#Vox being himself is a whole show in itself

[hocooart]

We all know Val and Velvette get really annoyed by Vox's obsessive behavior for Alastor, so I made a compilation of Velvette being exactly that. 😆

Also, I love how she and Val were smiling about Vox throwing a tantrum after Alastor fled in the Finale.

At least Vel had the decency to stop smiling and go back to being annoyed when Vox was more or less realizing they were also still in the room.

I love how Vox is not just one of the entertainment overlords but also his obsessing over Alastor is just pure entertainment for his friends.

Speedpaint (length: 1 minute):

[sateurn]

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

These sobs really limited my tags?????

I have so many more thoughts this is so so much less than 1/2. Broski. Big dislike

[bimobuddy]

Learning to Trust

SFW Hazbin TK fic

Alright people hear me out with this one

Major Spoilers

CW: Brief mention of anxiety disorders, swearing

Lee!Vox, Ler!Alastor

It's kind of a ship? The Aromantic 'Squish' equivalent of a ship. Well not yet anyway, they're still rivals in this, but I might make a part 2 that explores that a little more

It was gonna be Valentino and Vox, but I'm mad at Val so he got his boyfriend privileges taken away >:(

This might get kinda angsty, sorry in advance

Summary: Vox is glitching out and having connection issues, so he bites the bullet and asks help from the only other demon who can help him. Unfortunately with that demon being Alastor, they run into some issues.

It had started happening after the battle between the exterminators and the sinners. The War between Heaven and Hell. Vox had been watching it all happen on his TV, mostly keeping an eye on Alastor. Originally the plan was to watch by himself, but Velvet insisted they all watch together, and he couldn't really think of a good enough lie to tell her no, so he gave in.

He had spent the whole night playing up how much he hated Alastor, which is easy when your entire life and afterlife, you've been a TV Show Host. Many years of acting. At one point he even hoped if he got too obnoxious, the other two might leave, but used to his antics, they stayed.

But inside he was immensely stressed out. Yes he and Alastor were rivals, but there was something about the rivalry he needed. Something about it he liked. He couldn't really explain it himself, and he preferred not to think about it, preferring to tell himself that he just enjoyed hating the Radio Host.

So when he watched Alastor almost get killed by Adam, seeing him actually vulnerable for once... It scared him.

Then started the glitching. He knew it was from stress, the feeling was very familiar to when he was a human with an anxiety disorder. Only instead of a racing heart and suddenly feeling faint and warm, his anxiety came in the form of glitching, as his mind couldn't process everything, and showed it visibly on his screen.

He had tried for hours to make it stop, to try and fix it himself, but he couldn't see the mirror properly through all the glitching. That and the glitching made it hard to think.

He considered going to Velvet, but despite her phone and social media use, she didn't actually know anything about the tech itself. There was one more option, but he really didn't want to even consider it.

Though as he started to glitch out again, he decided to just bite the bullet.

-

Vox found himself scaling up the side of the Hotel, climbing toward Alastor's radio tower.

He'd rather fall to his death than use the doors and ask to see him. As he reached the top, he frantically tapped on the window, feeling another glitch about to happen.

Nothing.

He started tapping again, even faster this time.

Still nothing.

He made a fist and drew his arm back to just break the window in-

*click*

"Well this is quite the predicament." Alastor said, leaning over the windowsill. "Shut up asshole, just let me in." Vox grumbled. Alastor's grin seemed to widen. "And why shouldn't I just give you a little nudge?" The radio host questioned, placing his cane lightly against Vox's screen.

Vox couldn't help but notice that his cane had been seemingly glued back together and.. bandaged up? He didn't have time to think about that. "I uh.." He trailed off, only for Alastor to push his cane a little harder into Vox's screen. He tried to speak again, but he glitched, losing his grip and slipping.

But he didn't fall. Through all the TV static, he felt his wrists being grabbed, as he was pulled upward. He still couldn't focus much, but he recognized that he had dropped to a hardwood floor now.

"My, this certainly is quite a problem.. For you, anyway, I find it entertaining." Alastor chuckled. Vox pressed a palm to the cool floor to try and ground himself. Gradually, the static cleared itself. "You know what I found interesting? That someone as strong and as feared as you got cut down by an angel." He said, glaring.

The room got deadly silent, Alastor's smile much more strained now.

"... I need your help, okay?"

"And why should I help you? Especially after that nice little comment you made."

"Listen, I'm- Ugh. Forget it, I don't know why I even both-øťhəred-" Vox had stood to leave, only for another glitch to have him leaning against the wall for support.

"It appears neither of us are in great shape." Alastor said, begrudgingly lifting Vox by his upper arm and setting him in one of the swivel chairs. He crossed his arms and waited for Vox's glitching to pass.

After a solid minute, Vox groaned, his head starting to hurt. "So what made you think you'd come to someone who famously hates television boxes for help? Especially when that person is a rival, an enemy, someone you've fought in the past?" Alastor asked.

Vox looked up at him, feeling that pit of anxiety in his stomach again. "I didn't know who else to go to. Valentino is useless, Velvet doesn't know shit about tech, and you're the only other demon who has seen me weak before."

Alastor took a moment to process that last part. He considered it. If he helped Vox, he risked being seen as soft. But if he didn't help him, what if it got worse, and he lost his nemesis, the pettiness that kept him going at times, that pushed him to be the best Host?

He sat down in his seat, across from Vox. "Do you trust me?" He asked. Vox thought for a moment. Did he? He must have if he came here. "I have to."

"Good enough." Alastor went to get started... "Wait how the hell do I do this? I'm more familiar with my own equipment."

Oh, right. Vox sighed. "The back of my monitor comes off. Just open it, and I'll instruct you from there." He said, turning around and removing his hat.

Alastor curled his fingers around the back panel of his monitor, causing Vox to jump a little. "If you want me to help you, sit still-" "I am, shut up." Alastor pulled the back panel off and was met with what to him looked like Alien technology.

After Vox had instructed him on what to do, he got to work. Though he didnt like working in silence, it felt a little too intimate, especially with his hands inside someone else's head.

"So what exactly caused this, if I may ask?" He questioned. "Stress. I start to glitch out when things are hard to process and I overload. Sometimes if the glitching gets too bad, I shut down, which I'd rather avoid."

"Shut down," Alastor repeated, "I thought if you 'shut down,' you'd die or something?" "No, no.. I can more closely compare it to burnout but ten times worse. Last time I shut down, it took me a week to recharge."

"Hm. And what caused you to become so stressed this time? Sure I've seen you briefly buffer and glitch during our fights, but never this bad." Alastor asked. Vox noticed the radio filter in his voice seemed to fade out. He was genuinely curious.

He didn't know what to say. More like he didn't know how to say it. How do you tell your rival of all people you were stressed because you saw them get hurt?

"Well? With how close I am to all these wires, I'd answer if I were you." Ah, his filter was back. "I just.. Got overworked." "Need I remind you how easy it would be for me to unplug some of these wires? Hm, this yellow one seems awfully loose-" "I was worried oka- Aha!"

...

"What do we have here?" Alastor asked, a smile evident in his voice. Vox froze. He actually didn't know 'what they had there.' That had never happened before.

"I-I don't know, but Alastor I swear to Satan himself- wahait- grr- Don't!" He gripped the armrests of his seat in a desperate attempt to hold still. He worried if he pulled away too fast, he'd accidentally rip a wire out.

It felt so weird. He could actually feel Alastor messing with the wires in his head, specifically the ones down at the bottom that ran down his neck and into his back. Each time the Radio host rolled one between his fingers, it sent what felt like electricity into his system. Thousands of little shocks that made him want to pull away and- No. He wouldn't, it was dumb, it was weak, and it wasn't like him.

Alastor grinned wider, finding it fun to mess with him. "Why Vox, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were ticklish." He said, rubbing the wires again, watching as Vox gripped the armrests tighter and scrunched his shoulders up. Alastor only grew more amused as he heard the other's fans whir to life as his ventilation system tried to cool him down.

Vox, however, felt like he was fighting for his life. His shoulders were shaking, his chest was spasming, and he felt his screen overheating. He was actively fighting back any noise that tried to escape. He refused to be seen as any weaker than he already was. "T-Tickl-what? The f-fuhuck is that? Thihis isn't a vihirus??"

Alastor paused. "You seriously have never heard of tickling? It's childsplay. Children often have tickle-fights with their siblings and friends. You've never even seen it?" "I never really had any friends."

There was a beat of silence.

"What about the other V's?"

"Gross, you think I'd let Valentino get anywhere near me? You know where his hands have been?"

"Where haven't they been is the real question."

Fuck, that got a laugh out of Vox. A real one too, not the fake rehearsed one he used in public or on TV. It was lighter than Alastor expected, genuine, and almost had a warm sound to it if you can imagine that.

And Alastor found himself wanting to hear it again. "I suppose I should get back to maintenance now shouldn't I?" He said, returning to his work, get making sure his hands brushed over the wires and cables occasionally. More than occasionally.

"A-Alastor- fuhuck- wahahait- *wheeeze* ahahahaha!" Vox found himself stomping the floor a little, since he was unable to pull away. He felt light scritching at the base of his neck, obviously intentional. "Yohohou ohold tihihimey prihick! I'll d-dehehe- dehehehahahaha!"

"Oh I'm sorry, you're going to what now? I can't exactly hear you." Alastor grinned. Both hands, or claws one should say, suddenly scritched at the back of his ribs.

Unable to control himself, Vox tossed his head back and laughed, and slammed backward, pressing his back into the seat. Alastor was quick to pull his hands back with a chuckle.

