I gotta talk about FourDogs (again)
It's barely about her, though. I think "he's so lucky his dad was brutally murdered" and "people with trauma need a second handicap because they're too motivated" are such absolute-the-fuck-ly bonkers takes, they're not even worth the time it took me to get mad about them, which was immediately. This time around, I have way more to say about audience reception. I'll try to keep it civil.
It feels like a lot of us are responding from increasingly personal places because these are characters with which a lot of us identify, or we see traits in them that remind us of people from our real lives. And hey! Another performance and storytelling slay on the part of one Brennan Lee Mulligan. Who else can invent 50+ characters every year and play them to the point where any one of them can evoke both an "omg that's literally me!" and an "omg that's literally Dani, the girl that bullied me all of freshmen year until I punched out her front tooth in the student parking lot and got in-school suspension for a month!". And whether Kipperlily reminds you of Dani, or reflects your own anxieties about potential, ability, and trauma, an important thing to remember is this: she is not real!
Brennan made her up! Brennan made her up to tell a story, and when he made her up, he made her annoying, petty, antagonistic, and he gave her not just opposing goals to the the protagonists we know and love, but the explicit goal of ruining The Bad Kids' lives, specifically.
Now, I'm not saying she's fictional to be a dick, or dismiss any deeper readings on her or any of the Rat Grinders. I'm bringing it up because the way I'm seeing people talk to each other about these characters is starting to get a little wild and it's in danger of waking up The Olde Gods™ (i.e. the special brand of Tumblr Self-Righteousness that lives inside us all).
It's important to remember Kipperlilly is a character in a fictive work so that different interpretations of her don't get treated as stone law. Each reading of her is personal and valid, but none are gospel. The "Kipperlilly is but a victim" take is not the only correct one, nor is radical empathy for her as a character the only correct reaction. Also, even if I consider her sympathetic that is not incompatible with an opinion like "Kipperlilly needs to get roundhouse'd in the head by a lesbian in a tracksuit and/or a wizard in a jean jacket, posthaste". Sure, you can say that anyone who doesn't feel a deep and eclipsing empathy for Kipperlilly above all other emotions is immature at best and sociopathic at worst, but then I can just say anyone who demands solely empathy for Kipperlilly and excuses her literal crimes and bass-ackwards world view because she's insecure and has anger issues, is probably also someone who has a history of weaponizing whatever minority status they may or may not occupy to talk over, silence, or harass people of color.
They're both just opinions. And also, like. Y'know. A bit much.
To engage in the long and rich tradition of measuring character trajectories against those in the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon, let's compare Kipperlilly to Azula. Azula had an incredibly sympathetic backstory and untreated mental health issues. Azula was also a danger to herself and others, as well as profoundly manipulative and abusive (although, it was a children's show so Azula never killed anybody for whatever that's worth). Do I wish that fourteen-year-old girl had an Iroh-type in her life? Literally one adult who loved her genuinely and advocated for her best interests? Of course I do. I saw the Ember Island episode, I watched that one video essay! Does that mean it was any less satisfying to watch Zuko and Katara kick her absolute ass? No! And it was non-lethal anyway, children's show, duh.
That brings me to my other thing; Kipperlilly is a character in a fictive work that is not finished. And I know that point will age poorly, but I'm thinking it won't be the only one (hey-o). Remember the people that were calling The Bad Kids bullies? And then we learned that Kipperlilly hated Riz because his fucking dad fucking died?? And that was a full academic year before getting reanimated by a rage god?? I'll do a tame one; remember when Gilear wasn't cursed?? He was "just a guy"?? The show is serialized, gang, the world is still building! Clerickiller is not done yet, y'all need to let her cook! I'm sure we'll tune in next week to see her graduate from "unhinged" to "unaffiliated with the door frame or any frame-like structure". Reprimanding people on Tumblr will not change the trajectory of this character who, by the way, has not expressed remorse or any desire for a path other than violence. You look me in my black face after your blorbo slits a kid's throat and say "help her"?? Kipperlilly doesn't want get better right now, she wants one thing and that's for Kristen Applebees to go fuck herself and die!! You were there, you heard it!! When the fictional behavior changes, as it often does in stories, so will my opinion. There is no fore-forgiveness. Without an actual redemption arc I will continue to see the villain as a villain.
