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a-doubleh-x · 24 days

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Why I like Chaggie

Hey! My last casual ship review did pretty well, so here I am with another! Needless to say, but thank you all for the interactions, I appreciate it very much 🥰

Last time I talked about Charlastor, a notorious controversial ship and today I'll talk about a surprisingly controversial ship: Chaggie. Why do people dislike this ship? I'll go a bit into it on the second half of this post, but first I'll talk on the positive I see in this cute couple.

First of all, as a guy in his late twenties who's been on at least one relationship, I will say that I appreciate a relation that's mostly based on comfort and support. Some people might think that's boring or not quite the basis of romance, but I think quite the opposite. Johnathan Decker, a licensed couples therapist on youtube (you might know him from Cinema Therapy) often talks about how safety and mutual understanding are the basis of any lasting relationship.

At the start of the Amazon series, Charlie and Vaggie have been together for 3 years, which is evident in many of their day to day interactions. They're comfortable with each other, they rely on each other and best of all, they still coo every now and then over how adorable the other is.

That is not to say the relationship is without conflict, which in my opinion as a writer it's the lifeblood of any good story. Vaggie is clearly quite codependent of Charlie, which is why a large portion of her self worth is based on being useful to her. However, I think the two of them do a decent job of talking through the problems this brings sometimes, such as episode 3.

I think it's cool that the relationship seems to work despite their rocky moments. Charlie most likely thinks a person like Vaggie is a breath of fresh air in Hell, she's selfless, loyal and dedicated. That's probably the reason why she has so much patience with her, a feeling that I'm certain is mutual. Vaggie is clearly very aware of how silly and idealistic Charlie is, in fact she often tries to nudge her to be careful with her attitude. And even though she may not agree with everything, she still always supports her without appearing judgemental, which I think speaks volumes of her character.

Now, let's talk about the shortcomings in the face of the audience. Some people think there's not enough substance in canon to be sold on the couple, which I think is a valid opinion. Some people argue that Chaggie's relationship is boring and not quite as interesting to watch as Charlastor, which I don't entirely agree with. Some people plain dislike or hate Vaggie because they think she's just a naggy chick who is an awful partner to Charlie in every way, which I *definitely* don't agree with.

My opinion falls in a more moderate standpoint. I think, even in the series, their relationship isn't boring, but it could've been presented better. While I said earlier that I think conflict is good in a story, I think a problem in the series that's probably unintentional is that most of the story beats with Charlie and Vaggie are negative.

In episode 3, they have a fight over their lack of communication. In episode 6, Vaggie puts her own secret status as a fallen angel over Charlie, which harms her later. And in episode 7, Charlie spends most of the episode mad at Vaggie and they make up offscreen, which is something unilaterally most fans believe was a mistake.

To the showrunner's credit, there are some positive major story beats. There's Charlie's trust fall on Vaggie, which was cute. There's their beautiful duet in episode 8. And there's them fighting alongside each other in the final battle.

Unfortunately, the fact their arc is a bit wonky and doesn't have a proper buildup makes it so that the climax (the duet) may feel a bit unearned. I don't want to make this whole post about the series because I could spend all day talking about it, so I'll just say for now that i underdtand why some people aren't sold on the ship.

I will say. Some fans have some very beautiful, gorgeous pictures of this ship. There's this great comic made by squids-and-fruitcake that's been running around about Charlie giving Vaggie a gift for Christmas (here's a youtube link in case you want to watch a dub, I couldn't find the original)

youtube

I think it's a great example of why this relationship works: they love each other. They may not completely understand each other's circumstances, but they try every day and are still together because of their mutual effort.

Charlie herself, as Hell's number 1 laughingstock can really use the support and the fact that Vaggie supports her even though she doesn't have all the answers means a lot to her. She brings her stability, peace and affection, all things she lacked until she met her.

Vaggie, on the other hand, who was plunged against her will into a pit of violence and cynicism also needs Charlie's perspective. She loves the fact that she cares about something bigger than herself, that she wants to help damned people like her, which given her circumstances I think it's something she also needs in a fundamental level.

That haz bin my review for today! What do you think? Do you like Chaggie? Do you think it could've been written better? What's your favorite interaction between them? Let me hear your thoughts! It's been fun to put my thoughts down for casual reviews, I hadn't done it before, so expect more in the future while I'm still working on the next chapter of my fanfic.

I think I already have an idea about what my next Hazbin post is going to be about (hint: it has to do with Angel Dust). Thank you again for all the love, hope to see you all soon!

#hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie #chaggie #Youtube

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johannestevans · 7 months

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I'm 80% certain I discovered you through a story about a vampire and the guy he was feeding off of that I absolutely ADORED, but cannot seem to find! I remember it being pretty long, published on ao3, being an original work, and the two specific scenes I remember are: vampire standing behind the guy he's about to feed from and telling him many people find it pleasurable; and the vampire getting ill (and maybe passing out?) because some of the people he regularly feeds from got sick and he doesn't want to take their blood while they're recovering. if this was you (and very sorry if it is not!), could you share a link or the name? I loved it very much and have a few friends who I think would also enjoy it greatly! your writing is very fun and I enjoy reading your more serious essays and the.... more scandalous material :)

I found the vampire fic lmao anyway hell yeah for getting it published!

Haha, yes, it was initially on Ao3 and I actually took it down because I thought I had to, when it turns out I didn't!

Heart of Stone was my first novel, published in 2020, and it's a slowburn fade-to-black romance between an ADHD vampire named Henry Coffey and his new secretary, Theophilus Essex, who's big autism! It's full to the brim with neurodivergence and sweet gentle affection and a blossoming romance between the two of them.

