#the hazbin soundtrack is literally so good

[itsscaredycat]

loser baby is gonna end up on my spotify wrapped this year and i’m already mad about it (not really)

[marvelwinchester67]

I’m gonna need 5-10 business days to recover from the Hazbin Hotel season 1 finale.

Hazbin Hotel episode 7 and 8 spoilers (because I’m going feral) and my thoughts/unhinged feelings about it because no one else can understand quite like tumblr can

Read at your own risk

What. The. Fuck. Guys.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

IT WAS NIFFTY WHO KILLED ADAM?!

AND SIR PENTIOUS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! IM NOT OKAY BUT IM GLAD HE IS

Lucifer “now I’m gonna fuck you” Morningstar everyone (plz I love him so much)

So Carmilla knew who Vaggie really was and just, didn’t give a shit? Love her for that

I love Rosie. Her design, her personality, she’s amazing. She was so sweet to Charlie when she didn’t have to be and actually listened to her and encouraged her (points for the relationship advice)

So Alastor is on someone’s leash and he’s trying to wiggle his way out of it, the Vees are plotting (of course they are), and LUTE KNOWS LILITH?! THEY MADE SOME KIND OF DEAL?!

I’m so so curious about how Lute and Lilith know each other and why Lute would want her to deal with her daughter

But this implies that Adam had a previous deal with Lilith regarding something we don’t know yet, since Lute said she was in charge now that he was dead and that their deal pertained to her now

ALSO?! You’re telling me that’s what Adam looked like under his mask?! (I still loathe him but lowkey he was hot I’ll be honest right now)

Sir Pentious telling Cherri he loved her was so sweet

I soaked up every single scrap of Huskerdust I could within those last two episodes they own my soul and I’m so excited to see more of them in season 2

So it looks like Vox thinks Alastor is missing again which is why he’s plotting with the other Vees, but Alastor showed back up at the hotel during repairs so that might not last long

Alastor’s fight with Adam was so good holy shit omfg plz give me more of Alastor’s powers that shield was so cool and his verse in that final song gave me chills like, oh my god he was so mad and I’m here for it

And Lucifer showing up and telling Charlie she changed his heart and mind about the sinners? He is so precious plz protect this duck loving man at all costs

Charlie and Vaggie’s More Than Anything Reprise? Please I am sobbing they love each other so much it hurts

To top it all off- Alastor having beef with literally everyone will never not be funny. Fucking Susan? Are you kidding me. I was laughing so hard. Rosie seems like she deals with Susan a lot and Alastor calling her an Ornery Bitch was so fucking funny for no reason.

Everyone has beef with Susan now.

There is so much I have to say about this show and I could literally talk about it for years but for now I will be repeatedly listening to the soundtrack and impatiently waiting for season 2 because I no longer have the will to live after I sobbed on my bedroom floor over this show. VIVIENNE I AM IN YOUR WALLS-

[therealquicksilver]

Guys, take it from me, Hazbin Hotel fuckin’ rocks. Helluva Boss too. That’s right, Peter Maximoff jams out to Loser, Baby.

(OOC)

I started Hazbin Hotel after watching Helluva Boss, due to all the popularity, and OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG IT’S SO FREAKING GOOD WHAT THE FUCK

It’s also so sad like omg 😭

THE SOUNDTRACK IS AMAZINGGGGG I’M LITERALLY LISTENING TO HELL IS FOREVER AS I TYPE

I’m on ep five rn

My favorites so far are Charlie, Lucifer, Husk, Alastor, and Vox. + Angel Dust 😭

[scriv3lloirl]

Gen question, why do you hate the 2019 production

Jesus. This is gonna be a really long post. Check under the cut.

Honestly? I'm not quite sure m'self. It's jus.. not good and I don't know how to describe it. No hate if you like it, Anon, but I listened to the soundtrack once n I couldn't get through it. Once 'Dentist!' turned on, I had to shut it off halfway through the song, which I never do, cus it was that bad.

Christian Borle as Orin Scrivello? I despise it. He's not a good Orin, n I will die on that hill. He seemed so.. bored while playin the role n I don't understand how you can be bored playing Orin.

I sat down to actually watched the slime tutorial up on YouTube, cus I wanted to give the show a chance n I hoping it was jus the cast album that was bad, but watchin the video jus made my dislike grow but I stuck it out n watched the whole thing.

There is one thing that I can appreciate bout Borle playin Orin, though, n it's that he's bringin a lot of new fans into the fandom! He's a popular actor n a Tony Award winner; a lot of people know him as Vox from Hazbin plus other roles he's played that I can't think of right now—and ev'ryone wants to check him out in Little Shop!!

Enough of Borle though—Time for Jonathan Groff as Seymour.

I don't have as many problems with him as I do Borle. Jonathan is a fantastic actor, but he's not a good Seymour. When he sings all I can hear is Kristoff from Frozen n it brings me out of whatever song we're in. The way Groff acts as Seymour is.. odd. It jus doesn't feel like Seymour, y'know?

Tammy Blanchard as Audrey? I don't really have words for her, she is awful pretty I gotta say. When I listened to the songs on album, it seemed like she changed actresses halfway through songs. I dunno what's up with that. It was weird.

But in the slime tutorial I saw, Joy Woods played Audrey n—hoo boy. I love Joy Woods. She's a fantastic Audrey (the main inspirations for my black Audrey design) but she really disappointed me in the video.

