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syntaxeme · 4 years

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I Could’ve Danced All Night [RadioDust]

[Read on AO3] CW: Blood, knifeplay Summary: Alastor goes to a strip club looking for a victim and ends up finding something very different. It turns out Al and Angel Dust are fucked up in similar (or complementary) ways, and Alastor doesn't know how to handle 'clicking' with someone like this. (RadioDust Week day 1: dancing)

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It began with a dance.

The music wasn’t of the sort Alastor typically enjoyed. Too much bass. No feeling in the composition. Mindless, almost, there for one purpose and one purpose alone—though he supposed he shouldn’t expect much more from a strip club. Besides, it served its purpose well enough; the dancers on stage certainly used the rhythm to their advantage.

Alastor sat on the far left side of the room, simply waiting and observing, keeping an eye out for a potential target. There was a girl strutting and preening on the stage nearest him, but she was focusing her attention on the other men in the area, likely unnerved by his smile. That was fine. She was too meek to be a satisfying kill.

It didn’t much matter to him exactly what type of demon he wound up leaving with: a patron, a bartender, maybe even one of the limber performers. Every person’s death was unique, so it wouldn’t do to count anyone out based on conditions like that. All he really wanted was an individual, someone singular, someone who stood out. And then he planned to spend the entire night exploring exactly how that individual responded to fear, to pain, to panic. The thought had him almost giddy with excitement.

“All right, you filthy fuckin’ sinners,” a gravel-voiced demon announced from somewhere unseen, “how many of you ever seen an angel up close?” A lascivious cheer raised in many of the patrons, but Alastor was puzzled by the phrasing. Surely they couldn’t mean an actual angel. Was it even possible for one of them to survive in Hell? Now that would be an interesting target. “Give it up for the hottest piece of ass in Hell, Angel Duuust!”

The music kicked up louder still as, on the stage in the very center of the room, yet another scantily-clad demon descended into view, spiraling down one of those poles to stop just inches from the floor in a dramatic pose that sent the audience into a frenzy yet again. Not a real angel, clearly, but an interesting figure nevertheless.

He—at least Alastor assumed the demon was a man based on his body language and general lack of curves—was a tall, spindly creature with two sets of arms and legs for miles. A gold tooth glinted in his sharp smile as he danced, and it was obvious from his playful demeanor that he was perfectly at home in this position. And the way he moved… Alastor had trouble taking in every aspect of the performance at once, his eyes lingering on one hand running through Angel Dust’s hair while the others slid slowly down his slender legs. Then all four hands grasped the pole again to fling the dancer’s lithe body around it in another quick spiral.

Oh yes, that was very promising. The entire performance was meant to arouse desire in the viewer, and while it wasn’t of a sexual sort, Alastor’s interest was piqued nevertheless. From the sound of things, this Angel Dust was a popular performer, meaning it would be noticed if/when he disappeared. But that had never stopped Alastor from pursuing what he wanted in the past.

When the song finished (in a manner of speaking, as the music here seemed to be unending), Angel Dust strolled around the perimeter of the stage collecting tips from his audience, pausing here or there to reward individual patrons with a come-hither smile or a stroke of their cheek. So that was the way to get his attention. Fair enough.

As he sauntered across the catwalk that led from the center stage to the one along the far wall, Alastor produced his wallet and tossed a handful of bills at the feet of the dancer in front of him, not making any particular effort to connect with her. Unfortunately, this little stunt had an unexpected side effect; like sharks smelling blood, the dancers saw him so blithely spending money and swarmed him immediately.

“How are you over here all alone, handsome?”

“Is that mean ol’ Stella ignoring you?”

“If you wanted company, you could’ve just asked.”

A hand came to rest on his shoulder, another on his arm, a third even so bold as to stroke up his knee, and he struggled not to show how uncomfortable he was with suddenly being crowded and touched without his consent.

“Ahem. You girls are lookin’ pretty thirsty,” a new voice said, and Alastor looked up to find none other than Angel Dust gazing down at them from the stage. The previous girl was now gathering up her tips to move elsewhere. “Why don’tcha go get a drink? My treat.”

Although the other dancers seemed put off by his interruption, they didn’t argue, one by one taking their hands from Alastor’s body and stalking off toward the bar. “Sorry about that,” Angel Dust added, his eyes sweeping curiously up and down the Radio Demon as he gracefully sank to his knees. “Some gals don’t know how to read between the lines, y’know?”

“And you do?” Alastor didn’t even try to pretend he was looking over every inch of the demon in front of him—but then, that was probably what he wanted.

“Sure. Like I can tell by lookin’ at ya that you wouldn’t be satisfied with just any girl. I get the feelin’ your tastes are a little more…” He licked his fingertips and ran them lightly down the center of his chest with a knowing smirk, posing to display his lengthy figure. “Exotic.”

Oh, you have no idea.

“And what gives you that impression?”

“Well, you were watchin’ me awful close in my first dance,” Angel Dust pointed out, lifting two of his hands in a shrug while the other two moved along the shape of his body. Seeing the mild surprise on Alastor’s face at having been caught staring, he laughed. “Eyes like yours are kinda hard to miss in a dark room. And I’ve gotten pretty good at noticin’ when someone wants me. So what is it you want, baby?” While he awaited an answer, he rested his hands on the stage and leaned forward, showcasing the unusual curves of his chest.

“Now that would be telling,” Alastor teased, fishing another twenty out of his wallet.

“All right, play hard to get if ya want.” The dancer’s two-toned eyes were fixed on the money in his hands. “How about your name? Will ya tell me that?”

“Alastor.” He offered the bill folded between two fingers, but when Angel Dust reached for it, he pulled away. “Say it for me, would you?”

