Going to obsess over Husk and Alastor for a second

ok. ok. OK. so. more on why alastor and husk's dynamic makes my head spin. is because, on paper, I have. NO idea,,, how they work??? they have the absolute most clashing personalities I have ever seen, and yet alastor chose husk and continues to choose him as a confidant and a co-conspirator and workhorse, even though he has much more obviously like-minded people around him in Rosie, Mimzy, and Niffty. And Husk -- I'm a little more forgiving on Husk's end because a) he has zero choice in his involvement here and b) he's kind of a bleeding heart himself, so I can kind of understand the moments where he looks out for Alastor or shows care outside of the bounds of his contract. But still. I look at them, and I'm just... why????? I'm so intrigued by it.

Because.... listen. What I understand about Husk is this. That he's a very compassionate person at heart, and cares about other people, even though he tries desperately not to. Hell, from the way he acts he seems like more of a true believer in Charlie's ideas for redemption than even Vaggie at times. He has a high degree of empathy and can easily see through people's bullshit (probably part of what makes him a terror at cards). I think at core he's a very sincere person, and this is part of why it is absolutely not in his nature to sugarcoat things, or refrain from speaking his mind. Husk is also a person who demands two things from the people around him - one is to treat him and his boundaries with respect, and this is why he snaps so much at Angel to begin with, and also what made him so furious with Alastor in episode 5. The second thing that Husk demands is honesty and vulnerability from the people around him, and he's openly disdainful of "fake" people. He tells Angel outright that he would treat him better if he were "real" -- his respect and affection for Angel was contingent to an extent on Angel being willing to drop his mask.

So you take this person, and stick him with Alastor, the fakest of fake motherfuckers in Hell, who can't stand the concept of being vulnerable and whose basic operating philosophy is "wear a mask smile so that you can hide your true feelings and always seem in control." Alastor, a person who is so desperately hungry for respect and power that he goes ballistic over what he sees as disrespect (even if it's just plain honesty), who pathologically needs the upper hand, who is casually and constantly disrespectful, who showboats relentlessly, who spits out one liners and strikes a pose even when he's a hair's breadth from death and fleeing the scene. THIS guy.

...who hand selected as one of his closest companions a person whose philosophy and personality is diametrically opposed to his own. I think... that says something about alastor, though it's hard to say what exactly that is, yet. maybe he likes watching husk "I lost the ability to love years ago sike I'm falling in love again" care and then suffer for caring and start the cycle all over again, similarly to how he said that he wanted to watch charlie try her hardest with the hotel and fail. on the other hand, as much as Alastor tries to stay aloof from the hotel's residents (not him looking over them all from a proverbial theater box in episode 8 as they prepare to face execution day), I don't think he's lying about his affection for them. maybe there's a small part of him that's looking to be surprised, or even proven wrong. maybe he thinks he'll be happy either way, and that's part of why he doesn't act the saboteur. or maybe there's even another element to it... alastor doesn't only court respect and fear, he courts adoration, and deliberately looks for and soaks up the affection thrown his way by charlie and the rest. maybe alastor is attracted to people who can't help but genuinely care for him, even against their better judgment.