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Hellaverse Theories: Hazbin Hotel S1E2

Welcome to Quilly’s Hellaverse Theories, where I overthink the entire Hellaverse!

Here we are at Hazbin Hotel, s1e2 (and it's much shorter than s1e1, thank goodness):

Sir Pentious. My darling. My dearest. What a dweeb. What a maroon. This isn’t a theory, it’s a fact: I love him.

Okay, here we go, the ultra-dangerous Vees that I think get underestimated in their own ways. For a start, they’re a collective of three Overlords actively working together, which isn’t something the show seems to suggest is normal for Overlords up until this point. It’s also interesting to me that Valentino is the most universally hated, to the point where certain folks woobify Vox and Velvette into being his unfortunate victims, but. I think that’s giving Val way too much credit, and certainly not giving Velvette and Vox enough. As the tweet that Viv cackled over goes, Val is Karen to the other two’s Regina and Gretchen. And I don’t know who takes Regina George’s spot, Vox or Velvette, and I’m sure they’d fight pretty viciously for it, but all three of them are terrible and especially terrible together. How calculating and smart Velvette is will be expounded on more later, but Vox can literally hypnotize thousands of people when given the right tools, and I know we collectively aren’t ignoring how horrific the television industry can be in real life. So imagine that culture in Hell, run by a guy with a psychosexual obsession with a deer man who rejected him and a tempestuous situationship with Valentino of all people. Yikes.

Anyway, to the more important bit: the first hint that sinners can be killed and regenerated. Valentino is wrecking Velvette’s department and tore up her best model. And the show can’t wait for that unlucky bitch to pull herself back together. Could be a glib reference to how the model is useless to Velvette double-dead and how dare she die on the job. Could be more literal and sinners can regenerate from deaths that aren’t inflicted by angelic steel, it just takes some time depending on the method of death. This is too VAGUE, I need CONCRETE EXAMPLES AND REFERENCES.

Like okay to get back to the “all the Vees are terrible” argument, VELVETTE LITERALLY SELLS A DATE RAPE DRUG DISTILLED FROM VALENTINO’S VENOM. VOX TAKES ADVANTAGE OF HELL’S PANIC OVER THE EXTERMINATION TO SELL HIS BRAND AND THEN OFFERS TO FETCH A GROUP OF UNLUCKY EMPLOYEES FOR VAL TO SHOOT. Granted, his orders to his assistant seem promising, with wanting to get in touch with Carmilla about actually developing angelic security, but there appears to be no follow-through and Vox is more than happy to sit safely in his tower and peep on everyone else while the Extermination is happening, so. Y’know. Screw that guy. Anyway.

Moment of adoration for Joel Perez and his voice acting. The RANGE. The DRAMA. The FABULOSITY. Valentino is absolutely a scumbag but what a great performance.

I need to know DESPERATELY if the minions that Alastor summons are constructs of his own power, or other, less notable souls that he owns. Husk retaining his own form could be because he used to be an Overlord himself. Niffty…unsure if Alastor actually owns her soul, but it’s a good bet, and Alastor seems to like her most anyway. Valentino has moth demons that look like him manning his doors when Vox comes to see him, but it could be a uniform; Vox and Velvette both have people working for them (that they may or may not own, but it’s another good bet that they do) that have distinct looks. Which means that if Alastor’s little minions aren’t souls he owns in their own uniform, but manifestations of his own power that do his bidding, then that’s another difference that sets Alastor apart from other Overlords that’s worth exploring.

Also I keep forgetting about his shadow and I’m very curious to know if it has unique properties other than letting him teleport around. Alastor changing his form so often also seems something unique to him. The mouth-droolies that are probably blood (unless it’s Valentino and then it’s his venom) seems to just be a quirk of Viv’s art style, since Vox, Alastor, Valentino, and Lucifer all do it when they need to seem more deranged, but Alastor changing his entire look to be bigger and scarier is something we see Stolas and the Sins do in Helluva Boss, not Overlords in Hazbin Hotel. The Goetia family and the Sins are on a different level than Overlords in Hell’s power structure, but Alastor himself seems to be something else on top of that. Perhaps he’s becoming something closer to Adam and Lilith, though again, more on what I think is up with them on a later episode.

