#mosaiccontenttag

[briar-mosaic]

Losing Alex Brightman is a fate worse than death

[briar-mosaic]

Imagine you are on the ground over someone else situationship and they start making up in the middle of the street

[briar-mosaic]

Radiotrio & Free will

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 contradiction 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.

[briar-mosaic]

Chaggie <3

We talk about how Charlie is like her dad but it also makes sense she ended up with someone who shared a few things with Lilith. Vaggie was made, like a Pearl from SU, for a purpose and the second she doubted she was cast aside.

But Vaggie is literally more than heaven could have imagined or wanted. She is similar to Lilith in that she defies what she was made for. Despite the trauma and the violence and the bloodshed and the fighting with and then against her own sisterhood, Vaggie still seeks to protect other people. Her CORE nature is to be a guardian angel she seeks to defend those in need whenever she is around a problem.

There has been a silent narrative around execution angels and imps that makes me wonder who has it worse sometimes. Vaggie is not someone people are used to seeing protected and to other angels she is interchangeable as a solider. But as I said before, she is literally the most important factor. If Lute had not been cruel, Vaggie would have never ended up in hell, Charlie would have found no support, and ultimately everything else, including Adam's death, is Lute's direct fault. Even in the final battle her hatred toward Vaggie is what distracts her and causes her loss. Charlie's finally seen she is causing her own problems and it was thanks to Vaggie but she hasn't turned her eyes to help Vaggie yet. And this compounds because Vaggie has never been protected, not by the system she was raised in, and Charlie's instant wiliness to help her is something deeply important to her. Vaggie literally does not have a frame of reference for how she should be treated in a relationship as well as carrying a lot of trauma. Not the mention that while people often point out that Charlie might struggle with what Vaggie has done, Vaggie is able to fall back into unhealthy habits of power structure and care taking with Charlie specifically.

Vaggie is so much more special than anyone in heaven expected and she's important not just as Charlie's support or the hotel's backbone but as a reminder that we can survive bad places. She isn't like the Morningstar family, and she isn't like the sinners but neither can say they'd like to trade places and survive what she did for sure. Carmilla's argument here is literally that Vaggie should know how violent heaven is and she is willing to sell her morals to avoid it.

Vaggie is Charlie's dream already fulfilled. She is a constant reminder that no matter what happens and what you've done if you want more for yourself you are allowed to have it. Vaggie taking over the hotel isn't something she would have tried in season one but now she no longer sees herself as limited. She doesn't allow herself to be waiting on Charlie's approval when they are fighting, if she wants to make a decision she will.

Before she knew if Charlie would treat her different as an angel (extremely valid as we've seen how she expects to be treated) she probably thought Charlie was invested in saving her soul as well. But when the secret came out, Charlie only cared that Vaggie hadn't told her because Charlie can't understand the layers of trauma that would make you hide something like that. Her own position and status can be scary to Vaggie. When Charlie see's Vaggie lean into herself and she can't comfort her she touches her own back, once again Vaggie is what grounds her completely. The tea set and cake indicate apologes have happened before and Charlie slows down to focus on her girlfriend. There is a lot of communication they've yet to have, plenty Vaggie needs to say for herself, a more about giving that Charlie needs to learn but they've already grown from last season. Vaggie is active in her pursuit to assert herself, one step at a time. And Charlie is just as intensive and passionate in joy and in anger which complicates her ability to handle problems. They are learning who they are.

Charlie never treated Vaggie like she was anything other than Vaggie. We know Vaggie is bad at lying which implies she didn't even have a good backstory for her human identity and probably just said she didn't wanna talk about it. But for Vaggie, meeting Charlie was a literal miracle. She lost hold of everything that made reality and she was to going to die alone in hell with those she killed because heaven deemed her worthless. And in order to want to live that little angel had to then question and reject the heaven that made her and she was saved by a Morningstar of all people. To Vaggie she's literally born again with Charlie, she is a new creature a new person. She didn't even know heaven could be questioned when Charlie found her, she thought she had failed and there was nothing but evil left to consume her. And yet Charlie, the princess of hell, loves her and needs her and probably drools on her every night.

Vaggie is so bright and powerful when she fights for love. I am excited to watch her fall in love with herself as a the show goes on and for Charlie to never stop being amazed by this treasure of a woman.

[briar-mosaic]

Niffty - The Most Significant

As a radiotrio fan I wanted to do my due diligence and get into Niffty's details. I love her just as much as Alastor and Husk but even her hell form is coded to make her seem "insignificant". She's a small bug that willingly wants to clean up everyone else's mess and will obey anything asked of her to the letter and it plays into her coded as opposites with Husk and the details of her human life in the 1950s. People might assume Niffty was just raised like that or wants to be that way but there is a horrible and mentally abused implication to her way of functioning. Ironically, the other sinner's can't even get close to Niffty because she is so much more violent and willing to embrace violence than they expect. The more I looked for Niffty the more she had going on.