Read reviews on GoodReads / / Read reviews on the Storygraph / / Buy on Amazon / / Buy on Smashwords

Thank you so much for reaching out, and I hope you enjoy it on the reread!

With my other serials that are on Ao3, such as Powder and Feathers (a contemporary dark romance between a fallen angel assassin and his deeply depressed artist boyfriend, originally inspired by Les Misérables) and An Uncommon Betrothal (an interwar romance between a lonely and self-isolated translator who's a polio survivor and relies on several mobility aids, and his butler-cum-fiancé who begins to connect him with other queer men like them), they're not going to be taken down even when I finish, re-edit, and then publish in paperback and eBook! They'll remain up.

I only would have had to take them down if I was enrolling in Amazon's KDP program, which I don't and won't.

#musings #original fiction #aplusjaybirdie

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crow-caller · 11 months

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Happy Pride! Good Angel, Bad End- a lgbt+ fantasy duology- is 'pay whatever' (including free) for the month.

Humans can choose who to be. Angels and demons don't have a choice.

A two-book story about the end of the world, and love, probably.

GOOD ANGEL

Newly born angel Iofiel wants to be good. At the magical university where angels and demons train for their futures, she meets a bullied demon named Archie- and tries to help. She only wants to be good, but this crossing of divine boundaries might just kickstart the end of days.

BAD END

The world is different now, and it is only getting worse. Iofiel is missing, and her actions have dire consequences. As her friends pick up the pieces, it becomes clear something is very, very wrong. And there's no way to stop it.

---

Good Angel, Bad End is a LGBT+ duology about angels, demons, identity, friendship, and silly things like the end of the world. It's a mix of genres, especially between the two parts, starting as slower fluff and descending into apocalyptic chaos. The first book is a coming of age for one angel, the second is a coming of age for the entire world.

Representation wise, there's a very wide berth of identities and an exploration of identity for very nonhuman entities, with a particular focus on questioning and aro/ace. Plus gender.

Content wise, it is appropriate for about age 15+. It doesn't fit cleanly as YA or NA, it just is what it is- there are strong scenes of violence and language, as well as alcohol and drug use, but it is overall not horrendously graphic.

Good Angel, Bad End is a labour of love. Indie authors struggle to find audiences. If you enjoy it, please leave a review on sites like GoodReads or amazon, or just tell other people. It's otherwise about impossible for anyone to even know these books exist. Thank you.

#lgbt books #pride month #pride #asexual #aromantic #angels #demons #queer books #queer #good angel bad end #gumroad

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commenter2 · 3 months

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"Welcome to Heaven" review

Time for a change of scenery and to learn more about Heaven. Spoilers.

Nice to see Vaggie told the truth instead of attempting to lie. I am curious, would that have even worked on Charlie? Does Charlie have a power to tell if people are lying to her, since her father is the “father of lies”?

That was sweet of Vaggie, but there is a lining of “Vaggie sacrifices more for the relationship” idea in my Charlie/Vaggie trailer breakdown here. LUCKILY there hasn’t been much of that as I expected in this season. At least we’ll find out how Vaggie lost her Exorcist title.

CHAGGIE KISS! Wait why’d she kiss her on the eyepatch? Also I’m NOW just wondering if Vaggie DOES still have her left eye, but is covering it up Japanese anime style cause it contains a great Exorcist power?

Here’s Cherri Bomb making an “explosi.. eh I’m not going to finish that lame joke. I do like the new Australian accent they gave her.

I’m not liking where this is going. I feel like this is going to result in a situation like in the pilot where Angel and co. embarrass Charlie’s goal in front of everyone in Heaven. I mean (spoilers based on the HH S1 trailer) something is going to make the next Extermination happen, but I hope it’s something else.

You really should have told the others to behave themselves before leaving Charlie.

A new portrait of Charlie and her parents in the background. It’s hard to make out, so hopefully someone posts a proper version of it soon.

Charlie casually throwing Vaggie through portal XD.

(Pen sees Cherri) knew this was coming here we go. Bet Pen X Cherri shippers are going to enjoy that moment.

Anyone else think the eye symbol at Heaven’s gate is also a reference to the Sheikah Eye from Legend of Zelda?

Saint Peter? With her last name being Morningstar, you think he would realize she is Lucifer’s daughter.

Charlie Morningbreakfast

Cursing is allowed in Heaven. Interesting to know, you think there will be a gag for when someone curses, everyone else covers their ears “Harry Potter Musicals” style?

So angels can take on different forms. Also was it just me or did the old angel’s bird form look like Stella a bit? I did have this theory that touched on the idea of how after fallen angels went to Hell, they would evolve to become different from what those in Heaven look like and create subspecies, and it looks that is true.

The angel finally has a name, Sera. Oh she may sound nice now but wait till we see her evil side! Right there she says, “you are gifted to be here”, life if she wasn’t Lucifer’s daughter she would have been really rude to Charlie.

Even though she says she is the highest of the Seraphim (the highest rank in Heaven’s hierarchy if pic of said topic are any indication) I feel like there is going to be a moral Heaven thing where every angel is treated equal. I thought I bring this up now cause when Sera reveals herself as a villain, I hope later on she becomes an antagonist (replacing Adam) who fights against Charlie’s redemption plan but will have trouble when other Seraphim’s and Archangels side with Charlie.

Sounds like Emily is the Charlie of Heaven XD.

Got some interesting designs like a Hellhound looking creature with hooves and that…thing she is next to. There is also someone that looks a lot like Vaggie but with no mouth, who “COINCIDENLY” has a close eye where Vaggie has an eyepatch.

