#so i'll probably have to wait another five years before i touch my sonic the hedgehog art

[just-honey-dewd]

Angel’s comic commentary

Finally read the comic, and I've got a handful of things to say. This’ll mostly just be me listing out what this comic's canonically established alongside quite a bit of speculation. Feel free to update me on information here that's faulty. 

Obvious spoilers ahead if you haven’t read it.

1. Angel and Val's relationship

It's established that Val is his boss and asserts that dominance on Angel in a very intense and toxic way. Comparable to a drunk abusive dad using his "gentle voice" on his son before erupting into terrifying fits of rage and almost resorting physical abuse -- only holding back because he doesn't want any evidence of abuse. Or in this context, he doesn't want his cash cow to risk any pointless bruising.

”Um.... I overheard you at the studio talking about how you didn’t have anyone to handle this deal.... with.... I mean.... Just thought it was an easy gig... I knew I could take em’ out easy and even scored ya both.”                                                                                -  Angel Dust

Angel seems to take initiative when it comes to handling mobsters and essentially meddling in Val's affairs. I speculate that this could be attributed to his background as a skilled mobster, as well as a desire to prove his worth in more ways than one. Not because he wants to suck up to his boss though. Rather, it seems like underlying self-worth issues coming into play.  

Angel clearly has a lot of baggage with his past as a mobster, his rocky relationship with his family -- alongside heavily speculation of abuse from his dad and brother -- and a lack of healthy outlet. Which is why he's acting out and disobeying Val -- going out of his way to help him with jobs he's not even hired to do. Because before Cherri or the hotel, Angel went into the sex industry and "proved his worth" by being the most popular porn star in hell. But given the nature of abusive bosses, Val never treated Angel with genuine respect, only preserving him from danger which would probably feel patronizing to a person who could competently hold his own in battle. So Angel's next motive is to prove he can do more than just suck people's dicks to Val so he can earn his respect.

The relationship's basically a one-sided give and take affair. Angel gives, Val takes. All because Angel's misguided head feels he just needs to prove himself to people to earn a right.

2. Popular, but not "popular"

Angel is popular for his work, but the work itself is not generally respected in hell -- or at least in the capital. 

This is evident in the pilot, and only gets further supported with the comic, as demons out in the street don't immediately walk up to him asking to do it with him. It seems he even gets recognized but glared at by some demons. It's surprisingly similar to the way general society looks at porn stars or strippers. Katie verbally shamed Tom for knowing who AD was, the guy Angel was with early in the pilot called him a slut, same was the other guy that stole his drugs, and Angel's punishment from Val was to stand out in the city streets and "make up for the time he missed filming".

Basically, Angel is popular, but not respected as a celebrity porn star -- he honestly stands out as a misfit most would look down on. Whether it’s more because of the nature of his profession, or hell’s lack of respect for anyone without a knife to their throat, is really anyone’s guess. I personally subscribe to the notion that it’s mainly the former, followed by latter.

So overall, this: 

i)  Further connects hell's civilization with ours in the aspect of how occupations/titles define reputation, and value to society.

ii)  Confirms that Angel is famous but in not in the positively well-received sense.

iii)  Confirms that the porn industry is a big thing in hell, but majority of the population won't acknowledge it's popularity or influence if they don't have to. Likely because of the risk of their reputation rather than any ethical dilemmas.

3. Angel's Payment Policy

He tells Charlie that his time costs money, and she agrees to it. But near the end of the comic, Angel almost walks out of the conversation without money, until Charlie drops him a wad of cash. So the payment policy is kinda loose depending on if whatever the time was spent on was interesting and worth it. Charlie and Vaggie literally gave him an epiphany by telling him that they believe redemption could be a possibility and that they (Charlie) see the potential for him to change. Pretty heavy stuff, so the payment was paid by Angel's interest itself. ̶C̶h̶a̶r̶l̶i̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶n̶e̶c̶e̶s̶s̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶m̶i̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶o̶n̶u̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶g̶r̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶e̶n̶t̶i̶v̶e̶.̶

4. Charlie's character

Charlie doesn't have a filter and doesn't know how to phrase things sensitively on the spot. For someone who refers to swearing as "problematic language", she doesn't know how not to come off as rude or offensive ironically -- "Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow" is a testament to that. 

Her conversation with Angel in the comic cements this as an intentional and integral part of her character. It's probably gonna become a reoccurring gag, source of conflict for the hotel, and/or a common source of entertainment for Alastor.

Additionally, she's a very physically affectionate person. Although already evident with multiple scenes from the pilot, the comic provides consistent show of it with the little head bump and cuddle with Vaggie, and that gentle hand on Angel's chest fluff. Fitting for the Disney Princess aspect of her personality.