Though he looked surprised by the request, he still obliged, dropping his voice slightly and purring in return, “Alastor.” His voice was nice enough. Something about the sound, in fact, was enough to send a surprising chill through the Radio Demon’s body.

“Once more?” he prompted, his own volume lowering a bit.

Angel Dust leaned closer still, enough that he was on his hands and knees and leaning off the edge of the stage, and moaned breathlessly, “Alastor.” Suppressing another chill, Alastor surrendered the money without further argument, and a pleased smirk curled the dancer’s lips as he took it. “I’m Angel. And hey, if ya like hearin’ it that much, maybe stick around after my shift’s over and we can talk in private.”

“Is that so?” He’s making this entirely too easy. “You may want to be more careful about making offers like that, cher. You’re certain to get more than you bargain for someday.”

“Mm, you promise?” Angel asked mischievously, his eagerness not fading in the slightest as he got to his feet again. “Hey, I’m a big boy; I can take care of myself. I’d be more worried about whether you can keep up with me.”

Well, he’d never been able to resist a challenge. “I suppose we’ll have to find out, then.”

“I suppose we will.” At the sound of some drunken demon from another table obnoxiously demanding Angel’s attention, his smile soured into a pout, and Alastor’s eyes flashed with irritation. Clearly, Angel had done an admirable job of catching his attention; he now couldn’t imagine leaving with anyone else. “If you’re interested, meet me out back at one fifteen.” With a wink in Alastor’s direction, he strolled delicately down the stage to meet the lummox who had called for him, planting his hands on his hips and playfully chastising the other demon for his impatience.

The following two hours were torture, and Alastor enjoyed every anticipatory moment. He remained where he was, absently tipping whichever dancer happened to be in front of him at the moment, but his eyes stayed on Angel as he worked the room. Not once but twice more, Angel was called to center stage for a feature dance of his own, and both times, he stole a glance or two in Alastor’s direction to be sure he was still watching. Which he was. Intently.

The club closed at 1 a.m., and Alastor did as instructed, going around the back of the building to find out exactly what ‘talk in private’ translated to. Unfortunately, it seemed that some other demons had a similar idea, as he found two of them waiting under the light of a yellow halogen bulb when he arrived. Noticing them watching him warily, he gave them a winning smile and a polite nod. “Gentlemen.”

One of them seemed fully ready to ignore him, but the other narrowed his eyes. “You were the one takin’ up all Angel’s time earlier,” he growled. Alastor only then recognized him as the same brute who had stolen Angel’s attention before. Quite a forgettable face, apparently.

“We spoke, yes. Is that a problem?”

“Only if you think you’re takin’ him home.” The other demon took a step closer, drawing his shoulders back, trying to come off as imposing. Still drunk, clearly. “I been savin’ up for weeks to get him to myself, and no bowtie-wearin’ radio talk show host is gonna steal him out from under me.” He grasped a handful of Alastor’s coat, and the Radio Demon’s smile broadened into something menacing.

“My friend, I’m going to allow you five full seconds in which to remove your hands from my person and yourself from my sight before you lose something much more valuable than a single night of good company.”

“Oh yeah? What the fuck are you gonna do to make me?”

“Four,” Alastor answered simply. Really, the restraint he showed by offering this grace period was impressive in itself. “Three.”

“Uh, Tino, maybe you should listen to him, man,” the remaining demon said as he noticed the shadows lengthening across the ground, darkness edging into the halo of light around the club’s back door.

“Two.”

“Fuck this.” Tino had apparently gotten fed up with the countdown, but as he drew back a fist and Alastor reached ‘one,’ the light snapped out, just long enough for the shadows to overtake both Tino and his companion. Alastor didn’t bother taking extra time to savor their deaths. They were meaningless, nothing but an obstacle to what was sure to be the most enjoyable night he’d had in years. He crushed them and dropped their bodies into the dumpster against the wall without so much as a hair out of place.

When the light flickered back to life, he had managed to contain himself into a veneer of nonchalance. Consider this an appetizer, he told himself. And indeed he was only that much hungrier for something with more substance.

It was actually closer to 1:30 when Angel finally exited the club, but when he saw Alastor there, he smiled brightly. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, now dressed in a scant mini dress and half-jacket, still showing off his shape nicely. “So let’s talk prices before we go any further.” Alastor listened with vague interest as he explained how much his ‘company’ would cost per hour, which acts would cost extra, etc., and he agreed to all of it. He could afford the cost if necessary, but that wasn’t how he planned for the night to end.

He then led the way to the hotel room he had booked for exactly this purpose, Angel clinging to his arm and making all sorts of suggestive comments, none of which really did much for him. Once they were inside and Alastor locked the door behind them, Angel shed his jacket and set it aside along with his purse. “So where d’ya want me, handsome? Right here against the wall? Bent over the table? Ooh, maybe out on the balcony where anyone could see?” It was difficult to tell how much of this was just teasing and how much was serious.

“Why don’t we start here?” Alastor gestured to the bed, and although Angel pouted over the vanilla selection, he sat down nevertheless. It seemed he was always aware of how to hold his body and how it looked, always keen on keeping his angles as attractive as possible. “Are there any ground rules you’d like to set? Boundaries?”

Angel laughed at that like it was a ridiculous question. “Nah, I’m down for pretty much whatever. Whatever you’re into, baby.”

“Really? No restrictions at all?” Alastor asked, raising an eyebrow at him. This was already going much smoother than usual; how could Angel so easily trust a man he’d only just met?

“Well, like what? Whaddaya have in mind?”

“Like pain,” Alastor answered readily enough. Sliding his fingers through Angel’s hair, he grasped a handful of it and tilted his head back, drawing a gasp from his lips. “Biting. Clawing. Cutting.”