I feared at the end of season two that Lute would end up getting Niffty, as she killed Adam, when she couldn't get to Vaggi and I do think Niffty is still as risk from Lute. So, moving on from that fear let's dive into Niffty's character by starting with her dynamic with Alastor.

Niffty and Alastor as so clearly well paired that when we ask if Alastor is her friend we are usually asking if he has empathy and care for others, not if they get along or are similar minded.

Niffty has been with Alastor for 66-75 years and the entire time she has been in hell, most likely. Knowing what we know about them both now I wonder about all the times he was probably waiting for her to need something or want something and after a couple decades, he would have been happy to do it! She never asked him for anything. She never wants anything.

Compared to his friendly relationship with Rosie, where we can see respect for how she runs her side of hell and manages her deals, he and Niffty just have a lot in common. Except when someone is directing her, Niffty is always doing exactly what she wants to be doing. She is free of heart and follows every whim she has. And most importantly for Alastor, Niffty is always having fun. Even if you imagined the most cold hearted version of Alastor, pure familiarity should win out at this point. I don't think anyone else's death will be as upsetting as Niffty's to Alastor because she cannot be replaced in any way or by anyone else.

Can Niffty get redeemed? Does she feel bad about anything she has done? And has Niffty actually done wrong? What is her level of culpability and what abuse was done to her while she was alive? Niffty is coded a mentally distressed and because of her time period plenty of people worry about things like lobotomies or other types of violence. Niffty is going to challenge heaven because she's a killer both in life and hell who has put places in positions of powerlessness. We see Charlie and Vaggi tell her to go fight at the end of both seasons. If she had died in those fights would she be gone forever and if she arrived in heaven would her story be remorseful? She'd likely say "Charlie told me to, so I did." If Niffty kills someone with no evil intentions is it evil? Niffty is an adult and does understand life and death but she clearly doesn't allow anything to stop her actions once they start. She sets up a lot of questions about what we owe others and what we can expect from everyone. She only 22 when she died and she's been in hell that length three times over.

I'm sure Alastor's story with Husk will pool all my attention and I'll be super invested, but I think it's just two totally different problems for both of the people who are under his contract. When he gets into it with Husk, it's gonna come down to arguments about what people owe each other or don't owe each other and helping and not helping. And saving ourselves and not saving each other, it's going to get into debates of what those two think is good or bad character. What is fair and unfair. But he is just naturally friends with Niffty. It also seems like while Husks says he has no choice cause Alastor is making him we keep being shown this isn't that true so it stands to suggest that Niffty would actually have to do anything she was told if Alastor took that position.

Nifty is also both extremes in one. She is this archetypal woman who is taken advantage of seen as small and insignificant, which feeds into Alastor's deal about killing the butcher and not the lamb, but she's also not weak or unimportant by any measure and she's IS the butcher in her own right. Unlike someone like Mimzy, who he knew while alive, or Rosie, who he sought for power, Niffty is comparable to Cherri Bomb and Angels' special relationship. Cherri Bomb died young and both Angel and Sir Pen are relationships she MADE IN HELL which is what her story usually gets to touch on. For some characters, it was not until hell that they ever even met a soul to understood them or cared for them or really saw them. These hell made bonds are special and I think Alastor and Niffty have that. She also seems to be connected to the symbol of the crown, which plays against her "insignificance". There was a very small radiotrio nod during Husk's song with Angel S1 E4 and we've all seen Alastor keep the crown. I also threw in a photo of her as the queen in the hazbin deck.

I know that I am on the unpopular side but I think there is something that MAKES Niffty have to obey. I know her willingness to do what is asked of her is coded in her personality and her context as a 1950's housewife but there is also something in there about how Niffty clearly believes SHE is SUPPOSED to be listening to others. Her willingness to do so is always interesting. The first time Charlie or Vaggi give her directions she almost kills AngelDust who she considers a friend. She really was going to kill Angel Dust! Let's review the times she was told to do something.

S1E8 The Show Must Go On

Charlie: How about this. If you see an angel, stab it! *hands Niffty a small blade*

[Niffty sees Angel Dust a few metres away, and, thinking that Angel Dust is what Charlie meant, runs towards him with her knife.]

Niffty: Stab! Stab! Stab!

Angel Dust: Hey, hey, hey, hey! *climbs up the pole he was leaning on*

Charlie: Not him!

We know Angel cares about Niffty, we just saw him look after her at the club, and Niffty was the first person to put her hands on Val for him. But the fact that she would do this makes me wonder what she can even say no to.

S2 E1 New Pentious

"Will you stab me? Someone get a picture of her stabbing me!"

She doesn't even look happy or like she understands why but she still did it.

S2 E4 It's A Deal

Charlie and Niffty bring out a really interesting energy cause Charlie is struggles to read people and Nfifty struggles to be read. Both Charlie and Vaggi send Niffty into danger without realizing how literal she follows their words. Charlie tells her to stab an angel, almost killing Angel, and Vaggi says to protect Baxter "with her life". Alastor is never shown telling her anything directly which is another reason I believe Niffty doesn't even consider saying no.