The funny thing about the Vees is that alone, any one of them wouldn’t be too much of a threat, but together, they are absolutely dangerous, and that’s fascinating. It’s the dark side version of working together making people stronger and better. But although Vox’s obsession with Alastor isn’t shared by the other Vees, they don’t fight him when he insists they have to keep an eye on the situation with him and Charlie. I don’t believe for a second that any sinner in Hell cares about the authority of the royal family outside of how the royal family can destroy them power-wise, but it’s interesting to me how even when they don’t care about Charlie as an authority figure, they do care when she spends time with other potentially powerful figures. This is a hint of Charlie as a dormant untapped power source. Most of Hell doesn’t care about who she is or what she does, brushing her off as a sort of ornamental figure. Except for Alastor. Who very correctly has singled her out as a future powerhouse, though what he intends to direct that powerhouse towards (and if it was even his idea in the first place) remains to be seen.

Moment of silence for Valentino bedazzling a gun with glue and rhinestones during a meeting with his business partners, that is good background comedy.

Alastor has a different job title every time he’s referred to in his capacity to the hotel and I find that greatly amusing. Also telling as to the quality of management at first. Because, come on, the whole premise of the hotel is based on a wild hair that Charlie has, and the sequence with Sir Pentious pretending to fit into the hotel model is a blinding spotlight into the flaws of Charlie’s thinking. The behaviors that she’s attempting to get Pentious and by extension Angel Dust to model are a very rudimentary and I’d go so far as to say childish understanding of what sin versus virtue is. But as is revealed later—it’s all they have to go on. They can see the state of Hell and make assumptions about what landed them there, but Adam himself is a glaring contradiction to the assumptions, top to bottom. It makes the whole Sir Pentious farce seem even more shallow, which is a brilliant narrative choice to laying the groundwork for Angel’s character arc, because the shallowness of it all is what hurts him.

And, most importantly: while Charlie dismisses Angel in this episode to focus on her shiny new toy, it’s Angel that she relies on to prove her point to Heaven later, a sharp counterpoint of real change to the very obvious fake change in Sir Pentious in this particular episode. (Before. Y’know. The real change Sir Pentious undergoes at the end of the episode. And then again at the end of the season. But Sir Pentious, while in Hell and obviously with his own issues, also isn’t quite as complex or deep a person as Angel Dust is. Perhaps he didn’t have as far to go to make a real change in himself. Until the nature of the rules for who goes where when they die becomes less arbitrary, we can only make educated guesses.)

But back to Charlie and how she’s the absolute perfect princess for the Pride ring: she is sparkly and sweet and naïve, but she is so sure that she’s right that she pulls the entire cast into this madcap adventure with her to try and redeem sinners without actually knowing what it means. She is so sure she’s right that she, a Hellborn demon, is determined to talk to Heaven—HEAVEN, and not just Heaven, but THE ANGELS WHO RUN HEAVEN AND AS FAR AS SHE KNOWS ACTIVELY CELEBRATE HER PEOPLE’S EXTERMINATION—and just knows she can get them on her side if she pitches it well enough.

If Charlie wasn’t so earnest, and self-aware by the end of the season as well, it would make her unlikeable, smug instead of sincere. But, like the magical casting of Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet that makes him an earnest and likeable character instead of a self-obsessed smug asshole, it’s that core of absolute genuine care in her that saves her from being a terror. She’s learning, and she is going through her own coming of age and understanding the world around her. Not to mention that she has an immense amount of pressure on her that her parents seem to have succeeded in shielding her from until she starts actively pushing at the boundaries of her world and taking on more and more of that weight. Charlie doesn’t have to put herself out there for sinners. Lucifer tells her that. Adam tells her that. Lilith never did, as far as we can tell, but her absence is pretty telling on that front. She could let the status quo continue and live in her own happy little dream world with nothing to trouble or vex her.

But that isn’t Charlie Morningstar. She’s a dreamer with fierce independence. And while her Hazbin Hotel redemption plan is RIFE with hubris, it’s also indicative of her strength of character, and it’s admirable to watch.

In HB, the Sins that we’ve seen so far have had elements of understanding their power—I saw one post describe it as embodying their opposite Virtue as well as their Sin. Beelzebub is the Sin of Gluttony, but she is cautious about others around her indulging too much to the point of harm (Temperance). Asmodeus is the Sin of Lust, but he rejects lust by force and accepts real love in his life that’s more than just sexual chemistry (Chastity). Lucifer is most certainly the Sin of Pride, but the argument could be made of his humbling, not just at Heaven’s hands, but by breaking down his own misconceptions and worldview keeping him and Charlie from connecting and listening to her and choosing to believe in her (Humility). Charlie is heir to Pride, at the very least; she’s well on her way to accepting the slice of humble pie that comes with it.