Vox's fans were whirring loudly. "You ahasshole, just finish fuckin' repairing me." "Oh I finished that ten minutes ago!" Alastor answered cheerfully, popping the back panel back into place in Vox's monitor.

Vox groaned, irritated.

"I still find it hard to believe you've never heard of tickling! Everyone knows about it. I'm even more surprised no one's ever found out by accident. Not even while reparing your monitor?"

"I fix myself, I don't trust anyone to touch me."

"You trusted me."

Vox turned his swivel chair around to face Alastor. "I did, yeah.."

Alastor tilted his head a little in curiosity. "And maybe you could trust me again. You never did tell me what got you so stressed." Vox rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because you started assaulting me before I could."

"Voxius."

"That's not- Did you just assign me a full name?"

"Yes, now quit stalling." Alastor said, latching a hand onto Vox's side. "WAIT-" He shouted before batting at his hand, huffing out chuckles. Alastor only crawled his hands up Vox's ribs before targeting his underarms.

"WAITFUCKTHATSWORSE!" He cackled out, slamming his arms down, trapping Alastor's hands. The Radio demon only chuckled. "You'll learn that when it comes to tickling, much like real fights, you're not supposed to let your opponent know exactly where your weak points are. Now I can do this." He stated before drilling his thumbs into Vox's underarms.

"FAHAHAHACK!" He shouted, kicking a leg out, much like a dog, whilst also trying to curl up in his chair to protect himself. "Thihihis ihihis rihihihidiculohohous!!"

"What's ridiculous is that you still haven't answered the question."

"YOHOU WOHONT LEHEHET MEHEHE!"

"Hm, fine." Alastor stopped and pulled his hands away. Vox tried to kick him but of course a tendril came out and grabbed his leg, as he expected.

Vox muttered something. "I'm sorry?" Alastor asked, leaning closer. Vox sighed. "I was worried." "About?"

"About you."

Alastor's eyes widened ever so slightly. Vox had been violently glitching out over him? "Why is that?" His voice was normal.

"You're my rival, so obviously I tuned in to watch the battle. I wanted to see if you'd get killed. Part of me obviously wanted it to happen, but when I saw that Angel snap your cane and actually hit you-" Alastor flinched at the memory, "Seeing you actually vulnerable like that.. I realized I didn't actually want to lose my one and only rival. As much as I hate ya, you do push me to come up with newer and better shows in order to compete with you."

"I... can't say I haven't thought the same thing. Because of you I have to write better scripts and find the best topics for my broadcast. Even though it's no question that I'm the best," he grinned as Vox frowned, "But I am the best because of you."

Vox wasn't sure what to say to that, having mixed feelings. Before he could overthink it, Alastor held a hand out. He took it, as the other demon helped him up. "Now, it's quite late, and you have a tight schedule, I'm sure." He opened the window, as a large tendril waited outside for Vox.

"I do appreciate you coming to check on me." He said before hurrying Vox out the window, as he sat on the tendril. "If you tell anyone I said that, I just might broadcast this newly discovered sensitivity of yours." He threatened.

There was the Alastor he knew and loved to hate.

"I won't, don't worry. I don't feel like explaining to anyone why I was over at your Radio Tower anyway. You hurry up and heal, Alastor, I want you in top shape for our next fight," He smirked, "Even I'm not low enough to kick someone while he's do-OOOWN-" The tendril suddenly dropped, pulling Vox down with it, where it would drop him off safely on the ground.

Alastor shut his window, and watched the TV show host leave down the hill. Never in a million years did he think Vox would ever trust him, nor did he ever think he'd help his rival.

But he couldn't deny that he had had a little fun that night, not only tickling him, but just talking and getting to know him a little.

This night might have made their rivalry slightly more complicated.

[impale-me-radio-daddy]

*reads your entire master list*

Hm. I think this guy might like antlers a little bit

Uhh...

Fuck! I've been made! My extremely secret love of antlers!

Hmm.

Have some more antlers.

"So, uh, I noticed-" Vox trails off, unusually coy, particularly given that you're already sitting naked on his bed. "I noticed you liked being touched here."

His claws are ginger, tracing the contour of your skull through your hair, and finding the base of your left antler, the ridge of bone around it where it emerges.

If anything, his touch is too gentle, a discordant whisper against your senses, that beats in your skull like a signal lost. You flick your ear, lowering your eyelids at him. "Not like that, I don't. But I can show you how."

Vox is embarrassed, his expression souring, and you know if he didn't want this a whole lot, he would be arguing with you right now, or kissing you to shut you up. Instead, he swallows down his pride. "Yeah. Show me how it goes, baby deer."

Vox's touch is imperfect and clumsy at first, even with you guiding him, your hand over his. He goes too fast, claws skittering over bone and making you shiver, then too slow, too soft, too gentle, a touch that you can barely feel, that has you bucking your head into his hand, just to get some sensation. Each abortive attempt brings a curse from his lips, followed by a long, slow, breath as he regathers his focus, angry, but at himself for his mistake, until at last he finds a motion that works, a grip of one of your tines between his claws, and a gentle, continuous back-and-forth motion. You can't even disguise the expression of bliss that comes across your face, and Vox's mouth twists into a triumphant grin.

"Those are getting big just for me, huh," gloats Vox, the motion of his hand on your antler bringing sensation through your body in waves. You can feel your antlers growing further, creaking as they extend into geometric branches and cruel points.

You swallow a moan. "You can use your mouth, too," you say, wondering what the length of Vox's flexible, electric tongue will feel like between your branches.

"Ohh?" Vox is returning to his default state of smug motherfucker now, his grin widening. "Is that a request? Because that sounds like a fuckin' request to me."

The man would be a worse tease than Alastor, you think, if only he had the patience to follow through on his threats and make you beg for his tongue. As it is, the thought of you helpless and squirming at the mercy of his mouth compels him, and he steers your head down by the antler to get better access, his mouth hot against bone as he kisses the spiked tip of each of your branches in turn.

This wasn't the first time someone had sucked on your antlers. It was, however, the first time that someone like Vox had sucked on your antlers. The first thing you felt was the hum, the throbbing, beating fifty hertz that carried directly through his mouth, through your antlers and into your bones. You went limp, Vox giving a muffled noise of surprise as his arm came up to support you. Mouth not leaving your antler, he manipulated your body into his lap, your weight comfortably against his chest as he continued his experiment.

"Don't stop," you murmured, weak, your eyes closed, and the squeeze that Vox gave your arm told you that he had no plans of stopping.

The second thing you felt was his tongue, winding itself around each branch, slotting slick and wet between each fork of your crown. It was a shivering, electrical sensation, one that coaxed a whimper from your lips with each movement.

"Gonna fuck you after this, baby deer," says Vox, his voice low and full of vocal fry as he releases your antler from his lips and tongue long enough to speak. "You're just gonna be wide fuckin' open for me after this, aren't you? Fuckin' soaked." You nod; he isn't wrong. Each touch now is a vibration, a resonance through your body, a standing wave that reaches antinode at the very core of you, heat pooling in your guts and between your legs.

Vox groans, a pleased sound as his lips latch onto your antlers again, his tongue coiling gentle and slow round one of your tines. He brings a hand up to your other antler, a little of his power coming into play as he sheathes his claws in vibrant blue electricity. It feels like his tongue now, a shivering, electrical pulse, and both of them together threaten to overwhelm you. You gasp, arching your back, your ass pressing against the constrained hardness of his cock in his pants.

"You gonna cum like this, baby deer?" Vox releases your antler long enough for his static laden lips to brush your ear, making your fur stand on end. "Don't stop," you reply, a pleading edge to your voice that you know Vox rarely refuses. "Make me cum, please Vox."

With that, his hand and mouth work in tandem, a rhythm that runs through you, leaves you breathless and incoherent in his arms, your voice reduced to pleading mewls as sensation builds and builds, a pressure in you that threatens to overflow. Vox knows your body well enough to tell when you are close, and he chooses not to break the rhythm, the only concession to his own pleasure in the moment a growl from his chest, and a roll of his hips against your ass, cock pushing against you hot and needy through the fabric of his pants.

You cum with a soft cry, Vox's electricity arcing over your antlers, and he lets you collapse against him.

[peachi-blossom]

My thoughts on Hazbin Hotel as a non HH fan

Originally, I was just here to watch people criticizing Hazbin Hotel. But when the recent controversies came in, I feel like I have to step into the fandom rabbit hole.

As a non Hazbin Hotel fan, I've watched the pilot, read the prequel comics, watched the ADDICT music video, and finally the show itself. (I've watched the show on March 15th.)

NOTE: I didn't watch the show on TV so I watched it on a pirated website instead and read the transcript because no way am I watching this in front of my parents, my siblings, or Grandma. This is my personal opinion on the show.

Pilot: So Hell is basically Earth except it's painted red and inhabited by demons. The background has too much red, but not as bad that it makes my eyes bleed. I don't like how the female characters have the same color scheme except Vaggie and Niffty (pilot only). For example, Charlie, Katie Killjoy, and Cherri Bomb. The only two funny parts of the pilot is when the top hat demon says "Wow! That was s***!" after Charlie sings Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow and when Angel pokes his head in as Vaggie is giving Alastor a warning. I didn't like the daddy joke. It just sounded bad. Also, why is there a joke about harlequin babies?

Prequel comics that are no longer canon: Basically the prequel comics focuses on Angel Dust and Alastor.