“That’s…fine.” He leaned his head easily into Alastor’s touch, apparently willing, even eager, to be abused without protest. Another inexplicable shiver—of what? interest? excitement?—coursed through the Radio Demon’s body. Still, he managed to keep his voice even.

“What about being bound?”

“Yes, please,” Angel purred. “I told you, whatever you wanna do is okay. Just don’t keep me waitin’ all night.” He leaned closer, lifting his head, eyes locked on Alastor’s lips, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine what he wanted. So Alastor gave it to him. After all, how often was his prey so agreeable? Why not explore the more unusual aspects of the situation? Their lips met, and already his tongue was forcing its way into Angel’s mouth, tasting lemon and liquor from whatever cocktails he’d had earlier. Gradually, his blunt ferocity faded into something slower and easier, and his dancer-turned-escort treated him to soft whimpers and whines of desire.

“Uh. You…said somethin’ about tyin’ me up?” Angel mumbled, clinging to Alastor’s coat even as they separated. Something about the gesture felt very different from his experience with Tino earlier, so it didn’t bother him. He unknotted his tie and slipped it out of his collar, then knelt behind Angel to tie his wrists at his back. “Sounds like you’re gonna get a little rough. Maybe we should have a safe word?”

“No need,” Alastor answered, determining the best way to bind all four of Angel’s hands at once and making sure they were tied tightly. “If you want me to stop, just say so, and I will.” Or not. It would depend on how the evening went.

“Huh. What a gentleman.” Once Angel’s hands were bound, Alastor got up to shrug out of his coat and rolled his sleeves up, then turned the lights out to leave a single lamp in the far corner as their only illumination. Despite being so tall, Angel turned out to be surprisingly light, so rather than ask him to lie down, Alastor simply lifted him and then pushed him down against the bed on his back while his breath turned heavier with anticipation. He did look nice this way, sprawled and squirming, awaiting whatever Alastor chose to do with his body.

Part of his enjoyment typically came from his victim’s fear—but he supposed there was no need to rush. They would get there in due time. For now, he pressed his lips to Angel’s neck, kisses quickly turning rough and leading to bites that broke skin and drew blood. Angel shuddered and arched and groaned “fuck” under his breath but didn’t try to escape. His hips lifted slightly, so Alastor pressed them down with his own, enjoying the choked cry that fled his guest’s lips. His blood was hot, hotter than most, and delicious, but Alastor made a point of not lapping it all up, preferring to let some stain Angel’s skin and the sheets instead.

“Beautiful,” he purred, and he could’ve sworn an anemic blush painted Angel’s cheeks.

“Y-y’know,” he breathed, “you were kinda scarin’ me a minute ago. Talkin’ about ‘pain’ and all. But if this is the worst you got…” That almost sounded like a challenge. In fact, judging by the playful smirk curving his lips, it absolutely was.

“Careful what you wish for, cher.” Alastor’s hands slid up the sides of Angel’s thighs, underneath the hem of his skirt and up toward his hips, then dug his fingernails in and dragged them down roughly, forcing Angel’s hips closer to his own and coaxing a deep, tortured cry from his throat. Although visual art wasn’t typically Alastor’s genre of choice, he couldn’t help but appreciate the angry, stark red lines against Angel’s pale skin.

“More,” the dancer begged, pleading at Alastor with eyes hazed in lust or pain or distress; it was hard to say which. Regardless, it was compelling. Slipping a hand into his pocket, Alastor produced an ivory-handled switchblade knife, which he opened with the press of a button. This little blade had seen him through countless situations much like (yet far different from) this one, and it was still sharp as ever. Upon seeing it, Angel’s eyes grew wider, but he still didn’t protest, biting his lip and waiting to see what Alastor would do with it.

The Radio Demon was sure to take his time about this, first running the cool metal along the still-hot welts on Angel’s thigh to make him shiver. He then traced the edge very gently up Angel’s arm, but even this soft pressure was enough to break skin, leaving a thin, thin red line in its wake. The dancer took in a shuddering breath but tried his best to keep still, watching as Alastor ran his tongue along the wound, then sat up to kiss him again. Despite tasting his own blood, he participated as actively as before, even teasing a soft hum of pleasure from Alastor’s lips as well. He couldn’t help himself; everything about this moment was so strangely familiar yet new, so expected but not, and he found his feelings about it weren’t all the same as usual.

When the kiss ended, he slowly, lazily cut an X into Angel’s right shoulder, enjoying the way he shivered from the sensation. “It hurts,” the dancer whispered, so soft as to be almost inaudible. Still, his tone was unmistakable.

“And you like that?”

Again, he flushed slightly, and it wasn’t until Alastor held his chin and forced him to look up that he answered. “Yeah,” he confessed, his gaze shifting between the Radio Demon’s eyes and his lips. “Are you…actually gonna fuck me, or are you just gonna hurt me all night?”

Alastor recoiled slightly. At no point during all this had he seriously considered going through with anything sexual. He was there to satisfy a craving, certainly, but not that sort. This was a game, a farce, nothing but a way of extending his devious enjoyment of his victim’s pain. So what was it in him that wanted to say yes, to pin Angel down against the bed and make him scream in a different way?

“Didn’t you say there were no rules?” he prompted, trying to brush those thoughts away and focus.

“Sure. It’s just…now I’m all worked up.” Looking up to meet his eyes, Angel admitted softly, “So I want it.”

Every moment this went on, every moment that Alastor enjoyed the pain he was inflicting and the moans that came with it—knowing the pleasure was mutual and that Angel wanted it too—served to further cloud his mind about exactly what he was doing. This wasn’t supposed to be enjoyable. It wasn’t supposed to be something his victim wanted more of. And worse yet, he wasn’t supposed to like fulfilling their wishes. It was meant to be him taking satisfaction in the suffering of another. Something about this night had thoroughly thrown off that formula.

