around Barbatos and spoke softly, “I love you.” He pulled away with a faint blush. His eyes widened at the water getting close to spilling over in the tub. He went to move forward but paused as Barbatos pulled him back in his arms. Instead, Barbatos’s tail turned off the water.

“I love you as well,” Barbatos whispered. “I almost lost you, so please let me hold you for a moment longer.”

Ikesen Mc: Changeling S/o

I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons virtually with my friends and I was thinking, what if the Mc of ikesen is a changeling? Like someone who can take forms of other people, who can be anyone and anybody, and you can just walk past them and you won’t even know it? Venti’s story from Genshin impact has also inspired me on how changeling Mc came to be. 

Backstory:

- She once had a close friend who is human and sees them like her older sibling. They were inseparable and would do almost everything together from schooling, shopping, hobbies, secrets. However that friendship was cut short when her friend suffered from an incurable sickness. Everyday she had to watch them slowly lose life to that sickness yet despite all that, they stayed strong. The day that her friend lost the battle is the day she changed her form in order she could pass off as her friend’s younger sister in order to remember them for the rest of her life.

- Fast into the future, she managed to get accepted from her dream job in Japan and is about to head home in order to call it a day. Just like in the prologue, she passed by the monument when she got caught in the rain and got transferred in the Sengoku era with Sasuke.

-------

- Do you guys know how much chaos and mischief changeling mc could cause underneath the warlord's noses and in plain sight without even realizing? Imagine going to the library reading a lot of sengoku versions of yokai folklore and other things and people will just think she’s just fascinated by them, or reading is just one of her hobbies. Nope!

- Heh, see those certain maids that have been bullying Mc for the past few weeks? Mc’s patience is really long and has been considerate however, it has been running short for whatever those maids did. She can easily brush off insults and rumors off her back but slipping in poison into her food, hurting her sweet personal maid who she became close friends with, and trashing every room she just cleaned made her throw away all of that patience out of the window. Her time in visiting the library reading youkais had become useful to her and had been using the folklore as references on which to change and who to scare. 

- I won’t be surprised that she let her personal maid into her plan and a few other staff that have fallen victim as well, letting Mc take all of the blame when getting caught. Once she asked permission if Mc can take the appearance of her, the maid knows that someone miraculously managed to piss her off, and immediately joins the fray. A new rumor has popped out that certain places in the Oda castle have been haunted. Some have claimed that they managed to see ghosts, youkai’s, and other supernatural creatures roaming around those places.

- The same thing goes for the Uesugi-Takeda forces if Mc is in Kasugayama castle. Only that, imagine the chaos she and Sasuke would make with her skills especially when it comes to confusing Kenshin whenever he’s out picking fights, or attempting to hide from Shingen by taking the form of one of the warlords present in the Kasugayama castle. Or, when Sasuke did something stupid to the point she involved Kenshin into one of her schemes such as doing the doppelganger trick on where they thought they interacted with Kenshin but it was just Mc who immediately went on a different direction whereas then comes the real Kenshin and had to do a double take. Like, they were like the person in the confused screaming meme seeing the actual Kenshin where they think they saw him went down that corridor. Kenshin himself, who knew what was going on played along acting confused.😂😂

------

Bonus Hc:

- There was one time Ieyasu managed to get into her nerves and took Mitsunari’s or Masamune’s form just to annoy him. Mostly Mitsunari’s appearance. On some rare occasions, she made Ieyasu think that wherever he went, Mitsunari wasn't far behind. The same goes for Yukimura when she had enough of him calling her boar woman.

- Remember the daimyos and samurais who made fun of the poor sweet Mitsunari? They will immediately avoid him the moment they spot either of them because they know that if one is sighted, the other is close by. One of the examples would be if Mc saw that Mitsunari was harmed in any way, she will charge towards the attackers just like on how Mikasa is about to chase away Armin and Eren’s bullies. I will leave it to your imagination on how she traumatized Mitsunari’s tormentors. ehe...🤭🤭

- Mitsuhide probably found out somewhere about a month ago that Mc is able to change to different forms yet hasn’t told anyone about it yet. He noticed that she only targeted people who treated their peers terribly including her, scaring them into thinking that they have been haunted by some sort of supernatural entity. At some point, he would give tips tackling people's psychology without her realizing that he already knew at some point. By the time that she knows that He found out about her being a changeling, there will be a lot of questions and what are her limitations. He would probably be taken aback when he saw her real form for the first time and not the usual one that she usually turns into. Pale gray skin, Hair whiter than snow, and milky white eyes; sometimes it can turn black depending on what she’s feeling. There will be more shenanigans that give Hideyoshi migraines in the future now that Mitsuhide knows.

- Masamume, Keiji, and Nobunaga would ask a lot of questions on how her abilities work just like Mitsuhide. They immediately join in one of her favorite “past times” involving giving Hideyoshi migraines from the chaos that they just made.

Light Novel Club Chapter 32: The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1

Welcome to our Light Novel Club discussion of The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! We’ve got a fairly unique light novel to discuss this time around, and this is a great time to discuss it, with an anime adaptation coming up soon and also the recent announcement of hardcover print editions for the series. So let’s jump into the discussion!

Joining Jeskai Angel and I is marthaurion, one of the members of the Beneath the Tangles Discord! This is a reminder that all Light Novel Club discussions are held on the public Beneath the Tangles Discord and anyone can join these discussions, so if you want to join future discussions, check us out over there.

-----

1. What are your overall thoughts on the novel?

Jeskai Angel: The pacing was a little slow at times, but overall I enjoyed this light novel. Also, it bugs me that I can’t narrow down a specific reason, but this story felt strangely old, like I might have picked it up at the public library back in 1998. I’ve written before about how I think Unnamed Memory doesn’t “feel” like a typical light novel, and I experienced a similar sensation with Faraway Paladin, though I don’t think it was for the same reasons (e.g., how magic works is actually explained quite a bit in Faraway Paladin).

stardf29: Maybe it’s because the author took inspiration from traditional tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, as opposed to video game RPGs like “typical” fantasy light novels?

Jeskai Angel: Ooh, that’s possible! It’s not exactly “You all meet in a tavern,” levels of DnD tropey-ness, but I can definitely see the DnD resemblance now that you point it out.

stardf29: This was definitely an interesting read that is quite different from the usual isekai light novel. It does feel a bit slow-paced because a lot of the beginning is so focused on Will simply growing up with his “parents” and learning about the world. That said, that kind of start is nice every once in a while; it is kind of like Mushoku Tensei in that regard. The worldbuilding is great because of it, and the conflict against the god of undeath is nice, too.

Beyond that, I do like how this story delves into various themes that are worth thinking about. It’s a nice, thoughtful light novel, and as much as I like my brainless fun light novels, having something like this is good for a balanced light novel diet.

2. What are your thoughts on the characters?

Jeskai Angel: By far, my favorite aspect of this story was the active role the gods played. It actually sort of resembles my favorite aspect of Spice and Wolf in that regard. In most light novels, either there’s no evidence gods are real, or they are deistic watchmakers who jump-start the story by isekai-ing the MC but thereafter take a hands-off approach to the setting, or they are benign comic relief. The biggest exceptions I can think of are Invaders of the Rokujouma!? and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, plus Tearmoon Empire (which, thus far, has strongly-implied-but-not-explicitly-confirmed divine intervention).

I think one way to summarize this volume is that it’s the story of someone (Will) coming to know and put his faith in a loving deity (Gracefeel). Since learning about the Lord and then choosing to devote oneself to him is fundamental to being a Christian, it’s actually kind of a relatable process. Gracefeel, as a character, walks a fine line, managing to be knowable while remaining mysterious. She’s not just a human with superpowers, but neither is she a total enigma. She’s also a rare truly benevolent god; her power is finite, but she consistently seeks to use it for good.

Stagnate was…peculiar. Like, if the author had added a line about Stagnate twirling his mustache while cackling evilly, it would have fit right in; he acts almost ostentatiously villainous. At the same time he, doesn’t feel quite as “evil” as he acts. He DID help with sealing away the demon king, and even if he had an ulterior motive, that doesn’t entirely invalidate the goodness of aiding the struggle against the demon king. Then there’s issue of death. Stagnate isn’t wrong to see death a Bad Thing (TM). I got the the sense that he really had at least somewhat good intentions behind his flawed approach to the problem of death. Even his nefarious scheme to ensnare Blood and Mary consisted of…arranging for them to raise the child they’d always longed for. Like, as far as villainous plans go, “Give a childless couple a baby so they can shower him with love” isn’t actually all that fiendish. I can’t be too hard on Stagnate if that’s the best he can do for an “evil” plan.

marthaurion: For what it’s worth, I don’t really think I got the same impression of stagnate as being overtly evil, but maybe I wasn’t focusing on that at the time. From what I read, it seemed like his motivations were rooted in a concept that made sense, but his implementation ultimately brings him at odds with others.

stardf29: I have to agree that Stagnate is not so much “intentionally evil” as much as a sort of “well-intentioned extremist”. I think it’s interesting that Stagnate was originally a “good” god, but would later “stray from that path”; it shows that, putting the initially “evil” gods aside, the gods are not actual moral paragons and are indeed falliable. I’ll have more to say on this in a later question.

Jeskai Angel: Will was surprisingly relatable. The way he described himself, I got the impression that he suffered some real trauma which caused depression or anxiety or some other form of mental ill health, and as one commonly sees in anime / light novels, he never got adequate psychological / psychiatric treatment for it. I also appreciate that his past-life memories were important yet not intrusive. By that, I mean that the story spend a bunch time dwelling on Will’s efforts to replicate modern technology, business practices, or Japanese food culture the way so many isekai protagonists do. That sort of thing is sometimes done well, but other times just feels like a cookie cutter isekai trope. Memories from his past are both inspiring and useful for Will, but they can only carry him so far, something he explicitly notes when talking about how Gus’s lessons eventually surpassed his past-life education level.

