Downtown Windenburg
MIss Hell
Miss Hell plastered a smile on her face despite her rigid posture. While Bloodvein was wearing his normal sneering mask and making thoughtless comments, his hand drummed nervously on the table.
Good.
He should be scared. It was his fault they were sitting here now.
“We have made some progress,” she explained, now that The Sage of Untamed Magic had finished their massage. “Vladislaus made war against the witches to such a degree that they cursed him. They look to the Sages for guidance even more now.”
“It’s Simeon who prefers the simpering adoration of witches, not I,” Morgyn purred. “I do not reward failure, I punish it.” He let a curl of magic roll off his finger tips. Jimena yelped, leaning back in her chair.
“Now, now, Bloodvein, if your pets aren’t housetrained, they shall simply have to wait outside,” Morgyn giggled, eyes gleaming with malice. “Although training them could be quite fun!”
The Sage of Untamed Magic’s definition of fun was not one that would make any creature happy. Even Miss Hell, who still enjoyed consuming her meal while the heart was beating, understood the difference between fun and bloodlust.
“I believe we made a small error in judgement,” she replied, careful to maintain a mask of good-nature. It did not calm the situation.
“An error in judgement?” Morgyn seethed, his emphasis on each word sending a tidal wave of fear crashing through her. She knew better than to let the Sage of Untamed Magic know she was riled, but she had to steel herself not to respond.
He took a breath. His conversational tone returned, but the air was different. Tense. “An error would be showing up with Vladislaus a few hours late. Instead, you have not shown up with him at all, despite your promises and platitudes. Add to that, your incomprehensible actions of yesterday. Killing a contestant so early in the game?”
“Oh that’s a simple matter, that,” Bloodvein sneered with a wave of his hand. “They’ll be up and running in a few days’ time and we’ll get back to our work.”
Miss Hell closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. “I believe what my love is trying to say is—”
“A simple matter?” Morgyn repeated, leaping to their feet. Everyone followed suit, the tension breaking into something wild and dangerous. Miss Hell braced herself for the pain she knew was coming. It was Morgyn’s way. You didn’t hurt your enemy, you hurt the thing your enemy valued and as far as the Sages of the Realm were concerned, Bloodvein valued his lover: Miss Hell.
Morgyn was fast, casting a beam of light that hit Jimena square in the chest.
She erupted into a myriad of sparks before settling back down on the floor as a stuffed teddy bear holding a heart. Bloodvein yelped, baring his fangs before drawing them back in again. He was riled but cowed into submission.
Miss Hell couldn’t hold back the gasp that fell from her mouth. Stupid. That’s what she was. Stupid! She was better trained than this! You never let a client put their affections elsewhere, not because you were jealous but because then you lost control. If she were back in Magnolia Promenade, Madame Caliente would have had her head.
But you’re not back there. You will never go back there.
When she could command her limbs to move again, she sauntered across the room, following Morgyn to the closet.
“Our deepest apologies,” she nodded, pleased to note that there was no waver in her voice. “We can clean this up and handle the matter with Vladislaus discreetly. Perhaps if we knew more about Vladislaus is and how he can help you—”
“You know all you need to know,” Morgyn said calmly, staring at the row of suits. “The time for discreet is over, Anastasia. Go big or go home.”
They waved a hand and there was an audible click as the door unlocked. “Take your little stuffed animal and get out of my sight.”
“I…but what would you have us do?”
Morgyn ignored her, focusing their attention on closet, running a hand over the fabric of the suits. “Yes, the blue silk will do nicely, I think.”
The message was clear. She was dismissed and in her least favorite position: being at someone else’s mercy with no leverage to speak of.
This chapter marks the first time in recent memory someone’s mentioned Magnolia Promenade. I’m also appreciating the shift from Alice having a huge secret to Alice being oblivious to everyone else’s secrets. So now it’s not even just what’s going on, it’s who knows what. Who Jimena’s master is, for example; it seems like she has some seductive abilities? Are the seven deadly sins in on this or something?
“You could be an inanimate object without a spell.” Dang. That one hit me. How much things have changed, and still we’ve got so far to go…
Since I have zero interest in any of the supernatural gameplay, I did have the treat of looking up Vlad Bloodvein for real and seeing what that mofo actually looks like. Hooooo boy that’s some good camp. I was like, isn’t this tame for one of these outfits? I mean if I saw someone wearing that blazer I’d elbow the shit out of my friend, but it’s tame for him. AND THEN I SAW THE SHOES.
THE SHOES.
– I like to think of those shoes as some of my best work. HAHAHA. Yeah, EA Bloodvein was already bringing so much to the table, I didn’t have to do much to draw inspiration.
– I literally forgot about Magnolia Promenade until I was like: damn it, where is a place she can be from that I haven’t already mentioned? I can’t believe that even counts as a “world.”
