Obsession (yes the movie) and like...I kinda think Bear isn't the only person in the movie who's done bad things, but I haven't seen anyone talk about it. (Spoilers)
[tw: SA, Abusive Relationships, you've seen the movie so the same triggers are fitting here]
YES, obviously he's the VILLAIN and probably would have still done something evil in his life (He shows a lot of behavior that shows he doesn't have compassion or care for anyone or anything, or atleast not enough to have healthy relationships...Also, why does he still always carry around sleeping pills and have them all around his house...), but my main point is people are a bit too quick to act like everyone around him and Nikki was completely innocent and wasn't sort of acting similar to how people act when they keep being friends with someone acting suspicious or how they won't care about a relationship being unhealthy until it's affecting their own lives, especially in public:
Ian: He's actively egging on Bear to ask Nikki out even though he's also giving him bad info to go off of, so his plan was for both of his friends to be uncomfortable cause he thought it was funny. He was incredibly rude to the waitress (This isn't important but it does show he does have casually misogyny but not to the level where he or his friends would recognize it blatantly). He's happy for Bear to have slept with a person who was drunk and when the idea of her being drugged comes up, he still sees no issue with Bear letting her stay in his house and her acting weird afterwards. The idea that Bear might've done something never comes up in his head because Bear is his friend (Obviously, this is a normal reaction but he keeps using this as a personal excuse for way too long). (The moment I started to judge him) Him confronting Bear is less "I think something is wrong with Nikki and we should help her" and more "this makes you look bad and I'm worried that YOU are in a bad situation". The fact that he literally said "It looks like you're taking advantage of her- but I'm always on your side!"... It takes seeing Bear COVERED IN BLOOD for him to finally ask if Bear has done something against Nikki. [IRL comparison: That bro that seems to understand his friend may be doing something morally questionable to women, but never looks into it until it starts affecting how they're percieved]
Sarah: I know she is another women who is blatantly shown to be a victim of Bear's actions, and SHE IS, but I also think her dialogue shows the dangers of picking a side because of your own feelings and internalized misogny. She's nearly always shown to worry about Bear before she worries about Nikki. Yes, she has a crush on Bear but turning a conversation about a mentally ill friend needing professional help to FLIRTING is wild. Especially because they were close friends (Nikki acting sort of a wingman for her with Bear, or atleast bringing up the idea to Bear for him to know). Causing her to be blind to the dangers and not having a chance to escape [IRL: The woman who witnesses their friend change drastically for the worst when dating a guy, decides to distance herself from the friend, and she decides to date the same guy only to find out why her friend changed]?
Bystanders: Way too many people are just ok with concerning behavior, no one said anything when Nikki was having an "episode"/"breakdown"? NOT ONE PERSON IS GONNA SAY ANYTHING ABOUT BEAR COVERED IN BLOOD? (I understand the idea of minding your business but...Even where I live SOMEONE has to ask or consider it concerning enough for cops to eventually come). [IRL: Obviously the 1:1 is just people who turn their heads or gossip about a abusive couple instead of trying to interfere or get the situation looked at]
Do I think these people deserve to die/suffer?: NOPE!!! But I do think it makes the movie more interesting when you don't just think of it as a "Horrible people like Bear exist and aren't seen so they get away with it" and more like "Horrible people like Bear exist, this is how no one notices until it's too late and how normal everyday people accidentally help them get away with it". Sarah had an entire life in front of her and Ian's biggest crime was being a young idiot who could have learned his mistakes and changed eventually.
But Bear just sucked.
Reason I made this post is because I've known too many genuinely concerning people who are allowed to stay in friend groups because they don't scream danger and ARE a part of the friend group (Ex: A guy who only flirts with girls he sees as insecure and timid and ONLY talks to them when they're separate from a group in someway, is creepy. But he's charismatic and a "party dude" so it's considered fine. He may not be a offender or threatening but concerning behavior should still be addressed amongst friends).
I don’t think I’ll be returning to the MCU on this account BUT if there is a DROP of LOKIUS in that movie I will be insane about it for a few days on here. This is your warning if that does occur.
Outside of other ways they overlap, I feel like the main traits that the radiotrio share are being hyper independent, being deeply secretive (or unable to explain), and never being what they seem to be on the outside. But I also think the trio is marked by a shared lack of free will.
Season two reveals that Alastor hasn't been free since the moment he set foot in hell and he has been in hell for longer than he was alive. Alastor is constantly boasting about doing whatever he wants but its been a bluff until he got out of his deal with Rosie.
