#just in case… it’s a stylized drawing but idk

[arachnidiots-a]

spent the last couple of hours working on some design work and i think ive landed on a comic title design for liam and roxy that I like!

[sleepyseals]

[Image Description: A digital painting of a Lego Bionicle Rahkshi facing left and stooped over as if tracking its prey along the ground. The background is black with a bright green vertical shape to contrast the character in front. The Rahkshi is holding its spear in its right limb, propping its body up with it as it holds its face close to the ground. It is rendered as a black metallic material with red eyes. Its hunched shape and angular spines stand out harshly against the green background. End Image Description.]

I got a rahkshi recently and wanted to draw it so here's this - kind of an experiment with studying a real life object and how to pose it into a interesting composition and then replicating the lighting I got tired of rendering this partway through however :P

[dandelion-roots]

Ello there I cant draw Bram at all. Can you give me a tutorial how to draw him? Please?

hi! i haven't really drawn bram save for the back of his head in that one drawing (AKA i haven't really studied his design thoroughly myself), so i'm not really sure how i can help! you might be mistaking me for another artist- either way, i'd recommend starting from a very basic anime figure and adding the details like hair and scars on top; the good thing about bsd (while at the same time unfortunate for me as a lover of diverse characters lol) is that they all look pretty much the same vis-a-vis body shape and are almost entirely distinguished by their clothes and hairstyle, so as long as u include bram's details, he should be recognizable no matter the base you draw. good luck!

[azucar-skull]

The golden 4 of drawing ASL for comics

*I am not Deaf, CODA, or a licensed interpreter. That being said, I took all level classes and practice regularly. So while I can get a license...idk I just don't feel like it lol. I got a speech disorder so that's why I learned it.

That being said, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing--

1) Staging

Most comic artists are aware when you draw 2 people talking, you gotta stage it so that the last thing person A says flows into the first thing person B says. This staging makes the interaction feel more natural and lively.

Same rule applies to ASL. The last thing person A signs should flow into the first thing person B signs.

2) Grammar

ASL is its own language, not a word-by-word cipher! It has its own directs, styles, and grammar rules. Here's a chart:

So in that case, you must understand how an English sentence is written in ASL. And THEN determine what is the REAL last sign of person A and first sign of person B.

Much better!

3) Emphasis

Given the context, the same sentence can be said very differently. Usually we yell louder when the context is more urgent or exciting.

Same applies to ASL. Our signs become more expressive depending on the context. Don't forget that facial expressions play a role in grammar!

4) Style

Everyone 👏 signs 👏 differently! 👏 If you've met one Deaf person, you've met one Deaf person. Each ASL user has/will have their own unique style. Heck, there’s a thing called Black ASL which is derived of stylized signs used in Black Deaf culture.

Take the time to know your characters. Their personality, their culture, their environment, and how they learned ASL to begin with. These factors will help each of your characters stand out a bit more and make their signing fit their traits.

In the end, here's the improvement:

It doesn’t take much to do it right. We are blessed (and cursed) to have the internet where any information you need is at your fingertips, reference multiple sources too. Hope this helps!

Commissions // Ko-Fi Tip Jar // Top Surgery GoFundMe

[residentialsinyomakai]

Hello hello!!! Guess what. Yokai art dump below the cut!! So cool and shiny wow

Its true, I do >u<

I'll try and section these and give the usual explanations below! Image ID for more drawing specific inksplanation.

Click for full image! Since a lotta these are weirdly shaped they were cut off....augh...

McKraken and Maddiman related doodlesssss they're some of my faves <3 i will always love them even if they're not my focus characters atm (well. McKraken kinda is rn but also Babblong so YAY)

Misc. Yokai and ocs! The frog is Kerosque, the guy w the swirly pompadour thing is Swiss, and the monkey is Romono (although he's a Regretevator OC from FOREVER ago, he's still my son <33)

SWISS STUFF RAUGHHHH ! inconsistent style will be APPARENT here try not to notice shuhhhhhgh

Height for main yokai in my AU/on Casp's team! (In the anime it's just primary summons then wwwww)

Some yokai practice/design hcs bc my friend asked!! I was so happy to share 🤭 LOVE YOU CHERCHERRRR

Some of my little guys once more! Rawry' prob one of my faves yokai to draw, easy and fun to do show-accurate or stylized.

OCSSSSSS. AND BADDINYAN. MY EVIL CAT <3333 the guy next to the frog in the middle is an oc idea but idk for what yet =▽=

AUGH. THERES AN IMAGE LIMIT? Well in case you're wondering it's 30....post the rest after I get tomorrow's doodles. See you then and thank you for looking at and reading about my arts!

[kimberlyannharts]

Ultraman: Rising!

Sure we all know the Power Rangers reboot has been passed on at Netflix but instead we have this hot new piece of toku instead: Ultraman: Rising! And I finally got the chance to check it out last night.

I know Ultraman is one of the big toku/kaiju genre staples but it's never really been on my radar of things to watch. I'm not sure why! I guess Super Sentai/Power Rangers just has more of the it factor that appeals to me. So because of that I really have no context to the story besides it's a guy who can turn into a giant silver superhero that beats up kaiju.........or maybe it's an alien who looks like a human and the silver superhero is his true form? or maybe the human and the silver superhero are two separate beings that share the same body? idk. It's probably all three of those things depending on the series. But this film was marketed as a standalone that new fans could enjoy AND....the big one.....it's ANIMATED, so I felt more inclined to check it out.

And it was really really good!! I enjoyed it a lot!

Spoiler-ish thoughts on the film below:

= Let's get this out of the way: the biggest draw to this was the animation and art direction, and yeah, it slaps. The textures and stylization (always love 2D painted effect animation on explosions and things) and lighting were a full-course meal and the scenes where they focused on Ultraman's shining eyes staring through a window or computer screen were just SO striking. To the point where I feel that if I got around to watching the actual live-action Ultraman, it might feel a little underwhelming in comparison. Oops

= It does kind of fall in the cliches of the "selfish guy learns maturity by having to be a father" plot (with bonus "son is estranged from his dad and mom is missing but they work to improve their relationship" sprinkled in) which makes me appreciate The Return even more (sorry, I'm still Returnpilled) but it's still charming and I can hope if we get more movies they give a little more focus to Ami and Emiko (speaking of which, I know they weren't doing a romance this movie, but Ami having a daughter and the movie being about Ken raising a daughter? oh you know it's happening and I'm here for this because they're both so hot)

= I think Ken is also a better example of the "showboating egotistical hero who learns to mature" than most because the movie isn't afraid to show him vulnerable even before his character development. I was genuinely surprised at that scene where he starts crying out of the stress of balancing his baseball career and figuring out Emi

= Apparently there was some discussion that the movie didn't bring up Ultraman's origins which, as someone who knows next to nothing about Ultraman, that didn't really bother me? Obviously I can still give more benefit of the doubt than people who don't know much about the tokusatsu/kaiju genre to begin with, but even so, I was still pretty down with the concept of "this guy has the ability to turn into a giant silver superpowered man and passed the ability down to his son" - and I think in the age of superhero blockbusters in general the idea isn't that farfetched that it requires more explanation. In any case it's a bit of a moot point since future movies are clearly going to talk about Ultras and their origins more, based on the stinger.

= Is Emi a clear kid-appeal character meant to be shown off in marketing and merchandising because of how squishy and cute she is? Yes. Is she just so fucking squishy and cute and my newest baby child? YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES. I am not immune to monster baby. I think it helps that I always found the old monster screeches cute and applying them to a baby babbling was kinda genius in its execution. And I'm glad they kind of got the obligatory "haha babies poop and are smelly and gross" jokes out of the way early (yeah they had the whole "acid reflux" thing in the second act but I've seen way worse in other media)

= The subtitles calling Sato's Ultra form "Ultradad" and his Ultra mustache were both really funny

= Obviously I knew Ken wasn't going to die when he threw himself on Dr. Onda's mech (btw the mech was sexy) but I definitely expected a little more than just a busted arm with how they were building up how the blast would have "destroyed them all" kdjkfdj maybe they cut to after he had recovered a bit. Though in general I'm not quite sure of how durable Ultraman is

= Kind of a milf. reblog

[calware]

I love your young!Rose design with the braids & hair beads, it reminds me of the Black girls i knew in elementary school (2005-2011), so its deffo “period accurate” and also a delightful choice. The way you draw the human kids in general is really nice, youre really good at conveying specific features with minimal lines (like her & Mom’s nose shape). Do you have any tips for how you draw faces to make them not same-face or repetitively “white” features, especially when drawing in a less “realistic” style (i dont wanna say your style is cartoony but idk what i would call it tbh)? I took a life drawing class back in 2019 but we mostly drew the same two models or our classmates, and it was both a limited pool of features plus feels hard to translate into art that isnt attempting to be 100% realistic.