Will eventually does end up as an OP Isekai Protagonist (TM), but it feels “earned” in a narrative sense. He puts forth a ton of effort to reach the point of being OP, and even then, it’s not just efforts that make it possible. He never could have reached the point he did without all the care and teaching Blood, Mary, and Gus give him. Mater and Gracefeel also contribute to what he becomes. He isn’t just handed phenomenal cosmic power from the start.

marthaurion: For my impression of will, it was hard for me not to draw parallels to Mushoku Tensei, since both protagonists come from that similar thought of feeling like they want to make something more of themselves in their new lives. It’s hard not to feel like Will’s reincarnation is more of an afterthought whenever it comes up, whereas Rudy’s reincarnation seems to more actively inform many of his decisions. Ultimately, it seems like Will’s reincarnation is mostly meant to tie him to Gracefeel. To be fair, i think this is fine, but the other attempts to tie back to his old life don’t really hit home for me.

Also, I would agree that will’s abilities definitely feel earned, in spite of what I said earlier about how I compare him to Rudy.

It’s more of a commentary on how the reincarnation aspect ties into things.

Jeskai Angel: I haven’t read the Jobless Reincarnation light novels, and only watched the first few episodes before dropping the recent anime adaptation. That said…the big contrast I saw between Will and Rudy is that the former is a relatively good person and the latter is a relatively awful one. I got the distinct sense that Rudy, was a Jabba-the-Hutt-like sleazeball in his previous life, AND that he carried over his perverted habits into his reincarnated life. In that regard, at least, Rudy didn’t even seem to be trying to do better than in his previous life. Perhaps I’m off base in this, and Rudy wasn’t as bad as in his first life as the anime made him seem, or perhaps he eventually turns better in his second life. I just know that in terms of comparisons, I found Will vastly more sympathetic and likeable.

marthaurion: Is that so wrong? Even if I don’t have the same traits, I can respect that Rudy carries over parts of his identity while working past some of the traumas that held him back.

stardf29: Regarding Will, honestly, I don’t really have anything to add here that Jeskai hasn’t already said. I like how his past life memories have enough of an effect on his current self that you’re curious what his past life was life, but not so much that I want the story to actually explain it, leaving that in the realm of fascinating mystery.

Jeskai Angel: I appreciated how each of Blood, Mary, and Gus contributed something irreplaceable to Will’s upbringing. They were well balanced, and had a fun rapport with each other. I also thought it was a fun touch how the story emphasized that some of their knowledge was dated and they don’t really know anything about the current state of the world. I can’t help but suspect all three are some kind of allusion to Christianity, due to in their names. First, having a woman named Mary who ends up with a baby through unnatural means is…not remotely subtle. And once you’ve introduced that, the names of the other two start to seem suspiciously coincidental. “Blood” is in fact a very important thing in Christianity (e.g., the Lord’s Supper / Eucharist). And Gus isn’t in the Bible by his nickname, but “Augustus” (of the Caesar variety) does get a shout-out in Luke 2:1.

stardf29: Man, Blood, Mary, and Gus are great. They are such a great parental trio, with each of them having aspects that are different from each other that allow them to balance each other out, which overall makes them quite good at raising Will. It definitely made me sad that their time with Will ultimately had to come to an end. And I definitely found the use of “Mary” for the mother’s name strangely familiar…

Someone took some creative liberties with their nativity display.

3. What do you think about the setting/worldbuilding in this volume?

Jeskai Angel: Now that you’ve said it, the worldbuilding and setting seem clearly inspired by tabletop RPGs (or video games closely based on tabletop RPGs, like Baldur’s Gate or something), which in turn drew from older western fantasy works (from Greek mythology to Tolkien). It contains a lot of traditional elements, and the end result is something that in one sense feels creative and unusual compared to typical fantasy light novels, but in another sense more derivative than many other fantasy light novels. That is, light novels that don’t draw so heavily on traditional fantasy have room to sometimes do some really interesting things, whereas Faraway Paladin never completely loses that familiar “I think I might have read this in the ’90s” vibe I mentioned before.

marthaurion: I really liked how magic was presented in this world. It feels more grounded to think of it as something that isn’t guaranteed to succeed in a general sense. With that presentation, Gus’s philosophy of choosing words that have the safest failures rather than the most effective successes makes a lot of sense. It truly makes magic feel like a feat of intelligence, rather than just a question of how well you can time or aim the spell, as is the general impression in other fantasy settings.

As for the pantheon, I’m less familiar with kind of the “official” pantheons for D&D, so I didn’t immediately draw that parallel. I felt the similarities to Greek/Roman mythology a lot more strongly when I was reading, where the gods are just presented as very powerful beings that preside over processes.

stardf29: As mentioned before, the current highlight of the worldbuilding is in the gods and how they relate to the people of the world. I do like how the worldbuilding is presented over time, as if we are learning about it alongside Will. This is especially notable since this first volume only takes place in a small area geographically, so there’s still a lot of world for us to learn as Will explores outside the city of the dead.

Also, I like how magic in this world works. It’s not just “oh yeah people can use magic,” nor is it too videogame-like or overly “scientific”. There’s a greater sense of mystique thanks to the connection to the “Words of Creation”, and even Will himself mentions it’s more like classic fantasy novels in this way.

Now, about those gods. As I mentioned before, the “good” and “evil” designation of gods is not static, and that does make me wonder a few things. For one, what exactly defines what makes a god “good” or “evil”? Gus does say at one point that he considers those designations something that their followers, i.e. the people, decided, and that makes me curious as to the greater religious sociology of this world. It also makes me wonder if there are any cases where an “evil” god ends up being more “good”…

4. What connections does this volume’s story have with our Christian faith?

Jeskai Angel: The conflicting divine approaches to death provide fascinating contrasts with the third possibility Christianity teaches. Gracefeel represents reincarnation with no memories. Life ends in death, but then restarts from scratch. In this system, a soul is basically an Etch A Sketch, getting erased & reused over & over. I find this a deeply unsatisfying concept because it makes one’s life meaningless. It doesn’t matter what you do, eventually you’ll die & get erased & nothing about you will carry over. This approach leaves no room for reward or judgment. It actually reminds me a bit of some of my issues the versions of predestination/election found in some circles of Christianity, in that by say God absolutely predetermines the outcome, they risk making this life meaningless.

Stagnate has beef with this, & thus offers undeath as an alternative to reincarnation. Your identity won’t get erased, but you’ll be stuck as some damaged or half-destroyed version of yourself (e.g., a skeleton, zombie, or ghost) that isn’t truly alive. By offering some degree of continuity, Stagnate’s undeath does have an advantage over Gracefeel’s soul recycling bin. Unfortunately, it’s rightly called ‘undeath,” not “life.” The solution to death needs to be life, so in that respect Gracefeel’s approach has an edge over Stagnate’s.

Finally, there’s Christianity, promising a transformative bodily resurrection. Gracefeel & Stagnate only have workarounds to the problem of death; they can’t do anything about death itself. On the other hand, in the person of Jesus, Life directly challenges & overcomes death. In the resurrection, we will still be ourselves in some meaningful sense, unlike Gracefeel’s reincarnation. But unlike with Stagnate’s static, flawed imitation of life, we will be truly alive as transformed, perfected versions of ourselves. In short, the contrast between Gracefeel’s reincarnation & Stagnate’s undeath really drives home how awesome our Lord’s promise of resurrection is.

stardf29: So one of my favorite moments in the novel is when Mater protects Mary, and shows that Mary’s “punishment” was entirely self-inflicted, and that Mater had long forgiven her. It’s a good picture of grace, and how we can sometimes believe we are being “punished” by God, and perhaps even try to punish ourselves, even though God has already satisfied all need for “punishment” through Christ’s death. Sure, we have to deal with consequences of our actions, but that is not some kind of divine judgment.

Now, this story’s theological worldbuilding is based on the idea that “if good is created, then evil must be created to balance it”. There’s also how Will feels like he needs to fear death in order to feel like he truly is living, in opposition to Stagnate who wants to remove death entirely. It’s this idea of “balance” that I think comes from one of the major Eastern religions (will have to do some more research on this) and is fairly popular in fantasy works. It’s certainly a nice-sounding idea, but I think Christianity shows how we can look forward to a future without death, and not feel like we’re “missing” something because of that.

The contrast with Stagnate, as Jeskai pointed out, is particularly helpful because it shows that eternal life, separated from God and His perfect design for life, is pretty crappy. (And I have to agree that Gracefeel’s reincarnation of souls feels rather empty.)

=====

Thank you for checking out our discussion on The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! The series is available digitally from J-Novel Club if you want to buy this volume or any later volumes for yourself, with a hardcover print edition planned for release in March 2022.

Discussion on our next Light Novel Club title, Tearmoon Empire Vol. 4, has started on the Beneath the Tangles Discord! The discussion will be open throughout the month of August, so there’s still time to read the series and join our discussion.

If you want to prepare for the novels we are discussing later in the year: In September 2021, we will be discussing Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1! And if you want to know what we are discussing in October 2021… we will be discussing the next novel in the “Rascal Does Not Dream…” series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai!

Okay, but I can definitely imagine Barb/Dia doing that. It seems like quite a possibility. But wasn't dying mc's own fault though? Like,, Barbatos did warn,,, unless he knew this was gonna happen and mc was DUMB AND STUPID enough to show up to everyone like: "hi." and possibly be dumb enough to get killed. Idk lol I forgot this part.

