Hazbinhobelle

F26, British, hyperfixating on Hazbin. Completely normal about Alastor. 18+ only. Expect reblogged art but also meta posts about the hellshow, direct onto the hellsite.

[hazbinhobelle]

Masterlist!

Hi and welcome to my blog - my rambles and thoughts alongside some jokes and some probably sacrilegious humour! 18+ only: if you're a minor, you shouldn't be watching Hazbin anyway.

Who am I?

I'm a British woman with too much time on my hands, a doctorate to complete, and a multidisciplinary higher education in the Humanities. Oh, and a liberal sprinkling of neurodivergence, just for added flavour. Here, I want to satisfy my hyperfixation, keep my analytic skills sharp while I do my research, and also just have the opportunity to ramble. If you think there's an interesting element to Hazbin that you'd like me to write on, or you'd like to interact, feel free to pop into my asks!

I also have a Hazbin writing project, almost two years in the making, which I plan to launch with my writing partner @radio-sparks sometime in 2026. Use the #alastera tag to find out more!

On with the metas!

Full blown metas

These are the big bois. The big motherfuckers, to quote Vox.

Lilith versus Alastor: shot comparison (and Heavenly food)

Charlie versus Alastor: 'at their vanity tables' shot comparison

"A Coward Dies A Thousand Deaths": Sera's Complicity

Like the Witches Who Wore It: Velvette and the Witch Hunt

Animals as Props in Storyteller

Assuming Godhood: Lute, Vox and Lucifer

Brighter: Vox's Backstory

Alastor's Tail

Death in the Hellaverse

Getting Ahead: Decapitation in the Hellaverse

Queen of Hearts: Rosie as an Overlord

Winners and Sinners

Trips into the Nifftyverse: Thoughts on ‘Clean It Up’

This Hasbeen Omens: The Finale of Good Omens, His Dark Materials, the rise of 'Christi-Crit'….And The Impact on Hazbin Hotel

Cool Threads: Alastor's Stitches (And Smile)

Hazbin Hotel Characters As....Series

Little bites to whet your appetite, Hotel Characters As is a little foray into different fandoms and different media. Entirely subjective and just for fun! Which, you know, all of this is. But still.

HHCA Myths and Legends, Part One

HHCA Myths and Legends, Part Two!

Hazbin Hotel as Movie References!

HHC as Pokemon, Part One!

HHC as Pokemon, Part Two!

HHC as Pokemon, Part Three!

HHC as The Magnus Archives Fears!

HHC as Disney Princesses!

Hobelle in Conversation: My replies to OPs

Generally smaller metas! If I've replied to you, please feel free to interact and have a discussion with me; whatever you've said, linked to or made has clearly sparked inspiration in me and I'd love to talk further! <3 I'm not scary, I promise.

Alasto and Vox's Fight: Gifset Analysis

Vox and Mind Control

Lute and Grief

The Other Woman: Lute, Lilith and Jealousy

Holding the Answer: Not So Dense with Angelic Steel, or Heavenly Physiognomy

Alastor and Velvette

Why does Vox ask if he can be redeemed?

Alastor and Lucifer: Racialised Spaces

Alastor and Lucifer: Debunking the 'Executioner' Theory

Alastor and Anticapitalism

Sir Pentious and Redemption

Vox and Al: Who's Got the Better Career?

Vox and Al: Privilege in the Workplace

Vox and Val's approaches

Valentino and media literacy

Vox as an object, Alastor as master OF one

Alastor as a self-identified 'demon'

X-Men (And Women): Alastor, Deals and Signatures

Writing Bits and Pieces:

Creative writing bits!

"Imagine a Y/N who went to hell around the same time as Pentious, so she never really understood the radio and television hype. She just prefers reading, and will learn her information via talking or the newspapers...."

We're cellmates!

[hazbinhobelle]

Omg, @elsa-fogen liked my tail post?? Thank you so much!!

[hazbinhobelle]

BOTHER BOTHER BOTHER

HELLO MY LOVELY!

The fact I know exactly who this is without asking...

IF the eldritch horror in my askbox would like to suggest a meta, please do! I'm fresh out, apart from my Abel one I still have floating around in my drafts <3

[hazbinhobelle]

For the choose violence ask game: 1, 8

(Optional: 7, 10, 13. Not because they're too spicy or anything I just didn't want to send too many questions at once lmao)

Hello lovely anon! Terrifying, I have no idea who you are! Like a horror show in my inbox. Thank you very much for writing! <3

Something about the way you type has me thinking you're someone I know personally, so imagine me spidey-sensing my way through this post....

I had to go back to my own post to find the sodding questions, gdi. 10 and 13 have already been answered, but onward with the questions!

