#Crimson Dust

[rovingwires]

FUCKINGM PARALLELS WHAT THE FUCK AAAAAAAAAA

IN NOT CRYING YOU ARE

[groovygladiatorsheep]

Art dump | Meet them again !!!

I’m working down InsectVerse plot and characters lore, it’s actually a lot of work to make a comic…. while keeping y’all waiting, have a few of my babs!

In order we have Mirai | Cherry | Crimson ( originally named Feather | Violan <3

Credits

Classic ( Sans ) - Undertale ™️

Fell - Community / @/underfell

Plum/Lust - Community

Error - loverofpiggies

Ink - @comyet !!!!

End of Credits

Info.

- Mirai’s hair is made out of silk ! He goes by he/it.

- Cherry’s moon necklace is matching with her partner’s <3 she goes by she/her !

- Crimson has a lot of anxiety, music helps to calm her down, she likes rock the most. They go by she/they !!

- Violan likes to sew and crochet ! He’s much better at sewing, though. He goes by he/him !!!!

[sophie-seokkie]

<<When the characters stand up to their abusers

[ant1quar1an]

@liliallowed

[daily-dusttale]

Day 74 - smooving

Dusttale by Ask-Dusttale

Crimson by @liliallowed and design by @fateswind0wseat

Little gif of Crimson doing a little dance! Happy birth to @liliallowed :) since it’s May 5th for me today. You were definitely born today. Yippee🎉🎉🎉

[samuwuo]

Done✨

[glitzymeow]

I love this meme🫠🫠🫠

[etherealabyss11037]

Hellaverse Fans, how old are you?

A lot of critics cite Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss as having a large children audience despite being an adult-oriented show, and while I’m sure this is true to an extent, I’m curious. Just how accurate is this accusation? Granted, I’m fully aware that people can very easily lie about their age, but I hope the anonymity of this poll will encourage people to be honest. Keep in mind that this isn’t to shame or pull a “gotcha!” moment; it’s just to gather objective information about two shows that I love! ❤️

[pinkbunnygirl555]

Me when this song comes on ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

[dr-vintura-o-serif]

While working on the headshot rough drafts for the AU variants of Neue, I’m also brainstorming on some concepts for, I guess a reimagining of a few AUs. This is not me trying to “improve” the original AU, it’s just me wanting to have some fun & doing my take of other AUs.

This is gonna be a veeeeeerrry looooong post.

The main 2 I’ll be working on are Horrortale & Dusttale.

I wanted to get opinions & suggestions for these concepts before delving too deep into these ideas. Please tell your thoughts on this & if I need to change/improve on.

Horrortale will be more appearance-based, meaning that I won’t be doing a lot of story building & it’s more of just redesigning the characters to look more “monstrous”. Basically they’ll be more animalistic or feral & their bodies would have gone through heavy changes to “adapt”.

*This is literally an excuse to draw the characters as big & scary horror movie style “monsters”. I guess this would make it similar to the Underworld AU, but the story or origin for the change would be similar to Horrortale, but takes place even further after the Neutral Route*

For right now, I’ve been calling this AU of an AU: Feral!Horrortale. But a few others are Dwellertale/Underdwell, Undercave/Cavetale, Carnitale & or Undermaw.

I’ve written a few ideas for their overall appearance based on Nocturnal & Cave-Adapted animals. I won’t list all of them otherwise this post will be way too long, but here are a few:

Eyes

Will become bigger

Pupils will become extremely dilated

Will become blind, either with cloudy Pupils or losing their eyes completely

Mouth

Jaw becomes much stronger

Able to be unhinged

Senses

Becomes extremely sensitive to light

Scent of smell & hearing will become much more heightened

May develop echolocation due to loss of sight

General Appearance

Depending on location, those in colder areas will become bigger, while those living in hotter areas will become smaller

Aging will slow down, longer lifespan

Psychological Changes

Will become much more aggressive & animalistic/feral

Start to communicate through nonverbal communication: clicking, chirps, barks, croaks, etc.

These are just a few of concepts for this version of Horrortale.

For Dusttale, it’ll be more story-based, but will have some illustrations here & there. The main differences is that Vani would be from this version & would detail an alternate ending for Vani, also this version would include Sans being “hired” to work for Nightmare.

Now before I go on about the basic concept for this AU, I’ll need to explain a few things first:

Sans’s Killing Spree: I don’t know if in the original he killed all monsters (I kept getting mixed answers or no answers at all), but in this version he only killed most monsters. There were a few that were able to get away & hide before Sans could get them; Sans only wanted to get enough EXP to reach LV 19 or 20 (I can’t decide which one yet). Vani, & probably characters like Monster Kid, Napstablook & Mettaton (Ghost Form), would be one of these survivors.

*As a side note: Papyrus in this AU is an actual ghost & not a hallucination, but I’ll go over that in another post*

Frisk & Chara: In this AU, Frisk & Chara are basically “organic” A.I. attached to a “Real World Anchor” aka Frisk’s body/vessel. Chara was the original concept for the “Fallen Human”, but was scrapped due to them being too “independent & free-willed”. Frisk is the current concept prototype for the “Fallen Human”, made from original data & a blank template; however bits of Chara’s A.I. was used as filler for missing information within Frisk’s A.I., this causes Chara to appear as a glitched phantom (good example of this would be Glitchtrap from FNaF Help Wanted). Chara has little to no control over Frisk, instead they can only give “suggestions” to hopefully influence Frisk’s actions.

The Player: The Player is depicted/described as a higher entity or deity, they could be seen as the “Angel” sent to create peace between humans & monsters (this is based off the theory that the rune we see throughout the game is a depiction of 2 monsters, a human & an angel). The Player at the beginning of the route will have minimal control over Frisk, mainly able to give “directions or actions” that Frisk should follow. But the more EXP that is gained, the more control the Player will have over Frisk. This could cause a total takeover with the Player “ejecting” the A.I. from the anchor aka vessel.

How Did Vani Survive: In the most simplistic way of describing: she can’t die, her soul will automatically heal itself/her. Now in further details: Vani was born with (what I’ll be calling for now) a glitched soul; this causes the soul to look, well glitched out. However it has an ability to automatically heal itself & its body, but not through the usual way; via magic or healing items. Whenever Vani takes damage, the soul will “reload” her back to the point/time & placement right before she takes damage; however the world around her is not affected or altered by this ability, to everyone around her: she looks like she’s “lagging” or “glitching”. Fortunately, or more like unfortunately, this ability is automatically & Vani is unable to “deactivate” it; it use to be super over efficient (would activate if Vani took 1HP or less), but started to calm down has Vani got older (would activate if Vani loses half or more). Even if her HP reaches 0, the soul will activate its ability & essentially “resurrect” Vani; this is what happened when Sans was trying to kill her.

Ok now that that’s out of the way, the basic concept of this AU is…

BRINGING BACK THE DEAD!!!

Or Vani & the remaining monsters tried to improve on the artificial DETERMINATION to resurrect the fallen monsters. But it still causes them to melt, but can gain stability by “merging” with other monsters or inanimate objects (sticks, plants, sturdy clothing, etc.).

This obviously a huge info dump, but I’m super excited about this & I wanted to get everyone’s opinion or suggestion before I go too deep in.