Sorry if this is rambly. Congrats on 10k. Love ur new icon, tho i miss the Horb. Do you take commissions? I think i asked this before but i forgetful af.

thank you for the ask :)!! i'm really flattered that you think i'm good at avoiding same-face syndrome because i am VERY LAZY when it comes to drawing and i could definitely be doing a better job ;^^ i'm also not the best at drawing people diversely(?), it's just something i have to get better at. there are people way more qualified than me to give advice about this... but i can try giving some tips

the first is that, like with anything, if i'm not confident that i can accurately portray something or a specific feature i will usually look up a reference. i like paying attention to things like the position of the browbone, height of the cheekbones, shape of the chin, shape of the eyes, length/width of the face, width of the nostrils, shape/position of the bridge of the nose, roundness of the cheeks, etc. when i draw characters (specifically the homestuck characters i like, because i think about them a lot) i have an idea in my head of how they look and how they differ from one another. for example i see jade with a longer diamond-shaped face while rose has a shorter heart-shaped face, so i do my best to depict that in my drawings

(idk if this illustration makes ANY SENSE bc like i said i think that i also struggle with pushing myself in regards to this and i think i still have more to learn/practice)

i think it comes down to paying attention to the proportions/types of specific facial features and adjusting them each to create a unique face

that said when it comes to stylizing what you see from photographic references, i understand that it can be tricky to simplify it. i really don't have any advice for this.... i just play around with it until it looks good while also being recognizable as the specific thing i'm trying to draw.......... so in that case i think it helps to use other people's art as a reference too! i don't really care about sticking to one "style" so i don't mind drawing in a slightly different way if i want to do something another artist is also doing. so for example if you're struggling with drawing 4c hair i recommend looking at other people's drawings of characters with 4c hair that you like and playing around with if you can incorporate their techniques into your own art.

i hope this all made sense ;^^ there are definitely a lot of tutorials out there that are way more informative than this one

also, to answer your last question, i plan to open up a few commission slots next week! (as long as i have enough time to that is)

[sporesgalaxy]

Hey I've seen you got into one piece.

I've also recently gotten into one piece, I find it really cool.

I've seen you also talking about the show both to praise it and in a critical way.

Sorry to ask unprompted and this isn't to spark anything just a genuine question: what do you think about usopp's design?

I love the character but his design has always felt.... Bad and uncomfortable to put it mildly. Mostly the lips.

Am I being stupid? Idk you or maybe some of your followers can answer me/there can be a (civil obviously) discussion.

If you don't respond could you say that you won't be responding to the usopp ask so I know to never ask things like this? If you want. You don't have to do anything

Yeah, the lips on Usopp's design resemble an anti-black caricature. I do hate that.

I can't say I know or understand if the context of drawing lips that way is the same in Japan as it is here in America*. In America, there is a generations-long precedent of stylizing lips that way for antiblack racist caricatures. This put me off of One Piece for many many years.

I started reading just before the live action show dropped. I wanted to know why so many Americans could overlook something as off-putting as the Usopp's caricature-esque lips.

I fully expected a dime-a-dozen case study in audience willingness to dismiss antiblackness when there are enough other appealing aspects to distract from it.

What I learned was this: One Piece is very long. One Piece has made openly anti-racist arguments on more than one occasion, especially in some recent parts of the story**. One Piece has played into racist tropes on more than one occasion, especially earlier in the story.

The philosophy One Piece is built around is that everyone deserves equal human rights and autonomy, and that everyone is capable of helping to make that a reality. That philosophy is fundamentally against antiblack racism. That absolutely does NOT mean that One Piece or Oda are incapable of antiblack racism.

But I think One Piece's philosophy makes it a story worth discussing!!! A story worth reading and thinking about and using to reflect on yourself!!!!

I think that Usopp is irreplaceable as an aspirational figure for people with a desire to make a positive impact on the world who struggle with fear and anxiety, and I'm glad he was written. I still fucking wish they would stop drawing his lips like that though, yeah.

*The more Japanese animation I've watched over time, the more I see nonblack characters with lips stylized that way. That's what makes me question if there's some separate origin to it, maybe not based in bigoted caricature?? But I have no idea.

**Recent parts of One Piece have also started discussing DNA as a source for superpowers. If Oda fucks this up and makes it eugenicist I'm going to kill him. I have hope that it won't happen, because of all of the non-biological family representation in One Piece, but if it does, seriously, I'm gonna flip my shit...

[saradrewitt]

SARAH JACKALOPE I DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP WITH LEARNING HOW TO DRAW A TERZO EMERITUS PLEASE GET BACK TO ME

Hi! I’m so sorry this took a bit to answer!

FULL DISCLOSURE I am literally the worst person to ask because the way I do it always changes but I appreciate your trust in my inconstancy! I also have a hard time drawing him or the other papas for that matter without a reference. I can try to help the best way I can. here we go, I really hope this helps!

So the number don represent the order but just what I'll explain. First always consider the shape of the face I know this is just the sketch but we always start somewhere. 

(1) Take a look at the basic jaw structure my style always make it longer than it should be but in this case I'm taking in the fact that while I made this tutorial I was looking at a photo reference. (2) Then the ears. (3) The basic middle line mark. (4) Two lines are of course for the eyes and you must realize that our eye level matches the tip of the ears show in the picture for remember that. (5) What I personally do when I draw noses it just help with a realistic measurement of the brows and the nose size. if we’re looking at this through a stylized realism way, remember that the distance between the eyes is matched by the size of the nose. this is not the case for some people but look at refs of people’s noses and see that the size of the eyes is the same size of the nose.(6) The first initial circle is the base, but remember that that won’t be the size of a head. so expand it a little bit so there is extra room to get that hairline and detail when we get to that part (I ended up not paying attention and ngl Terzo ended up with a big ass head but shhhhh I warned you)....

I went ahead and did some detail work but this is what we’ll be seeing when I draw them. from pictures you can see the age lines and it’s really just a matter if you want the detail or not, done people can do that with little detail and make it look good but my style is in constant crises all the time so this is how I do it. you can also why I have the base sketch on top of my “lineart”.

So Terzo’s hair specifically is weird in my opinion. I normally have a part I go off from when I draw hair but his just has to be weird. Either way, when I draw his I go down from the middle and just make it both have that volume and fluff he normally has. (Agin in the end result I polished it up so his part is that square like formation seen in pictures).

Okay now the fun part, the papal makeup! The deep pink lines are the base sketch I usually draw up so when I color and shade it can be adjusted if needed. It also helps me know that proportions are somewhat realistic but with a small hint of my style as well. Idk I'm still in a style crisis as we speak and it’s gotten a lot worse since I've joined this fandom. 

When I think everything looks good I work with the black and color it. I normally like using our black when I work with lineart to give it that ink look. I called this blunt lineart (and shading cuz like I said my style is very inconsistent). Now if you’re working digitally I do this type of coloring on a layer on top of this sketch so when I low the opacity I can see if my placement is correct (again just of needed). if I think I got most of it correct that’s where I go I with my next step. 

Wow, it’s looking like Terzo now, look at our sweet boy with the rbf, Blessimo!

So in these next few steps I just add the white and added purple wrinkle likes that were cover by the blunt lineart. You can make those line grey or white depending on your style but I like adding his colors when I draw him digitally so that’s an option. Once I have everything done I just against as needed then move on.  

Lastly I finish up the lineart, work on some shadow work and add color, for sketched I don’t really do that but in this case I placed a color pallet I usually work with (it’s still gonna be inconsistent as I go) but this is usually what I do when I draw him. honestly to god my methods and process changes but I at least hope this was a helpful guide.

[litl-rat-dude]

Your art style is cool. How did you come up with it?

I have mentioned b4 that i take a lot of inspiration from early 2000s cartoon artist and other online artist with inspo from western media (eg some like kimquatz, farvannn, delaneyjanuzzi)

with many of the characters i also stylize them based on the character that they are twisted from. Chenya is the most obvious case as its more subtle with other characters

sometimes i base the way i stylize them on characters (mostly from western cartoons :p) that have a similar archetype or give similar vibes, sometimes ill base it on my own perception of a character, sometimes ill use my fav drawing tropes, ill base the way i stylize characters on things thats related to their lore (ie the bat wings hair and the little connecting nose to eyebrow to mimic medieval drawings for lillia)

sometimes ill base my takes on characters on other peoples stylizations of characters.

with some characters the shapes i use are related to symbols that they are associated with. of course i use shape language a lot, much of it also depends on clothes, even characters with similar body types can give off completely different vibes from small changes between characteristics and different clothes

idk if u also are asking about coloring but i've recently been using this technique (u probably saw me mention this in the shroud drawings) for fully colored stuff, i use tons of different guache and charcoal brushes and shape the blurbs into whatver the drawing is. i really like seeing random colors used on a single colored object but i do not know how those artist are doing that so im just trying to mimic it :'J. I also really like when the drawing come out looking a bit rough n sketchy, it just scratches my brain :>

[zaebeecee]

Blitzø’s 13 ••

Written by @fletchingbrilliant and ZaeBeeCee

Chapter 3: The Backer & the Acrobat

First chapter | Previous chapter | Next chapter

Read on AO3

•••

CW: Some violence. Other than that, idk, what you’d expect from a strip club in Hell?

