#Why the hell would Stolas not think Blitzo was into him?

[fandomtrashfox]

Me, realizing 'Stolitz' is end game for Helluva Boss apparently, and now getting to the point of wanting to avoid the show because these two definitely aren't in a healthy relationship.

Man, why - other than fan service - would Viv want these two to be together? It's so toxic!

I'm not saying Stolas is free of blame, here, but I feel like they're equally bad for each other. They're equally using each other albeit for different reasons. It's a toxic situation for both sides and I don't see how people keep forgetting that Blitzo is constantly doing a 'hot and cold' act with Stolas. Please, do not do this Viv, come on, now. Please make the end be Stolas and Blitzo permanently breaking up and moving on to healthier relationships.

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

i like the concept of a huskerdust overlord!husk au but like. it is very much just being sold to one direction

[spopsalt]

The way the song Mastermind romanticizes Blitzo's trauma bond/codependency to Stolas is disgusting :D

Like Stolas saying "I would rather die than live life without you by my side" and Blitzo saying "I can't live life without you by my side" THAT'S NOT ROMANTIC! THAT IS CODEPENDENCY AND YOU KNOW IT! I hate it when lines like that get romanticized, it is not cute, it is U N H E A L T H Y !

Also Stolas...YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER AND YOU KNOW HOW HORRIBLE YOUR WIFE CAN BE! SO BY DYING FOR BLITZO YOU ARE KNOWINGLY LEAVING YOUR DAUGHTER WITH YOUR WIFE WHO WAS EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE TO YOU! Worse, he didn't even THINK of Octavia, yet we're supposed to believe he's some flawed dad who's "just doing his best🥺"

FUCK THAT! He is a bad, emotionally neglectful dad, no matter how hard Viv tries to convince us otherwise. And Via is NOT required to keep her dad in her life, ESPECIALLY after she saw that he was going to give his life for Blitzo, without even thinking of her, and how it'd affect her when she saw her dad ABOUT TO FUCKING DIE! Especially when he promised that he would never leave her, and he was about to do exactly that ON TELEVISION! And Stolas KNEW that this is exactly what Via was afraid of

"Are you going to go with him and leave me behind...? Go somewhere where...I can't find you...?"

then Stolas saying

"No! No, no, no, not ever!"

...So he just fucking lied to his daughter's face, hell, no wonder why she's pissed and cut Stolas off, I'd do the same if I was in her shoes, yet people are getting angry at her for it.

I mean it's bad enough that she's romanticizing Stolas and Blitzo's relationship when Stolas fucking COERACED HIM and now you're trying to make their relationship so cute and RELATIONSHIP GOALS!

[helluvagirlboss]

Based on a conversation I had with @oversensitiveandoffputting I think that ironically, “Apology Tour” was the episode that fully convinced me that Stolitz was a relationship that could work in the long run.

Hear me out, because I know this is the episode where the state of Stolitz is the worst it’s ever been.

In every romantic relationship, you two will inevitably piss each other off and you might end up in an argument that ends badly. But after you two have said your piece how will you proceed? How will you treat them before you make up? Well “Apology Tour” gave me that answer.

Yes Blitz and Stolas opened the episode having a really brutal argument where the two of them, mainly Blitz, said a lot of hurtful and insensitive shit. But later in the episode at the Anti-Blitzo party, Blitz goes to talk to Stolas still trying to apologize even after Stolas publicly sang a song about how much Blitz hurt him and that he was “a motherfucker” (which honestly, good for Stolas, the bird needed a healthier outlet for his pain).

And when Stolas sees him, despite him being mad at Blitz, despite the fact that he is still clearly hurt by Blitz’s actions and words, and despite the fact that he is surrounded by people that would 100% be on his side if he were to expose Blitz, Stolas still tries to hide Blitz and warns him against exposing himself. Even when he’s mad at him, Stolas tries to protect Blitz.

And on Blitz’s end of things, Stolas is drunk off his ass and extremely vulnerable. Despite the fact that Blitz in that moment has the power to try to make Stolas feel worse about himself, despite the fact that Blitz is also extremely hurt by Stolas’s actions, despite the fact that Blitz could easily have chosen to leave Stolas to drink himself to the point of danger, he still chose to take care of Stolas in his drunken state and bothered to listen to what Stolas had to say and only left when Stolas asked him to.