[andrewmoocow]

My Hellaverse crossover ideas

Loona and Vaggie having a sort of Raphael and Casey Jones/Roronoa Zoro and Sanji/Sonic and Knuckles/Applejack and Rainbow Dash kind of relationship where they're just as likely to work together towards a common goal as they are to argue or compete over the silliest of things.

Stolas and Angel Dust bonding over their shared experiences with escaping from abuse, which leads to Stella coming into contact with Valentino and the two working together to knock Stolas off the board because Val assumes that Angel and Stolas are dating and it makes him super jealous. Speaking of which.....

Stella, Andrealphus, Striker, Crimson, the Vees, and maybe Adam forming the Hellaverse equivalent to the Legion of Doom. Naturally, the alliance can only be held together with used chewing gum, Scotch tape and a few prayers because putting Stella, Vox, Striker, and Adam in the same room is basically a recipe for a big enough disaster to rival God flooding the world for forty days and forty nights.

Rosie helping literally any Helluva Boss character work out their issues. Yes, even Stella, depending on what her backstory will look like in future seasons.

Angel and Sallie May being total LGBT+ icons together.

Further expansion of Striker being a client of Carmilla Carmine, since the rifle he used in his assassination attempt on Stolas during the Harvest Moon Festival is strongly implied to come from her business.

Velvette and Verosika being rivals similar to Alastor and Vox, complete with Verosika having turned down an offer to join the Vees at some point and Velvette having a huge hate-crush on her.

[blueink01]

Ch. 5: Radio Killed the Video Star

The next day at Hazbin Hotel-

Charlie Is pacing back and forth in panic mode with Keekee walking alongside her owner.

"Okay. So the extermination is coming in six months instead of a year. No big deal. Just a little setback. Nothing we can't handle. Just angels cutting our timetable in half. But who needs a whole year to save souls? Am I right?!" Charlie starts to panic, "And next time when they cut the time in half again, and again, we'll just handle it, right?!"

Vaggie grabs Charlie, calming her down, "Yes. We will."

"This is nothing more than a minor set back." Yn added as she rubs her head, calming her down.

"Oh, please, ya had less than half a chance when you started all this salvation bullshit. And now..." Angel Dust's phone vibrates with violent threating messages such as 'fucking bitch', "Ain't no silver lining this time toots."

"Angel...Come on.. There's always a bright side!" Yn smiled as her phone vibrated with panickeing messages from IMP. "There's..always hope."

The messages on Yn's phone:

Blitz❤️: "Lovey, have you heard to news!?!"

M&M: "Sweety are you okay?! me and Moxxie have been trying to contact you?!"

Tweety Bird👑🪶💙: "Yn when will you come and visit me?, I've been feeling lonely here~"

Big Daddy Ozzie: "Yn by any chance have you seen Felix's favorite earrings?"

+15 More Messages Etc.

"Yn is right! We just...have to look a little harder for it!" Charlie smiled widely.

"Well, while you're lookin', the rest'a hell's goin' nuts." Angel waves his phone in their faces, "People are already freakin' out about the news. Look at what's happenin' in the Doomsday District."

He scrolls down an article with the bottom showing a demon screaming in front of a fire. Suddenly a pink message appears. Charlie gets closer to read it.

"Err, what is a. Donkey Show?" Charlie question.

Angel panics and retreats the phone back, "Aah, heh, nothin'. My boss, Val, is just freaked out about the news too. Like I said, everyone's losin' their shit." Angel Dust laughs nervously.

"Yeah, that's true. Sinners are desperate." Vaggie stated.

"Maybe desperate enough to try anything to escape the extermination?" Yn smirked.

Charlie gasps, "This is the perfect time to recruit more sinners for the hotel!" Charlie squeals.

"Cute idea and all, but you really gonna go out in all of this?" Angel Dust waves the phone with the place still on fire and demons in panic.

"Well, it's not like people are just gonna show up on our doorstep..." Yn texted on her phone as she smirked.

Suddenly, a massive explosion made Charlie scream in a fight from behind, getting their attention. They turn to see a freshly made hole in the wall.

"What the what?!" Yn shouted.

Outside the hotel Sir Pentious him and his Egg Boiz zeppelin armed for battle.

"Show yourself Alasssstor." Pentious slithers.

"Come and face..." Pentious pauses for a moment when he notices Alastor absent from the freshly made hole. He then looks to see him sipping coffee on the balcony of the second floor.

"Oh there you are. Face my wrath!" Pentious exclaims.

Alastor sips his tea, "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Who am I?! I am the great Ssssssir Pentiousssss!" Alastor dissolves into fog as he descends to the ground, materializing aside Yn, Angel, Vaggie, and Charlie who are in the scene watching Sir Pentious's zeppelin.

"Inventor, architect of destruction, villain extraordinaire!" Pentious smirked.

"Ooh you tell 'em boss." The eggs bois cheered on.

Niffty appears on Yn's right shoulder, clearly starstruck, "Ooooooh, he's a bad boy.." Niffty smirks.

Yn pats Niffty's head as Niffty smiles widely and seems so free.

"Ha, well if all that's true, you'd think I'd have heard of you." Alastor crossed his arms.

"I attacked you literally last week." Pentious blankly stated.

Alastor cocks his head, "We've done battle, like... 20 times...once while you were on a date with-" Pentious looked at Yn as his whole demeanor changed, "HI QUEENIE!!!!" Yn wave back.

Charlie and Vaggie looked at her with a confused expression and then change their expression again looking back at Pentious.

"Well, you must have been really bad at this." Alastor noted as his blood slowly boiled due to how Pentious was speaking to Yn.

Sir Pentious' went back to his usual demeanor, "Silence! Now cower! For when I've ssslain you, the almighty Vees will finally acknowledge me as their equal."

Niffty picked up from Yn's shoulder, "Ooh! Wait, who are the Vees?"

"Oh, nobody important." Alastor smirks. Yn nodded her head in agreement.

Vee's Headquarters-

A large crowd is in front of a store as they watch an advertisement on the tvs facing the window showing off a spy drone.

"New VoxTek designer voyeur scopes, Peeping on the neighbors has never been more stylish. VoxTek! Trust us with your money!"

Crowd immediately enters the store and stampedes out with boxes with voyeur scopes. then cuts to random people watching their computers laptops and phones, and reveals their eyes signifying the work of hypnosis.

"This week's episode of "Teah, I Fucked Your Sister, So What?" is brought to you by VoxTek. Trust us with your entertarment!"

A tv demon starts tapping his fingers in a large room with tvs showing off numerous consumers as "trust us" repeats and overlaps. electricity courses as Vox stands up from his chair laughing maniacally from his viewer's consumerism. Vox had a ring around his left ring finger, it had both a sun and moon engraved on it.

"Muhahaha! Now that's good television!" Vox laughed as he heard his phone ding, he checked it as he groaned.

Suddenly his screen-face shifts to reveal an icon of Velvette, another one of them Vees, signifying she's calling, with a clown horn ringtone. Vox puts his phone down. Vox courses the call from his screen to his hands via his electric powers and transfers it to one of his many screens to reveal Velvette in her studio, her hair into a large ponytail. Vox then sits down on his chair.

"Hello there, Velvette! How are you this hellish morning?" Vox crossed his legs.

<Oh, cut the shit, Vox. I need you up here now!> Velvette exclaimed.