Feed Me (Git It!) is always a make it or break it song for me—with how almost all of the main cast will be on stage—n ev'ryone was.. eugh. Nobody had any emotion durin the song (especially durin that one part where Orin literally smacks Audrey. Orin sounded so flat.) n Christ, it really pissed me off.

Anyway I have a lot more thoughts on this production but, I don't really know how to continue on with this post.. I jus don't like the cast n they don't sing well t'gether. I dunno.

Thanks for your ask, Anon!

[noildoof]

Hello Ive seen that ur into a lot of like "obscure" media and was wondering what anime, cartoons and comics u were into or what u'd recommend , Im very curious , love your art!!!!!

There's a lot, tbh I'm not even sure where to start, but let's see...

Angel's Egg isn't really that obscure anymore, but at the time I first watched it and got obsessed, it was. I still consider it to be a masterpiece and my favorite movie of all time, tied with Alien.

If you're over 18, I highly recommend Malice@Doll. It's a surreal, disturbing 3D anime that moves a lot like stop-motion. It has a lot of parallels to the Biblical story of the garden of Eden, with humans in the role of an absent God and machines doing the same things they've always done because... well, that's what they were made to do. They don't have free will. There's a lot of really interesting stuff to think about - the tradeoff of innocence for knowledge, trading an immortal mechanical body that can't feel for a flesh one that can feel pleasure but also pain. Again though, this anime gets pretty disturbing, and although it's not meant to be arousing it does have sexual content. It's not appropriate for minors.

My favorite bad anime is The Humanoid. It's very campy and one of the most 80's anime I've ever seen. The characters (mostly Alan) talk a lot about coffee, for some reason. Enough that you can make a drinking game out of it. The soundtrack is actually really good, I have it on vinyl.

Go watch Chargeman Ken right now. I mean it. Each episode is only 5 minutes long, so you have no excuse not to. You'll understand why I'm recommending this anime once you've watched it, it simply has to be seen to be believed. My favorite episodes are Dynamite in the Brain and When the Cuckoo Clock Strikes 3.

A lot of people seem to hate Bounty Dog, but I will unironically defend this anime to the death. I think it's good, or at least perfectly serviceable for a 90's direct-to-video anime. It has a weird piss-yellow color palette though, and it's not a filter - those are the actual colors used in the paint, I would know having cels from this.

This is very particular to my tastes (people who know me will understand why), but I binged Brigadoon not long ago and loved it. It's a very strange series in a way that's kind of hard to describe. Fundamentally, it's about a relationship between a girl and a mecha that develops into a romance, so I guess it's shoujo. But it's also an action series. And a comedy series. And a drama series. And a horror series at times. It defies genre categorization in a way I don't see very often. The closest thing I can compare it to is The Ancient Magus's Bride, as the relationship between Marin and Melan is pretty similar. With Dr. Seuss and Evangelion thrown into a blender.

Cool World is... not a good movie. At all. But damn, are those backgrounds nice. It has a particular "look" to it that is awesome as fuck, I just wish the actual story wasn't so stupid. I implore the people who say dumb shit like "Hazbin Hotel is just "SEX! LAUGH NOW!"" to watch Cool World, because that is literally what Cool World is. It's pretty to look at, but the entire plot and all the jokes are just "Don't have sex with cartoon characters---- OHHHH he just had sex with the cartoon character." But if you can get past the painfully unfunny "comedy" and stupid nonsensical plot, it's very nice to look at and has a great soundtrack.

... that got really long-winded, damn. Here's some other recommendations:

Anime:

Weathering Continent (also an untranslated light novel series) Laughing Target (also a manga) Mermaid Forest (also a manga) Mermaid's Scar (also a manga) Curse of Kazuo Umezu (also a manga, untranslated) California Crisis Twinkle Nora Rock Me (so bad it's amazing, also an untranslated manga) Nayuta (also a manga, untranslated) King of Thorn (also a manga) Umi no Yami, Tsuki no Kage (also a manga, but not fully translated) Dragon's Heaven (also a manga, untranslated) Lily-C.A.T. Magnetic Rose (not really that obscure but it's a masterpiece) They Were 11 (also a manga, dunno if it was translated) E.Y.E.S. of Mars Iblard Time Venus Wars (also a manga)

Manga:

Eko Eko Azarak (haven't seen much of it but I like what I've seen) Any of Rumiko Takahashi's short stories Black Jack (definitely not obscure if you're an oldtaku like me) Anything by Kazuo Umezu, especially Drifting Classroom

Movies:

The Banshee Chapter Space Mutiny (watch the Mystery Science Theater version) Yellow Brick Road

Misc:

Mary (Scissor Sisters music video) Daicon IV (anime Electric Light Orchestra music video) Apollo 20 hoax videos Cybersix (Argentine animated series) Skydoll (Italian comic, adult-only) Yoko Tsuno (Belgian comic)