Even when the two of them are mad at each other, confused as hell about how badly things ended, when they no longer have any obligation to each other, and are too wrapped in their own feelings to understand how the other is hurt, they are still looking after and caring about each other, even if only to the extent of ensuring things don’t go worse for the other person.

I don't know how to articulate how much this means to me because after seeing a lot of couples both fictional and in real life go through a rough patch, maybe even break up, and they proceed to treat each other just awfully because of their hurt, what Stolitz did is almost unheard of to me. They have no more obligation to each other, but they still chose to take care of each other when both of them were at their most vulnerable.

They didn't have to but they still chose to.

Now this in and of itself doesn't mean the two of them are ready to get back together. Blitz needs to unlearn his self-destructive habits born out of debilitating self-hatred, and he needs to learn that his -self-loathing will hurt the people around him because let me tell you, it hurts like hell when someone you love is determined to not accept that you care about them. And Stolas still needs to do a lot self-reflection on why his actions lead Blitz to believe that Stolas could not possibly care about him, because it also doesn't feel good when it feels like someone doesn't respect you enough to treat you like an adult.

However, the fact that the two of them still chose to be kind and attentive to each other in spite of their anger and the messiness of the situation, this tells me that when the time comes for them to have another conflict that frustrates them both, they will work to overcome it together.

They know how to have a good time together, but now they're figuring out how to have a bad time together, and honestly if this is how they treat each other when they are at their worst, I have a lot of hope for how they will handle conflict moving forward.

[signedkoko]

Hi hi!

How would Striker, Bee, and poly Stolitz (romantic) react to their chubby s/o being very physically strong and working out a lot?

No pressure to write this, and If you don't write for this many characters, you can choose who to focus on!

Sending lots of love your way 💚💛💙

-🐻

Beelzebub | Blitzo & Stolas | Striker [Romantic]

In which you are considerably physically stronger than them, and work out plenty to match.

Naturally, all of the sins are extremely strong in comparison to any overlord or sinner

Even so, you were surprisingly up there, without her magic Beelzebub couldn't begin to carry half the weight you did, and usually had to resort to her larger form- or just asking for your help

It's part of why she found you so attractive, it felt like in some way you could protect her more than anyone she knew

A lot of the people around her were already small, so it was also nice that you compared to her in size, though she found you to be much more curvaceous than her own lanky figure

" Ugh. I'd kill for hips like these, babe. "

She loves to feel you up and down and hold you close because god, you are just sooo comfortable

And when you flex your muscles it drives her crazy! She thinks you're the hottest person she's ever met

She also may be partially to blame for your chubbiness, because she never stops feeding you sweets, oops!

Both of these fools are physically WEAK, however strong they might be with guns or magic

They recall their first encounter with you was when someone was making fun of Stolas for dating an imp, and you totally rocked their shit with a punch straight to the face

Blitzo is already on you, asking so many questions about who you were, why you did that, making jokes

And Stolas has a faint blush because god, that was so attractive

They kept inviting you over until eventually you were closer than most- present on every date, called by the same sweet nicknames

Stolas likes to go with you when you work out, he especially loves to see you boxing

Being able to cheer you on against an opponent, or imagine you protecting him- oh it was just so exciting

Blitzo enjoys walking around hell with you because he gets to see everyone fuck off

Scary dog privileges

Stolas is always squishing your cheeks and hugging you tightly while speaking of all his fantasies involving you both

Blitzo is sneaking pictures of you after workouts for his office

Stronger? Than him? Sure thing

Striker first heard it at a place he frequented for drinks, that there was a guard for hire poster put up on their bulletin, someone new

When he hired you to see what'd happen, you sweeped the floor of some royals security team in minutes, and all he had to do was pull the trigger

Admittedly, he didn't feel the need to work with you more than that, as he enjoyed the hunt as much as the kill

But it was certainly fun seeing what someone else pulled

He’s straightforward about that, but also admits that he'd like to keep in touch

OBVIOUSLY so he can hire you on tougher missions, not because he thought you were interesting or fun

Suddenly, he's always popping up in the places you go, always offering you a drink, always getting tipsy enough to invite you to dance

Oh yeah, he certainly wants you

Fortunately for him, you're his lovely significant other only a few weeks later

He enjoys practising sparing with you, though he usually loses with just strength to strength, hsi wits certainly make him a tougher opponent

Striker find your resolve fiery, and something about you ignites something in him that leaves him wanting more

Author's Note - Actually love these guys sm... good crew you chose bear non I respect it!