Vox looks to one of his screens as he gets his coffee cup and drinks from it, "Whatever could be the problem, my dear?".

<Your little boy toy is wrecking my apartment, while I'm trying to pull together a show and...> Velvette pauses.

Off-screen we see several workers running and screaming, and objects being tossed, as Valentino is heard cussing. "FUCKING BITCH!"

<Just get your ass here! NOW! Damn it Valentino!> Velvette yelled.

The call ends, and Vox's smile fades away as he gets up, sighing, fixing up his bowtie. He quickly texted on his phone before shoving the phone into his pocket.

"Oh god. Here I go, Valentino. Just another fucking day with Val." Vox walked to a platform with a forced smile, "Hey hey hey. Fuck my life." Vox had a dead expression as the platform raised up.

An elevator with a smiling Vox with the world bubble saying trust us!', before opening to reveal a frowning Vox sighing, and putting on a smile for a crowd of reporters that overlap one another before pointing their microphones to him.

"Mr. Vox! What are your thoughts about the new extermination deadline?" A reporter asked.

"When is Yn coming back on the program? People miss her fashion show & competitions!" Another reporter asked.

"My dear people! We at VoxTek Enterprises have always been at the forefront of innovation. And now, with this new oncoming threat, we are shifting our focus, to your protection. We are pleased to announce..." Vox ignored the second question, answering the first.

The screen zooms to him and an ad featuring the VoxTek logo, now gold and with angelic wings, with the tagline reading.

"VoxTek Angelic Security is coming soon! Trust us, with YOUR safety." Vox forced a smile.

Vox uses his left eye to hypnotize the crowd the same way as his consumers. Vox's manager quickly rushed up to Vox.

"Uh sir, when did we begin working on Angelic Security?" The Manager asked in a soft voice.

"30 seconds ago." Vox speaks in a strained voice as he walks off, "Try to get that bitch Carmilla on the books and cancel all my appointments today. I have a fire to put out upstairs." Vox noted.

He then morphs his body into electricity and generates itself into the security camera on the wall.

Velvette's Studio-

The staff cleans everything up as she looks to four designers holding up dresses to show her.

"Ugh. No. Unacceptable. You're fired. What is this? WRIST RUFFLES?! Is this 1750?! Burn it like the witches who wore it!" Velvette groaned, "UGH I miss babycakes.. She was the best fucking designer I ever had." Velvette rolled her eyes.

As she sends the designer away, Vox appears next to her, "Velvette! I can see you're busy. Tell me, where's our hot headed friend now.?" Vox looked around.

"Up in his room, waiting for a flat-faced prince to calm him down!" Velvette noted.

Vox sighs, "And uh, what's got him so out of sorts today?"

"Who knows?! But he tore up my second best model! And you know, the show can't wait for that unlucky bitch to pull herself back together! Melissa! Get over here!" Velvette yells.

Melissa gets onto the platform, and Velvette uses her overlord powers to change her outfit one after another until she spots the one she wants. "No. No. Hideous. I want to die. Eww." Velvette gasps, "Yes! That's the one."

"Ahh, looks like you have everything under control here." Vox noted.

"Of course, I do! Fuck you!" Velvette flips him off, "Now shoo! Take care of the piss baby!" Vox goes upstairs and is greeted by two moth demons who open the door for him. Once he enters.

He finds Valentino sitting on his couch surrounded by a fog of red smoke. When Val notices Vox, he sits up with fury in his eyes.

"Fucking FINALLY!" Val throws his drink, "Kitty! Another drink!" The Robo Fizzie next to him nods as it quickly heads off screen and reappears with the drink.

"Ugh! Can you believe what that piece of shit did? THE UNGRATEFUL WHORE!!!" As he speaks, he tosses the drink at Vox, who moves away making the drink, hits the door, and shatters on the floor.

"Uh, which whore are we talking about this time?" Vox questioned, crossing his arms.

Valentino gets up, "Fucking Angel Dust!” He walks up to Vox, "Who the hell else would I be talking about?!.." Val walks past him, "..fucking SLUT walked out on me!" He turns to Vox, "ME! I fucking made him!" Vox walks a little way away, "Without me, he's just a bag of meat with some mildly entertaining holes."

"Oh! Angel quit?" Vox sounded surprised.

"NO! He didn't fucking quit! It's worse!" Val takes Vox's phone, "He MOVED!!!"

As he says that, he tosses Vox's phone to the wall making it shatter in half. Vox seemed pissed about that, that being his only communication to his girl.

"He thinks he can just walk in here, work, and then go home somewhere else? Can you FUCKING believe that?!?!?!?!" Val walks to the closet, "He thinks he can run off and shack up with Lucifer's BIMBO daughter!"

"Angel is living with Lucifer's daughter?.." Vox paused and smirked.

"YEAH! That BITCH Chuckie or Chandler, or I dunno. Something manish like that, she's got this hotel and..." Val stopped.

As he speaks, he opens the closet full of guns, drugs, and pictures including a poster of himself. Valentino brings up two long pistol guns: a long revolver and a semi-pistol.

"Which of these makes me look sexier?" Val turns to the closet. (The pink one obviously)

"Heh. What are you doing, Val? You're not going over there." As Vox speaks, his left eye starts its hypnotizing spell, but Valentino is busy loading his guns.

"That slippery twink is gonna remember who owns him. I'm gonna FUCK everyone *except Yn* in that rancid shit hole, I swear to god!" Val starts.

Before he finishes, Vox grabs him by the collar and shoves him to his face, clearly furious.

Vox's voice was distorted, "VAL..." He calms down, "Hehe. Think about it." Vox then walks Valentino towards the window, taking one of his guns, "Our brand is... perfection. And what do you think chasing whores around town will... do for our image?"

"Um....fuck it up?" Val replied.

"Right! Do you want people thinking you can't control your employees?" Vox questioned.

"No!" Val exclaimed.

"Exactly! And hey, you still have him under contract. He isn't going anywhere! SO.. you should.." Vox waited for Val to get it.

"Do nothing?" Val questioned.

Vox smirked, "Great idea! Now that's why they pay you the.." He pinches Val's cheek on his face, "Big bucks."

"Ugh. But I really wanted to shoot someone." Val whined.

As he speaks, Valentino gets a cigarette holder, and Vox lights it with his electricity powers.

"Well, lemme call up the lowest earners this month." Vox walks to TVs.

"Ohh, you know me too well." Val chuckles and blows smoke, "Ya know.... Angel isn't the only one spending time at this Ratty Hotel with the devil's princesa..." Val smirked.

"Oh? Who else is there? Someone who, owes you money?" Vox smirked.

Valentino chuckles, "Someone who owes us much more than money and someone very dear to us... the Radio Demon and babycakes is there..." Val smirked.

Upon hearing those words, electricity courses through Vox's head, and he scratches the desk so hard it leaves scratch marks. Vox made small ominous chuckles before turning to Valentino, two red lines appearing on the left side of his lower lip.

Vox's voice was distorted, "What did you just say?"

"You heard me." Val smirked.

"Alastor.." Vox walks to Val, "came back..and he is with Lucifer's..." Vox glitches, "..daughter and and not only that, but he's with our Yn? And that wasn't the..." He grabs Val by the collar, "FIRST FUCKING THING YOU TOLD ME?!!"

Valentino frees himself from grip, "Hey! killing Alastor is your kink and Yn existence is all of our kink."