1. The character everyone gets wrong

The character I personally find most overwhelmingly badly represented in fanfic has to be Alastor. I've seen everything from not using his tone - which is really easy! We have a lot of dialogue from canon and he uses a very specific speaking style - to him being perfectly touch-happy, when we know he uses touch to intimidate and to impose but often isn't keen on it coming back at him. Those two things will throw me for a loop really easily when reading a fic.

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Whoever you think tops or bottoms probably doesn't! Maybe it's because of my own sexual and romantic preferences, but I think things are a lot more fluid than fandom are willing to suppose, and I think it's a lot more fun that way. Especially about who's domming or subbing and where they come in when it comes to topping/bottoming, because it doesn't have to tally that one follows the other. Let's not fall down the lazy path of stereotypes, people.

7. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?

I hate to say it, but Lucifer. (Tbh, this could've gone for the blorboification question, too.) I think he's given a rough hand in canon anyway, usually used as comic relief, which I don't think helps. But I find the 'uwufication' of such a complex character sometimes difficult to swallow. As a character he's potentially got so much *stuff* to look into - ideas about iconoclastic creativity, free will, about being a parent and yet struggling to deal with that responsibility towards your child, the whole dynamic with him and Lilith - and I think he can often be reduced to 'funny duck man.' A bit like Sheogorath in the Elder Scrolls, who in ESO has become 'the cheese man' rather than the frightening Daedric Prince of Madness he actually is.

Obligatory 'do not piss on the poor' comment here - Of course nothing is making me engage in content I don't like! This is just my personal taste. But thank you for writing in and interacting!

[hazbinhobelle]

UR ANON IS OFF but hi <3

for the ask game:

3, 10, 13, 17, 18, 21 :D

and anything else from the list you wanna answer tbh

MY ANONS ARE ON NOW, GOOD SPOT

And hi <3 But thank you chum, for unleashing my opinions! Unsubstantiated? Yes! Entirely based on vibes? Totally! And yet here they are for yours truly - the tea, freshly boiled! Sit down and have a cup. Really, I insist.

3. Screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

I am resisting the urge so so much to take screenshots of the worst takes I've ever seen because I don't want drama but you know which takes. You know which ones. BUT, generally speaking it's not a particular take but how it's written which will get on my nerves. Maybe it's where I come from in terms of training and career but I always think a take should be at least substantiated with a form of evidence or proof, or at least some form of launchpad from canon - or if it's not, you use canon to strengthen your argument. So when I see a take that's very much coming out of left field with either no evidence or evidence that is VERY loose at best, I think that's - to steal a word from Alastor's repetoire - sloppy. Obviously this doesn't count for like, crack takes or the like! But you know what I mean, broadly speaking.

10. Worst part of fanon

I think there is a general lack of media literacy in fanon, I'll be honest! I think that it's particularly evident when dealing with problematic characters, which Hazbin is always going to have because of the nature of the show and its particular themes. And you know what, it's always going to be a thorny issue about who gets redeemed and why - it touches on real life issues and people. But I think the fandom would benefit a lot from being able to sit back and touch grass.

I also think we need to be ensuring that only adults engage in Hazbin fan spaces, because it's an adult show, and we should be careful not to encourage children to be involved or to watch it because of its themes. We're pretty good on this on the whole, I think (my blog is certainly minors DNI, and most ideally, minors DR) but yeah, that just opens up the floodgates on a safeguarding level that makes me want to shrivel up and die.

13. Worst form of blorbofication

I must admit I'm probably not entirely up to date on what blorboification means in this context, but I really think we should not be giving Alastor perfect Parisian French! He's not French, he's not from Paris, and he's more likely to speak a language like for example Kouri-Vini/Louisianan Creole rather than your straight-up baguette-holding French. I know we saw him speak French in the show, butttt even so. He's not from France, and I think we need to show where he comes from and his background.

17. There should be more of this type of fic/art

Tell you what, OUR FUCKING SHIP -

So for people who don't know, I write a ship with OP here called variously by Alastera, AllieCat, and Radiospark between Alastor (written by me) and my friend's amazing murderous OC, Ilaera Llewellyn, a 1960s traditional photographer.

HOWEVER, I think there should be more Charlastor art. Charlastor fans have been somewhat pushed into the margins but there's some great art and fics out there.

18. It's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on....

Me. My blog. Send post.

No, I'm kidding. I think one character the fandom have been sleeping on in particular is Carmilla. And that's because she keeps getting forgotten by the narrative of the show. She has two songs in series 1, one of which has her singing with a major character, and her creations - either angelic steel weaponry or the Might of Lilith - are instrumental to both seasons' finales. But at the moment she's like a scary sexy gun vending machine - which I think is a frightful misuse of her potential! We keep seeing her daughters being used but they're little more than puppets that people can hold over Carmilla's head with no character or personality. And I think this means as a whole we're sleeping on Carmilla both in canon and in fandom. Please give me more scary ballet lady, it's good for my soul.

