WAIT i've said this to friends before but i need to put this prediction out there on the public record. on everyone's souls: alastor will be retconned as gray-aro or his aromanticism will be removed entirely so radio/apple can happen. thank you for your attention
i dont like vivziepop or these shows/these are redesigns from my rewrite. if youre confused/curious about that and are gonna send an ask about it then read my faq first
down here i wrote down all the symbolism i intended! close this if you'd rather analyze the art for yourself, i crammed a lot of fun imagery in here :]
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the deer is, of course, a symbolic representation of alastor. the fish, vox. the way the fish is impaled, bleeding onto the deer's forehead, is meant to symbolize his eventual loss at his hands.
the fish is a salmon, representing success, though it's death implies the opposite. failure.
the deer, while clearly an adult, is still sporting fawn spots. this is to represent childishness, and pettiness. i kept this to symbolize the way that, to alastor, their fighting and back and forth is-- and always has been-- a game that they're playing. while, to vox, this is gravely serious.
the tapestry is titled don't you forget, as to reference vox and alastor's reprise in season two. it's also supposed to be foreshadowing, in a way-- the entire painting is meant to cryptically symbolize the events of vincent's future, so don't you forget also comes off as a warning. the blue flowers on the ground of the painting are forget-me-nots for the same reason.
the focus of the piece is a deer jumping out of a short blue fence. a fence that was never tall enough to keep him contained, and yet, the implication is that it has been in there for some time, and is only now hopping out. the fence, itself, is wrapped in asphodelus flowers. flowers which symbolize death, and, as implied here, hell in particular. both a warning of when and where they will meet, and also a reflection of how they are each other's personal hell's, in a way.
there are more flowers in the background. purple hyacinth (which represent a desire for forgiveness) crowd around red mushrooms, which symbolize fantasy, magic, and-- more broadly-- disgust and repulsion. also featured in the background are red hydrangea, symbolizing boastfulness. red ones, in particular, also symbolize deep emotion, romantic or otherwise.
the borders feature even more flowers. red petunia's symbolize anger. blue delphinium represents flights of fancy. both applying to each vox and alastor throughout season 2.
also in the border, you can see an antlered face wearing a smile-- alastor's smile-- in the detailing. in another, you can see a skull, with a crosshair on their forehead.
the salmon is looking upwards, with blood running like a tear down its eye. the deer is looking directly at the viewer.
vincent is drinking red wine. in art, red wine has many symbolic meanings, but here it's supposed to directly relate to the blood in the painting. as well as, in a way, being a metaphor for luxury and good fortune. things he has now, in the present, but will lose in the future, as the tapestry implies.
the gray streak in vincent's hair resembles a lightning strike. foreshadowing another element of his future.
hold me like a tourniquet, and i'll you, like an iron maiden.
i've grown used to fear. but no, not to you yet, my dear.
i dont like vivziepop or these shows/these are redesigns from my rewrite. if youre confused/curious about that and are gonna send an ask about it then read my faq first
i dont like vivziepop or these shows/these are redesigns from my rewrite. if youre confused/curious about that and are gonna send an ask about it then read my faq first
outdated animation meme i know but i had to get this outta my system. been thinking about them a very normal amount. see the background animation by itself here!
i dont like vivziepop or these shows/these are redesigns from my rewrite. if youre confused/curious about that and are gonna send an ask about it then read my faq first
One of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss’s biggest problems is that it will neglect foreshadowing, preestablished themes, and logic in favor of making something cool, dramatic, or funny.
Vox has a spy inside the Hotel! Ignore the fact that there has been absolutely no mentions of a spy before this scene; it can’t be Pentious because he was redeemed, so then who? Well, Baxter is pretty obviously connected to Vox: he used to work at Voxtech before coming to the Hotel, is constantly taking notes on everyone and everything, and has had no other story significance aside from a little bit of backstory with Pentious. While it might not be shocking, it’s been built up between episodes and- nope! It’s Angel Dust! He was hypnotized inbetween scenes and has been secretly been reporting everything to Vox despite the fact that Cherry Bomb has been spending a lot of time with him and Angel has been showing his phone to other characters with no sign of foul play! How dramatic!
Inside Hell, there are groups of sinners that have risen the ranks and become Overlords. They own souls and usually certain industries, boasting a variety of powers with them. The show, however, doesn’t explain much about what an Overlord is beyond that. How do soul contracts work and how are sinners able to make them? Not answered. How do Overlords get their powers in the first place- does it correspond to how many souls they have, and if so, what determines what your powers are? Not important. Come look at this fight scene between Alastor and the Vees where they throw each other into buildings and use their respective theming! Isn’t that cool?
Heaven doesn’t know how to make peace with Hell now that they’ve discovered that sinners can be redeemed. Due to their distance and naivety, Emily and Able propose that they bring down gift baskets as a way to apologize for letting the Extermination happen. So funny!
This would be okay in moderation. All shows are built upon reaching certain points in their story, and those points are often funny or cool or dramatic. I’m not saying that your story shouldn’t have things that are any of the above without extensive planning. However, there are times when both shows sacrifice what would be good for their story because it would elicit a temporary moment of instant gratification that falls apart when you look at the rest of the show.
Rosie has actually owned Alastor’s soul this whole time and has been using him to do her vague bidding! How dramatic! Except… there are no bits of foreshadowing to this being the case. Sure, Husk mentions that he’s not the only person on a leash when Alastor confronts him, but that’s very vague and unspecific. There are no scenes in Hello Rosie that hint of something more sinister going on underneath the smiles; Alastor appears to genuinely value her company and advice. There’s never a moment where Charlie’s out of earshot and the conversation gets more tense, or a moment where Alastor privately expresses disdain at having to come to the person who own his soul for help. He’s the one who proposes going to Rosie in the first place! It’s a big reveal, but beyond shock value it lacks logic. It’s also super racist, but I’ve made a different post about that.
Lucifer goes to intimidate Vox and get him to back down, showing up with a rock number and giant firey snake! Vox reveals that Lucifer can’t actually hurt anyone and flips the song with a rephrase where he declares himself the king of Hell and gets a newer, bigger form! How cool! Except… Lucifer being unable to hurt sinners makes no sense when he’s clearly able to hurt angels. If Heaven’s way of punishing him was forcing him to see his greatest failure and all of the bad he’s brought into the world without being able to do anything about it, why would he be able to beat up Adam? Arguably making sure that he can’t hurt angels should be the bigger priority because if he ever tries to get Hell to rise up, he’ll probably be the one leading the charge. Whatever! Look at this song!
There’s a montage of Vox doing a bunch of petty things to spite Alastor like hosting a parade or ordering a milkshake with two straws and drinking it all in front of him. This montage ends with the reveal that Alastor, a sex-repulsed asexual, was tied to a chair and forced to watch Vox and Valentino have sex. Funny, at least if you’re Vivziepop. Not only does this ruin an alright joke, it further contributes to the rift between how Hazbin Hotel treats sexual assault. In Episode 4 of Season 1, we’re shown an incredibly serious portrayal of the abuse Angel Dust suffers at the hands of Valentino. This “joke” and the one made where Pentious gets dragged into a room against his will where he screams no and claws at the floor, completely undercut the message they’re trying to show with Angel Dust. But it’s only a joke!!! People are so sensitive nowadays!!! God forbid the bad guys do bad things!!! (Yeah, no. Depiction may not be endorsement, but framing something as serious as sexual assault as a haha funny certainly is).
I’m sure there are plenty more examples of moments like this, but these are just the most recent in my memory. When you’re working on the second season of your second show, it stops being a beginner’s mistake and becomes just bad writing.
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