As he speaks, he walks to the desk and turns on the television. Vox teleports to the center screen, which is a recording from a VoxTek Voyer scope.

From Drone POV-

Yn chuckles softly and Alastor using his powers to attack Sir Pentious zeppelin, laughing as he hears Pentious screaming.

"Arrgh! Oh! Please! Stop!" Pentious cries.

"Um...Alastor! I think he's had enough." Charlie noted.

"Nah. He's got a few more hits in him." Angel added. As much as it was entertaining, Yn whispered in Alastor ear, "I think he's had enough Al." He looks at her than back to Sir Pentious who falls from the zeppelin in front of Alastor, face first on the ground. Alastor twirls his staff.

"Thanks for another forgettable experience." Alastor smirked.

An Egg Boi falls and breaks into pieces in front of Charlie.

"Thank you... for letting your guard down!" Using his tail, he grabs a bit of Alastor's suit, "Haha! Yah! Oh, shit..." Pentious' eyes widened.

"That was a mistake little snake~" Yn warned. Sir Pentious looks up to see Alastor's shadow transform in front of him. The next shot shows a massive green explosion as Sir Pentious is seen flying off to the city screaming as he disappeared from sight.

"Well, it looks as though I need a visit to the tailor! Would you care to join me my dear Yn?" Alastor asked extended his hand to her.

"Of course and maybe we can get some tea." Yn takes his hand, "Best of luck, chums." Alastor waved. as he holds Yn's hand.

"Wait, you're LEAVING?! Alastor! We need your help! We need you to do your job." Vaggie yelled.

Angel Dust gestures to the hole on the wall, "We need a wall."

Alastor sighed, "Of course! Can't let my new project fall into disrepair already. What would the papers say?!" With a snap of his fingers, black ink demons appear with construction tools as Alastor walks away. Angel takes an interest and looks at one of the larger muscular demons, shoving Vaggie away as he walks up to him.

Angel Dust giggles, "Hey, sweet cheeks. Whatcha doin' later? I love me a man with a giant...tool."

The screen zooms out to reveal Valentino scowling at the current events, leaning his face against the screen.

"See?! Look how he flirts with that guy, and he's not even paying! Who is that? I'm gonna fucking kill his whole fucking family while fucking Yn in front of them! Vox?" Val slams his fist on the table, "VOX!?"

Vox was paying little attention, as his left pupil turns into a tilde as he eyes Alastor leaving, his appearance static and out of focus as the screen becomes a bit static. He glitched rapidly at seeing Yn with Alastor.

Vox glitches, "That FUCKER is back! AND HE'S WITH YN?!"

Valentino grins as he realizes the situation and walks to him, "Yeah! I thought he was gone for good too!"

"It's been 7 years!" Vox clenched his fist.

Valentino leans up to him and pinches his cheek, Vox clearly pissed to care.

"You still pissed that she almost beat you and "took" Yn from us that time?" Val smirked.

Vox grumbled, "Uh, FUCK YOU."

"Just saying." Val walks around him.

"Things have changed a lot since he left town!" Vox clenched his fist, "THAT'S for sure." Val smirked.

"I gotta send a message of who's REALLY in charge of things now!" Vox's face fills the screen as Valentino laughs in the background.

Vox grins as he marches to his chair.

"~Welcome home! I'm gonna make you wish that you stayed gone!~" As Vox sang, electricity courses through his arm as he sat down, and turns to face the numerous screens.

"~Say hello to a new status quo.~" Vox presses a button, and cords latch themselves to the plug-ins on the back of his head, connecting himself with the tv networks. "~Everyone knows that there's a brand, new daren, turn the TV ON!~"

"Camera, speeds, rolling in three, two..." The director counted down.

Chorus: "Welcome to the Show!"

"~Top of the hour and we're discussing a certain had-been who has been spotted cavorting around town after a seven-year absence.~" Vox had a horrible drawing of Alastor as he snapped to be on a night-late tv show with himself.

"~Did anybody miss him, did anybody notice? More on tonight's program. So, the Radio Demon is back in town! Why is he hanging around? What does that mean for your family? Well, handily, I've got good news!~" Vox appeared in front of a red curtain now.

"~He's a loser, a fossil, and I don't mean to sound hostile~" Vox now appeared on multiple TV's and each dressed like a gospel choir. With the words 'Obey N' Pray'.

"~But the demon is a coward! You can take that as gospel. Pulling my viewers? Impossible! I'm visual, he's barely audible! Stop giving him the time of day! Don't listen to a word he'd say. Hope he had a nice vacay! But he should have stayed away!~"

While Alastor finishes getting his coat tailored. He notices the crowd watching the advertisement of Vox. Yn noticed as well as she frowned a bit, Alastor noticing this. He smiles and walks away with an idea, pulling Yn along. as Vox continues singing.

"~While he hid in radio, we pivoted to video! *pulls out a deer head* And now his medium is getting bloody rare! Hell's been better since he split. Where's he been? Who gives a shit?!~"

Guts to Alastor making his reappearance, as he starts his radio broadcast from the Hazbin Hotel as he puts YN on his lap.

"~Salutations! Good to be back on the air. Yes, I know it's been a while since someone with style treated Hell to a broadcast. Sinners rejoice!~"

"~What a dated voice!~"

"~Instead of a clout chasing mediocre video podcast.~"

"COME ON!" Vox exclaimed as he paused hearing Yn's laugh, "YOU FUCKER..."

"~Is Vox insecure, pursuing allure? Flitting between this fad and that. Is nothing working?~"

"IGNORE HIS CHIRPING!" Vox yelled.

"~Every day he's got a nere format!~"

"YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE FUTURE! HE'S THE SHIT THAT COMES BEFORE THAT!~" Vox exclaimed.

"~Is Vox as strong as he purports.? Or is it based on his support? He'd be powerless without the other Vees!~"

"Oh, PLEASE." Vox crossed his arms.

"~And here's the sugar on the cream. He asked ME to join this team!~"

Vox grumbled, "Hold on!"

"~I said no, and now he's pissy! That's the tea.~" As Alastor continued with his radio broadcast, Vox was getting so pissed that his screen face was starting to glitch with anger rising.

"~You old timey *Glitches* PRICK! I'll show you suffering!~"

"~Uh oh, the TV is buffering!~" Vox couldn't handle his anger, causing him to overload his circuits with static electricity.

"~I'LL DESTROY *Signal breaking up* Y0000U LITTLE.....~" The camera head could not get anything loaded, and Vox lets out an outburst that overloads everything from the TV screens to Valentino and Velvette's phone to everywhere in Pentagram City, causing a citywide blackout with the exception of the Hazbin Hotel.

"~I'm afraid you've lost your signal. Let's begin.~" Alastor smirked as he slowly turned into his true demon form with every sentence. His arms wrapping around Yn.

"~I'm gonna make you wish that I stayed gone! Tune on in. When I'm done, your status quo will know it's race is run! Oh, this will be fun!~" Alastor makes one last evil laugh before cutting off Vox's signal throughout the city, leaving the Overlord dismayed that Alastor is still popular and powerful than last time plus he had Yn on his side.

"FUUUUUCK!" Vox yelled.

Vee's Meeting-

Vox, Velvette, and Valentino are at a table together discussing a matter about Alastor as a Robo-Fizz, Kitty, passes out drinks to each of them.