21. Part of canon you think is overhyped

I'm judging how much of this I can say and not get shot for, but definitely Radioapple. I think Alastor and Lucifer's moral values come from completely different places, that Alastor is everything Lucifer cannot stand and is actually fucking haunted by (gleeful sin/Danny Do Bad personified), and Lucifer is everything Alastor despises on a level that cannot be surmounted (Lucifer as a symbol of white aristocracy). While I know that's part of the appeal for some people (and we can all enjoy what we like!) I personally don't see the chemistry. If every enemies thing can be an enemies-to-lovers, I think we miss out on the separate spice that can occur when it's just enemies. Not every dynamic has to be necessarily shipped.

Thank you chum! <3

Edit: I forgot about fucking respectless - THREE songs for Carmilla!

[thememedaddy]

[ihateeveyoneandeverything]

We can agree this was Velvette right

[yekokataa]

🔥 choose violence ask game 🔥

the character everyone gets wrong

a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

worst discord server and why

which ship fans are the most annoying?

what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

worst part of canon

worst part of fanon

number of fandom-related words you've filtered

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

worst blorboficiation

that one thing you see in fics all the time

that one thing you see in fanart all the time

you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

there should be more of this type of fic/art

it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

part of canon you found tedious or boring

part of canon you think is overhyped

your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

ship you've unwillingly come around to

topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

[hazbinhobelle]

Offering this as a game to anons is akin to buying a build-your-own viper pit, but I like to live dangerously. Feel free to ask!

[hazbinhobelle]

I'm just thinking about Vox and Al's relationship...

And it's interesting that we see the same word repeated in two of the most important relationships in the show.

Easy.

In Scream Rain, 'Easy' is the song where we see Charlie and Vaggie repair their relationship. They remember that they've already done the most difficult thing, already beaten the worst odds, simply by ending up together - nothing else will be as challenging as that. Their love was hard-won and something they both value. There's strength in that bond.

In Weapon of Mass Distraction, however, Alastor's just ensured that Charlie has a front-row seat to the action by basically planting the idea in Vox's head, and has sufficiently wound him up enough that Vox is now desperate to do anything that Alastor says he can't do.

And what does he do with this? Alastor waits until Vox is gone, cackles maniacally, and, all while breaking the fourth wall, leans towards us and says he's 'too easy.'

For Alastor and Vox, 'easy' isn't a reminder of strength together but rather an indicator that someone's boring. Someone's not being interesting enough. Someone's slipped, and the other one will take advantage of it, and it's not even fun anymore because they're not presenting enough of a challenge. Vox all but said catching Alastor was easy in Let's Make a Deal - he holds his TV head, looks around as if he's expecting a trap. He still takes Alastor up on it, but there's a certain "Wow, are you serious?" element to it. "That's it?" he ask incredulously.

Easiness is a marker of slipping standards, not intimacy. There's almost a subliminal insult: it's not even having the decency to put up a decent fight. Vox and Alastor's relationship is defined by resistance, and if that resistance seems to disappear, they both flounder. Vox confronts Alastor the first night he holds him captive and fishes for information, and he only seems happy when Alastor becomes a 'brat.' This is the Alastor he knows; this is the dynamic they step into like a pair of old shoes. Easiness, and just ease in general, spells death for that dynamic. They thrive off being difficult, resistant, and trusting that one will try to overpower the other - even if they don't succeed, there's a familiarity to that old rhythm.

It's interesting that this theme is in two mirroring homosexual relationships (regardless of actually being in a relationship) - one with two women that is healthy and romantic, and the other with two men that is obsessive and psychosexual. Alastor and Vox's dynamic is a dark mirror to Charlie and Vaggie's. You have the bright-eyed optimist (Vox, Charlie) with the more cynical counterpart (Alastor and Vaggie). One wears red, the other darker colours. Vox and Charlie even both make the same self-conscious movement when talking to their Big Crush, looking away and going a bit blushy. But of course we know that both scenes had wildly different outcomes.

While one finds reassurance in being able to let barriers down, the other finds it strange, even suspicious to be at ease. It's when you're at ease that bad things happen, when someone will overstep. Someone has to push back - and hard. They simply can’t have it ‘easy.’

Follow for more random meta posts! <3

[hazbinhobelle]

It's that time again! Hello and welcome to.....

Hazbin Hotel Characters As…

Disney Princesses!

Because the world needs more whimsy and why not marry the two franchises that absolutely cannot and will not meet anytime soon? Let's face it: Disney meeting Hazbin would be awful. People would die. There would be tears. There would be much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth. But let's suspend our disbelief and have a look at what could be a really, really cursed crossover!

