Letícia, she/her, 💖💜💙, 🇧🇷. I love drawing things that I’m obsessed about. Currently obsessing over Hazbin Hotel and Monster High. Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/lelet-draws
My hot take is that both of Valentine’s dolls faces are kinda ugly but the new one is much better for various reasons, the most important one being that he now has eyelids.
So, I'm planning to make an ooak doll of g3 Casta Fierce.
As we all know Casta is based on Beyoncé, however, due to some controversies regarding her and the fact that she is now shifting her focus towards country, I'm thinking about basing her on another black singer.
I'm doing my own research but I would love to hear suggestions if you have some (I'm also avoiding Doechii since she already has her own canon G3 inspired character, Papyra).
The lack of gay sex education is kinda concerning to me, because why was I (a 15 year old year old girl at the time) the one who introduced the concept of top and bottom to my bisexual male friend?
To everyone saying "they don't need to kiss to prove they're in love"
Do you understand the implications, especially in today's political climate, of a show that revolves heavily around a queer/queer-coded couple where the only onscreen kiss between said couple is their breakup? Especially one that explores themes of sin, forbidden love, religion, dogma, and high control groups? One where the character associated with hell is the one forcing the kiss and the character associated with Christian heaven (even if heaven in this case is bad) is the one who is not receptive to that affection? A show where the heaven associated character tells the one who kissed him "I forgive you"? One where the main characters have had to hide their relationship for fear of their lives in a storyline that is heavily analogous to the persecution of queer people? Where even in a scene that showed explicitly they were married, the show still would not deign to display physical intimacy between two men? Y'know, some of the most highly stigmatized kind of affection there is?
If they had never kissed at all, I wouldn't mind. But by kissing in season 2 when they broke up, they showed that they were willing to cross that line. They stopped being ambiguous in that moment. They're whole "we're not humans and don't show love like humans" went out the window when the show decided they would in fact engage in an overtly queer act. But the only time there is unambiguous queer affection is when it's used to separate the characters.
If they had never had a full on sex scene between two hetero characters who had just met in season 1, I wouldn't mind. But the show was more comfortable with displaying physical intimacy between a man and a woman that we never saw after season 1 than they were between the two main characters of the show.
If they hadn't had an ending that literally showed their wedding rings, showing that they clearly can and will display a queer couple and also conform to heteronormative standards by having them married at all, then I wouldn't mind. But they went as far as having the characters who famously had a relationship that was open to interpretation and put them in the husband/romantic partner box, but wouldn't dare go as far as physical intimacy?
I know that many people who are not amanormative or allonormative are frustrated that a relationship that was previously ambiguous/up for interpretation was boxed into a romantic label. But now that they have, it says something that they chose to display queer relationships, and they chose to display physical affection, but not both at the same time. It says something even if they didn't intend to. It's just too awfully convenient that the couples who are always subjected to "well you don't need to be physical to be in love" are the queer couples. In a political climate that promotes homophobia and violence against our community, increasingly sex negative and pro-censorship legislation regarding online spaces, and legislation that aims to categorize participating in anything remotely queer in public as a sex crime, I think anyone who looks at a story of romantic love between two masculine presenting people and says it's not necessary to have overt physical acts of affection has lost the plot.
It's a cop out, plain and simple. And queer fans deserved better.
Viv confirming that Valentino is the trophy wife is all I'll ever need for future fics.
Because of course he's the trophy wife. He's smart in his field of expertise(porn and sex in general) but outside of that, he's a basically blind moth with anger issues and a bad habit of abusing his employees. Of course Vox looks at him and thinks "I can spoil him rotten and love every second of it."
Most straight writers would just go the stereotypical route and make the villain’s trophy wife a stuck up bitchy woman who antagonizes the main girl character.
But no, Vox’s trophy wife is an over 2 meter tall, sex offender, moth man, with enough body strength to decapitate him, who he’s in an open relationship with.
People are so weird when it comes to Vivziepop, just saw someone criticizing the way she represents asexuality and some people were saying in the comments that she doesn’t care about asexuals and implying she’s a bigot.