– Miss Hell is 100% All For Self and chaotic neutral (goals) so she is always dropping truth bombs. I think if I don’t write her saying it so I can laugh, I’ll cry.
– Oooohhh you are so close on Jimena’s master. There are a key set of Gods and their respective “patrons” definitely excel in the domain they rule over. Every player is on the board at this point, now I’m just in the business of reveals so you’ll have your answer by the end of this chapter.
– I’m glad you noticed the shift and liked it! In the first part, everyone is the protagonist of their own story. The most important secret Alice was keeping was about herself. The world largely operated in a way that she understood and she was an expert at navigating it. Then shit got weird. Now she’s in this place where she’s having to consider that the world is bigger and more complex than she realized. And she ain’t the weirdest thing in it.
Alright, Beauty for Jimena’s master and that’s my final guess. And while we’re in the business of predictions, if William brings a date to the filming and Bernard flips out on him for being in a gay interracial relationship, I am going to lose my shit. Other than that, Miss Hell’s probably going to get a lot more likeable and I still have no clue what the hey Miko is up to. That’s all.
Miko’s plans are going to become clear soon…like next chapter. I love Miss Hell she is…complicated. I can’t wait to get into her story arc.
After Bernard’s debut, I think it’s safe to say that’s exactly how he’d react. Though to be clear, that’s not part of his introduction 🙂
Ah ok, that explains Ben’s absence, kind of. I adored Vlad and Alice’s moments as always, hough honestly, maybe he’s too good for her (plot twist!). There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her, while she’s attracted to him, but not all that invested, I feel like. She cares for him, sure, but she’s still subconsciously looking for excuses to cast him aside.
Jimena is actually surprisingly composed through all of this. Is she not a regular mortal? I feel like any regular human would have pooped their pants. My theory is that she’s a double agent.
The meeting in the restauruant, is Morgyn adopting a particular twist on things? I don’t feel like what was discussed exactly reflected the sages’ conversation… so what’s Morgyn’s game here?
You know, despite the strings being pulled behind the scenes by literally everyone, and the backstabbing, and the supernatural threats and the literal hand of fate orchestrating this grand event of getting the owl of undoing, I can’t help but laugh every time I remember that all these superpowers and monsters and spellcasters and vampires are focused around… a baking contest. 😂 It gets me every time, lol.
HAHAHA Thank you! I mean my brain works in wacky ways so I’m glad you’re enjoying it. And listen, you’ve described my story in a nutshell: everyone is backstabbing, the hand of fate is everywhere, strings we don’t even know are being pulled are being pulled. It’s wild.
I like how L.Faba is like, dude we’re trying to have a fancy feast in the comfort of our own magical HQ, get your shit together Simeon.
Morgyn is absolutely terrifying in BBD, in comparison to The Strauds (even though Morgyn in The Strauds is far more powerful). Turning Jimena into a child’s source of comfort is quite hilarious. Jimena is neither comforting or cuddly, and I doubt she has a heart.
Despite the passaging of time, Ana still holds onto memories of her former life, and they cause her distress/PTSD. It’s a very VERY different Ana from The Strauds, this one is more vulnerable and I never thought I’d see her cower. Goodness. I prefer my Ana with a backbone of steel.
Vlad: Did she call me her BOYFRIEND??? lol he’s a plasma pack away from jumping on Oprah’s couch and claiming how lucky he is. In case that reference is too obscure: https://www.today.com/video/10-years-ago-tom-cruise-jumps-oprahs-couch-449205827898
Ana to Jimena: You are useless. Why are we keeping you alive.
Jimena: I am useful. Wink, wink, wink.
Ana: Hmmmm. Let’s see where this goes…
Muhgawd, who let the dogs out! Werewolves cause some havoc.
God, Faba is just out here living her best life. She is a survivor and I LOVE writing her. You can see why she and Morgyn have such affection for each other.
Speaking of Morgyn, I think I already mentioned this but since the Strauds is a BBD AU where some of the characters have crossed over, they are the same Morgyn. It may be good to keep in mind the level of ruthlessness that Strauds Morgyn is capable of hehe.
You and me both prefer that backbone of steel! Strauds Ana is definitely an evolution of BBD Ana.
Vlad has no chill. He would jump on that couch and also throw it through a window.
Oh Jimena. Sigh.
(REMEMBER WHEN WE DIDN’T EVEN HAVE WEREWOLVES IN GAME?!?!?!?)
I know right?! EA GAMES YOU POOP CHUTE WHERE WERE YOUR WEREWOLVES WHEN THEY WERE NEEDED?!?!
At least Penny werewolf looks fierce af!
Yeah I’m not taking my eye off The Strauds Morgyn for one minute. The calm before the storm sounds about right for them.
LMAO OMG VLAD THROWING THE COUCH. I’d die. Why wasn’t THAT on Oprah?!?
God, Tom Cruise really missed an opportunity LOL