I think that was a FNAF/Chuck E Cheese mascot band refence there.

MOLLY HOLY CRAP! Looks like we found the motivation to get Angel to redeem himself! I was going to wonder why she was spider looking creature when you think Heaven only has people in human/cute animal like forms, till I saw that crab looking angelic being in the same scene. Also on the bottom right, I think that’s a Sara Bellum from PPG reference.

Again. Sera being rude, though Emily sounds very ally like.

Vaggie being jealous XD

LUTE? Wait does this mean Adam is wearing a mask/helmet/whatever too? I bet he’s fugly under it XD.

Damn the Amazon Prime pause button. It keeps making the video skip ahead instead of doing its job!

OKAY HUGE REVEAL THERE! HOW COME NO ONE ELSE KNOW ABOUT THE EXTERMINATONS? Do the archangels at least know? Either way this could actually be good but I’ll get into that later.

Okay so Sera seems to be one of those “doing bad to do good” kind of characters as she just wants to protect Heaven, explains why she looked so sad in Charlie’s story, but I feel like she will have prejudices too. It also sounds like Adam was the sole person who came up with the Exterminations.

FINALLY confirmation of Vaggie being a former Exorcist! :D… Wait… Oh crap! :(

ADAM GAVE VAGGIE HER NAME! CALLED IT!! https://www.tumblr.com/commenter2/718141081445957632/odd-theory-but-do-you-think-vaggie-got-her-name?source=share

That was a hellborn child! I had suspicions that Exorcist also killed Hellborn demons during the Exterminations (Viv did once say they kill anything that wasn’t indoors) but still its more shocking than knowing it was a correct fact.

I do like that the Extermination scene is a flashback and not taking place in the finale like I predicted.

Also as messed up as what happened to Vaggie, losing her eye and wings (more on that later) at least it led to her instantly meeting Charlie. Hey they are wearing their pilot outfits :D

At least we can look forward to a Vaggie vs. Lute fight in the future.

Since it was shown that Lute was able to wound Vaggie when she was still an angel, my idea from my “Overture” review of the dead Exorcist being killed by one of its own is a little stronger now. I still think someone else like the threat impersonating Lilith did it, but I'm still keeping that as a possibility until we learn more.

If the first human soul to arrive in Heaven doesn’t know what qualifies to get into Heaven, then Charlie redemption plan deserves a chance. It also makes me curious on what the other angels think qualifies. Also again how would Angel be any different than having Adam there.

WAIT WHAT ABOUT ABEL? He was murdered by his brother long before Adam died, what happened to him after he died?

See I told you we’d get another pilot situation, though at least it’s better than last time as Angel did resist for a time. Heck Husk and Sir Pentious should also be considered proof of being able to redeem since Pen was being nice to a degree and Husk was actually trying to help Angel.

Seriously, Adam has been cursing up a storm, yet you react to when Charlie does it? Maybe like us they were just surprised that she can curse, given how good she is.

Looks like I was wrong about the situation leading to pilot vibes. GOOD! Also great to see Angel stand up to Val.

Now that we know that Val’s shirt are his wings, it makes the scene of Niffty ripping a piece off hilarious XD.

This seems enough proof to me that someone can be redeemed, don’t try and change the subject Adam.

So no angelic being in that room properly knows how judging a soul works? While odd, I wonder if this is a result of after what happened to Lucifer, maybe soon after others got sent to Hell for minor things and eventually no one dared to question or go against God’s (or whoever else’s) judgment and now they are at this point where they don’t recall things or fear becoming a fallen angel like Lucifer. I’m (semi) counting this as another one of my ideas coming true, as I did bring the idea of Heaven not knowing how to loosen the restrictions to getting into Heaven.

Though a bit understandable from Charlie’s POV and thankfully she got lucky there, her ranting to Heaven is another time where Charlie should have taken up at least SOME of Vaggie’s words.

So glad to see Adam’s ego and stupidity finally leading to some good for the heroes, as it will be interesting to see how parts of Heaven will react to learning about the Exterminations.

Trailer screen shot. At least I’m glad that Sera isn’t what I thought she was going to be like.

Oh don’t phrase it like that Charlie! You’re making my “Lilith wants to destroy Heaven” theory sound like it could happen :(

Again when looking at that statue of Sera, she looks like Stella. Also if I’m right the other creature is Emily, who I guess can take on the form of a unicorn.

Aww crap Adam revealed Vaggie’s secret. I know I brought up the idea of Charlie and Vaggie’s relationship being tested, but I just meant personality wise not this, mostly cause I though Charlie already knew. Then again Charlie can be an idiot at times. Hopefully Charlie can be mature about this and thinking back to the trailer, the two do loving sing to each other, heck looks like Vaggie gets her wings back. So yeah, I’m guessing that they will be fine and their relationship will be stronger than ever.

Seriously Sera, after what you see your going to still allow Adam to do the Extermination. Then again she might not have a choice here. This is quickly confirmed with Sera expressing the “Angels scared of suffering the same fate as Lucifer” idea I brought up. Also obviously we need something to continue the series.

So Sera and Emily ARE mother and daughter, I was starting to wonder. Actually speaking of family and thinking back to “Queen Bee”, Bee brought up the question of how fallen angels and such are related, I wonder how related Lucifer and Sera are. Could Charlie and Emily be cousins? If they are, then Vaggie won’t have to worry about Charlie leaving her XD.

At least Charlie has her first angelic ally. I wonder if what Sera said and Emily clenching her fist IS foreshadowing her fate? If my idea of her being able to transform into a horse comes true, what if her demon horse form takes on the form of the horse at the end of the Spindlehorse credits.