The ring model of Hell in the background of the entire “It Starts With Sorry” sequence really makes me question if HH Hell isn’t in the same universe as HB Hell, because it’s not just a one-and-done cameo piece; it shows up several times, a fixture of the background that gets at least two different angles. So here’s another theory I’ve been cooking up: HH Hell has two moon-like objects, one that looks obviously Heavenly, one that looks obviously Hellish. I’m wondering if the Hellish moon is either Lucifer’s palace (prison), or the rest of Hell. Admittedly, that theory doesn’t work with HB, what with Blitzo setting up his business specifically to cater to sinners and thus the Pride ring is clearly connected to the rest of Hell and not its own floating sky-entity, but then again, the ring model of Hell isn’t exactly literal, from what I read in the wiki; if they can road trip to Sloth, maybe they can take a magic elevator to Pride because it’s a moon and not a ring. Who knows. I certainly don’t. And it’s not like an atlas of Hell is ever going to be released, despite how very much I would love one.

Not as much to discuss re: my overarching theories about the nature of Hell and its power structures in this one, but the next episode most certainly does, so I will keep this consistent and in its own post.

#quilly's hellaverse theories #hazbin hotel #quilly writing

[quillyfied]

Hellaverse Theories: Hazbin Hotel S1E1

Welcome to Quilly’s Hellaverse Theories, where I overthink the entire Hellaverse and probably get a lot wrong because I am still a brand-new fan and don’t have a lot of past context outside of the shows themselves! Tbh I'm not sure that I'm too interested in getting bogged down in a lot of information that isn't useful to analyzing the shows as they are now, but a few of you lovelies said you'd like to hear my thoughts, so let's get started! (I attempted to have this in a bulleted list but I think Tumblr counts a bulleted list as a single text block and...wow they do not like it when you exceed that text block character limit and buddies I EXCEEDED IT.)

Okay, starting with Hazbin Hotel s1e1:

The first thing that immediately strikes me is Charlie’s story: it’s an immediate tip-off that the background information we’re receiving is not the entire story, but a watered-down child’s story version putting Charlie right at the center (no moral judgement, she’s the main character and allowed to be the main character about it). There are many hints later on from Lucifer and Sera that Charlie (and Emily, but I’ll talk more about her when I get to her episode) doesn’t know the whole story, but right from the get-go we the audience should know that this isn’t all the information. It’s all the RELEVANT information, told from a certain point of view, and it’s valuable worldbuilding and background-setting, but it isn’t all the lore. Why would it be? We can’t handle the lore. This is the first two minutes at most.

Forty-seven seconds in, we’re set up with a simple and familiar dichotomy: there is a Heaven, and it worships Good and shuns Evil. Cool. Familiar narrative territory, what with pervasive cultural Christianity. My first theory that I’d bet real money on: that’s Roo, the dark shadowy figure representing evil. She’s never mentioned by name in Hazbin Hotel (though she has been in Helluva Boss, once during the first episode in a blink-and-you-miss-it exchange where Martha is waxing eloquent about sacrificing IMP to Satan and hoping her offering will continue to grow the Root of Evil).

I came across her name in passing on a tumblr post, and when I looked her up, I was delighted to learn that we know next to nothing about her whatsoever. Since Hazbin Hotel is the show with the large cosmic stakes, she’s probably going to pop up in HH first, if she ever does in HB. And assuming HH and HB are still allowed to be part of the same universe, what with copyright law being what it is and my complete lack of knowledge about what happens when an indie studio makes one show on their own and partners with a major streaming service for the other.

The appearance of the two figures representing Good and Evil, whoever they are (if anyone), is also super important for setting up the basic dichotomy to be challenged: if there is a Root of Evil, there must be a powerful force of Good to oppose it. And it clearly isn’t the angels. They’re introduced as subservient to it, but not embodying it. It’s fascinating too that God is never mentioned in either show except as an expletive; if God is Good, then maybe the figure representing Good is also God, but that’s more an errant thought, since in familiar Christian mythology, Satan is supposed to be the ultimate evil, and that is clearly not his position in the Hellaverse. Same goes for Lucifer.

These embodied higher concepts might even be eldritch in the sense that they are too big and unknowable for the rest of the cast, though if this is Roo we’re seeing, she has some very interesting visual similarities to Eve.

(Just want to point out too that Good has its eyes closed, while Evil has its eyes open; now it just makes me wonder if Good is something more fragile and childlike, something to be protected, and I think a later episode will support this hypothesis, but more when I get there.)

Also Hell being Lucifer’s attempt at creating his own universe and it’s a CIRCUS. IT IS A CIRCUS. HE MADE A CIRCUS. A *CIRCUS*. The recurring circus motifs in the Hellaverse are fascinating, but I am wondering if there’s a deeper metaphor in there or if Viv just really likes the aesthetics.

