Color me VERY impressed that Witch Hat Atelier had a guy make magic glasses to see through clothes, and that was explicitly called sexual assault and condemned for being awful! In so many other mangas that would've been played off as a joke, but it isn't funny! Wow! I didn't know manga could do that!
its kinda funny that tgcf has this reputation of being the most wholesome of the mxtx books when its like 50% straight horror and contains some of the most harrowing scenes ive ever seen in fiction
I do not want "queer characters." I want characters that ARE queer. I don't want characters whose entire personality is about their sexuality or gender identidy. Stories about the experiences of LGBTQ+ people are GOOD, and we NEED them, but we also need stories where the characters are just queer when the plot isn't ABOUT their queer experiences. I want action shows where the protagonist is gay and has a romance with someone of the same gender and the focus ISN'T their sexuality. I want mystery shows where the protagonist is TRANSGENDER because that is WHO THEY ARE and not what the PLOT is about. You know how fandom will headcanon characters as a specific sexuality, not because it's a queer story, but bcuz they WANT to see queer people in cool stories AND so they can ship them with their mortal enemies who the protagonist won't stop thinking about? I want THAT.
thought about the idea of vox releasing one of those fucking cancelled youtuber apology videos after the season 2 finale and started laughing to myself
I see a lot of huskerdust stuff where Husk saves Angel's soul from Valentino. Usually it's by gambling for it, sometimes by fighting Valentino, but yeah. And I do like it, but I've also been coming to really like the scenario of Angel being the one to save himself, and Husk being the one to make him want to, to open up that avenue for him. Husk gives Angel a knife, but Angel is the one who wields it, the one who stabs him. A lot of Angel's struggles come from the way he is denied agency, and Husk combats this by always giving him a choice (for example, Loser Baby contrasts Poison by having Husk always offer Angel his hand vs Valentino grabbing it)—so Husk just opening up the option and offering Angel motivation, but Angel having to be the one who has to make the choice and decide that yes, he deserves better, and he's going to try and get out? That really hits something for me.
(And for his part, Angel sets up a way to get Husk off Alastor's leash once he's free. Tit for tat, after all. If they'll eat shit together, they'll win together as well.)
You know, the more I think about it, the more I think Alastor having a more positive beat at the end of the show is just inevitable.
Because themes.
Because, what IS the theme of Hazbin Hotel? What do we think (at this stage) the story is going to say to us?
If I had to guess? The theme is Charlie's belief that anyone can be redeemed. Because that girl's our protagonist, and there's gotta be a thematic reason she is, not just a plot one, and that belief is what she stands for as a character.
Is the theme then purely that anyone can go to Heaven if they try hard enough, and thus Alastor's going to be redeemed to Heaven? No, I don't think it's that either.
I think Charlie's character development arc is not to prove that that exact belief is true, or to face that it's simply false, but to realize that that initial goal was naive and so tangled up in a lot of mama/daddy issues, but her faith in people is still worth it. That it's worth believing people can do better, even when it's hard. That support can make a difference. She just needs to open up that belief to a wider lens than Heaven's approval, and start paying more attention to what the people she wants to help need, and who they are, and why they are the way they are.
And Angel is an obvious part of this arc in how she's failed to truly support him thusfar and tried to stuff him in a box, and she'll probably have a hand in ultimately helping him next season? and that will make her grow as a person in the process, be a better advocate for the story's message.
So, why is this a post about Alastor being 'redeemed' and not Angel? Simple! Framing.
Just as Angel was the first guest, the one that was introduced as the 'lost cause' but is so clearly already a good soul who will surely be redeemed in some form or another before the show's end, Alastor was the one introduced who was truly sinister, the most anti-Charlie's message, if in an ironically supportive role, and most importantly, if we include the pilot? He's the one that said outright to her face that he has zero belief in her cause, that he truly thinks the souls in Hell are irredeemable and incapable of self-betterment--himself naturally included. He’s the one who continues to lurk like a gremlin as the antithesis of Charlie's message.
So, which is more rewarding in the end? Alastor holding to that exact same belief with zero shifts in mentality, just acting upon it more and more openly until he stands as a final plot device villain, thus in a way proving his own point by being irredeemable himself to the end, defeated or not? OR, him changing to some degree? Or, if not changing inherently, proving by his actions at some stage that it is not that simple? That even he is capable of good? That it was not a mistake for Charlie to take a risk on him and put her faith in him in the beginning? That there is a power behind Charlie's faith that could affect even a person like Alastor?
I'm just saying, however much you might want to Alastor to go full ham villain and boy am I excited for him to have his chance to shine in that way next season, I know which direction makes more sense to me from a narrative take.
I genuinely think that Alastor and Vox met because Alastor was taking out overlords and Vox was to be his next target, but somehow he found himself enjoying this weird new demon’s company and got attached enough to not kill him just yet
One idea I had for Crymini just because I thought it would be fun, is that she’s Italian.
Like we know Angel is an Italian immigrant and grew up in New York, but Crym was born and raised in Italy.
I wanted Husk and Crym to be able to speak in another language to each other and then I thought why not Italian so that Angel ca eventually join in.
I could imagine Angel finding out by pure accident. Like he and Husk are sitting at the bar, Crym is on the couch when she yells and ask what something is in English again. Obviously Husk answers and Angel is just looking between them. When he finally hears them have a full blown conversation in Italian he somehow falls even deeper in love. His boyfriend knows Italian and their daughter too. It’s perfect!
pixelskylines
amandla
kianamaiart