For Dirty Healings, it shows how Angel Dust first met Charlie and Vaggie. I knew that Vaggie's name was named after a uh, you know. Ugh… Why did Vivienne Medrano had to name her that? Also I hate Valentino.

As for A Day In The After Life, it just shows why Alastor is the most feared demon in Hell. Also he swears after seeing Vox.

ADDICT music video: I genuinely have no thoughts on this music video. I think this was just bait for the SA and CSA victims. Sorry for those who like the MV.

Episode 1: This is worse than the pilot. I did NOT like the beginning part. It's biblically inaccurate for multiple reasons, but I feel like a few people only talk about this one thing. Sin didn't exist until Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. Not only that, but it's also misogynistic too because it was just Eve who ate it. What makes it misogynistic is that it implies that all women would have to bear the sins of Eve ALONE. There's rampant swearing and sex jokes. Also, isn't Archangel Michael supposed to be the leader of the Army of God? Anyways I'm siding with the angels.

Episode 2: The red is so bright that it hurts my eyes. It doesn't help the fact that Alastor blends in the background. Oh yeah, when Vox tells Sir Pentious to kill himself, it made me feel sad because it reminded me of the Shay incident. The time when the stans drove Shay to kill themself because they were uncomfortable with the large age gap of HuskerDust.

Episode 3: Why? Why is there a BDSM sex dungeon?! I know that was Angel's idea, but still. Why?! I seriously have no words. When Zestial says "What troubles thou?" I was like "Huh?". It should be "What troubles thee?". I think his Old English has grammatical errors. The Egg Boiz, Carmilla, and Zestial are bearable because they never said a swear word. Off topic, but Velvette's swirl streaks on her hair makes me think of a swirl ice cream.

Episode 4: Before the show came out, I saw SlayQueenArt's post on Twitter (X) that says Vivienne Medrano hired Raphielle II, aka R2ninjaturtle, who has a rape fetish and isn't a SA victim. As someone who is formerly addicted to porn, this episode is insulting on so many levels. I didn't watch the whole Poison sequence because of that. And don't get me started on Loser Baby. I hate this song so much. It felt like it is blaming on SA and CSA victims for being SA'd. Like it is blaming me for being addicted to porn on and off when I was EIGHT. I know there are some victims who like episode 4 so I will leave them alone. I seriously hate how Charlie behaves like a toddler at the end. No grown adult should behave like a toddler like she did because being raped isn't a silly thing to cry over. Like, hello? She is the supposed to be the main character. Oh yeah, there was NO warning for the episode when the show premiered and it triggered the victims who watched it. SA and CSA victims are not losers. Former porn addicts are not losers. Nobody is a loser. I am NOT a loser.

Episode 5: Wow, Vivienne Medrano really turned Lucifer into King George from Veggietales. I guess this is what happens when King George gave in into his obsession with rubber ducks. I didn't like Hell's Greatest Dad because of the unnecessary rivalry between Lucifer and Alastor, but at least Mimzy ended the song. Oh boy, this is where I hate Alastor now. No really, he is Vivienne Medrano's first edgelord oc. He has gone full edgelord and is basically a Bill Cipher wannabe now. His full demon form is not even scary compared to Bill's final form. He no longer stands out from the main cast even if he rarely swears. Mimzy is basically the embodiment of the hooked nose stereotype. Wow, the embodiment of a Jew stereotype. How racist.

Episode 6: That was an absolute slap in the face at SA and CSA victims and me when Sir Pentious got SA'd! Seriously, Vivienne Medrano doesn't even care for the victims at this point! What's worse is that he is based off of her old ex-friend, DollCreep. Why did she whitewashed St. Peter?! I know there are white Jews, but he was born in ancient Israel so I wouldn't think he'll be looking like a white man with blonde hair and blue eyes. How come angels don't know how souls get to Heaven?! We got the Ten Commandments! We got Jesus Christ who took our place to die for our sins so we wouldn't have to bear these sins! Emily and Sera are bearable because you know. I hate how Niffty is being treated like a child when she's NOT. What's worse is that Niffty is supposed to be Japanese because of how people INFANTILIZED Asian people, especially women.

Episode 7: My issue with Out for Love is that when Carmilla tells Vaggie that she should fight for love and not for vengeance. Well, Vaggie always fight for love and never for vengeance. In Whatever it Takes, she literally says that she'll always protect Charlie. Where is the vengeance in that? That is poor character writing. Rosie is basically the blood libel stereotype where the Jews are cannibals. Again, that's just racist against Jews.

Episode 8: I thought the finale was pointless because there were no stakes and Sir Pentious' heroic sacrifice was comically anti-climatic. Like, why did Sir Pentious's so called friends cared about him when they didn't help him at ALL in episode 6?! I'm not a fan of the CherriSnake ship because Cherri only becomes interested in him because he has two "joysticks". Not to mention he kissed her without consent and she thinks it's hot after that. The problem with More Than Anything (Reprise) is that Vaggie reassures Charlie that she changed many lives, but she only changed one. I'm so glad Adam defeated Alastor first. There is absolutely no way Lucifer slept with Eve. Oof for Lute and Adam. You both fought well until the end.

The character designs are awful. Every male character basically looks like The Once-ler from The Lorax 2012 movie except for Adam (I know Alastor doesn't have a top hat, but still gives off the vibes. Zestial is more Burtonesque.). Not to mention they are all skinny twigs except for Adam (I think). The female characters in Hell have the same color scheme except Vaggie (again). For example, Charlie, Katie Killjoy, Mimzy (though her dress is a little darker), Cherri Bomb, and Niffty (show only). They have too much pinks, reds, yellows, whites, and blacks. I love pink, but this is too much. What's worse is that they blend in the background and again it hurts my eyes. There is NO color variety and I feel like my eyes are burning.

That's my thoughts on the show.

[resisteverything]

Just for fun (I am really not invested, haven't even watched the full thing): why do you dislike Hazbin Hotel?

This is the biggest one, the hotel is useless. Charlies whole goal is to redeem sinners with the hotel, but by the end of the season there are only two guests, and then one of them dies. This is particularly bad because of the six month deadline set in episode one. Like what is Charlie even doing over those entire months?

The main characters are weak. I expected to learn more about Angel dust in the show itself, and see a new side to him, but in the end his entire character is summed up with Addict, except the show gives him less personality than Addict does. And he's the best one. Charlie is just a Disney princess parody, the only unique trait of hers being that she swears randomly and has daddy issues, the latter only mattering in one episode, the other seven either shafting her character or giving us no new information about her. Vaggie never once does anything that isn't what Charlie told her to. Alastor is vague and mysterious, but the intrigue and fear factor he brought is just sort of ruined in the show proper. He doesn't work as a foil to Charlie or an antagonist because he never does anything for forward the plot.

Nothing happens in this show. Episode one's only contribution is the dead angel and six-month deadline, everything else is skipable. Episode two changes nothing except that Pentius is at the hotel now, and he doesn't do anything. Episode three is only important in that Alastor hears about the dead angel head, info which he doesn't use until episode seven, like no other character is aware of the angel head. Episode four is only important in that episode six centers on whether or not angel has redeemed himself, except in episode six has the question be answered with "Actually heaven doesn't care about that and was never going to listen to Charlie", episode five is only important in that it's setup for Charlies meeting with heaven, a meeting that ends in her being kicked out and nothing having been changed. Episode six is that meeting. Episode seven is Charlie literally giving up on her motivations to prepare to do battle with heaven, and episode eight is them fighting that big battle. Nothing Charlie did from episodes one to six actually brought them closer to resolving the conflict, and season two is just a return to the previous status quo of hell.

The series is packed full of side characters that should not be so numerous in an eight episode season. Why is Carmilla Carmine, a character that shows up in two subplots a more relevant character to the narrative than any of the main characters? Why did we get half an episode dedicated to the Vees dicking around in ways that in no way affect the plot but never got to see Charlie and Angel dust have a real conversation that wasn't antagonistic? Why did Charlie work out her issues with Vaggie with a completely new side character she's never met before this episode instead of with Vaggie? Why is Vox spying on the heroes for all of episode eight instead of doing anything? Didn't one of them actively try to incite a war against heaven? Shouldn't she be siding with the heroes?

The show has a bizarre relationship with the pilot. It expects you to understand that Charlie taking Alastors hand is a big deal, or know who Cherri bomb is, because these things are in the pilot. But it also Retcons things like Lucifer's characterization, or Husks reason for staying at the hotel. It makes the show hard to follow plot wise.

The tone is all over the place. Pentius dies as a joke that kills a serious moment but then they try to make it serious. Charlie and Vaggie have a serious conversation with jokey slapstick noises in the background. Valentino flips between scary and goofy at random. Angel gets raped and it’s a big deal, pentius gets raped and it’s a joke.

[hisui555]

Hazbin Hotel thoughts : Pets 2

"How are they with pets ?" Vees and other Overlords edition

(Pets 1 (Hazbin Hotel crew) here)

(Pets 3 (Heaven's side) here)

Masterpost here.

Aaaand my titles are still as creative as a rusting cheese grater on sale. Anyway, let's jump to it.

The Vees !