"We have a problem. Alastor is getting close to Yn and little princess Morningstar, so our main concern now is ensuring that no deal is ever struck between Lucifer's.." Vox slams the table, "BRAT, and that smiling freak! AND HIM STEALING OUR BABYCAKES!"

Velvette paused before taking a deep breath, "Well, how exactly are we supposed to stop them?" Valentino was putting so much glue on his revolver to decorate with glitter and marbles.

"Put something inside them. That's how I get the bitches to behave." Val smirked.

"Well, maybe someone on the inside isn't such a bad idea. Do you think Angel would?" Vox crossed his arms.

"That lanky prick won't even return my calls." Val sighed.

"We need someone who Little Miss Bleeding Heart would take in." Vox grumbled.

"Someone... pathetic, desperate, with no direct ties to us?" Velvette noted.

"I employ every down on their luck loser this side of Hell. Who the fuck is left?" Val questioned.

Vox scoffs, "I think..I have JUST the one."

As Vox slowly turns around, his right-hypnotic eye gleams with a sinister grin for a plan he has in stored but before they could do anything one of Vox employees comes into the room.

"Sir!, The crimson queen is here she is waiting for you in the guest room." He said out of breath informing the Vee's.

After hearing that all three stand up wasting no time and sprints towards Yn.

While the Vee's were on their way. Yn is smiling and hugging old friends and coworkers who work or used to work for her. Every demon there loves seeing her when she came by to the studio, she would always bring gifts for them and I mean ALL of them.

"How have you been?!" "What is it like living in that Hotel?" "How come you don't come so often?" "Did you come here to see us?" A lot of questions were thrown at her. She couldn't decide who to answer first.

Doors slammed open revealing Velvette who makes it there before Vox or Valentino. She scans the room until her eyes land on Yn's.

"BABYCAKES!~" she shouted.

"Hi Velvet-" Velvette jumps on her with a tight hug.

"It's so great to see you again! It hasn't been the same without your lovely presence." Velvette held on to her tightly.

Yn chuckled hugging her back signaling everyone in the room to leave them alone for a moment.

"It's nice to see you to Velvette." Yn chuckled hugging her back, signaling everyone in the room to leave them alone for a moment, "Did you get the new clothes I've been sending you? I hoped you like them."

"Like them? I LOVE them!" She smiled. She lets go Yn and hold her arms.

"Sit down sweety, I've been dying to see you again, how you've been? Did you come to see us?" Velvette gestured to the couch, as the sat across each other "or did you come here for something more~" she said teasing as she ran a hand on her on her leg under her dress. Yn blushed that the thought but clear her throat.

"No~, I just came here to bring you guys some gifts and have a word with-" the same doors Velvette came though slammed opened again with Vox and Valentino finally showing up.

"Vox." Yn frowned as she crossed her arms. Velvette looks at her for a moment wondering why she looks upset. Vox notice her expression change when she sees him.

"Hey Yn! What brings you-" He is cut off as glowing fc with fancy chain appears around his neck with a lock. Vox grunts as he falls onto his knees, Velvette takes a photo while Valentino bites his lip with a blush. Yn yanks the chain causing Vox to get dragged up in front of Yn, he chuckles nervously and looks up at Yn.

"Sit." She order him with glowing eyes. He does as his told not wanting to upset her more.

"Val, Velvette, could you two please wait for us outside, i like to talk to Vox alone for a moment." Yn said with her tone sounding dark at the end of her sentence. This made Vox nervous hearing her say it like that.

Valentino and Velvette do as she said, looking back to see a now frighten Vox looking at them with a 'please don't leave me' expression, Velvette took another picture with a thumbs up and Valentino had a sweat come down his forehead and both the Vee close the doors behind them.

Both of them put a ear on the door to hear what's happening inside. Now it was just Vox and Yn in the room.

"Do you know why I came?" Yn asked

"Ummm... No...? Heh..." Vox replied.

"Because of yours and Alastor's little "fight", all electricity across the Pride Ring has cut off!" She tightens her grib on the fc chain..

"Your screw up has cost me alot of money! These little shits will soon start complaining and rioting because of what you did, flat face! And we do not want that." Yn lectured him.

"Baby relax, look if money is the problem here don't worry about. Whoever you are getting your money from I can give you-" Yn interrupt him. Not letting him finish his sentence.

"You know I never take your money, nor will I ever. You are missing the point of this conversation Vox, your little 'fight' cause me money and I'm not okay with the fact that you still pick fights with Alastor." Yn said. Vox seemed annoyed hear the Radio freak's name coming from her mouth. He then gets up and pass back and forward in front of her.

"Ah here we go again with Alastor, you know  ever since you moved out, all I hear from demons is how 'close' you and that radio freak are getting. you know how that makes me feel?!" Vox argued. His screen glitches at bit as he looks at Yn with a distasteful look.

"Don't go pointing fingers on me Vox, I wouldn't have moved out if you and those two didn't try to put a 'spell' on me 3 months ago" Vox flinched with guilt at hearing her mention that, but he didn't make it noticeable to her. Val and Velvette had the same guilt look on the faces outside the room hearing their conversion further.

"Oh please, it's wasn't like the end of hell, it would have been great for us and knowing you,-" Vox claimed crossing her arms. He takes out his phone looking at something but is soon broken by a fc fly hair pin thrown his way.

"you would have liked it. It wouldn't have been that bad.-" Vox looks back at her to see a now teary Yn, Vox froze didn't say another word.

"Here I was hoping maybe we could fix our relationship and start over, but I guess nothing changes." Yn said, her head hanging down not showing her face. Vox tries to get close to her. But she stops him by holding her hand in front of him, stopping him on his tracks.

He wanted to hold her, apologize, anything to comfort her. But Vox was one who didn't know when to admit his wrongs or apologize at all so it was no surprise that he didn't dare show that to her. For someone who is a dangerous powerful and deadly overlord. Only he, the Vee's and anyone that's part of her harem are the only one who can see this side of her, her vulnerable side.

Yn got up from the couch, walk towards the door, not looking at Vox as she passed him. She stops in front of the door, "I'm leaving now, I'll be back in 2 weeks with the next transfer." She than opens the door seeing a guilty ears dropping duo trying to pretend they weren't listening.

Valentino walks over to Yn and caresses her whole body. Sensing his Babycakes is hurting, "There, there Babycakes~ I'm sure someone like you can forgive and forget our little problem~" Valentino in his weird way trying to stop her from leaving.

"As I said I won't be back until 2 weeks so take care of things here, yourselves as well." Yn said getting out of Val's grasp walks out of the building.

Vox, Valentino and Velvette stand there watching Yn walk away and out of the studio without looking back but not before she said her goodbyes to everyone she came across.

After she was gone from view, Velvette expressed changed to a pissed look, "Damn it Vox! Yn sure as fuck won't bang any of us any time soon because of you and that smiling ass!" Velvette groans loudly.

Vox just stood there wondering, why do I always fuck shit up, first he lost a fight with Alastor, and now he just hurt the love of his afterlife.

Back at the hotel-

Yn and Alastor make it back to the hotel while Alastor went upstairs satisfied, Yn sat next to Angel Dust laying her head on his chest fur while he was on his phone and he rap his arms around her.

the ink demons are currently fixing the hole in the wall as Charlie and Vaggie than returns. Charlie throws herself onto a couch, exhausted.