When Charlie is struggling under pressure she sees Niffty doing this and scoops her up. Charlie and Niffty are so fun together, of course Charlie has no idea what Niffty might do or say she doesn't know anything about her.

Charlie: N-N-N-Niffty! Here. Come up here and tell us all about how amazing the Hazbin Hotel is.

[Niffty stares blankly at the camera.]

Charlie: Just tell them!

[Zoom in to the camera lens. Cut back to Charlie fanning herself with a hand.]

Charlie: Uh... Uh... Oh, shit. The camera thing. Uh... G- Oh! (grabs Niffty) Hey, Niffty, guess what? That is not a camera, it's a roach.

Niffty: That's a big roach.

Charlie: (nodding) Y-yeahh. Tell the big roach about how much you like the hotel.

Charlie has caught on to the fact that if she asks Niffty for anything, Niffty will do it, even if she isn't aware of this on the surface. She actually snaps at her when she doesn't instantly say something and THEN Charlie realizes Niffty's history with cameras.

She did NOT tell Niffty to say how she FEELS about the hotel she told her to say WHAT SHE LIKES. When Charlie says " CAN YOU HELP DIFFERENTLY?" Niffty simply starts singing in Japanese.

Charlie might have gotten what she needed here if she had worked this out with Niffty FIRST. Nifft's love of the hotel also scared me into thinking she might get killed at the end, phew.

S2 E8 Curtain Call

Vaggie: (o.c.) Niffty, you're on security duty. (cut to her) This is our only chance. Guard Baxter with your life.

Niffty: (smiles and pulls out a sewing needle, which shines and sparkles near the tip) I can do that.

Niffty then repeats his line with serious commitment while fighting Velvette as if there is nothing else for her to consider.

Now let's look at the scenes where people get a chance to engage with Niffty without it being about her doing something for them.

S1E3 Scrambled Eggs

The team actually let Niffty down during the group bonding day. Vaggi catches Pentious even though she calls him slimy but when it's Niffty's turn people are too uncomfortable to get near her.

transcript:

[Niffty runs past them onto the stage, giggling manically]

Niffty: Sometimes, I kill mother-bugs in front of their children as a warning to others!

[Upon hearing this and seeing Niffty, the others were disturbed by her sadistic nature . Niffty flings herself off of the stage., but the others actively move out of the way to let her fall on the ground in the face. Despite that, Niffty seems to enjoy that.]

Niffty: *falls on her face* Yay! Pain!

[Niffty, giggling, runs back onto the stage to jump off again.]

Niffty: (Sighs) Pain!

Although this is also played fir a bit, no one takes her seriously. No one actually thinks there is meaning behind what she cares about because they are too uncomfortable. It makes perfect sense that the others over look her and it plays into her being coded as a mentally disturbed person. They think she's just crazy and not worth asking more about.

Niffty is actually upset they aren't including her though. Vaggi is only referencing the men when she says boys and Charlie's choice to stop Vaggi doesn't respond to what Niffty wants. Niffty wants a turn and she wants to be apart of the group. She doesn't see what is pushing people away from her.

She doesn't get what Sir Pen got from the same episode! And when they come and let him in, Niffty TRIES TO JOIN AGAIN but she makes them uncomfortable.

But they slowly get used to her more and more.

One of the best things about Baxter is that they match each other's freak. He is a scientist and even though he made the egg boys he talks about how people leave him because he takes things too far. When we see him in the basement of the hotel we get the idea that he is used to working alone and having other's not understand what he cares about. Unlike anyone else, he is not grossed out by Niffty and she is not ever going to scared of him. When he finally gets to see the side of Niffty we know, he's excited.

And when we come back to them instead of destruction, he has turned her dead roaches into a band. Which sets them up to work well in the season two final fight. Niffty sees him more as a "smart boy" than a "bad boy" but he sees her as amazing.

He takes her focus on bugs as a real interests and joins her in it. He is still catching bugs for her on the last episode because Niffty is someone who can appreciate Baxter's interests in turn.

I love this little wet frankenstine so much and I think people were wrong to assume they were just smooshed together. They do compliment each other and Baxter is actually drawn to Niffty in a way no one else has ever been shown to be. He is a real friend to her and allows her to share what she focuses on without being made to feel othered.

I am so very excited to see what Niffty gets up to in season 3 and it was awesome to see her reveal overlord strength at the end of season 2. I think Niffty will matter a great deal despite other characters constantly putting her down for her being a "dirty janitor" and the like. Love her !!

[briar-mosaic]

Sinners in order of death dates and time periods <3

Wait !! Shouldn't the Japanese speaking sinners of hell have gotten a pretty decent ad for the hotel? Like everything Niffty said in Japanese was actually flattering so maybe it did help! I know language in cartoons/fantasy is usually ignored but since they've established Husk speaks multiple languages, many other characters (even Vaggie) speak in a first language that isn't English, I feel like you could make that argument that Niffty was understood by plenty of people, they just weren't in the room.