Aw man we’re not going to see how Charlie feel about this or more importantly,

Whew that was intense near the end. We got to see Heaven and learned some big things about it like the residents such as Molly being there or how angels have NO IDEA how judging a soul works. Then there was a big reveal that no one before the events here even knew about the Exterminations, that was a great twist if not a bit odd.

It was also great to learn more about Vaggie’s now confirmed past and be introduced to Emily and how she agrees with Charlie’s thoughts instead, making the argument less one sided. It was also funny seeing how she and Charlie got along so well which led to Vaggie being jealous at one point. Hopefully for her, Emily and Charlie turn out to be cousins.

It was nice having Cherri be in the episode, even if she almost led to Angel doing bad things and getting Charlie in trouble again. Speaking of which, it was GREAT to see that Angel HAS changed since joining Charlie. Hopefully if he learns that Molly is there, a great cameo BTW, he will amp that up to 11.

I also personally liked how stupid Adam looked in it, and now that people know the truth about Exterminations, I think it could lead to him being demoted (both related to Heaven's hierarchy and as a main antagonist in the series) and my idea of Charlie being the “chosen one” to save everyone from a great threat or the idea I have for what season 2 could be about.

The only downsides were that this was kind of the expected outcome given the episode’s place. Maybe if this was the 2nd to last episode and the finale was an hour long, it could have helped but I’m not complaining.

It was also a bummer that we didn’t see more of how Charlie feels about discovering Vaggie was an angel. At least the S1 trailer makes it clear that thing between them will be fine in the end.

The things about no one knowing about the Exterminations, or what the qualifications to get into Heaven really are, but I’m not complaining. This is actually a perfect excuse for my season finale epilogue idea where after the Extermination, Heaven agrees with Charlie and they need to rework or explore the qualifications required to get into Heaven, and Charlie plans on having a big say in it so that more people can get into Heaven whether it be after they die or through her hotel. Of course some people of Hell and Heaven will be against Charlie’s ideas, so Charlie will have to go through a multi-season storyline where she needs to keep convincing more and more powerful people that this would be a good thing, eventually having to convince God himself. All the while evil forces will try and progress its/their agenda, leading to big fights.

Now we wait for the season finale.

As always let me know your thoughts about the episode.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel vaggie #hazbin hotel sera #hazbin hotel emily #hazbin hotel angel dust #vivziepop

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radioluminescentoblivion · 2 months

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Hazbin Hotel: The Corruption of Creativity. Part 1

1. Introduction

Hello everyone, I normally don’t make huge posts like these, but I thought it would be important to make this review and discussion about the latest animated show on Amazon Prime, Hazbin Hotel, and the people behind the scenes who worked on the show, mostly the show creator Vivziepop. Back in 2019 when I first watched the animated pilot of Hazbin Hotel, I was interested to see how this show, if picked up, would go about with its story. Like many people who were still fans of Vivziepop’s work, I wanted to see this show become a good adult animated series. In fact, as the production was going on behind closed doors, I supported viv and her work via Patreon for a time and bought some merch from Sharkrobot.com to help fund her endeavors—I even still have my Angel Dust t-shirt and Hazbin Hotel poster in a black picture frame.

2. Personal Fan Origins

Though I wasn’t an og follower of viv back in her older days on DeviantArt, I was introduced to her work around 2014-2015, that’s when I originally saw her fan-animated Kesha Die Young music video and since then I became a fan of her work and was obsessed with her means of creating very expressive and stylistic characters. Vivziepop was the artist who not only introduced me to the furry community, she was also a big inspiration for my artwork and still is to some extent now, had it not been for her, I don’t think I would’ve been in the position I’m in now to make art or it would’ve taken me much longer than where I started.

But as much as I was a casual fan of her work, I was also a skeptic of her as a person over time. Primarily due to how she would be overly defensive towards criticism, radiate a toxic personality on others and friends of hers, and how she would intentionally and unintentionally weaponize her audience against those that landed on her blacklist. These traits would only become more apparent over time, but I like many others had the mindset of “separating the art from the artist” And while there is some validity to be made on that notion, it makes it all the harder when the person intentionally makes the art inseparable from who they are or they’re still active or alive and will constantly change their position or view on things. I know there’s a much deeper discussion to be had about this notion and how relevant it actually is, but for the sake of this post, I won’t dive into it that much.

Watching Helluva Boss in 2019 onward would prove to be a conflicting experience since the first time watching the first season wasn’t as bad, some episodes had some strong character development, decent action scenes, and enjoyable songs. 2, 5, and 6 were some of my favorites in the series, but around season 2 episode 4, I was losing interest and I began to see the cracks in the show and noticed that the charm had dwindled going into the second season. Episode 6 was where I stopped which is funny because the last episode (at least currently) was episode 7 which I didn’t even bother to give any attention to because I didn’t like the show much anymore: The characters were losing whatever charm they had originally, making the characters I did like lose that vibe I enjoyed and those I didn’t like before I just didn’t care or it made it all the worse, the pacing didn’t get any better as the show was always going so quickly but rarely having time to sit down and digest even when there were scenes that had those moments, and for a show that would have differing times from 10-30 minutes, it made it all the more rushed, the stories were all over the place in a way I had no fun engaging with or could get behind, sometimes plot points like D.H.O.R.K.S’s evidence of demons would be revealed but never brought up again or have the same impact on the show, and some of the songs were forgettable (though I did enjoy Cotton Candy).