Also I just realized that it’s an instrumental version of “More Than Anything” that’s playing during Lucifer and Lilith finding each other and then giving Eve the apple and I want to curl up in a ball.

Okay, here: Evil finding its way into Earth uses a very specific sort of motif. Almost…tree-like. Or perhaps even…root-like??? And I am so desperate to know the mechanics of this: how was Roo kept out from the angels’ pet project universe? If God isn’t here or at least isn’t important, who put the Tree of Knowledge there? Evil finding a door in through Knowledge—and thus Free Will—is one thing, but Evil’s introduction to Heaven’s perfect universe and THAT being what creates Hell feels…incomplete. We don’t have all the information, for a variety of very frustrating Watsonian and Doylist reasons that infuriate me.

We don’t know where the Sins came from, because Hell as it exists in HH and as it exists in HB are two very different Hells, despite being possibly the same. HH Hell is finite, cramped, and small, meant more to be as one side of a two-sided cosmic conflict. HB Hell is vast, colorful, and complex, a stage on which to play out character arcs and explore the environment. HH Hell isn’t the Pride Ring; it’s just Hell. There’s no need to mention any mechanic about sinners being unable to leave Pride, because it’s such basic knowledge that even acknowledging the rest of Hell doesn’t make sense, since sinners can’t visit it anyway. It’s as out of reach to them as Earth and Heaven.

But the seven-ring structure of Hell still shows up in the background of Hazbin Hotel, although whether that’s an easter egg for devoted Hellaverse fans or a real element of the world remains to be seen. And the Doylist reason for this outside of copyright whosiwhatsit is very simple: Charlie’s categorically insane plan to redeem sinners makes less sense when the option to figure out how to let sinners expand into the rest of a sprawling Hell is just as impossible but probably more sensible, since it doesn’t require provoking a proven genocidal tormentor (Heaven).

(Okay not to say that the other denizens of Hell would be any more welcoming and less genocidal but there’s a possibility of maybe working it out easier…though the first beings on the chopping block to make room if sinners start flooding other rings are imps and hellhounds, who are already on the bottom rungs of Hellish society and truly cannot survive outside of Hell or have a shot at redemption to relocate to Heaven, since they presumably don’t have souls that can undergo such a change. Though. Y’know. Soul as a mechanic versus soul as a metaphor are two very different things.)

(Also, y’know how Lucifer is called the King of Hell in HH but because of term differences across the Hellaverse shows, we really have no idea if he’s the King of All of Hell or just the King of Pride? Though either way, it’s my fervent belief that Lucifer himself can’t leave Pride either. Being forced to watch the sinners destroy themselves is his eternal punishment. He’s powerful, but I’m not sure it’s just crippling depression keeping him locked in his ducky room.)

Anyway it’s been thirty minutes of typing and I’m still less than two minutes into the first episode. Let’s crack on.

Okay, here: Lucifer has clearly been a broken person since the start of Hell and its apparent purpose. Hell was called the pit that he and Lilith created—but did they create it, or did their actions allow it to manifest? There’s a difference. But the cracks in their partnership are already starting to show from Lucifer’s despondency and Lilith stepping up and thriving in this new environment. And again, will talk more about this later, but the nature of Lilith and Adam’s afterlives are incredibly unique for what we know about the mechanics of Heaven and Hell in HH, and I for one am incredibly desperate to get more details on them, if we ever will.

Another detail we don’t know: when the Exterminations began to happen. Again, Charlie is our only source of information on any of this background knowledge; in a later episode, she says they just had a meeting and Lucifer agreed to them.

Later in this first episode, Lute makes sure Charlie knows that the Hellborn are spared from Exterminations only by Lucifer’s will (the implication being that if the Exorcists had their way, they’d be killing everything in sight, but that bit of clemency is significant; was Charlie born by the time the Exterminations began? Were Lucifer and Lilith trying for kids? Does Lilith count as Hellborn? Because thanks to Helluva Boss, we know that there are both imp and Ars Goetia presences in Pride, but they’re native species which Lucifer would likely have no reason to care about, if he’s even truly aware of them outside of his own bubble of self-loathing and simultaneous dislike of sinners).

Lilith is supposedly this influential and powerful Queen of Hell whose songs and powers are single-handedly making Hell a force to be reckoned with; where was she during these talks? If she’s so involved with Hell, why does no one mention her? Charlie is the only one who ever talks about her, and then only with Vaggie. Alastor was gone for seven years and his return caused ripples (because he purposely causes them, not because his presence is so powerful on its own); how long has Lilith been pulling away from Hell for people to know Charlie by name and refer to her as Lucifer’s daughter, but never as Lilith’s (except by Adam)?

