#radioapple analysis

what this post is: a compilation of all the evidence i could find, inside the show and out, to support the radioapple theory, whether that theory be platonic or romantic.

what this post is NOT: a confirmation that radioapple is, or was, or will ever be canon either within or outside the show.

friendly reminder before we start - asexual people can be in relationships. yes, even aromantic asexuals.

okay folks. strap on your hats cause this'll be a long one

alastor in text

ah, yes. the scene we all know and love.

"alastor seems to have found something else to entertain him..."

this is my strongest piece of evidence for a form of radioapple happening in s3. the directing, the almost amused voice-over charlie gives, and the way lucifer seems unaware alastor is watching him - it all points to something in their relationship shifting in s3.

the mugs.

this scene may seem like it means very little in the beginning, but when we think about alastor as a character, we know that he has very few possessions and those he does have are important to him (i.e., his staff, the roach king crown, his coat). it's something to note that not only did they make matching mugs, but alastor seems to have swapped out his 'oh deer' mug for this one. just to fuck with lucifer? sure, maybe. but that is a lot of attention to be putting on an enemy, and he sure never made matching mugs with vox.

proximity. (and touch)

alastor likes annoying lucifer. it could remind someone of a certain type of pig-tail tugging on the playground. he seeks out lucifer. he is the one who started their rivalry in the first place. more than that, he seems to like being close to lucifer. when he's antagonizing husk

or trying to make a deal with vaggi

generally, he keeps some distance, except when he wants to manipulate

or intimidate.

he accepts touch by some.

but with lucifer - he initiates. a lot.

ties to themes of royalty - and the circus

throughout the show, alastor is shown with royalty themes... a lot. and the circus... a little less often.

(technically, i believe this is because he thinks up his plan using charlie's favor here. but it is interesting to note that they've added the entire royal family, not just charlie - which would maybe make more sense, because charlie and the cannibals fought together.)

(in husk's backstory, he is portrayed as the king card)

(dubbing him "the roach king")

in the broadway special, amir was wearing a crown pin and when asked, said he couldn't say why. thank you anon for pointing this out!!

this image looking quite a bit like a circus tent

first meeting

ok, so. that's not how alastor normally greets people.

at all.

in the pilot, he tries to present himself as someone theatrical and helpful. to pentious, he is amused and neutral. but when lucifer arrives?

wow. he really hates that guy.

but why?

at this point we can be pretty sure alastor didn't know lucifer couldn't harm sinners.

we can pretty much confirm from this that alastor was not aware lucifer could not harm sinners. (although it is interesting he says he figured it out specifically) so why would he antagonize someone so high above his weight class? yes, he arrogantly assumes he can take on adam. but why start a pissing contest with lucifer when it could potentially harm his relationship with charlie?

he wanted, on some level, lucifer to like him.

this is pretty much confirmed by amir, but i'll get into that later. he wanted to impress lucifer, but when lucifer doesn't immediately show interest back (insulting the hotel decor and the bar), he switches gears to animosity because he has, in a way, been rejected.

so we end up with this

alastor's biblical name

EDIT: i have been corrected on this!! alastair is an entirely different name, and it was satan he was the executioner for! still, some interesting parallels that could become relevant later.

i know, i know. “this has nothing to do with show-alastor! they just share a name!”

maybe. but the parallels between alastor the biblical figure and alastor the hazbin hotel cartoon character are interesting. two is a coincidence, three is a pattern. alastor was not originally a biblical figure at all, but came from greek mythology, and was later adapted into christian theology. he was a figure focused on tormenting, family ties, and generally being ‘an avenging spirit.’ and, also, being lucifer’s executioner. 

not too much to say here since it’s little to go off of. but considering the more classic spelling of the name is ‘alastair,’ it is interesting to note.

lucifer in text

i did a quick little count. this was counting how many times lucifer, in all the scenes he's in durnig s2, goes with or without a mention or relation to alastor. (this was done pretty quick, so feel free to correct me.)