This was inspired, by the way, by @cynthesia07's amazing fanart of Charlie as Ariel here! Please like and reblog, it's amazing.

Charlie - Ariel

Charlie too wants to be ‘part of their world,' just like Ariel. Unlike Ariel, she decided that the world she wanted to be a part of was one full of misery and murder. But she too didn't listen to anyone who wanted to tell her and forged ahead - and just like Ariel, she fell in love with one of the outsiders. Ariel didn't go quite so far as to go for a man who straight-up murdered mermaids, but it's not that far off. And, like Ariel, Charlie also has a difficult relationship with her dad.

Vaggie - Merida

The fierce and headstrong Merida is a perfect match for Vaggie. Like Merida, Vaggie refuses to simply go along with her intended purpose and vows to change her fate. Merida likes weapons, as does Vaggie of course! But they both share the same fiercely independent nature. Adam and Mor'du also make for interesting parallels, as relics of a time long past where things had gone wrong long ago. Rather than repeating the same mistakes, Vaggie and Merida both choose their own path, even if it's not traditional.

Lucifer - Elsa

Lucifer stands in for the similarly melancholy and isolationist Elsa! Heavy is the head that wears the crown and Elsa and Lucifer share that same heavy burden of responsibility and knowing how it is to be ostracised and alone, especially when that isolation comes from your own family. (While with Elsa it was for her own safety and that of her sister's - I think we can all say that the Arendelle royal family desperately needed a child psychologist.) Lucifer, like Elsa, has incredible power but doesn't always use it. He also cares deeply about his family.

Niffty - Cinderella

Cinderella, queen of housekeeping! Niffty and Cinderella share an affinity with mice/rats respectively. Despite being made to work by her wicked stepmother, Cinderella still puts her heart and soul into her work and keeps her home spick and span, much like a certain pint-sized cleaner who, um, "likes being forced". I can also see Baxter putting every scientific atom in his body into forensically scanning that glass slipper and finding Niffty through some obscure tracking of a cleaning product molecule stuck on the sole.

Angel - Aurora

Angel, Angel, Angel, sleepwalking into chaos - remind you of anyone? Angel is Aurora, the princess famous for, um, not doing much but falling asleep. Angel is of course hypnotised by Vox and is stuck in a living nightmare. Time will tell if Husk will be his Prince Philip. (Here's hoping.) Valentino's constant search for Angel Dust and badgering him to return to the Hotel is also very similar to the mad search Maleficent embarks on to find the now teenage princess.

Husk - Rapunzel

Husk and Rapunzel are two feisty characters who are held in bondage. I can see Husk wielding a frying pan, can you? Rapunzel’s hair is both the source of her power and also the thing literally holding her down, and just like her, Husk’s gambling affinity is both his power and his weakness - something that he can never quite put down, but needs to if he can progress. Maybe Husk will have to cut himself off from his vices as much as Rapunzel needs to cut her hair to be free of its influence. But I can see Rapunzel learning a few magic tricks to pass the time up in her tower, can you?

Alastor - Belle

Now I wanted Husk to be Belle, but Alastor’s recent arc with Vox clinched it. He, like Belle, walks into a scenario where he willingly opts to be held prisoner, and manages to talk his way out of it. He and Belle also share a similar 'outsider' status within their own town, being declared as odd or different for acting outside of the supposed expectations for their demographic - Alastor as a mixed-race man, Belle as a woman.

Velvette - Tiana

Like Vel, Tiana is an entrepreneurial woman with her heart set on her own business. Sadly Velvette is nowhere near as kind and lovely as Tiana, but they both share the same drive to succeed on their own terms. The plot point of Vodou dolls* is vaaaaguely similar to Velvette's own doll-like Hell persona. It's a weaker link, but it's still there. Almost There, you could say. I'm so funny.

*I think Vodou is the right spelling but please correct me if not!

Vox - Anna

Vox as Anna? Really? Hear me out. In particular I mean Anna from For the First Time in Forever, that instant earworm that's all about an idealistic form of what life will be like once the gates open, and, also, the importance of a romantic partner. Like Anna, Vox is just a little out of touch but is always striving to be with the people. He’s a bit of an oddball, got obsessions, and fails frequently in his urge to ‘be somebody.’ There's always someone better for Anna in the form of her sister Elsa and in the first bit of the film she's this elusive figure who always manages to do better than Anna does, always knows what the social cues are and seemingly how to behave (even though we later find out she's just as traumatised as Anna is, just differently). For Vox of course this figure is Alastor.

And no, there is definitely no Disney Princess for Valentino. There really, really isn't. xD I tried.