If Lilith and Lucifer split up because Lucifer gave up and was unable to care about anything outside of his family, why is it still Lucifer who’s mentioned attending meetings with Heaven, or throwing the responsibility to Charlie? Where the unholy hell is Lilith and the evidence of her influence outside of some background fliers of her concerts and Charlie’s own memories, is what I’m saying.

What I’m also saying: Heaven’s fear of a Hellish uprising may not have been as unfounded as Charlie might think, because she sweeps over that little detail constantly and in a later episode it becomes a significant talking point for a certain character and I’ll get more into it later. But the bones of it now: YEAH Lilith was absolutely planning an uprising against Heaven and that’s why she wasn’t allowed to the Extermination meetings. Lucifer allowing them was him cleaning up her mess (in a kinda cowardly way, but he protects his own and then gets out of dodge. He doesn’t care about sinners or Hell. He cares about Charlie and Lilith. If they’re safe, he’s done his job. And to be fair, Heaven has shown itself more than ready and willing to destroy Hell entirely, though why they haven’t yet may be just as obvious as why Hell hasn’t truly risen up to overthrow Heaven: the toll on both sides would be too great. Carmilla Carmine being a fallen angel isn’t a theory I subscribe to but I do have to admit, her insight into the nature of violence and war and the devastation it wreaks does make me lean towards it a little).

I do note the sadness that this story version of Sera shows at allowing the Exterminations; it holds up with what we see of her later, her stated hesitance over the idea and how she clearly doesn’t like it but still sees it as necessary and therefore won’t be swayed into stopping it. What an interesting and complex character.

Other reasons Lilith wasn’t mentioned at the Extermination meeting and thus why I have decided she maybe wasn’t there: I can’t imagine her not going absolutely feral at Adam leading the Exterminations and thus trying to claw his eyes and balls out. There is textual evidence to disprove this, at least somewhat. But this here is a headcanon and I’ll stick to it because it makes me giggle.

So very interesting to study the colors of this little story, too. Lilith as Queen is fully red. Lucifer is most often shown in paler colors (the exception being when he and Lilith are cast down to Hell, though interestingly, he’s dripping as they fall, and Lilith isn’t). When Charlie finally shows up in the story, she is shown a lot like Evil and Eve, a dark silhouette with something bright and red illuminating her—but then turns bright white.

Even without his influence much in her upbringing, somehow or another, Charlie is Lucifer’s daughter, more like him than like Lilith. (We know Charlie sugarcoats like crazy and is an optimist to the point of destruction. Charlie loves her mother. Charlie knows her mother cared about Hell, fights for sinners to not be slaughtered yearly because she was taught by her mother that Hell was worth caring about. And yet. Look where Lilith is this entire time. For seven years. Food for thought.)

I really wish it was easier to tell Hellborn from sinners before they bleed. I had some theories about sinners not having horns, or at least not commonly having horns, but. Y’know. Background characters constantly making my life difficult.

Okay another thing that I want clarified in-text so badly: do sinners regenerate? There’s evidence to support it, but it’s never said in the show whether or not angelic steel is the ONLY thing that can kill sinners for good, just that it does. I’m aware of fanon regarding people who die in Hell being Voided (though according to the wiki, Viv has said that Hellborn who die become part of the fabric of Hell, which is why it looks weirdly organic, so the existence of a Void or even as Angel says in the pilot a double-Hell (turbo-hell lolol I only want it to exist for the memes) seems…unlikely), but what with Sir Pentious being redeemed…idk that I buy that sinners who double-die just cease to exist. It feels dissatisfying, or like there’s a piece missing somewhere.

Additional question: what happens to angels who die in Hell?? Do they become part of the scenery like Hellborn, do they cease to exist like sinners might, do they regenerate up in Heaven? WHAT HAPPENS?

It only took me an hour and a half to get to just watch the episode as normal after the opening. This is fine.

I like the idea of Heaven being structured similarly to Hell; Adam referring to a “Virtue” chick and the existence of C.H.E.R.U.B. and Cherub Towne in HB lends itself more to this duality of Heaven and Hell in a way that tingles my symmetry brain. Though. As HH states quite clearly. That duality is a lie. Nothing is ever that neat and tidy.

I cannot BELIEVE Angel called Vaggie by her full name and I neither really caught it nor truly believed it the first time around.