But what you said about Beel, I really like that. I think you even mentioned belphie guilt tripping you in your yandere hcs, and trying to make you completely depend on him?? I like those possibilities. Mammon though,, too soft. Like you said, they've robbed him a lot. He could have had so much potential to be a dark character. Similarly Levi omg.

The brothers are the embodiments of the 7 deadly sins, yet, tbh, I haven't seen too much of this side of them. At least, not like how'd I expect. Leviathan, for eg. Envy. I don't recall seeing his sin playing out anywhere except in the TSL Quiz thingy. I mean, it's been toned down a lot for someone who's the literal embodiment is envy. Idk I just don't feel he's like that? As from what I found: Envy (Latin: invidia), like greed and lust, is characterized by an insatiable desire. It can be described as a sad or resentful covetousness towards the traits or possessions of someone else. The struggle aroused by envy has three stages: during the first stage, the envious person attempts to lower another's reputation; in the middle stage, the envious person receives either "joy at another's misfortune"(if he succeeds in defaming the other person) or "grief at another's prosperity" (if he fails); the third stage is hatred because "sorrow causes hatred".[38]

Envy is said to be the motivation behind Cain murdering his brother, Abel, as Cain envied Abel because God favored Abel's sacrifice over Cain's.

They toned him down a little too much?? If this game has actually been inspired by demons and the 7 deadly sins, they could at least make them similar to the demons, at least in some way. I'm not that far into the game yet, but so far that I've played, I haven't seen much. As for a demon who is the embodiment of envy... I wish to see more. Levi is capable of A LOT.

Similarly, Satan. I sometimes wonder why is he even called the Avatar of Wrath when we hardly see it?? The only time I remember is him losing his calm during the whole body swap event. The fact Satan got mad at us refusing a pact actually made me think that he was the sin "wrath", but idk now. And the way it was said that "every smile is an act", I really like that concept too. But I don't think I've paid much attention to see where it played out. Sigh now Satan simps for cats like,,, please show me your dark/evil side sir.

The way you said Barb and Dia took part in a torture dungeon, I want to see more of that too. If they're demons, wouldn't they have caused SOME sort of bloodshed in a way? Especially if they're the strongest demons. Killing humans, eating them, or I even like to think doing the same to their own race. Torturing... Seems like something that every demon's blood would contain lmao, I'm not answering questions bye.

And I believe so too. The human seems like a pawn... I feel the demons would use humans for entertainment and their own purposes, while keeping up the facade of loving them. It's easy, since demons are manipulative. In that case, losing the human whether by their own hands or not would go like: "Oh well, that's unfortunate. Time for another human."

But if they REALLY did love you, I feel they'd still be manipulative. Like you said. Corrupting/spoiling the human so much to the point that they'd just HAVE to depend on them. I feel they'd also have yandere tendencies, or be "protective". Like, then I feel they really wouldn't want to let you go, despite knowing how much it can ruin your innocence.

I also don't like how everyone is after mc like "uwuwu master". The human is still a weakling despite having pacts, plus, the pacts aren't even demanding the human's soul or anything. I don't get why they let mc walk over them when they are CLEARLY much stronger? If I were a demon I'd do the opposite lmao. Making the human seem as if they are controlling me, but it's the opposite. I don't think a mere pact can change the fact that the demon's stronger,,, esp if the pact didn't demand the human's soul/life/whatever.

Also, thank you! Things got better for me :)) and also,

💫✨💕send this to ten bloggers you think are wonderful. keep the game going 💕✨

Ofc you don't have to do this, but I got this, and it really made me happy, so here ^^

Oh btw in lesson...56 I think?? Just gonna tag this as a spoiler, but where for whatever reason Satan was "Sully" and the angel Lucifer asked him whether he liked books, let me just say I haven't even played it that far yet, but Satan going, "...Every book here is precious."

TOUCHED ME SO BAD LIKE. I DON'T KNOW IT REALLY MADE ME SOFT LMAO HE'S JUST SO okay I'll stop 🏃– 🍹

It's been a while since I've thought in-depth about the whole time traveling thing tbh, but couldn't Barbatos generally see the outcomes of the world?

We went back because they wanted to know who opened it, but considering Diavolo's the ruler of hell who turned Lilith human and Barbatos is basically the ruler of time & practically the universe I believe they already knew Lilith did it since it had to be "blood related" basically.

Barbatos also knows he can stitch together timelines and get of "extra" MCs essentially, so I believe he'd take that into account. I'm not saying MC getting killed was 100% part of the plan, but that they didn't care of MC was traumatized because they knew they could bring them back if necessary.

Imo the real goal wasn't to find out who did it, but to avoid breaking the family's bonds and devotion to Diavolo. The way it worked out was incredibly convenient and "coincidentally" a huge upgrade for Diavolo that kept the status quo and made him look good (or at least better) to Belphie and Beel without making Lucifer choose.

We see that kind of repeat later when Diavolo withdraws from the play because he was worried Lucifer wouldn't be as loyal. That's also why Lucifer gets that warning from Barbatos.

I think a huge part of why Levi's characterization is like that is because not enough people like him enough to tolerate it tbh. Even Mammon and Lucifer stans complain about the other characters hogging screen time and a lot of them admit to feeling bad for other fans. Levi is pretty much always second to last popularity wise.

I think he'd actually be more liked if they focused more on the jealously instead of making almost every interaction otaku/Ruri-chan related, but it's a bit too late now. I really, really hate how they just pretend otaku culture always existed and that's all Levi ever was. Like at least make him have an obsessive personality and be hyperfixated on novels instead of talking manga in an era before Japan even existed. It's so unbelievably lazy and really takes me out of the story.

Another problem is we only really see him interact with family or people that could enact severe consequences like Diavolo & Barbatos or people protected by the exchange program. He never gets a chance to shine or be cunning. The closest we get is things like him purposefully trying to ruin Christmas for random people online in his Christmas card. I think if he genuinely got jealous of MC and some random demon he would summon lotan almost instantly.

It's especially painful knowing what we had & being so excited to get more only for all of that to get dropped.

In an early devilgram, Be You, Satan gets jealous and feels bad about not having much unique to him and Lucifer comforts him in his own way when the others make it worse. Mammon is the most empathetic though ofc. They also talk about horror movies and Mammon says he doesn't find them scary (& the way it's framed sounds honest, idk if it's a retcon or a lie,) and Satan says "I'm sure we've all witnessed plenty of real-life horrors worse than anything in the movies."

Then when Lucifer asks for a time when he was really angry Satan first casually then gleefully talks about torturing a family to death because a kid set him up to get scolded by their parents. Meanwhile the brothers act wary of him and worry about him getting out of control while Lucifer tells everyone to take cover for their own safety with a smile. Satan happily talks about them begging for their lives and says he wishes they saw it too.

Levi also says he hates hearing about people being happy, but likes hearing about the negative things. While Asmo and Mammon are freaking out he also calls Satan cool. Which shows at least a little bit of his envy for once. Satan also says just the aura of his rage is usually too much for humans which is also interesting.

But back to Diavolo and Barbatos, I don't hate how the whole torture thing isn't super open, it makes sense imo, but I would like to see hints of them hiding it. Especially if Satan or even attic Belphie was the one you could go to to learn more about it. If anyone would defy Diavolo for that it'd be them trying to bring Lucifer down with them, or even just Satan rewarding the hunt for knowledge and not understanding the human psyche fully.

Imagine if instead of a paper thin lie about being human we got a Belphie manipulating us by pretending he was locked up because he was against hurting humans and the whole exchange program was a scam? Or at least if he told us things no one else would about Diavolo that were true so we wouldn't trust him and etc. That's the angle I'm going with in my fanfiction at least, the original story is just so lazy and boring imo.

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of how they handled pacts either, especially considering they don't even get MC's soul. It's way too one-sided to the point where I don't believe someone like Satan would ever offer it, even if the first offer was a trick and he'd get your soul or something. I agree on the whole manipulation thing too, like how is it partnership if one side has complete control over the other?

Even just making it so that demons can fight against if they really don't want to do something like harming each other and having it corrupt MC would make it a million times better.

And that's so sweet, thank you! You've made my days a lot brighter too. Not much makes me happier than infodumping and complaining about Obey Me rn lol.

I really liked Satan's line there too, although I did wish he had more a reaction to everything tbh. That whole section felt a bit too easy imo though, like I kept waiting for it to all go to shit or something. I am glad they went back into more story-based chapters too. I hope they keep that trend and expand on it.

Masamune x Polish!MC

Thanks a lot to @datenoriko​ for suggesting this and for @nad-zeta​ for writing hers (VERY INSPIRING, SERIOUSLY, GO CHECK THOSE OUT) headcanons :D Here’s my version. I wrote for Polish MC in particular, because I didn’t want to be disrespectful and there’s a lot of historical nuance that I could butcher otherwise.

[Note from future Lorei: This is honestly very stupid and I cannot believe I didn’t write it when I was 15, geez.]

Content Warnings: profanities, kidnapping, pain, injuries

Background information & notes:

Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth was partitioned by Habsburg Austria, Kingdom of Prussia and Russian Empire. As the result of annexations, the country disappeared from the world maps for 123 years. I will not go into detail about how the situation of Polish people was different in each of the parts, since that’s besides the point, but well - keep in mind that it did differ greatly. One can argue that the marks of it are still visible today, both in infrastructure, architecture and language. 

I was born in the South-Eastern region of Poland and as such, that’s where I’d like my MC to be brought up. 

MC is in no way representative of how each and every woman from Poland is. I tried to write her based on the women of my family, my friends, classmates, basically - the people I’ve seen and spent my time with. 

I will not include anything religion-related, although it is a thing that’s present in lives of everybody (even atheists) here (to be more precise, Catholicism). Why? Because it is a very controversial topic, one of huge complexity.