Character lore suggests his free will was also subjective while he was alive and we have to wonder what a connection to Roo has to cost someone. He is defined by his free will but he is constantly constrained by some system no matter how well he does. He goes out of his way to beat people without breaking their rules just so that he can feel that sense of control over the situations that happen to him. It's impossible to tell what he really wants and what he was told to do with almost any of his actions.
In both lives he had to do a surprising amount of self preservation just to be allowed to have his radio show stay on the air. He is literally the strongest sinner in hell - that's a plot point - but his access to do what he wants is never there. He sold his soul for the chance to have fun. He says he is sure he knows he's going to hell but its also ironic that his faith IN hell is so pure. He choose hell with a smile because it was a choice he got to make.
Niffty's relationship to free will is impossible not to question. She is given a form in hell that makes her read even more as "insignificant" and she is a contraction of truly helpful and truly dangerous. Niffty doesn't seem able to cognitively deny requests or demands. Even though she isn't compelled, we see her attempt to stab Angel Dust, stab a random sinner who requests her to, and even laugh while fully believing she is going to crash into Husk and kill him. Alastor doesn't have to give her orders, he probably has to keep her away from people who would gleefully mistreat her temperament much more (with the irony being that he's is keeping her from killing THEM).
Take Alastor's "kill the butcher not the lamb" leanings and Niffty is that in purity; she is likely brutal karma for people who are devious to her. But she is also the butcher and the lamb herself, and we see her unable to bond or join in with the group when Vaggi is leading the team bonding that episode. Niffty isn't caught, isn't thrown, and the group laughter stops when she joins in. Even when she tells all of hell how she feels for the Vee's camera, no one understands her. In some way, her free will is never considered or never matters. Baxter is shown hunting bugs for her and helping her experiment on them because unlike most sinners he isn't disgusted by Niffty's interests.
Husk's addiction (and the way that builds into his story with Angeldust) is another commentary on free will. We know substance abuse is more complicated than just telling someone to stop the habit. And we know Husk is a character that also struggles with ptsd/cptsd because he is consistent throughout all iterations and by all writers as being this definition of the has-been, and this person who's truly at the end of his rope. He is deeply depressive and stuck in cycles that he uses to cope with how psychologically painful his lived reality is - he is struggling to cope, constantly. Despite this, he can think on his feet even when he is thrown into a fight and has kept himself alive even in a losing streak.
While other characters have names that represent their personas in hell, Husk has no name whatsoever, not one of his human era or to represent him. His name doesn't even try to translate to "no name" or something like that but instead it means "everything is gone" because a husk is literally the shell of what was. But Husk's changing magic abilities and his long lists of talents, skills, and lovers suggest that he is actually someone with a wealth opinions in life and death.
He was an overlord, he has a working system in the background that cycles souls through without having to even be there, and despite his current circumstance he is privy to knowledge about Alastor that suggests he figured something out about him no one else did. And I don't even mean to suggest that Husk figured out who Alastor's deal was with, I imagine he found out by mistake actually, but what he has figured out is how to keep Alastor from killing him despite him being the kill-overlords-guy. Husk ability to survive is almost a punishment for how miserable he seems to feel. So he is very much a character who embodies all of the ideas around feeling like your choices don't matter.
When we see that he has his casino in season two and then the writer is giving commentary on how Husk is surprised to learn how bad Angeldust situation is, it brings up a lot of questions about how Husk has more issues facing problems than he does necessarily overcoming them. Psychological wounds are real, and they swallow people in all sorts of ways and so Husk's addiction and his rumination on his trauma (his valentines day emails titled "I lost the ability to love a long time ago") make his own sense of free will constantly feel subjective to himself.
So basically they should all be allowed to get happy endings where they can do whatever they want. I literally think about the radiotrio so often, please understand that if we get radiotrio content in season three it's going to be a holiday for me.
My running theory on Rosie's intent and the actual way her deal with Alastor work (Also the the fact that Alastor's shadow was around BEFORE Rosie:
A.k.a I just now realized I've had this theory in my head for AWHILE and never actually posted it on here, just shared tidbits with others and in replies r.i.p.
Doing these in sections because, like always, it's one of my more longer theories.
