I have come up on a block — I have the plot laid out and an outline that is pretty detailed I’m just trying to hammer out plot holes and formulating HOW to write Anderson’s arc. Also contemplating writing it backwards cause the climax is very clear in my mind. Sorta. Writing compelling action is hard. Debating between a shoot out and a sword fight OR BOTH. Idk. In sum: Anderson’s not good very bad horrible awful day followed by a fight with Catholic puss in boots.
I also forgot Jeanne excited. (For those who have not read angel dust — that is Anderson’s sister.) and I’m conflicted on writing her in, it would change some stuff I’ve already written 🧐
Did I understand correctly that Anderson was actually offered to become a vampire? Please tell me how it happened! Was it in person? What kind of meeting or what was it? What did Anderson feel? Also, considering the character of Bismarck Hering, it was probably kind and caring on the surface, but in fact, it was extremely creepy! And in fact, it was just awful! I am very interested in when Anderson received the offer and what he thought of it and Hering.
Yes! You did.
In my rewrite, the reward for killing the thief and returning the stolen items and specifically the artifact - the Holy Lance - to Bismark Hering is vampiric immortality.
It is in person, with a demonstration, and was intended to be a demonstrative incentive to Anderson and Flanders to get the job done quickly, bloodily, and efficiently. I would say it definitely started paternal and ended in a Bacchanalian display of viscera and brutality. Let's just say this didn't sit well with Anderson and sowed the seed of dissent.
I won't go into too much >:3c for writing reasons.
I usually ignore one little fact, like Anderson's backstory in Angel Dust. However, you have a very promising and already cool AU, which I would consider Anderson's backstory. So the following fact worries me: in Angel Dust, Anderson has dark hair, in other works he has light hair. And just... How? Why? I'm very interested to know what you think about this.
Do you explain this to yourself in some way or do you also ignore the difference in hair color?
Ah yes, I was expecting this question eventually lol. To my knowledge, Anderson’s change in hair/eye color comes down to Hirano having to redesign the character out of revenge for never getting his Angel Dust manuscript back. However, as this is a world building endeavor, I had to think of how this would actually work logistically.
When I started my Angel Dust rewrite, I contemplated making a younger Anderson blonde + green eyed. But then I was just. No. The color palette he has in the original source material makes a lot of sense in my opinion for his character — moody, brooding, and a tall, dark, and handsome stranger. It worked.
I initially rolled some ideas around as to how Alexander went from brunette to blonde — such as dying/contacts, bleached from stress, or potentially genetic altercations. I decided that genetic alterations from the process of becoming a regenerator would make sense.
Dying/contacts implies he is still on the run or simply wanting to change his identity but Anderson is literally protected by the Vatican and goes by the same name so… yeah. Stressors causing his hair to go blonde is… fine? But it doesn’t factor in eye color. In a world where people can be regenerators AT ALL makes me think that genetic changes wouldn’t be so far out of the picture.
Heinkel’s eyes turn red now. Anderson’s can turn green.
Really though — Anderson’s color palette change isn’t covered in the scope of my rewrite. But getting his scars is ;D especially half of his glowing Glasgow smile.
I actually just fell SO MUCH in love with your take on Angel Dust because that's EXACTLY what would make this piece better! I'm a sucker for heartwarming relationships! I'm really looking forward to any content on them, be it sketches, thoughts, or anything else! Of course, I'm just saying this and not implying anything, just thank you so much for creating what you've created so far, and thank you for planning on doing more!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am so glad to hear it. :) These two and getting to explore a more mundane, hopeful story for them has been really fun and lowkey cathartic. Although it ends in tragedy (can't change too much.), I want Anderson and Christine's relationship to be two broken people at different stages of healing.
I have also made them both musically inclined. Instruments, singing, folk dancing - all that jazz. It just felt right. ♡
Some thoughts specifically on Anderson and Christine
I mainly want the story to focus around the impact Anderson and Christine have on each other, even if it is a more subtle adjustment to their characters within the story. Christine shows Anderson unabashed care and strong-willed compassion that encourages him to do what is right, avoid cowardliness, and aspire to protect these people. Anderson gives Christine a fresh start, someone who doesn't see her as just the small, incapable, scorned novice, stirring her to be forward, thrive more in her life, and stand by him even when things get dicey.