Vox did have an (now archived) Instagram that's also now loosely canon, where he put pics of his cute pet hammerhead landshark Vark (that's probably not in the show the same as it was in the Instagram, but made it in with another form : might be the hammerhead bio-shark we see in the tank in ep 2 and why do I get the feeling we got robbed from something ?) and given his interactions with it, he clearly loves it with all his heart, calling it "baby" and posting what he brought for him (in a handbag), so it's safe to say that Vark is spoiled. One pic even shows it jumping on Velvette with Vox doing a fist-pump, another has an out-of-focus one with Vox being the one jumped on, so the critter can be safely described as rather enthusiastic (and giant. Hell fuck is it big). Which, based on this, gives a rather good idea of how he would interact with a pet : it's kind of a special, non common animal of specific interest (shark), that he will coddle and spoil to high heavens, basically a pseudo-kid. Expect tons of affection, letting it run around to its heart's content with a whole room (or more) dedicated to the beast, and a Never Could Do Any Wrong attitude that might be even worse that Lucifer's in the previous post. He will also train and teach it tricks, complete with lots of praise and treats, and given his management skills vet appointments are no problems (well, for him. Given the animal, very much not so for the vet), even cooing to the tyker that I know, you don't like it, but we'll have to go. I know, I know, I promise it's not for long. Touch it and you're dead, your reputation is dead, your whole family is dead up to the 10th ancestor, even your ashes are dead.

Alternatively, given how Vox is in the show now (still secretely hoping we see that side of him I admit, but I wouldn't place any bets on it), he has multiple shark-like creatures in a GIANT fish tank (at least two of them recognizable as sharks, I've counted four beasties that are seen on the opening of Stayed Gone), which look impressive and silently drift by. So while there's still the affinity for sharks, they look less goofy and more dangerous than Vark by some metric magnitudes and go quite well with his cunning CEO image, even emphazing it ("I think I have... just the one." Ep 2). So it paints a picture of power and silent intimidation, grinning like a shark and tempting to trade into the waters, smelling weakness like blood in the waves and drowning people under false hope : which is pretty much how he'd probably like his pets - hunting, powerful, highly unusual ones, that make him think of, well, himself and his empire. He'll keep them well-fed, cares for them, and likes to watch them swim around, maybe to calm his nerves after a Valentino tantrum or whenever Alastor so much as breathes wrong, more like status pets than coddling pets like his Instagram incarnation with Vark (again, shame*).

*While I do go awww, too bad, the producers, animators and whatnot had to work with an 8 episodes season. Characters also evolve (5 years between the pilot and the first episode), and things get dropped or picked up considering the needs of the show, and the intends behind the characters. The retired character Instagrams (and the pilot) paint the big lines, but smaller details are either contradictory or true-but-in-a-sideways-way compared to the final product, hence why "loosely canon". Vox with Vark would've been adorable, but he's probably not supposed to be that likable in that precise way, and it would've probably not brought the show itself much. I can only speculate why they dropped Vark's previous version (if he's indeed in the show at all), but don't take it as me faulting the show's creators and workers for it : my word is far from being gospel. Or else I'd make a really shitty deity.

Velvette would probably like a small, handholding pet that she can customize and that accords to her tastes, but also cute, photogenic and personable, so expect something like Hell's version of a chameleon, a pug or a Yorkshire (wait scratch that, I said "cute and photogenic"), or something that other people would find hideous but she'll make it work (nevermind, this fits) to show off how good her fashion skills are. She'll parade around with it, and if it has the same bitchy disdainous attitude as her, gladly welcomed bonus. She'll train it to obey only her (to Vox and Valentino's consternation and frustration), but also perfectly : every command is fulfilled within the snap of her fingers, but if the pet does outstandingly well, she won't hold back the treats. In private, she might be softer and more affable to it, praising and baby-talking it, but at the very least it'll have a luxurious corner to live in, and when she's away, her assistants are given the tasks of taking care of it (however not to a keep-an-activity-journal point unlike Pentious in the previous post). Unlike Angel, she might go for multiple pets at once (again, they're taken care of by a whole flock of staffs - good for testing interns and all that), and bank fashion lines and trends on them, associating with Vox to push out new product lines about animal care and fashion.

She'll also have pretend "dialogues" in public with one of them (switching favorites often following her moods - Velvette likes to have a wide choice fan of options) about how ugly or stupid she finds something and what's that you say Pookie ? Yes, absolutely, this dress looks like colored by sewer waters, ugh, good thing someone agrees with me. Think we should fire her ? to someone she particularly despises or deems unimportant enough and won't address directly because she'll estimate it beneath her, or sometimes to have an outlet of her own to vent. Rarely if ever goes to the vet unless one of the critters ate something it really shouldn't, since she's counting on her assistants to be skilled in healthcare, and they better be. Naming will be themed after what she likes, supported by tons of nicknames, and only her will know which one is named what because no one can keep up. Will be more annoyed than sad if one of them is hurt or died, but there will be a pang of sorrow for her favorite ones.

Valentino, well, also had a loosely canon pet queef (those half chihuahua half horsefly thingies, which are two abominations put together to make a third one - kidding, Fizzarolli's are kinda endearing), named... Queef (worse than my title names, good job bud), and emphasis on had, since he shot the tyker dead because it annoyed him, according to his archived Instagram. A safe bet is that it didn't even lasted very long. Which... paints dead-on (...sorry) the picture of how Val would treat pets : it's like a fancy that strikes from time to time and goes away just as quick, the second he's bothered by the critter. He's atrocious with naming them (though Adam beats him for sure in terms of naming things), sometimes can't differenciate one from another because oh right, I killed Queefie last week, you're actually Queefrey (...look at what you've made me do, stupid moth), and doesn't really care in general. Vet ? What's that ? Seriously the only time he'll go to a vet it's to enrol them in his studio if he finds them sexy enough and uses the critter for it. To him, they're not animals, they're trending accessories : something that goes nicely with the fishnet stockings and mink coat for an evening or two, not longer - or a tool to pick up chicks and chucks. If it dies, either he's the reason for it, or he'll just be annoyed.

He might just give them away if feeling generous or in a good mood, mostly to Velvette or his employees (he was the one who gave Fat Nuggets to Angel canonically - which was when Hell probably got a sudden cold wave or something. My sarcasm is having a stroke today, damn, sorry. Often happens when I'm writing Valentino's section, wonder why...ah, shit.), but hates if it disobeys or doesn't do what he wants it to do. Given that he doesn't train them either and expects it to behave like he wants right off the bat, this happens often. The longest any pet has lasted by him ? I'd say a week, two tops.

The other Overlords !

I don't peg Zestial for a pet owner, but again, let's pretend. It'll probably be something silent and creepy, ancient and powerful just like him - I mean, can you see him pick up any sparkly eyed kitten ? Me neither. It would make for a hilarious image, though. But nope, he'll be more like Hagrid than Umbridge in that sense : the most horrifying the better. Given his motif of spiders, he'll have his own Aragog, or some giant chiropteric monster from the dawn of times, with its own gregorious Fancy Name The Nth, something that even Lucifer thought died out ages ago. It's more a mutually respectful companionship than anything else : there's no "owner", no "pet", it just happens to live in Zestial's basement (or wherever he hangs his spindly, spidery legs from) and hunt down nuisances for him, in exchange of the occasional chin scritches. Might also know how to play chess, because why the hell not. Zestial won't like it being hurt, but will let it lick its wounds on its own and wait for it to ask for help, and it'll show up to show support in a fight and some extra manpower if needed. It doesn't obey squat, just agrees with you from time to time. No vet is crazy enough to go near that beast.

Carmilla will probably not have a pet either (too bothersome), but her daughters just might, and she'll allow it (somehow). Strict rules, the animal can't go wherever it pleases, better be damn well potty trained, and girls, if you want a pet, I'm not the one taking care of it - and she will stand by this, unlike some Didn't Want The Damn Cat Parents who melt at the first purr (welcome to the club of cat lovers, I'm the self-proclaimed president, what can I do for you ?). However, she's not against the affection, enjoying some relaxing moments with the pet at her side. Also, just having it around sleeping while she does work is nice and stress-relieving enough. She appreciates whatever "help" it can provide (fetching stuff), and simply talks to it like she would to an everyday person, only repeating words to make it understand what it should or should not be doing. She doesn't like cruelty to animals, and will make very clear what she thinks of someone who does that, but otherwise won't blow a gasket (like Vox or Angel might do). Might favor guard pets to protect her loved ones.

Rosie would be more about some old fashioned and elegant pets like poodles or whatever frizz-furred (or hairless, or scaly, as long as its classy) critter this side of Hell has to offer. However, since Alastor doesn't like dogs, she'll either keep it at home, or simply have another pet altogether, but case in point, it's a home pet, not something to parade around the Emporium with. Having it on a leash in the streets, fan in hand (her, not the tyke), and taking a strut around while waving for her fellow citizens or stopping to chat with other pet-owners is really picturesque, and exactly what she'll do. She'll make sure it's well-behaved, and will just have to softly utter a single command for it to obey. The most questionable thing would be the... diet. One sure thing, that beastie is well-fed.

Part 3 will be Heaven's side. Hope you enjoyed !

Again, Masterpost here.

[nerdyfan1]

Ok thinking about this again and I feel like this is considered sacrilege to say on tumblr specifically for some reason but, I’ll never not hate how much ppl try to make the argument Pentious needed to be super serious and evil. It always misses the point of his character to me. It’s really was never about Pentious being evil. It’s why it’s gotten out of the way so quickly in the beginning of Radio Killed the Video Star. You know with Alastor right here:

This is literally the first thing we get with Pentious and I think it set up quite well. Him being evil and then turning soft wasn’t what you were supposed to take away from his character, it’s his arc of learning to value himself and open up to others. Alastor whole thing is he likes to mess with other characters’ insecurities. That’s what he’s doing in this clip. Messing with Pentious’ biggest insecure, his fear of being forgotten. Just another face in the crowd that never meant anything despite his intelligence.