VIVZIEPOP HAS COME OUT AS ASPEC AGES AGO, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS ON???
Don’t get me wrong, feel free to criticize her asexual representation all you want, but ignoring and invalidating her identity is just wild.
It roughly translates to “Supermuscular Mansion (a gym, I suppose), say no to sex work”.
I don’t understand if they are trying to be transphobic by implying all trans people are sex workers or if they are trying to be allies by discussing how common sex work is within less privileged trans people.
I unironically believe that Vox would have had a better, less painful result if only he had just confessed his feelings for Alastor instead of using euphemisms.
Not that I think Alastor would agree to date him, but the main reason why he laughed was because he thought Vox was begging for help because he’s weak.
I think his response if Vox confessed would be similar to when Angel Dust tried to make an advance. Simple and straightforward, little to no mockery.
Had the funniest debate with a Hazbin hater, where they tried to explain to me why Valentino was a terrible representation of abusers.
Most of their arguments were feeling, not factual based but the most interesting part was how everytime I pointed out how they introduced elements to give him more depth they dismissed as a cheap writing tactic.
We ended the argument somewhat cordially with them saying that I would be let down by expecting such depth from Hazbin Hotel.
Like bitch, the main reason why you aren’t getting this kind of depth from the show is because you are refusing to engage with it in any other way other than assuming it’s stupid and unintelligent.
You aren’t engaging with media critically if at every turn you underestimate the writer’s intelligence. Of never gonna be nuanced enough for you if you dismiss every attempt at nuance. Holy fuck.
The problem with people using their personal feelings as arguments is that I can’t have a healthy discussion around that.
They are entitled to feel however way they want, I can’t go around telling people they are wrong for feeling uncomfortable with Valentino’s portrayal.
All feelings are valid but not all of them are factually correct. If you can’t tell me why Valentino is badly written other than “I feel like he is”, then you have no concrete argument.
Had the funniest debate with a Hazbin hater, where they tried to explain to me why Valentino was a terrible representation of abusers.
Most of their arguments were feeling, not factual based but the most interesting part was how everytime I pointed out how they introduced elements to give him more depth they dismissed as a cheap writing tactic.
We ended the argument somewhat cordially with them saying that I would be let down by expecting such depth from Hazbin Hotel.
Like bitch, the main reason why you aren’t getting this kind of depth from the show is because you are refusing to engage with it in any other way other than assuming it’s stupid and unintelligent.
You aren’t engaging with media critically if at every turn you underestimate the writer’s intelligence. Of never gonna be nuanced enough for you if you dismiss every attempt at nuance. Holy fuck.
Charlie Morningstar: The Failed Leader (A Full Character Analysis)
Hazbin Hotel Season 2 has ended and it certainly gave us plenty to talk about, both good and bad, so now I'd like to take a brief look back and share my perspective and opinion on what is easily its most criticized aspect: Charlie Morningstar.
Charlie has become a focal point of controversy during Season 2, due to her portrayal and writing, which have garnered both perfectly valid criticism and some with which I disagree. So today I'd like to take a brief look back and dissect the character, her intentions and her relationships based on what we've seen:
As this season progressed, many comments and criticisms began to surface against the protagonist due to her writing and behavior. These opinions can be summarized as her being ridiculously childish, selfish, hypocritical, or having no idea what she was doing.
To which I reply: Yes, that's true, but that's the point. Let me elaborate:
From the pilot episode, Charlie was presented as an innocent, impulsive, and hyperactive character with a cheerful and optimistic mindset. However, beyond that, we were also given hints of a more depressing and even questionable side: We were shown that Charlie was someone with insecurities and a complicated family situation.
And she seemed to be using her redemption project more as a way to prove herself than simply to help, making it very clear that she feared being considered a failure and incapable of helping.
In the show, this perspective gradually expanded, and from the very first episodes, it was made clear that Charlie tends to repress her problems and focus instead on trying to help others, almost showing an obsessive side.
But it is here, ironically, that we can see her most selfish and even, I would say, most unstable side: Charlie truly cares about her people and genuinely seeks to create positive change, but what fails is her foundation in both execution and priorities.