[something-awful1]

my thoughts while rewatching all of Helluva Boss in honor of the S2 trailer PT 3

TRUTH SEEKERS - i sMelL.... c o l o r s 😮 - unrelated but i love the background music? like helluva has such a good soundtrack why didn't we get that for hazbin - i just like complaining - MOXXIE IS T H E BITCH - he's so me - i love this episode so much - blitz looks so chill this is so silly - I'm a VirGo- - I LOVE MOXXIE - i love the fight choreo in this episode so much - blitz is just :p - im sorry what is bitch juice - IT WAS ABOUT UGLY HORNY CATS HAHAHAHA - cue the coolest sequence in indie animation ever - IT TIS NO PRANK BITCH - BECAUSE YOUUU - MY PRECIOUS LITTLE BITCH BOY - ARE TRIPPING BAAAWWWWWLLLLLSSSS - brandon has the best line delivery istg - woah wait scribble moxxies dialogue is some of the best written dialogue in all of vivzie's projects - this animation is so cool i'm sobbing - this is one of my favorite episodes, i remember watching it when it came out and like actually sobbing - the dhorks are idiots why did they give them the truth serum but like not ask them any questions while they were under the influence of it? like- what was the point - THIS IS THE COOLEST FUCKING FIGHT SCENE EVER - no thoughts, head empty, just truth seekers fight choreo - see this is what happens when animators actually take time to make their projects look good, instead of trying to get everything out as quick as possible - millie is the coolest, go break that guy's neck with your thighs, get it bestie - OMG I HAVENT SEEN THIS EPISODE IN FOREVER I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE STOLAS - GET IT STOLASSSSSSSSSS - this is literally the coolest sequence - OWL IN A CAGE INSTRUMENTAL SPOTTED - bryce pinkham the line delivery of "how the FHUCK-" was perfect - this whole scene is perfect - HELP THE DHORKS LOOK SO CONCERNED AFTER BITZ AND STOLAS MAKE OUT - yeah this is the best episode so far, hands down OZZIES - i have never been more not ready - i have no thoughts on the beginning ngl - ugh the lust ring is so beautifully drawn, really some of vivzie's best backgrounds - not the bouncer dude implying that three people can't make one couple 🙄 - "that's a mood, gabriella" LITERALLY ONE OF THE BEST STOLAS LINES - his date outfit is so pretty - THE BOOKS ON HIS CHAIR HELP HOW DID I NEVER NOTICE THAT - blitz is so frustrating right now FUCKING TALK TO HIM INSTEAD OF SYPING ON M&M YOU PERVERT - FIZZZZZZ BABYYYY - damn imagine blitz realizing his ex-best friend and celebrity ex are at the same club as him while he's on a "date" with a goetia that must be fucking embarassing - fizz's "let's fuck him up babe" look is my favorite thing - house of asmodeus is peak songwriting, like i don't think vivzie will ever top this (i fucking hope she does though) - UGH THIS MAN'S VOICE - these two are the biggest fucking hypocrites - "you used to have a smoking wife, a kid, you had it all! i hope you didn't give it up, so you and him could get it up" is so gorgeously written and delivered - i could go into a whole analysis on stolitz rn but you could go read any other analysis on this episode and read the same shit so im not gonna - help why did he drive stolas hope? THE MAN CAN TELEPORT - stolas is so expressive i love him - OHHHH QUEEN BEE TAKES PLACE LIKE AT THE TAIL END OF OZZIES THAT MAKES MORE SENSE (queen bee took forever to come out so i was confused, i kinda forgot)

QUEEN BEE - ew i remember hating this episode so much - this feels so unfinished already - this is vivzie voicing the poodle bitch, isn't it - keshaaaaaa - i don't wanna listen to this song ngl - okay but the visuals are kinda good and i do love her voice - this must've taken forever to animate - HELP THE ONE SILENT LOONA LINE MAKES ME CRINGE SO HARD LIKE WHAT WAS SHE SAYING - she sounds like... constantly wasted as fuck - people definitely ship loona and bee don't they - i don't but like... i know someone does - i've heard a lot of people call bee bitchy, and fake, but yall i feel like she's being genuine - help she changes her mind so fucking fast - okay okay i don't hate this episode that much - blitz's little arm wave help - for reference i write all of these between the hours of 10pm and 3am, this is my complete, honest, unfiltered opinion - yeah this episode wasn't as bad as i remembered

[casdeans-pie]

3, 4 5, & 13 for the end of year thing!

Thank you for all the questionssss !! Sorry I am suuuuuper late answering !!!! <3 <3

3. Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?:

Oh mannn, I really wish I listened to music!! I literally just sing along to the radio in my car on the way to work! I did listen to the Hazbin Hotel soundtrack a crazy amount of times while I did housework and chores though. But I don't listen to 'real music' (heavy air quotes)

The chart music in my car has been good this year though - last years was kinda lame. I sang along to alot of the chart music this year!

4. Movie of the year?

Oooooh. It has only just dawned on me how bad I am at this specific ask game because I can't think of a new film I watched this year... Did I even go the cinema??? I can only think of movies I rewatched this year!? Maybe I didn't watch anything new... I did rewatch Titanic and cried like, genuine ugly tears. Haven't seen that movie in a good few years and it hit me like an emotional truck I ! loved ! it !!!