• To start off with the biggest thing: I don't think Rosie (technically speaking) gave Alastor his powers. Specifically, she never gave him powers from herself. Now you might be thinking, "Ok, then...How did the deal function???" Well! Wordplay and Rosie being the OG master of loopholes when it comes to deals (Alastor being in second place and everyone else seemingly not realizing the inherent sneakiness of Soul Deals, Like the fact that it seems the Vees don't realize how flawed their deals are if you look at the details because they just see it as just another type of severe business contract). My idea is Rosie is doing what many guiding/mentor characters do when they say they're giving a character a new way to do something, they're not literally giving them something in most cases but rather a key or path to get that new thing. The only difference is Rosie never told Alastor that (Personal comparison: When a character in a game said they gave you a new path to go to or a weapon, but in reality they just unlocked a path for you, you still have to get the weapon yourself OR they unlocked the info for you to now be able to know it exists). So...What if Rosie never literally gave Alastor his powers but rather, just used the potential power that already resided in him being a special soul.
• So, wtf makes Alastor's soul special?: There is a LIST of things hinting that Alastor is connected to something that isn't human AND not normal demon/angel stuff either (Nearly all previous versions of him have him connected to some other powerful being from Eris, a being that represents chaos to Malvada, evil...thing basically that he's the son of, to ROO. The many pre-show things that connect him, specifically to the dark side of the moon/a thing on the moon/sentient moon. And I. Can keep. GOING). With his human form being the only one we've seen so far with sharp canine teeth, him being able to summon Rosie in the first place and seeming extremely nonchalant by it, possibly having control of fire (Doing it once is for dramatic effect but he has multiple scenes with him being connected to controlling fire when he's a demon so I can see it possibly being a thing he also had when alive), and the fact that in multiple things (scenes and merch) there is a extreme focus on his eyes either have a red glow in the center of his pupils or there's just a unique focus on them (we didn't get this with Vox or Pendleton who LITERALLY HAVE EYE POWERS). In conclusion, I think he's not a 100% human. I think it would be more interesting if it wasn't his direct parents but rather one or two generations before (makes it more believable that he wouldn't know everything about it but still would have access to info about it), but the theory works even if it was directly his parents.
• His shadow was never in Rosie's control but Alastor didn't know that: Many people say Rosie gave him the shadow but...I honestly don't think that's the case. We see it animated/"alive" before Rosie makes a deal with him, and I honestly think Rosie (As well as most demons stuck in a ring) is limited in the mortal realm until they make a deal with a mortal. And his shadow never seems to obey Rosie in the slightest. It shows more loyalty, always, to Alastor. And a detail many don't consider, Rosie thought Alastor's death was funny not only because how he died but how soon afterwards he died after their deal. Sure, she might've somehow caused his death but...why? Rosie is shown to be incredibly patient and Alastor would have died eventually anyways. And something is usually more funny when you didn't see it coming. But Alastor's shadow did. He transformed into Alastor's Radio Demon form while Al was still alive. And it's not the first time. He's shown to react to things separate from Alastor and in the finale he might've predicted something again to help Alastor. When Al is bluffing about not doing anything and letting everyone die, the shadows in the fire include Emily, someone Alastor barely met minutes before. For all he knows Rosie didn't even see her or know she was there, why include her as a possible victim and not, say, Lucifer or just the Hazbin crew? (The threat/bluff would still work either way) Because maybe his shadow picked up on the fact that Rosie either might know Emily or would feel worse about a young compassionate angel dying over the king. His shadow is something else. Something that might've been created by either Alastor's own efforts or the real mysterious connection Al has to the origins of his powers.
• And FINALLY, Rosie's planning and possible motive for making the deal in the first place: Rosie, from the moment she was first designed, was mostly inspired by Mary Poppins and Dolly Levi, to characters who's main characteristics is trying to guide (In Dolly and Rosie's case literally control and puppeteer) people and situations to teach lessons and for people to reach their full potential. So, when she found a "Special soul" like Alastor's and realized that she could use him for her plan and, in her own way, "help" him also reach his ultimate potential (something both her AND Alastor are planning to do with Charlie for prob their own separate goals). Win-win in theory, so what could wrong?
• What went “wrong”/Rosie miscalculated: I don’t actually think Rosie underestimated Alastor like so many Overlords did, but I do think she underestimated/misunderstood an aspect of Alastor. Alastor, first and foremost, is a person who takes great pride and comfort in doing his own actions and freedom. And he was well-known to kill those (brutally it seems) who disrespected him or who started something against him. Rosie never underestimated his strength (and I kinda think she might’ve overestimated his emotional intelligence/keeping his ego in check), but she did underestimate the lengths he would go to complete HIS goals and how much he values his independence/freedom. Which is why things finally stopped being in her control. Tl:Dr: Fix the mic or the dude who went through insane lengths just to have “fun” and a respectful spot after he died and went to HELL, will use that same amount of determination and energy to destroy your deal and probably so much more in the future because he’s completely free to do whatever he wants and is very spiteful and petty.