... There will be profanities, because I love my Polish swearwords - and CURSE YOU ENGLISH. WHEN I YELL THE CURSE I WANT TO SOUND LIKE A FREAKING FERAL ANIMAL

Broken English in italics = broken Japanese.

There will be a dictionary at the end, so don’t worry. 

Masamune

Upon meeting her, he did not understand anything she said - well, none of them did. However, she did rescue lord Nobunaga - a funnily dressed foreigner that seemingly didn’t speak Japanese couldn’t be that bad, could she?

Yet she still was thrown into the dungeon. In his mind, that was the perfect opportunity to investigate on his own. 

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Masamune sneaked into her cell. Soon, his blade was on her throat.  “ Who are...?” he started, but was instantly cut off by her yelling: “ Czy was tu wszystkich kurwa do reszty pojebało?!” He stood there, staring at her. Seeing his confusion, she pointed at him and then tapped on her temple a couple of times, an unimpressed look on her face. 

Was she suggesting that he was insane? Hah, that certainly was some lass. He laughed loudly and gestured for her to follow him.

Well, it certainly took some explaining, but in the end, she got a job as one of the maids. After all, you hardly need to understand language to sweep the floors and do the cleaning. 

However, she... Didn’t exactly fit in. Not just because of her weird mother tongue - she was taller than most women and not exactly petite. Appearance wise, she resembled the Portuguese missionaries, but that wasn’t exactly this either. 

Masamune came around to “bother” her at times. To his surprise, she started to picking up the basic words by herself. Sometimes, she’d point an object, say something (presumably the name of it in her language) and wait for him to do so as well.

 One day, she did just that while cleaning the floor of a veranda.  “ Chrząszcz.” It took a second to register. Was that really a word? “ Chrząszcz,” she repeated, staring at him. Right, he had to reply, otherwise she’d never stop. “ A beetle.” 

Later that day, he tried to pronounce the word. He couldn’t do it. Actually, he started thinking that she was making it all up. 

That, however, changed once he heard her sing. Unaware of his presence, she continued working, the song filling the air: “Gdy swe oczy otworzyłem Wielki żal ogarnął mnie Po policzkach łzy spłynęły Zrozumiałem wtedy, że Czarny chleb i czarna kawa Opętani samotnością Myślą swą szukają szczęścia Które zwie się wolnością”

To his delight, she started speaking broken Japanese within a couple of months of her stay at Azuchi. Finally, he could satiate his curiosity - or at least he planned to. 

She went out to do the shopping in the afternoon, but didn’t return after the dusk. Thinking something bad must have happened to her, Nobunaga issued a search. Masamune volunteered to lead it. 

She woke up with a start, her head throbbing. She looked around - where was she? It seemed to be a tiny hut of sorts. She got up, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was happening outside through the crack in the door. A man was guarding it. Did she hear a river? Whinny of horses? She had to escape - she search for cracks in the walls, until she found one. She recognized that armour. They were looking for her! She had to make some noise! 

She yanked at the door, but it didn’t want to give out. She banged at it with her fists, yelling: “ Tutaj! Ratunku!”

The kidnapper didn’t understand the weird language, so he didn’t react at first. However, once the heard the approaching horses, he decided he had to silence her. He got inside the hut and gripped her by the wrists, telling her to shut up.

To his surprise, she struggled against him, breaking free of his hold on her.

He pinned her arms to the wall of the hut, threatening to hurt her if she even squeaked.  “ A weźże ty mnie kurwa w nos pocałuj!” she yelled, before headbutting him. 

Surprised, the man didn’t react instantly. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she kicked him hard.

It didn’t exactly work, though. Infuriated, the man wanted to punch her - yet, he didn’t notice the rescue that had just arrived. Masamune stopped his fist in the air. 

Masamune didn’t see her in the couple of the following days, as they all worked to find out who was the person behind her kidnapping - and why was she even considered a target in the first place. 

When he finally met her, he was stunned. Her entire forearms were covered in bruises in the shade of deep purple, almost black. He lifted her hands up, saying: “ I’ll check you up for wounds. Wounds. Check. You.” To his surprise, she shook her head and smiled brightly. “ Boli, znaczy że żyje. Hurt mean alive.”

It dawned on him then - he never really saw her smile before. They were complete strangers, but he wanted to know more.

With the language barier in place, it wasn’t exactly an easy task. Granted, she could understand simple sentences - yet, it wasn’t enough. Masamune was up to the challenge and so, he asked her to teach him her language. 

Given the grammatical cases that influenced form of both nouns, adjectives and numerals, he soon started regretting his choice. The nouns had gender? Two future tenses? And what was up with all those ch-h, rz-ż, u-ó pairs that sounded exactly the same, but somehow weren’t interchangeable? Not to mention how some words seemed to consists exclusively of consonants. Rybołówstwo? -wstwo? 

“ Okay. Your turn.  Na wyścigach wyścigowych wyścigówek wyścigowych wyścigówka wyścigowa wyścignęła wyścigówkę wyścigową numer sześć.” Masamune blinked fast.  “ It was the same word over and over again, right?” “ Nope. Maybe  w Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie?”

It seemed she tried to torture him. Though, having her laugh, even if at him, made him feel warm. 

 One day, he was taking a stroll and heard her voice. This time, however, he understood the words she hummed to herself.  “ Raz i dwa, raz i dwa, Dziewczynka Wojenka na imię ma. Trzy i cztery, trzy i cztery, Dziwne ona ma maniery. Pięć i sześć, pięć i sześć, Wcale lodów nie chce jeść. Siedem, osiem, siedem, osiem, Wciąż o kości tylko prosi. “

“Where do you come from, if you sign about war like that?” he asked. “ Can’t tell you. You’ll think I’m mad.” “ Try it either way.” “ You see, future. But I can’t say wars aren’t a thing anymore. Sadly.”

After that, they spoke for a while. Apparently, her grandparents were both in partisan army. She grew up hearing their stories - or much rather, what little was said about the horrors of the war. What surprised him, though, was her request.

“ Will you teach me how to use a sword?” “ A sword? Why?” “ I can’t be helpless. I have to adapt.” “ That’s the spirit,” he laughed. 

She certainly was a curious creature, one with a will to survive. She was amusing... Although sometimes she did find a way to get on his nerves. 

“ I am NOT cute.” “ You are. You have lisp and can’t say “r” like little child that can’t speak good yet.”

Dictionary & Notes:

“ Czy was tu wszystkich kurwa do reszty pojebało?!” - “Are you all fucked in the damn head here?”, although not exactly. The Polish version doesn’t entail anything that could indicate any connection to psychological disorder or madness. Both “kurwa” and “pojebało”(pojebać) are swear words that would be translated to “fuck”. Recently those words lost a bit of their shocking effect, but if you ask me - you still don’t want your mother to hear you saying those. Under any circumstances. Direct translation would be “Are you all fucking fucked up here?”

“Chrząszcz” - a beetle. However, can we appreciate the nasal “ą” sound and the fact that it’s the only vowel in the entire word? Apparently, it’s hard to pronounce for foreigners :D 

“Gdy swe oczy otworzyłem /Wielki żal ogarnął mnie /Po policzkach łzy spłynęły /Zrozumiałem wtedy, że //Czarny chleb i czarna kawa /Opętani samotnością / Myślą swą szukają szczęścia /Które zwie się wolnością”  - lyrics from song, you can listen to it here. “ When I opened my eyes/ a grief overwhelmed me /Tears run down my cheeks/ Then I understood that // Black bread and black coffee / Possessed by loneliness / Keep searching with their thoughts for happiness/ name of which is freedom” (excuse the translation, I wrote it myself). I don’t listen much to Polish music, but this was somewhere around ever since I remember - I think many people would recognize it? Plus, the theme of freedom seems to be rather common one.

“ Tutaj! Ratunku!”  - “Here! Rescue me!”

“ A weźże ty mnie kurwa w nos pocałuj!” - “ Fuck, kiss my nose.”; There’s another version of with, “pocałuj mnie w dupę” (kiss my ass). This one is more polite? Less crude? Either way, it means “I’m fed up with your bullshit.” Note: weźże is an verb derived from “weź” (to take) by adding a particle “że” at the end. Said particle indicated irritation and frustration. Construction weź + do something (weź idź na spacer - go on a walk!) is basically an order/ a request said with some level of irritation. 

“ Boli, znaczy że żyje. “ - “If it hurts, it’s alive.”/ “If you’re hurting, you’re alive.” ; that one isn’t exactly universal, but it was a huge one for me. I always heard it from my grandparents and aunts. 

Rybołówstwo - ... Fishing. When pronounced, it’s “rybołóstwo” - we still have a cluster of consonants here, but it’s easier to deal with. 

“ Na wyścigach wyścigowych wyścigówek wyścigowych wyścigówka wyścigowa wyścignęła wyścigówkę wyścigową numer sześć. “ - “During the racing event the racing car got ahead of the racing car number six.”; tongue-twister If you were wondering,the adjectives are in bold. The crossed out word is the predicate of the sentence (the verb).

  w Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie  - in Szczebrzeszyn a beetle can be heard from the reed; tongue-twister. 

“ Raz i dwa, raz i dwa, /Dziewczynka Wojenka na imię ma. /Trzy i cztery, trzy i cztery, /Dziwne ona ma maniery. /Pięć i sześć, pięć i sześć, /Wcale lodów nie chce jeść. /Siedem, osiem, siedem, osiem, /Wciąż o kości tylko prosi. “ - song lyrics you can listen to here. Lao Che is a band that I think plenty of younger people interested in rock music will know. “One and two, one and two / The girls is named little war / Three and four, three and four / Strange are her manners / Five and six, five and six / She doesn’t want to eat ice-cream at all / Seven, eight, seven, eight/ She just keeps begging for bones.” ; All the songs from this particular album (Dzieciom - For Children; yes, it’s for adults that used to be children) are stylized to resemble a rhyme for children - at least in the lyrics and at first glance. 

