Chapter Text
Blitzø had always loved art, but he never dreamed that one day he would be able to make a career out of it. Yet here he was, running his very own pottery painting studio in the Pride ring. He had named it I.M.P., short for I Make Pottery, and it was doing very well for itself. Apparently, a lot of demons needed a creative outlet, and I.M.P. helped fill that void.
I.M.P. was a paint your own pottery studio, meaning customers would come in and select a ceramic piece they wanted to paint. They had a wide range of items, from animals to vehicles to ash trays to Sinsmas decorations to dishes to flower pots to… well, yeah, they basically had everything you could think of. Once they selected their piece they had to decide which kind of paint they wanted. They had both acrylic and glaze paints and both were used for different things. Acrylic paints only needed a sealant spray after they were done and they could go home right away, but they weren’t foodsafe, so if someone wanted to paint a coffee mug or something similar they used glaze paints which had to get fired in a kiln and picked up a few days later. Blitzø and his employees were there to offer suggestions on painting techniques, paint colors, and anything else that was needed for customers to have a good time.
Despite how well the business was running now, when he first opened, business was very slow. A lot of demons didn’t understand what the point of I.M.P. was and as far as he knew he might be the only pottery painting studio there was in Hell, and at the very least he knew it was the only place like it in the Pride ring. After a few months he worried he may have to completely change course with his business, but just around the same time a pair of sinners had spotted his shop while walking past and were thrilled by the concept. It turns out, pottery painting studios were fairly common on Earth, and these two sinners loved them. They had stayed at I.M.P. almost the entire day, painting several ceramic pieces, and promising they would be back. Blitzø told them to tell their friends about it, and boy, did they ever.
They didn’t just tell a friend, they told five . After months of having practically no sales here was a group of seven sinners all selecting things to paint in his studio. Blitzø had never had that many people in the store at one time and he couldn’t believe his luck. He busted his ass getting them paints, brushes, water cups, aprons, giving them advice on color combinations and painting techniques, spraying sealants on the pieces that were painted with acrylic paint and carefully setting aside the glaze pieces for later firing.
After that day, they just kept coming . Word was getting around and a lot of sinners were showing up at I.M.P., craving an activity they used to do on Earth, and as time went on hellborn started to show up too. More and more demons were starting to understand the merits of using art as a way to relax, destress, connect with family and friends, and have fun, and it made Blitzø feel good to provide that.
-Artwork by Phelina!-
As it got busier, though, he needed to hire someone to help. He had been stressing to his daughter one day about it when she said she could help as long as he paid her and if she interacted with customers as little as possible. She had just recently turned 18 and had been looking for a job as it turned out, and what better place than the business your adopted Father owned that was conveniently located one floor below your apartment?
So, Loona became his first employee and Blitzø didn’t think he could be more proud. Sure, she was pretty awful with customers… she rolled her eyes when they asked her for advice, she absolutely couldn’t stand children, and she was almost always on her phone and forgot to get customers things they needed like paint or brushes. When it came to doing things that didn’t involve speaking to anyone, however, she was great. Loona mostly handled things that needed to get done in the back of the store, like washing paint brushes and palettes, ringing customers up on the register, applying clear glaze to pieces that needed to go into the kiln and filing customer cards with information on which piece belonged to who. Blitzø worked with customers up front, greeting them, helping them select their ceramic pieces, gave advice on what types of paint to use, how to apply it, and got them the supplies they needed.
Blitzø owned the building I.M.P. ran out of. It was a two story building, with I.M.P. operating on the main floor and two apartments being on the second floor. He and his daughter lived in one of the two apartments, and the other he rented out, which was the only way he had been able to pay off his bills the first few months. There was a basement as well that mainly served as storage.
When he first opened I.M.P., he decided to only open half of the main floor. The main floor had one large, long room that had a small room connected to it that then connected to another two larger rooms. He mainly ran things in the larger room, the small connecting room only there for some more space to display pieces that people could choose from.