Also I CATCH all the love you sent my way and EAT IT 🖤

[animeshotsh]

Never your first | Various x Reader | ANGST |

Summary: You may love them, and they may love you too, but not in the same way.

Warnings: ANGST - Sad - Mentions of sex (no explicit) -

Lucifer

When he fell you were quick to follow. History knows about him, the beautiful first angel who fell and his beloved wife Lilith. No one knows you, the second angel who fell. Why did you ? Because you loved Lucifer and believed in his words. You two were best friend and inseparable, soulmate some have said.

But he choose Lilith, had a daughter with her. And you saw all of it by the side, smiling and supporting but being broken inside.

And when she left him and Charlie, you saw him how sad he was, depress and the worse? He still loved her. You were there for him during his best moments and there to hold him at worse.

"Oh (Y/N)...im so lucky to have you as my best friend"

Charlie

Falling for Charlie was easy, like how could you not ? She was kind, sweet, everything no one was in hell. You believed in her dreams, long before she met Vaggie...

But you saw it unfold in front of your eyes, the love story between them was one from a fairy tale, and you were the side character. You liked seeing her happy and Vaggie was a good person but you wanted to be her.

"Oh (Y/N), I love her so much! Do you think she would agree to even marry me?"

Vaggie

Being the older sister/brother of Charlie mean following her around hell and supporting her. No one would date hurt her, but she being naive was something that could hurt her no less.

The night you met Vaggie your heart fell, it started to beat fast and hard as you saw her poor form being so hurt.

But her eyes were not on you, they were on Charlie, looking at her and Charlie looked at her back with love. Something your parents once had.

Vaggie did love you, as the relative of her girlfriend, and knew you were the protector of her. She knew she could be used easily by others so she was thankful that you were there for her.

"(Y/N) thanks for protecting Charlie all these years, I could never ask for a better in law"

Alastor

Being Alastor's friend had his ups and downs. You knew he was not captable of loving you the way you loved him, you were happy being his best friend.

But saddly you were not that. His best friend, the one he truly would never betray or use was Rosie who was in fact your friend as well.

"(Y/N) dont make me laught, and put a smile on your face. You are never fully dressed without one"

Vox

You saw Vox being used and abused by Valentino all the time. You loved him and wanted nothing more than to have a company together with him and only him. But Vox was addicted to Valentino and to the fame. No matter how many times he got beated up or had to watch him fuck others, he still loved him and not you.

"A show together? Well (Y/N) I believe you doing your show on your own are fine, the rating is good, besides what would the public say if they saw us alone and together?"

Stolas

Stolas and you, friends as old as stars. You two would watch the born and death of them. Would share your dreams together. You never supported his marriage with Stella and knew he was getting worse and worse, keeping the family together because of his daughter.

Saddly finally, once he had broke things off with her someone else did appear.

Blitzo or Blitz who had been his lover and turned out he loved him.

You never tought of imps as less but why? Why did he pick him and not you ? What did he had ? Specially when at the end he was still not happy.

You were back there, holding him in your arms as he cried again but this time because of someone who was not you.

And it would never be you.

[faemytho]

First of all, the way Stolas immediately knew what the trial was about when all he saw was Blitzo about to be executed means that Stolas knew what he was doing was illegal. He just loved Blitzo more than he cared about the law.

Stolas KNEW it was illegal to let Blitzo use the grimoire. Someone of his status? He absolutely KNEW it was illegal, he knew there would be consequences (maybe not what they were, but that there would be), and he let Blitzo use it anyways because.

BECAUSE. Letting Blitzo use the grimoire was an excuse to keep seeing him. Stolas knew it was illegal and did it anyways because he's in love with Blitzo.

SECOND OF ALL, Stolas didn't HESITATE. Stolas showed up and took Blitzo's place on the chopping block while under the impression he was going to be killed for this crime.