And done! Tbh I could prob call this the “Alastor = Pandora Box” theory with Rosie being the one who opened it for Alastor and also the one, one of many tbh, who will end up on the receiving end of it like everyone else. I have never watched Star Wars but this feels like what I heard about with Anakin and Obi-Wan or something. Teacher accidentally helped his student become a future problem.
Stuff not connected to the theory but should be covered:
This theory honestly works with whatever identity you want to give Rosie. Rosie could be Charlie’s secret twin and it wouldn’t really effect the theory.
I don’t think Rosie has a real issue with Alastor breaking the deal (she prob expected him to do it eventually or complete the goal she apparently gave him that we aren’t told details about), I think it’s more how soon he did and how technically he’s now doing stuff that could fuck up her plan if he wanted to.
I am curious what her plan for Alastor was in the long run because…It doesn’t seem like he would go along with her plans after he finished their deal and would continue to be a liability to it if any.
And No, I still don’t love the twist reveal of her owning Alastor’s soul but I work with what I’m given.
There’s a decent possibility that Alastor would still get the same amount of power at some point but that Rosie quickened the process/awakened his powers earlier than planned.
There’s something else but I can’t remember it and I'm close to falling asleep. If you got something else I should address just comment below.
To my mutuals: This is not connected to the height question that's for a thing I'm not done with. Drawing is harder than writing posts.
I desperately want to analyze the bar book pages but I can't :(
I don't really want to buy a cook/drink book I would have no functional use for (Barely cook and I don't drink) BUT It got so many neat tidbits. So I am hoping to at some point get a chance to borrow or see a pdf of it to give a proper analysis/look through but until then:
Random ramble of what I have seen so far
Lucifer's: Surprised it has rye whiskey and isn't overly apple themed. And it is canon he drinks when depressed. Also, gummy snakes are cute.
Alastor's: Him being unpredictable and hard to read is again mentioned and I really am curious if a reason for that is because he can't fully read himself (Could make a post on that alone at some point). Also, the extra note to make it look more bloody because Alastor is Alastor.
Vox's: HE LEARNED TO DO HIS HYPNOSIS LATER?!?! WE LEARNED THIS FROM A DRINK PAGE??? (Seriously, want this to be explored in a flashback because how did he learn it?)
Radiostatic drink: Oof. Not only a reference about how Vox is still not completely over Alastor but also how he still can't overpower Alastor's signal. (Vox's defeated era continues).
Mimzy's: Mimzy might come back but also...I really am curious if her and Husk have bad blood before Husk lost his soul to Alastor. (If she owns a Jazz club in Hell and has a habit of owing people money, it's possible her and Husk have old beef or were business rivals or something).
Maestro's: His name is spelled differently but I disagree with that so, no. Also, I really do think him and some of the other Overlords might not survive next season. (Also, it would make sense if he has some petty beef with Alastor thematically since they are both deer demons, stags specifically which are territorial, AND both probably not being a fan of each other's way of performing music).
Angel Dust's: It looks like his diet is also pretty strict but that was kinda hinted that in the show before. I wonder if it's Val projecting his own body/food issues onto him or it's just him having his own food issues (which can happen with addicts and celebrities in general).
Might delete this later if I get confirmation that this is just a fan book.
Imagining a therapy exercise where you color in a little guy where it's ok or not ok to touch (green is going ahead, yellow is ask first, red is no) and most of the cast are pretty normal looking but Alastor's is entirely red with helpful arrows at different body parts like "no" "also no" "fuck you" "DIE" ofc he also gave him a huge demand smile with an arrow pointing at it labeled "I bite :)"
Charlie, with increasing levels of emotional devastation because she thought everyone likes hugs "Alastor you're supposed to use more than one color" and Alastor is very proud of himself was like "yes I know"
he gets frustrated later when he tries to explain that Charlie, Mimzy, and Niffty have special little lady permission to give hugs (and in Niffty's case climb him like a tree) and Charlie is cursed by the knowledge that even if he says it's fine he secretly hates it and says he doesn't have to put up with something just to make other people feel better. Which somehow makes him even more angry because how dare you suggest that he's catering to other people's feelings and isn't a cold heartless monster!