Speaking of, I think what some people have an issue with is the level of hate Kipperlilly's getting and how aggressive it is. But like.... isn't that allowed?? Because of all the stuff I said but also because like, mama said that it was okay! And by "mama" I mean Siobhan Thompson who said Kipperlilly belongs under the jail. Sure, in the real world, adults don't tell kids they belong in the ground that's crazy fucked up, but all these kids are played by adults and Emily as Fig joked that she was gonna smite the sixteen-year-old girl played by the thirty-something man. You're telling me the antagonist antagonizes the protagonists, and the protagonists go "boo, hiss" and then I, the audience, go "boo, hiss as well" but I'm wrong? I'm wrong, somehow, cool checks out.
"They're XP Levelling*punches a locker*!!"
"That girl is worse than Kalvaxus."
"Littledoggy Girlcollar"
Am I not engaging with the narrative on it's own terms if I say "i'd tell Clerickiller to die mad, but she clearly already did, Jojo Siwa head-ass, in reference to that fuck-ass ponytail and your toxic yuri" Do I need to draw a little caitmay-style OC to say it for me, would that be better?
God-forbid, we have fun? Must we discourse, always? FourDogs is tragic, FourDogs is compelling, FourDogs is Dani from 9th grade. She is Azula from Avatar and Clare from Fleabag and Brennan Lee Mulligan from my dreams and that is something that can be so personal. But no one else has to participate in your parasocial relationship. What's crazy is, I actually like Kipperlilly! As a character. I mean, the "trauma is privilege" obviously hit a nerve with me because of real life stuff, but the image of her over the rogue teacher's grave?? With a backhoe and a "gotcha, bitch" expression??? Come on, that is fresh-off-the-vine Cunt™. Even more so than I imagined that moment to be when we first heard about it. Her ending up in a Ragh or Aelwyn place would be way more satisfying than a Goldenrod or Penelope Everpetal place, BUT IT WILL ALSO be satisfying to see whatever Kipperlilly's version of the locked-in-a-chokehold-and-being-gaslit-into-thinking-you-shit-the-coach's-pants-scene is. In addition to the non-lethal ass-kicking that proceeds it.
Y'all can chuck the insinuation that something so clearly subjective is actually objective and has moral implications that make me bad, directly in the garbage. What is this, religion, hey-o.
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okay but i think it says a lot about eddie that he clearly wanted to graduate high school.
in some way or another, it was clearly something he actually wanted to do, or he would have just dropped out when he flunked his first senior year.
but he didn't. he tried again. and again. those aren't the actions of someone who couldn't care less if they get a diploma or not. the whole school thinks he's a freak, he goes through the embarrassment every day of being the 20-year-old super-duper senior, but he does still go to school.
idk whether it might be partly on his uncle's suggestion (wayne seems to want the best for eddie and that probably means getting some qualifications), or whether he wants to do it for himself (to prove that he could, in fact, do it) but either way, instead of dropping out when he so easily could have (especially after his 2nd try) he didn't.
and this is why i so desperately wanted to see him graduate. it wasn't just about "getting out of this dump" (which he could have done years ago by dropping out) it was about proving he could do it, that he could accomplish this mile stone and then move on.
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Hi!!
I just wanna say first off that I completely get if you don't respond to this cos it's quite a random question and I hope you're doing well :)
but I wanted to ask! Do you have an oc for Hazbin Hotel?? I'd personally love to know what you're mind's come up with because you write all the characters with so much detail!
Ik this I random but a lot of other big creators in the Hazbin Hotel fandom have pitched their own oc's and I was just wondering if you had the same!!
Would love it if you shared, but completely get if not :))
hope you're doing well, can't wait for the alastor fic!!! <3
Hi!!