[hazbinhobelle]

What I find interesting is that Husk and Lucifer both show very different forms of depression.

I think it's fair to say that although Husk gets more screen time than Lucifer, or certainly did in series 2, Lucifer seems far more popular. Some of this is down to the songs he gets to sing and of course the whole shipping situation with Alastor. But Husk also gets a song that can heavily go towards shipping with 'Loser Baby' (Huskerdust ftw), and doesn't seem to get the same traction with the fandom.

At their core, both Husk and Lucifer are of course deeply melancholic. But Husk is far more of a public figure. He's more physically and socially available - he's with everyone a lot of the time, he's very communal - and, with that, his sadness is well-known and obvious. He's depressed. Big deal. We all die alone. Have a drink, drown your sorrows. That sort of thing. He's a 'loser,' as he sings.

Note how Alastor's skeletons are tightly wound around the pillars of the bar, mirroring how restricted Husk is by his deal.

He doesn't hide his depression. There's no masking. But while that means that his depression is the most visible, so are his vices and the ways he employs to cope with those feelings. Anyone seeing his first scene at the pilot can see how his gambling and alcoholism are clearly his coping mechanisms and how they drag him down into his depression just as much as they briefly lift him up. It's ugly, it's unflinching, it's not romanticised.

Neither is Lucifer's depression, but I still think there's a big difference in how their relative problems are presented and this changes how we think of them.

With Lucifer, outwardly he presents a very different image - even to his own daughter in 'Dad Beat Dad.' He can still dust off the old 'razzle dazzle,' especially in series 2, where he goes from ratty-jumper-wearing to master of pyrotechnics within a few scenes. His depression can be masked, at least for short periods. We see tiny snippets of how he should be - or at least an image that he can maintain.

Having said that, the Lucifer we see in Vox Populi is very much an assumed image of strength that is ultimately designed to deceive. Still, it's a persuasive performance for anyone who doesn't know he can't smite sinners.

Only we the viewers know the true extent of his depression; only we see him sobbing along to duck dramas, and panicking at seeing his daughter on the phone. It's not romanticised, but it is perhaps less 'edgy'; he's not got any identified vices like a real-world addiction, which muddies the waters and can hurt other people beside him. It's less 'messy.' It's a far more relatable form of sadness, and possibly a less complicated one for us to view on our screens.

Of course, the illusion is paper-thin, and Lucifer is rattled by both Alastor and Vox quite easily, but there is some degree of masking still going on, some element of a separation between the public and private self that we see Husk not really having. Even in 'Love in a Bottle' when he's 'so free and so alone,' Husk is not acting too much out of how we see him normally.

And that's the problem. It's much harder to differentiate Husk and his depression than it is to separate out Lucifer from his mental health condition. And it's also harder to see where Husk's depression comes from.

Lucifer, we are told, is a 'dreamer' - an inventor, an iconoclast who thinks differently and is riddled with guilt for banishing himself and his wife into literal Hell.

With Husk, we don't quite know where the trigger for the spiral started, other than it culminating in Alastor holding his contract.

Or, does Husk's depression even 'need' to be explained, really? We know that depression can happen for a lot of different reasons. He is 'damaged' in 'gruesome' ways, according to the Loser song. Do we really need to know, or are we, like Sir Pentious, voyeuristically looking into a character's pain when keeping it general would let Husk be more relatable?

Either way, with Husk we don't see these ugly breakdown scenes with him sobbing and wearing ratty clothes or whatever.

So although his depression isn't masked, and this should mean we feel a greater intimacy with him, it manifests in a way that is perhaps harder to sympathise with.

Put simply, he's more straightforward, and less openly vulnerable; he's more prickly, and more 'adult.'

He hasn't got a whimsical side like Lucifer has, and doesn't have a charming obsession with something cute like rubber ducks. His depression is, overall, less approachable. It's harder to explain, and more difficult to watch. And I think that has a lot to do with Husk as a character and equally the reception he gets. His depression is almost a touch too realistic.

Having said that, that shouldn't necessarily stop him from being as popular as other characters like Angel Dust, who also sails very close to the IRL-wind with the depiction of sexual violence. But again there's a complicating factor - with Angel, things are happening to him. There's another agent in play with Valentino, and the addiction to drugs goes very much hand-in-hand with the sexual violence and exploitation. With Husk, Alastor isn't "making" him down these drinks or gamble unwisely. That isn't to say Angel Dust doesn't have his self destructive tendencies, as we see in Masquerade! Or that what happened with Alastor doesn't contribute to Husk's self-destructive spiral.

But so much of what Husk does is part of this vicious cycle, which might be part of the reason why he's not been picked up so much by the fandom. And of course I am talking about generalities here! Husk will always have his fans. But it's interesting that both characters have the same mental illness and yet seem to get a different reception.

