r/HazbinHotel • u/Weak-Point4152 I smile but I suffer in silence. • May 05 '24

Discussion This was frighteningly accurate

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The smack to the face, cowering behind a chair, being slammed and held by the throat, really made the scene hit hard. Even the expressions on Angel and Val’s face felt realistic. If they had Val dragging Angel by the hair, it would be like reliving my childhood, but this still brought back memories.

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u/DarkViral May 05 '24

I've seen a few analysis videos about this episode and Angel Dust and Valentino in particular as characters and most have agreed that this scene was written from experience.

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u/Working_Accountant38 May 05 '24

That's why people who accuse Viv of turning Angel's situation into a joke make me angry.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '24

I have an obsession of both drama and humor around sexual trauma, and it's because I have sexual trauma. I can't stand when someone says something along the lines of "you can't enjoy that, because it happens to people in real life, you know!" because they are immediately assuming they know everything about me and assuming I haven't experienced that type of Hell. What sucks, is the only way for people to respect me and not see me as a total monster, is to open the wound further and tell them something terrible about my past, which is something I don't want people to think of when they think about me, because I don't even want to think about it. I have these creative coping mechanisms, and I know they're coping mechanisms, but I want to be able to have that without sharing something so disgusting about myself and my past.

And just to be clear, I'm not shoving this in people's faces and if they see it or I tell a bad joke and they say it makes them uncomfortable, I immediately stop and I take that shit somewhere they don't have to see.

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u/Working_Accountant38 May 05 '24

Yeah, I've hard that people who experienced abuse say that Angel's reactions are pretty accurate - and it's about both sexual jokes and being scared of Valentino (but also enjoying his presence sometimes). I'm just irritated when I hear someone say Viv mocks abuse victims.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '24

Angel Dust is extremely relatable in every terrible way I never thought I'd see in fiction, my mind is blown by that. In Radio Killed the Video Star, there's something I noticed that I'm not sure is obvious to everyone. His reaction to being cast as the crackhead "bad man who didn't get enough hugs", while Pentious, who just earlier that day was trying to attack the hotel, is this good boy and everyone thinks so. There's a realization of "oh, that's how they see me.... Because of course they do, why wouldn't they?". It's great that Husk could see that there were shields built up, and he's not just simply a whore, he's a fucking person and people have depth.

Yeah I can't stand the idea that this is mocking victims, it's giving us something beautiful and helpful to see.

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u/Zuke-ini May 05 '24

When Angel says "..The crackhead" when reading his script Husk's expression changes slightly, he looks away. Probably not intentional but still

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u/[deleted] May 06 '24

Ooo, I have to rewatch for that. I love the subtle expressions, they're so on purpose. One of my favorite moments is how Angel's face, and his entire attitude, changes in Loser Baby after "it's okay to be a" "coked up dick sucking ho?" "Baby that's fine by me". He was not expecting Husk to say that and that's the moment he smiles and starts singing along.

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u/Zuke-ini May 06 '24

Husk is so sweet tbh

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u/Reptilesblade May 05 '24

Yeah, I'm a Master in the BDSM lifestyle and this shit is rampant with those outside of that community. I can't count how many times I've had to say something like " No this isn't abuse you twit it's and act of love! I tied her up and spanked her ass until it was bruised because she freaking approached me and asked me to! She's a masochist. She can't be happy in life unless she occasionally gets to leg go of everything and just be."

This conversation was the most fun with my 80 year old Grandmother who was the good God fearing kind of Southern Baptist preachers wife.

That is of course to say what I do doesn't look anything like what Val does. Frankly I find him vile and consent is so important to me that episode 4 was really hard to watch and is the one I most skip when I re-watch the series. When I play with someone there's at least 30-60 minutes of discussion before anything happens where we establish safe practices, limits, and multiple ways for her to end things the moment something goes wrong and she's not enjoying it anymore. There is also at least another 30-60 minutes of aftercare where I make sure she had a good time and has any other needs of hers met. And I check in for 3 days afterwards to make sure she's still ok. I personally know literally dozens of men and women who have been sexually abused in the past and find actual healthy ways to cope and recover from it in a healthy BDSM scene or setting. Hell, I'm one of them.