Charlie started this project as a way to keep her mother's ideals alive, to unite sinners under an idea of peace and growth, because deep down she felt guilty for not having been able to do anything to prevent her disappearance.
She created the hotel not as a selfless way to help, but to prove that SHE was not a failure. When her father belittled her project, she wasn't bothered by what he said about her friends, but by his disbelief that SHE could achieve something great, something that sought to continue her mother's legacy. And when it's revealed that redemption is possible, Charlie is overcome with emotion and desperately tries to get everyone to believe in her. She didn't do it thinking, at least not primarily, of sinners, but acted purely on HER desire to feel that she was doing things right.
Because the point of this whole project was to prove to the world and to herself that she could follow in her mother's footsteps, that she could truly contribute something to the Kingdom she loves, and perhaps understand in the process why she left them, but especially why she abandoned her. To prove she could do great and masterful things like her father, instead of just being a pretty face who contributes nothing and whom no one takes seriously because, beyond of who was her parents, she's nothing.
This sparked a lot of criticism because Charlie was so ridiculously innocent and silly when dealing with such a complex topic, but some argued that Charlie shouldn't act this way because she's a demon at least 200 years old, and therefore shouldn't be so childish.
An idea I personally disagree with: We've already seen throughout various fictional media how certain immoral beings can have a slower development or maturity than a mortal soul. For example, Lucifer is older than Charlie but also makes many of his daughter's mistakes, being impulsive, clumsy, and preferring to isolate himself and/or repress his problems behind a supposedly cheerful facade instead of being honest.
Because Time cultivates and can help heal, but if you lack the means to tend to your wounds, learn to rectify your worst aspects, or are even unable to take advantage of them for whatever reason, it can also exacerbate them, as happened to the father and daughter. Even in a common and/or realistic context, basing a person's level of maturity on their age is highly subjective and superficial, since each person's context, abilities, and mindset influence their development and the pace at which they can progress.
On the other hand, I saw another comment that I think is more fitting to the series' context, which briefly describes Charlie as "a privileged person who has never had to face the world's serious problems on her own."
I mean, in Helluva Boss, they already showed us how royal demons basically live in a world completely separate from the rest of Hell's inhabitants, to the point of even clashing with something as simple as work. And if we add to that the possibility that the isolation Lilith exerted on her wasn't limited solely to her father, it creates a new perspective: She has good intentions, good values, but she doesn't understand the depth of the damage people may have suffered.
It doesn't matter if she manages to cure their addictions, straighten out their bad behavior, and turn them into model citizens, because the root of the problem, the emotional scars, or the rottenness of their souls will remain.
(In fact, curiously, this superficial perspective resembles the judgment that heaven seems to have when judging souls, which is a clear critique of how religion, for a long time and even today, is used as a means of classification and social exclusion, where many use its teachings and influence in ways that are more self-serving than just, whether to favor certain privileged individuals, like Adam in this case, or to impose their vision of justice)
But at least Charlie seems aware that some people are too messed up to be forgiven, or messed up enough to be offended for being compared to Hitler. It's a little joke that could clarifie a few things, but many have misinterpreted it.
Some see it as hypocrisy on her part, since it goes against her motto of "Anyone can be redeemed." However, with everything shown, it demonstrates that this motto isn't literal, but rather figurative. Just as the famous line from Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook," truly means that a great artist could reside within anyone, "Anyone can be redeemed" suggests that within anyone there can be a repentant soul willing to change.
This is shown with people who committed atrocities but are willing to change for the better, like Angel or Cherri, as well as others who lost all trace of humanity long ago, like the V's.
Charlie isn't a hypocrite for not following her own words to the letter, but for acting against her principles, for forcing her friends to do things like deal with people who hurt them or discuss personal matters in public just to prove she wasn't wrong.
Or for refusing to listen when she desperately seeks to be heard, something the series itself is aware of and makes sure Charlie understands:
Because of her bad actions, she not only damaged her reputation and that of her project, but she also lost the trust of her friends, her partner, and almost lost her father irreversibly.