He immediately knew what the trial was about, saw what the consequences were, and then didn't hesitate to put himself in Blitzo's place. ESPECIALLY when he kneeled down to be executed.

He was GENUINELY going to give his life for Blitzo to live, and he was genuinely so surprised when he was told he wasn't going to be killed.

THIRD OF ALL, god. Fuuuuck. It is so interesting to see Stolas' thought process here, because Stolas genuinely didn't think that the consequences for imps vs goetic demons for breaking the same law were so drastically different.

Sure, Stolas can play the part and spout the same classist nonsense about imps that he very likely grew up hearing. He knew that was what he had to do to get everyone in there to listen to him and let Blitzo go. But HE HIMSELF genuinely doesn't think of himself as above Blitzo or any of the other imps when he shows up in that courtroom. (It's also why he later gets Blitzo the crystal to use instead of his grimoire; he's aware of the classism in their relationship, but isn't familiar with how to navigate it, especially when the other person in the relationship is Blitzo, but that's a WHOLE OTHER ESSAY.)

Anyways, that's why Stolas kneels down on the chopping block after successfully taking Blitzo's place, AND it's why he's so surprised he isn't going to be executed. The look on Stolas' face was very, "Wait, you guys actually believe you're better than imps? You're not just playing a part? I thought we were being serious right now."

Stolas is aware there's a class difference between him and Blitzo, but he genuinely didn't believe in it, and genuinely didn't think it was an issue. He genuinely didn't think anyone else believed it either! His theatre kid ass probably thought it was all an elaborate social act and that nobody really thought that imps were lower than other demons. (side note, from an autistic person, that's so autism coded of u stolas.)

And that indifference Stolas has about their class difference is EXACTLY what drove Blitzo's fears about the nature of their relationship in the first place. For the entirety of Season 2, we've seen that it's been an issue for Blitzo's ENTIRE life! It's what he built his business on!!! And his last words?

"All I was trying to do was rise above the stupid fucking place YOU ALL FORCED US INTO!"

But now, Stolas IS on the level of imps. Not only is he going to experience the classism the rest of hell holds towards imps, but not even the IMPS like him! And with the sudden HUGE fame Blitzo's gained, Stolas and Blitzo have effectively SWITCHED PLACES.

The difference is, this time, they'll be able to help each other.

[gingebreadbeetle]

Wanna know why this is so fucking bad?

These demons started out as so insufferable, terrible, sinful, when Stolas actually acted like an actual Demon Prince and now they act way too much like Humans and honestly this is like a mess of dark mature themes, y'know stories that put in dark mature themes just to seem cool about it, I don't think they have actually solved anything

Blitzo shouldn't have even QUESTIONED anything at all about his kill mission, apparently Vivzie thought he should cuz if he didn't, it would make him a hypocrite cuz he was in a similar circumstance, even though Demons would not even care what hypocrisy is cuz they ARE hypocrisy

I mean sure I had good faith in this show, Helluvaverse of Vivzie did have a great start, but now it's just so boring and I wanted a show of demons, not humans acting like they're Demons

Man I was so obsessed with Hazbin Hotel when its trailer first came out, now it's just sad

I’m in the same boat man.

Hazbin and Helluva came out, ( pilot hazbin, I should clarify) and I was a big fan.

I was excited that there was a show that tackled demonology and hell because! That’s my jam! And the shows seemed very interesting!!!

But it’s clear that Viv doesn’t care for interesting. Hell is a backdrop, her characters are puppets to further a hollow and inconsistent story which is animated by either underpayed workers or artists that Viv favors that are total creeps.

