#I KNOW animators and storyboard artists like Stolitz art bc 1 had liked my Stolitz comic on twitter

[phoenixtakaramono]

Cosmic again!! (Not Comsic 😅 guess that typo serves me right for typing out all my thoughts as I was literally running out the door for work lol) Thank you for answering my ask and for sharing your own thoughts in return! I agree with pretty much everything you said: I’m also a writer, so you were on the dot when you said that character growth is necessary in order to have a satisfactory resolution/payoff to Stolas and Blitzo being endgame (IF they are endgame; more thoughts on that in a bit.) I hope you don’t mind if I ramble to you a little more; I PROMISE I’ll give you a break after this 😂😂

Blitzo… my poor baby… there’s no two ways around it: it’s only a matter of time before he reaches his breaking point, and when he does, that’s probably when Blitzo and Stolas (hopefully temporarily 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼) go their separate ways. This confrontation is likely going to be the catalyst for Stolas reckoning with the ways he’s treated not only Blitzo, but his daughter as well. I don’t believe he hurts people intentionally. Rather, I think he’s oblivious to the feelings of others, and projects his own emotions onto them, i.e during the Loo Loo Land ep, maybe he assumed Octavia was having fun because *he* was having fun. I think it also partially explains his refusal to use Blitzo’s real name in spite of the fact Blitzo doesn’t seem all that thrilled with it and has actively called him on it: I mean, his unchecked privilege is definitely one factor lol, but it’s also likely due to the fact that, because he *intends* it to be an affectionate nickname, that’s how Blitzo feels about it too. Once the boys have confronted their inner demons (😏), it’ll make the potential healing episode all the sweeter 💕💕

Real talk??? I would also welcome a few different endings to Blitzo’s and Stolas’ story. While I’m really, really holding out for them to make things work and become a family (Stepdad Blitzo/Stepdad Stolas are my lifeblood 💖) or at least very involved in each other’s lives—I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t desperately curious to see Stolas and Barbie Wire interact— I… would actually be okay if they ultimately don’t work out. As much as it would break my heart, if the writers decide to go that route for reasons that make sense story-wise and character-wise, that make me go “as much as this hurts, I completely see why they made this decision and when I *really* think about it, there really wasn’t any other way this could’ve ended”, then yeah, I could live with that. (I’d still forever be Big Sad, though)

WHEW. OKAY. I think that about sums up my feelings about everything thus far. Other than my brother, no one else I know watches HB (it’s our sibling bonding show 😂😂) and it’s always interesting to see how people come away with different thoughts and ideas and interpretations in spite of watching the same show/reading the same book/etc.

(And btw: that Stolitz comic you drew?? *chef’s kiss* absolutely delightful. Thank you for feeding us such a delicious meal)

(Referencing this original post.)

Cosmic! (Truly, I wasn’t certain but I put the original “Comsic” just in case in the Ask and asked in the tags. Good to know my gut instinct was not off, ha.)

That’s really interesting! I liked reading your thoughts and your theorizing. Happy to bond with another creative. ;) Now you have one more person, with your brother, in your circle who you know watches the show, haha~. I pretty much am in agreement with what you typed. Our babies have so much to work through, and I hope to see them grow onscreen. And to see them interact with more characters (like Barbie Wire!) and see how they tackle whichever hurdles the plot requires them to handle. There’s indeed so many different directions the show could go down in and so far I’m excited to see what they bring to the table from a creative standpoint.

Ah, regarding being bummed out if Stolitz doesn’t work out in the show (which is a 10% possibility, I’m not denying it!), I think that—theoretically—there is very low probability of Stolitz not happening in show canon. And here’s a big reason why:

I’ve seen people theorizing why Stolitz is endgame because that is the expectation that seems to be hinted from the show, and fans have pointed those out aplenty with analysis of multiple episodes. I offer a different and brand new perspective that I haven’t seen people consider before, and that is profit and a creator’s pressure to deliver a successful show.