The extra two rooms had stayed untouched for almost the entire first year of his business, until one day when the two sinners who had been the first “real” customers he had asked if they could celebrate a birthday at I.M.P. Blitzø would have closed the store for them, but it was on a Saturday which was their busiest day, so he had the idea to open one of the larger rooms up and put some tables and chairs in there so the birthday group could have their own space.
Loona begrudgingly agreed to work with customers that day, opting to work with the birthday group as she knew the two regular customers and the rest were mostly older demons with no children in sight, while Blitzø worked with the regular customers in the front. It went really well, and they made a lot more money that day than they were used to. Loona had done a wonderful job and Blitzø was so proud of her and hoped this could be a regular thing for them.
What Blitzø failed to realize was that Loona really had only done such a good job before because she liked the two sinners who had hosted the party and because she had thought it would be a one time thing. Word got around that they allowed larger groups so they had more people calling booking birthday parties, get togethers, family events, work outings, etc. It was great for business, but it meant Loona had to spend more and more time with customers, and Blitzø could tell he was treading on thin ice with her. The more days she was forced to work with customers the less friendly she became, and one day she finally put her foot down on the issue.
“Blitzø, if you don’t hire someone else, I fucking quit.”
“Looney, you can’t mean that, you’re the best employee I have!” Blitzø panicked, grabbing onto his daughter’s shoulders and giving her a pleading look while cringing inwardly as it reminded him of the shit his shitty Dad used to do to him.
“I’m your only employee which is the whole fucking problem. When I first started helping it was chill, but this..” she gestured out at the storefront first, which had every table full with customers, and then to one of the side rooms that also had its own event going on. “I don’t want to do this. I like working back here but that’s it. Find someone else, soon , or I’m done.”
He was desperate to hire some new employees after that conversation, but he was too fucking picky. Just a few of the things he wanted were someone who was willing to work with customers, enjoyed art, was able to keep shit organized, was hot (because sorry, no uggos allowed in I.M.P.), and he did not want any teenagers. He loved Loona of course and wouldn’t trade her for anything, but he didn’t want another moody teen in the workplace. It wasn’t because he was secretly worried Loona would band together with another teenager to bully him… yeah, totally not that.
He had conducted several interviews but nothing was clicking. Some were interested in art but Blitzø could tell they were way too socially awkward to work with customers, others were clearly just applying at any place hiring and didn’t even know what I.M.P. was about, and some were perfect … except they were ugly, so Blitzø couldn’t hire them, obviously.
Blitzø was beginning to feel desperate and was considering calling back the ugly (but otherwise perfect) applicant when an imp pushed open the door and head right for him, pulling him from his thoughts. It was almost closing time and he and Loona had been the only two in the shop until he walked in. He introduced himself as Moxxie, and Blitzø had a vague memory of him coming in about a month ago to paint matching mugs with his girlfriend. He mostly remembered him because he had a heated discussion with Loona in the back about who tops, both eventually agreeing it was definitely the girlfriend.
“Oh, nice to meet you Moxxie. You and your girlfriend painted two mugs, right?” Blitzø said nonchalantly, heading to the shelves in back and looking for them. He spotted them behind a row of newer pottery and carefully shoved them aside before pulling the mugs out to show the smaller imp.
“Oh! I… you have a very good memory, if I do say so, Sir.”
“Eh, not really. Sometimes certain things just stick with me, y’anno? Also, you can just call me Blitzø.” He grinned, handing the mugs to Moxxie who took them eagerly and looked them over.
“Thank you, s–Blitzø.” They had each painted half a heart on their mugs so when you put them together it made a whole heart. “Millie’s going to love them, they turned out great.”
Blitzø held his hands out to take them back. “Great, glad you like ‘em. Let me just wrap ‘em for you real quick so you don’t drop them before you get ‘em home.” He carefully wrapped the first mug in some newspaper before putting it in a plastic bag. “Took you a while to come and get these, they were ready three weeks ago. Usually couples come back right away to get the cheesy love shit they make – no offense.”
“None taken!” Moxxie said quickly with a light chuckle while Blitzø began wrapping the second one. “I apologize it took me so long to come pick them up. It’s been a.. Rough couple of weeks, I guess.” His shoulder slumped a bit and he looked up at the taller imp apologetically.