•••

There weren’t a lot of things that could drag Blitzø out of bed in the morning, particularly when he had spent literal hours running around all over Hell’s rings and barely slept after that. But one guaranteed motivator for him was, and always had been, money: not money for the sake of money itself, but money for the sake of being able to do what he needed to do because Hell was expensive and there was nothing worse than being poor in this forsaken pit.

So, Blitzø was awake, he was fully dressed, and he was even out in public, drawing the occasional curious glance as he followed a set of handwritten directions through Pentagram City. It wasn’t his handwriting, and honestly, he wasn’t positive how it had shown up next to his head as he slept a handful of fitful hours on his couch. But follow the directions he did, because what else was he going to do? He needed this meeting, and possibly missing it would just lead to desperation.

He wouldn’t beg an overlord for anything, not even if his life depended on it.

Blitzø wasn’t sure where he was going—he’d never been in this part of Pentagram City before—so it was a surprise when he found himself standing in the square of a little township. It was… shockingly clean here; there was no debris or garbage, the walkways were intact, and there were even living hellblossoms in the flower beds. It took a few seconds for him to notice that so much of the architecture was skeletal, and quite literally so: many of the outdoor structures and building faces were adorned with bones, or just built with them outright. Most of them looked human (at least vaguely), but there were skulls of all shapes used as decoration, as well as wing bones, claw phalanges, and hoof-like shapes even he didn’t recognize. He looked around slowly, stopping when he saw a white, wooden sign with hand painted words on it.

Welcome to Cannibal Town.

That explains… just… so much.

The paper’s instructions led Blitzø to a boutique of some kind, a sign declaring it ‘Rosie’s Emporium’ hanging proudly (apparently, whoever Franklin was, he either wasn’t around or wasn’t welcome at the emporium anymore). He pushed his way inside, wondering if it was that Rosie and dodging around a couple of customers, and then took a moment to get his bearings and look around.

The place was absolutely crawling with well-dressed sinner women, all of them with sharp teeth and wide, empty black eyes. The shop itself seemed to be something of a catch-all, holding everything from mannequins dressed in example outfits you could order, to little pastries in glass cases, and even kitschy shit like shrunken heads on key rings.

I think Loonie might actually dig this place.

Blitzø’s instructions ended with him arriving at the emporium, so he was at a bit of a loss and trying to come up with the best solution when a tall woman in a scarlet dress approached him. She had the same teeth and the same eyes, her platinum-white hair pulled up beneath her hat, but Blitzø knew who she was: Rosie, the overlord of Cannibal Town.

“Good afternoon, sir,” Rosie greeted, the title missing the usual underscore of sarcasm that Blitzø usually received in sinner establishments. “What can I do for you?”

“You could tell me what, exactly, it is I’m doing here,” Blitzø said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card he had received along with the instructions. It was thin metal, not paper, sharp enough on the edges that he had to be careful not to cut himself with it, vantablack, and only adorned with thin red engraved lines that shaped an old human radio with stylized antlers. He offered the card to Rosie. “The name’s Blitzø. The ‘o’ is silent.”

Rosie’s face lit up in recognition before she even took the card. “Oh, yes, of course! Alastor told me he was expecting you. Right this way, Mister Blitzø.”

She returned the card to him before she led him down a small hallway off the main room. They passed some smaller rooms that appeared to be for private rentals, tea, that kind of thing, and didn’t stop until they’d reached a fairly isolated door at the end of the hall. With what Blitzø could tell of the layout, this room was as far-removed from the main street as one could get.

“He’s in here,” Rosie said. “How do you feel about coffee? That’s what he always has. I can bring you something else if it’s more to your taste.”

Blitzø shook his head and held up one hand. “No, Miss Rosie, coffee… coffee is fine. Thanks.” He didn’t plan to drink anything, anyway; he at least had enough self-preservation for that.

She nodded, then favored him with a wide and sharp smile that would probably make most other imps faint on the spot. “Good luck,” she said, before she turned and went back to her shop.

Blitzø only watched her go for a moment before he turned to the door, adjusted his coat and his brooch, and let himself inside. The room beyond the door was darker than dark, the sort of blackness he associated more with a deep pit than a room with the lights off. Without question, it was an unnatural darkness, and when he stepped in fully, the door snapped shut behind him, leaving him completely blind.

“Fuck me,” Blitzø said on instinct as he jumped slightly, looking back over his shoulder. The startle wore off quickly, like it always did; he was impossible to scare, but making him jump was one of the easiest things in Hell. “Wonderful. Atmospheric. This has got to be my favorite kind of absolute bullshit.”

“You say ‘bullshit’,” said a high tenor voice touched by the crackle of old radio effects. “I say ‘setting the mood.’”

There was a click, like a knob being turned on, and a blob of green light flickered to life on the opposite side of the room. It was filling a fireplace, Blitzø could see as his eyes adjusted, but there were no flames. The green light was soon joined by a warm reddish light that illuminated the rest of the room, though leaving the corners impossibly black.

Other than the odd lighting, the room fit the aesthetic of the boutique that joined the space. There were cozy chairs around the fireplace, tea tables, poufs and ottomans, doilies, and so many floral patterns all in muted colors and blacks. All of it, including in carpet, was of course also interwoven with images of skulls and coffins, ravens, and other symbols of death. The wall decor and coat rack, table legs, and mantle, were made from the bones of sinner and Hellborn alike, but done with a level of class and taste that demanded respect.

The chairs were unoccupied, and there was no sign of his host, until the green light flared again, and a swirl of black shadowy energy opened up beneath the biggest and cushiest armchair. Long and shimmering, slimy black tentacles shot up out of the black pit, lit by green, and a form appeared seated in the chair. The energy dissipated, and Blitzø could properly see his host.

“Welcome, welcome, Blitzø! I cannot thank you enough for coming all this way to meet with me. I imagine you've been quite busy since your release!”

“Been to Greed two separate times in the past day. Don’t recommend it.” Blitzø had no idea what to expect from the Radio Demon—it was impossible to hear a voice like that and try to imagine what sort of face Hell would craft for that sinner to wear, no matter how people tried to describe the terror of his otherworldly eyes and seemingly infinitely jointed body—but it wasn’t what he was looking at right now.

Blitzø cataloged everything he could about the overlord’s appearance in a two second once-over as he approached the other chair. The Radio Demon was what appeared to be fairly average height for a sinner, clad chin to floor in bright crimson and black, his short hair following the same color scheme in an impressive display of aesthetic commitment. Blitzø couldn’t tell if he had animalistic ears, or if that was just his hair, but he could see the small antlers and just somehow knew that they could grow big enough to gore someone. The only flesh he could see was his face, a somewhat dingy shade of dark beige, and… maybe his hands, if those red-tipped claws weren’t coming from black gloves. But it was the eyes and mouth that struck him hardest, and he knew this was what people feared about him. His eyes, red on red and glowing in the dim light of the room, and his mouth… no. His smile. Sharp, unnervingly wide, yellow teeth: it was the kind of smile you could imagine attached to a jaw that unhinged to an unfathomable degree to swallow anything, or anyone, whole.

Blitzø stopped beside the chair. “I should be the one thanking you for the quick response. I didn’t know mentioning your hatred of Lucifer would be all it took to hear back from you in two hours.”

Alastor's head flopped to the side with a cracking of vertebrae that was downright visceral. “Let's just say I'm a fan of the rebellious upstarts of the world. But tell me, just what exactly is this little scheme you've cooked up? I won't put my resources towards anything half-baked.”

“Nothing about me is half-baked except my dating life,” Blitzø said dryly, sitting across from Alastor and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the little party he’s throwing for Princess Charlotte in two months. Long fucking explanation made short, I’m going to rob Lucifer’s Palace for the Bastinade of Life and Knowledge. I currently have three professionals signed on. What I really need is the resources to back this up, though I wouldn’t say no if you had any names tied to more people I could convince.”

The Radio Demon’s eyes glowed brighter and he very nearly purred with interest, curling his pointer on his chin. “Such a lofty goal, even if you were a Prince of Hell… I have great respect for those who take their fate in their own hands.”

“Wouldn’t let it sit anywhere else.”