A note: Japanese and Polish “r” are extremely different. Japanese “r” resembles Polish “l” sound a lot - and many children can’t pronounce “r” at first, exchanging it for the “l” sound. In other words, Masamune speaking Polish would have a really hard time due to his slight lisp... And he’d sound like a little child that tries, but fails. :) IT WOULD BE SO CUTE! 

When MC says her grandparents were in partisan army, she means they were part of AK - Armia Krajowa, during WWII. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, I’ll let you decide for yourself. I don’t want to make this post any longer. 

“ Seeing his confusion, she pointed at him and then tapped on her temple a couple of times, an unimpressed look on her face. “ -  That’s basically how I’d show somebody another Polish saying “A puknij się w głowę” (Tap yourself on the head), which means “are you nuts”. 

O, yeah. I don’t know if you can find the translation of the entire lyrics online, but if you were curious... You know, hit me up. I can translate them.

... I got too excited.  Would you be mad if I wrote another one of those? I kinda want to... 

Tag list: @datenoriko , @nad-zeta , @tsubaki3192 , @choi-jiyu If you want to be tagged under my future works, let me know (any way works)!^^ Also, if you have some preferences (for example: you’d rather not be tagged under some series, etc.), please, tell me.

Look What You Made Me Do (part 6)

A/N: Part 6 of my Better Than Revenge series.  This series was inspired by the song “Better Than Revenge” by Taylor Swift, which you can listen to here.  You can also catch up on the series here.  

Series Summary:  Olivia’s world was rocked when she discovered her boyfriend Drake cheated on her with Jessica at the homecoming ball. Olivia knows that Jessica is not what she seems, and she is determined to prove it.  Little does she know just how deep the plot goes.

Warnings: Some bad language, conspiracy, murder, major character death.  MC is a bitch. Each chapter will have it’s own warnings.

Chapter Warnings: Angst. Lots of Angst; This is so far off canon it is basically an AU

Word Count: 1643

*********************************

It had been three weeks since Olivia had spoken to Liam about Jessica and nothing had really changed.  He was still set on marrying her despite the proof he was shown.  He wouldn’t think ill of her until he had seen it with his own eyes.  He believed that she was who Olivia said she was, but he didn’t believe Jessica had malicious intent toward him.

“What are you thinking about, Darling?” Jessica reached across the table and took Liam by the hand.  They were sitting on the balcony at Valtoria enjoying the sunrise as they ate breakfast.

“Just thinking about the wedding,” Liam said with a grin, a mischievous gleam in his eye. “I can’t wait to be married to you and I think we should start practicing for the honeymoon right now.”  Liam smiled and took her hand pulling her to her feet and back into the bedroom.

********************************

Olivia, Drake, Maxwell, and Hana were on their way to meet Bastien at the hospital.  He had been recovering nicely from his gunshot wound.  They walked in and he sat up and smiled at them.

“Hello everyone! It's good to see you.  Can you please tell them to let me out of here?”  Bastien looked desperate.  He was not used to laying around, even if he was shot and almost killed.  Everyone looked at each other.  They weren’t about to get in the middle of this argument.  As if on cue, a pretty nurse walked in to check Bastien’s bandages.  She had bright purple hair, and looked way to happy to be there.

“Are you still trying to talk your way out of here?”  The nurse smiled as she spoke and Bastien stopped talking to look at her.

“Of course I am, Elissa. You can’t keep me here forever.”

“Not forever, Bas.  Only a few more weeks.  You’ll be good as new.”  Bastien looked like he didn’t believe her, but he still couldn’t help but smile at her.

The rest of the group watched the exchange with a kind of morbid curiosity.  Drake leaned over and whispered in Olivia’s ear, “Are you seeing this? Is Bastien flirting?”

“I thought I had seen everything,” Olivia whispered back in amusement.

They waited patiently while Elissa changed Bastien’s bandages.  Once she was out of the room, they got right down to business.

“We found your key and the documents in the safe.”  Oliva was sitting on the edge of the bed, speaking quietly to minimize the chance of someone overhearing their conversation. “We took all the evidence to Liam and he refused to change his mind about marrying her.  He said that he had seen no evidence that she was planning anything, even if she was lying about who she was.”

Bastien leaned his head back and sighed.  “He always did try to see the best in everyone.”  He looked a little defeated as he took in the faces of the group.  “Honestly, if he really wants to marry her, there is nothing we can do.  We have told him what we know and that’s all we can do.”

“Why didn’t King Constantine tell him sooner?  If he knew who she was, he should have told Liam from the beginning!”  Everyone turned to Hana as she spoke up.  

“Constantine didn’t actually know,” Bastien answered.  “He had his suspicions and he had me investigate under the radar.  Even though he arranged Jessica’s adoption, he never had any contact with the adoptive family.  He didn’t know what they named her, or even where they lived.  He didn’t become suspicious until he overheard her talking to Tariq in the hallway one night.  Jessica knew she was being investigated and she arranged to have him killed, and I assume, to kill me as well.”

“Well, this sucks,” Drake stated matter-of-factly.  “What are we supposed to do?”

Bastien looked sad as he answered.  “Just be there for Liam and hope he changes his mind.”

*************************************

The night before the wedding, Jessica stood on the balcony in her suite at the palace.  She was thinking about the plan, and what tomorrow would bring.  She had worked so hard for this and it would not be taken away from her now.  Tomorrow she would marry Liam and become the Queen, then things would change.  All of Cordonia would find out how weak their King really was.

“What are you thinking about?”  Tariq came up behind her wrapping an arm around her waist as he planted soft kisses on her neck.  He had become much better at sneaking into her room since the first time they were caught at Applewood.

“Just thinking about tomorrow.  How I can’t wait to carry out the plan, and I can’t wait to rule Cordonia with you at my side.”  Jessica turned to Tariq, kissing him deeply.  “I’m so tired of pretending to be someone I’m not.”

“You don’t have to pretend much longer. It’s almost over.  Tonight, just be the woman I love.”  Tariq took her by the had and led her back into the bedroom.

******************************************

Liam sat in his chambers thinking about the wedding and what would happen the next day, when there was a knock on the door.  “Come in,” Liam said without getting up from the couch.  He heard the door open and then heard Drake’s voice.

“Hey, Liam.  Can we talk?”  The softness of Drake's voice led Liam to believe that he would not like whatever his friend had to say, but he motioned to the couch beside him and Drake took a seat.

“Look, Liam, I know you don’t want to hear this, so I am only going to say it once.  Jessica is not who you think she is.  She is the daughter of the people who killed your mother, and I believe she is manipulating you.”

“You have no proof!” Liam yells, standing up abruptly and turning on his friend.  “Olivia came to me with the same information.  There is no proof that she knows who she is, or that she is manipulating me for any reason!”

Drake stood up to stand in front of Liam.  “Please, please don’t marry her tomorrow.  I have a feeling that you will regret it.” There was no anger in Drake’s voice as he looked at the floor, only pleading.  Begging Liam to listen.

“Get out.”  Liam’s voice was cold.  More angry than Drake had ever heard before.  “If you don’t want to be a part of this then don’t come to the ceremony, but I will marry Jessica, and she will be my Queen.  I love her.”

With that, Drake just nodded his head in defeat and walked out the door.

**********************************

The day of the wedding, Liam couldn’t help but notice that his best friend was noticeably missing.  Not only was Drake not there, but neither were Olivia, Maxwell, or Hana.  I can’t believe it.  My best man didn’t show up to the wedding?  Even if they didn’t agree with the wedding, I can’t believe they would just not show up.  I thought I meant more to them than that.  This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life and my friends aren’t here to support me.

“Any word?”  Liam leaned over and whispered to Bastien.  He had been out of the hospital for about a week and insisted on returning to regular duty.

“No, Your Majesty.  No one has seen any of them since early this morning.  But for what it is worth, I don’t believe they would just leave you.  Drake, Hana, Olivia, and Maxwell are the most loyal friends anyone could have.  If they are not here, it is not for some petty reason.  They would still support you even if they disagreed with you.”  Bastien placed his hand on Liam’s shoulder.  “Everything will be fine.”

“Thank you Bastien.  I really needed to hear that.”  Liam took one last look around the changing room and headed out to the front of the church.

All of Liam’s doubts and fears went flying out the window when he first glanced Jessica at the end of the aisle.  She was breathtaking.  He knew in that instant that he made the right decision and he hoped that his friends would come around and see Jessica the way the he saw her, a strong and beautiful woman worthy of leading Cordonia.  

***********************************

“Ugh, where are we?”  Hana sits up and groggily shakes her head.  She looks around and sees Drake, Maxwell, and Olivia with her, in some kind of cell.  Wherever they are.  “Uh...guys?”  Slowly they all wake up and take in their surroundings.  

Instantly Maxwell begins to panic.  “Oh, God!  I can’t die yet.  I’m too pretty to die in a dungeon!  I should die from the cuteness of being snuggled by a dozen baby pandas!  We have to find a way out of here!”

“Calm down, Maxwell,” Drake said as he placed a hand on Maxwell’s shoulder.  “We will find a way out and find a way back to the wedding.  Jessica won’t win this easily, she obviously doesn’t know who she is dealing with.”  This seems to calm Maxwell and he sits back down on the little cot in the cell.

“Hey!  Let us out of here!” Olivia rattles the bars, yelling down the hall until a guard appears.

“No, can do little Lady,” The guard smirks as he looks at them.