It's really fun how many layers and barriers to understanding there are between sinners between language (even the same language decades part), culture, and time period. People are in hell overlapping on each other (which makes it easier for me to believe that Charlie can't make sense of humans) and makes me like the reason for the Husk spanking line. Vivzi shared that it was a Keith David adlib and I know ppl weren't sure if it was meant to be flirtatious, condescending/parental, kind (careful never to be nasty with him) but that's kind of the best part. The layers of things that can make people miscommunication are endless. It also shows how much these two have to learn about each other.

I love talking about how much Husk's past and dynamic with Alastor impacts his ability to develop a meaningful relationship with Angel. And little things about the characters that they can't tell about each other can really add up. Age dynamics and culture for one. Often I think the fact that Alastor and Husk are both probably used to card tables and the same types of clubs makes them operate and see "boundaries" and "fairness" similarly. Alastor was 40 when he died (according to his voice casting sheet) and although the math is relative we get this dynamic where Alastor is older than Husk but physically younger, Husk is physically older than Alastor but born in a more modern time (even if its only about 12 years). But Angel is also older than Husk or possibly the exact same age. They were born in the early 1900s with Alastor being born in the late 1800s. I think part of Husk seeing Angel as younger comes from the fact that he is much older than everyone physically. He lived long enough to develop core beliefs about people and had time to feel the weight of aging. He probably just feels like Angel acts childish, despite his own ability to be just as childish.

These screenshots are just from the wiki. Sometimes I wish the helluverse had a fun 90s style website with all their birthdays and ages (and dress up games...) and other times I like that it isn't specified so we can have more room to make our own content.

Alastor (Born 1893 - 1933) died in his 40s.

Angel (born early 1900s) (died 1947) mid 30s

Husk (born early 1900s) (died 1970s) around age 60/70

Just like with Mimzy, its possible Alastor and Husk could have met while they were alive but that's really a fandom idea / fun AU. They are born states away and Husk would have been in his twenties when Alastor's death hit the news papers. I have a little radioHusk AU where Husk summons Alastor while alive that is fun to goof in so I like running these numbers. If you see a math mistake plz let me know <3

Also Mimzy died in 1920 and we don't know her age.

This means Alastor likely went to her funeral which is sad to think about.

All three of these characters respond to the ability to change their identity in hell differently. Alastor, most obviously, leaned into himself. He literally planned ahead and had already defined his idea of fun. Husk most likely tired to get back the best years of his life, always fearful of the bad days that were doomed to return. Husk grew up in a casino, he loves magic and cards, he is a fun lover. Alastor might seem the more obvious wacky personality but he's also very dedicated and meticulous while Mimzy and Husk are more about living in the moment. Husk lived old enough to feel the way people treat you differently, to feel like he is washed up in every sense. He see's his hellish form as a punishment, something that makes him freakish, but it's actually a reflection of how special and unique he really is. Angel Dust is different than either of them because he chased new things in hell, going from surviving with his mob family to then falling into the porn industry. It's been implied his relationship with Valentino was authentic from his perspective which makes sense because his range of identity was new in hell, everything was new and possible for the first time now. Which brings me back to how much the overlapping of people and time periods leaves room for miscommunication and barriers to understanding. So you get lots of impossible dynamic and situations because hell is literally forever.

Like the other two people in this scene could be born a hundred years apart and speak completely different languages. There are all these competing factors to what can happen to you in hell which makes the way the Vee's focus on media pretty dangerous and impactful.

Niffty died very young! I do not think her backstory will be anything other than tragic. She would be 97 today if she was born in 1927/1928

So when you play around with the characters being able to have met while they are human it's really sad to think about Husk always out living everyone. His tricks and quick thinking always get him out of trouble but no matter what he ends up alone. I think his is crazy too because it makes him both the oldest and the baby at the same time.

Since we are here let's put all the sinners in order!

Sir Pentious - our Oldest hotel guest so far!!

Baxter - no age given!

Cherri Bomb - Our youngest (time period) sinner so far!

There is less info on the Vee's with Vel having no dates.

Vel...is...babygirl. I love that her and Vaggie work to be your angel or your devil of the lesbian spectrum. **Thanks @coffin-cuties-blog thanks for catching that they do list her age in the voice acting sheet!

Vox - I feel like he has the most known info of the Vees.

Val - Don't think I haven't noticed that Husk and Val both died in the 70s and both speak multiple languages. If they used to run deals together / work for profit as overlords don't be surprised!

*(formerly)

There is also Roise, Carmila, Zestial and the other overlords who we don't know the dates of. Rosie's voice acting sheet says that cannibal town seems "trapped in the 1910s" but it doesn't give any other info on her age.