5. TV show of the year?

I should say Supernatural, this being a Supernatural blog, and with how much I adore Dean and Cas, however!!!! I've been rewatching Friends on and off all year, and it makes me laugh no matter how many times I've seen it. It genuinely kept me going during the last few months of constant. unending. stress. so I really have to give props to it for that! Cosy, funny show <3

13. How was your birthday this year?

I already answered this one, but just adding onto my previous answer - I bought myself the ticket to Wales comic con, a night at a fancy hotel, photo op and auto with Jensen and his meet and greet - all as a birthday present to myself (since it was the week before). So it will go down in birthday history foreverrrrrr <3 <3 <3

Thank you so much for the questions!!!! I love doing these

[online-zad]

literally fucking cant w the hazbin soundtrack. this bullshit as no reason to BE SO GOOD OMLLL. im supposed to listen to cool music :c

[hismercytomyjustice]

9 People You Want to Get to Know Better

I was tagged a hot minute ago by @ valentinaonthemoon and have been meaning to do this for ages!

Last Song: There Will be Sun from Groundhog Day: The Musical. The music for that show is SO FUCKING GOOD. I was trying to decide on a oneshot fic title and spent like 20 years looking through all my music before finally settling on this one. Wanna give honorable mentions to Daisies by Black Gryph0n & Baasik and Deal Maker by Tyto-Cat because I have been listening incessantly to both over the past few days. So fucking good!

Favorite Color: Teal! Though I also have a soft spot for rose gold.

Last film/show: Most recently have been rewatching Community. God, that show is such a fucking treat. Watched this compilation of best Dean moments earlier today too and almost injured myself by laughing. Also, shoutout to Jim Rash as a fellow, exceedingly rare native Charlottean! I've also been making my husband watch Gravity Falls after somebody corrupted me. I s2g that show just keeps randomly resurfacing in the back of my head like some kind of hypnotic cryptid. I didn't hyperfixate as hard as my friend did on it, but damn if I don't keep hearing its siren song when I least expect it... Rewatching it is def a delight tho. I'm seeing now why folks are so enthralled by the writing for it, now that I'm more aware of the foreshadowing along the way! Also omggg we're about to rewatch Summerween which I absolutely adored the first time!

Sweet/savory/spicy: Sweet!!!

Last thing I googled: Lmaooo. Fucking "jabba the hutt play doh set" because I watched Chris James's most recent Pawn Stars video and was trying to figure out whether or not the guy selling one had gotten fleeced.

Last Book: *immediately proceeds to forget everything they have ever read* Umm... I've mostly been reading fanfic as of late. But the most recent book I started was Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Behind Blackfish by John Hargrove. LPOTL did an episode on SeaWorld a few weeks ago and mentioned it, so I picked it up. As for the last book I finished... I think it was Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. Really enjoyed it and have the 2nd one near the top of my fucking mountain of a TBR pile... I lost my mind and bought way too many books over the past few months...

Relationship status: Married for almost 5 years now! We were extremely lucky to get married right before Covid hit. So many of our friends had to cancel their weddings because of it. My anniversary is coming up next month! But I've been with my husband for just a few weeks shy of 11 years now!

Current Obsession(s): Hazbin Hotel. Hit me out of nowhere like a fucking sniper bullet. All because Spotify was like "hey, you like musicals, here's a few new songs for your daylist!" I knew literally nothing going into it except that the songs were catchy af and, well, I'm in too deep now... Spotify got me... Interview with the Vampire. This multi-fandom blog is actually a Assad Zaman appreciation blog in (a terrible and super obvious) disguise... Hands down one of the best shows I have ever watched. I am straight up feral over it. It is simultaneously hysterical and absolutely fucking devastating. Everyone involved in it is so passionate about the work too and it shows! I have written fucking essays on here about season 2. I can guarantee you when Season 3 drops, I am going to be even worse. I will never fucking emotionally recover from 2.05 or 2.07 BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT TO. Phantom of the Opera. I have been obsessed with POTO for...fuck...almost 20 years now? (jfc i am old) I saw the 2004 Movie back in high school orchestra, and I can still remember the instant I felt the hyperfixation take root. Masquerade. I wore the DVD out, I wore the soundtrack out (my little brother, who had never fucking seen it knew the words to the soundtrack). I read the book. I read Phantom by Susan Kay. I read The Angel of the Opera. I (fucking unfortunately) read The Phantom of Manhattan (hands down a waste of a perfectly good tree, I am still mad about this book literally 20 fucking years later). I researched the Paris Opera House. I wrote POTO fanfic… Ramin Karimloo is hands down my fave Phantom though. And I absolutely adore the Royal Albert Hall production. I'm so fucking glad they filmed it. Musicals. I have seen...so many fucking musicals live. Phantom of the Opera (4x), Les Miserables (2x), Wicked (2x), Mary Poppins (2x), Annie (2x), Hadestown, Six, Legally Blonde, Moulin Rouge, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hairspray, Beetlejuice, Hamilton, Big Fish, Mamma Mia, Anastasia, The Book of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dear Evan Hansen, Fiddler on the Roof, RENT, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, If/Then, Jekyll & Hyde, Miss Saigon, The Great Comet of 1812, The Bodyguard, The Color Purple... Those are all just the professional live shows I have seen. And I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some! I've seen even more via high school/college productions. Not to mention movies/recordings. Or musicals I've only listened to the music of but haven't actually seen! Pacific Rim. My other forever obsession. It was the fandom I wrote my most fics for prior to Hazbin Hotel. My first fic on AO3 is one for Pacific Rim, lol. I s2g, those two bitchy, gay, neurodivergent scientists have lived rent free in my head for over a decade now... Those motherfuckers are constantly at each others' throats, but they did not even stop to question whether or not they would be Drift Compatible... They make me fucking ill. I have genuinely lost count of the number of times I've watched the movie...

