Characters / Let The Water Wash Away Your Sins

Unmarked spoilers ahead, read at your own risk.

Main Characters

Matthew Rankin

• Berserk Button: Will go into a state of silent rage if you threaten anyone he cares about. This was shown in his neutralisation and later interrogation of Striker.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Most of the time, Matthew is quite polite and friendly, if a bit awkward. Threaten him, or anyone he cares about....Run.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Matthew’s backstory definitely qualifies as dark. Even denizens of Hell find it upsetting.
• Fallen Angel: Becomes one after revealing what his father and brothers had done to him to the Archangels. He was allowed to stay in contact with them as a liaison with I.M.P.
• No Social Skills: Matthew’s isolated upbringing, coupled with his autism and self-loathing tendencies, makes it hard for him to have conversations with people. Especially people his own age. This often manifests as a stutter when he speaks.
• One-Man Army: Was able to massacre an entire contingent of Angels in a hallway, non-lethally subdue three other Angels at once and managed to disarm an Archangel and take his magic sword.
• The Power of Apathy: A Downplayed example. Matthew's lack of interest in social standing allows him to immediately shoot down Andrealphus' attempted manipulation of him, which leads to him verbally tearing into Andrealphus about how his status and political power only works so long as the people who he deals with care about. If people just don't care about that, then he really has no power at all.

Stolas Goetia

• Age Lift: In this story Stolas is hundreds of years old, while in canon he is in his 30s.

Blitzo

Octavia Goetia

• I Have No Mother: Octavia declares this after her mother's failed assassination attempt on her father ended with Octavia being hospitalised. It didn't help that Stella had just finished revealing that she physically abused Stolas, as well as having rambled on about how Octavia would be moved away from him to be turned into a "proper" heir for the Goetia royalty.

• Trauma Button: Octavia suffers from panic attacks and disassociation when she sees or hears reminders of her near death experience from Striker’s assassination attempt against her father, as well as from reminders of her time recovering in the hospital from the injury she sustained.

Loona

The receptionist of I.M.P., the adopted daughter of Blitzo and unofficial sister to Octavia.

• Big Sister Instinct: To Octavia.

Lucifer Morningstar

The Devil himself, Ruler of Hell and the original Fallen Angel.

Hazbin Hotel

Supporting Characters

Archangels

Archangel Gabriel

• Reasonable Authority Figure: Alongside his fellow Archangels, Gabriel calmly organises a meeting with Lucifer to discuss the allegations presented to him over the events involving Matthew and his corrupt father, Nathaniel. Once evidence of Nathaniel’s corruption and incompetence is revealed at the meeting, and the disruptions caused during said meeting are dealt with, Gabriel and the other Archangels banish him as a Fallen Angel. Gabriel also promises to Matthew that his father’s co-conspirators and enablers will be punished for their actions.

Archangel Uriel

Archangel Metatron

• Metatron: This version of Metatron serves as the "Eyes of God", being the Archangel in charge of monitoring all of the security cameras in and around Heaven. Consequently, he's constantly exhausted and reliant on caffeine to stay awake.

Hellborn

May

Antagonists

Exterminators

Nathaniel Rankin

• Big Bad Wannabe: Nathaniel Rankin’s ambition to usurp God is undermined by his lack of any concrete plan to achieve or maintain this position. His pompous attitude and sense of entitlement makes him think any action he takes will be successful.
• Create Your Own Hero: On two levels: he was the father of Matthew and his abusive treatment of his son, alongside forcing him to excel in military combat training, is what caused Matthew to successfully oppose, and later kill him.
• Hated by All: By the time of his well deserved demotion and death he managed to become hated by both Lucifer and the Archangels, as well as Stolas, Blitzo and especially his son Matthew.
• Insufferable Imbecile: His nature as a self-absorbed sociopath who, for example, assumes his word alone would stop any investigation into his actions by his superiors, causes him to be hated by pretty much all of the main characters who he interacts with.
• Karmic Death: Suffers one when he is killed by his son, Matthew, whom he tortured for basically his entire life.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Receives one from Lucifer, who rips into him for all the abuse he inflicted on Matthew for idiotic reasons. Lucifer also throws in a jab about how he sucks at dramatic entrances for good measure.
• Properly Paranoid: After Matthew's attack on him at the military base, Rankin made sure to stock up on body armour to protect himself for their next encounter. It didn't do him much good, but still...
• Starter Villain: The first main antagonist of the story.
• Stupid Evil: My God, where to begin?
• Take Over the World: He wishes to take control of Heaven for himself. Luckily for everyone else, he has no actual specific plan for how to attain this other than gaining more prestige and military promotions.
• Would Hurt a Child: The first time he physically abused his son was when he was 5 years old. By bashing his head with a chair.

Michael and Abraham Rankin

Matthew's twin brothers, who are also Exterminators.

• Curb-Stomp Battle: Both of them are killed relatively quickly when Matthew finally decides to fight back.
• Karmic Death: Both were killed by the younger brother they abused for his entire life.
• Killed Off for Real: Abraham had his throat ripped out by Matthew, who a short time later stabbed Michael in the stomach with his own spear and proceeded to stomp his head until it was almost paste. Matthew's magical abilities prevents even Angels from healing or regenerating from such wounds.
• Sadist: These two both enjoyed emotionally and physically torturing their younger brother Matthew, as well as taking joy in killing and likely torturing denizens of Hell during the yearly Exterminations.
• Sociopathic Soldier: See above.

Goetia

Andrealphus

• Even Evil Has Standards: He finds Valentino's reputation and actions both unsettling and gross.

Others

Striker

• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Attempts to flee after Matthew stops his assassination attempt on Stolas and Blitzo. He doesn't get very far.