Carmila's voice action sheet aged her mid 40/50s

I didn't find any old info on Zestial's age but we can assume he is the OLDEST until proven otherwise.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed my rabbit hole and I hope you go insane like I did trying to put everyone in order or imagine what they would look like in each other's perspectives. It's fun stuff!

In order of death dates

Zestial (implied/ unconfirmed) Very Old age unknown

Sir Pen 1888 in his 40s

Baxter - Rosie (implied/ unconfirmed) 1910 age unknown for both

Mimzy 1920 age unknown

Alastor 1933 in his 40s

Angel 1947 in his mid 30s

Niffty - Vox 1950 Niff at age 22 / Vox in his 50s

Husk - Valentino 1970 Husk in his 60s/70s / Val age unknown

Cherri Bomb 1980 in her 20s

Vel aged around 30, dead date unspecified

[Carmila, Roise : unknown death date or age]

Sinners by Birthdays and Time in Hell

[briar-mosaic]

Relationships and Parallels S2E5-6

As we get close to the final round for season 2, it's pretty clear now that Vaggie can reflect where the teams moral alignment is and Husk is a reflection of their rational. Vaggie works as a voice of reason not just for Charlie but for anyone around her who might be in danger, she is a natural protector.

Husk's role within the story telegraphs the fulfillment of Charlie's over sight and once she and Vaggie aren't on the same page he is quickly gone.

Charlie and Vox continue to be parallels both as team leaders and partners and in both cases we've spent most of this season worried about their partners and either the danger Lute presents to Vaggie or the endless ways the Vees could fall out with Vox brining in his own undoing. Vaggie directly states this season's theme and ties a good bow on the narratives when she says "Being on your side means telling you when you're wrong." Where Vox's relationship with the Vees is built around unconditional acceptance and no boundaries it also means there are no safety checks or reflection. Charlie was always going to regret any damage she cause to Vaggie and her behavior with the cake, tea, and pillow fort indicates a pattern you'd see in a healthy long term relationship in that she has multiple ritualic ways of showing Vaggie she likes and cares for her. We see them constantly coming back to unfinished conversations about Vaggie's name and there is a sense of a relationship behind the scenes with them that is fun. I think the added hotel guests really fill out the sense of life in the world too.

When Charlie blames her dad and her girlfriend and is directly told she is harming the hotel she makes a noise of pain, and she knew there was some real truth to it in that moment. Vaggie simply would never say that if it wasn't true, she'd never hurt her on purpose. Charlie doubles down and blames her partner and rubs it in. In long term relationships the person who hurts you the most is your partner; it isn't good but it happens and it's better to see Charlie actually realize her relationship will take a toil if she isn't taking care of herself or paying attention to her partner's needs.

Notice how only Vaggie turns away, only angry in response to Charlie's direct antagonization and then uncomfortable to even sit in that. What's happening here is that Charlie is grieving her mother and her failures but she was still raised in a loving environment. She does need help and support with what she is tying to process and her blind spots make sense. But Vaggie has not been supported in her work or her relationships and she is able to impacted by Charlie's judgement is a extremely painful way. Vaggie's heart is delicate, she literally wears her wounds on her face. This sucks but it's also the reality of being together. Charlie can't control that her mother has left her feeling abandoned and that her sense of self is getting in the way of her goals; Vaggie can't even fully speak about herself and what she's been through, she's survived it but it will impact her forever. She needs a particular care from her partner because there is real damage there. Vaggie isn't taking enough and she needs more than most people would cause she has been through more. This is like if a couple was married and both around their late twenties to thirties and the one who usually kept up the good mood lost their parent, maybe went through their first parental loss. They aren't grieving well and because of that the relationship is also impacted, this happens all the time. And Vaggie would be like anyone else with trauma where this relationship behavior can be a lot more impactful on her. Maybe they never got around to therapy and the relationship has been good and now suddenly they are getting a completely different world and boundaries needed to be established yesterday to things she won't be able to process tomorrow. Basically, life tensions can break part a really good relationship if behaviors and dynamics haven't even been discovered yet. They've got a fun little lesbian drama ahead of them. Charlie had pushed Vaggie far enough away that she was the one required to ask for her time.

Charlie's pillow fort and tea set, particularly the cake, are her slowing down and making time to show Vaggie she cares. There isn't the usual oh I made this for you because there is an impression that Charlie understood what things might be considered a special treat or nice sentiment for Vaggie without having to ask. Charlie admits she is wrong and she reflects on herself but she misses the work load Vaggie has been under, the possible danger her position leaves her in, and the way her ptsd and trauma still haunts her.

It's Vaggie's body language that makes Charlie realize she is wrong because Charlie is still trying to carry on with their fight when Vaggie folds in on herself. Because Charlie is the one who openly declared a relationship-war she isn't able to comfort Vaggie the way she wanted to in that moment. Things seem to be going worse for Charlie still but it doesn't matter when she finally sees that Vaggie is struggling.