Pentious while doing evil things it’s not inherently evil. It’s a front he put on. Like Angel Dust he is putting on a mask to hide who he really is. Remove the corny villain persona and the war machines and this is who he really is.

A vulnerable man who’s finally allowed the space to wear his heart on his sleeve and let his emotions show. He never deep down wanted to be the villain, he was only that way cus of the environment he’s in made it where that was what he had to be. It’s eat or be eaten. He had to survive and fight to even try to get on top.

Unpopular opinion I don’t think we needed much to set this arc up. The Alastor stuff is fine enough in getting this point across. That even gave us a cute joke as pay off too. It gives you all you need.

Now in a perfect world I would have loved an episode of Pentious before the hotel to specifically explore his seemingly parasocial and toxic dynamic with the vees. Specifically Vox. As they are criminally little on it rn. However that’s me being more curious. I acknowledge it’s not technically needed. Maybe they’ll someday find a way to elaborate on it but, it’s fine I don’t mind I think they still said it all with that one part we did get.

Tho yeah Pentious as is? I think he’s far more interesting now than he’s ever been. Hell I’d argue he was always kind of implied to be this emotional and sensitive. Seen a lot of ppl say it’s a problem he’s so goofy but, news flash so was his villain persona.

Like the 3rd pic especially. You can see it right? He’s still trying to get attention, it’s silly but, also a sign that he just wants to be acknowledged. Remembered. Even if he’s kind of cringe about it.

I think he’s far more interesting this way and I hate this idea that “if a character is sillier or goofy means they by default are less interesting”. Heck his silliness and habit to blend into the background is neat cus it makes the reveal at the season finale way better. Pentious just being this silly man who fought for others cus they gave him the love he needed? That’s beautiful.

Also this criticism of him being too goofy is insane to me given the show itself. Like with how the tone of season 1 is I do ask how on earth making him more overly serious would make a lick of sense. Sure we are getting statements by crew we might get a more serious season 2 (which um I’m conflicted on) yet that’s season 2. The first season is more light hearted by nature. Besides episode 4 tho yeah that is understandable given the subject matter that episode is tackling I definitely would expect the show to be more serious tackling it and this show did as such so well.

By just adding angst onto a character who genuinely didn’t need as such it would mess up the tone and potentially even pacing cus that need more set up. Which is a bad idea given this season’s pacing is already on thin ice.

So yeah if he wants to babygirl the hell out and be himself then I say let him. I doubt this will change anyone’s mind I just get sad every time I see this here. Probably a me thing but, I’ll never subscribe to this idea his character was ruined. I wish ppl in this fandom would acknowledge that the softer characters are interesting too. See ppl be really dismissive of Charlie like this as well. Pentious is like Vaggie in a way. Two ppl who seem to have done something horrible yet actively try to be better ppl. Characters don’t need to fit an evil or nice box all the time. The point of hazbin is its main character are different shades of grey you know? Pentious is not an expectation and writing him like a typical redeemed villain wouldn’t work as well at least to me.

Edit:

In conclusion this is Sir Pentious:

[essektheylyss]

I know you said you need to stop screaming first but I am EAGERLY awaiting your thoughts on Essek in the teaser

OKAY OKAY HERE GOES.

The thing is, there's no real reason to include him.

Yes, he's very popular, but he has never historically been included as a default, validly! He occupies a very interesting space mechanically and narratively, but he is still not a PC. Yes, he's part of the Mighty Nein as a group, per canon, but not until the end, which in theory would be well beyond the first season, and so is Cad, who is not present in this teaser—presumably to preserve the mystery around [INSERT MAJOR SPOILER WARNING HERE].

I would imagine that Cad is not present because having Taliesin's voice twice is too much of a tipoff for anyone watching LoVM but not the campaigns, whereas simply having Matt voice someone is not.

HOWEVER.

There are a decent number of lines that you could choose for Essek that are about the Nein—personally, my favorite, that I've thought previously would make a really stellar trailer line, is from 124: "You certainly carve a unique destiny, don't you?" Everything down to the way Matt delivers it (which you can see here) would make it a really viable option.

But the line they went with isn't about the Nein—it's very much a line about Essek himself. "I want to unlock these mysteries. I want to dive as deep as I can into that ocean of the unknown and see what is possible." It's a line that is very specific to Essek and his actions and goals, even beyond his involvement with the Nein.

And it's placed in the middle of the pack, which frames him on the same level as the rest of the Nein! Someone who is not familiar with the campaign would hear that as simply another protagonist. But of course, he's not—unless there is some serious restructuring (more even than the restructuring present in LoVM, which, aside from introducing a few of the initial less plot-bearing aspects later, like the Slayer's Take, it's thus far structured in order), he won't come into the show for quite some time, and almost certainly not in the first season.

But we don't really have any idea how this show will be structured. There are different comments on the beginning from different sources; notably, Gizmodo mentions Calianna being present in some way initially, while no one else does. The logline most outlets are reporting revolves the Nein "prevent[ing] the kingdom from plunging into chaos when an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands," presumably the beacon (my beloved).

So it makes sense to mention Essek, for, you know, the obvious reasons, as comment on the beacon itself. (I'm going to guess they're simplifying it to one beacon, per the press release, for ease lol.) But this line, while about dunamancy as a whole and the powers of the beacon, is not about it directly. It's still about Essek's interest in it. It is an excellent line, and on its face, it has nothing to do with the Nein or the plot of the first fifty episodes of the campaign.

There's plenty of speculation to be done about how this might be structured, and I'm sure I'll do plenty of it because, let's be honest, I do not shut up about adaptation and translating stories between formats, it is one of my absolute favorite subjects, and this is the Nein, babey!!!

So my point here being: I think there is a lot of room with the nature of Wildemount politics to get a little wild with structure in the translation from D&D game to TV show that, while not impossible in LoVM, wouldn't really have added anything to the story, and honestly, might've taken away from it. Because the point is to watch Vox Machina become the big damn heroes! We do see tidbits of Brimscythe and the Briarwoods beyond the purview of the heroes, but mostly in ways that feel very '80s cartoon villain cameo' which fits the feel of the show perfectly.

But there are a lot of political players and forces in Wildemount that the Nein navigate whether they're aware of them or not, one of whom of course becomes a member of their party, and that's part of what makes their story so interesting. The Nein are the heroes that no one knows, who are always playing within and against the system and are hyper aware of that, and I think expanding how much of that we get to see now that the format allows for it (not necessarily a lot, not to the point of adding whole plotlines, but at least some of it) would only add to the tension and stakes, and Essek's presence in the trailer makes me wonder if they will.

[bapple117]

Some RadioCotton Trivia 📻🐰❤️

Now that my first fic "If You Can't Say Somethin' Nice, Don't Say Nothin' At All" is finished, I thought I would share some behind-the-scenes trivia!

Some of this will contain minor spoilers for the plot, so read with caution if you've not finished the story - there will be no spoilers for part two (All That Grace). Okay let's go! This list is LONG so hold on y'all

The Bambi Thing

The name is a direct quote from Bambi; there's actually a LOT of Bambi references in the whole fic. The quote was actually the entire inspiration for the whole premise. Bambi is one of my favourite Disney movies and I couldn't help but notice a lot of shared themes between it and Alastor - and then I thought, what if a cute, wholesome rabbit demon came to Hell and taught him to be sweeter?

There's another direct script lift from Bambi later in the fic - when Alastor has the dream about his mother. 'Mother? MOTHER? Mother where are you?' Oh the pain.

Adam also calls Alastor "Bambi" and Verity "Thumper" at points, AND one of the chapters is called "Drip Drip Drop Little April Showers". The themes of them being a deer and a rabbit also crop up a lot, obviously.

The Music Thing

There are a LOT of references to songs, both when I put lyrics at the start of chapters and within the story itself. I am aggressively inspired by music and song lyrics, and have immensely eclectic taste, and can't help myself. Some songs would be the thematic influence for a chapter and I would literally listen to the song on repeat as I either planned or wrote the chapter. Something I'm still doing now while I write Bluest Monday!

At one point I spent about an hour trying to find the name of a music scale just so I could accurately describe it when Alastor and Verity play the piano. I am very meticulous with my research, I was determined to find it 😂

The Alastor Thing

The way I chose to write Alastor was influenced by a number of things. One, that "What just happened? Ffffffuck" line from the finale of Season 1 did a LOT of heavy lifting for me. It showed that he has a version of himself that's less guarded and raw - and I don't care what anyone says, it's NOT because his staff broke. He goes right back to the filter and accent immediately afterwards and the staff is still broken, so.

Two, I just really wanted to write him as someone that uses violence and a covered-up personalty as a coping mechanism for grief, which I don't think is too far from the canon. His eventual softening and ability to love was influenced by things like Mr Darcy, Kylo Ren (LOL), Astarion from BG3, etc etc. Traumatised bad boy is healed by the sunshine girl - we love to see it.

I also did a LOT of research on the canonical information thus far known about Alastor, including things Viv has said in streams. The only thing I got dead wrong was a chapter where he drinks tea - apparently he hates it. Everything else is either based on canon or a speculation based on lore that's been teased.

Other Random Facts

I chose to include Adam as a fleshed out character for a few reasons. One, he's hella fun to write. Two, I had the Vox-jealous-kidnap-and-rescue planned since the start, and I knew I needed a character who could help them. Adam is unknown to the Vees as a hotel resident at that point, and so he became a great choice. I needed to lay the ground work so it would be convincing that he'd help them, so he's there from the start. I ended up loving him so much that he's now one of the main characters in the sequel and is getting his own development arc. Go Adam!