Also if it's revealed that touch is fine as long as he's the one initiating it she's like "ooooh so you don't hate touch you just want to control when and how people interact with your body" and Alastor's like when you put it that way you make me sound like a kicked dog.
Over all just a very miserable experience for him to assert and explain his physical boundaries but the long term benefits are worth it in the end.
Alastor in a nutshell tbh: "Explaining myself and trusting others around me would probably be beneficial but I'd rather get shot in the head again over that so... I'd rather not :)"
Should I keep posting my art on here or should I just link my Bsky and make that my Art place?
My art isn't liked on here much (this isn't a pity thing or me being sad about it, this is more organization/save time thing) and I made my Bsky awhile ago as a place to post art but I haven't done it much because that would require me posting in multiple spots. So:
I was gonna make a post talking about the TADC finale and the many issues it had and why so many people (including me) failed but…I legit am getting way more enjoyment out of just watching Gifs of an actual good old show so I’m just going to list quick points I was gonna make and move on. The Stuff:
Jax
How the show tried to make the dynamics between the characters be the reason they should keep going but I am having trouble remembering if Zooble and Pomni even talked one on one
The treatment of Abstractions feels dehumanizing (they’re treated like either dead and it’s corpses in a aquarium or in a coma but no one is telling Jax anything about his irl self being ok or doing the group dinner scene in the aquarium to include the abstractions)
Character arcs all over the place
ending seems like it wasn’t planned or had to be changed last minute
Playing a song a black father made to his daughter to represent either a ship or a character who actively bullied the one black character in the cast he knew
The trans characters and their queerness being indirect and barely covered (and if covered in a…certain way). This show didn’t have a tv censorship to worry about so why is written like it had to go through that?
Caine’s redemption is not explained
how did a 90s computer in a (probably) abandoned) building make a WiFi connection. What company would just not shut this program down at some point?
IHNMAIMS and Soma covered the existential situation better and like…so much other stuff made the point of “our relationships and how we connect to each other is what matters” so much better (I would prob just watch mlp if I wanted 6 characters that all have believable bonds with each other. Seriously, did Pomni ever talk to Zooble by themselves?).
Oh and the suicide trope but I am probably going to cover in that in a later more serious post because it’s popping up even more in media and it’s concerning (CRK, Arcane, Stranger Things, Good Omens, etc)
Sorry this one was MUCH later compared to the other two parts, but I finally got around to it and it still Pride Month :)
Emily:
Starting off with the best girl (I wish I talk about her more often)! I really like the choice of giving the Seraphims priest-like vestments (especially the pride flag stoles)!! It's a unique way to give them attire that not only shows their high positions in Heaven but also a way to use attire that often is connected to religious hate and turning into a thing that represents love and peace specifically (I'm aware some irl priests also do this but it's not that often and not usually the entire outfit. Plus, it's also brilliant because religious clothing usually isn't that colorful or brightly except for holiday vestments so it's a nice use of that concept as well). Emily looks great in nearly everything (I'm not biased, I'm accurate) so it's no surprise I think she looks great in this as well. Lastly, her brighter colors fit her personality well and a nice (yet subtle, contrast) to Sera's outfit.
Sera:
Did I expect Sera to be a Lesbian? No. Do I have an issue with this? NOPE! Seriously, glad to always have more adult/older queer representation and it's nice that Hazbin has representation of an older Lesbian woman (I love Vaggie and Velvette but I also like more diversity). Now onto the outfit and the fact that her darker/regal color palette of the flag is a good fit with her more serious and professional personality compared to Emily's. Also the main outfit colors itself has very little pink with her lowest wings and her hair having the most obvious use of it, again probably just to fit with her usual aesthetic but I think it's an interesting choice nontheless.
Sir Pentious:
...I don't want to say it but...Sir Pentious does have a very cute outfit and if I had to buy merch of him it would be a standee of him in this outfit because it's very nice to look at. It's even better than Cherri's and I like the detail that he put a scrunchy on his arm to match with her and it was probably given to him (maybe through Emily) by Cherri Bomb herself too. His outfit still reads as steampunk/"victorian" which I very much enjoy and his bowtie is my favorite detail. I hate that I like it so much.