Take a look at how Vaggie's face changed when Charlie said she was wrong. Vaggie came into the room happy to see Charlie, despite their last conversation she was already happy to see her and help her. Vaggie feels nervous just hearing Charlie admit her own failings both because she responds so consistently to Charlie's emotional needs and because she's been trained her whole life to fix other people's negative emotions. Lilith's not being here is a warning to Charlie not as a daughter, though that of course blinded her, but as a partner. If Charlie doesn't realize how complex and deep Vaggie's people pleasure nature has been ground into her she won't even realize how much space she takes up. Vaggie needs to feel wanted and needed and I don't think a little emotional over attachment is unrealistic for her character, at least for a time period. She's allowed to get swept up in the miracle of her love in hell but the love-glasses will need to come off eventually so she can see herself. Their dynamic cannot stay like this and Vaggie's desire for a new name indicates that she is starting to realize she doesn't take up space for herself.

Let's compare Charlie's body language to seeing Vaggie in pain. The Morningstar's only see to the end of their cute little noses so she will always struggle a little but Charlie's core character is about being willing to try so she will overcome. Charlie really does have her dad's temperament, she loves deeply, gets caught up in her ideas, takes her darling for granted, and is emotional once she realizes something IS wrong.

Charlie's trained herself to be reflective, it is her best quality after her deep love for humanity and it's why she can make a great leader out of herself one day. The tension from the show really comes from the idea that both Vox and Lute are threating to remove this woman's ability to think and react by causing her intense emotional grief. Without her reflection she is just Lucifer and no one said she was also bound by his rules. She is allowed in heaven, for example, she is innocent and justice can call to her if rage does not. I am still in the camp that Charlie is not going to be a pure Vash the Stampede. I do not think she will ever give up on the idea that anyone can be redeemed because she is immortal. Hell is forever. She will just try again the next day there will never be a consequence or change in her power. And I do not think Charlie personally needs to do violence to "prove" herself. I do think you can overwhelm her and she could have a future arc about feeling the guilt of hurting someone more than she meant to.

The power dynamics between these two are not just about what Vaggie should have told Charlie or if Charlie feels uncomfortable with who Vaggie might have killed. (I don't think she owes her that, tbh). Charlie holds a position of power and while we know she does not assert herself over Vaggie, it's Vaggie who has an unhealthy relationship with people in authority over her, specially those of Charlie's species which is hierarchical. She comes from a lifestyle of survival and fear and order and control and violence when she fails.

Charlie was way out of line for this. Not because she can't be an asshole sometimes or even be wrong but because Vaggie was already overwhelmed and then Charlie made their home hostile. She pushed Vaggie into aggression and Vaggie is still functioning like she should do work and never have her own needs met. Even when she gets close she usually says the hotel needs something, not her. When Charlie admitted to being wrong she did not actually say sorry for how she treated Vaggie and there is just no way the show did that on accident. Charlie is angry at her dad and we all know that little apple didn't fall far from the tree. I really liked that the show let the characters fight and fail, just like I did when Blitz was mean during the after breakup period.

I feel tense for Vaggie and Charlie and I feel like the show did a really great job of position and peppering in their details. There is so much left to learn about Vaggie and Charlie's character has finally finished her grand opening. Alastor was missing and Charlie was talking to news reporters since the pilot, these two never change. I really like how Vaggie's relationship restores Charlie's faith, that's a beautiful little touch. I don't know, I'm just excited to see.

This song was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Tumblr wont let me add anymore pictures. So some quick additional on the other relationships:

Zestial and Carmilla's brief scene works as a sort of mature example of what a long term relationship can be during conflict. There are no indications of hostility or mistrust and they both state their feelings calmly but firmly. This is meant to be what Charlie and Vaggie obtain in the long term as well as being a moment of plot, with Carmilla clearly being a sinner both the girls respect more than the other overlords.

Meanwhile, we still don't know the context of Lilith and Lucifer's fall out which haunts the narrative as everyone else has their own relationships tested. It feels likely that if Lilith does bless us in this season we will have some context given on where she stands with Lucifer at least.

Another relationship that I wanted to touch on for a moment was Cherrisnake since I think it says a lot about the show and the hotel.

Perhaps true lore keepers know more information on the male character who is attached to Cherri's backstory but in the show so far we haven't seen much of him. I think there are some really interesting aspects of why Sir Pentious' attachment to Cherri is meaningful.

Sir Pen has this very gentle aspect to his personality and he has a knee jerk trigger to protect vulnerable things like the eggs. Back in the pilot days people used wonder if he had lost a child in an experiment. Now we know that he was a recluse who struggled to even speak with people and is trying to be bad because he will copy anything that he sees that he thinks will bring him friends. He is this shows Jack Spicer and that is the highest seat of honor. He was literally trying to change and wanted friends when he met Charlie, he was the type of sinner she was looking for and it makes sense how she grieved him. She really had found someone who would stay at that hotel forever if he could, he would have never left.