[cmyk-anaglyph-honeycomb]

Helluva Boss S2 E11

(this is mostly in order but not really. I have a lot of thoughts and its 1am) How did stella know about the 'break up' in the first place? Was she also at the party or did someone she know go? Did she hear it through the grapevine of imps she defiantly talks too? So that on the run shit was just for the trailer huh? Actually thought this was going to get interesting, my mistake. I should've known better. Luna being muzzled is decent world building on how she is just viewed as an animal. But also her character does so little outside of being blitzo's daughter or a hazard to Moxxie that she could have just been an actual dog with aggression issues. Why is Andrealphus focused on pointing the blame on Blitzo and not Stolas? The book was getting miss-used either way and Stolas was his actual aim, so why try to write him off? Also, why is he so against stolas. At this point it can't just be for Stella because it doesn't seem like he likes her. At this point I'm waiting for it to be a thing where Andrealphus arranged for Stella and Stolas's marriage to gain power from his family or something. He is putting in too much effort for it just to be out of pettiness. Who is Vassago and why is he here? Dude is a prop not a character. If Andrealphus (god I hate his name) would have just had Stolas on trial at first and the imps were just witnesses that would flow better. [sidenote: It could have been a thing where IMP would have greatly benefited from condemning stolas and Blitzo choses to tell the truth and cost to himself to help Stolas out. It would show stolas that Blitzo actually cared.] Not a fan of how the other deadly sins are just dropped on us without much fan fair. They were kinda the one thing I was looking forward too. It really felt like the musical part was crafted first and everything else was written around it. What was the point of satan singing about how he is the top boss and all that? No one was saying how they are the mastermind of hell or anything, just this one collection of bullshit. We get it big man, you're in charge. (Sidenote: I do like his design, its kinda basic for a satan character, but still good. I love his voice when speaking and singing. The song he sings is good, the point of it is not.) So there are zero stakes in this show. None. Kinda makes it hard to care about the outcome if everything has a soft ending. Stolas loses his powers, that we rarely see him use. He can't see his daughter, that we barely see him around. He loses nothing that we see him show any interest or care given too. Stella's evil smile means nothing either. She is a nothing character to make Stolas look better. At this point she shouldn't be in the show she does so little. Why was this trial about Andrealphus and not her? If stella was supposed to be this super evil and manipulative character why is she so far on the back burner for her own plan? Would have been a great time to have a woman character actually do something out of their own desire shitty or not, instead of just helping out some man but okay. Andrealphus should've just been Stolas's shit brother who wanted his power instead of wasting our time with Stella. *That's all I got in me for right now. Again its 1am after black friday and my ass works retail so I'm done thinking for now. Might come back to this later.*

[flower-boi16]

Stolas' "Character Growth" of Making Amends With Blitz is Poor as Hell

Something many critics don't seem to mention when talking about Stolas' characterization in Season 2 is how the season tries (keyword tries) to have Stolas go through an arc of fixing his mistake in regards to making the deal with Blitz and, ya know, sexually abusing him. The show is acknowledging that Stolas fucked up, which means it isn't coddling him...right?

Well, this arc first gets kickstarted in Ozzie's when Blitz explicitly tells Stolas to "not pretend like anything we have is anything but you wanting me to fuck you", showing to Stolas that Blitz doesn't feel the same way about him as Stolas feels about Blitz, which gives Stolas a moment to reflect on their relationship.

The Circus then shows that Stolas believed that for once, he had a genuine mutually affectionate relationship with someone, that someone being Blitzo, as Stolas felt some kind of happiness he never felt before and could never get with Stella, only to realize that it was all a lie and Blitzo doesn't feel the same way as Stolas did for him. Stolas desired genuine intamite affection and thought he had that but he didn't, and so he looks to a book to try and find Blitz an alternative so he can continue his job without staying in the deal, chosing to free Blitz.

Oops then shows Stolas going to Ozzie's place to get the Ausmodean Crystal for Blitz, and The Full Moon shows Stolas giving the crystal to Blitz, now learning to let him go, putting his own selfish desires for affection aside and reconizing what he did to Blitz was wrong and choosing to let him be free from the deal.

So...this, on paper, sounds fantastic, right? The show is making an arc of Stolas growing from his mistakes, realizing the deal is wrong and choosing to let him go while acknoweldging Blitz's mistakes right....right?????

Well...no. While this is a compelling arc in isolation, there are several issues that taint it. For one, the arc revolves around multiple plot holes and contrivinces in order to work. I've already mentioned this several times but, Stolas and Blitz being childhood friends feels like a retcon and it doesn't really line up with any of their interactions in the first season, and this arc relies on the two's past friendship in order to work.