Personally I don’t think it’s IF; it’s a matter of how “ambitious” the creators want to be and how self-aware they are when it comes to what makes a show successful. Vivziepop is one of the content creators creating animation history by basically making an indie animation show entirely made by her hands and her curated team of VAs and artists, so they are under a lot of pressure to do well (if successful, they are essentially a case study/ business model to look up to for future aspiring creators; if they fail to deliver, then you can expect quite a few retrospective vids hailing HB as one of the biggest disappointments in YT animation history; I direct you to the videos critiquing actual TV animated series such as Star/vsthe/Forcesof/Evil and I suppose Vol/tron which had started off great but tanked in the later seasons, with the last season especially being harangued and toted as a writing failure by some reviewers lol sorryVol/tronfandom, sorrySvtFoEfandom). We’d don’t like to think of shipping being the “end all, be all” of a show’s success, but it truly is the backbone of what makes or breaks a show (as well as good writing and animation). I do think Stolitz IS endgame because shipping is a controversial matter in shows, and a great show can die in a blazing fury of disappointed fans when the “ship” that is introduced from the start, which has set the kernels for growth potential and launched thousands of fanart at this rate as well as fanfiction, isn’t fulfilled. A person’s expectations would be betrayed, and I think HB—which is popular and trending presently—might actually turn people away if the Stolitz ship does not become canonized.

Mind, this all said based on what we’ve seen from episodes 1-6, as well as the pilot episode, and what we see from the official “not truly canon Instagram accounts” a lá Blitzo and Stolas. But with Vivziepop and the storyboard artists liking/ retweeting Stolitz fanart or tweets on Twitter and/or following certain artists and/or making their own fanart and based on the interviews the voice actors have done live on YouTube (remember the question a fan asked the cast, about what advice the VA would give their own characters, and I believe what Stolas’ VA said I’m paraphrasing is Stolas needing to learn that it’s okay to love who he wants to love and be happy/ be true to himself), with all these shippy fanservicey kernels they drop, it will blow up in their faces if Stolitz is not endgame.

Take a look at what Kevin Smith did with the rebooted He/Man, and recall why it’s still divisive to this day. Let’s look at Steven/Universe, and ask ourselves what the reputation of the show would be if Steven broke up with Connie. Let’s take a look at Owl/House and ask ourselves what’d happen if Amity and Luz did not get together despite the shippy moments being set up in the show. When you set things up, you have to follow through—or else all your foreshadowing and build-up become plot holes. You would have betrayed your audience’s expectations otherwise, making them feel like they were lied to. And that is what a show should avoid.

I mean, yeah, sure, there are those fans who are more open-minded or would be alright seeing Blitzo together with any other character (*points to Striker, (Robo) Fizzarolli, Verosika, a threesome with Moxxie, etc*) so long as the animation continues to be good and the story remains serviceable, but their numbers cannot beat the large numbers that make up the Stolitz fans. That is a lot of money that the crew would be turning down if they do not “make them work out” in the end, and a lot of disappointed fans.

I’m not saying this from the perspective of a Stolitz writer and artist, but from an objective point of view of someone who would prioritize numbers and YouTube engagement. At the end of the day, HB might be a show on YT with full creative reign given to the creators, but it still makes money from engagement and views. Income is generated from viewcount, engagement, and merch—which goes back into the show and paying everyone for their work. Furthermore, a show dies when there is no interest or if people become less engaged or less interested in the story, and I guarantee that they will lose a SUBSTANTIAL number of viewers if they decide to “subvert expectations” by not making the Stolitz relationship canonized.

It is a possibility that they could end the show with both going their separate ways or having Blitzo in a different relationship and/or Stolas being a single dad or having reunited with Stella, etc etc, but that isn’t something I expect will go over well with the target audience—especially those who have been following the show for so long and have hanged their banner under this ship. If this ship sinks, the show will probably tank or suffer a viewcount loss. It is the undeniable reality. It would probably incur a lot of people’s rage (Lesson 101 of film and animation: never betray a fan’s—shipping—expectations; if you set it up, you better deliver or you are just asking for trouble and backlash).

Furthermore, HB is an indie show and passion project produced by passionate creatives like ourselves; it is not being overseen by a faceless corporate entity who decides what goes or doesn’t go in a show based on TV ratings and what they think will appeal to a broader audience—and missing the mark by a long shot, haha. We don’t have higher ups who decides what gets censored or not, what gets taken out, and when the show gets axed or not. I mean, yes, the content they choose to animate has to be carefully considered because of YT guidelines but the Vivziepop crew has more creative freedom over the writing without fear of their show being canceled early.

So I’m rather hopeful for the Stolitz ship in the foreseeable future, even if there is a small possibility of it being unfulfilled. But I’d like to remain optimistic and hopeful! 😊

Whew! This was long! Welcome to my TED Talk! Hope this was interesting to read through. :)

EDIT: Tysm! 💖 I’m happy to hear that! The comic really blew up on Twitter, haha, and even here on tumblr! As thanks for all the love, I’ll make one follow-up illustration to the comic as an “aftermath,” fully colored. I’ve provided a sneak peek of it on Twitter this morning (it’s DILF Blitzo; now we need a DILF Stolas to complete the cycle).