Adam also breaks the fourth wall in the show (Ugly people? *looks at camera*) and so I felt inspired to make him quippy with pop culture references a la Deadpool. It was great fun and very helpful when I wanted to squeeze in a fitting reference.

There is a LOT of foreshadowing and wordplay in the fic. A LOT, so much I don't have time to list it all. For example, Verity drunkenly talks (in Chap 4) about how deer are territorial momma's boys - if that ain't Alastor idk what is. That info becomes very important in Chap 21.

There are references to stuff from Helluva Boss; Fizzerolli Cola, a Verosika music video plays, etc. A sign of more to come in P2 👀

Dramatic irony (where the audience knows something the character doesn't and it's either funny or tragic) is my absolute FAVOURITE Shakespearian trope, and I use it all the time.

I made myself laugh a lot coming up with the names for fake booze LOL

Husk was one of my favourite characters to write, as well as Alastor (ofc), Rosie and Adam.

My personal favourite chapters are 13 (Al drunk with Rosie) 19 (dream scene, fluff & first smut) and 23 (final chapter). I loved the image of Alastor laughing into his drink like a normal young man being silly and chapter 19 has a bit of everything - angst, fluff, smut, comedy. I loved writing that one so much.

The scene where Verity uses Alastor's power to manifest them away from the group cheekily and then Alastor likes it a lot and goes crazy kissing her is very inspired by this scene in Titanic (one of my all time fave movies) - especially where Rose swears and laughs as the lift is going up.

I myself have lost a parent, so I understand that loss very well. I poured a lot of that feeling into this fic, it was something I could actually inject into the story from my own experience.

I'm pretty sure we got the comments turned off on a video on youtube LOL. I linked this song at the end of Chap 19 (I listened to it on repeat while writing the love scene) and the next day the comments were disabled LMAO. That track will ALWAYS remind me of this fic now, arugh my heart

Verity

As much as Verity started as just a way for me to avoid using (Y/N) in a reader-insert fic (something I personally don't like) and a way for me to do the rabbit and deer theme, she became her own character over the course of the story. I made it reader-insert cause I figured no one would read it otherwise, but now the sequel is third person bc she's her own person.

Her name was also a deliberate choice - a V name meaning truth. She makes Alastor face his truth, yadda yadda blah blah blah you get it you get it 😂 Plus it just sounds like a rabbit name doesn't it?

Verity has a lot of traits from myself, but she is NOT self-insert for me, I'd hasten to add. I'm not completely delulu guys okay? ....Not entirely But she does have a lot of overlap with myself. You gotta write what you know, after all. I won't go into detail about the similarities between us - some of them are obvious, I think. But I'll leave that all ambiguous, more fun that way :)

Final Thoughts

There are honestly so many more things I could say but this is already veering into narcissistic self-indulgence land LOL so I feel compelled to stop here, but if anyone has any questions or things they'd like to know, pop them in my inbox!

That's all, folks!

[imaginethedragon]

I’m so disappointed with Hazbin Hotel.

Big spoilers for the whole show, episode 5 and 6 in particular

The first four episodes were a bit fast, a bit packed, but they had promise, and the next two episodes just squandered it.

The first batch set up the Vees as the antagonists for season one. Valentino as Angel’s abuser and the force pulling him away from the hotel and back into sin. He was a bit less... intimidating than I was hoping he was going to be, being played more as a joke compared to Vox and Velvette, but it could have worked. Vox was being set up as a rival for Alastor, one who Alastor didn't seem to take too seriously, but would have been fun to watch their interactions, and would have been a good lens to learn more about Alastor. Velvette being the only one without any sort of tie to the main cast was a bit strange, but they could have leaned into episode 3 and her antagonizing the overlords. It would have been a cool B-plot, and a way to show hell itself and flesh out the lore, along with learning about the overlords and their dynamics. She only interacts with Carmilla and Zestial; what do the other overlords think about her and the Vees plans? How do they feel about taking on heaven and the exorcists?

The time jump after the first four episodes was, in my opinion a huge mistake, and a MASSIVE missed opportunity. That time should have been used to develop hell, establish the hotels presence. Why does no one want to join the hotel? Angel is only there (at first) for the free rent. Why aren't more demons taking advantage of that? Why aren't people showing up to creep on Angel? What are the Vees up to? Based on episode 3, they're quite eager to go to war. What in specific are their plans? What are they doing to work towards that goal? Skipping 4-5 months ahead makes them feel toothless, and not in an intentional way. Carmilla killed that one exorcist. How? This could have been a cool and fun mystery for Velvette to solve over the course of a few episodes, but we just get handed "Oh Carmilla did it to defend her daughters and she doesn't want to go to war." Okay, well, again, how did she do it? That should then be what Velvette is trying to solve. Lucifer has next to no build up, and his song with Charlie feels like unearned catharsis for a conflict that was barely established before it was resolved. Him not having a relationship with Charlie not because he's a bad father, but because he doesn't know how to, is a super interesting plot point, and I'm so disappointed it was resolved in the same episode it was introduced. He should have been way more established before being physically brought in. We should have learned how he runs the pride ring, what the people living there think of him, what his reputation is. Those 4-5 months should have been used to build him up as the powerful but reclusive ruler of hell, maybe invoked as a threat (against the Vees by Carmilla for example, "stop provoking the overlords or I'll call Lucifer in to deal with you"). We should have seen more from Charlie talking about her relationship with him, building up their strained dynamic, and how it came to be. Did Lilith keep them apart? Was Lucifer busy and not make enough time for her when she was a child/pre-teen? We could have seen him interacting with an underling, or even talking to himself, lamenting that he doesn't know what he's doing as a father, seen more of him being locked away in his workshop and learned why he keeps to himself so much. Or not, if that's being held back for future plot reasons, but we needed SOMETHING more than what we got.

Vaggie being a fallen exorcist was introduced and then revealed to Charlie in the same episode and feels like a wasted opportunity. I know they don't want to make Vaggie the bad guy or show her directly harming Charlie, but Adam and Lute threatening her and then exposing it to Charlie almost immediately seems wasteful and incompetent on their part.

Angel's growth is all happening off screen, and I think that's a shame. He's such an interesting character, and I want to see more of him gaining confidence in himself. I think a character that's not CHOOSING to be better, but is GETTING better by experiencing genuine love and friendship is so interesting, and it's just not shown. He goes from "I'm staying here for the free rent. Crack is expensive" to standing up to Valentino in front of a crowd of onlookers with what seems to the audience as one song of development in between.

Overall there's too much happening too fast. In my opinion, the first season should have been the Vees time to shine; they should have been the villains. We should have spent the whole first season learning about the dynamics of hell, exploring what the deal is with the overlords, even a monster-of-the-week type plot with demons showing up to the hotel and the cast evaluating if they want to redeem themselves or if they're just there to creep on Angel. Everything in episode 5 and 6 should have been season 2. Mid to late season 2 at that. I think the episodes themselves were fine, they just should have come later in the show.

This isn't even going into my issues with the first episode and how the pilot relates to it, and the choice to recast everyone.

I wanted to like this show. When the pilots initially dropped, I thought Hazbin had a lot of promise, and I was really looking forward to it. The first 4 episodes made me cautiously optimistic about the show's chances. But episode 5 and 6 really just shot that in the foot for me.

There's so much promise here that's just... being squandered. And I can't for the life of me understand why.

[chaifootsteps]

Hello, 'tis I, SecretIdentity!Alastor Anon once more:

I didn't realize wendigo weren't closed culture, I was under the impression that they were, my bad, sorry; thanks for telling me. Anyways I agree that interpretations w/ them as spoopy monsters is pretty blargh & that my Secret-ID-AU!Alastor, even canon!Alastor, are as far from wendigo as can be lol.

And yes! I really like Peryton!Alastor as a concept (plus, bird AND deer behaviors! It's got the flavors built in! Either the SecretIdentity!Alastor's wings are too small to fly, or they were injured & rendered flightless some time ago (broken funny? Nerve damage? Amputee? haven't decided). He's been a lot of fights over the years, there's a toll taken there.

And I just had a thought, what if, Alastor's plan to ally with Charlie & support her hotel idea, was a survival-brain, seat of his pants idea? The most recent Cleanse had all of Hell in a huge serious of brawls, duels and turf wars right (tbh I have... issues with Sinners and the Cleanse itself only being confined to the Pride Ring but I haven't decided yet)? Set 'Day in the Life' Alastor comic but a little to the left slightly before the Cleanse, Alastor and Sheep Lady get caught outside during the Cleanse. Eventually leads to Alastor getting into a marathon of close calls both with Exterminator Angels AND Sinners afterwards, he's won in the sense that he's alive, and the Radio Demon's identity is still a mystery as well as his mythos uplifted further. By the start of the AU Pilot time post-Cleanse, all his usual hideyholes (Rosie? Who actually is an Overlord apparently?) are either too far or partially compromised (Vox bothering him, Alastor, as himself, a 'known associate' of the Radio Demon?), so he needs to buy himself some breathing room to recover and figure out his next moves. (Sheep Lady is alive somewhere but nowhere to be seen for now).

Alastor uses some magic he's got to make himself look unruffled/unhurt, can't show weakness after all, wounded prey animals get targeted first. He ends up ducking into the News Studio just in time to see Charlie's broadcast interview live.