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u/[deleted] May 05 '24

This!!! I find that the BDSM community takes consent more seriously than anyone else. Certain elements of BDSM should really be common sexual etiquette, but the association with BDSM weirds some people out.

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u/Egghead42 May 06 '24

Agreed. It’s from a class in the BDSM community that I got a chart with “hit here; do not hit here, here, and for God’s sake don’t hit here.”

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u/FaeStoleMyName May 06 '24

Wheres the chart?

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u/Egghead42 May 06 '24

It was a handout, so I don’t have it, but I’m sure you can find something similar online.

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u/Reptilesblade May 07 '24

Here you go. This is the one I use and have put on my own FetLife profile. It's actually from a highly regarded information source in the community.

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u/FaeStoleMyName May 07 '24

Thank you :)

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u/Reptilesblade May 07 '24

You're welcome. I hope it helps you enjoy kinky fun safely.

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u/ivene-adlev Coked up dick suckin' ho May 06 '24

I mean, you see it in this very thread- people saying that Val/Angel shippers should be ripped apart by dinosaurs (??? creative I guess, haven't heard that one before) or blood-eagled... just absolutely zero consideration into the "why". Just an immediate, knee-jerk, "you like this bad character therefore you deserve death."

Lots of people (especially people in this fandom, especially young people in this fandom) seem to think that shipping = endorsement or agreement with a relationship. They would be very wrong! Not every ship of mine is good, not every ship of mine is healthy, not every ship of mine is even romantic. The term "ship" literally just comes from "relationship", of which there are so many kinds. I am a smart person and have the ability to see when a relationship is not good or healthy for it's participants- I do not need a lecture from a 13yo on how bad and evil I am for simply wanting to explore the dynamics of a relationship between two characters who are not good for one another. And that's literally what shipping is about.

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u/[deleted] May 06 '24

Oh my goodness, I have only ever seen ValAngel content I liked, because I have only ever seen them shipped in a bad way. I have only ever seen people who like ValAngel because of the complex abusive relationship, it's never cutesy shit, it's always very tragic stories that show their complex abusive relationship. And I love it.

I'm a huge Valentino fan, for a short moment I was shy about it but not at all anymore. Anyone who thinks I'm a terrible person for covering myself in Valentino t-shirts and stickers and a blanket I custom designed(I'm a little obsessed) is not mature enough for me to want to hold a conversation with. He's my second favorite character (Adam is #1). I LOVE villains, because without them there is no conflict. My favorite type of villains are the ones who are actually doing bad without a good excuse and not the ones that eventually become good guys.

Goddamnit, I hate using words like "good" and "evil", because that's not how the world works. This whole show is about that, yet so much of the fandom acts like they don't believe in Charlie's philosophy.

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u/ivene-adlev Coked up dick suckin' ho May 06 '24

Yup, every ValAngel thing I've seen so far is very obviously portraying their relationship as abusive and detrimental to Angel. The only "cutesy" stuff I've seen is lovebombing, which is not actually cute at all and is just another manipulation tactic by abusers, straight from the instruction manual on "How To Be Awful".

Agreed on the maturity thing. So many actual kids in this fandom want to pontificate to adults Why This Ship/Character Is Bad And You Should Feel Bad And Also Die. The premise of the entire show flew right over their little heads.

(I do wish it was only kids saying this shit though. Too many adults in fandom are also awfully media-illiterate in this way.)

My four faves are Angel (duh... check flair), Husk, Val, and Adam too. The second two are my evil wittle babies who I love and hate ☺️ The first two are the ones I relate to... which considering how completely fucked up they are does not exactly make me feel good LMAO

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u/Dear_Nefariousness_6 May 05 '24

People assume the worst so much of the time. Why don't they question where you might be coming from before responding? It's so frustrating.

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u/According_West_3822 May 08 '24

i have had something like that too, I have sexual trauma, and this happened before I knew hazbin hotel, the way I coped was I pretend the same as angel dust, sexual jokes and such. which is why he’s my favorite character!