Trying to move past it and away from all those confusing should-be’s, he sat up slightly and dragged the knife to the juncture of Angel’s neck and shoulder instead, cutting in slightly and watching the dancer—no, his victim—flinch. “H-hey, not there,” Angel finally protested, trying to move away but more or less trapped against the bed by Alastor’s body. “Anywhere below there’s okay, but—”

“Oh, but I thought you liked this, cher,” Alastor insisted, trying to find his way back to the cold and detached tormentor he typically embodied in these moments. His blade moved higher still, closer to Angel’s throat, and he relished the more panicked squirming of his prey’s body.

“I’m serious.” Angel’s voice quavered with nervous fear as he tried to draw away. “Alastor. Stop it.”

“What, does this cost extra?” the Radio Demon chuckled darkly. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay whatever you like.” The tip of his knife came to rest just under Angel’s chin, where his pulse was visibly pounding, and he stretched his head as far away as possible. This would be the easiest solution to the confusion that had come with this night. Just end it quickly. Cut right here, only an inch or two, and watch his life spill onto the sheets. No more questions. No more doubt. Just enjoy it for what it is and then on to the next.

“Look, if you’re trying to scare me, it’s working. I get it, okay? You win. Just stop.” The discomfort in his voice was frustrating, in a way. He’d been responding so positively all night, yet now was the moment he faltered? It was much easier to believe that Angel was doing something wrong than that Alastor’s change in behavior had frightened him. As Alastor pressed down on the knife, ready and willing to put all this behind him, Angel snarled and coiled up his legs. “I said, get off!”

His feet planted against Alastor’s chest and kicked, hard, much harder than expected, forcing the Radio Demon to stumble backward off the bed. When he managed to right himself, he realized Angel Dust had sprouted a third set of arms and was trying to use them to unbind his others. There was fear visible in his eyes, but more than that, there was anger. Good. He was indignant, willing to fight. Good. It began with a dance. It should end with a dance.

“Who’s the one playing hard to get now, cher?” Alastor asked with a wicked grin, pouncing on the bed to pin his playmate down again. This part, he could do without thinking, by reflex, which made it much simpler. As he tried to plunge his knife into Angel’s chest, however, the dancer twisted away at the last moment and the blade was buried in the mattress instead.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Angel hissed, still struggling to free his arms.

“Don’t pretend you haven’t been enjoying my attention, chéri. Now hold still so I can give you more.” Grabbing up his knife again, he started to attack—but Angel was ready this time and delivered a surprisingly solid kick to his jaw. Apparently, those boots were more functional than they looked. Even as Angel finally got his hands free, Alastor managed to recover and force him down on his back again.

Then something unexpected happened. After a moment of futile struggling and realizing he wasn’t strong enough to break free, Angel met Alastor’s eyes for the briefest moment, then sat up and kissed him again. This reaction came by reflex as well, and he found himself delving deeper into the kiss, as close to ‘turned on’ as he’d ever been before. Angel shoved at his shoulders, rolling them over as one so he was kneeling over Alastor’s hips.

Maybe this wasn’t such a terrible turn to take, Alastor supposed as his hands slid up the dancer’s thighs again. Maybe he could be satisfied with a different form of pleasure, as long as Angel was willing to—

He broke off the kiss with a gasp at the feeling of cold metal against his throat. Angel remained close, still panting against his lips, but his eyes had turned cold. He had apparently retrieved the weapon Alastor had absentmindedly discarded while they kissed, and he now held it firmly to the Radio Demon’s neck.

“Get your hands off me,” he growled softly, and Alastor obeyed without a word.

Somehow, he found himself at a loss. Maybe he was disappointed in himself for being distracted so easily. Maybe he was subdued by the warmth of Angel’s body or the sight of him—still bleeding, flushed, panting hard—or the knife held to his jugular. Whatever the reason, the fight had left him altogether and he was now just a bit bemused.

“Now fuckin’ stay there,” Angel ordered. He shoved away to get to his feet, keeping his eyes on Alastor and a tight grip on the knife. While the Radio Demon watched, he stepped back toward the table where Alastor’s coat had been discarded, then rooted through it for a moment to find (of course) his wallet. It was almost disappointing to see him back away to retrieve his own jacket and purse, then head for the door.

Was that it? All this excitement, then he just took his payment and left? Was this how most sex workers felt about their own encounters? And why didn’t Alastor make more of an effort to stop him? Was he an Overlord or wasn’t he? If he’d tried, he could have easily overpowered the slender Angel Dust, regardless of whether he had two hands or ten. Yet there he lay, on his back, on the bed, watching his would-be victim shrug his jacket back on and walk to the door.

“Guess you couldn’t keep up after all,” Angel sighed, standing in the doorway and combing mussed hair out of his eyes with his free hand. “Too bad; I was havin’ fun there for a minute. See ya around, Al.” With this, he flung the knife expertly across the room to stick into the mattress between Alastor’s legs. Was it a trick of the light, or was he actually smirking as he left the room and pulled the door shut behind him?

Alastor let his head drop back against the bed. Well. That certainly was an experience. It was the first time in his long and colorful career that any victim had successfully escaped him. There were those who fought, perhaps, but none who had ever won. Yet Angel had caught onto…whatever it was that made this night different from all the others, well and truly ruining Alastor’s chances of regaining control.

He could try again, tonight or some other night. But now, he found, he no longer wanted Angel dead. He still wanted something, but he wasn’t entirely sure what. No, Angel had said the word himself. More. Whatever bizarre tango they had just performed, Alastor needed an encore. Next time, he told himself, he would be better prepared. And he had no doubt that Angel would find a way to throw off his rhythm nevertheless.