Ooh here we go, laying the groundwork for my many Alastor and Overlord mechanic theories. In the pilot, which might no longer be canon but is still an important piece of background, Alastor is called a deal-maker. It’s shown more in the show that he isn’t the only one who does that—in fact, it seems to become an Overlord, you have to be in possession of many soul contracts, enough that a group of them in a room together owns millions—but Alastor is pretty much the only one shown MAKING deals. Deals are discussed often and seem like a pretty reliable mechanic for “make a thing happen or make it more complicated,” but the only deals we ever see being made are done by Alastor. From my understanding, Overlords don’t own just souls, but territory; Alastor seems to be an exception.

It seems to me that it would be in-character for him to go for quality over quantity, and for his territory to be radio itself—and thus the hearing range of anybody within the sound of his voice. He displays talents that seem unique to him, not to Overlords in general, and I have some theories, but as the pieces come, I’ll put them together. The first piece is this: Alastor likes making deals. He makes deals for seemingly inconsequential things, favors for favors (though HB fans reading that in Stolas’ voice can giggle with me over imagining Alastor’s reaction to it). It's almost like he doesn’t know how to interact with people if it isn’t an exchange or a power move of some kind. That makes for a fascinating character to watch in action, because regardless of if cannibal serial killer is still part of his fabric now, it does make his gray morality compelling as he seems to grow fond of the group in some ways.

His villain heel-turn is inevitable, but I’m excited for it rather than dreading it.

Does Vaggie even have a soul to leverage? Her knowing Spanish seems to indicate she was human at one point, but it’s unclear if the Exorcists are Heavenborn with a rigid uniform (because Lute and Vaggie have a lot of physical similarities outside of the literal uniform) or. Like. Recruited from existing winner populations. With an obvious bias because Adam is a pig but you can’t argue with the results of a badass female army.

Okay, Lute’s wording is so interesting though—Daddy gave you and your Hellborn kind a pardon from an Exorcist’s blade. A pardon? A PARDON? Lucifer GAVE Hellborn demons a PARDON?? Because I find it hard to believe that that wouldn’t be something Lucifer would have to argue for if Heaven truly found Hell a threat. And it makes me wonder what he traded in exchange for that protection. But that wording. As if Lucifer granted the exception on a whim like a merciful lord. As if the Extermination was his idea and he could just make exceptions for people like it was his right…

OH SHIT WAS THE EXTERMINATION HIS IDEA??

Could it be possible that Lucifer and Lilith’s partnership fell apart because Lucifer betrayed Hell to Heaven?

Listen that seems far-fetched but I’m losing my mind a little bit right now because I can SEE IT. I can see it being a last-ditch effort to try and protect his family from the perceived threat of the sinners and the looming threat of Heaven, only for it to blow up in his face and it to not just end his marriage but crush Lilith’s spirit along with it.

Though if the Exterminations have only been going on for a few decades…if we take past backstory as canon for a moment and Charlie is around 200 years old, and her parents split when she was young (maybe pre-teen? I can’t remember if some of the family portraits I’ve seen online were in the background of the show and I just missed them or if they’re fanart)…I dunno, the timeline feels wonky to me. I WISH we knew how long the Exterminations have been going on, it is MADDENING that we don’t know that.

Also interesting to know that Adam has basically been functioning with little to no supervision. I wonder if Sera even knows an Exorcist died, or that they can be killed, before the attack on the Hotel?

The Exterminations can’t have been happening for so long that no other demon ever killed an angel. Carmilla Carmine seems like she’s been running her own show for a while, and while angelic steel isn’t common (and she’s right, demons who can afford it wouldn’t exactly be itching to try it out against Exorcists when they could be well-hidden and out of harm’s way instead), but demons are also audacious little upstarts (see Alastor). Given a long enough time frame, SOMEONE would have had to try it out. The Exterminations happening for just a few decades seems more and more likely the longer I think on it, but until we get a definitive timeline…ugh. Gonna have to wait.

And that was just episode 1! Oh no!! On to episode 2, which is probably going to get into more Alastor theories but WAY more about the mechanics of Overlords and also Charlie as the perfect picture of the Princess of Pride, bc hoo boy girlie you are working off of some ASSUMPTIONS.

#quilly's hellaverse theories #hazbin hotel #quilly writing

[quillyfied]

So I was going to try and cover several episodes of Hazbin Hotel a post, but then I got to the end of episode 1 and found myself staring down the barrel of over 3000 words of analysis and theory, so. I think we’re gonna take this one at a time.

that said. FIRST POST INCOMING. Might get the second one done and posted tonight as well. Wheeee.