Charlie is someone who lost all trace of stability in her life the day her mother left them, someone who longed for the peace and harmony her mother believed was possible amidst all the blood, violence, and depravity, but who, beyond her ideals, didn't give her the tools to forge her own path.
And his feelings of guilt over her departure are sadly common in people who have experienced their parents' separation, just as the fact that his relationship with his father only deteriorated further is common in families who have experienced the loss of a very close member.
Lilith was more than just a role model for Charlie; she was the only person who loved and who stood by Lucifer despite his crimes, as well as the only one of the two who made an effort to improve his kingdom, and her disappearance meant the loss of a fundamental pillar for all them.
Lucifer & Charlie: Love & Pride
Charlie and Lucifer's relationship is messy on both sides. Both are characters who, due to pride and past traumas, have repressed their feelings and isolated themselves to varying degrees, which has only made them more impulsive and clumsy.
For reasons still unknown, Lilith kept Charlie away from her father, leading Charlie to develop an idealized view of him. This, along with her mother's initiatives, both motivates and overwhelms her. After Lilith disappeared, both fell into a deep sadness that, instead of uniting them, only drove them further apart, to the point where they only interacted when one of them needed something, especially Lucifer, who was already dealing with severe depression due to his banishment to Hell, where he was never able to see anything good, whether out of apathy or resignation, unlike his wife who, despite all the bad things, seemed to see a new opportunity.
Now that we know the impact Lilith had on Charlie, her resentment towards her father in S1 E5 takes on a new meaning: She was hurt that her father never believed in her mother's dream of power and freedom, not while he was there and not even now that he's gone.
And now that she's trying to follow both her example and that of the bold visionary she believed her father to be, she finds that he not only ignores her proposals but also belittles her efforts as if it were all just a game, when for her family it was everything.
It's then that the theme of sinners fades into the background, and both reveal the truth they were hiding, the truth that truly motivates their actions: Charlie is hurt that her father never give her trust and minimizes her aspirations to make a difference, to keep Lilith's spirit alive.
Meanwhile, Lucifer doesn't care whether redemption is possible or not, as he is still unable to overcome the pain of his exile and the fear that Charlie will suffer the same fate as him for pursuing her ambitions, so he always refused to help her.
In the end, both sides are equally dysfunctional: Both are people who desperately cling to what they love, but their pride and sorrows prevent them from communicating effectively, inevitably leading them to make mistakes and hurt each other.
And I want to clarify this to dismiss all those opinions that labeled Charlie a terrible daughter when Lucifer isn't exactly a model father either: That they are the way they are isn't the fault of one or the other, but rather the fault of the entire family (although we still need to hear Lilith's perspective).
But now that they're reunited, they have the opportunity to begin healing together. Charlie, in particular, has already had to face a significant paradigm shift: making so many mistakes, almost losing all her support figures, has led her to understand the weight of her actions and that she can't carry everything alone.
Because the real changes doesn't come from just one person, and success doesn't depend on only one either.
Vox & Charlie: Two Sides of the Same Coin?
Some time ago, I saw someone comment that Vox and Charlie shared some similarities, and now, with everything we've seen, the resemblances are even clearer: At their core, both are bisexual businessmen who depend on their influence over the masses, but also, both are desperate to be more.
Vox, beyond being an egomaniac and a manipulator, is insecure, and his self-esteem and influence always depend on the image he projects to others, which frustrates him and makes him both ambitious and careless.
This leads him to lose his temper when he tries to impose this image on people he values, like Alastor, and it causes him to unconsciously harm people close to him, ultimately leading to his downfall.
Charlie suffers from the same flaw: Her need to gain value in the eyes of others, especially those with influence, leads her to be selfish and impulsive, and to violate her own ideology, which ends in disaster and, above all, leads her to hurt the people she loves.
However, Charlie has something Vox always lacked: Conscience. Beyond feeling guilty for her actions, she is capable of reflection and has learned to be honest with herself and to listen to others when she has clearly messed things up.