“Who are you calling little Lady?  You will pay for that.”  Olivia is glaring at the guard with more fire in her eyes than she has ever possessed before.

“Duchess Jessica wanted to ensure that you didn’t try to interfere with the ceremony.  It is an integral part of the plan.  Plus this just makes it easier to kill you all later.”  The guard just turned and walked away down the hall leaving them all staring after him in silence.

*************************************

Tags:  @time-travel-bouqet @the-wayward-robot @carryoncaptainrogers @bobasheebaby @speedyoperarascalparty @leelee10898 @blackwidow2721 @mrsnazario1223 @scarlettedragon @blackcatkita @katurrade @riseandshinelittleblossom @cocomaxley @ao719 @hopefulmoonobject @gibbles82 @kennaxval @darley1101

The Gift (ACOR, Lena x MC)

More Lena x ACOR MC cuteness, lovelies! This fanfic was requested by my dear, absolutely adorable friend @brightpinkpeppercorn and it’s inspired to one of the February prompts by @endlessly-searching-for-you !

One of the main reasons why I think Lena should be a LI for MC is that she seems a wise and strong woman who can make our untamed Gaul a better person. In this fanfic, Lucilla (MC) will acknowledge this truth and show her gratitude to Lena offering her a pretty special gift. Special guest & wingwoman: Locusta (warning: I’m no physician not to mention expert of Gallic medicine so don’t quote me on her medical advice xD) ❤️

Prompt: “You make me a better person." 

Word Count: 2465

Perma tag: @brightpinkpeppercorn @psychopathdreamer21 @abunchofbadchoices @bbaba-yagaa @silverhawkenzie @begging-for-kamilah @melodyofgraves @bhavf

Tags: @jellymonster @gayestchoices @3pawandme @korrasamixlover 

(Previous episodes of the Lena series: Your Odyssey, Beautiful Curse,  News From The Ludus & Down In The Dungeon) 

________________________________

Lena woke up a bit earlier than usual that morning. She had commissioned some beauty treatments for the scholae to Locusta and wanted to collect them personally. The Gallic woman told her to stop by her shop early in the morning so that the delivery wouldn't get in the way with Lena's tight schedule for the day. Being a domina of a scholae left her little free time lately: new girls needing training, balancing rivalries among the courtesans, discussing security protocols with the bodyguards...but Lena felt it was the right thing to do now that Rome fate was so uncertain. She had barely left the entrance door of the building that a familiar voice called her name. "Lena, domina, wait for me!" She turned to see Lucilla running up to her. "Lucilla? Up so early? Is everything fine?" "Oh yes, don't worry!" the Gaul said, catching her breath "Where are you headed? If it's no secret obviously! I didn't mean to overstep!" Lena gave a curious look. "I'm going to Locusta's shop. I asked her to prepare some beauty treatments for the scholae" Before she could add anything else, Lucilla flashed her a smile. "Excellent! I need to stop by her shop too! Mind if I join you?" Lena was taken aback but didn't show it. "Be my guest. Let's go" As they were walking side by side, she spoke again. "So, are you and Locusta friends? She's from Gaul too, right?" Lucilla beamed. "Yes she is! Not from my tribe but she was a protege of my mother back there. We've known each other for a long time, she came to our village pretty often. Mom and Dad invited her over so many times...I remember that Mom once told me that when I was a child I kept calling her 'auntie': to me she was simply auntie Locusta" "That's certainly a sweet memory to cherish. Do you still call her like that?" Lucilla smiled sheepishly. "Maybe, sometimes..." Lena laughed softly at her embarrassment. "No need to blush, wildflower! I bet Locusta love hearing you call her auntie"

"I hope so! Well, especially now that she lost her family...the Roman killed them when her village was put under siege" Sorrow and anger waltzed in the Gallic girl’s eyes. "I'm sure she loves you and considers you and your family her own family" Lena said sympathetically, squeezing Lucilla's shoulder. "Yeah, that's what she said when I first met her here in Rome..." then she abruptly changed the topic "oh I asked her to prepare some healing unguent for Cirta. He has this big scratch on his chest, I don't even know how he managed to get it but all my remedies didn't work so, you know, better ask a professional" "I hope your little monkey didn't get himself into trouble. He's definitely cheeky" "Oh indeed!" Lucilla laughed "but he's a good boy, I'm sure you'll see it too one day" "I'd be more inclined to think so if he didn't raid my food stockings. He's a little thief!" "Oh that reminds me! When I leave Locusta, I'll go to the market to buy some treats for him so he won't commit more grape theft" "Hopefully, you mean" Lena rolled her eyes "oh here's the shop!". Locusta shop was already in full swing despite the early time. "Good morning, good Locusta!" Lena greeted the physician, walking to her counter. Lucilla greeted her too but in their Gallic language. Her domina didn't know a word of it, but could have sworn that the last sweet, softened sound she heard was "auntie". "Oh my fair ladies are here! Please make yourself at home!" the Gaul said, clearing the counter. "How are you doing, Locusta? Your fame precedes you and I'm sure you have your good fair of work today: I hope we didn't bother you with our deliveries" Lena said in her courtly manner. Locusta raised her bright eyes on her then turned to Lucilla, smiling. "Honey, you weren't joking when you said that your domina is the portrait of kindness!" - then addressing the black woman she added-  "Of course you didn't, sweet Lena. And whoever treats this girl well is most welcome in my shop. You know, she's kind of a daughter to me" Lena nodded politely. "Yes, Lucilla told me. I wasn't expecting to hear that she talked about me though. I'm not sure how to take this" Lena teased Lucilla. The Gallic girl's cheeks turned rosy and Locusta gave her a conspiratorial look before answering the domina. "Oh good things only, trust me. Good things only...but enough chit-chat!" She announced, changing the topic before Lucilla would be as red as her domina's crimson tunic "where did I put your boxes?" She lowered to reach behind her counter. "Oh here they are!" she cheered briefly after, landing a pile of items in front of the two women. "Here's your beauty unguents, sweet lady. Just apply it on your damp skin after a bath and massage it: your skin will be smooth as silk in no time. Honey's magic, trust good old Locusta! I also added some crayons and the perfumes you requested: citrus fruit and spices. Let me tell you that it was an excellent choice; Lucilla can tell you that I don't compliment just everyone but you have great taste, domina" Lena thanked her and bowed her head politely. "You're a very refined lady. I bet most of the girls at the scholae can't hold a candle to you...am I right, honey?" she added, winking to Lucilla who turned another shade of red. Lena laughed. "Good Locusta, you're too kind to me. I'm touched, truly, but I need these and more right now! Maybe when I was younger..." "Oh you sell yourself cheap, domina! I'm sure my friend here disagrees..." "Yes, I mean-" Lucilla hurriedly said before seeing the eyes of the two women staring at her "I mean... Locusta is right, you...you sell yourself cheap, domina" She immediately lowered her eyes. "Oh Lucilla, you're such a flatterer! But I know the harsh truth...it's kind of you to say so though" Lena commented then she turned to the physician "How much do I owe you for these, dear Locusta?" Locusta shrugged. "Later, later, sweet lady! Now I need to give this girl what she wants. Lucilla, here's the healing unguent for your cheeky furry demon" Locusta groaned " you need to apply it on the scratched area and let it absorbs fully. Any chances your "little boy" won't try and lick it out?" She raised an eyebrow to the girl, who, in full response, bit her lip apologetically. "Thought so. Well, since this is toxic for him, I suggest putting a bandage on it so that he won't be...tempted. Apply it for 3-4 days then check. If the scratch doesn't heal, I guess I should visit the monkey. But I'm sure this will work" "Thank you so much, auntie! I'm sure it will work its magic and Cirta will be good! Mind if I bring him here to thank you personally afterward?" Lucilla teased. "Please don't! And now...here's your special request, dear girl." The Gallic physician placed a small bag on the counter. Lena looked at it with curiosity. "You didn't mention it on our way here...oh but look at me! Apologies Lucilla, I didn't mean to overstep or make you uncomfortable" "No, no, it's fine Lena! As a matter of fact..." the younger woman said throwing a pleading glance to the physician. "Oh right, I've got some urgent work to do...down in the basement. I'll be back in a while. Maybe more than a while...hm, I'll see you later, ladies" Lena gave the two Gauls a quizzical look. "Sure, Locusta...we'll be waiting here" Then she turned to Lucilla. The Gallic girl was fidgeting with her hands as if she was trying to find the right words. Lena turned to her. "Lucilla, is something wrong? Should I worry?" "No no, Lena...I mean domina. I...I'm just not sure I showed you how grateful I am for what you've done for me since we first met. I was lost and covered with dirt and blood and you gave me an opportunity I could never thank you enough for. You let me live, I owe you-" Lena stopped her. "There's no need for that, Lucilla. You already thanked me for saving your life even if I didn't technically save you. Let’s say I just...helped you out of an unfortunate situation: women should help each other in hard times, right? I know you would have done the same if you were in my place. You may be more untamed than I wish for your own safety, but your heart is in the right place, sweet Princess" A hint of a smile appeared on her face. "And seeing what a beautiful, educated and gracious woman you've become...well it warms my heart" The girl looked back to her. "But that's the point. You did save my life but you also...you make me a better person, Lena. It took me time to realize it but it's crystal clear to me now. I was a princess back in my homeland but I knew nothing about the world if you wish. You taught me how to speak properly, how to sing, how to dress and oh Gods, even how to play the cithara! We have those instruments in Gaul too, well pretty similar ones but only bards play them. And I wanted so badly to learn how to make music! You taught me Greek, such a melodious language, it's like a siren song you never get tired of hearing! But most importantly you showed me how to take care of myself and always be proud of who I am no matter what the Roman say. I feel safe around you and you keep me and the girls safe, every single day. You taught me to think before acting and the Gods only know how impulsive I can be! You make me look at things differently, with a new pair of eyes and I think this is the greatest gift you can give someone. I will always be grateful for that. My mother would say that Tsirona sent you on my path to protect me" Lena's cheeks turned imperceptibly rosy as she said: "I'm sure your mother is a wise woman and I wouldn't dare contradict her. But I didn't do much, Lucilla. You had it all in you: the pride, the beauty, the grace that so many girls lack here..." Lucilla smiled briefly at the compliment before handing the small bag to Lena, blushing slightly. "What's that?" Lena asked taken aback. "It's a gift. Please accept it" the Gaul bowed her head as Lena took it from her hands. When she unfolded it, a gem shone in her palm. "It's a Gallic trinket" the girl explained "I asked Locusta to craft one for you. Among my people, we use...or should I say used...to give amber trinkets to the wisest and most generous members of the tribe. Those who set the example for the others, you know. Wearing amber is considered a great honor: we say that those people shine bright like stars and thanks to the light they make the Gods will always smile upon them and will be ready to rescue them whenever they find themselves in trouble. I just thought that you deserve one too" Lena was speechless and gaped in full response. Then she spoke: "Oh my...Lucilla, this is such a precious gift, I'm not sure I can-" Lucilla reached and took the older woman's hand into hers. "Please, Lena. You deserve this" she said, giving her a pleading look. Lena looked into her green eyes, green as the forest of her beloved and lost Gaul. She could easily lose herself into them. "I...thank you, Lucilla. I will wear it with great pride. Will you.." she gestured the girl to help her tie the trinket. Lucilla beamed and carefully took the trinket in her hands and shifted behind her domina. Lena bit her lip to refrain herself from sighing as she felt the warmth of the girl's body so close to her and her breath on her neck. Her fingertips involuntarily stroking her skin. When she was done, the Gallic girl gently turned Lena towards a mirror sitting on Locusta's counter. "There, look!" The amber gem gleamed brightly in the morning sun, drawing a small dot of light on Lena's neck. "It's beautiful, Lucilla" she whispered in awe. "You wear it so gracefully, domina" Then, to Lena's surprise, the girl let her head rest on her shoulder cautiously wrapping her arms around her waist. The domina looked at the two of them in the mirror: two women, two troubled souls in troubled times holding each other. The sudden tenderness of the gesture made Lena smile softly to her reflection as she gently placed her hands on the girl's upper arms. She cherished the moment in silence, taking in the feeling of their bodies flushed together, the sweet perfume emanating from the Gallic girl's body and the pounding of her heart. It was the first time that she saw the Gaul so vulnerable, she thought as the young woman cuddled up closer to her. She used to see her fierce attitude, her unreadable silences, the stone visage and the charming yet practiced smiles she put on at the scholae or on a job, but this shy, flustered girl was new to her. "You know, wildflower, this is the most beautiful gift I've ever received" she whispered softly in the Gaul's hair after a while. She felt the girl smiling on her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure this is not true, Lena. You said you had tons of wealthy admirers: no doubt they offered you better gifts than a trinket!" "Oh they gave me very expensive gifts back then but nothing they bought me compares to this" "How come?" "Because this is so thoughtful, Lucilla! And we all value things differently, I guess: to me, an amber trinket from a Gallic girl is worth ten thousand golden jewels or silk dresses" Lucilla smiled again and started reciting some lines, never breaking the embrace:    "Some say an army of horsemen,             some of footsoldiers, some of ships,             is the fairest thing on the black earth,             but I say it is what one loves.       I would much prefer to see the lovely             way she walks and the radiant glance of her face             than the war-chariots of the Lydians or            their footsoldiers in arms" Lena chuckled tenderly. "Are you quoting Sappho, sweet Princess?" Lucilla raised her head to meet the woman's gaze. Her green eyes gleamed like gems when she said adoringly, her face barely inches from Lena: "You taught me that too".