His story is also specific int he fact that he because he did not report his client as he watched multiple women die and there is an indication that Cherri Bomb actually has her own serious dangers even if she plays everything off. She isn't someone situated as a damsel in distress but that doesn't mean she wont be the one who really does need saving at some point.

From Sir Pen's perspective, he lived all his human life alone and then one day he woke up in hell. He devoted himself to trying to be someone this time and the only company he managed to keep was Baxter who both gave him the egg bois and is unable to really give him a deep emotional friendship. (I like Baxter a LOT, he is helpful for the sake of discovery constantly already which is one of my favorite flavors of cartoon scientist ). His rivalry with Cherri WAS his first counited relationship with a woman. And if she remembered his name, which maybe overlords didn't, or even gave him the time of day in their fights it meant she remembered him. So from his perspective it makes sense that Cherri Bomb is significant. And while she throws herself into danger constantly and likely blew herself up she doesn't understand why someone would think she was particularly special or valuable.

Cherri's willingness to even fight with him let him have someone he could care about at all and his dying for her is what redeemed him. But she was insane for fighting in that battle, she constantly throws herself in danger. In the larger story it doesn't matter if these two get together and sing about piss because what they really represent is the ability to start over. Because Sir Pen cared about Cherri earnestly she realized that she was worth that kind of care, she was allowed to want more for herself. Also I think her being from the 80s and him from the 1888 is really fucking funny.

[briar-mosaic]

Charlie & Angel

I love this moment for how it reinforces this idea I have that the Morningstars ARE actively tormenting the souls but cruel part is that they really aren't trying to. Like Lucifer's lack of involvement means humans cause their own horrible systems and this makes him the BEST possible devil that could be placed in hell - he does simply allow them to be executed. (Lucifer, the maker of life and creator of creations who cared so much, passively let those creations be destroyed....)

If heaven supported Charlie's existence and helped support her from the start her failings wouldn't be as frustrating. We know how insane it is to push Angel into doing anything with Vox and it's one of the moments that helps reveal that Husk's perspective on Alastor abilities and his willingness to trust someone like Charlie so easily is why he's such an easy mark for someone like Alastor. Niffty and Husk are red-herrings to each other, he's the sweet one who is getting baby sibling privileges and she's the one that will kill you without hesitation. There is more going on with them but Husk just keeps having ppl assume he is a harder, meaner person than he shows himself to be.

People struggle to deal with characters who get your hopes up and can't keep their own end of the deal and Charlie is distracted for personal reasons so it makes sense that people lost their minds cause the human's lives are in real constant danger. But Charlie is basically an immortal nepo-baby with NO purpose. Emily is JOY itself and has Sera to guide her and the structure of heaven is built to support her job - she doesn't have to create a place to do it and hope it works. It just isn't fair to tell Charlie she should be told no or she needs to be hurt or humbled because she hurt herself through a thousand nos before anyone else believed the humans could be saved.

She is not able to compensate for her character or lack of lived experiences but she also doesn't matter to the universe in the same way everyone else does. Lucifer and Lilith made her and she will be in hell for all time and she is nothing to no one except them. I truly feel like she is the spirit of forgiveness and mercy itself - as that is what Lucifer and Lilith likely needed and her birth symbolically reflects that they deserve - but she is just meant to be around forever. Her parents problems ARE her world and she is just as clueless as when she and Vaggi where throwing those fuckers off buildings in season one to bond (she did try and stop that) but the point is she literally CAN'T understand the people she WANTS to help and so she is constantly able to do so much damage to them.

There is a duality to Charlie's hotel that people don't wanna let be there: it is GOOD and it is BAD at the same time. In S2 E1, people think the hotel is lame and then they leave and get fucked up and some of them come back because its fucking hell and maybe the fact that anyone would try and offer some safety is a huge deal for anyone vulnerable. It is bad because as we see at the end of S2E8 people like Angel will be trapped in emotional, physical, and mental dynamics that prevent them from even making it to help as well as things like Vox's mind control literally taking away their ability to have free will. Charlie's system operates on CHOICE because the immortals believe that human choice and free will is the key their fate but free will isn't as simple as just doing what you think is right. I think Alastor's whole character will prove that free will is a lot more complicated than immortals think it is.

In the anime Death Parade (12 episode masterpiece) they explore the idea of an angel not being able to understand the human soul it judges a lot and from a lot of complex angels and I think it's almost an extension of Lucifer's punishment that Charlie realizes saving the humans is the right thing to do and something she must push for at all costs despite the fact that out of EVERY OUT CREATURE IN ALL OF THE SHOW Charlie has been the least amount of places. She's unlike the other sinners in hell as she doesn't know the same fears and pains and needs and she's unlike any of the heaven fallen. She's is a hellborn whose father hates and idolizes heaven and whose mother resents and dreams for humanity but she has more in common with Loona but with none of the culture. She doesn't seem to have a relationship with fucking hellborns!! It's so sad. Charlie could take a season off and work for Blitz and it would literally heal most of her issues, honey those are your people!