“Admirable indeed.” His smile creased his eyes. Then, when his expression snapped back, the intensity in the room suddenly lessened. “I have the resources to back your little project, both of the monetary and of the more… preternatural variety. And names, yes, I have few special names in mind… So the question now becomes one of value.”

“Of course.” He wouldn’t trust a financial backer who didn’t consider that. “Which value, exactly?”

“If I'm going to put my considerable wealth and power behind your excursion, I need to understand the weight of this endeavor, why it's so very important that you embark on this dangerous quest…” Alastor leaned forward in his chair and grabbed onto Blitzø’s gaze harder than it had ever been held. “Just what are the stakes being pressed against you, Blitzø?”

Blitzø wasn’t thrown by much, but the focused intensity of that stare felt like it came from a place that rested far below Hell. He didn’t bother weighing his options; lying wasn’t smart right now, and he could tell Alastor wouldn’t want any part of their conversation leaving the room with them. “…I received a letter yesterday by courier. No idea who sent it, but they said my options are to either get the Bastinade and deliver it to them, or for them to conduct an assassination that I could have stopped.”

“And you're quite certain this assassination would be successful?”

“…yeah. I’m positive.”

Alastor sat back up, the air becoming only slightly more breathable. “Then color me convinced! You truly are committed to the cause. In which case, you should have no objection to my desire for a little… collateral. I am putting myself on something of a limb. Should the job fail, I'd like to have assurance of some reimbursement for my pains.”

Blitzø sighed, hanging his head for a moment. This was the one thing he had known was coming, but really, really hadn’t been looking forward to. “I’m not going to try to bullshit you. I know that wouldn’t go well.” He looked up at Alastor again. “You’re a sinner, you’re confined to the Pride Ring. I’m Hellborn, I’m not. I have connections in every ring, including cultural celebrities, members of the Ars Goetia, and more than one Deadly Sin. I’ve built everything I have in life alone, and because of that—aside from some rich assholes flexing their power—I’ve gotten very good at talking my way into and out of most anything I need to.” He hesitated. “If I fail, and you can ensure I get out of it alive, I’ll give you my soul.”

His eyes flashed again, his grin looked hungry. “Are you sure about that, my dear? It will be quite impossible to back out of this promise once it is made.”

“I know,” Blitzø said, unnerved by the level of seriousness he heard in his own voice. He thought, for just a moment, of a sex-drunk tenor voice sighing sleepy contentment, an avian purr underscoring it, and words that expressed a feeling of utter safety. Words he didn’t remember because he couldn’t let himself. “I’m positive.”

“Very well.” Alastor rose to his feet, and he stepped into the space between the two chairs, leaving room for Blitzø to approach. Slowly he extended his left hand, fingers slightly curled, like the open maw of a beast. When Blitzø stepped up to him, that creepy shadow magic started dancing around his feet, then spreading to be under them both. Looking down, the imp felt quite sure that he could fall into that void should the overlord think it would be more entertaining. The Radio Demon’s eyes began to shift, the sclera darkening until they turned pure black, irises deepening their rich red and morphing until they resembled radio dials. And as Blitzø had imagined, those tiny black antlers started to crack and bend, growing out like deformed tree limbs. His teeth were bigger, his smile widening until his skin split, quickly being stitched together with thick cord right before Blitzø's eyes.

His fingers uncurled just a little, beckoning to its prey.

I’m such a fucking dumbass.

Blitzø felt something unusual, alien, as he looked at the Radio Demon. It was fear, he thought, a twinge of it that made his breath shudder. But the alternative was worse.

He’s worth something. If I can save him from this… maybe it will offset the pain I forced into his life. Even if just a little.

Drawing a deep breath, Blitzø reached out, wrapping his hand around Alastor’s. The Radio Demon’s claws were sharp, his skin cold and scarred. Immediately, he felt a surge somewhere deep in his core, like something jump-starting an essential and nebulous part of himself with a burst of electricity. A heavy pain, like Blitzø hadn’t experienced since the fire, pulsed throughout his entire being, but he couldn’t release Alastor’s hand or curl in on himself. He couldn’t even look away. He was aware of the green light that flickered in his periphery, of the way the blackness below and around him twitched and spasmed… he even thought he saw Alastor’s shadow twist in a way the man himself didn’t, like it was laughing.

How long they stood there, Blitzø didn't know. What he did know was that there definitely was laughter coming from somewhere, sometimes high pitched and manic, sometimes deep and low and rich. Then the laughter faded, the darkness faded, and it was over.

Alastor released his hand and took hold of his own lapels, straightening his jacket. He looked exactly the same as he had before, calm and content. “Oh, I am so terribly excited about this! It has been too long since I've had a real jamboree to cut loose and have some real fun!”

Blitzø drew a breath that hurt his chest, like he’d just run six miles from an angry herd of steeds in Wrath. “Oh, it’ll be a fucking party, all right, I’m planning to make every branch of Hell’s ruling class mad in one way or another. And your insight will be… very useful. It’s been need-to-know when I’ve talked to the ones I’ve recruited, but I guess you’d be the definition of needing to know.”

“That I would.” Alastor snapped his fingers and a bright pink business card appeared in his hand in a puff of green flame. He handed the card to Blitzø. “Meet me at this club later tonight. I'll arrange for you to meet my first recommendation.”

Blitzø raised his eyebrow as he looked it over. Pandora’s Boxxx, huh? He glanced up at Alastor. “…is this a card for a strip club?”

“Clothing is generally removed as part of the dance numbers, yes. I believe they commit open sex acts on the premises regularly as well, so prepare accordingly for your seating comfort. As for me, I'm bringing my own chair.”

Blitzø snorted in amusement, an actual smirk revealing some of his teeth. “Noted. I can’t wait to see what kind of hooker is impressive enough to make your rec list.”

He raised a brow. “My friend, you will not be disappointed.”

Then the Radio Demon gave a dramatic bow, he was surrounded in tenebrous tendrils once more, and he was sucked into the floor. Once Alastor was gone, the shadows had receded from the corners of the room, and the fireplace went dark. Blitzø was on his own again.

Blitzø waited until everything had receded, then flopped backwards into the chair with a loud groan. “Fuck me sideways,” he hissed. He had no idea what kind of weight there was behind Alastor calling him ‘friend’, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

Digging his phone out of his pocket, he called Loona, aware she wouldn’t be awake yet. When her voicemail picked up, he smiled a little, even though he didn’t feel it. “Hey Woonie. Gonna be out late tonight, don’t eviscerate me when I come back in the middle of the night.” He opened his mouth to continue, thought better of it, and just hung up.

•••

Pandora’s Boxxx was an establishment utterly emblematic of the kind of grimy, foul cesspool in which the denizens of Pentagram City were forced to dwell. The tiles on the floor squished into the foundation when stepped on, the scent of mold assaulted the nostrils every moment they weren't overtaken by cheap pot and even cheaper perfume. The stage and the bar were both upheld by nothing more than a whisper and a half-used cigarette. What drew Alastor here in the first place had nothing to do with the building itself, nor the owner, nor the type of business they ran. It was a single performer, one he'd seen once on another stage, and after that performance, had resolved to track him down and follow his career. He had not expected this sort of gig to be the next step in the actor's ascension through Hell’s entertainment world, but when was Hell ever fair, especially to those with real talent?

Still he came to watch frequently, curiously, slowly cultivating thoughts and plans that remained somehow aimless. Perhaps this strange plot the enterprising imp had brought to him was the culmination of his meandering intent. Not by way of fate or destiny, of course; Alastor was certain that what others perceived as fate was nothing more than either coincidence or a result of individual energies finding their way to each other. Those who controlled ‘fate’ were the ones with strong enough will to channel their energy in the right direction. That was what he was doing now. That was what he had always done. Blitzø had handed him a unique opportunity with this proposal, and he was only too eager to take full advantage.

It was almost sad. He found the imp fairly impressive, and most amusing. Such a shame that trusting the Radio Demon to any extent was tantamount to suicide.

Alastor paid the cover for both himself and his guest, then guided Blitzø to the side table where he usually sat. There were indeed a few patrons fornicating noisily in scattered locations about the room, others drinking and smoking and snorting whatever they could get their claws on. Others still were banging on the end of the dilapidated stage, hollering the word angel over and over again.

He conjured up a chair and pulled it up to the shabby table, sitting with a grin and gesturing for his new friend to join him.

“Quite a rustic little hideaway, wouldn't you say?”

“Rustic’s sure a word you could say.” Blitzø took the offer, his gently glowing yellow eyes cutting around the room sharply; it wasn’t the darting glance of a caged animal, but the calculating assimilation of swaths of information that should have been common among the criminally inclined, but so frequently wasn’t. Just as that morning, he showed no hesitation or reservations in his surrounding of sinners or in being in the direct scope of the Radio Demon’s attention. Blitzø feared nothing, that much was obvious, but whether it was cockiness, ignorance, or something else remained to be seen.