After I stopped giving HB a watch I decided to be patient and wait for when Hazbin Hotel would drop, and on January 18th, 2024, the first episode would drop to present the new show to the world.

3. Hazbin Hotel Review (Spoilers, Obviously)

Summary -

Hazbin Hotel is an adult animated series about the daughter of Lucifer named Charlie Morning Star, a demon princess seeking to rehabilitate sinners in a less violent way to combat overpopulation in hell. Along the way, she manages to get support from the enigmatic radio demon named Alastor who helps Charlie and Vaggie bring in sinners in an attempt to redeem their souls for a price while trying to be as cooperative as she can with the odds stacked against her.

When I first watched the premiere of the show, I wasn’t really blown away or impressed by it, which isn’t a bad thing since not a lot of shows have a strong start with their early episodes in the season. Where it did get interesting however was around 4-6 when it started to focus more on character development and give some time for the main cast to shine and maintain some consistency with the story, though this has its limits. There were also some decent songs, some funny dialogue, and even some sprinkling of action around the end. Unfortunately, in the later episodes, it started to fall back to where the show lost its touch. So let me get around to the pros and cons of Hazbin Hotel:

The Good -

As someone who felt burnt out from Helluva Boss, this is an improvement as far as comparing viv’s older work goes, which is a slight benefit.

Performances are great as far as voices go, especially when you have people like Keith Davids in your line up, though I would be a little more positive on the casting choices if it didn’t also come at the cost of the old cast, I genuinely believe they should’ve been given additional voice roles if not main ones for the show, so that sucks.

Songs can be hit or miss in this show, with More Than Anything (both the first and reprise) and Loser Baby being the better examples and the rest not sticking out to me as much, either because I don’t think they had as much impact or they felt out of left field. I think it would’ve been better to not have every episode with a song number unless it was a grand introduction to something (i.e. Poison, Loser Baby, More Than Anything). Though I don’t expect this to be a popular opinion so whatever

The visuals are fairly competent with few to no issues that caught my eye, my only critique would be that due to how fast everything feels it can be hard to follow what's all happening, not to mention having the background and background characters look as eye-catching as the main cast can throw people off of where they should put their focus on. It's not as terrible enough where I loathe it, but it could make some contrast of who/what you should pay more attention to.

The Bad -

The story loses track of the main premise of Charlie trying to redeem sinners and her relationship with Vaggie. The side plots don’t interest me as much aside from Angel Dust and Husk having some empathy for each other slowly through the series, and the other main cast aren’t nearly explored as much. Idk the best way to describe it, but it seems that most of the focus of the side characters isn’t where it should be (the hotel’s residents) and more so on those outside the hotel, which I think would’ve worked better in the second season rather than just the first. If season one was just focusing on the residents, Charlie and Vaggie more than the other characters, I wouldn’t mind that. I think the only exceptions to this would be the hell overlords discovery of how to fight back and Lucifer helping Charlie with the hotel. But back to the main cast, Charlie and Vaggie’s moments of romance and bonding seem few and far between, which sucks since this is supposed to be about them right? RIGHT?! The potential is just wasted.

Not every song is needed or has a place in every episode, though that could be because I wasn’t feeling them as strongly compared to the ones mentioned. Not much else to say there that hasn’t already been said.

Characters don’t appeal to me as much aside from Niffty and Sir Pentious (they’re the best) and unfortunately, the characters I should care about don’t get enough time to shine due to how this show is hastily paced—which leads me to my next negative.

Pacing is absolutely atrocious, for episodes that last 30 minutes, it feels like everything has happened yet also little has happened in such a short period of time (which is insane to me) Viv has had pacing issues in the past with her work which is concerning to me, mostly because she wasn’t always this speedy with her series, there were times she had more breathing room for her older works for instances like the Son of 666 and Timber, even the short Bad Luck Jack (which I liked) suffered from this in ways. Idk what exactly happened, but it seems like viv’s workflow has just gotten worse over time, and her artistic magic, patience, etc has just vanished.

Jokes? For what attempt of humor was there, it was very little. Once in a while, there was a joke that stuck the landing or made me chuckle, such as Charlie and Alastor swearing unexpectedly, only because it’s so out of left-field you wouldn’t expect it, so the joke works. Or when Niffty and Sir Pentious act their usual awkward selves in front of others. But everything else is just not funny to me because the majority of the humor is either sex or profanity jokes that don’t have that great of build-up or go for something more than just “haha adult words” which ironically makes it more juvenile than adult. I don’t mind stupid humor, but make it funny and not because you want to say “fuck” for the sake of it. Even if it’s just for casual talk, it's overly excessive. It doesn’t hurt to find humor in other ways even if those don’t land either, it's better than just resorting to profanity and sex.

Additional Comments -

When it comes to Vivziepop’s older works, it’s better than Helluva Boss but weaker than her shorts or animated music videos (fan-made or original), the strongest elements within the series lie within the hump of the season and fall short from the beginning and end. Though as annoying as that is, it pales in comparison to the other elements in the show.

Heaven’s methods of carrying out exterminations every year to dissuade the populace of hell from rebelling is just a very dumb thing to do when there are so many other ways to shatter the morale of a persecuted people or nation without lifting a single sword that would’ve been better implemented and create a larger divide between heaven and hell and less costly as well. Perhaps this is just to further showcase how arrogant and incompetent Heaven is, but I have my doubts on that.