I can't take it, it's just so good. Angel Dust is the one who is being harmed emotionally and physiologically here and specially because he though these two people would be more protective of him and in both cases they were not as wise as they seemed. Husk also regresses cause he fails and embarrasses himself and Angel is on his way out the moment Vox walked in that door.

But Charlie is ALSO a tragic character here because her need to be SEEN and LIKED by hell is the most human thing about her and it's her pride that literally keeps getting in her way. In S1 they tell you she's avoiding her daddy issues but her indirect way of trying to bring her mom back by proving she can be a good leader for hell (and then she ends up on TV saying another sinner is stronger than her mother....) makes her think this risk is worth it. Imagine you are in hell and your survival comes down to the fact that one immortal personally thinks you deserve it and you just gotta hope she can achieve it. It's crazy how Charlie can't save the humans if they don't save her - or if she doesn't save herself first.

Her wants for acceptance and willingness from others aren't really at odds with her other core wants and needs to actually help Angel Dust. The news in hell has been Charlie's media her own life, she literally doesn't get the obvious manipulative stuff Vaggi keeps telling her VoxTex is doing because she thinks people will change their mind if they know they truth when it wasn't rational for half those fools to be walking away in the first place.

I feel like you can tell a set up is perfect when the person who would feel the WORST about they mistake they are making is the core reason the mistake is caused. It's why Angel is quick to forgive Charlie in S1 when she arrives at his job. He KNOWS she only wants to help but in S2 he starts to take Charlie's failures as a reflection of his inability to belong. She's focused on Sir Pen - who made it - and we know Sir Pen already made Angel feel like he wasn't suited for change. Charlie causes Angel to leave the hotel and she's falling face first into traps of the person who is taking his free will and compounding his abuse. Putting someone in a position of power when they don't understand can cause so much harm but Charlie isn't taking the position of helping humans for a selfish reason. Even though she wants her mother's approval, she clearly believes that everyone can be redeemed and should be helped and those are her true core values. She simply isn't suited, trained, or able to do many of the tasks involved in her goal and it wasn't until she ended up ( IN HER MIND ) failing so bad Sir Pentious was killed that heaven even tried to start helping her.

Charlie is also being punished in hell by becoming the gear that destroys the exact people she wants to save. Just as her father is punished for his unwillingness to face issues being the exact thing that lets them consume his world and the sinners are punished by being their own worst fates. And like all things, it still makes it worse for Angel Dust because Charlie dangles hope that is constantly told to him can be achieved simply by wanting to change bad enough when what he needs is to not be beaten and mind controlled in motels after working endlessly jobs and eating cigarettes. Even though Charlie only knows hell, she's a princess who is not physically suffering the plights of humanity in the same way and we actually keep being shown how badly immortals like Lute and Charlie react when they do lose loved ones. Charlie has never and may not even be able to experience hunger.

Mind you...Vox is giggling back at the tower cause his HOPE is to make her KILL herself and she is throwing everything precious and vulnerable into the fire because SHE thinks she just needs to work hard enough. She also hates herself and sees her lack of purpose as a reflection of why she is alone and she keeps trying to MAKE herself suddenly figure it out.

I think despite how low Angel's situation is at the end of S2, the reason why it still feels hopeful is because Charlie can finally do her job with the full support of heaven and a functional system is now in place. Charlie got the doors open and she got the rules of the system changed and it isn't fair to her or Angel Dust that he should be the one who pays the price. Heaven watched Angel Dust be dragged and knocked to the ground for protecting Niffty from Valentino and they still said he deserved to be there because they thought the rules shouldn't be questioned.

Charlie's whole argument that pulled Emily to her side in the first place was based on the fact that Angel Dust kept trying to do good despite how every single choice he faced was harder than everyone else's. They don't NEED to drink in heaven. Angel doesn't see Charlie literally showing heaven itself him fighting his abuser and he also doesn't see how he is the reason Cherri Bomb and Husk are healing at the hotel. Both Angel Dust and Charlie's narrative is getting to the point where them trying hard enough isn't enough and it is the system that needs to move out of their way.

Another thing that connects Angel Dust and Charlie is their hidden power. Charlie's make sense: her father's downfall is all about him misusing his power so she treats her like a taboo and already dislikes hurting others. Angel has been convinced he isn't strong while doing every job and hell and taking nonstop abuse. I think that once he is able to escape his mental chains he is literally going to destroy the tower and every fool in it. Between Charlie not saying sorry to Vaggi and Angel losing the hotel, I feel like the story between Angel and Charlie has been building to something that will truly challenge them both.

I just really like that Charlie's story is about trying to help people and being bad it while Angel's is about being a good person despite the entire world trying to tell you that you're not. People are vastly more forgiving for a characters that are intentionally hateful who have passive good qualities than they are of people who struggle and both of these characters get picked apart by the world for that reason.

Angel Dust deserves an entire episode where he is allowed to crash out consequence free.