Abel:
I know people were upset, but on the plus side: it's nice to have a straight character comfortable in their masculinity and sexuality to a point where the audience thinks he's gay because of it (not sure how to word this any better, so I hope my meaning comes across clear enough). His outfit is simple but I think it suits him well enough. Unlike his dad, alot of the design elements are more rounder and overall softer which matches with his personality. It's a really simple design but that's to be expected with the character and him being there as an ally.
Adam:
His son did it better lol, also isn't he dead? Joking aside, His outfit fits him to a degree. Darker colors match his want to be seen as a rockstar while also giving the vibe that he's more of an antagonist/more aesthetically similar to Exorcist angels than anyone else on the float beside his son.
The Extra is mostly a nerdy thing, you can ignore.
Extra:
I understand that the difference in float is because it's the only parade float standee in hell but like...It does bug me a bit. Especially because the wheels don't make sense (it looks like it could easily be tipped over, and even if it's working fine with Heaven magic...You could have made it have wings or float on a literal cloud to add some whimsy. Instead it kinda just looks silly which doesn't work all that well with the regal/Heavenly traditional most of the characters have).
another reason i love alastor is because he's for the people with Disorders.
the absolute worst thing to ever ever EVER happen to a disordered person, especially those of us with anxiety based disorders (or disorders with a side effect of anxiety) is for our fears and/or unhealthy coping mechanisms to be validated. and in most media where a disordered character takes the focus, writers try to show them Not being validated, to show that the Disorder is Lying and you can get better!! the disorder is lying to you and you need to know that!
but alastor? oh hell no. every fear and maladaptive habit he has is validated over and over, and it just pushes him further into his poor coping mechanisms and one day it's gonna get him. oh it's gonna.
analysis posted per the request of my honorable mutual @alastor-insanity, who got to hear all this first. when the dm reply reads "you should post this actually," who am i to refuse the call?
i think specifically of his hyperindependence. in the season 1 finale, alastor remarks to niffty that the hotel crew is enough to "make one sentimental." i genuinely don't think that he was lying in that moment. he didn't really have a reason to. he was starting to care a bit for these people, and maybe he even slightly believed that they cared back. yet, in the back of his head, he likely kept telling himself that they didn't care, that he shouldn't care, that the only person he can rely on is himself and it will Always be like that.
and then he loses to adam. and no one gives a shit. no one asks if he's okay, no one erects a statue or painting to honor his (for all they know) death, no one even inquires about him. and alastor is validated for his disordered thinking; he's proven right. he receives the negative reinforcement he was expecting and it only pushes him further and further down this trail.
in season 2, alastor goes to rosie and, in his own way, asks for help. he asks for her to fix his staff because that was part of their deal, and while unfortunate, rosie is one of the only other things he can rely on besides himself and his power because she's granted it to him. rosie says no, so alastor immediately launches himself into a plan independent of rosie, of any of the hotel crew, and hell, something that while intelligent is so damn impulsive and you can tell he wasn't quite happy with those consequences, despite getting what he wanted. and that's the thing...he ends up getting what he wants. he's free from rosie, he can fix his own staff. his disorder behavior is rewarded because he receives what he initially asked for help for, all by himself.
alastor's worldview, one where he believes that the only reliant person that will ever exist is himself, is not a healthy one. it prevents not only interpersonal relationships, but also one's own personal growth, and causes a ton of damage to someone's mental state. most people expect for their disordered worldviews to be challenged, because the thoughts are disordered and, at their core, incorrect, born from trauma rather than fact.
alastor is a unique representation in media because his disordered behaviors and thoughts are constantly validated, rewarded, and reinforced. as someone who experiences the same thing in my own life, i genuinely can't think of any other obviously disordered character who is heavily reinforced like this. and it's so refreshing.
but oh, is it going to be heartbreaking to keep watching.
I know this ain't about her but this is kinda fun contrast to Charlie: She wants to help others but doesn't listen to them/misses HOW she ends up helping them. She thinks teamwork is important, but has a habit of refusing help or getting annoyed when people fail to help (but still tried), only for the people around her to continue to keep trying and she ends up noticing and thinks it reinforces HER mentality.
So, while Alastor has the mentality of "giving and receiving help will only make things worse for you, but doing it yourself will get the results you want", and gets results that reinforce that.
Charlie has the mentality of "Help is always an option and working together will always give the best results. While, doing things alone just makes everything worse", and SHE gets results that reinforce that.
If you want to compare mental health comparisons: It's a person who always had access to therapy/resources and around people who support/understand mental health issues vs A person who never had any resources and is surrounded by societal pressure to not show mental health issues (1900s asylums and hospitals were not great and Alastor is already a distrustful person).