Tagging: Absolutely no pressure at all, but tagging @asymmetricjest, @person-of-varying-obsessions, @theeladymystic, @gourmet-trash, @quartzthequat, @moonmaiden86, @ladyrevealedofcloak, @marionrav, and @batteredrugosa!

[pipsqueakparker]

i don’t have the words to actually talk about music but

after the nth relisten of the hazbin soundtrack i’ve finally clocked how alastor’s insidiousness & manipulative nature is also displayed through the music

every song he’s in is initially someone else’s: Vox, Lucifer, Charlie…

And when he joins in, he matches the vibe. He molds himself into that theme/tone/whatever the right word would be, and in the case of Stayed Gone & Hell’s Greatest Dad, it’s clearly to taunt & piss them off. To take something from them in every way that he can, from the figurative to literally taking over their song (“can you butt out of my song?” “you’re song? i started this” “i’m singing it ill finish it” - he’s almost too sloppy here, almost showing his hand, and then Mimzy swoops in and saves him, maybe making saving her from the loan sharks feel like an obligation at the end there - who knows)

Similar for Charlie in Ready For This, except he’s well aware that good old fashion manipulation will work better on her, so it’s supportive. He has the backing vocals (and god are they gorgeous, Amir Talai, you beautiful human with the voice of a demon), he’s building her up.

the only time this ever breaks is in the Finale - he’s the one that completely changes the tone of that song, breaking off from the tone Charlie & the others set, even diverging from the Vees - more like dove-tailing off the Vees honestly, into his little… well, mental breakdown. And thats the only time we hear Alastor solo, not trying to manipulate anyone, essentially his pure self — because he slides right into the mask when he joins the others at the end.

i don’t have the language for this conversation, but i think the writing of this entire show is so brilliant and so well done, and i love the layers that get added when you also take the music into account. they’re not just bops they’re also amazing fucking storytelling on their own, beyond the lyrics, and it’s so fucking COOL.

ART IS SO FUCKING COOL.

i know this is nothing new and someone that actually knows how to talk about it has probably already done the deep dive but. 🤷🏻

[thepapergirlandthespiegelman]

Hazbin Hotel isn't good, I just really wish it was

And so I bit the apple, and evil spilled forth into the world

This review contains spoilers for Hazbin Hotel.

I wasn't going to watch Hazbin Hotel. I've always gotten kind of a negative vibe from it ever since it first appeared on my radar years ago. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what put me off it when so little content had even been released, but I guess it just struck me as very crude and "edgy" in this juvenile and kind of offensive way; plus I had heard some vague criticisms that the creator was a not-so-great person, though I wasn't sure how true those rumors were.

But since the Amazon show came out in January, the algorithm has been pestering me nonstop to watch this show with advertisements, memes, recommended videos.

It makes some sense; as someone who enjoys both Lucifer and Disney princesses, you might think that I'm the target audience of this show. And there's not a huge amount of crossover between those two groups, so if I won't watch it, who the hell will?

So after seeing some stuff that intrigued me, I finally decided to give the show a shot and at least watch the stuff available for free (that's the pilot, episode 1, and the first 10 minutes of episode 2). This review is based on that content as well as other clips, the soundtrack, and what I've read online about the story going forward. If that makes this review null and void to you, feel free to stop reading. I generally like to experience the entirety of a thing before reviewing it, but I'm not eager to throw money at Amazon without cause, and in this case, I feel that a lot can be said based solely on this limited content.

My initial impression? To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe that's because my expectations were through the floor, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Both the pilot and the Amazon series have serious problems, but they have some strengths as well, in my opinion.

Starting with the pilot: I'll admit that it presents a very cruel, ugly world full of frankly unrealistically shitty people. The humor is juvenile and often tasteless. The dialogue can be pretty clunky, and the "insults" levied are often so pathetic that hearing them oscillates between boring and infuriating. The worldbuilding is poorly conveyed and hard to follow.

But if you can get past all that, and I acknowledge that that's a big ask, there are some interesting things about this pilot.

Angel Dust is an interesting character. One of the things I really can't stand is when media portray literally everyone as evil, but even in the pilot, it's made pretty clear that Angel Dust is not actually a bad person. First off, what exactly are his "sins"? Being gay and doing porn? Sure, he shows the capacity to be at least somewhat mean and violent, but you can tell from his interactions with Charlie, Vaggie, and Cherri Bomb that he's not actually malicious or sadistic. In the limo, he says, "I owed my girl buddy a solid; isn't that a 'redeeming quality'? Helping friends with stuff?" And like...he's correct! Vaggie dismisses this out of hand, but it shows that Angel Dust is able to care about other people, and this is reinforced later when he almost goes to comfort Charlie but gives up. There's a setup here for a story about someone who is good at their core but looks bad, either because they engage in behaviors that are socially taboo even if they're not actually harmful (e.g. homosexuality, sex work) or because they engage in behaviors that are actually bad (e.g. being mean and violent), but only because those behaviors are normalized or arguably required by their environment (I mean, what was he supposed to do? Just let his friend get blown up?). It would be genuinely interesting to see Charlie and Vaggie reckon with their own biases and black-and-white view of morality and come to see the good in Angel Dust, and then to see how Angel Dust might grow and change as a person when he actually feels seen and respected.