Alastor as a manipulative radio host works well between Charlie and Vaggie, though I wish they wouldn’t have explained his ties to the disappearances of hell’s overlords so soon, it just takes away from his mysterious nature as this eldritch being. That part to me would’ve worked later on. (Yeah, I’m also aware they did something similar in the pilot too, which brings up another issue I have)

Continuity between the pilot and the first episode is pretty murky, it doesn’t help matters when the plot of the pilot and the series episodes get collaged in so haphazardly. If I never heard of Hazbin Hotel or Vivziepop’s work before, I’d kinda be thrown off a bit and try my best to catch up on what’s going on. I don’t expect an expose of how everything works, but an organic flow of how things come together would’ve been nice. For instance: the pilot itself feels more like an episode one than the actual episode 1 of the first season. I know the point of the pilot isn’t as strict in its rules, since it's supposed to sell an idea to a network or distributor. Hell, The Amazing Digital Circus does something similar to how Hazbin Hotel does with presenting a first-episode introduction into the world and characters, only it does it far better and it hasn’t even gotten its first episode out yet, but I don’t want to compare apples to oranges on two different shows. The point is, the first episode should’ve had a better flow to it or at least maintained something more consistent like the pilot did.

But by far the most glaring problem in the show isn’t part of the show itself believe it or not. But to keep this short, I’ll leave that for part 2.

4. End of Part 1

Originally when I watched the series I gave this a 7/10 on IMDB because I came at this from a perspective of how I would judge the work based on viv’s prior craft, this gave it a point above Helluva Boss, primarily with pacing, and direction of what it should be about and where to focus the story and characters. That being said, I was being very generous and didn’t also factor in on how it stood on its own two feet, and to be honest? It's not that good. For the first season of a new adult animated show, it’s too rushed, and not fleshed out enough in areas where it needs to be, The majority of the characters I have little interest or investment in, and despite having its moments, it's not enough to keep me hooked to know what happens within the next season.

This would bring it down to 1 point for that to a 6/10, I know some fans would put the blame on Amazon, A24, or Bento, but here’s the thing, other shows have had episodes with similar limited space and time to tell their stories yet do a far more superior job in doing so than this, from what I understand, Amazon seems pretty open for a studio big or small to do as they please with what resources they have to get out what they can regardless of the restraint of episodes to be made, thereby making studios try their best to work harder on making a show work with such little episodes, so I see this mostly as a personal thing with viv and her team than just amazon.

Now I would just leave it at that and move on, but I’m afraid this is where things get more muddy and grim.

#longahpost #review #critique #vivziepop #hazbin hotel #helluva boss #vivziepop criticism #vivziepop critical #vivziepop critique #hazbin hotel critique #hazbin spoilers

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clevercorvidae · 3 months

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Hazbin Hotel 1st Season Review

Ok so I've been sitting on this ask I got back when the series started airing for some time now.

And I was struggling with how to answer it because as much as I personally love the show and had a lot of fun with it I understand that it isn't really for everyone.

But now that the series' first season has concluded I feel like it'd just be easier to give a review of all the negatives and positives that I saw in the series for anyone who is wondering if its worth getting into. I'd like to give a fair and honest overview of all the show's quirks as there is a lot of misinformation, bad faith criticism, and blind praise of this show going around. It can be overwhelming with so many strong opinions and I'd like to give people a more balanced and down to earth look at the show for what it is.

I'll start with spoiler free stuff and put all spoilery stuff below a cut in a reblog. Be warned, this is still gonna be very much based on my own opinions and very long, I just hope its less...intense than most reviews.

Overview

For anyone who doesn't know, Hazbin Hotel is a new animated series on Amazon Prime Video created by Vivienne Medrano and A24 Studios. It's basic premise is that every year, sinners in Hell are killed by angels from Heaven in order to keep the population low. This devastates our main character, Charlie Morningstar, the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer and Princess of Hell.

So she decides to start a rehabilitation center called the Hazbin Hotel in hopes to allow sinners to redeem themselves, keeping the population in Hell low whilst allowing people to continue existing, and hopefully putting an end to the exterminations for good and saving her people. She does this with the help of her girlfriend Vaggie, a famous pornstar named Angel Dust who agrees to be her first guest, a very shady demon named Alastor, and more.

The show's pilot episode was first released on youtube in 2019 and has a sister-show called Helluva Boss that takes place in the same universe and began airing episodes on youtube while Hazbin was being shopped around to be picked up by a bigger studio.

I personally do not recommend this show at all to anyone under 18 due to its subject matter and depictions. However, the show is listed as 16+ for all but one episode which is 18+. Make of this what you will.

Now, onto the discussion.

Positive 1: Design

So a lot of people look at this show and are put off by its character designs and general look. But frankly I think it's very well designed and cohesive for what it is. Its designs are complex and gaudy but they're earnest in their presentation. It very much draws from Vivziepop's roots as a youtube animator who got big in the 2010's

All the designs are very out there and edgy and almost sparkle-dog-esque. And I think it's commitment to that style in favor of something that would draw in wider appeal makes the series feel more artistically genuine. Just look at Angel Dust and Alastor's designs for example. They ooze 2010's deviantart and I find it very charming.

I also enjoy the balance and uniqueness of many of the designs, they're so fun to look at. And their level of detail makes them super fun to pick apart. The range of body types could definitely be improved (an unfortunate remnant of that 2010s style I was just praising) but there is still plenty of diversity in silhouette to differentiate the characters at a distance.

I also often see the criticism that there is far too much red used in the designs and frankly this criticism is so unfair. Within the context of the show its pretty obvious that red is just part of the design motif of hell.

I can see the issue ringing true in the pilot that the characters bleed into the backgrounds often because of this design choice but in the official show the background style is a lot more distinct from the characters and they don't really have this issue at all.

