Well lets get messy then!! Shipping connotations in the Valentines merch.
The merch has this funny way of following the show, which I really like, but because of that you can sometimes guess at how the other characters feel about things. Alastor and Husk have had so few interactions, they are easily countable, that the idea of Alastor being the one to doodle over Husk's first attempt at valentines merch is insane. Last year Husk email just said he lost the ability to love a long time ago so it once again Angel that is pulling Husk out of his shell and into the focus. Husk is rarely in merch unless it is a full team up or something with Angel and I think season 3 will be the start of getting to see him and Niffty as more solo.
*Edit! I would be remissed if I didn't come back to add that Cherri could have also been the red ink! It makes perfect sense and her friendship with Husk is very significant!!
So let's see what little implications we can find.
Radioapple has had some real wins, I think the dad mug tops all, but these two are both "single" in this merch drop. Lucifer is clearly thinking about his wife for this romantic holiday and Alastor is at work. Someone just pointed this out but Alastor is always about self-love and I feel like these two are the two sides of being single on Valentines day.
Even as S3 approaches, you can take his positioning with Valentino and Alastor as the two antagonist who represent the idea of loving yourself taken to two different extremes. This was commented on in their relationships with Husk and Angel respectively where Valentino cannot allow Angel to be happy or free because his concept "ownership" is purely possessive. Angel is an extension of his power so Angel can't be happy and away from Valentino until Valentino is dealt with. I feel like you can really see these two express this here.
While they aren't going to pair them as a ship, the outfits Angel and Valentino have are correlated because that is where Angel is currently at. This is also why Husk and Angel aren't going to get this type of merch until their relationship in the show happens. And this is why Vox is just a head.
You could argue that Charlie and Vaggi and Pentious and Cherri Bomb are lacking in tension, which is true, but it is also because in S2 their relationships both sang together and reached a deeper understanding. They bonded this season so their merch is purely celebratory. Chaggi is going to have more ups and downs cause its the main characters canon relationship but Vaggi's choice to tell Charlie she was wrong wasn't easy for her. Vaggi's sense of self is still tentative and she's building herself up bit at a bit, but its her sense of justice that makes Charlie drawn to her and that is what helped her bring Charlie back to solid ground. These four really mattered in the plot of the show, the "winners" this season!
I think this set up really perfectly mirrors where they are. Alastor is present but still very unknown (and is never going to show up in photos). Charlie, Vaggi, Sir Pen, and Cherri are getting couple merch but Lucifer and Alastor are again the "single" choices. Alastor for those who like and intend to stay so and Lucifer for the total opposite reason. Here you can even see Val's smoke in Angel's picture but what I think makes this pretty clever is that while Angel is dressed to mirror Valentino he is never in the Vee's picture sets. Angel is literally kept from being allowed to have a relationship because Valentino will not let him. He almost looks like he is doing promo work for the Vee's in this picture, like this is his valentines day show. Valentino's ability to have a found family is something he won't give to Angel who is the only here who isn't single because of his own choices.
When we get to the postcards we hit all kinds of wild things. Again, Angel isn't allowed to be with anyone and we get this reflection of him through Fat Nuggets. This card is great for friends but it again reminds us how Angel is kept away from his own representation. The drawing makes me think he MISSES his piggie as he doesn't even have him right now. Everything about Angel is this set is tragic.
Now, Valentino is still at the top of hell with everything he wants and more and we constantly see him fulfilled with Vox and Velvette. This card before which is detailed and sentimental really makes me think this is the pinnacle for Val and Vox - at least to some degree. S3 already promises to humble Vox but that isn't what Valentino really wants and likely he is going to have a serious downfall and heart break. I'm not saying Vox will betray Val in S3, I think he likely would not, but Valentino seems to be utterly unaware that Vox has internalized homophobia and that his violence towards Angel is how Vox would have treated Valentino if Val was weaker. Velvette draws something for them, Valentino writes something for them, and Vox says he is jawsome.