Alastor also has a lot of potential. His design and theming are genuinely interesting, a mix of ancient horned beast and 1930s transatlantic accented radio presenter. He's clearly a character intended to elicit intense fear, which means he can serve as an exploration of what scares us most. The "radio" theme presents some really intriguing ideas for this exploration. Alastor represents something that can be heard but not seen; not only this, but he can't even really be heard. We only hear his voice through the low-fidelity transmission of a radio, suggesting that what we're perceiving is at least a bit off from reality, somehow inauthentic, and that makes us wonder what horrors could be lurking in that gap.

It's obvious to me that Angel Dust and Alastor are the strongest characters in the show. Charlie feels like a cardboard cutout by comparison, and Vaggie is totally devoid of flavor. Angel Dust makes far more sense as a protagonist, so why does the show center around Charlie?

Hazbin Hotel feels like a show centered around a gimmicky premise: what if Disney princess, but in Hell? Ooh, how subversive, how funny! But it doesn't really know what to do with that premise. It doesn't really know who Charlie is, and it doesn't really know what Hell is. But it does know who Angel Dust is and who Alastor is, or at least it has the spark needed for those ideas to blossom into fully-developed characters, so why not start there?

Moving on to episode 1 of the Amazon series. Immediately, I was surprised by the direction in which they took the show. Based on the pilot, one of my biggest concerns was that the show would be solely about individual self-improvement and "redemption" and fail to address the systemic/environmental problems that are the ultimate cause of evil. I figured the show would likely center around individual sinners trying to improve themselves and then, after the necessary amount of struggle and conflict, they would succeed and prove to both Heaven and Hell that they were worthy of ascension, without anyone ever questioning why this system of sorting people into good and bad exists in the first place or how it can possibly be seen as ethical, even if people are ultimately allowed to move between the two. I figured Heaven would be portrayed as not evil but simply misguided or small-minded, and that, having rectified those inadequacies, the system would continue on largely unchanged. Happy ending, woooo.

Episode 1 makes it very clear that that is not the direction that this is going. Heaven is pretty clearly portrayed as evil, which was mostly a positive for me. I find the whitewashing of stuff like mass murder pretty fucking gross, so it's nice that the exterminations of Hell's citizens aren't being framed as morally justified.

Unfortunately, this does result in some narrative problems. The show depends on Charlie believing that Heaven can be reasoned with, and that if she works hard, they'll eventually see the light. But after being brutally rejected by Adam like that, why would Charlie continue to think that these are good, reasonable people who are just misguided? Not only does Adam deny her in the most explicit terms possible, he's totally pigheaded and unempathetic.

We're now getting into stuff that I haven't seen firsthand, but from what I understand, Charlie continues running her hotel and trying to negotiate with Heaven. She's able to prove that a sinner can improve themselves, but she's unable to get them into Heaven, and ultimately has to resort to trying to stop the exterminations with brute force.

If that's the case, then why have this reveal that Heaven is evil in the very first episode? Delay the reveal until closer to the end, have Charlie work hard to accomplish her dream under the impression that her work will ultimately pay off, only to have Heaven reveal that it was never about being a good person at all and merely about their desire to consolidate power for themselves. Then have Charlie reckon with that, how she's been putting all the burden on herself and her people to prove themselves, when the system was never fair to begin with and the people in power were just exploiting a narrative for their personal gain. Now THAT'S a spicy story.

I think it's my desire to see that story play out, and my respect for Hazbin being willing to make Heaven the bad guys (even if it obstinately refuses to say the G word), that has kept my interest in the show despite its obvious flaws. Somewhere in this tangled-up mess there is a story about questioning and resisting the moral narratives fed to us about ourselves by people who do not have our best interests at heart. There's a story about claiming your power and fighting back against oppressive systems.

Is Hazbin Hotel with its Disney XD-esque style and middle-school humor woefully unequipped to tell that story? Well, yes, yeah. And I guess that should have been obvious to everyone from the start. But it feels like a shame.

A similar problem with narrative trajectory occurs regarding Lucifer and Alastor. If we compare Charlie to the Disney princess formula, we see the obvious issue. We know that while Charlie's parents are very powerful, she's alienated from both of them (Lilith because she's missing and Lucifer because they have a bad relationship) and so doesn't have access to their power. In the pilot, we see that Charlie doesn't officially make a deal with Alastor, but she does allow him to work at the hotel. So we sort of have a Chekhov's deal situation here, where if Charlie was pushed to her limit, she might be tempted into making a deal with the devil. Triton won't let Ariel go to the surface, so Ariel makes a deal with the sea witch instead.

But what happens if Ariel reconciles with Triton before getting to that point? Well, then Ursula wouldn't have a tentacle to stand on.

And this is what happens in Hazbin. In episode 5, Lucifer is introduced and reconciled with Charlie in the very same episode. Lucifer is shown to be basically infinitely more powerful than Alastor and is genuinely and totally devoted to Charlie, so she no longer has any reason to depend on Alastor. He's lost all of his leverage over her and no longer presents any real threat, so...what the hell is his role in this story now?

I'm not saying Hazbin Hotel needs to copy the story arc of a Disney princess movie just because Charlie is inspired by Disney princesses. I'm perfectly fine with the show wanting to do its own thing. But it turns down a totally viable arc in favor of...nothing. Why?