Of course Husk is still quite enigmatic, and perhaps looking at his depression in discussion with Lucifer's is unfair given how little we know. But what we can do is see them as reflecting different facets of the same condition. Probably each and every one of us with depression has bits and pieces of both Husk and Lucifer in our presentation of the illness. Whether we are more like Lucifer or Husk depends on our personalities and the context. Without one, we wouldn't have a true understanding of the other.

Hopefully in the series to come we'll see more connection between Husk and Lucifer, and maybe an unlikely friendship between them both. I think their similarities would make an interesting dynamic that hasn't been explored yet.

[hazbinhobelle]

I’ve been thinking about the nature of fandom recently...

And I think part of the appeal of a fixation or focus on a character is that we get to see them from so many angles, and how that relates to ideas about exclusivity and what we are 'allowed' or permitted to see.

With real people, we only see a form of expression-as-performance; I don’t mean just passing impressions of people who see you every day but don’t know you, but I mean even in meaningful relationships. Even with people close to you, every aspect of ‘you’ - as a collection of behaviours, mannerisms and so on - is not necessarily going to be seen. Dynamics between people, including the context, the relative ages, and the setting, is going to change the way we all act in a way that doesn’t make us inconsistent or ‘lying’ but simply brings out different aspects of us. And we only see the elements that we bring out in others.

A lot of my close friends I met on a server where I was a staff member, for example. This meant they saw - not exactly ‘professional me’ - but a milder form of ‘customer service me,’ because I was answering questions and checking everyone was following the rules etc. I was having fun but in a position of mild responsibility.

Far more drastically, someone I know is a surgeon and if I saw her at work, it would be probably because something is very very wrong! So I'm rather pleased I've never seen her as 'Dr.' I just knew her as Izzie.

But with fandom? We are in a position of privilege, able to follow them wherever. It’s not just that they are familiar to us; it’s the fact that we have unfettered access. For example, in Hazbin, we see all sides of Vox. We see his private face before we see his public one. We see his relationships with his rival, with his colleagues, with his enemies. And that has its own form of appeal that is difficult to get anywhere else.

Pictured: Literally the same person.

But I think we can go further. I posit that this is particularly pertinent to shows like Hazbin, and also the reason I think why we like shows like The West Wing, or Peaky Blinders - things with a degree of risk.

Whether that’s because it’s about a crime family, or politics (same thing, really /s /unless), or beings of great supernatural/fantastical power, it's that feeling that we are getting exclusive access. After all, we are rarely able to penetrate (I’ll pause here for the obligatory giggle, join me when you’re ready) positions of authority, power or danger in everyday life. We'd never be allowed to see all those elements of Vox, for example.

I think the payoff and the interest in a character grows according to how unavailable they would be to us if we were in that universe. If we were in the Hellaverse, how much would we be permitted to see? When they’re just characters in something with no societal barriers between them and you, I think that dynamic between you and the character is different, especially when there's an element of a character being relatable.

Relatable doesn't mean bad! Not at all. But it is a different type of fandom relationship as a viewer or a reader when there's a feeling of a character being representative of a certain demographic or something equally close to your heart that affects real life. That relationship is based on identified similarity, of a shared experience that is used to deepen our understanding of ourselves but also others - actual living people we'll meet and talk to on a daily basis. The benefit of that relationship is more audience-focused than it is character-focused. There is a different weighting to, and reasoning for, relating to that character.

But when there is a character-focused relationship, where we are peering in rather than the character reflecting something real out, then it becomes more about that exclusivity. How much we see them, what we are trusted to see, and how many angles we are allowed to view of them. Perhaps this is better noticed in terms of how we react when we are denied these angles. Then characters get called 'mysterious' or 'shadowy' and if anything there is even greater clamour to find out more about them.

Of course this is the ultimate aspect of OC creation - that's the far end of the exclusive scale because only the creator has that in-depth insight. When we create our own stories and telling them to ourselves we are creating a microcosm of the creator-audience relationship.

That's why I love the paranoia the characters feel in The Magnus Archives. They fear the tape-recorder and what it stands for when it turns online, when there is a need for John to hear more and more stories to sustain himself. It's a horror that self-aware characters feel upon knowing that the story of their lives is being used as fuel or consumed by an external figure, that they must bear all to an external force - and that figure, that force, is us. We are the Eye, who wants to know everything about everyone regardless as to how much it hurts them. In my view it's a really interesting examination of the need to know when the Fourth Wall becomes a form of cosmic horror.

Anyway, happy Friday!

[hazbinhobelle]

It's probably been said before, but it's interesting that Alastor states that he 'served [Rosie] faithfully for an age' in Don't You Forget, and that his reputation for brutality and mass murder, which has almost passed into Hellish folklore, is one that even so has been tempered all this time by her 'demands' to 'contain his rage.' How much more scary would Alastor be if his 'rage' was unchecked? And what is he so angry about?