The juxtaposition between how Valentino treats Angel and how much is taken from him with how much Valentino makes space for Vox is just a devastation waiting to happen. We haven't seen a lot about many characters but remember Angel is among that list. When Angel comes into his own power he is going to exactly which wounds and weak points Valentino actually has and I think Angel is the biggest threat to Vox, not Alastor, if season 3 really wants to get messy with it.
Lucifer's card intentionally does not say I love my "husband" because his relationship with Lilith is still kept from us. We know he adores her but he even comments that he doesn't know if they are still married. He's frozen and when you compare this with his card photo, where he is touching his ring, he is clearly lost with her.
I thought I was reaching but like a dozen other people already pointed it out and I do think it is what it looks like. That card from Husk, which is about Angel, looks to be drawn over by Alastor. Alastor fills the stock but this list isn't even really required and it almost feels like Alastor was just curious. Like if Alastor wrote on this it isn't something he intended to give back to Husk and it might not be something Husk intended for him to see.
They dodge showing how Alastor would speak to Husk when they fight together in S2 but Alastor's commentary on Angel is consistently not mean. During his S2 review song he calls Angel a "tragic victim of circumstance" and here he doesn't make a joke out of the line "I still need you." Alastor's soft spots are often the subject of debate but regardless if you think he feels bad for Angel or gives mercy to Husk I think they both fall into the category of people he sees as too beaten down to fight. There was commentary that Alastor could take the best Vox on his worst day which confirmed what a lot of people thought about Alastor choosing not to kill Vox over and over. So Alastor seems to be very specific about who he will and will not go after, even in the face of direct challenge.
Whatever got Husk in this situation, Alastor is going to have his own issues getting around it too because he doesn't really want to become responsible for Husk goals but he might not be able to ignore it. Say, Husk tries to help Angel on his own and fails, the fact that Husk tried to do it himself likely means a great deal to Alastor and even if he doesn't help then if the Vees push and needle down too hard on people like Husk and Angel they risk bringing out the side of Alastor that goes after "butchers" if you will. A lot of Alastor's story is about trying to get what he wants without being trapped in other people's situations but he also is a radio personality who is judgmental and opinionated on other's choices. This card gives the impression that Husk's changes are already impacting who he was and even routine things are giving it away. He misses Angel and is worried about him and Husk is now struggling with his own intentional distance.
Similar with that scene where he is worried about Niffty, Husk has the potential to draw Alastor into issues he would otherwise not bother with. Even if he swears he doesn't care he can't always walk away from things he doesn't like. What this card confirms more than anything else is that Alastor is AWARE of Husk, and likely Niffty's, personal life even if he doesn't say anything.
Edit!! OR!! IT WAS CHERRI which is also a very possible choice. Here is a quick break down on Cherri and Husk connection too. Here name is even in the food he is ordering so it makes sense she would draw the cherries. I LIKE the idea of it being Alastor but I won't assume for sure now.
Here is a poll if you wanna vote as to if the red ink belongs to Cherri or Alastor!
SEASON THREE BELONGS TO ANGEL DUST.
He is the ONLY one left out- I had to double check. He isn't IN any group because he isn't apart of the Vees, he just makes all their fucking money and power, and he isn't apart of the hotel which only opened because of him joining. Charlie's personal issues meant she dropped the ball and lost her first client which has always been the arc between these two. When Sir Pen dies, Charlie looks from his welcoming sign to Angeldust and realizes she doesn't have all the time in the world and now Angel is gone. Charlie currently functions from a human choice exclusive stand point and doesn't have a solution for sinners who need help but can't get to her, which Angel now brings to light.
The most LOVEABLE and DESIRED character isn't given a friend, a lover, or a team for Valentines day. In fact, he's just seen so Valentino can show off in some way which perfectly matches what he is dealing with in the show. Before Angel at least stood on his own with his own style, now he is more buried and put away than ever.