11 Questions Tag

I got tagged by @stephi-writes for this tag game. Like three weeks ago. I’m so so sorry it took forever to do this! I think I’m supposed to come up with new questions, but I really like these, so if I tag you (or if you just want to do this), go ahead and use these questions. :) 1) How many works in progress to do you currently have? For novels I technically have three. I'm actively working on the first two books in my Unexpected Inspiration trilogy while the third sits for a while because I need to iron out these plots before I can advance the story. I started a novel previous to writing this series that's been abandoned since '13, but I'm thinking that someday I'll go back to writing that world and those characters. I suppose it still counts as a WIP because I'm still getting ideas and inspiration for it once in a while. Me and the MC had to break up and spend some time apart but I think we might get back together someday. We do have a lot of history together lol. I also have two or three short stories about my current series started and maybe someday will finish. 2) Do you/would you write fan fiction? Fan fiction was actually what got me started writing about 15 years ago. (Geez, has it been that long?) I wrote Lord of the Rings parodies and did some roleplaying/short stories with a bunch of fandom characters. Technically my first novel (the aforementioned one with the MC I broke up with) was fanfic of a sort because it took place in the world my husband and I created for "Dungeons and Dragons" games and I used to write about a few D&D characters. For the future, probably not. I'm too invested in my own stuff to really be interested in writing someone else's characters and I've pretty much fallen out of fandom. That and I barely have the time/energy to write my own stuff, let alone something else besides this. I need more hours in a day! 3) Do you prefer real books or books? Real books or ebooks? Both for their own reasons. I love the feel of real books and being able to glance at the pages to see how far I have left to read, or flip forward to see how much is left in a chapter. I like ebooks because they're so portable and because I can use a dyslexia font to make them easier to read. 4) When did you start writing? Whoops, I already kinda answered this. In college I started with fanfic/parodies. I took a few years off from writing after this, then picked it up again to write my D&D stuff. My first writing that was truly mine started in '13. 5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with? That would be my writing partner in crime @ageekyreader and my husband. I'm really fearful of letting people read my novel drafts. Short stories I'll share online because they're pretty polished and don't feel like crap, but my early drafts of novels... they stink. My husband and Ruthie are the only two I let read this stinky stuff lol. 6)Where is your favourite place to write? On my couch in my quiet apartment with the cat on my lap. 7) Favourite childhood book? "The Hobbit". My dad read it to me for the first time when I was about 6 and it gave me my love of books and fantasy. I still remember the voices he used to do for the characters. :) 8) Writing for fun or writing for publication? Both? I mean, I'm writing my stories because I love the characters and have a lot of fun with it, but eventually I'd like to be published. I'm kind of jealous of writers who have concrete goals here. I'm just like "I'd love to finish this trilogy in the next decade. Maybe? Hopefully?” 9) Pen and paper or computer? I used to write in notebooks all the time, but anymore I can only get words if I'm on the computer. I really would love to get back into writing on paper because it's way more convenient. I do write all my notes on paper, though. I have so many notebooks of notes and world building and stuff. 10) Have you ever taken any writing classes? Ugh, don't get me started on this. I took the required ones in high school and college and HATED them. This was partly because we weren't allowed to write speculative fiction and writing realistic stuff bores me to tears, but also because my high school writing teacher played favorites in the class. I don't think she was a particularly great person and this soured any kind of creative writing for *years*. I do have an English degree, though, so I spent my fair share of years studying books. ;) 11) What inspires you to write? My dorks sort of inspire themselves. They're just so much fun to write! Otherwise I get inspiration from music that brings to mind my characters or stories. And learning flow props has absolutely helped with writing because most of my dorks are carnival performers and being able to do those kinds of tricks myself kind of makes me feel like I'm one of them- and it helps me describe their actions and interests and stuff, of course! So yeah, I’m going to tag a few people, so feel free to answer these questions if you’d like and haven’t already. And if you want to answer these questions and aren’t tagged, consider yourself tagged. :) @iamwritehere @wewriteworlds @hirokothewriter @agwitow @scripturient-manipulator @amyanda

Gucci Mane Co-Sign Or Contract? Analyzing The 1017 Label Track Record

Whether he’s adding new additions to his own expansive catalogue or keeping up with new waves of hip-hop as they happen, Gucci Mane is never one to stay stationary. Instead, the man that’s often cited as a pioneer of trap music is always trying to push himself forward and bring an entourage of budding talent along with him.

Built from the ashes of the original, Mizay Entertainment-backed So Icey Ent, Gucci’s 1017 Records is now a well-established brand name and has an illustrious distributor in Atlantic. As Gucci told XXL in July 2020, his primary goal with the label is to equip new rappers with everything they require to escape adversity and succeed.

“I wanna share [with new artists]. I feel like I got a lot of knowledge,” he revealed. “That what you can be charitable with…. I always embraced the hardcore rapper that don’t nobody want to fuck with, that everyone blackballed or whatever. Those be the people I open my doors to.”

Ollie Millington/Redferns/Getty Images

Prone to spotting potential long before it’s apparent to others, Gucci’s instinctual approach to A&R is exemplified by how Young Thug entered his orbit– praise from longtime confidant Peeway Longway was all it took to seal the deal.

“I had a bag with some money and got $25,000 out and I signed Thug right there,” Gucci recalled. “Never even heard a song from him.”

Within a year of releasing 1017 Thug, the enigmatic Jeffery left Gucci’s label and broke out to craft his own legacy. But, as is the case with many stars that have gone on to reshape hip-hop in their own image over the past decade, an early co-sign from Guwop proved instrumental in legitimizing Thug to a wider hip-hop audience.

From helping Future to escape the shadow of The Dungeon Family ties and map out his own identity on Free Bricks and collaborating with an as-yet unseasoned Nicki Minaj, to alerting Coach K to the existence of Migos and instilling his insatiable work ethic in Young Dolph, Guwop has consciously and consistently used his platform as a launchpad for future mainstays in hip-hop.  