One thinks it's easy/more possible to get healthy coping skills and change for the better for everyone from their experience (I think it says something that Charlie doesn't seem to understand WHY people commit sins/get addictions and assumes simply the action is bad and doing the opposite is the simple way of fixing it), the other believing it impossible and developing unhealthy coping skills (Alastor is a judgemental person but we have yet to see him mock anyone for just having an addiction).
Hazbin Hotel Pride Outfits time! (Part 2: The Vees + Angel Dust)
Aka, pretty accurate representation of how companies use Pride lol.
This will mostly be Vox, tragically.
Vox:
This man is miserable, good lol. Anyways, it looks like the Vees (or atleast him vs Val and Vel) are more separated from each other since their outfits are barely matching and the three are doing their own thing much more. Including two important details: 1) Diamonds, Vox is the only one with a huge emphasis on diamons in his outfit, and the only one that might match him on the float is Angel Dust out of all people (Angel obviously is a very Vox-tec blue and we'll get to that later but the tail/back of his outfit is diamond shaped if the bottom of it is anything to go by). And 2) the glitter effect on his sleeves and pants aren't a Vox-tec thing...It's what the HOTEL CREW did for their hotelier outfits. I'm guessing it's to mimic Alastor or to be compared/contrasted to the leader of the hotel crew, Charlie. Still interesting choice. Aside from his outfit (he does look good in it, and personal bias: anything with diamond motifs is a quick favorite of mine), he continue to be the one in merch who seems to have hangups about his sexuality. People have said Alastor looks annoyed or bored because he has internalized bigotry but it would be a first for his pride merch so I don't think that's a reason. Vox, however is always like this. With him even trying to hide his flag behind him and not waving it in the slightest.
Valentino:
...It's a sin that I like his outfit more than Velvette's and that his outfit looks the most fun to wear to a pride event. Boo (positive). Anyways I like his outfit, especially the use of color and how a lot of it is about the colors fading into each other. Works well with the face that his powers are smoke-related and he wants to mimic a lot of stuff from Asmodeus. And, probably not purposefully, the specific shades they picked makes me also think of 1970s Florida so that is a fun detail too.
Velvette:
Insert that meme with Obi-wan sadly saying Anakin was the chosen one. Because...I love Velvette, but her outfits are very 50/50 (sometimes really great, sometimes huge flops) when you look at them. And I can tell it's the general issue of having a high fashion/runway looks character but not being created/designed by people who are really into high fashion/runway fashion. Her top could have been cute but it blends too much with the lapels of her jacket because they're touching and are the same exact colors (just make them a darker or lighter shade). And since her top has so much going on with two different colorful patterns it makes the bottom of her outfit look empty or dull in comparison. And I get that the gloves (they would have been fine if they weren't the exact same color as her sleeves) and socks are part of her constant design like her skull earrings but like...you could have easily made her socks have the lesbian flag pattern instead of giving halloween. Worst of all, I love her hair. She has an incredibly cute hairstyle but it comes with one of her worst looks (I'm this close to drawing my own take of her pride outfit because the artists, they don't meant to, sometimes do my girl dirty. And making her outfits kinda bad).
Angel Dust:
Speaking about being done wrong, poor Angel. Besides looking physically and emotionally uncomfortable he is also wearing a disaster of an outfit. Though, I'm guessing this time it is purposeful to show how uncomfortable he is and how he is wearing something he isn't. He literally looks something being presented (especially with the weird "best in show" styled hairclip and that prom dress looking tail). The top looks fine but again, the advertising for Vox-tec has to be the "best part". The bottom looks weird (not on purpose, they prob just saw it on a runway outfit and thought it looked stylish).
So...The Vees are fine but their problems are a lot more obvious than the Hotel's and Heaven's in their fashion and I hope to see that drama in the next season.
Hazbin Hotel Pride Outfits time! (Part 1: Hotel Crew)
First off: Really wish there was solo merch. Besides for personal reasons it also would make looking at the individual outfits WAY easier.
Secondly: I know some people don't like the uniforms because it's more suits however...They're hotel uniform outfits and I have been DYING for atleast one time for the characters to look like they work in a hotel (plus I just like cute uniforms in general). Plus, I think the designs aren't that unique or complex, but they do feel like costumes or outfits that come from a broadway-type musical about a hotel so it does fit with Hazbin's overall style. I won't defend the Adida pant stripes, I get that it was to match the cuffs but it looks...