The imp withdrew a pack of cheap cigarettes from the inside of his jacket and held one in his teeth, igniting it with the blue flame of a lighter that bore one of the symbols of the Lust Ring. He kept his eyes on the loudest of the demons, watching them bang on the stage and continue their chant. “Do I wanna know what the fuck they’re yelling ‘angel’ for? I’d think that’d be a four letter word in Pentagram City.”

“In most cases, you would be absolutely correct,” Alastor said, withdrawing his own hand-rolled black cigarettes, lighting it with a snap of his fingers. He continued to casually observe Blitzø, cataloging every gesture and every glance. “They are calling out for the best performer a dive like this has ever seen, and certainly better than it deserves. He's known as Angel Dust.”

“A great performer named PCP, huh?” Blitzø asked with a raised eyebrow. Despite his casual tone, he seemed quite focused. Interested, though not in the way the hormonal masses tended towards when in establishments like this. “…think I’ve heard the name before.”

The lights dimmed, a roaring cheer rising from the chanting demons as the ragged velvet curtain opened with a creak and a low, rolling carpet of dry ice fog. They were favored with the sight of someone sitting on the floor of the stage, backlit brightly enough to cast them into full silhouette, their body leaned back against a pole and one hand extended over their head to rest against the metal. As their fingers trailed down the pole, as though to simulate stroking along flesh, a countertenor voice cut over the heads of the patrons in a song that began a capella.

“And now, the purple dusk of twilight time

Steals across the meadows of my heart.

High up in the sky, the little stars climb,

Always reminding me that we’re apart.”

In the darkness of the silhouette, eight glowing magenta eyes opened to another raucous cry from the gathered demons. The house band, which was nowhere near adequate enough for that voice, began to play as the silhouette slowly spread out six delicate, thin arms that stretched and bent and twisted like reeds along a riverbank.

“You wander down the lane and far away,

Leaving me a song that will not die.

Love is now the stardust of yesterday,

The music of the years gone by.”

The lights began to rise just as Angel Dust took hold of the pole and somehow used it to get to his feet, fluidly swinging his body once around the pole and, in doing so, lifting himself from a seated position on his hip to standing on one foot. His attire was the same aesthetic as he always wore in this club, his white skin and fur and its pale pink adornments wrapped in black and hot pink leather straps and panels that just barely left his body to the imagination.

Angel Dust took hold of the pole with two hands and, without so much as a stutter to his voice, swung himself around and up to twist himself around the metal, bending his body in ways that sent his loyal fans into fits. Everything was slow and deliberate, none of the typical high-energy theatrics so common in these establishments, but that only seemed to drive the audience further towards hormonal frenzy.

“Sometimes I wonder why

I spend the lonely nights

Dreaming of a song.”

Alastor's attention was perhaps just as occupied as that of the drooling masses, but his obsessive focus was of a different nature. Everything the sinner did had such a powerful intent, even when Angel Dust himself didn't seem to be aware of it. His voice—his words—were a haunting music that carried him back to the days when he desperately held onto his radio, tuning it carefully in order to hear every sweet note the jazz cats were crooning just for him.

He allowed himself to glance at Blitzø, curious how the fledgling team’s mastermind was analyzing Alastor's recommendation.

Blitzø was focused, his arms folded on the table, one of his scarred fingers moving along the wood like he was writing something on the grain with his claw while leaving no markings behind. Alastor heard him say a few disconnected words, namely ‘tall’, ‘flexible’, and something that sounded like ‘but fizz could’, but what that meant wasn’t exactly clear.

“The melody haunts my reverie,

And I am once again with you,

When our love was new,

And each kiss an inspiration;

But that was long ago,

And now my consolation

Is in the stardust of a song.”

As Angel Dust made another graceful arc around the pole, there was a loud noise on the rickety stage as one of the patrons decided to make an inadvisable move and rush the spider demon, and almost instantly, the house band stopped playing. In most clubs, the bouncers would deal with such rabble, but he was much too close to Angel Dust for the security to react in any sort of timely fashion.

Not that it mattered, of course.

Angel Dust’s eyes went to his amorous attacker, and the moment the sinner was close enough, he stretched one of his long legs out and slammed the tall heel of his boot into the demon’s face. As he fell to the stage, Angel Dust gracefully flipped himself off the pole and landed with hardly any sound. He walked calmly over to the demon and kicked him hard enough that he rolled over onto his stomach. Reaching down, Angel Dust grabbed him by the horn, the collar, the waistband, and one thigh, and braced a fifth hand on the pole before he swung the club menace like a battering ram until his face bashed into the metal around which the spider had just been gracefully twirling himself.

There was an appreciative groan from the audience, and Angel Dust repeated the motion twice more, the sound of the sinner’s face hitting the pole growing more visceral each time. Then, with blood splattered on the metal, the stage, and the pristine white of his own body, Angel Dust flung the demon back into the audience, where the other patrons just let him fall to the floor.

Blitzø’s staring had taken on a completely different tone, his eyes wide and his back straighter. “…okay, never mind, Fizz definitely wouldn’t do that, fuck,” he said loud enough for Alastor to hear.

Angel Dust raised his face to the audience, flecks of red now dotting one cheek and the side of his nose, like the blood was imitating the freckles he had on his shoulders. He smiled, showing his sharp teeth, and his magenta eyes flashed in a brief display of manic joy.

“Beside the garden wall,

When stars are bright,

You are in my arms.”

The band began to play once more, and Angel Dust continued his dance as though nothing had interrupted him.

Twinkling in shadows, glittering throughout the darkest night, a blood-stained display of the heavens. You are not Angel Dust.

You are Stardust.

As the song concluded, Alastor swept up to his feet and gave a vigorous applause. It was only a stunned moment before the rest of the crowd joined in, also throwing money, condoms, and other miscellaneous paraphernalia onto the stage at Angel Dust’s feet. Alastor took the opportunity to stride up to the stage, withdrawing a folded note wrapped in several large bills. Instead of throwing it to the stage, he held it up between two fingers, blowing a fragrant cloud of clove and tobacco to attract the spider’s attention.

Those eyes cut to him curiously, one eyebrow raising, before Angel Dust gracefully turned on the ball of his foot and took a couple of steps towards him, dropping onto his knees and one set of hands on the wooden stage once at the edge. He tilted his head like an inquisitive cat, but he smirked, one hand reaching out to take the offering with still-bloodstained fingers. “Thanks, Smiles.”

He remembers me?

Alastor’s smile hitched to the side in return, and he pressed the wrapped note into Angel Dust’s bloody palm.

“A brutally phenomenal performance, sha,” he said with a wink, and before the dancer could say another word, he turned on his heel and strode back to Blizø.

He could feel Angel Dust watching him go, just for a moment, before he heard the spider return to collecting what off the stage he wanted and provocatively egging the demons on to throw more money.

Once he arrived back at the table, Blitzø put out the stump of his own cigarette. “Never seen a stripper take out a harasser quite like that. I get why he interests you.”

“He certainly has potential,” Alastor said, unsure what the imp was trying to imply. He sat and took a deep drag. “I never like to leave true potential untapped.”

Blitzø, oddly, laughed at that. “Well, he sure looks open to being tapped, that’s for sure. And I get the feeling you wouldn’t get a heel in the face for trying.”

Alastor tilted his head and squinted at Blitzø. His peering didn't give him any further insight into what he could have meant. He gave up, and his head snapped back up. “You certainly have an odd way about you! Perhaps your more… modern social sensibilities will assist in our negotiations!”

Blitzø raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you— wow,” he cut himself off with a mutter, his other eyebrow going up. “Yeah, probably. Of course, I’ve been reliably told I’m a massive asshole, so let’s hope your new potential acquisition isn’t easily offended.”

“Don't worry,” he assured his new business partner, watching as Angel Dust vanished behind the curtains once more, his eyes narrowing keenly. “This one's skin is far tougher than it looks.”

•

“Good job, baby, you got ‘em all fired up!”

“Yo, Angie, I don’t think that bitch got teeth no more!”

“Oh, fuck, Angel, I’ll give ya a quarter’a my next tips iffin ya do that to Marco when he shows up again!”

Angel Dust weaved his way through the people backstage, dodging performers and stage hands and costumers and one very lost-looking PA, acknowledging everyone who called out to him while his mind was quite thoroughly occupied elsewhere. He ducked through a clothes rack parked in the middle of the back hall and went straight into his dressing room.

That voice. There ain’t no fuckin’ way.