"Soooo? How'd it go?" Yn smiled nervously.

Vaggie sighs, "Not a single new recruit."

"'Yeah well, who would wanna use their last days not fucking and fighting?" Angel Dust groaned.

As Angel checks on his phone, Vaggie hears a knock on the front door. She walks over to it and opens the door, only to find Sir Pentious holding his hat.

"Why, hello my dear.." Sir Pentious is cut off by Vaggie punching him in the face.

He falls when Vaggie brings out her spear at him. Sir Pentious cowers in fear with the tip barely at his neck, and holds a peace sign gesture.

"Wait, wait, wait! I come in peace." Pentious cried.

"What are you doing here?" Vaggie asked. Charlie and Yn appears behind Vaggie, "Vaggie, what's the problem?" Charlie gasps, "Oh! Hello again!" "Pentious?"

"I didn't come looking for a fight. I uhh.. I heard that you're helping people, people who want to be better?" Pentious questions.

Charlie lets out a gasp and runs over to grab his hand and leads him to the door of the hotel.

Charlie gasps, "You heard right! Welcome to our home of healing, our resort of restoration, our..." Angel Dust appears from the door and cuts off Charlie, "Are you fucking nuts? This chump was trying to kill us like literally 6 hours ago! And now you wanna bring him in here to live with us?"

"Absolutely! This place is about second chances, and who deserves one more than this slithery... slippery. special little man!" Charlie forced a smile.

Angel turns to look at Yn and Vaggie, "Aren't you two supposed to protect this place?" Charlie gives Yn and Vaggie puppy-dog eyes, begging Yn and Vaggie to give Sir Pentious a chance to live in the hotel. Yn and Vaggie gives in as she sighs.

"I guess he's not much of a threat without the war machine." Sir Pentious' cobra head lifts with anticipation, "Or even with the war machine. Plus I guess Yn is here to make sure he doesn't do anything." Sir Pentious' cobra head flaps down with depression, sighing.

"Sure! I don't mind looking after him." Sir Pentious smiled.

Charlie was so happy that she hugged Vaggie, lifting her up in the process and twirling around once.

"Oh! Thank you thank you thank you thank you! Sir Pentious! Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!" Charlie leads Sir Pentious to the door inside of the hotel.

"Oh no darling! Thank you! You won't regret this." He smiled sweetly as he slithers next to Yn.

Angel follows soon afterwards, "Eh, I give you a week, tops."

Charlie gives Sir Pentious the tour of the hotel, introducing Husk to him, the wall he blew up before it was fixed.

"So, this is the bar and the bartender. This is the curtain, and this is the new wall after you broke the last one, heh, and oh! Oh! This is the-" Charlie paused as Vaggie grabs Charlie to calm her down again, "Babe, you don't have to show him every detail."

"No." Charlie squealed.

Angel Dust put his arm around, "Uh, what the hell are I then?"

"you're an important part of our family here too, Angel, but you uhm, uh..." Charlie thought.

"Constantly make us look bad, sexually harass the staff, and have literally never once tried to improve?" Vaggie bluntly said.

"What she means is, it's just nice to have someone interested for once." Yn smiled.

As Charlie comes back to Sir Pentious, Angel Dust was having doubts, looking a bit upset at everything Vaggie described him to be. Nifty was playing Keekee with a string when Charlie and Sir Pentious approached them. Keekee hissed at the sight of Sir Pentious and scatters away while Niffty turns around to meet him.

"Over here we have our maid Niffty." Charlie gestured to Niffty.

Niffty gasps, "The bad boy is back!"

Niffty gets up on Sir Pentious and holds his collars, looking at him with insanity in her red eye and a very sadistic smile, which creeps out Sir Pentious.

Niffty spoke in a creepy whisper, "Never leave me again."

"We're about 80% sure she's harmless, and over here we have..." Charlie nearly bumps into Alastor, "Oh! Uh, Alastor! Our gracious facility manager! You've met our newest guest Sir Pentious... hehe.."

"Ah yes! You're the one who ruined my coat!" Alastor's eyes glow red in the dark with a violent temptation to rip him apart as Alastor spoke in a sinister tone, "I definitely remember you now."

Sir Pentious gulps nervously.

"Well, I guess this is a great time for your first lesson!" Charlie clears her throat, "How to apologize!'... The first step to becoming a better person is to admit when you are wrong, why don't you give it a try?"

Sir Pentious took a minute, "Yes. uhm.. Mr uhm.. Radio Demon sir, please forgive me for attacking you and ruining your very lovely coat.. uhm.. Here." As a token of apology, Sir Pentious hands back the small fabric he tore from Alastor's coat.

Alaster takes it and inspects the damage, "Ah-Ho! Not many people have been able to take even this much off me, it must have meant quite a lot to you."

Despite being generous, Alastor burns the fabric tear in green flames, leaving Sir Pentious and Charlie stunned.

The group gather around for a introduction with Sir Pentious. "You obviously know Yn, somehow, but that's not important! Yn is also our facility manager and entertainer along with Angel Dust." Charlie smiled, "Now, with a new resident, I think it's important we all get to know each other! So we are going to play a little game. Everyone, follow me."

"My name is Charlie!" Charlie claps twice, "I like to sing!" She claps twice, "and when we get to know each other it's the greatest thing!" She claps twice.

"My name's Sir Pentious" He claps twice, "I like to build." He claps twice, "and despite my stupid Egg Bois, I think I'm very skilled!" Pentious claps twice.

"My name is Yn." Yn claps twice, "I like to dance," She claps once again, "And if an Angel dares to hurt you..." She clapped twice again, "They will meet their end." Yn clapped twice more.

When it was Angel's turn, he looked disinterested, looking up from his phone, "This is stupid." Angel Dust stated.

"This is not stupid!" Charlie claps twice, "It's just a game!" She claps twice, "Sir Pentious did it well so now please try to do the same!" Charlie claps twice, seeming annoyed.

"I am too sober for this." Angel Dust groaned.

"Well, get used to it and learn how to play, this is gonna be your whole day!" Vaggie smirked and clapped twice.

Next the group try role-playing with Angel Dust wearing a trenchcoat and a hat while he reads a script. Sir Pentious was also role-playing as an innocent child wearing a sailor suit, licking a lollipop. As Husk was an unattentive parent for some reason. Husk didn't mind, he'd got to drink with Yn as she pet his fur.

"Oh, I'm a bad man on the streets who never got enough hugs, now, where's an innocent kid I can sell crack to?" Angel Dust paused, "Wow, who wrote this.?" He whispered.

"Who do you think?" Yn question Angel.

"It's great right? Keep going!" Charlie squealed.

"Hey you." Angel called.

"Who, me?" Pentious pointed to himself.

"Yeah, you look like a kid who could use some... devil's dandruff??" Angel groaned, "Oh, for fuck's sake."

Yn paused her petting Husk's fur, looking at Angel with a chuckle. Husk stopped his drinking looking at Yn waiting for her to let him again.

"Not me! I have to go home and study!" Pentious stated. Husk twitch his ear touching Yn hand, Yn catching on what he wanted she had a small smile on her face and continue to pet him, which caused Husk to purr quietly.

"Come on kid, it'll make you cool like me...the crackhead." Angel dully said.