Further more, there's the fact that Stolas shoulden't even have any real love for Blitz in the first place considering that Blitz stole from him not once, but twice. First Blitz steals all of Stolas' items when they were kids for his dad by tricking him into a game and the second time Blitz takes advantage of Stolas again to Steal the grimoire. Did Stolas REALLY just...not realize that Blitz took advantage of him in either of those instances????

Why would he have ANY love towards him after he did those things? He should HATE Blitz for taking advantage of his feelings, but he doesn't. There's also the fact that this arc is just a complete replacement of Stolas' character in the first season, fully comitting to his sudden shift from a man who made mistakes that hurt others to a UwU gay sad soft boy who just wanted genuine affection, which is a jarring change for him as a character, and this arc competely relies on this sudden shift.

It removes everything that made Stolas an interesting character in the first season and replaces it with something unreconizable from his previous iteration, so this arc ends up feeling like an unnatural direction for Stolas' character to go to. The other big problem with this arc is how it codes Stolas' actions in a sympathetic light - as in, he only made the deal because he believed he had real affection with Blitz.

The thing is, this whole thing ends up making Stolas even less sympathetic than before. You'd think that Stolas would care about his childhood friend's consent in this matter because even if he thought that Blitz liked being his plaything he would still care about his boundries since well, he is supposed to be Stolas' childhood friend...right??? But instead of that he decided to put his childhood friend in a situation where he HAS to accept the deal or else he'll lose his job, and he's doing that through coersion, which is a horrific thing to do to someone especially someone you CLAIM to be your first ever friend.

None of Stolas and Blitzo's interactions in the first season come across as Stolas being oblivous to Blitz being uncomfortable rather it's Stolas not caring about Blitz being uncomfortable and not taking it seriously because he only cares about his own sexual pleasure. While Stolas' actions are still painted negetavily the show is using a sympathetic reason for his actions but that sympathetic reasoning doesn't end up working and if anything makes him look even less sympathetic than before. It's supposed to be "bad actions codded with sympathetic motivations" but it doesn't work because the actions he's done don't make sense with the motivation the show outlines.

And this brings me to the last, and, probably the biggest issue with Stolas' "growth arc" in Season 2; the show's refusal to admit the full extent of Stolas' what Stolas has done to Blitz. Season 1 had Stolas consistantly belittle and talk down to Blitz, ignoring his boundries and constantly dehumanizing him into just being his "impish little plaything", yet, the show pretends as if making the deal was the only bad thing Stolas ever did to Blitz and just ignores all the other stuff that he did in the first season.

It contributes to the problem of the show refusing to acknowledge Stolas' mistakes and instead choosing to downplay them or demonize those who dislike him for valid reasons (also, no, the description acknowledging Stolas' lack of self-awarness doesn't work because if Stolas is meant to be in the wrong during the episode than it should be frammed as such, yet the episode just frames him as solely the victim. That ain't good writting). And there's the fact that this arc would be rendered null anyway because well all know that Blitz and Stolas are going to get together anyway by the end of the show meaning that Stolas never had to let go of Blitz in the first place because then he'll get back to him.

So, overall, while this arc is fine in isolation, it falls apart due to it relying on too many plot holes and not actually having Stolas reconize the full extent of his mistakes, and so saying that the show is coddling Stolas is still a valid critique given that this arc is still codding his actions under a sympathetic light.

[anthurak]

So ever since Mastermind, I’ve been seeing the expected number of ‘What if Lucifer or Charlie was present at the trial?’ fics/headcanons positing that either of their presence would have had them speak out on Blitzo’s and/or Stolas’ behalf and led to the PERFECT ending where the evil schemes of Andy-the-not-actually-a-sister-fucker are foiled and both Blitzo and Stolas are acquitted and it’s all sunshine and rainbows and puppies for everyone (except those evil rich people (except the ones we like)). And like, that’s all well and good…

But let’s be real. Even with a deck not massively stacked against them, or even stacked in their favor, both Blitzo and/or Stolas could ABSOLUTELY still find a way to fuck things up for themselves. I mean we’re talking about one guy who opened his defense with “Those orphans were already sick!” and “But when is attempting a crime a crime?”, and the other guy for whom ‘throwing my life away in a big dramatic heroic sacrifice for the man I love’ was Plan A.