#RadioDust #RadioDust Week #one shot #Angel Dust x Alastor #Alastor x Angel Dust #we interrupt your regularly-scheduled GS content for some non-AU shit #but still in Alastor's perspective because he's so much fun to write~#fanfiction #my writing

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awarmbowlofhomemadesoup · 3 years

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How Charlie F*cked Up her Own Project Promotion

As a marketing copywriter, I can say Charlie’s promotion of her hotel is professionally lacking.

(Note: I first started this as a fun post but ended up taking it seriously)

In the Hazbin Hotel pilot, Charlie presented her passion project. Unfortunately, it didn’t go well as she was laughed at and mocked on live TV.

While the viewers and the anchorwoman, Katie Killjoy, had been unnecessarily mean, their rejection is pretty much understandable in a marketing perspective.

A copywriter writes persuasive marketing and promotional materials to persuade readers to buy, subscribe, etc. When Charlie promoted her hotel, she was trying to persuade the demons to go to the hotel.

While copywriting is generally the art of selling through writing (video script, landing page, etc.), its structure is similar more or less to the art of verbal promotion.

Before we begin, I’ll be referring to her hotel as a project and the demons that she wanted to go to the hotel as prospects.

So here are the mistakes she made in her promotion.

Lack of Research about Her Prospects

Getting to know the prospect is important. It helps create a persuasive promotion for them to take action.

This can be done by interviews, polls, surveys, etc. Facebook insights allows you to know how many people of gender, age, occupation follow certain topics.

From all this information, we can build a Prospect Profile.

YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBER PROFILE EXAMPLE

If you're a Youtuber selling knee braces through exercise videos and you want people to subscribe, who are your videos for?

Knee braces are often used by athletes or the elderly. If your target is the athletes, you’ll need to build a Prospect Profile around them.

According to most buyer information, athletes who buy knee braces are mostly male (gender) athletes (occupation/hobbies) aged 20-40s.

Now it’s time to delve deeper on what makes them tick: their desires, needs and worries.

We can do this by giving surveys or taking note of video comments, etc. But from this buyer information data alone, we can have a better understanding of the prospects.

These are active men who want to be at the top of their game. (desire)

Athletes will want to play their sport while keeping their healing knee in check. (need)

Emotionally, athletes will also have pride in their performance. (desire).

Athletes may also have the fear of not being able to play anymore, professionally or hobby-wise. (worries)

With this Prospect Profile, we can persuade them to subscribe by showing how your exercise videos can help them with their desires, needs and worries about their sports performance.

The same goes for Charlie’s approach to the sinners of hell.

THE DEMONS’ PROSPECT PROFILE

As a privileged Disney-princess-like character, Charlie is disconnected from her prospects who live a harsh afterlife.

She believed in them that they deserve a chance to be redeemed. Which is a nice thought.

But what she didn’t seem to know or understand is the perspective of the demons that she was trying to help.

For these demons, they are already conditioned to believe they are already the worst of the worst. They have demonic forms that remind them of their sins. They live in poverty and violence with the logic that they deserve to because of their sins.

For them, redemption is already too late and impossible.

What does Charlie know of them? What will motivate them to redeem? What psychological resistances will she have to take down in her persuasion?

Surveys, polls and interviews are doable in order to answer these questions.

By gathering information of her prospects and understanding them, she would’ve made a more persuasive pitch that is designed to their outlook.

Weak Credibility, Zero Proof

As a copywriting professional who has to persuade people to take the desired action, this is my biggest pet peeve in Charlie’s approach.

Michael Masterson is renowned for inventing the Four-Legged Stool which is used to build a rock solid promotion.

Here are the legs of the four-legged stool:

Credibility is proving beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the project will do what you claim. This can be done by being “scientifically proven” or by certifications, personal profile of the founder behind the project, etc.

Track Record is proof that the project works on others. Track record can be in the form of testimonials or numbers. This can be stock performance, number of satisfied customers or even percentages such as “99.99% germs killed”.

Benefit or Promise paints a picture of what the project can do for them. Example is selling a sleek car with a unique fast engine (practical benefit) that also makes the buyer feel like an exciting individual (core emotional benefit).

An Idea must be huge enough to appeal to the prospect and simple enough to be communicated to someone else. This adds a unique and new dimension to the promotion. For example is Acorn, an app where you can invest spare change.

If the promotion only has three legs of the stool, it's liable to fall over.

Now let’s look at Charlie’s promotion:

WEAK CREDIBILITY

Charlie is able to use her status as the Princess of Hell to add credibility to her project. Other than that, she has no proof that her project works as pointed out by Katie Killjoy.

To prove that redemption can be possible, Charlie could’ve referred to studies showing the success rate of maladaptive behavior rehabilitation. Even expert opinions in religion could help support that a demon soul can still be redeemed.

Not Scientifically Proven. The rehabilitation system she has shown in her song “In Every Demon is a Rainbow” also has poor scientific proof. To the point that she is going to harm her prospects more than help them.

a. Abrupt Cutting Off of Vices. Throwing away their vices isn't preferable or effective to people who are reluctant to do so as compared to Gradual Reduction Treatment (DrugRehab.US).

b. Toxic Positivity. In another scene of her song, her patient was simply injected with positivity so that they'll be happy and full of kindness without reflection of themselves.

As someone privileged enough to get the best education in hell, she should at least have a better knowledge in mental health.

NO TRACK RECORD

This is another leg of the four-legged stool that is missing.

Their proof of successful redemption is when a demon soul to goes to heaven by rehabilitating them.

Angel Dust, as their first and only "patron”, is too premature to be part of the track record. Staying “clean, behaved and out of trouble” for two weeks is not yet proof of a successful redemption.

