thespectatingcrow

[thespectatingcrow]

me to those players forcing me to heal and blaming me if one of them died

also i made a tiktok account, heh.. find me there😼

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Someone probably did it before, but I don't care xD

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Hazbin Hotel got into yet another controversy

So, Hazbin Hotel released some new merch for Valentine's Day! As usual, the art in the merch is amazing, but there is a matching keychain set that has gotten people talking again.

They had gotten into "drama" about merch of certain characters, but it's resurfaced because of the matching "F*** Me" keychain. I have opinions I'd like to voice, about the choices of commercialized characters and the way Vivziepop chose to write things.

CONTENT WARNING:

This post will discuss heavy topics, such as sexual abuse, power dynamics, manipulation, poor writing choices, among other things.

- The Characters, and how they're projected.

If you don't know about the main antagonists in Hazbin Hotel, that's okay!! because it's very hard to tell sometimes. Two of the three V's (a group of overlords) get much more attention than the third. Vox and Valentino are the two that have become super produced merch-wise.

Vox is a TV-based demon overlord, owning a technology company called Voxtech (subtle, i know,) and acts as a sort of defuser for when Valentino gets pissy.

Valentino is a moth-based demon overlord who, from what we're to assume, owns the porn industry in hell. He works with those who sell their souls to him, telling them that he can make them a star. He fell into insane controversy when it's revealed that Angel Dust is one of his signed workers.

Angel Dust is his own issue, but for now we'll focus on him as a plot point. He allows the show to show what Valentino is like behind closed doors, which is utilized somewhat when Valentino pulls him aside to scold him for getting Charlie, the Princess of Hell, involved.

Valentino is not a good person, but he has a lot of potential. His design isn't awful, utilizing his moth look to give off a charming look to blind people from the red flags. He's extremely suggestive and touchy, which given his line of work makes sense, but he's also very touchy with Vox.

Vox is introduced with a simple bit- that he hates Alastor. We get to know over time that the two used to be close before something drove them apart. This could be an amazing idea to expand on for his depth, possibly letting the writers insinuate that he got with Valentino as a rebound and the two occasionally try to get each other to sign their soul away; letting the writers have fun with two characters who don't love each other more than they love the power they could hold.

(which is something I assume Valentino values, because of the way he treats Angel Dust and the others who work for him as nothing more than the robots he owns.)

- The Issues with making Valentino a "Sexy" Character.

Having a villain who is sexy is fine, encouraged even! Letting your villains or antagonists show their charisma instead of simply telling us that they're charismatic is great. The issue arises when the character is like Valentino is.

He shows no empathy or remorse for what he does, he doesn't care about those he owns, and the only person he "loves" is Vox and even then I doubt their connection. He has an appealing design, yes, but christ can we not make comments about how "he's hot so it's fine"?

There have been people saying that if Valentino wanted to sexually assault them they'd let him, which ISN'T A GOOD THING.

Vivziepop also went though an issue with staff at one point- since one of her artists would consistently post ship art which glorified and romanticized the sexual harassment and abuse that Angel would experience due to Valentino and Vox using their power as the ones who own Angel's soul. It made a lot of victims feel extremely sick, and rightfully so, that someone who was storyboarding the dance where it shows Angel (from what i assume) disassociating as he's either being assaulted or being filmed for one of Valentino's pornos.

It's also commented on that Valentino began to have more dangerous kinks that he wished to capitalize on such as waterboarding, which Angel cannot refuse or else he will be hurt.

Again, letting your villains be sexy is perfectly fine but it comes to a point where you shouldn't make merchandise for someone like Valentino. I know that I wouldn't be comfortable with someone making merch or swooning over my villain if I made him a rapist power-tripping porn industry guy, not to mention how insensitive it feels after so many victims of assault came out talking about how it makes them feel sick knowing an sexual assaulter is being glorified.

The keychain itself is detailed, funny, and charming, but it's dragged down when one of the characters is a very well known abuser and takes advantage of people at their lowest for his own gain and pleasure.

How To Make An Attractive Character Hated Without Making Them An Abuser / The Difference Between Universes

That's right, I'm also touching on Helluva Boss for the sake of my argument. In Helluva Boss S2, a character named Chaz is introduced. He's a sex pest who dated both Millie and Moxie in the past, and he came back looking for money. He's a stupid guy with charm until the moment he opens his mouth to talk about his big dick. It's great for comedy in the episode, since all his scenes are a treat. They know that they can't have him be too serious, since he isn't a serious guy.

This juxtaposed with how they portray the sex-pest in Hazbin Hotel is great, but that makes me feel like they could have handled Valentino so much better. In the show, the writers- mostly Viv I assume- make him swear once every other sentence.