"The only cool thing here is to say no to drugs! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to not have sexual intercourse before marriage!" Pentious smiled.

Charlie stands up and claps, "Yes! Oh bravo! Bravo!" Charlie chuckles, "Wow Pentious! At this rate, you'll be redeemed in no time."

"I... I'm going to bed." As Angel heads back up to his room, he overhears Charlie congratulating Sir Pentious.

"I am so proud of you Sir Pentious! That was amazing!" Charlie cheers.

"Thank you! Thank you! You like me! You really like me!" Pentious smiled.

"Good Job, Pentious." Yn smiled.

"Awwww!! Thank you!!!" Pentious hugged Yn.

Yn backed up from the hug and rushed Husk who was drunk, thinking about Yn petting him again later.

In Angel's room, Fat Nuggets is asleep on his bed until Angel accidentally throws his coat on top of him. Fat Nuggets grunts and crawls out of the coat as he watches Angel lie down on his bed. Angel looks at his phone and sees all his voice mails from Valentino. Angel sighs and begins to play them. Valentino's voice mails switch back and forth between a friendly, apologetic tone and a barrage of screams threatening violence.

Valentino's Voice Message:

"Angel baby, come home! It's not the same without you here, I miss you! Come back-"

"ANGEL, YOU BITCH! IF YOU DON'T COME HOME, YOU'LL BE FUCKING GREASY TRUCKERS FOR THE NEXT YEAR-"

"Hey, amorcito, I didn't mean to yell, but you know hore crazy you make me-"

"YOU FUCKING SLUT!"

"Hey; Angie! About earlier-"

"-KILL YOUR WHOLE FUCKIN' FAMILY!"

"Work's really stressful!"

"-LITTLE COCKSUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

"[dead serious] You actually think you can change? Addict trash like you doesn't change. I'll see you soon, baby."

Angel sighs as Fat Nuggets gets on the bed next to him.

"Sorry, not now, Fat Nuggets." Angel sighs sadly.

Angel gets up and leaves his room with Fat Nuggets looking worried. Angel goes to Husk's bar and starts drinking alcohol. Then he notices a slithering noise. He finds Charlie's office door opened, and takes a peek inside.

There, he discovers that Sir Pentious is setting up a small camera in one of the bookshelves, a camera that belongs to Vox. Angel realizes what he was doing and slams the door open.

"You slippery little shit!" Angel yelled.

Sir Pentious screams.

"You're working for the Vees? I fucking knew there was something shitty about you." Angel Dust narrows his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about!.. whore bug!" Pentious shots back.

Angel was ticked off, and tackles Sir Pentious on the ground. He punches him in the face before wrestling with him.

"Get your aggressively average body...OFF OF ME!" Sir Pentious's eyes spiral hypnotic powers to him.

Angel becomes hypnotized, "Fuck!"

Angel backs away. He then quickly snaps out of it. He now has Sir Pentious cornered. Right then, Yn, Charlie and Vaggie woke up after hearing the scuffle.

Charlie yawns, "What's going on?"

"It's too late for anything." Yn said who was still a bit sleepy.

"This little bitch is a traitor!" Angel Dust gestured to Pentious.

"Preposterous! I would never betray you. You... are my best friends!" Sir Pentious hugs the three girls.

"Uh huh, then explain this!" Angel Dust smirked. Angel lifts off one of the books to reveal a camera, much to Charlie's shock. Sir Pentious realizes that his cover was blown scurries away.

He brings out his wrist watch to make contact with Vox.

"Ah! Ah! Abort! Abort! S.O.S! Agent Pentious in need of immediate evacuation!" Pentious sounded nervous.

Vox immediately picks up.

"Pentious? Wait... you were caught?!? It hasn't even been a day!" Vox laughed.

"Please! You've got to get me out of here!" Pentious begged.

"I can't believe we thought you could handle even something this simple. Do us a favour, if they don't kill you, go ahead and do it yourself! You miserable failure!" Vox hung up.

Sir Pentious was crying, "I... I... just make it quick I guess.. not that I deserve it." Sir Pentious lies on the ground, with Vaggie holding a spear ready to pierce the skull.

"Gladly." Vaggie smirked.

Right before Vaggie could put him out of misery, Yn stops her. "Whoa. Let's not jumps to murder straight away."

"Yn's right. We're not killing anyone." Charlie smiles and starts singing.

"Pentious?" Sir Pentious looks up to see Charlie reaching out for him.

"~It starts with sorry, that's your foot in the door~"

"~One simple sorry, spoken straight from your core.~"

"~The path to forgiveness is a twisting trail of hearts!~"

"~But sorry is where it starts!~"

"~Who could forgive a dirtbag like me?~"

"~I don't deserve your amnesty.~" Angel comes with dual Tommy submachine guns in both hands with Vaggie tailing behind with her spear.

"~Can't we just kill him?~"

"~Shoot him and spill his blood?~" Yn stand in front of Pentious. As Pentious' eyes sparkle.

"That's an option you could choose." Yn answered.

"~Works for us.~" Yn puts her hand out to Pentious who takes it immediately.

"~But who hasn't been in his shoes? It starts verth sorry.~" Charlie added.

"~Sorry.~"

"~Dig down deeper and say one sincere sorry!~"

"~I'm so sorry!~"

"~And your journey's underway!~"

"~It'll take time to cover your/my vast multitude of sins, But sorry is where it begins.~"

"~It starts with sorry.~"

As the song ends, Niffty was also awake, but she was disappointed that Sir Pentious isn't whom she thought he would be: a bad boy.

"I hated that song! Why are you so lame?!" Niffty kicks him on the body and walks away, 'Not a bad boy'."

Charlie happily sighs, "Good first day! Let's get some rest!"

As Charlie and the others except Yn leave with a wrist watch communicator still in the office, Yn looks back at the watch and then to the dark hallway.

"Alastor be a dear and please get rid of the trash in here, goodnight." Yn said as walks away to head back to sleep.

Alastor appears from the shadow of the dark hallway with a smile. He comes and picks up the watch before contacting Vox on the watch.

"WHAT?!?" Vox yelled.

Vox paused when he realized that it was Alastor who was calling him, showing fear in his screen face as Alastor laughed evilly.

"You'll have to try harder than that next time ol' pal!" Alastor smirked.

With a maniacal laughter, Alastor crushed the watch with his bare head, and the only sound Vox makes was a raging scream before Alastor retreats back into the darkness.

Previous Page: Ch. 4: Overtune

Next Page: Ch. 6: The New Sinner in Town (CS)

Beginning: Front Cover

[dustedmagazine]

Andy Summers and Robert Fripp — The Complete Recordings (Panegyric)

“That’s a lovely area,” enthuses an energetic Robert Fripp to Andy Summers after the latter lays down a series of slowly evolving chordal structures. It’s an extremely telling exchange from “Can We Record Tony?,” a documentary included on the Blu-ray DVD in The Complete Recordings, a four-disc set of the duo’s early 1980s output lovingly restored by David Singleton and released by the ever-enterprising Panegyric Recordings in conjunction with Discipline Global Mobile. The set contains I Advanced Masked (1982) and Bewitched (1984), both albums remixed and augmented with revelatory bonus tracks. The DVD contains the now-requisite higher-fidelity mixes and the documentary, but the third CD, Mother Hold the Candle Steady, which is a treasure-trove of newly rediscovered unreleased pieces and early/alternative versions, brings unity to the duo’s small but crucial corpus.