At best, what Charlie said is a naively hopeful but weak proof.

Even if Angel Dust didn’t get involved in a turf war, the demons have every right to remain skeptical when she couldn’t even give a successful track record of even one demon soul that had redeemed themself to go to heaven.

Her heart is in the right place of wanting to help everyone. But she’s just wasting everyone’s time if it wouldn’t even work in the first place. There’s a time and place for the saying “Go big” and a time and place for “Start small”.

PROSPECTS DIDN’T BELIEVE THE BENEFIT/PROMISE

Her prospects would benefit going to heaven instead of being in hell.

Charlie did a great job painting a picture of a happy afterlife in heaven with her song “Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow”. Unfortunately, the benefits “Just puppy dog kisses and cotton candy dreams And puffy-wuffy clouds, you're gonna be like, wow! ” may not be well received by demons who had become jaded and cynical of living life in hell.

Aside from her lack of proof, Charlie doesn’t know her prospects enough to effectively reach them and dismantle their skepticism.

POORLY COMMUNICATED IDEA

The idea of her project is to go to heaven through redemption.

While it’s easy to understand, the idea could’ve appealed to the demons with a more convincing approach if Charlie understood her prospects well. And if her idea is well-supported by facts.

Her promotion only has two legs of the stool: Benefit and Idea. Her promo fell because she lacked research of her prospects. She lacked actual proof. She lacked credible information.

Because of all of these, she lacked the means to effectively promote.

The Art of Persuasion

Persuading people to take the desired action is often difficult. This is why marketing professionals and companies exist.

And this is where Alastor comes in with his charismatic seedy salesman mass communication skills and overlord status, making him the hope and solution to Charlie’s dilemma. Even if he did outright say that he was only interested in watching demons fail.

But other than that, Charlie, as one of the most privileged demons in hell, should have greater access to quality information and services on things such as marketing. And mental health science.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin charlie #charlie magne #hazbin hotel charlie

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saiikavon · 3 years

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But anyway, speaking of that Hazbin Hotel fic idea...which I still dunno if I’ll be able to write but I can’t seem to stop thinking about it so I don’t want to stop talking about it...

Like 90% of it would be third person limited, from Charlie’s perspective. As much as I love fics that get directly into Alastor’s head, piecing him together as a third party is much more fun for me personally...as well as deeply challenging, because that means being as stingy with what he shares as I possibly can while Charlie tries to wrangle something genuine out of him. Tiny, tiny little cues will be involved, which would be an enormous pain.

I would have to avoid treating Angel Dust like an absent figure in the story, because he very much can’t be, despite the fact that at the start of the story, he’d be on his way to Heaven. There would have to be flashbacks interspersed through the whole thing, and probably characters mentioning things he said or did. Hell would have to feel his absence. It would have to be evident that Alastor feels his absence, for all that he largely refuses to talk about Angel Dust throughout a good portion of the story.

Juggling the multiple things that Charlie would deal with...would require more research about the lore of this world. I know so little, having come into Hazbin/Helluva Boss as late as I have, so I’d need to dive in more if I want to give things like Lucifer and the angels their due (this is mostly the reason why I’m not sure I’ll ever actually write this; it’s time that I don’t know that I have and effort that I’m not sure I can give).

The only portion of the story that I know with 100% certainty, that I have already daydreamed and plotted to completion, is exactly what happened between Alastor and Angel Dust the night before Angel left. It’s the mental image that sparked the whole idea. Why I can’t seem to have ideas that confine themselves nicely to one scene, I’ll never know.

#long post #don't mind me #I just can't seem to let this go for some reason

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just-honey-dewd · 4 years

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My Personal Desires for Hazbin Hotel

I decided to make this a separate post for this. I credit @smilesthroughfandoms for inspiring me to write this hefty load. (Also, don’t worry about me Smiles, I’m slowly fixing my sleep schedule as we speak.)

First bunch of plot-related episodes of Hazbin showcasing Charlie making failed attempts at trying to redeem patrons by teach them moral philosophies, before having it addressed to her (like a reality check episode maybe from her mom) that she can’t expect to teach demons moral philosophy when she herself was never on earth to learn it through experience and exposure

She addresses this to the gang, and goes on to say they should probably take a break from trying to run this hotel, and it shows as a defining character moment for her cuz she legit tells em that she can’t hope to redeem demons if she doesn’t have her own basis of what’s right and wrong, the way they must’ve had (which also gives way to a potential route of making her openly acknowledge how alien she is compared to everyone else in the cast, who one way or another, used to be human, and used to live on earth. and this could gradually escalate as the series goes on)

They take a break, they still offer themselves up as a hotel for those that still were staying in, and for a couple of episodes, everything’s relatively chill There are two plots, plot A is anything kinda character-driven/dynamic-between-fun-characters/action-packed. Plot B is either villains pov, world-building following minor main characters, or sometimes a focus on Charlie being kinda lost on the whole morals and earth thing, and going up to all her friends individually to try and get their perspective or what they learned from their time on earth (basically one of openings for showing hints if not full on origins)

I think if they were to try anything for the origins of the characters, it’d be most enduring if we get small hints and suggestions; enough for fan speculation, but not enough to make a bold accurate conclusion

Origins of more important main characters shouldn’t be treated as though they are above other main characters. Or at least, it shouldn’t be obvious that the climax to a season would be the reveal origins of Alastor or Angel, etc

They should all be treated equally, and be given roughly the same amount of time, care and thought when writing/unveiling the truth and/or complexities of their backstories. So if there were any big reveals of revelations regarding certain characters, the audience won’t be able to easily pick it out because there were no prolonged moments where the show basically hammers it into their heads that “X has known Y’s secret since Z“

I hope if they go down that path where they write the origin episodes to tell specifically Charlie only, it’s to kind of make her feel more isolated and inhuman because she can’t relate to that aspect of themselves, and she could never discuss origins of (ex. Alastor) to anyone else, because he probably would only spill his origins to a character he’s known since forever, and/or her.