Future and Young Thug attend Gucci Mane’s album release party, 2017 – Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images

“Gucci’s definitely a mentor figure,” production kingpin Metro Boomin told Noisey back in 2014. “He’s the big homie to everybody. In Atlanta, he’ll get anyone to shine… Gucci definitely has one of the best ears in the industry.”

It seems that the East Atlanta Santa’s knack for spotting talent remains as attuned as ever– even if it doesn’t always work out in his favor. When that does happen, like when he missed out on the chance to sign Mulatto, he still featured on one of her early breakout tracks anyway (“Muwop”). Lest we forget when Gucci offered Gunna $1 million to sign to 1017– although he already had a deal. Gucci never hesitates to make his admiration of a new artist known. Likewise, when he gifted Lil Baby with a 1017 chain for, as he put it, “saving the city,” it seemed totally natural. 

However, where these Guwop-approved artists have gone on to become paradigm-shifting stars in their own right, his actual label signees have seemingly failed.

Despite Gucci’s renown as a benefactor to generations of MCs, retracing his steps as both an informal tastemaker and an A&R for own his label highlights a sharp contrast between the two; between those rappers who’ve simply received a public endorsement, or a series of collaborations, versus those who’ve chosen to sign on the dotted line.

When it comes down to it, 1017 has always presented talent that impresses, but never necessarily inspires devotion or shakes the fabric of the genre– or the culture– in the way that many of the artists whose paths have more casually, or perhaps more briefly, intersected with Gucci, have been able to.

Now, tasked with overseeing the careers of a new crop of prospects in Memphis’ Pooh Sheisty, Foogiano, Big Scarr, Roboy and his So Icey Girlz, K Shiday, and Enchanting, it seems a fitting time to examine whether placing your eggs in 1017’s basket maximizes your chances of success or if, in reality, it’s best to avoid contractual ties to the ATL legend in favor of unofficial support and public co-signs.

To examine where things go wrong for 1017’s artists in comparison to those that are simply co-signed by Guwop, we need to first consider the reason that they put pen to paper. When you look at the rationale behind the deals, Gucci’s track record doesn’t tend to come into the equation. Instead, these new artists tend to focus on their, either imagined or genuine, personal relationship with Gucci, perhaps even from a fan-level. 

“It ain’t no question Wop is a legend,” New 1017 signee Big Scarr relayed. “He’s my momma’s favorite rapper…  It’s crazy I’m signed to him.”

Similarly, Chicago’s Lil Wop, who has an ice cream cone tattooed onto his face in homage to Guwop, described signing with his hero as a “dream come true.” 

Lil Wop at the New York HNHH Office – Image by HNHH

Beyond simple adoration for Gucci, the fact that he isn’t frugal when it comes to the artists’ paydays is also key to understanding why rappers will rush to affiliate themselves with his stable. Just as he’d offered Gunna two years prior, March 2020 saw him ink a million dollar deal with Foogiano, when he could’ve easily attempted to lowball the Greensboro, GA rapper. Yet in spite of what appears to be both parties’ best intentions, these high-powered deals seldom translate into successful careers for Gucci’s signees, and before long, either their hype simply peters out or they’re looking for the exit.

Far from a new phenomenon, this has been the case since the days where OJ Da Juiceman seemed to be on the rise as Atlanta’s next great hope and a cornerstone of the Icey Gang roster, only to be lost in the shuffle amid the stampede of artists that Gucci had co-signed at the turn of the decade. And when breaking down how almost every artist that’s hedged their bets on a deal with Guwop has gradually fallen by the wayside, OJ’s career trajectory serves as the blueprint for their misfortunes. 

Among the few artists to be present for the So Icey, Bricksquad, and 1017 eras of Gucci’s career, OJ migrated with Guwop when he severed ties to Mizay Entertainment and linked up with Asylum Records in 2010. 

“I’m taking control of all of my business properties and keeping the focus on my career, my music and my artists,” Gucci told AllHipHop.Com as the transition came to light. “All the pieces to the puzzle are finally in place.”

But in spite of Gucci’s assurances, OJ’s most successful spell came before he followed his longtime friend to his new stable, with his 2009 debut album, Tha Otha Side Of The Trap, entering the US rap charts at number 9. 

Boosted in large part by the smash single “Make The Trap Say Aye,” OJ’s prospects looked bright as he entered a new decade, and it appeared that, besides for Guwop himself, he was the man to take the label to the next level. Yet as he became a stalwart of Gucci’s camp, OJ gradually receded into the background, with a string of mixtapes emerging to a muted response before his 2014 sophomore album, The Otis Williams JR Story, failing to register on the same cultural level as his previous effort.

In OJ’s opinion, he and Gucci’s decision to part ways wasn’t the product of anger or resentment. Instead, the man that Gucci would praise for his loyalty in 2019 argued that it’s a matter of Guwop’s priorities residing elsewhere. 

“Right now bruh on a mission. Bruh trying to get that bag. Bruh went and did a three piece. I respect the game,” he claimed in 2017. “Even if y’all don’t see us right now. Bruh gon’ do him, Ima do me and when the time comes…what they call it, perfect timing is key.”

OJ Da Juice and Gucci Mane at Gucci Mane’s Black Tie Gala, February 2020 – Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

Through this insight from OJ, a picture emerges of how, and why, so many of Gucci’s signees may seemingly ditch the label, or else get ditched. While they weren’t torn apart by major ideological differences or beef, it was the business relationship between OJ and Gucci that ultimately frayed. 

Most of 1017’s past signees have watched on as Gucci teamed up with outside forces, such as Migos, Young Dolph, and Lil Uzi Vert while they gradually followed OJ’s journey into obscurity. 

In modern times, 1017’s first-ever female signee Asian Doll kept this tradition alive when she went from signing with the label after getting “family vibes” from Guwop and his wife, Keyshia Ka’Oir to asking for her release just two years later, forfeiting much of the buzz that she’d been building from 2016 when she was releasing mixtapes at a rapid rate. In January 2020, after publicly expressing her wish to be independent a year prior, Asian Doll revealed, “I ASKED GUCCI MANE TO RELEASE ME FROM 1017 A COUPLE DAYS AGO & HE SAID ‘OKAY’ IM OFFICIALLY AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST.”

To this end, she’s by no means alone. Bursting out of the ATL with a hail of momentum, the twinned signings of Lil Quill and Yung Mal garnered a lot of hype out of the gate for their infectious on-wax chemistry. But soon enough, they too would be lost in the shuffle and disappeared from the roster with little fanfare or formal announcement. Instead of being broached by Gucci upfront, both Mal and Lil Quill were simply let out of the blueprint for the label’s latest rebrand, with Lil Quill hinting towards some sort of label-oriented limbo as he claimed to be ‘still under contract, but not in contract’ during a December 2020 interview with The Progress Report. Meanwhile, his rhyming partner Yung Mal has kept his cards similarly close to the chest in regards to where he stands with 1017, but has identified himself to be the CEO of a new, independent venture.

In the case of New Jersey’s Hoodrich Pablo Juan, 2019’s BLO: The Movie had all the makings of a breakout project and packed a punch in terms of high-powered features, but he ultimately failed to recapture the audience’s attention in the way that he’d once wielded it withDesigner Drugz 3’s smash single “We Don’t Luv Em.” Much like Yung Mal and Lil Quill before him, Juan is now operating under his own, Empire distribution-affiliated banner of Mony Pwr Rspct.

Despite these budding artists’ deal with Gucci going sour, it seems that, apart from Lil Wop, each still parted ways on good terms. Quill even described their relationship as “cordial’ despite the confusion over his contract status. 

Where this laundry list of failures seems to suggest that Guwop can pinpoint talent a mile away, but doesn’t always know how to harness it, his rollout of the ‘New 1017’ indicates that this may no longer be the case. 

Scooped up by the label after Gucci heard one song, Memphis’ Pooh Sheisty has already achieved more since he was signed in April of last year, than the entire previous crop of signees did during their entire spell.  

With his debut project Shiesty Season clocking in first-week units of 65k, it’s Gucci’s biggest success as an A&R that didn’t bear his name, since friend-turned-nemesis Waka Flocka Flame’s Flockaveli. It also suggests that there’s a new pace for 1017’s current class to try and match. And when you look at it from a sheerly numerical standpoint, this new wave of signees that he showcased on October’s So Icey Gang Vol 1 are already far outweighing what Lil Wop or Asian Doll were commanding in terms of views or sales, and are positioned as stars in a way that Gucci perhaps failed to achieve with his previous acquisitions.

Armed with well over a decade of experience as an A&R, talent scout, and label head, it seems that Gucci is learning from both the success stories that he’s played a part, just as much as the failures. By placing the New 1017 centerstage, alongside one flagship artist in particular– Pooh Shiesty— as he once did with Thugger, OJ Da Juiceman, or Waka Flocka, Guwop has given not only Pooh, but the artists that will take up the label’s mantle afterward, a better chance at succeeding.

The New 1017: Foogiano and Pooh Shiesty – Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

from Young And Hungry Entertainment https://ift.tt/3qhGnn3 via Young And Hungry Ent.

source https://youngandhungryent.blogspot.com/2021/03/gucci-mane-co-sign-or-contract.html

from Young And Hungry Entertainment https://ift.tt/3kMAhdl via Young And Hungry Ent.

source https://youngandhungryent.blogspot.com/2021/03/gucci-mane-co-sign-or-contract_3.html

from Young And Hungry Entertainment https://ift.tt/3sHzddw via Young And Hungry Ent. source https://youngandhungryent.blogspot.com/2021/03/gucci-mane-co-sign-or-contract_4.html