Idk I just thought it would be kinda interesting if Alastor allied with Charlie because he was flying by the seat of his pants and too allergic to showing weakness (legitimate concern considering Hell's society) to try coming as a guest, because not only is that an affront to his pride but the lack of control would be scary probably, so he needs to pitch himself (and his true identity, but separately and somehow a reason to also be there bc that's the point but he can't let them know it's the point) as a valuable asset without looking weak. So he calls in a couple of those few ongoing contracts/favors that he's been holding onto for a while, Niffty and Husk, they're the... Safest choices, to contribute something to this allyship support deal he just pantsed himself into. He had a plan the whole time (no he didn't).

Instead of the pilot/ep1 ending with Sir Pentious just showing up, he doesn't, no big powerwank scene, just quiet scenes for each of what is probably going to be (most of?) the main cast ending their day, settling into the hotel. Also I feel that there was some missed opportunity in the pilot canon where Angel mentions that there's no food at the hotel, and Alastor offering to cook jambalaya for everybody (later if he has a more pressing injury to bother with in secret? Could even be a tidbit of Vaggie talking to Charlie about how Alastor [Radio Demon's ambassador] smells like blood, and if Alastor hears he wouldn't correct her) dialogue at the end can stay though, or it get picked up later.

Anyways, thanks for listening to my Alastor blether, I know he's just Viv's edgy karen-hair wasted potential OC but, man I enjoy redesign/rewriting him.

Thank you for sending in your ideas -- it's some truly excellent blether! Characters that are exceedingly powerful but also in survival mode always make for an interesting time.

(Incidentally, you've also got me really invested in the idea of Alastor with stubs of what used to be wings hidden under his clothes.)

[jinxed-sinner]

Random details in Hazbin Hotel that make me obnoxiously happy

The bayou that takes up half of Alastor's room shares its color palette with the bayou in The Princess and the Frog, specifically its color palette at night

An unnecessary amount of detail goes into the background character designs, and I absolutely love it

The design of Angel Dust's legs is indicative of them being digitigrade (basically, he walks on his toes like a dog does). This goes for a lot of the characters actually; for example I feel like how Charlie and Alastor's legs are drawn in some scenes are also indicative of a similar stance exclusive to hoofed animals referred to as unguligrade. I've seen a lot of people comment on how weird the characters' leg anatomy is in Hazbin and I'm like 98% sure the reason why their legs are so weird is to indicate more animal-like anatomy in their legs lol. Ironically Husk is the only character I've noticed who would have digitigrade legs but doesn't

Alastor tasting the angel's head in episode 3

Husk is irritated in most of his appearances in the backgrounds of scenes lol. The one that cracks me up the most is every time he's seen in More Than Anything he looks incredibly irritated

The loan sharks being actual sharks

The fourth wall breaking that comes with Alastor's abilities, as a glitch effect is sometimes added over the episode itself when he uses his powers

Rosie using "Cannibals and Cannibettes" as a greeting when she addresses the residents of Cannibal Town

Lucifer's sock puppets in Hell's Greatest Dad

One of Lucifer's hands will fit around Alastor's whole fucking waist

"Oh, this guy" - Lucifer reacting to Alastor's spontaneous appearance in Finale

Hazbin Hotel has some of the best expressions I've ever seen in an animated TV show I swear to god

The radio filter over Alastor's voice fluctuates quite a bit, but the only time it's ever fully gone is when Adam breaks his microphone

While there are enough hints at Alastor's morality to be able to analyze it and speculate what his moral code is, we don't actually know much about it

Vox's mild association with sharks

The last track of the Hazbin Hotel score is called "Sir Pentious Fucking Dies" (it's a reference to the pilot apparently but very similar music can be heard in The Show Must Go On when Pentious sacrifices himself)

[thessalian]

Thess vs TLOVM Reviews

The other day, I decided I’d go looking at the reviews for Legend of Vox Machina S2. Just ‘cos. I mean, I knew I liked it, but it’s nice to see what other people think, because I won’t say it’s perfect and it’s sometimes interesting to look at what other people think works (or doesn’t work, depending).

I gleefully noted that 97% of the reviews given in the UK were 5-stars. Lots of good commentary, both from people who’d watched the campaign and those who hadn’t. I also noted, with some interest, the five or so that gave it 1- or 2-star reviews. So I thought I’d have a look and see what they were saying.

I mean, first thing I noticed was that the things were very short and badly spelled with zero grammar and couldn’t even be bothered with capitalising the beginning of sentences. I mean, okay, if that’s how you write, go ahead, but I’m going to side-eye you a little if you’re offering critique that way. And then I read them. Obviously it did not take long.

My sheer disbelief over what I saw, however, engendered a lot of thinking of the angry, “Why do people review shit when they obviously did not actually watch the damn thing?” variety. So now I’m putting my thoughts on virtual paper.

The one that came up a lot was, “No plot”. Um. Okay, there’s a two-pronged answer to that one. I mean, S1 was “Oh fuck dragon infiltration” plus “vampire and necromancer infiltration and oh yeah they murdered one character’s entire fucking family“ plus “And now we have to deal with the demon said character allowed into his soul when he was clawing for survival and revenge after barely escaping with his life”. And when we get to S2, we get, “Oh fuck dragon infiltration was the step in a larger plan!” plus “We need serious weapons to deal with this” plus “What I Will Do To Save My Sister’s Life: A Compendium” plus “When people tell you that your sword is being an asshole, maybe LISTEN” plus “Let’s touch on the pain and tragedy of everyone’s backstory for giggles” with a topping of, “Could strange bedfellows not roofie our known allies, please? I mean-- wait; BBEG is doing what?!?” All of this sounds like plot to me, both of the personal development variety and of the “completing a mission” variety. Soooooo ... not sure where that one came from but at least four people said it. Also apparently focused more on the “sex-starved gnome” (ignoring Scanlan’s character development entirely) and “the alpha male beard guy” (and never mind that Grog has never been the dominant figure in the group and spent a whole lot of S2 showing his soft side and weaknesses - ‘alpha male’ my entire ass; it doesn’t just mean ‘big strong muscular person’ even to the assholes who believe in the term).

And then there was, “They always win; the things that they need always just appear and there’s never any feeling that they might lose”. Which is the point where I start asking, “What the fuck show did you watch?” Focusing entirely on S2 for a moment, we have:

Ep 1: Vox Machina and the entire city of Emon get their collective ass handed to them by the Chroma Conclave; Vox Machina specifically barely escape with their lives twice - once from the city itself, once from the Keep into Whitestone.

Ep 2: Mighty heroes go to Vasselheim for help, basically get told to go fuck themselves, eventually manage to get a tiny shred of information to go on after having their asses handed to them on the emotional level by a couple of spiritual know-alls.

Ep 3: Vex. Fucking. Dies. And that’s leaving out nearly getting drowned by fish people.

Ep 4: Vex is revived through her brother throwing himself into an open-ended deal with a death god, and then they all more or less get their asses handed to them on one level or another; only get out because Vax took self-sacrifice to its greatest heights.

Ep 5: “I AM VERY FLAMMABLE!” That one only gets resolved when Keyleth finally lets go of her anxieties (and if we’re talking about ‘the things we need just appearing’, if she’d figured that out when it was needed, a lot of things would have been a lot easier over the last season or so).

Ep 6: Vox Machina get their asses handed to them again, this time by sphinx. Saved again by character development and someone finally realising that not all wounds are physical ... only to get their asses handed to them yet again by black dragon asshole who takes everything they managed to earn in that entire fight - ally and Vestige. Oh, yeah, and buddy-on-buddy stabbing because of fucking evil sword, and splitting the party.

Ep 7: Both halves of the team end up crippled - Team Gnome And Goliath because weapon (and the shit Grog goes through trying to shake the curse ... and it doesn’t even really work), Team Half-Elf And Know-All because half the party ends up tripping balls. The latter has the worst of it because the two guys get their asses largely kicked by Jell-O.

Ep 8: If people got what they needed exactly when they needed it, Vex would have had even the tiniest bit of support when she was soloing an archfey - one with a fucking Vestige, no less. (The twins have shit luck and worse resistance when it comes to powerful beings making passes at them, I swear.)

Ep 9: Team Gnome and Goliath have to more or less resort to sneaking, gain some allies ... kind of, but since most of them are terrified, that’s not really a lot of help. Beyond that, the only reason they don’t get their asses kicked is because they know they’re going to get their asses kicked. ...And then Grog goes anyway because fuck that, apparently.

Ep 10: What some might call ‘convenient’ breaking of curse is honestly about the only self-reflection someone with an INT of 6 and no real WIS modifier is going to get without flash cards. Then Vox Machina throws everything they have at the enemy and it still isn’t enough. Grog had to more or less kill himself to win that one, so shut up with your “It never feels like they’ll lose”.

Ep 11: Fancy trap? Nope. Get literally inside the dragon and pin it in place from the inside? Nope. Umbrasyl kicks their entire collective ass, even with Herd of Storms and three fucking Vestiges on side.

Ep 12: I found how this one ended interesting because it’s almost a callback to how they beat Brimscythe - distract by clearly being unable to fight, then hit with whatever you’ve got left. The only reason Vox Machina defeated Umbrasyl is because most of the team got their asses kicked so hard that they bowed to what they saw as the inevitable and Scanlan used Umbrasyl’s very draconic gloating (seriously - black dragons get off on people’s pain and misery) to ... let’s think how this would work because we couldn’t see it: get close to Umbrasyl while the dragon’s distracted, climb Umbrasyl’s right front leg, undo the straps tying Mythcarver to Umbrasyl without dropping Mythcarver, take up Mythcarver so it ended up more gnome-sized, get off Umbrasyl without him noticing, climb a bit of rock debris without making enough noise to wake the dead for the sheer momentum he’d need to pull that off, and then get Umbrasyl’s attention enough so that his strike would hit the weakest point on Umbrasyl - the eye, because he had no idea if Mythcarver would cut dragon hide without a lot of weight behind it and Scanlan is a fucking gnome and thus does not have that kind of weight.