Here's a screengrab from the pilot that I find to be a particularly bad offender vs a screengrab from the official show including acvery red character on a very red background that I think highlights the difference a bit.

There's nothing wrong with a show having a very cohesive visual motif to tie all of its characters to one location. The heavenly characters in the show have their own color motif of bright pastels for instance. I think the designs are a highlight of this show and people should stop being so harsh and unfair in their assessment of them. They're so fun! Enjoy them!

Negative 1: Pacing

You've probably heard people mentioning this one and unfortunately I 100% agree with this criticism. The show is INCREDIBLY fast paced and it seriously impacts character development.

Now, I don't think the way people criticize this aspect of the show is very fair. Most people push the blame for it onto the creators and writers when in all actuality they're just doing the best they can with what they were given. 8 episodes is a very short runtime for a show of a this scale.

A story with this much worldbuilding, this many plot threads, and this number of important characters could NEVER be told properly in this amount of time. Even if they'd properly paced it it would've ended up awkwardly truncated with an unsatisfying finale. Frankly I think the writers did a very good job stretching what they had, but unfortunately the issues are still very present and impact the viewing experience.

This show desperately needed filler. They NEEDED low stakes plots and episodes. As is the story is very complete and I'm glad the short runtime didn't create any agregious plot holes but its still...lacking. The first season is meant to take place over six months of time and it really doesn't feel like it.

The lack of episodes means we don't get to see the natural progression of these characters and their relationships. Many characters have seemingly out of nowhere changes of heart. Even the best done plot lines still feel pretty cramped and rushed.

It's very sad and unfortunately is becoming increasingly commonplace for shows to have such short runtimes that they feel like extra long movies rather than feeling like a tv show. Hazbin Hotel feels like a very long musical pace-wise. And if you decide to watch it that way I think you might have a better time honestly. But its still sad to think of what could've been.

Positive 2: Music

Oh my fucking god the songs are so good. None of them are bad in my opinion. I have my favorites and least favorites of course but none of them sound bad or annoying which I can't say for 90% of musicals especially cartoon musicals.

Almost every song feels like its 100% necessary to express what the characters are thinking and feeling. Every single VA has a fantastic singing voice. Apparently one of the main writers of these songs is half of The Living Tombstone which is pretty apparent from the style of the songs. If you like their music you'll be in for such a treat here.

There are 2 songs per episode and I think its safe to say you'll enjoy the crap out of at least one of them. They make up for a lot of the short runtime with them too, being able to fit a whole lot of character growth and interaction into a shorter period. This show is definitely carried by its stellar soundtrack. I think it's its best trait for sure.

If you like musicals, you have something to gain from watching this show, I can guarantee that.

In the spoiler section I'm gonna rank all 16 songs and explain my reasons btw so look forward to that.

Negative 2: Editing

The editing of this show can be...questionable at times. Sometimes there will be very harsh unnecessary cuts and sometimes the camera moves all over the place when it really doesn't need to. It really feels like the editors got the raw animation files and were trying to clock in overtime by making unnecessary and bizarre editing choices all over the place.

It wasn't very jarring to me personally and I feel like most people will get used to it within a single episode but if you're unsure of how to feel about it I'd go watch the song Happy Day in Hell on youtube because it's probably the worst offender in the show and about as bad as the editing will get.

Positive 3: Characters

As sad as I am that the show has so little time to explore the characters they are VERY well established regardless. These characters have a lot of charisma and almost all of them have a completed arc within this season.

I've heard a lot of people claim that Charlie, the main character, doesn't get enough screentime or doesn't feel like a protagonist and I'm sorry but I can't see this as anything but bad faith criticism. Hazbin Hotel is an ensemble show with a very limited episode count, not every episode can have Charlie at the center. But she IS the center of the main plot and she is a very active protagonist with strong relationships to the other members of the ensemble. Her goals are tightly wound in with the central plot and themes and she makes the decisions that drive the story.

She very much fills her protagonist role well and I think this attempt at criticism is just a biproduct of the several years of development where occasionally we'd get bonus content for other characters and Charlie didn't get much. But it's pretty clear that that was cause her character IS the plot and Vivziepop didn't want to spoil the entire show before it even aired.

Beyond that I've seen people claim that all the queer characters are over-sexualized. Which is hilarious because as far as I can find there is only one canon straight character in the main cast and the rest are all queer. There is only one character that has an storyline focused around sex and that's Angel Dust...because he is a sex worker. The other characters occasionally make sex jokes but no other queer characters have sex as a focal point.

Overall, the characters definitely balance each other out in this story and they're a big draw for me. Even minor characters that only appear prominently in one episode are super charismatic and interesting. Hell, my favorite character in this show is one of these minor characters.

One thing I very much enjoy is how none of the characters ever seem to be dumbed down for the sake of the plot. The stakes remain high because all of these problems genuinely feel like there is no easy solution that the characters are just conveniently ignoring. All of the characters' choices feel like theyre in-character which is very impressive given the episode count.

Neutral 1: Dialogue/Jokes

So this is a topic I've seen a lot of people discuss specifically here on tumblr. The characters are very sweary and many of the jokes are very crass and explicit.

Personally I had no issue with this at all the jokes were fine to me and the swearing just felt like Hell's natural dialect to be honest. Plus I swear like a sailor irl so it was barely different to my normal. Very much a non-issue for me.

I could see how it could be off-putting to others though if it's something you're not used to. And I do find it to be a bit much in the sister-show Helluva Boss because it feels a lot less natural. (side-note, if y'all want me to make one of these for Helluva Boss let me know cause I have a LOT to say about that show). So honestly I think this is a matter of personal taste and I'd encourage people to still give the show a whirl if this is your main issue with it as its pretty minor.