(That isn't hyperbole, out of the around 19 sentences Valentino gets from his first scene in episode two he swears in 9 of those sentences. Two of those counted clean sentences being a simple "No." and "Do nothing?")

The overabundance of swears is not only harmful to the younger audience who are bound to find their way to the media, but is also harmful for the narrative. Vivziepop has a major issue with writing swears where they don't belong, and jokes where it breaks the tension of a scene. I understand that Hazbin Hotel is a comedy, but Vivzie cannot use that argument when it's also a musical, drama, and mystery. Some shows do an amazing job covering several genres, but it's like someone trying to juggle for the first time and dropping a ball- it all comes apart until you're trying to get the balls back together and continue the show all while the spectators laugh at your poor performance.

She's too prideful of a person to take actual criticism, which stunts her show's growth because in the end; Angel Dust will be a sex symbol, Alastor's asexuality will be the butt of the joke, female characters will be ignored or poorly handled, and Valentino will be the hot villain.

In Conclusion; How To Fix a Bad Character.

In Hazbin Hotel, we're shown the good and bad of Hell. Vivzie isn't able to show us that difference well without resorting to "oh they swear all the time because it's Hell" meanwhile the angels do the same thing without repercussion.

I think that if Vivziepop can swallow her pride and listen to her critics, she could write something that would give Valentino more depth. Giving him a moment with Angel where he feels bad before lashing back to his usual violence would be not only a good scene but important to establish what Valentino would want from Angel- why he cares so much where he is and what he's doing. Valentino owns Angel's soul, and I wish Vivziepop could do more with that.

In the upcoming season, we're getting another character and more lore, so I hold out hope that we get something that isn't just poorly written twinks grinding against each other for no reason other than fanservice for an abuser and his co-worker.

I'm also happy to hear arguments and opinions of people who disagree, or think there would be an even better way for her to handle Valentino as a villain. It's been a while since I saw the show, and the merch drop reminded me of Vivzie's issue with making merch of sexual abusers for some reason.

[thespectatingcrow]

I don’t think Cross knows Fresh is a parasite

Cross belongs to Jakei95

Fresh belongs to loverofpiggies

Transcript:

Cross: Sometimes, I feel like my body doesn’t belong to me

Fresh: Yo, dats totes aight, broski, I feel da same thing!

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ink definitely does that deadpool thing

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Fresh having an existential crisis after the loveball event is so interesting to me, I had to draw how I imagined it, and meanwhile took the opportunity to draw more fresh's😔 thanks @honey-bell-aint-well for telling me about it jsbekf

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reblog if you need a hug

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the real reason he did it

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I'm not a fan of Vivziepop, but the latest episode of Helluva was honestly pretty good. Her shows have so much effort put into them by the team, and I have nothing but respect for the animators that can give her characters such life and personality. Stolas, as always, is one of the highlights to me- his mentality and act to get Blitzø out of danger was absolutely stunning from the voice acting, writing, and direction of the animation is all so well done. The musical part was, as always, absolutely peak from the singers and the composers. Viv isn't the best writer but damn she can find talent.

honestly, I think the way Stolas dove in to defend Blitzø without putting any thought as to what would happen to his daughter sucks, but I'm willing to admit that it adds to the tension and that he likely just didn't realize that he'd have to live with the consequences of his actions. We saw the way Octavia reacted seeing her dad on the chopping block; her mom stopped her from leaving and likely stopped her from seeing that he lived.

They might bring her back when she sees Stolas possibly working alongside or being around Blitzø, since I assume they're going to have the two of them reverse roles in a way. Where Blitzø is adored and respected where they're staying, and Stolas is ridiculed and stuff. I like how attentive Blitzø is being for Stolas, but the two seriously need to have a talk about their relationship after the courtroom.

I wish Vasago had some more time to argue against Andrealphus, it would have been interesting to hear more from the other Goetias and not just have Andrealphus lead and control the entire fucking trial. When Bee, Ozzie, and Mam gave their opinions and arguments it could have been a genuinely interesting and investing trial.

To be fair- I understand that the whole point is that an Imp is seen as lesser and expendable, but clearly Satan and the other sins have a sense and respect for justice.

Also sadly this episode is very "written by vivziepop" in the way the emotional whiplash is constant and the kind of excessive swearing is a lot. When the climax happens, Stolas showing up and saving Blitzø, the tense and beautiful scene is broken by Blitzø telling Stolas to get his ass out of his face.

anyways, that's my ramble of media of the month, back to not posting like ever! :3

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I must create

Ink belongs to comyet

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IT'S TIME

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IT'S TIME

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The only time ink is glad he can't feel shit.

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i love sanji's wavy hair in film red i think it should be like that all the time

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doodle Sanji

[thespectatingcrow]

Don’t they know the difference between silver and golden age All Might!?