I have seen the campaign - in fact, campaign 1 is the only one I’ve seen in full. I knew they were going to come out okay up to this point. But I was still on the edge of my fucking seat on these. So anyone who’s all about “They get what they need when they need it and they never lose” ... really has not been watching this show. Vox Machina has got its collective ass kicked so many times - Brimscythe, the Briarwoods on multiple occasions, Raishan, Vorugal, half the Feywild, the Herd of Storms, Umbrasyl at least three times... They win out eventually, but honestly that makes as much sense as anything else. It’s that “It’s always in the last place you look” thing - once you’ve found it, you stop looking so it’s obviously in the ‘last’ place you look. They fight until they win or everybody’s dead. If everybody died, that is the end of the damn show. The fact that they keep repeatedly fucking up until something works is actually pretty true to life. Sometimes you need to think more; sometimes you need to think less and act on instinct. They just do the thing until something works. But that’s not instantly “getting exactly what you need when you need it”. That’s trial and error.

Honestly, the main reason everybody loves Vox Machina so much is because they remind us of ... well, ourselves. We, too, are just flailing around the place until something works. Fine, we don’t have physical dragons to deal with, but our problems feel just as big and terrifying. It’s comforting to know that if you keep at it, reaching for help wherever you can find it at a price you’re willing to pay and just never giving up, you’ll survive this.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the ones who call Vox Machina “horrible role models” and complain about the “debauchery and crude behaviour”. It’s rated minimum 15 and maximum 18 for a fucking reason. Your kids should not be watching this, and if you’re offended by a few four-letter words and some carousing? You probably shouldn’t be watching it either. You were warned. There were warnings out the ass. Just because it’s animation doesn’t mean it’s for kids, doesn’t mean it’s going to be everyone shiny and happy and wholesome at the end talking about the power of friendship or how knowing is half the battle. We left that behind in the 80s, when cartoons were half morality play, half toy commercial. Respect the art of animation ... or at least please check the parental guidance on these things. This is like giving your kids Neon Genesis Evangelion to watch because that’s animation.

It would have been nice if the bad reviews were even remotely worthwhile? But this is ... this is just “people who didn’t actually watch the show but hate it when people have nice things”. It has to be. That or people with the situational awareness of a whelk.

[tibbinswrites]

Far From Me

So after watching the first batch of season 2 episodes I was inspired to write this little fic. Set during season 2, episode 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina, during the flashback. Contains Vax angst. You can read the full thing on AO3 here. ___ They were some of the worst hours of his life. His elation at being free from Syngorn, the satisfaction of letting the doors of his father’s house close behind him for the final time, the peace at no longer needing to suffer the judging eyes of a bunch of up-their-own-arses elves was all distant memory. Vex’ahlia was gone. She’d stormed away, furious words in response to his attempt at comfort.

He’d held on to his own anger for all of two minutes after she was out of sight. Then, he just became scared. He’d started after her in the direction she’d taken, calling her name, but she’d always been quicker than him at navigating woods. He’d only ever followed in her footsteps, and now that she wasn’t there to guide him it seemed that his shirt caught on every thorny bush, that his feet stumbled over every clump of weeds, slipped in every puddle and patch of mud. She was either already far out of earshot, or she was ignoring him. Vax wasn’t sure which was worse. His breathing started to quicken, and not just from the exercise. He sniffed and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. Not that it did any good, he was already soaked through. He’d only been trying to help. Why couldn’t she see that leaving was good? Why did she force herself to endure Syldor’s lectures? His hard eyes, their tutors’ constant criticisms, their classmates’ scorn? Why couldn’t she see that the problem was them? That whole fucking city looked down on two bastard half-human children but not on the man who had stooped so low as to father them in the first place. Why couldn’t she accept that there was nothing they could do to change his opinion of them? Why did she still care what he thought?

Vax couldn’t answer these questions as he half-ran, half-tripped through the wet foliage. He kept scanning the trees for any sign of Vex but he didn’t know what he was looking for. This wasn’t the city, with its ordered streets and myriad colours. Everything seemed to be a shade of green or brown here. In the heavy rain one patch of trees looked just like the next; there were no landmarks to help orient himself. Perhaps Vex had headed back in the direction of Syngorn, but which direction that was exactly, Vax had no idea. He’d got turned around and it had been at least twenty minutes. Vax stopped and looked about, breathing heavily. A bird squawked nearby and he jumped, a twig snapped to his left and he spun that direction, but whatever creature it was didn’t show itself. He backed up until he hit a tree trunk and then sank down into the muddy ground. He didn’t understand places like this the way Vex did. People made more sense to him. Nature was unpredictable. He took a few deep breaths of the thickly perfumed air. The confusing scents of earth and rot, various flowers and damp fur, hopefully not too nearby.

Pulling his dagger from his belt, he held it tightly. The familiar feeling calmed him a little. Okay, so Vex was gone, but he wasn’t completely useless. The two of them weren’t joined at the hip after all. They’d spent the past couple of years going in different directions; Vex focusing on her studies while Vax had sacked off school to pickpocket the unwary and break into locked rooms. As though by stealing from those who already hated him, he was proving something. As though he was taking something back.

He began to walk again, more aimlessly this time, he didn’t know what direction he was going anyway. He couldn’t lie to himself. This wasn’t the same. Not only was he completely out of his element but at least in Syngorn he’d known where Vex was, that he could always find her and that she’d always be there to talk to or just share space with. It felt so empty without that now.

[astriiformes]

For the writers ask meme: 1, 2, 17, 35

1 - Do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?

I usually know how stories will end, but not necessarily where, if that makes sense. There have been exceptions in both cases, but usually I have some idea of how the central crisis will be resolved and general emotional beats I want the ending to have, but not exactly what that's going to look like. The former gives me something specific to work towards and lends emotional coherence to the work as a whole, but even when I'm working towards a particular ending scene, I don't always have a totally clear picture of it.

Like, I knew "Several Witches Are Typing" would end with the team getting back to Willow's house and her dads discovering them, but hadn't necessarily fleshed out everything beyond that when I started the story. Sometimes I'll even have really specific details pinned down but be missing another big, important chunk (by the time I actually started writing "Aurum Horizontale" I knew Keyleth was going to give Percy the friendship bracelet made from the fragments of his exploded gun, but wasn't entirely sure if Percy was going to leave with Vox Machina or not -- an uncertainty that I ultimately realized he would have himself, so I dug into that).

I don't like having nothing though. The stories I don't have a clear ending for are also, not coincidentally often the stories that end up abandoned. Every time I think my excitement at the start is enough to propel me through, I end up being wrong.

On the flip side, the stories I do have endings in mind for are the ones I hang onto for years and years, and am confident I have a shot at actually finishing even when I've taken long hiatuses. I know exactly how "I Breathed a Song Into the Air" is going to end, as well as the transgender Marty McFly WIP I've had in my drafts for ages. I also have a pretty solid idea of the ending of my trans Caleb Wittebane fic ("Go Down to the Netherworld, Plant Grapes) and the TOH Sherlock Holmes pastiche that I haven't even officially started writing yet. And I'm working on defining the ending to the longer of my two Pentiment WIPs ("Beharren ist Eine Kunst") for exactly this reason, so hopefully that can lend anyone interested in those stories some hope even if my updates are uh, inconsistent.

2 - Talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

Usually this happens because they've decided to make the story longer (or I've misjudged how long a scene would actually be...)

Unfortunately the best example I had of this was a fic I'm still contemplating ways to rework -- I had a oneshot I was working on mid-S2/S3 TOH hiatus that collided with another idea of mine and had the potential to be a really interesting, long story, but ultimately hit me during something of a writing slump, and the show restarted before I got much of it written. I'd love to at least clean up the original oneshot into something postable one day, but would have to scrap a lot of my favorite parts of the longer story now since I don't think it can be repurposed into something I like.

Alas. It was a really cool thing to have happen (writing two things at once and realizing there was enough fascinating thematic overlap to turn it into a single story if I played my cards right) and I hope someday it happens with a fic I can actually get off the ground.

17 - What is your favorite line you’ve ever written?

A more recent example, but I'm awfully fond of this one from my Pentiment exchange fic, "Long Upon the Land" (Paul, my boy Paul)

It wasn’t fair, and the older he grew, the more he found the gentleness and piety he’d always tried to cultivate tested by the bitter serpent that had curled itself around his heart, whispering that one day he ought to spit back “Fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they be discouraged,” with a less-than-righteous venom the next time he was told obedience was a virtue.

35 - Tell us about a character who’s very different than you who you love a whole lot

A recent one, but I am extremely fond of Magdalene Druckeryn, even as someone who is a lot more like Andreas myself. She's so incredibly stubborn and plucky, an a lovely example of how to do female protagonists in historical fiction that are constrained by the position of women in society but don't let themselves be completely limited by it (and, have lovely and encouraging relationships with other women of the same time period instead of falling prey to the idea that "interesting" historical women have to be an exception). The game gave her such incredibly demanding shoes to fill as an Act III protagonist and she does so wonderfully. I lack her particular brand of snark and courage -- my own looks quite different -- but I love her, and I'm loving having a fic project where I get to write her, too.