How Hazbin Hotel Led Me To the Love of My Life
Let me set up a picture for you; a girl was coming out of a verbally abusive relationship not too long after her thirtieth birthday. She was just moving out of her mother's place after an almost two year pitstop. A couple of weeks later after a brutal winter, she decides to go on Facebook Dating just to mess around with her options, and she finds a guy that seems like a the perfect match for her based on the pictures alone. She matches with him and he talks about the Charlie cosplay that was on her profile. He found a Hellaverse rave in Manhattan and invited her there so they could meet in person for the first time.
The day of the rave came, and the girl was trying to find the boy he was messaging for the last couple of weeks. She sees a man dressed like Husk who looked like the man in the pictures, but the makeup made her unsure. She checked her phone and he shot her a text saying that he was dressed like Husk, so her intuition was correct. She went up to him and the two sang and danced the night away. He took the girl home after the rave ended and they arranged a second date so they could get to know each other better.
That was a true story about how I ended up meeting my current partner, and it would not have happened had it not been for Hazbin Hotel. Normally, I put one cosplay photo on my dating profiles so people know what they are getting themselves into. We also made new friends at the rave and went to other Hellaverse events afterwards, including a Hellaverse themed birthday party where we sang "Loser, Baby" together for the first time with both of us in full cosplay.
Two months after the birthday party, we were in my apartment together alone, and I decided to bring up the question I always dreaded, "would you like to be an official couple?". We were already kissing each other and telling each other how much we loved each other, so it only made sense to me that we would become official. He agreed, and we have been dating for four months as of the publication of this blog post.
Our fandom escapades did not end with the birthday party in Harlem. One of our friends that often plans Hellaverse themed events throughout the tri-state area mentioned doing a Hazbin Hotel sing along at ConnectiCon in July, and they needed actors and cosplayers for select songs. I sent him the link and ask if he would like to be my duet partner again. He agreed and a simple sing along turned into a road trip we would remember forever, with a pitstop for my first ever Connecticut pizza and announcing our relationship to our fandom friends. The sing along was also his first convention, making the trip more memorable than it would have been.
Outside of fandom, my partner and I were able to develop a deeper connection and introduce each other to other things we were interested in. We were able to be vulnerable with each other and he has supported me by driving an hour away to see my performances and giving me flowers and gift baskets after every performance so far, with me planning on doing the same thing for him in January. Not only having the same interests pulled us together, but sharing the same passion for theatre and child advocacy helped us connect on that deeper level and has helped me fall in love with theatre all over again after two knee surgeries and a two-year slump.
Flash forward to the time this blog post is published, and we are already sharing our successes, our problems, and everything in between every chance we get. He asked me to be his plus one at his best friend's wedding and I ended up having the time of my life with him. No one has ever made me laugh harder than he has, he has dried my tears while most of my previous relationships have caused them, our inside jokes and immature quips meant more to me than anyone will ever know, and he has set me back to reality and kept a calm demeanor whenever I was having a depressive episode or has seen my Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria at its worst.
When we first met, I was reasonably hesitant. After my last relationship, I questioned if love was even right for me. Nobody appreciated me for who I was and got mad at every little thing that I said that it took me back to the reason I refused to open up or even be myself with anyone in the first place. Over the months we knew each other, I ended up loosening up more and more, and realized that I can be loved, I just need to find the person that will love and accept all of me.
All of this because of a cosplay photo on my dating profile and a Hellaverse rave we went to together. I cannot help but thank the Hellaverse community for not only bringing us together, but introducing both of us to all the new friends we met this year and the influence we had on each other's lives. We inspire each other to actively do better in our lives and become better people. Many point to the Hellaverse fandom as one of the most toxic fandoms of this decade, but with the fanbase's faults, there is always someone that would inspire you and you want to be with for the rest of your life.
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