But if they go and have the origins stories be revealed to the gang, I hope it’s to bond them together as friends, but then have the knowledge of a character’s origins influence the gang’s attitude and personality cuz that can cause internal conflict (and cuz that’s natural imo). Have it be hypocritical and mildly unjust because a character (maybe prolly Charlie) said “Don’t be afraid to be your true self around us, we won’t let the past change who you’ve been to us all this time.“

Just some good and well-earned angst tyvm, and the formula: origin stories = some character development (could be bad or good)

Plot-related episodes get blended in well with the more comedic, character-dynamic establishing episodes, and the antagonist interventions (where we get to see their struggles so they make for engaging bad guys)

Additionally; casual interactions with characters that are friends with the main cast, to make it seem they’re oh-so close

For some lighthearted early episodes, have the villains not yet establish a reason to antagonise the main characters, so they could meet the main characters casually with mostly no bias (depending on the character and his/her status)

Basically episodes where the villains just go to the happy hotel for their own unique, but still dishonorable reasons. And they interact and deal with some variations of the main cast (maybe some aren’t there, maybe they’re not themselves at the time). The thing that makes em antagonistic could be a single character (maybe Alastor’s the sole reason Vox is a main antagonist), a naysayer/horribly awful person (like that news woman who probably hates Charlie’s guts), something to do with hell developments outside of the effects caused by main characters and/or the show’s environment (happy hotel).

For the comedy-driven episodes, try and prioritise world-building, building up the complex relationships between characters, and just normal development for the hotel’s popularity or literal condition

Depending on the type of show they’re going for, they could try establishing the level of absurdity and grounded reality they may have in this fictional world

Comedy might be best as B-plot for all I know, but I hope the comedy takes advantage of the introduction of new characters, and keeps the meeting lighthearted as the show can be

And please, please have the comedy range in variety. I can only take so much of Angel’s crude sex jokes in one episode. Angel’s personality being capable of consisting of the phrase “into making crude humour“ is not a good thing.

Have more characters display their own unique sense of humour, don't let Angel carry the quipage in an episode, I know he's the most verbal one in the group, but please... at least limit him to a few sex jokes, if not, give him more to say other than dirty jokes. Not dad jokes though, cuz they wouldn't sound fit with him. Maybe just dark humour?

Also, I think comedic episodes of Hazbin hotel have the potential for being good for fanservice. There’s stuff like; Charlastor material, RadioDust material, anything that’s definitely not gonna happen in canon but can be humored for like an episode. (ex; Maybe a ball that Charlie has to go to cuz compulsory, but it’s hosted by homophobes who don’t allow guests to choose partners of the same sex, so Alastor offers to take her. And they mostly just trash the party for it’s douchy policies and it’s more comedy than with shipping potential.)

It’s actually fitting in the tone of the show too, cuz this show ain’t going to do fanservice canonically, cuz this is a story that takes place hell. So in a way, we as the audience suffers cuz life is hell, and not everything (if anything) will come out how you want it.

#my posts #hazbin hotel headcanons #hazbin headcanons #things i hope to see in this show #hazbin hotel #might make a separate post for helluva boss #but that'd mean me rewatching the pilot #...i'll probably procrastinate on that one #i'll try to improve my sleep schedule #slowly but surely #charlastor

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bob-dude · 5 years

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Some Orange Jerk’s Hazbin thoughts, the longer version.

As I mentioned in a prior post, I thought the pilot was so-so. Don't hate it with a capital H but find everyone's love for this show to be... odd. Though considering the late 2000s Devinart vibe I get from the show’s art style, probably not too odd now that I think about it. So here’s my longer, more rambly, thoughts on Hazbin Hotel by some rando Orange Jerk on Tumblr. And as always, more power to ya if you do love it, obviously.

Art direction wise, I’m just not crazy about Viv’s color choice. The red and black and pinks give a Valintine’s day meets Wonderland Queen of Hearts vibe that just doesn't personally work for me on a visual level.

As for hell itself, I thought the background stuff like ‘Radio Hack’ and the main city being named Pentagram to be... eh? Like, that’s the kind of world-building we’re going with here? It felt less like Hell and more like a city with the trapings of Hell, at least for me.

So, main cast, the trio as it were. Eh. Meh. Like, Charlie is a Disney Princess of Hell... even though no one treats her as one respect wise which just strikes me as odd from a background perspective. And Charlie has that standard Disney nativity going on... even though she was born and raised in Hell? Like, why bother to make your most optimistic and native character a denizen of hell if she’s not going to look or act the part personality wise?

The reason the personality thing confuses me I guess, is that take Charlie out of Hell and we’ve seen her character a thousand times before: The bubbly sweet optimistic girl that’s been done so many times before. Is the ‘But in Hell!’ aspect really that much of a grabber for people? Guess it is and more power to em but it just strikes me as a strange creative choice where once again a character's personality doesn’t logically flow from their background.

Design-wise Charile is fine, red tux reminds me of the God from the 1977 Oh God movie so that gets a thumbs up in my book. Still a bit weird that a princess is wearing it but it makes sense with the Hotel set up and all so her outfit has a logic to it.

Then we have Vaggie. So, legit question here people: If you went into the pilot blind and Angle Dust didn’t make his ‘taco’ comment would you have ANY idea that Vaggie is supposed to be Latina? Because I legitimately had no idea that was what her design was supposed to say about her as a charchter. Also didn’t really get a moth vibe from her, either if I’m honest. As for her personality, she’s the standard ‘loving supportive’ GF but with an angry side protective side for Charile... and she’s a Latinia/Latinix. Does... Does no one else think that’s just a bit... off? Making the one clearly marked Latinia character the ‘angry girlfriend’ archetype?