Sitting at his vanity, Angel began withdrawing the bills he’d gathered from his tit fluff and his pleather outfit, giving each one a perfunctory tug to straighten it out and stacking them next to his makeup. Focus on that. So many ones, a handful of fives, more than a couple of twenties… not bad for a single set, he thought.

His fingers touched bills that weren’t a wadded mess, and he pulled some neatly folded bills out of his fluff, his mind immediately going back to glowing red eyes and that wide, dangerous smile. Angel had seen that man before, several times, always lurking in the shadows and smoking his black cigarettes and sitting in a chair that definitely didn’t belong to the club. He didn’t seem to get all horned up, he didn’t get rowdy, he never approached the dancers… and, from what Angel could tell, nobody else ever noticed him during their sets.

But Angel sure as Hell did. The ever-smiling man—whom Angel had been mentally referring to as ‘Smiles’, for lack of an actual name and a want of creativity—had seized his attention one evening, and ever since Angel had realized that he kept coming back, he got to where he looked for him. He looked so… dapper. Dignified, almost, except for the air of death and confident violence that he seemed to carry with him everywhere. He couldn’t help wondering what the fuck a demon like that (an overlord, Angel guessed) was doing, frequenting such a seedy, gross haunt. It made him curious.

And now, Smiles had spoken to him, with a voice that Angel couldn’t make himself believe he had recognized, because there was no fucking way that the Radio Demon kept coming back to this disgusting dive and gave him—

Angel’s breath caught when he finally unfolded the bills. His eyes landed on the number ‘100’ on the first one, his disbelieving brain trying to come up with what possible fucking reason there would be for any customer who wasn’t rawdogging him for three straight days to give him this much money. It took a moment for him to notice the note, and he unfolded it, quickly looking over the handwritten words.

You want me to meet you at your table, huh, Smiles? You didn’t strike me as the exhibitionist type, but what do I know?

Angel quickly gathered up all of his money, folding it all neatly with the large bills distributed throughout the stack of mostly singles, and put it in his little purse before he quickly changed out of his costume. He took a moment to clean the blood off and touch up his makeup, then pulled on his street clothes. He was off, so he didn’t want to deal with the manager trying to accuse him of going over in time by just hanging out on the floor.

Curiosity mingled with trepidation and a sense of impending danger as Angel left his dressing room and headed through the staff door that led to the small kitchen, then through another door that opened up beside the club’s bar. Angel scanned the crowd, his eyes landing on his target after only a moment, and he headed straight for the table. Thankfully, nobody harassed him, probably because they didn’t want to get their faces bashed against a stripper pole.

Angel saw there was an empty chair set at the table, and it seemed his prey had company. An imp? A well-dressed imp, at that. Interesting. The spider took hold of the back of the empty chair and pulled it out, sliding into place and crossing his legs before leaning forward on one set of arms.

“Hey,” he said in an open flirtation, looking between the two of them. Smiles was absolutely just as handsome as Angel had been afraid he would be, and his companion was… probably the hottest imp Angel had ever laid eyes on. “What can I do for you gentlemen?”

Smiles’ signature grin widened and his head tilted at a strange angle while he mimed tipping a hat. “Evening, sha. I've been observing your show for some time now, and I'm very impressed with your abilities. As such, my associate and I have a very special proposition for you, one for which you'll be handsomely compensated.”

Angel licked his teeth. This was getting fun; he could take a sinner and an imp at the same time no problem. “Oh, I’ve noticed you, sunshine. And I do like the sound of… handsomely compensated.”

The imp offered him a cigarette, which he accepted, and lit it for him with a blue-flame cigarette that turned the ember a pretty indigo. “We can see you’re not afraid of violence. How do you feel about other crimes?”

“Shit’s only illegal if you get caught,” Angel said, taking a small drag. “And if you two are lookin’ for a rough time, I can totally do that, but I ain’t a practiced dominatrix. Usually got those roles reversed.”

Smiles waved a casual hand. “I can assure you Blitzø is quite the capable taskmaster. You will not be required to assume a leadership position at any point during the operation.”

“Oh, okay. Great,” Angel said with a shrug. “Suits me fine.”

The imp, who must have been Blitzø, glanced at Smiles before looking at Angel and smirking. “Taskmaster’s definitely a word for it,” he said with a light purr, and oddly, Angel actually felt some of his fur stand up at that (and what the fuck was up with that?). “I’m thinking we’re getting crossed wires here, though.”

Angel tilted his head. “How’s that?”

Blitzø held his finger up, then looked at his companion. “I’m more than willing to keep this up, because it’s funny, but I really have to ask. Are you aware how much this sounds like we’re talking about sex?”

The sinner turned his head to look at Blitzø, still smiling as he always seemed to do, but it quirked in a way that suggested confusion. “Does it? That was not my intention in the slightest!”

Angel couldn’t help it; he snorted, an amused grin forcing its way onto his face. Normally, it would have been kind of offensive to be dismissed like that, but Alastor’s reaction was too ridiculous to be anything but a little funny. Blitzø sighed, gesturing at Angel with an open palm. “Alastor. When you give a hooker—” Angel raised one hand and wiggled his fingers in greeting “—a shitload of money and say you have a proposition for them, in a strip club, with the promise of more money, why the fuck would it not mean sex?”

He blinked, glowing red eyes wide. “I… had not considered that particular nuance! Allow me to rephrase.” He looked back at Angel as Blitzø made an ‘of course’ sort of eye roll. “My name is Alastor, and this is my associate Blitzø. We have a non-sexual job proposition for you. It is extremely dangerous, and requires the utmost secrecy.”

When was the last time he had the opportunity to make real money that wasn’t choking down some stranger’s body part? “Ooh, secret danger job I don’t gotta do on my back or my knees? You absolutely got my attention,” Angel said, putting his elbows on the table and folding his hands under his chin. “Alright, Mister Radio Demon, Mister Dapper Imp, I’m listenin’.”

There were zero people paying attention, Angel didn’t need his near-supernatural sense of auras to tell that; it was almost like their table had suddenly become invisible. He wondered if one of them—Alastor, he assumed—had done something to ensure their privacy. Blitzø leaned in a little, smirking up at him. “I’m planning a fun week of larceny. A complicated heist, you might call it. And Alastor here thought you’d be a perfect candidate for the team. I’m inclined to agree, because I can see how your physical skills would be very useful.”

“Aww, I missed a good organized crime plan,” Angel said, full of a sudden wave of nostalgia for his living mafia days. “I’m flattered, boys, but I gotta ask… who the fuck’re you lookin’ to knock over that’ll take a week and a big complicated plan?”

The imp’s grin widened. “Lucifer Morningstar.”

Immediately, Angel choked on the cigarette smoke and took a few seconds to cough. “What?!” he wheezed, pressing one hand to his sternum.

Alastor raised one hand and put the other (still holding his cigarette) over his heart. “Not to fear, my dear, we will be enlisting the aid of the most capable demons, and as the backer, I will be on hand to ensure that all of you are as safe as can be… under the circumstances.” His reassuring smile suddenly turned downright diabolical.

Angel laughed disbelievingly, making eye contact with Alastor and shaking his head slowly. “Holy shit… you two are nuts, y’know that?”

“It’s been suggested,” Blitzø said.

“Before I agree, I wanna know somethin’,” Angel said, tapping the table. “You said a week. Seven days. Are you talkin’ about that big party that’s supposed to be goin’ down at Lucifer’s Palace?” When Blitzø nodded, Angel pointed another hand at Alastor. “Then I want an extra assurance. From you, as the backer, and also as an overlord. Not a deal,” he added quickly and firmly, “just an assurance.”

One devilishly arched brow raised. “And what might that be, sha?”

“I know that this shit’s gonna be drawin’ all the biggest names from every corner of Hell,” Angel said. “I do not, at any point, want to be in a position where I’m alone with the porn overlord, Valentino. If you can’t gimme that assurance, I ain’t goin’.”

Blitzø frowned. “Weirdly specific.”

“And non-negotiable. He’s been tryin’ to get me to sign on to a contract with VoxTek, and he’s apparently real fuckin’ determined for some reason. I even got an offer to perform at that party a couple days back, which I ain’t answered because of this very issue.”

“Hmm…” Alastor steepled his fingers and leaned forward, then took a very pregnant pause before coming to a decision. “I can give you that assurance. But bear in mind, if you stray from my recommendations to ensure this safety in any way, this protection cannot be guaranteed. Are we understood?”

“Fine,” Angel said with a shrug of one shoulder, watching Alastor through lidded eyes, before he glanced at the imp. “Well, then, if Smiles keeps up his end of the bargain, I ain’t got any other issues. Sure, I’m in, Boss.”

“Bitchin’,” Blitzø said with a manic grin. “We’ll be doing some work before the party itself, of course. Gimme your number so I can get in touch with you.”