Christine does inevitably become more of an agent for Anderson's development and positive character arc, but she is still a distinct person with a backstory, issues, hopes, and dreams. Being a nun was never her first choice, but she delights in the Lord, so why not trust the process?
She is also incredibly observant. Christine clocks Anderson immediately as someone with ulterior motives and a secret. Rather than shaming him for it and pressing it out of him (for now), she shows him the compassion and tenderness he needs in that moment.
The Church of the Apostle of the Ardennes' true operation as an Iscariot safe house is not lost on Christine. Though she knows about Iscariot's surface level existence, she tries to stay out its way.
Hellsing shipping culture please don't kill me for this one -- Anderson's love life ends with Christine. Not only does he take on the oath of a priest, but the events at the Church leave him in a very "I have felt true love before and I will never feel it again" mentality. It is not a bad thing to him, rather a fleeting dream that he ought to wake up from.
Christine haunts the rest of Anderson's narrative, for better or for worse. She stirs up his love for caring for children and inspires the opening of Ferdinant Luke's in Italy. But she also haunts his perception on doing the right thing, no matter the cost, because he didn't take on the full cost before and it wounded him and others greatly.
I haven't written much of their interactions yet, it is all still rotting away in my head. But they're naturally friends, longingly something else. Maybe in another life, they would have had more.
WHAT DOES BISMARCK HERING LOOK LIKE? Please tell me! Or show... 👁️👁️♥️✨
I can SHOW you! Kinda.
My rewrite’s Bismarck Hering is Montana Max just with a new name/more masculine design. (And I preferred that name out of the four provided upper echelon guys from the original source material.)
I describe him briefly in one chapter, but I intentionally want to leave his appearance a little up to the reader. Some things are set, written below. And he’s physically in his late 40s to early 50s. He also doesn’t appear much — serving more as a background plot-mover and instigator than an active antagonist like Flanders is.
My Angel Dust rewrite ENDS with the assault on the church/aftermath of all of that so there is no extended plot line that we see in the original source - mainly because I didn’t really care for where the plot went AND Anderson’s story arch about morality and redemption can be handled in a more subtle, ambiguously open way given this is a GLIMPSE into his life.
Anyways —
Bismarck Hering is a highly affectionate in a creepy mock-paternal way. Clasping in hand shakes for too long, wrapping an arm around one’s shoulders, patting one’s arm or face to punctuate a point, leaning in so that his breath cools the person’s neck or cheek. Proximity and intimidation are key for him. He knows he is domineering because so little is known about him and he keeps his closer circle tight knit and very protected. When he does put himself on display, it is often preceded or succeeded by immense, Bacchanalian level violence and debauchery.
He treats Flanders and Anderson like his sons, albeit from a distance — hence their industry alias “Sons of Hering.” He gives them special accommodations, higher pay, more dangerous jobs, and eventually an invitation into his vampiric lifestyle. He is a collector, an extravagant host, and an ardent sadist. His vampirism is often on the back burner, his personality and desires having not changed much since crossing the pale into undeath.
He also has a mistress in my story! She is his American, nouveau riche decorative piece. She doesn’t have a major role other than adding to Hering’s luxurious, indulgent way of living.
I hope this answered your ask adequately!!!! I’m so pumped to have someone be invested 😭🩵
This is a project I have been wanting to post about for a little while now. I have always thought that Angel Dust has a really decent story with good story beats but Hirano is. Hirano. and I am a prude so I have taken it upon myself as a fun exercise and self-indulgent canon expansion to rewrite Angel Dust.
I tried to stay true to the names, appearances, and aesthetics of the original piece but obviously there have been some drastic changes and additions. I have mostly found a way to incorporate Iscariot upfront, overhauled Christine and Anderson's relationship (and her course of events.), and added new plot elements/shifted some stuff around to compel it to canon more.