Positive 4: World-building

I really enjoy the complex world in this show. A lot of its takes on the lore it's drawing from are actually pretty unique and nuanced, it's obvious the creator did a lot of research. Any lore that is changed was clearly done with the knowledge of its true origins. It really feels like Viv knew the rules well before she broke them with this.

This is one of those worlds where you can't help but imagine yourself in it, especially with it being the afterlife. It's no wonder the fandom is so dense with oc content, its very fun to imagine creative character designs when there's so few limits to what a character can look like.

And the world-building seriously elevates the story so well. This is one of the few times the short episode count actually helps the story I think, because there's still so much to explore and discover here. I like the delayed gratification of getting all the info about how hell and heaven function its nice to chew on theorize about. It's just a very appealing and interesting setting what can I say.

Neutral 2: Handling of Subject Matter

This has got to be one of the most divisive things about this show and I think this is the thing that most comes down to personal opinion.

There are a lot of criticisms against how this show handles incredibly serious subject matter. And frankly, as much as I don't have any issue with its portrayal of these things personally, its incredibly understandable why others take issue with it. I encourage everyone to give the show a fair shot and judge it in its entirety as a lot of these things really need context to be criticized fairly.

However I understand that, even if you agree with the way Hazbin hotel handles these subjects, you may still be incredibly uncomfortable or even triggered by the graphic depictions. So I'm going to take some time and list out every possible trigger that you will encounter in each episode to the best of my ability based on my recollection. Because even though Amazon does give warnings they are too vague for my tastes and I wanna make sure anyone who watches this show on my recommendation is going to be safe (Let me know if I missed anything and I will edit this to include it):

Episode 1: 16+

Blood

Knives

Religious Trauma

Graphic Violence

Mild Gore

Eye Stabbing

Genocide as a topic

Sexual harassment

Drug Use/Alcohol

Beheading

Guns

Christian Imagery

Death

Episode 2: 16+

Mild Body Horror

Drug Use/Alcohol

Guns

Christian Imagery

Episode 3: 16+

Beheading

Blood

Cannibalism

Graphic Violence

Sexual Harassment

Guns

BDSM

Episode 4: 18+

Graphic Depictions of Sexual Assault

Rape

Sexual Harassment

Graphic Depictions of Physical Abuse

Graphic Depictions of Routine Sexual Abuse

Alcoholism/Drug Addiction

BDSM

Roofies

Nudity

Graphic Violence

Guns

Emotional Abuse

Exploitatin of Sex Workers as a topic

Building on Fire

Gambling Addiction

Episode 5: 16+

Alcohol/Drug Use

Non-sexual exploitation

Graphic Violence

Guns

Blood

Religious Trauma

Absentee Parent

Christian Imagery

Episode 6: 16+

Religious Trauma

Christian Imagery

Amputation

Eye stabbing

Graphic Violence

Blood

Guns

Knives

Alcoholism/Drug Addiction (+enabling)

Physical Abuse

Exploitation of Sex Workers as a topic

Sexual Harassment

Genocide as a topic

Episode 7: 16+

Guns

Knives

Blood

Cannibalism

Episode 8: 16+

Guns

Blood

Graphic Violence

Genocide

Gore

Death

Animal Death

Christian Imagery

Religious Trauma

Amputation

Knives

Building Collapse

Stabbing

I believe that should be everything.

I highly encourage you to be cautious if you have PTSD or C-PTSD regarding sexual or physical abuse in particular for episode 4. The episode is quite graphic and realistic in its depiction. As someone who hasn't been through sexual abuse I cannot speak to the accuracy of its portrayal apart from the fact that it is very clearly not created to be tantalizing or glorifying.

I've been told many different opinions on how this episode portrays sexual abuse and whether it is accurate or respectful and it seems like the answer varies greatly person to person from being extremely comforting and relatable to being offensive and feeling gratuitous. In my opinion I think this means the show did a decent job and had good intentions, but it also means that this show and this episode in particular just aren't for everyone. Make of this what you will and stay safe.

Positive 5: Themes

The themes in this show are baked into its core. It manages to get its message across without feeling too clunky and the focus of the story never strays from that purpose.

Redemption is often a mixed bag in shows especially in cartoons. But I think Vivziepop and the rest of her crew do a good job showing the effort it takes to change and grow as a person in the short time they have.

I think the dedication to themes is a huge part of how genuine the story feels. It's earnest in its message and that gives the plot a soul.

If you want to watch a story about broken people lifting each other up this is the one.

Neutral 3: Vivziepop

So a lot of you have perhaps heard some not-so-great stuff about this show's creator.

From what I've gathered in my research almost all of the serious claims made about her are either proven to be false or big ol nothing-burgers. However, there might be legitimacy to some of her employees and coworkers' complaints about her company, Spindlehorse, which aren't great. And I personally dislike how she conducts herself on social media as the spokesperson for her creation.

In short, she doesn't seem to have much tact.

I think its a little ridiculous and overdramatic to avoid the show over it personally but if this just strikes a particular nerve with you there is always the option to pirate ig. It's fully up to you. Just make sure you do your research and don't go around shaming fans of the show or spreading misinformation about a very real person.

Conclusion

I'd personally give the show an 8/10. Its a fun time and clearly made with a lot of passion. I'd recommend it to everyone who's interested. Now I'lll start working on the spoiler bit of the review.

Let me know what y'all think! If anyone reading this has questions I'm happy to answer as well.

#hazbin hotel #vivziepop #hellaverse

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