The pilot so heavily teased the mystery of Alastor's character, what terrible consequences might result if Charlie were to make a deal with him. So like...let us see that! Hell, this could even be easily connected back to the main storyline that I was talking about before. Have Charlie be totally demoralized by the revelation that Heaven isn't actually good and that the world is deeply broken in a way she never even imagined. Maybe even up the stakes by making it more personal, like having Heaven threaten to specifically target her girlfriend or one of her friends in the next extermination. Push her to complete desperation and then have Alastor swoop in and offer her a way out. Still alienated from her father (or perhaps after attempting to get closer but being once more rebuked), she feels like she has no choice but to accept, and ends up in a bad situation. Then Lucifer sees her in trouble and shows up to save her, making her realize that he does actually care about her; and Lucifer, seeing how Charlie and her friends genuinely care for each other, is shown that sinners aren't just hopelessly wicked. Alastor gets his chance to shine and the reconciliation with Lucifer feels earned and meaningful.

This show has such potential to be both interesting and emotionally impactful, but it's hindered by its unwillingness to take itself seriously and thoughtfully plan out its narrative and character arcs.

It would be one thing if the show was just complete garbage. I know that a lot of people see it that way, but I really don't think that's the case. There is something here.

I'm not currently planning on watching the rest of the show. That could certainly change, especially if others tell me that it's worth it despite the problems. If you've watched the show (or even if you haven't), I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on my evaluation.

[growling]

Soooo while I was gone and practicing self care with cheating in minceraft, attempting to domesticate my 7 evil alterhuman awakenings and watching my little medias (and failing miserably by occasionally checking some tumble blogs from my burner and getting exposed to the most radioactive levels of transandrophobia ive ever seen but whatever), one of which included Nimona (twas good), I also happened to get into something I was curious (also the thing gorge the monkey was) about from a little while............. none other than the internet infamous Hazbin Hotel *creepy lightning accentuates my words and horror music starts playing, the audience gasps and shits themselves in shock*

Initially I wasn't interested at like, at all in whatever the series was, same with helluva boss or something something vivziepop brand youtube sparkledog show. Not for any particular reason I just don't tend to watch pilots of series that may not even start you know. I don't know when the actual first season got picked up by a studio and finished precisely but somewhere recently I think? Anyway, everybody and their mom absolutely hated it from the start. You cannot escape the sheer amount of negative attention wasbeen motel gathered, it became the net's biggest punching bag like, right after steven universe whatever you do you can never top the steven universe hate i dare you to find a campaign more unhinged that whatever went on in the 2018s-or-so. And something always seemed..... Off?? About the criticisms I've been seeing on this series. Like it's just "it's BADDDD *spooky music starts playing* Vivziepop draaaamaaaaa.... *jumpscare*" or complaints about Poison being insensitive towards sa victims or whatever. I'll be clear I do NOT trust extreme HH haters for the most part, they give off huge anti-su folk vibes. But after seeing like, a multitude of hazbin/vivziepop related posts on mutual catgirl-catboy's (hey :7) blog, mainly about the Poison part? Well let's jus say I got intrigued said "fuck that, I'm already a warrior cat fan what's more bad media gonna harm me anymore", pirated it because I wanna continue my epic grind of never paying for anything in my life still, and....

(Now I do not know who this Vivienne Medrano entity is nor do I care to know. Everything I have heard about her was fucking unhinged for a vast spectrum of reasons and completely against my will. I will not be getting into the Vivziepop discourse iceberg I do not know this woman do not drag me into this I'm BEGGING you)

.... It's. It's literally just a show. Sgsgjjesxhadj??? Like it's not a masterpiece, it's rushed as hell (heh) but that's just what happens when you get entire 8 episodes to work with for the whole first season, but it's not like... Bad? It didn't kill my grandma or anything. It's just a show guys.... It's just some silly series........ It was honestly pretty enjoyable, I thought It was good, like, I think it's gonna rotate in my mind like a rotisserie chicken for a WHILE. Really scratched The Itch it's been lodged in my brain like a parasite lately please help me. Mainly because of the fucking songs even if the plot is a bit ueh hih uuh, soundtrack delivered. Hazbin soundtrack save me. Save me Hazbin soundtrack. Cannot go a second in my day while some song aint always playing in the back of my mind. Yeah I'm a hasbeen fan now this is my hell show enthusiast coming out post..... Anybody here want to talk about it any followers/mutuals up to sophiscated discussions about hazbin. Anybody want to ask me about how why transmasc Alastor would actually make sense AND slay I've thought about this very thoughtfully actually in my thoughts

[angelsandemons]

Top 5 + Hazbin Hotel songs

Send me "Top 5" + a category to hear my top five of that.

This one is HARD because I literally like every song in the series so far. The season 1 soundtrack is a no skip soundtrack for me, I will press play and let it run all the way through, it's so good. The are one or two I'm not crazy about in the pilot, but still. That said:

More Than Anything

You Didn't Know

Loser, Baby

Addict

Out for Love

The first three are pretty much tied for first place though, and the last two are tied for second along with "Poison"

[zephersspace]

Night night spooky ones!

We're on day 1/83!