“Oh?” Blitzø quirked an eyebrow at this and made sure to take as long as possible wrapping the second mug. He hoped if he took long enough Moxxie would spill more.
Moxxie continued to stand there awkwardly, nodding sadly. “Just a few days after we painted here I was… ‘let go’ from my position in my family’s business. It was kind of a shock, and we just.. forgot, I guess, with all the chaos.” He shrugged sheepishly.
“Shit, that sucks, I’m sorry,” Blitzø said as he ‘accidentally’ let go of the newspaper he was using to wrap the mug, having to start over again. “So what are you two doing now for work?”
“Oh, well, Millie works, but it’s only part time. We’ve been scrambling to find full time work for the both of us but we aren’t having much luck.” He sighed. “You know, nowhere is really hiring. Well, nowhere… good .”
Blitzø knew exactly what he meant. Most of the work in Hell involved drugs, alcohol, killing, sex, or a combination of all four. Some demons liked that kind of work, and Blitzø had even dabbled in some questionable lines of work before and sort of enjoyed it, but there were also a lot of demons who preferred to involve themselves in things that were more… lowkey. Less dangerous.
“I get it.” He finally finished wrapping the second mug and put it into the plastic bag, handing it over to Moxxie with a smile. “Well, if you and your girlfriend want to work here, I’d be happy to hire you.”
Moxxie took the bag from him offering back a smile of his own. “Thank you, I–wait… what?” The job offer had finally registered in his brain and his eyes widened. “Both of us? Full time? I didn’t even know you were hiring. I–I can fill out an application right now, and Millie can come by and–”
“No need, Moxx, if you two want the job you’re hired. No application necessary.”
The smaller imp’s jaw dropped open and he blinked. “I… just like that..?” He stood up a bit straighter, adjusting his bow tie and attempting to look less frazzled. “But.. why? Don’t you want to interview us first to see if we fit?”
Blitzø smiled and shrugged. “Not really. I’m sick of fucking interviewing people. Plus, my daughter is going to kill me if I don’t hire someone ASAP, so I’m kinda desperate. I almost hired an ugly person for fuck’s sake…” He grimaced at the thought.
Moxxie glanced over at Loona who was sitting at a customer table, feet propped up on the top as she listened to music and combined down paint bottles. “Oh, your daughter..?” He stared at her for a few seconds before plastering a smile on his face. “Well, I.. thank you so much, sir, I promise we’ll be the best employees you’ve ever–”
“Impossible, Looney is the best employee I’ll ever have,” Blitzø cut him off quickly, grinning over at his daughter who completely ignored him. “I’m sure you two will be great. If you want to start tomorrow, get here at 9. And if you can–”
“We’re CLOSED!” Loona shouted, suddenly up and standing next to Moxxie, glaring at him. The clock had just changed to 8 pm, he noticed.
“Oh shit, yeah, get the fuck out Moxxie, we’re closed.” Blitzø shoved Moxxie towards the door, the smaller imp asking once again what time and Blitzø reminding him before shoving him out and locking the door behind him.
That had been how he ended up with I.M.P. being what it is today. It had been about 4 years since he hired Moxxie and Millie, and 5 years in total they’d been in business.
Loona was able to handle all the jobs that didn’t involve working with customers. She washed paint brushes and palettes when needed and also would load and fire the kiln, or unload it when pieces were finished. Loona also was responsible for pulling molds in the basement and pouring them to make new ceramic pieces for the shop. After they were hardened inside the mold she would remove them and then work on filing and sanding any bumps or lines that weren’t meant to be there. Those pieces were called greenware and would get fired in another kiln they had in the basement before being brought up to the main storefront for customers to paint. She strongly preferred when she got to do her work in the basement as there was 0 risk of any customers bothering her. Her job was vital to I.M.P. running smoothly, and so long as she didn’t have to talk to anyone she did a great job.
Millie and Moxxie for the most part worked out front with the customers who came into the store as walk-ins. As they were pretty busy most days, having the two of them working with customers was almost a necessity, especially if Loona was in the basement that day because it meant someone had to work on washing brushes and palettes before they ran out for the day.