Angel smirked at him before reaching into his clutch and withdrawing his phone, tapping it against Blitzø’s to share the contact. “I don’t give that to just anybody, baby, you’d better behave yourself.”

“I always behave exactly the way I need to,” Blitzø said, his smile turning devious.

The spider suppressed a sigh, wondering if he was going to end up sleeping with the imp before, during, or after the party, because it was fuckin’ happening. “You boys need anything else? I gotta get home and feed my hellpig before he panics, thinks I’ve disappeared forever, and starts eatin’ all my leather.”

“Merely the promise of a dance at the opening ceremony,” Alastor said, rising and causing the chair he'd been sitting in to vanish in a swirl of blackness. He extended his hand to Angel Dust, palm up, the overlord bent over at the waist. “I so rarely get to swing it with a competent partner.”

Angel couldn’t decide if he wanted to frown or smile, which ended up with his brow furrowed and lips quirked. He reached out, placing his hand in Alastor’s palm; his skin was chilled, but oddly soft. “Well now. I’d be honored.”

His smile—somehow—grew almost warm. Alastor helped Angel to his feet, then bowed fully and placed a fleeting kiss on his knuckle. His lips were cracked and chapped, but between the cracks, they were soft, too.

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

Oh, no.

Angel returned Alastor’s smile, keeping his expression light and flirtatious the way he had learned to do at all times. “See you soon, Smiles. …Boss,” he said, casting that smile to Blitzø before he offered both of them a light wave and sashayed out of the club.

It really was a better deal than working at that shitty strip joint. Angel loved dancing, of course, but he wanted to play classier places, and he had honestly missed the thrill of a good organized crime scene more than he wanted to admit.

Stealing from King Lucifer himself while under special protection from the Radio Demon… what the fuck had he gotten himself into?

•

Sinners were a special breed.

Blitzø wondered if that came from them being human, or if it was specifically because they were shitty humans (according to the lore, anyway, he had no idea how a human soul got tossed down here). Whatever it was, all either Alastor or Angel Dust had needed was to be told about the crime and to receive their own guarantees for individual investment concerns; they didn’t have to be convinced like Fizz, Millie, or Moxxie had.

He never would have thought recruiting from Pentagram City was a good idea. He supposed contacting the Radio Demon had been a better investment than he had originally imagined.

“Well, that’s six,” Blitzø said, once Angel Dust had left the club; he raised his voice enough to try and pull Alastor’s eye away from the door. “This is shaping up faster than I anticipated.”

“Very impressive progress,” Alastor said, only then finally pulling his gaze forward. Then it was as though he had never gotten distracted at all. “I think it's time we discuss how we are to proceed from here. For one thing, you are going to need a team of thirteen, including yourself.”

“Thirteen?” Blitzø asked. “Okay, I’ll bite: why the fuck? Also, do you count?”

“I do, and…” He flashed a huge grin. “...thirteen is a lucky number.”

That was a good enough reason for him. “Alright, so then, we need seven more.” Blitzø frowned a little. Loona remained out of the question, which meant… “I’m not positive I know seven more people who are ‘not mad’ at me to the point that they’d stop being a whiny little fuck long enough to listen. I already fuckin’ pushed that line with one of these bitches. And, besides, a lot of my other contacts are in a Prince’s court. …or a Goetian house. Either way, conflict of interest.”

Alastor gave Blitzø a keen look that lasted only a moment. “We need not consort with demonic royalty. Magical knowledge will be vital, but I am more than capable of providing in that department. With Angel Dust we have an acrobat. You're the mastermind. What other specialties have you covered thus far?”

“So far, I’ve got Fizzarolli, our con man, who tells me that he already has an in because Mammon’s booked him to perform. He’s personable, popular, an accomplished liar, and since he’s a clown any goofy shit he does will be taken at face value. Our pickpocket is Moxxie, son of a mafia don and an invited guest. He’s the only guy I’ve ever known who can mop a ring of keys off the belt of a Greed prison guard while still locked in a cell and the guard is awake. Also a sharpshooter, if that comes up. And our bruiser is Millie, who I ran a few jobs with in Wrath. She’s like half my size and I’ve watched her start out unarmed and single-handedly take out a group of fifteen sharks. She’s also Vox’s head of floor security at the Palace, and she hates her boss, so she’s figuring out how to provide blueprints and schematics without being noticed.”

“She hates Vox?” Alastor said gleefully. “I think I'm in love.”

“Oh, she’s a big fan of your radio program,” Blitzø said with a smirk. “Tells me all about how she’s improving her torture techniques through your advice. We can hold the wedding after the job’s done.”

Alastor clasped his hand to his chest, setting the other against his brow like a fainting diva. “I can hardly stand the wait.” He chuckled. “I must say I'm impressed. Our first four idiots might stand a chance at surviving this ordeal! Now, to cover some more bases… We'll need a demolitions expert to handle some of the more physical obstructions to our goal, someone skilled with… hrk– modern technology… an informant to feed us intelligence both before and during the event… a proper croupier to cover the gambling floor… you need a personal bodyguard, preferably one with especially keen senses… a wild card to cover anything we haven't thought of… …and someone with angelic expertise.”

Blitzø blinked at him a couple of times. “Well. …fuck.” Those all made perfect sense, and he hadn’t actually considered a bodyguard for himself. And angelic expertise? Where the fuck would be find that? “Don’t suppose you have anywhere you could point me.”

The Radio Demon’s smile was both devious and insufferably smug. “Over the next few days I will be sending you instructions for meetings with the prospects I have selected. Your responsibility will be to convince them to join our crusade.”

Blitzø raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Then… I’ll give you my number, it’s the easiest way to get a hold of me,” he said as he started to pull his phone back out.

“Oh no.” Alastor stuck a firm hand out to stop Blitzø. “Don't worry, I will deliver the information to you directly…”

He leaned down, his head starting to rotate like the hands of a clock. His eyes became radio dials again, and shadows lapped at their cheeks.

“...no matter where you are.”

Blitzø stared at him, slowly tucking his phone back into his pocket. So that was the Radio Demon he’d heard so much about; he’d thought Alastor didn’t quite fit the physical vibe he’d anticipated. The imp watched the dials in his eyes tick a couple of times, raising one hand to smack at a tendril of shadow that touched the edge of his facial scar. “Anybody ever tell you that you’re an unbelievably creepy motherfucker?”

For a second it looked like time had frozen around Alastor. Everything stopped moving. Then he blinked, his eyes reverted back to normal, and he stood up straight, adjusting his jacket. But the shadows remained, beginning to swallow him up as he finished his speech. “Strange. That usually makes imps beg for death. You're a fascinating creature, Blitzø. I cannot wait to see how this all… plays… out.”

With a theatrical laugh that faded into a distant giggle, the Radio Demon vanished.

Blitzø watched him go, the shadows dissipating along the floor and retreating into the corners. He pulled out his pack of smokes and his Ozzie’s lighter again, placing one of the cigarettes between his teeth.

“Good job, fuckstick. If you fail, he’s going to make for one incredibly annoying the rest of your life.”

•••

Next chapter

[disruptivevoib]

You probably get this a lot, but I love your art style and would like to draw like that (obviously with my own flare and style and not an exact replica because idk how I would even do that), so I was wondering if you have any tips ?

(Obviously you don't have to answer ! I totally get it if you don't wanna ^^')

I never mind giving out advice when/where I can! Drawing takes a lot of time, and its even more time to get a style down (or several! Because I think you wind up finding that many artists have multiple styles or ways they can draw! But there are often still consistencies throughout!)

My biggest suggestion is experimentation. Referencing how other people draw certain things AND also referencing real life. I always suggest using poses, random photos or even your own hand to draw from or use as jumping off points before distorting or changing around anatomy to stylize it.

Messing with brushes too on whatever program you use is always a big suggestion too! I personally love rougher or less "smooth" or vector-looking brushes for things, as well as adoring bigger thicker lines that vary in that thickness depending!

Most of the time esp in the case of line-art I variate line thickness by erasing parts or going back over them or just generally fucking with pen-pressure. Smaller thinner lines put less emphasis on something, where thicker ones make it more evident. Its why thicker outlines all around then the inner lines or details being smaller or thinner works so well!! Bolder the line, the more somebody will see it!

Also experimenting with color and what colors you like to use. I adore a mix of colors but always like at least one to be more neon or to pop more so it stands out and highlights a point in the piece or design!

Other good tips are:

sketching a lot and as much as you are able, but also not to pressure yourself into drawing when you have no motivation or no ideas.

warm-up sketching and drawing before getting into drawing a bigger piece or returning to coloring!