Today was a weird day... even when I only had one class, I felt very stressed all day long... It was very weird 😂

Anyways, today me & my aunt went to get our brand new glasses and let me tell you, seeing hd 4k again it's weirdly amazing 😂

Also: continued with The Wizard of Oz books... I'm literally reading the first one, but so far so good, I guess. I'll start with linguistics readings soon so we'll see how that goes 😌

🍄Drink water, ppl. Being hydrated is important🍄

Also, have you heard Hazbin's Hotel song Poison???? Bc it's literally ALL I've been listening for the past 3 days, like... wtf it's amazing.

Well... that's it for today's productivity check in.

Spooky hugs!

ZepherJ.

[irkimatsu]

Caught up on Hazbin Hotel! It's a fun ride! I don't have nearly enough words for it - there's someone in my circle way, way better at that when it comes to this - but I did want to ramble a little bit:

-Charlie. CHARLIE. I am about 60% here for Charlie. You could have told me nothing about this show besides "the Princess of Hell is basically a shoujo protagonist" and you would have gotten me from there. Is my love for Charlie proof of my namby-pamby hippie ways of love and kindness and forgiveness? Probably! But it's fine. I love Charlie. I want to know her dreams of redemption are possible. (Sometimes I really need to know that you really can be redeemed no matter how badly you've fucked up...)

-I'm also really loving Husk. How much is the personality and how much is the character design? No clue. (I'm a furry, baby~) He's a good straight man, though, and someone that most of this hotel's residents are gonna need, especially Angel. Glad I'm not the only one on the Husk/Angel train, looking forward to where that's going

-Sir Pentious is a pathetic baby man and I love pathetic baby men. (My main fandom is still an anime about six pathetic baby men, after all.) While there's other characters I care more about as a whole, I fully expect to be laughing my shit off every time this guy's on screen. Idiot. <3

-God damn the music is good, just as I expected after years of Helluva Boss. Standouts so far are "Poison" (obviously, even though that scene fucking hurt to watch - which isn't a complaint, it did what it was supposed to); "Stayed Gone" (Vox is such a petty bitch and damn do I see why a friend of mine favors Alastor, he's effective as hell); and "Loser Baby" (maybe because I literally just watched it and boarded the Husk/Angel train, but hey, it was fun, and a desperately needed cleanser after "Poison". You know "Poison" was rough when a cheerful song about how much your lives suck is a cleanser.) There hasn't been a dud yet, though! Gonna have to loop the soundtrack to commit everything to memory, though that might wait until the whole season's out. Don't want to not give later songs a fair shake because I was too busy looping the earlier ones.

-If I have to complain a little, I do admit to being lost on some things, and I don't know how much of that is "I'm supposed to be lost, they'll explain later", "I'm dumb and didn't absorb things properly", or "that was explained in side materials". I hope most of it is those first two and not the third - side materials are fun, but I do think the show should be able to stand on its own. Even with the pilot - is that on Amazon? I don't know because I watched the show, um, elsewhere. I have my doubts about it, though, since so much changed between the pilot and the main show, as it tends to happen with pilots. If it's not, that does feel like a bit of a problem, since I think this show has its best chance of success if someone sees it turns up in their recommended section, knows nothing about it but thinks it looks cool, and tunes in there. Treats for the dedicated fans are great, but continuity lockout makes it hard for newbies to care, and I'd rather this didn't turn into "well you're not a real fan because you didn't read all the side comics and blog posts". No elitism, please! Let people who don't live on the Internet enjoy the funny demon show, too!

-Twitter is annoying and my engagement with this show in public will probably be slim-to-zero because this show's hatedom is one of the most obnoxious I've seen in a long time. It's fine to hate the show, obviously, but god, all the reaching for straws to prove that everyone who watches this show is evil and supports all the crime in the world. It's okay, you don't have to like the violent Hell show where people say fuck. It's not for everyone. You don't need to prove you're better than everyone else for not liking it. It's fine, love, it's fine. Of course there's stuff to criticize, every show can be critiqued, but "it's gross for Niffty to make sex jokes because she's tiny"? Go away with that shit.

I hope at least some of this was coherent. Looking forward to more!

[lizzylizzyinatizzy]

kira my beloved mutual ❤️

Last Song: Way Down Hadestown. if you haven’t listened to the soundtrack PLEASE do it’s so good that it has consumed a part of my brain permanently

Favorite Color: yknow the pink a sky gets at sunset? yeah, that.

Currently Watching: OG Inuyasha if you can believe it. i used to watch this at 3am on Adult Swim as a kid.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: i love a good sweet treat every so often but tbh savory is where it’s at.

Relationship Status: i’m married now that’s so weird to say

Current Obsession: Dungeon Meshi and Hazbin Hotel

oh god who to tag. @problemwithtrouble @magdalenejaneway @mthrfckng-m1r4cl3s @ohmyoverland literally anyone else who wants to

Nine people i'd like to get to know better:

Tagged by: @bell-of-indecision, thank you so much for tagging me <3

Last Song: Gmfu by Odetari,6arelyhuman

Favourite colour: Dark red, violet, pink

Currently watching: Death note, ep6

Spicy/Savoury/Sweet: Spicy

Relationship status: Single

Current Obsession: Mbti types and cognitive functions.

Tagging: @somin-yin @a-cloud-for-dreams @axepen @hinsaa-paramo-dharma @basic-bitch-alkali @rhysaka @blackknight-100 @squishywizardd @reykalot