Blitzø would either work the parties or be in a tiny office in the basement doing paperwork. The busier they got, the more fucking paperwork they had, and he hated it, but it needed to be done. Trying to balance all the paperwork with the birthday parties and get togethers was a challenge, and a month ago they had decided to open up the other room they’d previously never used so they could have two parties at once in addition to the main store.
They could do it, it just meant that everyone was spread a little thin. Blitzø would work one party, usually Millie would do another, Moxxie stayed up front with customers, and Loona would be in back washing stuff or working on loading the kiln. Of course this also depended on none of them ever being sick or needing a day off if it was that busy of a day.
He was happy everything was going so well and he loved his employees and his business. Both Millie and Moxxie, and Hell, sometimes even Loona expressed that they liked working there, but at a recent staff meeting they’d said it might be time to hire someone new, and Blitzø had begrudgingly agreed. With how often all four of them needed to work on the main floor, Loona was falling behind on making new pieces in the basement and Blitzø was seriously behind on a lot of paperwork and bills and other boring shit he hated doing.
He really didn’t want to go through the hiring process again. If he weren’t so damn picky it could be over fast, but it was even harder now to accept someone into I.M.P. when they had such a good dynamic going already. He couldn’t let just anybody come in and fuck that up.
He had spent a week interviewing new applicants and not one person seemed the right fit. He had the same rules as before: No uglies, no teenagers, they have to like art, have to be decent with customers, be able to organize shit, they had to like horses… okay, that was a new rule, but it was mandatory, which was unfortunate because the last candidate actually had been perfect but when Blitzø asked if he liked horses he had said he found them creepy. Fucking douchebag.
Today, he had spent the entire day giving interviews and yet again, none had gone well. He glanced at the clock and saw it was 3:15. He had one last interview today and he already knew he wasn’t going to hire this girl with one look at her application. Seventeen years old. Who the fuck gave this girl an interview, anyway? (Well, it was definitely him, but he didn’t remember doing that…)
“Sir, is it alright if Millie and I head home? We finished cleaning everything and the kiln is loaded.” Moxxie asked as he hung his and Millie’s aprons up on a set of hooks near the register.
“Yeah sure,” Blitzø sighed, thumbing through the stack of applications again. “Fuck, I wish I could go home… maybe I could put a sign up saying I got sick and–”
“B, give the girl a chance!” Millie chimed in as she placed a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him from getting up to leave. “Maybe she’s gonna be today’s lucky number….?”
“Eight. She’s the eighth one just today . Fuck, I’m so bored.” He sighed again and glanced at the couple as they gave him a little wave before heading out the door. Loona was downstairs cleaning greenware and the store was empty. They were usually pretty slow on Tuesdays but he had hoped something would be going on so he didn’t have to spend the whole day focusing on these stupid as fuck interviews that were pointless because he knew he wasn’t really going to hire anyone.
Blitzø snapped to attention as he noticed a young girl walking up towards the storefront. The first thing he noticed about her was how tall she was, and the second thing he noticed was how out of place she looked. She wasn’t a sinner for sure, some kind of bird.. Maybe an owl demon? She also looked like someone who did not need to get a part time job at a pottery studio. She wasn’t dressed fancy or anything, but her clothes looked practically brand new despite the grungy look she seemed to be aiming for. She stopped in front of the entrance and kept looking back and forth between the two doors that led into the store, even though the one clearly had a big “ENTUR HER” sign Blitzø had made. Maybe this rich owl bitch got disowned by her family because she couldn’t read or some shit and that’s why she was here.
He glanced down at the application in front of him. “Octavia…” He rolled his eyes and propped his chin on his fist. “Nice to meet you Octavia, I’m not hiring a fucking 17 year old, goodbye!” He muttered quietly to himself as he watched her flounder by the entrance.
Once she had her hand on the door and began pulling it open Blitzø straightened himself up and smiled, greeting her warmly while wondering to himself how quickly he could reject this girl without coming off like a complete asshole.