5. Why did Angel agree to become a patron?

Because of his desire to prove his worth and value. He enjoyed screwing with the girls, but otherwise seemed indifferent about the redemption plan -- as anyone would. Only reason he ultimately decided to join was because Vaggie insisted on Charlie that he's not worth the effort, and he wanted to prove her wrong. It's a manipulative tactic to use someone's broken ego against them to get them to do what you want -- but in here, it was unintentional. Angel's insecurity of being seen as worthless took effect in his impulsive decision, not to mention that they made it clear as day that Charlie saw potential -- and by extension, worth -- to him. Vaggie represents the rational but blunt naysayers in his life that don't see shit in him, and Angel was determined to finally prove to them -- and himself -- that he's worth something. Worth the effort. Worth an ounce of respect. Worth helping.

And it's evident in the last 2 pages of the comic, that he's spent time reflecting on Charlie's words to him all the way home. Does he believe in her cause?  No. Is she serious? Who knows.  Does he have what it takes to be a good person? Not by a long shot!

But she saw something in him, something beyond the reputation and value predetermined for him on Earth, beyond the reputation he established in Hell even. For someone like her to exist in such a cruel and harsh reality and tell him she believes there's more to him than what he knows.... with those odds, it makes the redemption concept itself just a little less implausible. It's silly, that's for sure.

[another-sonic-blog]

The Dark Prince: Chapter One: Team

I am tired. Truthfully I am.

No matter how long I popped my back, it will still hurt. My eyes would close themselves and my body will not respond to my commands. The room I was in wasn't helping either. The dim lights, the soft whisper of people talking between each other, the delicate yet strong aroma of recently made coffee made everything almost too perfect.

"A large cup of black coffee please"

    I heard his voice clearly enough to not recognize it. "Hey there Dark Prince."

I collected all of my strength to keep on going and at least bring the best customer service to my number one client.

"You too? I don't know what's with people calling me that."

"Well, it just fits you... or do you prefer to be called 'Dark Lord?"

"Well it indeed reminds me of Star Wars so..."

"Well yeah, we are not changing it."

    Shadow showed me those small yet powerfully cute fangs as he smirked. There were good intentions behind his annoyance with his nickname. Shadow always liked to be secretive when it came to him. So many people calling him Dark Prince wasn't on his plans, meaning people knew what he was doing in secret wasn't so secret after all.

"Are you feeling alright?"

        I recognized an honest look of concern in Shadow's face, I must have looked at my worse because it was rare to see Shadow with such face.

"Yes, I am just tired. It's been a long day."

    I received Shadow's black coffee from my co-worker. Shadow's eyes lift up in excitement, it was one of the few moments where I could appreciate him fully. Although he was the ultimate life form, he still acted like one of us. He was one of us.

"Well...Thank you for coming to Momo Cafe."

"My pleasure."

      Shadow took the coffee from my hand and our fingers touched lightly. It was normal for it to happen, but I had to admit that it made my heart flutter when it shouldn't.

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   I still don't know why I became addicted to coffee. Maybe because Amy was crazy about it too or because I had the opportunity to see her every time I buy coffee.

I had to admit that she had me at her will. The reason? To be honest, I still didn't know.  Maybe I wasn't in love with her but just appreciated her deeply. Rouge says that I am, that the fact alone that I became addicted to coffee because Amy was good of enough proof that I am indeed in love with her.

But I am not sure.

I had never experienced love this way before. It wasn't like the family love I had for Maria, but more... intimate. To be honest, I am still learning the ways in which the world works. Sometimes I can come off as "rude" or "empathic" but I think it's because I still don't know how to communicate properly.

Which is why I let my actions speak for me. Or at least I try.

I am really trying, really I am. But sometimes I get tired.

And today I am tired. Truthfully I am.

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   I showed up to G.U.N in my motorcycle and the guard let me in as soon as he saw me. He was a good guy, last time I spoke to him, he had fixed his problems with his wife and everything was even better for him when the news came that he was going to become a father.

Sometimes I wonder, what it feels like to be part of a family.

But maybe that's just not for me.

I walked through the doors of G.U.N as the cool of the A.C hit my face. It's been fresh these days so I really wonder why they keep the AC on times like this.

"Oh, the Dark Prince arrived"

"Ah, if only I had the courage to tell him how I feel"

"He is just so dreamy"

  The same as usual. It seems like they tend to forget that I have better hearing than the average person. It's not that I mind the compliments or the quiet love confessions. It's that it's just the same, you may think that being a secret spy would be an exciting life full of adventures but it's honestly not that easy. Yes, we do go in missions, but not as much as I would like it to be.

"Why does it have to be so cold in here!?