And principally, what did Rosie have to gain by taking Alastor 'off the air' on her behalf, seven years ago, precisely when the exterminations started - except to remove from the board the one playing piece who could have dealt with the exorcists and Adam so much sooner and made the whole ordeal faced by Hell, and which prompts Charlie to act, so much less threatening?

As speculated in my previous meta, Rosie's playing some sort of long game here. It's no coincidence that we learn the exterminations have only been taking place for seven years in the same episode, in the next scene, after we see Alastor and Rosie's relationship in a new light, and where Rosie's control of Alastor is demonstrated so clearly.

[hazbinhobelle]

Oooh, very exciting! Thank you very much for everyone who's liked the random stuff I've come out with. Much obliged! Still going to be churning out my rubbish for some time longer so please do keep going if I say anything you like. <3 But thank you!

[hazbinhobelle]

Cool Threads: Alastor's Stitches

TW: discussion of fantasy self harm within the Hellaverse. Please look after yourself <3

So I was thinking about Al's stitches, and trying to puzzle out what some of them signify.

Bear with me while I go over the basics. When we see Alastor's stitches, they show us both his strongest strength and....well, his weakest weaknesses.

We can see in the bayou scene and in the scene where Alastor agrees to be Vox's 'prisoner' that the stitches are clearly coming from him. They're an element of his power. They're green like his magic, he has direct control over them, and such is his strength that he can literally stitch himself back together from injuries that would down a regular sinner. 'Strongest sinner in Hell,' etcetera etcetera.

We know all of this already.

Look at this final scene with Vox - he's covered in them. His stitches are a testament to the fights he's won in Hell and all the ways the fallen Overlords that became his prey tried to fight back. Someone's tried to disembowel him, someone's tried to take his arms and legs off - it's every attempt every Overlord's ever made. And they've all failed.

But let's just return to the stitches that we have seen the most of in series 1: his stitches around his smile.

I've seen people try to say they're some sort of facet of his deal - that they are some sort of physical manifestation of a gagging order, of literally keeping his mouth shut.

And that's a good guess, but that can't be. For one thing, they're in the same lurid, eerie green as every other stitch that keeps him together.

When we see the physical embodiment of soul deals, they're always the colour of the owner, the one in control.

If this were Rosie's doing, we'd see light gold stitches. Not green.

So Alastor's smile stitches? He did that to himself. That isn't from some sort of gagging clause.

Now you could argue they're just like the other injuries. Has someone tried to aim at his mouth before?

I mean, maybe? The grin is annoying enough according to Vox to give it a go. But all the other injuries on him are aimed to incapacitate. This one is quite different, and it seems to trace his mouth perfectly more than actually try slashing it completely off, or doing something to otherwise seriously injure him as all the other injuries indicate.

Come on. Who goes for the teeth when you want to kill a man? When there's this super scary Radio Demon after you, you go for the legs, the arms, the head. You don't fuck about with the man's dental care and not-so-pearly whites.

As it is, stitches like that don't keep anyone's mouth closed. They're doing a shit job, if so - look, his mouth opens anyway. The man never shuts up, so that can't be what they're for.

He never has any sort of trouble with his mouth. There's never any grimaces of pain that suggest that talking hurts him.

So, Hobelle, I hear you say, because presumably you all live in my walls. (Put the kettle on, there's a dear.) What's your point?

Okay. So I think we've got this the wrong way round. Don't look at them as stitches meant to draw a wound closed.

Look what happens if you consider them as a sort of propping-up of his mouth, keeping his mouth open, his smile frozen like that intentionally.

And who would do a thing like that?

I posit Alastor did this to himself.

Why? To make sure he keeps smiling, even if he otherwise physically can't. To keep that smile on, no matter what happens.

As someone who's had a facial injury that's required stitches (and a facial scar in childhood, yay) that shit is uncomfortable.

But maybe he did that to keep up that image of the smiling Radio Demon, come what may. Alastor is so committed to the bit - to his image and to his reputation, more accurately - that this damage could be entirely self-inflicted.

It's not a perfect theory; surely the stitches would draw away from his mouth if they're keeping his smile on. I understand that and I hear that. We also haven't seen much of them in series 2.

But it does seem to make a strange sort of sense.

And just like the other stitches, we get an insight into his strengths and weaknesses. Because it implies there's a crack in the facade that he would do anything, even self-mutiliate, in order to cover up. And I think that's in keeping with a character who is so intent on controlling his personal image, even his image on a television screen, and keeps such a tight control over his appearance and affect, that he would try to take away any element of his own physicality he couldn't rely on.