[quillyfied]

(Deffo gonna start sharing my hazbin/helluva boss theories soon, just debating how to organize them bc the urge to Tangent is real. Think I’m just gonna rewatch both shows again and make posts about episode batches. When I get a minute, bc I finally find the gumption to do it and suddenly I’m crazy stupid busy XD)

#thank you to my enablers you’re all gems #wooooooo friend’s bday this week and a colonoscopy next week #I am WINNING

[quillyfied]

I’ve watched Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss so many times now and read the wiki and talked to my friend who has been a fan for years so much that now I’m getting Weird about it—like deconstruct it down to the bones and chew on them weird. It’s making it a little difficult to write the fic I’ve been gnawing on for a while now, and I could make a tumblr post about my theories and questions bc that’s what tumblr is for, but also, I spent forty minutes just writing questions and theories the other day and I still had not gotten all of my thoughts out and I don’t know if that’s something I want to inflict on the populace XD

#lol if this post gets even a singular like I’ll do it #I need no excess of motivation on this front #MY CRAZY CORKBOARD LET ME SHOW IT TO YOU

[quillyfied]

I am so close to snapping and swallowing the sun if people don’t stop misusing and overusing epithets I SWEAR TO ANYTHING HOLY.

Consider them a strong seasoning that you only use very sparingly and in specific circumstances: if the current story perspective does not know the character’s name, if they are being referred to by certain traits by someone who only wants to identify them by that trait, or in sensational journalism (which is a subset of the previous point tbh).

They are NOT a cop out for clear writing when describing scenes between characters with the same pronouns. They are NOT more interesting than just using the character’s name. They ARE a specific tool that will cause any seasoned reader/writer’s eye to start twitching if overused, because it’s a clear mark of an inexperienced writer and while an often necessary phase to pass through on the way to getting better, it can get tiresome when eight in ten fanfics are addicted to them despite otherwise pretty solid prose.

(Epithets, for folks who are lost: “the other man,” “the blonde,” “the bearded pirate,” “the plumber.” See also actual titles, such as Catherine the Great, but more often just a descriptor used in place of a person’s name.)

#writing advice with quilly #feel free to add on and have a discussion about it #but this is a hill I’m gonna die on folks #this is also why it’s so important to READ MORE BOOKS #READ A WIDE VARIETY OF BOOKS AND STYLES

[quillyfied]

Making progress and learning things. Wheeee!

#quillstitch #very much understanding the complaints about Viv’s character designs #I don’t agree but I get it #bc making tiny little guys that are close enough is difficult #helluva boss #hazbin hotel #about to try for Ozzie bc I made a fizzie and you can’t have a fizzie without an Ozzie

[quillyfied]

happy 413 everyone!! 15 years felt like a significant number so i wanted to do push myself to do smthg over the top for this one haha

this comic has had me in a chokehold for over 10 years waow.. still lookin forward to see what comes from the new team! anyway happy anniversary sweethearts <333

#homestuck #413 #neat!!!!!

[quillyfied]

Happy 4/13 !

A quick animation for one of my biggest fandoms I’ve ever been part of!

#homestuck #413 #noice!!

[quillyfied]

literally unbelievable that its been 15 years 😭😭😭

#homestuck #413

[quillyfied]

reminder that it's okay to celebrate 4/13 even if you're only culturally homestuck.

[quillyfied]

this guy's beef got old enough to have geology

#what a delight this post is

[quillyfied]

… i admit it. I danced. src

the OG  (and if you don’t get it)

#holy MOLY #the joy that just entered my heart is overwhelming

[quillyfied]

Types of AO3 Summary

Option 1 - The Excerpt:

The quickest, the easiest! Find a section of your fic that contains the main premise of said fic and also showcases your writing. Copy paste that into the summary box. BOOM! Done.

Best used for any fic, unless it's so short the excerpt would be the whole fic.

Option 2 - The No Frills:

Just a description of the fic. No need for drama. No need to complicate matters. Keep it simple, keep it safe.

Example: "A short character exploration of Blorbo's thoughts after Daisy leaves."

Best used for short fics, poems and fics where the style/format is more important than the plot. Or fics that tie directly into a scene/episode from canon or another fanfic.

Option 3 - The Hook:

Draw the reader's interest by giving them a set up with no conclusion. Introduce the main character(s), introduce the status quo, describe an inciting incident, leave a question in the reader's mind.

Example: "Blorbo is a barista at a coffee shop, struggling to pay their bills, but after handsome rockstar Obrolb walks into their coffee shop they find that they have to decide whether a chance at love is worth the cost of fame."