I am freezing! I am going to get a cold...."

    Ok, that was my call, that wasn't the first time I hear a complaint about the temperature in the building. I was going to have to talk to the commander directly.

There's a lot of things that fail at G.U.N but the worst one was the thermostat for the whole building was located at the Commander's office.  "To prevent fights between our individuals and most importantly to prevent a higher cost of energy in our building. It is already high as it is Agent Shadow...."

Well, that's what he told him. Nonetheless, in cases where it was 0 Celsius degree outside, changes needed to be made.

 I knocked on his door twice, there was no answer. I knocked again and waited for an answer. Nothing happened. Usually, I wouldn't enter but since must G.U.N members can probably get frostbite by how cold it is, I decided to take my chances. I opened the door to find the Commander sleeping, face directly resting on his desk, hands laying next to his head.

  I walked around next to him but my nose was already telling me something that mind didn't want to admit.

I didn't want to touch him, I didn't have the need to.  Nobody visits the building over the weekend, his dead body could have been laying down there since then,  we just didn't know.

His killer was a smart one too, raising the temperature of the building so his body would decompose at a slower pace was a smart move.

Way too smart.

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"Commander was murder on Thursday night of last week at 3:00 AM. Witnesses claim-"

      When I heard the news from Shadow that the Commander, our Commander had been killed, I... didn't feel much. Even now after a couple of hours of this announcement, I still couldn't find myself to feel anything.

But Shadow was feeling something. I could tell that he was hiding his own dissent. He was standing over the window looking to nowhere in particular. Shadow had been partners with the Commander for a couple of missions now, and it was speculated that over time they grew a bond. I'll say even develop something like a friendship.

"Can you cut it and tell us who did it already?"

      If looks could kill, Shadow would of have killed one of his co-workers right now.  The young lady cleared her throat and took a deep breath before responding.

"Amy Rose, age 20, owner of the famous Momo Cafe that is located in Chaos Street."

The room went silent, I looked at Shadow, his eyes shaking while watching the video that incriminated our pink friend.

"No! There must be a mistake-", I stood up, offended by the fact alone that Amy's name was mentioned.

"Rouge, no...let them finish"

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   The day was done and finally, I was free from the addictive smell of coffee.  I closed the crystal door with my keys and as I looked up I realized there was a very familiar figure behind me.

"Hey, Shad-"

   I didn't even have time to greet him because as soon as I turned around, Shadow had already Chaos Control us out of the street.

   Next thing I knew was that there was grass in my feet.  Bushes and trees around me, Shadow standing next to me watching the sunset sent on the city.

"Alright, you have thirty seconds to tell me what's going on or I'll start screaming."

"You are being convicted for the murder of G.U.N's Commander."

"What?!"

"They must be looking for you...for us right now."

"Wait, Shadow, go slower what happened?"

   I was panicking, but Shadow looked as calm as ever. He took a few seconds to show any sign that he was still there.

"G.U.N's Commander was found dead at this office today. Witnesses and a very clear video of you committing the act are undoubtedly proof that you are indeed the one who murder him."

"No! That wasn't me, Shadow I swear, there must be a mistake-"

"I know.", Shadow looked at me, and the blaze of his red eyes made my heart skip a beat. He was always so confident about himself, but this time was different. It's like as if he was completely, irrevocably, sure about what he was doing. I felt safe and knew that everything was going to be alright by just looking at him.

"Can't you help me? You have worked for them for years. Can't you just explain-"

"I tried already and it ended up badly. Look, Amy, you just didn't 'kill' a random person. You 'murdered' G.U.N's Commander.  He ended hunger in Vijayanagar, he freed slaves in  Mohenjo-Daro, he has saved the president of this country multiple times and stopped World War Three five times...he has allies all over the world who look for revenge and they have sent their top spies to look for you and kill you."

   Shadow made a pause, noticing that it was too much information for me to take in. After a few seconds, he got closer to me and I felt a great warm coming from his body.

" and I'll protect you."

   The sun went down just like the flow in my blood. I could feel the heat going to my cheeks and I could bet that I was as red as Shadow's eyes.

"I am involved as well now and whether I want it or not, finding the true assassin is the only way to clear our names now..so until we find him..."

   The city lights glow as the sun was no longer visible,  the wind was moving softly and the tweets of the late night birds arose. Amy didn't want to admit it, but she was completely charmed by the Dark Prince.

"let's be a team"

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Previous Chapter: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/185966563480/the-dark-prince-prologue-the-dark-prince

The Dark Prince: Prologue: The Dark Prince

Next Chapter: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/185966809995/the-dark-prince-chapter-two-the-way-he-is

The Dark Prince:  Chapter Two: The Way He Is