Also, that weird pink X eye patch bugged the hell out of me when I was watching. Totally petty as shit nitpick, but I had to vent on that bit. Honestly, though Vaggie is also Meh? Like, she’s in a relationship with Charlie, cool and all but she just doesn’t strike me as a terribly interesting character if I’m honest. Gives me a sort of Lisa Simpson ‘stick-in-the-mud’ vibe.

And then we have Angle Dust. You know, in the words of Netflix’s Big Mouth, “Sassy and Gay” isn’t a personality. Angle Dust basically has that sort of ‘2000s Yaoi OC’ vibe and considering Vive once had a DA character sheet where she literally listed his personality is ‘Bitch’... Yeah.

Also, as I’ve said elsewhere, Viv and crew are doing too much with this guy. So he’s an ex mobster killed by his homophobic father in the 1920s (not mentioned in the pilot but it is a pilot in all fairness so you can’t throw all your cards on the table). And he’s a Spider Demon... even though per Word of Viv how everyone’s designed in hell doesn’t have anything to do with how they died on Earth (then why deign them that way?). And he’s a porn star (being ex Mob shouldn’t he be the one paying for porn stars as a power domination sort of thing?). AND he’s going for a Beetlejuice meets CJ from Regular Show sort of design.

It just seems a bit much, imo. Like, you could make him just a gay ex mob who mostly uses a Tommy Gun and design him to fit that and leave the Spider-Demon stuff out and it becomes a lot more manageable. Something like a simplified Zoot Suit, or the like. You could keep the sexual humor but throw it a bit more 1920s slang and pop culture references for characterization/comedy purposes (Vaggie, for example, has no idea what he’s talking about most of the time). Granted, I’d personally rather they ditch the ‘animal bits slapped on’ aspects of the designs as a whole but that, as always is just me.

For the record, I’m not ‘offended’ by Angle Dust as a character concept, I’m just not wowed or impressed, ultimately.

And then we have Alastor. Now, I LOVE Alastor as a character. He’s got that classic ‘reality warper’ vibe ala Bill Cipher or Discord but with a 1920s radio show host twist that I just think is amazing and the sound distortion they added to his voice was a really cool touch on top of it all. The problem, as always, comes more with the color choice. One one of your own characters can’t take someone seriously because they look like a ‘strawberry pimp’ that might be the time to maybe go with a different color pallet? Like, idk, maybe throw in some warm browns and brass golds to involve the 1920s radio vibe stronger? Radios of the 20s and 30s weren’t famous for being red, is what I’m getting at.

The other problem with Alastor is that he’s too strong a personality, ironically. He comes in at the tail end of the pilot and basically steals whatever interest a potential audience member (or at least fat orange jerks like me) might have had in Charlie's plight. It's like introducing Bill Cipher in the first episode of Gravity Falls. At that point whatever interest you might have had in the MC goes out the window and you think ‘what’s this dudes deal and can the show be about them instead please?’ Sure, Alastor in all of his pesudo deer (Those don’t look like horns in my opinion but whatever you say Viv) is fun to watch but he drowns out Charile through sheer force of charisma and showmen ship. Maybe the series itself will fix this but for the pilot at least I think it’s an issue.

Also, Nifty is Nifty and she needs her own spin-off ASAP. That is all.

Husk is literally Avocato from Final Space with wings and some gambling bits thrown in design-wise. That’s literally all I think of Husk, sorry Husk fans :(

The animation is good, but I do find it ironic that as much as people like the bitch about SU being off model, Hazbin I thought suffered from so many different animators tackling different scenes that it just felt jarring going from one scene to the next due to the difference in style and the shifts in animation pacing. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of it looks great but that switch in animators kinda just took me out of the experience in places. Well, that and the lack of proper scene transitions. Those are what also made the pilot feel like whiplash for me.

And now comes to Bob’s thoughts on the plot of the pilot and this is where the logical holes of the series start to get to me just a bit.

So. Charlie wants to reform the demons of hell of their sins so they can get to heaven and Hell can lower its population and angles down come down and deliver some righteous furry smiting on their asses. Okay. Stupid question but what the hell is Charlie basing this off of? I mean, was AD really THAT good an actor that Charlie thought going full steam ahead on the Hotel idea was the next reasonable step up?

Like, the Hotel was clearly a mess and her staff is literally just her and Vaggie and MAYBe Angel Dust. Even if the episode had ended with a horde of demons lining up to get into heaven by way of cleaning up their acts there’s no way two, three people could handle that (Or, you know, six if we throw in Nifty and Husk in fairness now that I think about it).

And that’s ultimately the thing with the pilot, the demons are assholes as you’d expect the citizens of hell to be but if they are assholes... why should we care if they get redeemed or not when not one of them is clearly interested in the idea? As cheesy as it would have been, the pilot ending with a horde of demons wanting to give this ‘become better’ thing a shot would have at least left the pilot on a better note to end on. As it is it just seems like Charlie is doomed to fail because no one but her gives a shit or belives about her idea for the Hotel and we have no proof that her idea will even work. Which just makes me wonder: Why should I care if no one else does?

Ultimately, the show has potential but the art style and aspects of the writing just don’t click for me. The show doesn’t say ‘adult’ to me so much as it does 'Hot Topic Teen trying to be adult' which works for a lot of people but for me I think Hellevua Boss as more potential concept-wise. And has scenes on Earth which do the red and black and pink and white colors of the demons a lot better visual justice contrast wise but that’s just me.

#hazbin hotel #sorry hazbin fans #your show is flawed and has room for improvement

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