I am also writing this all out in a fanfiction. Chapters 3 out of 10 are written.... oh boy.
More ramblings under the cut 𖦏₊ ⊹
MAIN CHARACTERS
I am going to work LEFT TO RIGHT. There are more than this but I am sticking to what is drawn for now.
Eoin Rem Flanders - a member of the Herrings, a Scottish gang affiliated with the mafia and arms trade to continental Europe. He is Anderson's leader and partner in crime who eventually leads the assault on the Church after Anderson flees an assassination with Flanders' gun, drugs, and a special artifact belonging to their boss - Bismarck Hering. He is violent, impatient, manipulative, and callously unbothered most of the time.
Alexander Anderson - a poor Scotsman who becomes a mafia assassin in hopes of buying he and his sister out of poverty. He earns a name for himself alongside his partner in crime, Flanders, as the Sons of Hering. After witnessing a violent supernatural event and making a kill too personal for him, Anderson betrays Flanders and the Herring, stealing a gun, drugs, and an artifact once belonging to the Vatican -- the Holy Lance. He hides in the town of Dreich, Scotland, as a priest in the Church of the Apostle of the Ardennes where the inhabitants give him a glimpse at redemption.
Christine - a novice nun at the Church of the Apostle of the Ardennes. She tends to the local orphanage and takes special interest in Anderson upon his arrival to the Church, showing him the orphanage in hopes of giving him purpose. Christine came to the monastery to escape social pressure following an assault. She is tender but strong willed. She forms a deep connection with Anderson, willing to throw away her life as a nun to run with him.
Sister Lavinia Abercrombie - an Iscariot agent paired with Father Graham to track down and protect the Holy Lance. She is armed with a crossbow that shoots arrows with blessed tips. She has a commanding, maternal presence and comes from the Champagne region of France.
Father Carlisle Graham - an Iscariot agent sent alongside Sister Abercrombie to safeguard the securing of the Holy Lance. He is equipped with two twin Colt M1900s strapped under his cassock shirt. He is British and has a strong sense of justice but also a predisposition for revenge.
Siro Quarenghi di Messina - the lead Paladin of the Iscariot Armed Priest Vanguard. He is known as the Gentle Sword of God and is Anderson's predecessor as Paladin. His rapier is made of blessed steel and he possesses similar abilities to Anderson later on. Siro's reputation precedes him wherever he goes and after reclaiming the Lance, he offers Anderson a choice to become his pupil as ultimate redemption and atonement for his life of violence.
PLOT
The biggest change I have implemented is the overbearing presence of Iscariot, all revolving around the stolen artifact of the Armi Christ - the Holy Lance. From the same arsenal as the Nail of Helena, the Lance is immensely powerful and is used by the Herrings to cull its immortal practice.
Bismarck Hering, the leader of the Herrings, is a vampire and he offers immortality to his best workers, killers, and money makers. When this Lance is stolen from him by a young teenager named Callum Nash on behalf of the Vatican, Hering sends Flanders and Anderson after him, triggering a chain of events.
Anderson's time at the Church of the Apostle of the Ardennes is over the course of three or so weeks. Also! The church is named that way after St. Hubert, the patron saint of HUNTERS as the church serves as an operative base and safe house for traveling Iscariot agents.
The other biggest change is just. Getting rid of all of the ns/fw content. It is gone <3 lol! While things DO GO SOUTH at the Church once Flanders arrives, it's nothing like the original source material. Anderson and Christine have a sweet, tender relationship characterized by Anderson's guilt over his life choices and the closer and closer threat he is bringing to these people.
I don't wanna type much more else cause I eventually want to publish my fic to the internet... we'll see.
ANYWAYS PLEASE INTERACT WITH THIS I PROMISE I AM NORMAL I JSUT LOVE EXPANDING CANON AND THIS HAS BECOME MY FIXATION TO COPE WITH THE IMPENDING DREAD OF GRAD SCHOOL LOLOLOLOL