And it is thanks to this that Vaggi gives her the reality check she needs in time: Yes, she screwed up big time, she was selfish, greedy, and hypocritical, all because her need to prove she could live up to her mother's vision and that she wasn't the failure who couldn't prevent her parents from abandoning her, clouded her judgment. But when the weight of everything that happened overwhelms her and leaves her completely lost, Vaggi reminds her of a crucial fact: That despite all her mistakes, she was actually able to find love in the very depths of hell, and more importantly, she was able to spread that love.
It was thanks to that love she nurtured that Vaggi was able to regain her wings.
It was thanks to that love that he was able to create a special, familial atmosphere that led Sir Pentious to find a home with people worth protecting and sacrificing himself for, and in this way, he redeemed his sin and went to Heaven.
It was thanks to that love, to that imperfect yet understanding environment, that Angel and Husk were able to find someone who understood their pain and on whom they could lean, helping each other when the situation seemed hopeless.
And it is thanks to that love that Charlie realizes he must keep fighting, because it is his loved ones who have made him who he is, and it is thanks to them that he will always have the strength to learn, reflect, and improve. Unlike him, Charlie understood the true value of unity and is not ashamed of it, while Vox only used him as a means to an end. And although he also managed to form a bond with Valentino and Velvet, he couldn't prevent Alastor from reinforcing the idea in his mind that without them, he is nothing.
He allowing his yearning for grandeur and emotional deficiencies to dominate him, because if he's incapable of standing out, if he can't command the respect of those who have belittled him and make a real impact on the world, what can he be but failure?
Meanwhile, Charlie was able to rise again stronger than ever because he set aside his own selfishness and desire to succeed, and understood that they are all here to fight together and to learn to bring out the best version of themselves equally. And now she's finally learning to be more honest with herself and to consider others instead of thinking that everything depends on her, which is reflected in her decision to give Vaggi her managerial position.
Making a interesting parallel between Chaggie and StaticMoth: In this moments, both couples have a moment where they’re being immature and not communicating, but Charlie and Vaggie can take that minute to slow down and realize they’re hurting each other, with Charlie apologizes for her bad attitude. That little scene prevend our protagonist from destroying herself, because she has a good support system, grounded Charlie out of her spiral about her image and perfectionism.
Meanwhile, Vox also notices he’s hurting Val, but he continues to dig that hole even deeper. Where Charlie and Vaggie have sex to reconnect with each other, grow closer, and destress, we see Vox immediately use sex the moment he realizes he hurt Val, to get what he wants from Val. Vox in contrast has a support system, but doesn’t use it and actively tears it away from himself because he cannot take that moment to be vulnerable or apologize, leave that his obsession with even being perceived as flawed caused his absolute destruction.
So, to summarize: Charlie is a very imperfect character, but that's her all point and for now, she has a path to improvement laid out before her, also highlighting a humorous irony in which the redeemer will need the help of the aspiring redeemed to redeem herself from her own mistakes.
Much of this was already foreshadowed in the pilot, and now it's only a matter of time before they delve deeper into this issue: Charlie must further develop his vision of redemption until he understands what truly allows a soul to be redeemed.
The foundation was already laid, and now it needs further refinement. Along the way, she will also have to learn to address her own problems at their root in a healthy way.
I'm aware that this season's narrative has been chaotic at times, and the cartoonish tone of the show has certainly made Charlie seem more troubled and dysfunctional than she actually is or pretends to be. Added to this is a negative factor that many predicted: the lack of time. The lack of scenes that delved into Charlie's insecurities before and after Episode 6 only increased the discontent with her character.
In fact, she wasn't the only character; others like Baxter and Abel also deserved more screen time, although this is more Amazon's fault than the creative team's.
Even so, it's a fact that the Hellverse has always had many shortcomings, but that's not all that defines it. I'm not really trying to justify its flaws and I know that not everyone is an obsessive fan like me, who likes to delve into the nuances and share their perspective with others. As I said, this is just my understanding based on what we've been shown so far, so if anyone wants to add something, feel free to do so, as long as it's respectful.
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