The Fripp and Summers collaborations are ripe for reappraisal. Sid Smith’s always-concise and insightful liner notes do just that. He observes that later in the year of King Crimson’s 1981 reformation, and as the Police were riding the waves of their staggering success while also recording Ghost in the Machine, which would propel them to even greater heights, the duo found time to record their first album at Arny’s Shack, a studio in Parkstone, Dorset. The second album was waxed more than two years later, as Fripp was about to embark on KC’s final tour of the decade, leaving much of the project’s tasks to Summers. The present set now tells the story, following in the footsteps of the numerous and comprehensive Fripp and King Crimson anniversary compendiums that emerged regularly from 2012. These boxes have been carefully curated with the would-be scholar in mind in that expertly organized out-takes and fragments abound, often presented in conjunction with Singleton-produced documentaries distilling the sessions in a vibrant and humorous narrative flow of their own. At least since Keep That One, Nick, which graced the Larks Tongues in Aspic box, we’ve been treated to similar fly-on-the-wall glimpses of recordings in process, and one of their most endearing aspects is that we hear the hum, flutter, whirr and grind of the media as all is captured and transformed. This new entry is no exception, and the cassette recorder making it all possible, courtesy of Fripp, is as much a star of the show as the two performers in verbal and musical dialogue. They discuss everything from where each might want to live, to the musical influences their musings reflect and the possible commercial appeal of their joint endeavor, but most of all, they return to the idea of area. Whether explicitly articulated or not, they deep-dive into the felicities of line, chord, drone and timbre with the intrepid joy of explorers.

The term “area” seems particularly apt when considering the Fripp/Summers corpus. Though extremely different, the two albums tend to focus on spaces and terrains rather than on tunes. Yes, there are melodies, but, as with a 1980s Crimson track like “The Sheltering Sky” or a Police barn-stormer like the Summers-penned “Mother,” the music tends toward a sort of rhythmically energetic staticity. “Mother” is a blues, after a fashion, but its syncopated intricacy and continual timbral shifts and odd time intrigue as does much of the Fripp and Summers material. That riff, or line, or some combination thereof, guiding “Mother” forward is remarkably similar to ideas informing the two guitarists’ joint efforts, like the exuberant “China Yellow Leader,” which, if the documentary provides ample evidence, Fripp would call “a hummer!” From Bewitched, there is the intoxicating “Maquillage,” of which the set also provides two alternates of increasingly radical disparity. Mother Hold the Candle Steady’s version presents the foundational ostinato in harmonic layers, as does the alternate original mix, but the guitar solo is distorted. The sustains sound like Fripp, but my guess is that the solo comes courtesy of Summers.

So much more than just an album of leftovers, Candle offers a fascinating glimpse into facets of the collaboration as-yet unrepresented on disc. The steel pan sinew and swerve of “San Antonio Blues” comes right out of left field, allowing those ubiquitous synthesizers both musicians were using at that time a completely different context as somebody’s guitar slides and drags across the top. Contrast that with the all-acoustic “Turkish Kitchen” to dig into an entirely different cultural template, territory somehow deemed unfit for release. Even Summers, who found the tapes when preparing the set, is mystified as to why these excursions were rejected.

David Singleton’s Tale of the Tapes installment recounts the rearrangement these pieces, some still in sketch, needed to undergo for release. It also makes plain that the process of preparing the two albums was no mean feat, necessitating a fair amount of reconstruction. Those who are invested in the original mixes may be in for a shock. As with Steven Wilson’s Crimson remixes, there’s a fair amount of intervention, but to these ears, it enhances rather than degrades the experience. The changes range from small to huge. The swells on “The Truth of Skies” do not cut off as abruptly as they did on the original mix. Leaving something of a vacuum, this has been corrected so that  the new mix affords more room to hear each sound as it unfolds in dialogue with the others. Stereo placement is often modified, most obviously, in fact shockingly, on “Forgotten Steps.” It has never been clear to me why the original mix was positioned right at the center of the soundstage. Now, we have a glorious version as spacious as it is detailed, each layer an immersive area to be explored in an entirely new yet familiar sonic context. Yes, the original’s wall-of-sound effect is lost, but so much more is gained as each instrument travels along its own axis, a space within spaces.

There are many such surprises, and I won’t ruin them. Most remarkable is Singleton’s ability to render both albums sonically similar. Even the full-band material on Bewitched now sounds as if its cut from the same layered cloth as the orchestral duos comprising I Advanced Masked. All three discs are of a sonic piece, making the set a pleasure from start to finish. The opening moments of “Parade” are now imbued with the laughter on “Parade II,, a juxtaposition which in turn fosters the unity encapsulated by the broader perspective informing Smith’s narrative. Each synth wash, interlocking guitar riff and band interaction has been clarified and extraneous effects often removed. All this reenforces the obvious fact that The Police and King Crimson were referenced but never dogmatically on this pair, now a trio, of important research and developmental documents. As Summers and Fripp discuss in the documentary, commercial intention is subjugated to the setting of new standards of playing, and now, thanks to a lot of reconstructive work, the familiar can be heard as unfamiliar and judged accordingly. The set is a third space in which hindsight allows this music its rightful place in the convergent histories it documents.

Marc Medwin

[roo-bi-unrestricted]

[daily-dusttale]

Day 32 - Scheming

Dusttale by Ask-Dusttale

Crimson by @liliallowed and design by @fateswind0wseat

Mmm love these little goobers. I think I came across Crimson a while ago, when I was desperately searching for Dusttale Player content, saw them, thought they were cool, thought about drawing them, and then almost immediately. I blame my ADHD. Have some alts

[liliallowed]

Coraline au

the door to the "other world" was opened by the royal scientist as he fell into the "mist"/void.

a spider found itself way through the crack.

the lonely spider saw the monsters in despair. they were trapped underground longing to see the sun.

seeing the warmth of company and their kindness... their LOVE. the lonely spider became envious. for it could never fully teach beyond it's realm.

it could not bring them to the surface... but it COULD bring the surface to THEM.

it began to spin a web of lies. a world filled with their hopes and dreams of freedom. a world where they could all be happy. and they wouldn't have to be alone anymore. they'd have a family.

they wove the thread of fate itself around slowly trapping more and more souls in it. sewing buttons on their eyes as a claim over their souls.

it was no longer lonely.

it had spun itself a home. an eternal paradise.

but something from the [mist] severed the link.

just then the monster started to tlsee the terrifying web of lies it had woven... putting the lives of his people on puppet strong for it's amusement.

a game was proposed.

a gamble.

if he won, they'd have to set everyone lose. if they won he'd let them own his soul again.

of course he knew their game was rigged. they'd never let him go even if he won... so he gave it a twist.

that if he could KILL everyone before they turned them into puppets then they had NO CHOICE.

their web would unwind and their power would weaken.

it wasn't like he could escape. this world was beyond saving. but at least he could give the a death in free spirit.

after getting rid of all the souls they'd be weak enough for him to kill...

of course they knew this. but it's so rare that prey like this fights back. being the one on the run... they miss sentiment. and this game is much more fun than they thought.

they really REALLY like this one... maybe even if he loses they wouldn't take his soul... no. it'd be a shame to sew buttons on those beautiful vengeful eyes.