#also referencing

So the original idea that’s still being worked on is a bit courage the cowardly dog inspired, and what I have for that one so far is:

Person (guy or nonbinary) who is unhappy with how their life is currently going, one day gets caught in a storm and ducks into an antique store for cover. Despite it seemingly like the place is open, there’s not another soul around. What’s even stranger is that an old boxy tv turns itself on despite not being plugged in to anything, and seems to be talking directly to the person (“You! Yes, you! Unhappy with how life is going? Need a change of pace? Then you need to go to “Nowheresville!” Just follow these specific directions from this specific store and take this specific bus.”)

So the person just. grabs the tv and takes it with them to Nowheresville when the rain lets up, and the tv is very disgruntled by that.

Anyways, the story is mostly the person trying to survive Nowheresville, because it’s full of a lot of supernatural creatures with unsavory intentions for them, nothing like the fresh start it was advertised as. And similar to Courage having the computer for help, this person has the talking tv to help. Except the tv really doesn’t wanna help because it specifically gets people with shitty lives who won’t be missed to move into this town to be killed or turned or meet whatever gruesome ending.

(Eventually, the tv does start to care for the person and it turns out to be less that specific tv and more someone with electrical powers and actually exists elsewhere in Nowheresville, and one day rushes in person to that individual’s defense, and all that good stuff, but I’m still working on motive and stuff)

So that’s all great for that storyline that’s gonna take forever and a day, but what I’ve been trying to figure out for a bit now is a storyline that’s more scary/unsettling and a bit shorter so I could actually feasibly get it done (since unfortunately I have a bad habit of getting overwhelmed writing stories and dropping them 😭)

So the hazbin hotel fic plot that fits that is (Spoilers for Hazbin Hotel btw): Vincent Whittman (I think that’s his name) same story as in canon, weatherman who started a cult who gets killed by a tv falling on him, except instead of going to hell, his spirit possesses the tv that killed him

The tv then unwittingly ends up in the possession of Alastor (does he have a last name?) who for the purposes of this story is actually alive in modern times and ends up with the tv because he’s fond of old timey radio technology and someone thought because he likes that old fashioned stuff, maybe he’d like an old fashioned tv

So it starts off with the tv powering on at odd hours and playing old weather clips, and Alastor, who is not fond of old fashioned tv stuff and doesn’t know anything about them, just assumes it’s a glitchy tv with some tape stuck in it

But then the tv, and the weatherman in it, Vincent, start playing weather predictions for the current week

So that gets Alastor’s attention, and he starts looking into Vincent, and finds out about all the cult stuff and starts giving the tv his full attention

And then the tv starts playing videos from the old cult meetings that weren’t ever recorded, also it seems like the tv is moving on its own, before it starts seeming like it’s talking directly to Alastor

Alastor is excited by all of this because his radio show hasn’t been getting much attention lately and he needs a good story to hook people in, and this whole situation has been giving him a great ongoing story to tell his listeners and keep their attention/his time slot

Unfortunately, he’s a little too confident in himself, and doesn’t see the warning signs + isn’t aware that one of the worst things you can do when encountering a cult is to give them your attention because they’ll suck you in

And it would probably end with Vincent encouraging Alastor to go into the tv studio he died in with the tv that killed Vincent because unknown to him, Vincent is obsessed with him and wants to kill Alastor so he’ll be a part of the tv with him, and the final scene would be ambiguous on how it actually goes

So that would be great writing-wise, it has a clear beginning and end (I can picture writing the first scene so clearly of Vincent dying and then the tv being in perfect shape somehow as they collect his and the cults’ bodies before there’s a time jump to Alastor), there’s a clear reason for the tv being possessed and both have a motive for being around each other, and I’m pretty sure it would unsettle readers as they realize how much danger Alastor is in that he’s ignoring

But

Again, I’m not really a hazbin hotel fan (I just know of it from the songs and I haven’t even listened to all the songs) so I’m not sure I’d characterize them very well, also I’d be bound by Hazbin Hotel because there’s stuff I’d want to add that probably wouldn’t be well taken by fans (like the whole motive with Alastor needing a story, would they accept that when I’m pretty sure canonically he’s never had trouble retaining people, his struggle just comes from experiencing racism?), also there’s just a bit too much ambiguity in the relationship from how the story goes, like does Vincent care about Alastor specifically, or is he just obsessed with him because he’s a cult leader who thrives on attention and Alastor is the one currently giving him that?

What I really, really want in a haunted tv story is something like the above with clear origin story, clear motives, clear beginning and end, but there’s more explicit romance (ideally on both ends, not just a one sided thing), while still maintaining the creepy as fuck vibes

(I especially wanna write a scene where the human character decides to touch the tv, because of the whole old tvs have static, and it’s right as the person who’s possessing the tv is talking, so it comes across as them stroking their cheek, which causes the tv to freeze, but instead of it being a cute locking eyes moment, it’s kind of a freaky thing because they notice the tv is “frozen” so the person on tv is staring right at them, breaking the fourth wall, and at that point in time, the look isn’t exactly a friendly one, so they jump and scramble away from the tv, and swear the eyes follow them

And then later on, when the tv is fond of them, but the human still isn’t sure if their tv is actually possessed or if they’re just being a bit paranoid, the tv “croons” at them, and makes a reference to the “cheek caress” that’s a little too on the nose, and confirms the human’s fears)

today i couldn't shower but i washed my face

i sat in the living room instead of my bed

i haven't eaten but i am seeing my friend

i told you i missed you but i'm not begging for your attention anymore

i am not getting better

i do not know if i will ever get better

i do not think i will ever get better

but today is the 16th of october and i am not crying

i am thinking about you and if you know it is the 16th of october

probably not

and that hurts

and that hurts but

i washed my face

i am sitting in the living room

i am seeing my friend