i got 6/15. including those small shots when he's just in the machine in pain. in about 40% of all lucifer's s2 scenes, he is either talking about alastor, interacting with alastor, or in scenes because of alastor. the rest are, in order, 1) comforting charlie, 2) fighting with charlie, 3) being in the might of lilith. essentially, other than that, all lucifer does in s2 is think or interact with alastor.

what does this mean? you tell me. actually, no. i'll tell you.

lucifer is fixated. through the contextual evidence and analyzing his behavior, alastor seems to revolve in a lot of lucifer's thoughts from the very first time they meet.

he tries to dismiss him and can't.

whatever way it is, lucifer can't get alastor out of his head.

and there's another side to this coin --

his relationship with lilith

say what you will about lilith (which can't be much since she has yet to say a single line), but it is strained between them.

when he speaks with charlie:

the framing shows both of them on 'and people.' it's clear they are, to an extent, talking about lilith ignoring them or their problems.

later, lucifer says, 'i'm still married. i think.' which is never a great sign for a healthy relationship.

lastly, it's clear lucifer and charlie were never close, even when she was younger. in one scene, lilith scoops up charlie and takes her away from lucifer, leaving lucifer looking lonely and forlorn.

maybe we will have a lucilith resolution and everything will go back to normal between them. but considering it seems their marriage has gradually deteriorated over decades if not centuries, it seems it might not be so easy.

the sexual jokes

lucifer does this one other time, with adam. ("i will fuck you!" "it's fuck you up, dad.") but one thing changes between those two scenes: in adam's, everyone reacts with disgust/horror/and or concern.

when lucifer slips up here?

vox puts an immediate stop to it, and alastor -

well, he looks amused.

this is just. such an interesting thing to say. why so sexual so suddenly, when lucifer doesn't really portray that side of himself elsewhere? why the framing with alastor right next to lucifer, the eye-contact? it's an interesting pivot for lucifer's mind to go from 'bullying alastor' to 'talking about sex.'

the nicknames

lucifer cannot remember anyone's names. that is well-established.

but he knows alastor's, evidenced by the sign by his bedroom door. so why the nicknames?

bambi, red loud speaker, red guy.

he is intentionally trying to show that he doesn't know alastor's name, although he clearly does. why? is it possible he wants to forget alastor's name?

outside of the show

there is honestly a lot to look out outside of the show itself. we'll go over quotes from cast and vizie, merch, and more.

quotes

first, we know this about s3:

it will be the most romantic season

s3 will explore alastor's asexuality

alastor and lucifer will sing together

and maybe most interestingly, viziepop said "[s3 will have] a very interesting evolution of the dynamic of the character alastor," and that "lucifer and alastor's relationship is one of my favorites in the show, and obviously i can't reveal what it is, because that's one of the one that develops the most uniquely."

amir also confirmed:

alastor wanted to impress lucifer by eating the loan sharks (from a behind-the-scenes special blu-ray dvd edition of s1)

alastor will become attached to someone other than niffty (likely this is charlie, as @diamondkat pointed out, but still something to note!)

merch

there's just... a true fuckton of radioapple tease merch

mugs

hoodies (with the radioapple symbol)

bracelets (with only other couple matches)

valentines day matching outfits

they're also featured on a lot of the trading cards together, but i've reached the image limitation for this post lol

old art

and finally, i found these old pieces of vizie art including our boys acting not quite antagonistic toward each other

so what does this mean? is radioapple going to be canon?

honestly, i don't know. like, maybe? probably not? but there is a LOT of contextual evidence for them developing some sort of relationship beyond animosity, and as vizie said she can't reveal what relationship that is, well - all i know is that i'm excited to see more of these two, in whatever form they come.

i got a lot of these pieces of evidence from other hazbin analyses, and i just want to say thank you guys for being such an amazing fandom!! i can't find some of the ones i referenced here but i used the royalty theme from @diamondkat and some of the touch theory (and a lot of inspiration in general) from @rat-rambles.