Thoughts?

(As always if you liked this, check out my Masterlist!)

[hazbinhobelle]

I was looking through screenshots for another meta and I just love the framing of this shot.

Here we have Vox at his most monstrous, the word 'porn' helpfully put next to him in the same blue, little hearts in the opposite corner; compare this with the drama of Alastor at the bottom centre, with his back to us, looking for all the world like some sort of dramatic hero rather than the little shit he quite cheerfully is most of the time....

It just makes it look, without context, like Alastor is the last bastion of asexuality (aromanticism, too, as yet unconfirmed in canon I think?) holding out against the allosexual tide. Which I suppose he is in this particular dynamic, actually. It's due to Vox's psychosexual obsession that we're here at all.

The animators must've known what they were doing putting 'PORN' by Vox there, in his computer virus form. There's a real 'allosexuality as a virus' undertone, an element of monstrosity added to allosexuality that most of the time, generally in terms of culture, is directed towards asexuality rather than the other way around. The whole 'sex makes us human,' 'you're a robot,' bla bla, argument that asexual people are confronted with.

Note the 'cum cum cum' in the middle left there. (As well as the barely visible 'eatery, ass, pussy, cock' sign on the other side.)

Alastor seems to be fighting the spectre of allosexuality and in turn the pressure put on asexual people just as much as he's fighting Vox.

I find it super interesting, especially given how sexualised the whole show as a whole is, that series 2 put such an emphasis on, and highlighted, the actions of their one asexual character, and a shot like this really seems to underline that fact.

Plus, of course, this just continuing the 'dodging love hearts' element to Al's fight with Valentino earlier.

Given the overall nature of media in general these days - the prevalence of sexual undertones on our televisions, in our books, that while can be liberating for some people can also be intimidating or unwanted by others - it's fascinating to see a different lens being put on and the reversal of those usual tropes.

(I'm not saying Hazbin representation is perfect, but this facet is just interesting.)

[hazbinhobelle]

Having Thoughts about chokers today, people.

A choker physically restricts your throat - for the sake of symbolism, it's restricting your voicebox, keeping you from saying anything you shouldn't. And where do we see chokers in Hazbin Hotel? More specifically, who wears them?

We always see chokers used by characters with secrets. Vaggie's is of course that she is an ex-exorcist. Angel Dust's secret is even more subliminal and one he's not fully aware of: that he's spying for the Hotel.

So far, so good. And this is reaching, even by my standards. But. But but but. We see Rosie in a new costume for series 2, and lo and behold....

It's not a choker choker, in the sense that it is just a high neckline, but there is a ribbon tied around her throat all the same. I have already written here in my meta post about Rosie, Queen of Hearts, about what I think Rosie might secretly be up to behind the scenes and where her real sphere of influence is, and the association of the 'RE' around her emporium which may stand for 'emporium' but so easily could stand for 'Eve.' But I wonder if this is another indicator that Rosie is not who she says she is.

Thoughts?

[hazbinhobelle]

Thank you for 100 reblogs, by the way! I know, I know, not remotely Tumblr famous (unless...? /s) but it IS a milestone, so thank you everyone who has reblogged stuff, liked my rambles, saw fit to have it on your blog and just generally put up with my posts crossing your dash.

Big thanks to my bestie @radio-sparks for being game to read the first drafts and for tolerating my rambles on call!

Shameless plug: if you want moderately well-written rambles on Hazbin, please do check me out at my masterlist. <3

[hazbinhobelle]

Having Thoughts about chokers today, people. Ah, chokers. Remember being 14 and having a load of chokers that were super fiddly to put on but made you look oh so cool? The good old days....

Anyway! A choker physically restricts your throat, of course. For the sake of symbolism, it's restricting your voicebox, keeping you from saying anything you shouldn't. And where do we see chokers in Hazbin Hotel? More specifically, who wears them?

We always see chokers used by characters with secrets. Vaggie's is of course that she is an ex-exorcist. Angel Dust's secret is even more subliminal and one he's not fully aware of: that he's spying for the Hotel.

So far, so good. And this is reaching, even by my standards. But. But but but. We see Rosie in a new costume for series 2, and lo and behold....

It's not a choker choker, in the sense that it is just a high neckline, but there is a ribbon tied around her throat all the same. I have already written here in my meta post about Rosie, Queen of Hearts, about what I think Rosie might secretly be up to behind the scenes and where her real sphere of influence is, and the association of the 'RE' around her emporium which may stand for 'emporium' but so easily could stand for '[R] of all [E]vil/[E]ve.' But I wonder if this is another indicator that Rosie is not who she says she is.

Thoughts?

(Also, this gained traction, hi people! If you want to see more thoughts, check out my masterlist!)