Best used for mid to long fic where there's a strong premise and follow through. Especially good for AUs. Can be expanded for more complex plots or used multiple times in one summary for multiple characters or subplots.

Option 4 - The Sitcom One-Liner:

"The one in which [over simplified description of one of the main plotlines]" This is essentially 'boil your plot down to the very simplest statement you can, oversimplify if possible. The more bizarre or unhelpful the better.

Example: "The one in which Blorbo learns to like cake".

Best used for fics with at least a little humour in them.

Option 5 - The Rule of Three:

Three is a magic number. Find three key moments in your fic and just list them. That's it. Often ends with 'not necessarily in that order' if used for comic effect. If it's an AU, establish that quickly (i.e. 'Star NHL player Blorbo…').

Example: "Blorbo makes a friend, falls in love, and almost burns to death, not necessarily in that order."

Best used for anything, really. Three is a magic number. The human brain loves things that come in threes.

Option 6 - The Trope Lure:

Why bother describing the plot? We all know AO3 readers are here for the tropes. Similar to The Sitcom One-Liner just using tropes instead of plot. Often followed by the phrase 'that nobody asked for'.

Example: "The Space western/ABO/Mail Order Bride fic that nobody asked for."

Often tacked on to the end of The Hook or The Excerpt as a tl;dr.

Best used for fic that plays its tropes straight with no shame or second guessing.

Option 7 - The Pre-emptive Strike:

(Not recommended) You just wrote this fic, the self doubt is consuming you. You feel the need to apologise profusely for your existence for no apparently reason. You feel cringe, you think the fic is cringe, you want everyone to know that you think the fic is cringe in case they don't like it and judge you for it.

Example: "So I fell in love with this pairing and had to write this. It's weird and terrible. Lol! I suck at summaries! Sorry!"

Best used for no fics ever. I cannot stress this enough.

(Seriously, I am begging you, don't do this. If you're planning to use this option, rethink it and do one of the others. I guarantee you more people will want to read your fic.)

Sometimes added on to any other summary as a strange disclaimer. (srsly. don't.)

Option 8 - The Unapology:

Embrace the mayhem, embrace the deep dark depths of your soul. The opposite of The Pre-emptive Strike. A combination of The No Frills and The Trope Lure that truly gives no fucks.

You have committed crimes and you are proud of them. You know what your USP is and you're going to make sure your target market finds you. Look upon my works, ye readers, and despair!

Example: "There aren't enough tentacle fics in this pairing, so I had to write one myself!"

Best used for fics with controversial/polarising tropes with all relevant details already clearly stated in the tags.

Option 9 - The Interrogation:

What if you wrote a summary entirely in questions? What if your readers had to read the fic to discover the answers? Who knows what will happen if you do this?

Example: "What happens when Blorbo McBlorbo gets his wish and Daisy doesn't make it to the plane on time? What happens when Obrolb finds out? How will this change Daisy and Blorbo's friendship?"

Best used for... I honestly don't know. This style of summary does not vibe with me. Mystery fic maybe? Sorry guys.

Option 10 - The Multipack:

Got a bunch of shorter fics in one work? No way of summarising them all without a wall of text larger than the Great Wall of China? This one is similar to The No Frills in that you're not describing the plots themselves and similar to The Trope Lure in that often broader genres and tropes are mentioned. What links those fics? Are they all in the same fandom? The same pairing? The same challenge? Just slap that right in the summary. A chapter list with 1-2 word trope/pairing summaries can be included or not.

Example: "A collection of Blorbo/Daisy/Obrolb fics based on Tumblr prompts. Chapter 1: Regency AU Chapter 2: Werewolves vs vampires Chapter 3: Ghost!Daisy Chapter 4: Space pirates!"

Best used for (obviously) works that are compilations of fic.

Option ? - The Void:

I said The Excerpt was the quickest and easiest summary to do. I lied, well... I didn't exactly lie. What is quicker and easier than not having a summary at all? After all, that's what the tags are for.

Example:

Best used for... nothing? Write a summary, guys. Please?

#writing advice with quilly #and friends! #guys please stop saying you suck at summaries #stop undermining yourself in front of your potential readership

[quillyfied]

Glow-up (or, what some persistence and using references instead of going off memory will get you)

#quillstitch #quillcraft #hazbin hotel #still working on getting the colors right #and Husk’s dadgum tail #but otherwise im feeling pretty pleased

[quillyfied]

Necesitas gafas?

#vine energy

[quillyfied]

By LabradoriteKing on Pinterest

#ROCKS!!! #long post #wish it was possible to own large gemstones like a dragon hoard