Just in general experimenting more! Again, looking at what your favorite artists do and ALSO how the human form or any form you wish to study functions in reality too. I VERY often will make huges files of art from artists I like or will save photos to look back at or turn opacity up on to sort of vaguely outline. Not to trace and use for my art, but to see or break down how an artist I admire used shapes or gained the fluidity in the art they have.

I am still learning a lot, constantly. And I'm not 100% always the proudest of my work, or I will compare it to someone else with a vastly different niche or style. But, ultimately, I've got to know that art is always a process of growing and changing as much as all things in life!

A very big personal tip is patience. Art takes time, and rushing a piece because you are excited or might put pressure on yourself to finish it- maybe you're sick of it etc, it isn't healthy and it will not produce good work. Draw, color, and paint at your own pace, and allow that pace to be as slow or as fast as it feels.

o7 Hopefully all of that is helpful! I'm always happy to answer more questions!

[mhaikkun]

okay so full disclosure I'm not anon-

anyway I randomly stumbled across your tweet about that ask you got. it totally made my day to see something so positive and heartwarming!! I nearly just kept scrolling, but then realized that I never, y'know, looked at the art they were complimenting?? felt kinda silly to do the exact same thing the anon felt guilty of and not make it right

so anyway that's the story of how I started scrolling through your account for the past 30 minutes and why I literally cannot stop (also fun fact I had already liked a couple of your art pieces without realizing all of them were by you!). I absolutely adore how you render things with so. much. CHARACTER! like that hero of Hyrule drawing?? I can't get enough of how stylized the shading is, especially on those palm fruits :D (i'm not an artist so Idk how to verbalize "drawing make HAPPY" but you hopefully get the point lol)

anyway just wanted to say that the comment from anon brightened my day and I have them to thank for slowing down and actually appreciating your absolutely incredible art ❤️

the original anon actually did send another ask in reponse to people's reactions to the first, so I hope they also see that they moved you to write this. more evidence of the influence they've had on others just by saying what was in their heart!

I'm so grateful that you found me and my work because of the beautiful things they said. lately I've been feeling so overwhelmed by people's comments on my art that I don't even think I have the right words to convey how grateful I am just to read them!

in my case, it's also hard to verbalize "comment make HAPPY" but hopefully you get the point too :')

thank you, thank you, thank you!

[kirk-goes-to-gallifrey]

I love your art! (I clicked on your art tag and started scrolling.) What is your process for creating a piece? Do you usually look at a single reference photo which you draw from? Do you somehow incorporate photos into your drawings by drawing over them? (I did that once on a tablet.) Or do you use another method? Thanks!

omg hiiiii thanks so much!!!!!!!!

my process is a bit all over the place (I've tried to describe it before with not much success, maybe now I can do a better job hahaha) but yes I always need reference photos, I can't draw anything from my imagination :( sometimes I use more than one picture, but most times I think I use just one photo that I really like and want to reproduce.

when I'm feeling super inspired and I have a lot of free time, I draw from observation only. And then if I get stuck on a particular spot that I feel I can't get right, I overlay the reference picture and make the necessary adjustments. I've been replicating images for such a long time that nowadays I can usually overlay the original over my drawing and 90% of lines match 😅 And when I draw on paper I do the same thing, I place the paper over my screen to check if the lines are where they should be, but always retroactively, first I draw then I check.

I actually started out drawing everything upside down! I learned that technique with another artist (I took a course when I was in high school 15 years ago), cause apparently if you flip your reference upside down, a house stops being a house, eyes stop being eyes, a mouth stops being a mouth, so you can focus on distances between points, lines, areas and proportions only, without thinking "oh a mouth looks like a little cartoon bird on top of a minimalist boat" or whatever, but rather "this shape is about the same size as that one, and is positioned in relation to that other one and that other line..." So that's sort of how I learned to draw/replicate I what I see (if that made any sense). And replicating a photo is much easier than drawing reality cause a picture is already 2D, when I'm drawing something real I have to convert the 3 dimensions to 2 in my head and I often get a headache by the end of the process lmao

Sometimes I don't have the time or energy (it takes a lot of effort from the brain to do the observation thing) and in those cases I do some lines over the reference pic just to get key areas, then I delete the reference layer (of course I keep a copy in another corner of the screen so I can keep looking at it) and paint over the sketched lines till they mostly disappear.

I think painting is the most fun - either in color or b&w - getting the shades to blend and the painting to look realistic is the part that I like most.

I usually paint on photoshop but I recently got a tablet and I've been trying out new software on it. I mostly require a soft brush with opacity varying with pressure. I start out by doing blocks of color and then I blend blend blend.

I often think that my art is not very good (sometimes I question whether it's art in the first place), cause the only thing I'm good at is copying what I see, and because of that I've been trying to play more with colors and textures, trying to make my paintings a bit more different than their reference photos, a bit more "artistic" idk. I wish I could do more stylized stuff. But the realism can be fun too, it relaxes my brain after a whole day of PhDying.

Thank you so much for the ask!!! And for telling me that you like my stuff (ಥ _ ಥ) means a lot <3

[beast-feast]

Hey idk if you've answered this but what is your art process and what do you use for traditional and digital art?

Honestly I don't even know but at the same time I know the processes are very similar. I'll try and do my best HSNFKAH

Digitally I like to just Do Whatever Feels Good so it's a very "trust the process" kind of thing. Mainly when I draw digitally though I'll start with this.

Basically just making rough shapes and then the details on different layers while changing the opacity.

In the case of traditional it's a LOT more casual and I really don't have a good explanation for it? Basically skipping the rough detail layer and instead going to a sort of rough sketchy look (which is what I've been doing traditionally mostly these days.)

Digital linework is where I correct my mistakes (most of the time, if it's something Not Serious like this it'll be a lot looser looking!) And most of the time that's actually kind of where it ends lol, most of the digital stuff you see from me nowadays is only finished stuff I put effort into.

But when I finish lineart I tend to delete the sketch layer entirely so I don't mistake it for something else, and then color under the lineart layer.

And in this case I decided to give you a rough idea of how I do my shadows+highlights? I don't do it All The Time but I put them on separate layers and play with the layer settings !!! Genuinely cannot advise this enough it's really nice and fun to just see what looks best. In this case though I used a basic multiply layer for the shadows and then on a layer above it placed a few highlights where a general light source would be coming from.

Something I highly suggest is doing what feels right to you in the moment. If you're itching for something that you haven't drawn before, look at photos of what you want and then try and memorize as much of the look as you can! It's a neat little exercise for stylization I've found out, but it's also super useful for when you need references too. Don't ever be afraid of them.

Going back to trad. art though. When I'm not working with very quick sketches with pen/pencil it can come in two ways: clean pencil drawing or something made with pen+marker.

I use mainly Sharpies for colored traditional pieces, and my secret is that if you're limited on colors, LAYER IT ON!!! One shade of a green can give you a decent shadow!!! I use Micron pens for lineart and a white gel pen to sneak in a few little highlights here and there. On paper I don't put much emphasis on light and instead focus on the shadow part (mainly because it's hard for me to figure out a good lighter color for things HAHSHSJAH)

But genuinely whatever you do I don't think having a "style" is perfectly fine. It's a fluid thing that's ever-changing for some and if you fall under that category it doesn't mean that you're not skilled! Play around, have fun, generally just see what looks cool and cooler :)

[spearxwind]

forgive me if im just uneducated/you dont wanna explain but wtf is rcd anon talking about idk who rcd is

rcdart was an artist on here who dabbled in many popular fandoms (especially marvel, bravest warriors, and steven universe) and had pretty nice art, so they were pretty popular. Around 2016 or so they underwent a very extreme and very abrupt art style shift, where their art became more stylized but more importantly, took a turn into becoming transphobic and also racist.

Their most notable criticism was that they would draw captain america (who they headcanonned as trans) with a huge chest and huge thighs and often huge lips (though they gave huge lips to pretty much all of their designs)

Their racist drawings included drawing black people with caricature features like light lips, weird cheekbones, exaggerated noses, and buck tooth gaps; drawing latino women as very muscular and with facial hair (also could not draw a single latino woman without a sombrero for some reason).

I never saw their nsfw blog (twitter account? idk what the hell it was) but people ALLEGEDLY say that they would draw a lot of really trans fetishistic content and doubled down on the transphobia. I havent been able to verify that myself so take it with a grain of salt.

Their big downfall catalyst was a pretty awful and unrecognizeable drawing of finn from star wars which basically set off all the callouts and stuff and put them in the public eye.

Their case is pretty well documented if you look up the 'rcdart' url youll find tons of images and tons of info. If you'd like to take a glimpse at what they posted, their blog is somewhat saved on the internet archive as well (and obvious TW for the racism and potentially triggering transphobic art)

Its really unfortunate cause they DID have cool stuff going on in some of their drawings, but they were so adamant on cranking up the caricature vibes that the charm is just lost