Charlie
Her outfit is the one that made me think the most that this uniform decision was to match some musical theater styling. I think it's also, probably one of my favorite outfits of the group! I really like that even though the suit is simple the color picking is neat! I'm really glad they didn't try to put the actual Bi purple color and instead went with a lighter purple which helps it stand out more against the blue and magenta. Also her little hat looks silly, but in a very cute/Charlie way which I don't mind.
Vaggie:
BEST WOMEN'S (and possibly in general or out of all Hazbin Hotel Lesbian representation) OUTFIT. Fight Me. The Adidas stripes look fine on her since they aren't the same color and work with the black parts of the outfit well. Also, even though she is wearing a similar top to Charlie and Alastor to show her higher position she also has bellhop hat to show that she helps with day-to-day hotel stuff too (also the hat is just cute in general and I like how it looks with her bow). One day I will post my tierlist of how fashionable the Hazbin's characters are because I genuinely think Vaggie does usually have nice outfits.
Alastor:
I added his card expression to because I at first thought he was annoyed or bored but with the fact that he's holding his hat and his pose I think he's actually just being smug. Not sure why exactly but I do think it's something neat (usually in pride merch he seems to be just casually going with the flow so this is a change of pace). Anyways I like his outfit too, but I do think the stripes go back to being boring with the rest of the group (except for one). I will always love the return of different colored eyeshadow for Alastor and I like the fact that his hat has a different way of showing the flag colors than Charlie (it's more to the side). Though one question: I hadn't realized this before but...How can he change his microphone color? Does he paint it or use magic or??
Husk:
Ok, so I was gonna make a joke about how I've been weirdly enjoying Husk's depressed era (don't ask me why, I don't know why), but um...Why does the card have him with a trans hat? I would VERY happy to have some trans-man or trans-masc representation but in the standee AND the keychain he has a different hat so...Weird error or something we'll find out in the future? (I mean, either way it means I get to enjoy some new trans Husk headcanons, and the same card also accidentally made it look like there was a Agender flag/ship behind Alastor so... A win is a win I guess lol). OH AND THE OUTFIT! Nearly, forgot but I think he looks kinda funny in it (a fun colorful outfit for a heartbroken old man), but it overall looks fine. I do wish we saw his more pink side since I think he usually looks better in warmer colors but blue's ok too (he is "blue" after all...hehe...sorry). [UPDATE: the official site, has an image of the card and Husk's hat is a pan flag again. Atleast, I still got my accidental Agender boat lol]
Niffty:
Man, I sure do love not getting any solo standees, which means if I want a pic of Niffty (or god forbid a standee of her in this cute outfit) I just gotta either zoom in like crazy or not get it. Sarcasm. Anyways, I like how even though her outfits are just being a Straight Ally, they are never dull and always fun in some way. And also...out of the Radio Trio, my favorite one and the only one that makes the cuffs look cute on them due to her cuffs being huge on her tiny bug hands. (Also, is her hair longer or is it just the artstyle?)
Baxter:
First, yes, I'm also a bit annoyed that the trans headcanon isn't confirmed yet, but I still got hope. I'm assuming this kind of outfit as well as Emily's (we'll get to that in a later post) is either another kind of ally outfit or unlabeled/Queer outfit. Besides that...It's fine. It IS dorky and I think that's cute but I do wish he had more of the mad scientist fashion still continuing a bit.
Cherri Bomb:
Unironically, genuinely...I feel so betrayed. She had such a fun but messy (what I expect from a chaotic party girl) outfit and I genuinely thought "if these characters had solo standees this would be the first time I would buy Cherri Bomb's standee cause her outfit looks so cool...But those shoes are so dumb, man. Why are they white? Why are they giving off geeky kid vibes. They just don't fit the rest of the outfit and it bugs me in such a specific way I can't describe (like seeing a surfer wear a scally cap).
Lucifer:
Hisoutfitisneatfitshischaracter- SO UH THE BOWTIE. This isn't a Husk hat situation and unlike his suit which could have trans colors because it's so pastel his bowtie is PURPOSEFULLY not pans colors and is like that on the standee, keychain, AND CARD. The bowtie is yellow but it looks like the black of the bow (not the middle of it) has a purple-ish tint. So...Is this revealing Lucifer is Non-binary or Intersex? Or a different thing? Either way, I like his outfit for him. It fits his theater geek/dorky dad vibes.
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