Can't lie when I saw this ask in my inbox I was really surprised, I didn't think people really cared for oc's tbh
But yes I do! They don't have a name yet though but a very thorough backstory 😅
I guess I could give you some of the brief details? I don't want to swamp my followers with things they're not interested in, so if you guys want to hear any more just lmk :)
Details under the cut to make this easier to scroll past if you're not interested!
Disclaimer - I've had this oc since way back in 2019 when the pilot dropped so she has some similarities to other characters in the series that I wasn't aware of at the time. Also, dark themes ahead watch out.
So, my oc is a woman who died in 1948 at 24 years old.
I head canon that exterminators are a class of people who did 'sinful' deeds but for the right reasons - they go to Heaven but on the condition that they perform this one 'sinful' killing act once a year.
My oc had to kill her brother in self-defence after he suffered from PTSD after WW2 and mistook her as an 'enemy' during a particularly bad flashback. That was the only 'real' sin she committed, so when she went to heaven she was recruited as an exterminator.
She was murdered by her father (strangulation), who could not forgive her for killing her brother. Because of this, she has horrendous trust issues.
She's the oldest of three siblings: two brothers and a sister. Only her youngest brother outlived her.
In heaven, she never sought out her mother or sister, too scared to admit to them what she did, or what happened to their family.
She is technically a 'fallen' angel, but never had her wings removed. She fought with another exterminator over having to kill a child (embarrassingly close to Vaggie's origin story, I was unaware at the time, and may change this to be more original), managed to kill them, but was wounded and unable to make it back to the portal and was left stranded in Hell. She still retains some of her 'angelic' power and attributes because of this. After the portal closed, she was severed from Heaven and took on a 'demon' form. Her wings are tattoos along her back and arms, which can transform into wings if she wants - she rarely does.
She originally tried to persuade exterminators that she was one of them to go back. They just thought she was a sinner trying to lie to them. She's long since given up her hopes of returning to Heaven, and has slowly grown to hate Heaven and the exterminators over her many decades of seeing the effects of the exterminations in Hell.
As a final 'fuck you' to Heaven, she joined the Hazbin Hotel in hopes of screwing up Heaven's preconceptions. She may have the wrong motives, but she's trying her best.
Her love interest is Alastor, but they begin as enemies. It takes a long time for both of them to come around to one another. They bond over their similar time periods, and an odd relationship forms. She has an equally morbid sense of humour after growing up during a particularly bad part of history. Alastor is determined not to let some random sinner be his biggest weakness, she is appalled that such a heinous man could worm his way into her heart. A reluctant love story for both parties.
She's never sought out her father or oldest brother, who are in Hell. She doesn't know what she'd do if she found them - what do you say to the man you killed, and the man who killed you in revenge for that act? She won't admit it, but she's absolutely terrified they'll find her.
She has a lot of demons, and drinks heavily to distract herself from them. She was a 'good soul' on earth, and now that she has free rein she indulges herself as often as she can. She'll never get back to Heaven (she believes) so what does it matter? Men, booze, drugs, does what she wants with it all.
She has a good relationship with Angel Dust, Husk and Sir Pentious. She often hangs out at the bar with them. Despite him being 'The Bartender', even Husk doesn't know her full backstory or how she died, he does notice she hates being touched on the neck, and grows defensive when Alastor constantly pushes this boundary in the first months of knowing her.
She once punched Alastor square in the face in the middle of the hotel lobby for pushing this boundary on the anniversary of her death. He would've killed her on the spot if it weren't for Charlie running in between them. It's this moment that I head canon as the day Alastor realises he actually cares for her more than he thought - he is genuinely upset (and furious for other reasons) that she would push him away so forcefully. He can't allow that.
She gets along well with Niffty, but her childlike antics remind her too much of her younger siblings and she can struggle to be around her for too long. She tries to keep her distance, for her own peace of mind.
Charlie also reminds her of her younger sister, but in a far more 'manageable' way. She does her best to support her with her hopes with the hotel. Vaggie makes sure to keep Charlie 'away' from my oc, she doesn't trust her at all. Vaggie can sense something is off with the hotel's newest resident, but can't quite figure out what. Lucifer is the same.
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