And I just think that sounds way more fun and interesting then Lucifer or Charlie being some author-insert to serve as a secret cheat-code for the Golden Happy Ending for the episode.

Sure, Lucifer or Charlie being present almost certainly means things would go better for Blitzo, Stolas and co. regardless, but again I feel like it’s just way more interesting and fun and honestly in-character for these two gay idiots to still find a way to fuck things up for themselves.

Like imagine if Lucifer wants to hear Blitzo out at the critical vote, not so much because he really gives a fuck, but more because he’s bored and is also just messing with Satan.

And throughout the rest of the trial Lucifer is mostly just dicking around being a bored little gremlin. With the his only real contribution being to veto outright executing Blitzo, and even then that’s only thanks to Blitzo mentioning that Loona is his daughter. Sure, he may barely give a fuck at this point, but having a man killed in front of his own daughter? That’s pretty fucked up, don’t you think?

Which probably leads to some petty bickering between Lucifer and Satan about why they can’t just send Loona out of the room and THEN kill Blitzo, which then probably escalates/tangents to some ‘petty, jilted ex’s’-esque arguing that may or may not have some of the other Sins piping in for shits and giggles that is really only stopped when Stolas bursts in with his big ‘dramatic, gay heroic sacrifice via song-number’ gambit.

And Lucifer is in fact totally okay with Stolas getting stripped of his power and position, because hey he did a whole song number for it, but he draws the line at Stolas getting separated from his daughter. Also Andrealphus doesn’t get to be regent of Stolas’s position because Lucifer doesn’t like him for extremely petty reasons.

Meanwhile, I feel like Charlie sitting in for her dad probably wouldn’t turn out much better.

Sure, Charlie would want to hear Blitzo out, and ABSOLUTELY give a fuck about his situation. But let’s not forget that this is BLITZO we’re talking about, and giving him a chance to talk is ALSO giving him a chance to dig himself into a deeper hole.

For example; what do think Charlie’s reaction is going to be to learning what Blitzo and co. were actually DOING with that grimoire they got from Stolas?

You know, the princess of Hell who’s trying to deal with the sinner-overpopulation problem learning that these imps are likely contributing to said overpopulation problem? As well as the whole ‘murder business’ thing.

Which would likely put Blitzo in the awkward and hilarious position of probably having to argue AGAINST the person arguing for his life because that person ALSO wants to shut down his business.

And of course because this is Blitzo we’re talking about, there is a VERY good chance he just makes a total ass of himself or at the very least puts his foot in his mouth in epic fashion.

And if she’s present, I can imagine Vaggie at some point is leaning over to quietly ask Charlie if they really NEED to be defending this guy?

Maybe this eventually leads to Blitzo, or Stolas or perhaps Moxxie making some big, dramatic, emotional, heartfelt plea, possibly in musical form, for them to be allowed to continue their wholesome family business… of murdering people.

And maybe that does in fact sway Charlie. Or at least tugs on her heartstrings enough to forget about the whole ‘murdering business’ thing long enough to argue for Blitzo’s life without pushing to shut down I.M.P.

Which is exactly when, again, Stolas chooses to burst in with his big self-sacrificial song number and make things even worse/wackier.

All in all, as much as people may love their ‘here’s how we could/should have gotten a perfect happy ending!’ author-tracts, I think this option is way more in-character, interesting and most importantly fun XD

[helluvatired]

Y'know what I find funny? The fact that tons of stolas haters call him a hypocrite and act like it's bad writing (when the show LITERALLY HAS TO SPECIFY IN THE DESCRIPTION THAT STOLAS ISN'T THE MOST SELF AWARE RIGHT NOW) when they're massive hypocrites themselves!! yes, stolas is a flawed parent, but that doesn't mean he's an awful one!! you don't see people whining about jeff morales from spiderverse or marlin from finding nemo or any other kind of flawed parent in media as much as they whine about stolas.

this is a bit sad, they think they are really making a really good criticism gotcha moment but it just shows that they don't know the slightest basics of writing, such as conflict, character flaw and character arc

obviously we're going to see the main characters make more mistakes because they have the most focus. imagine how boring a series would be with all the problems solved without any conflict! and helluva boss is about people being toxic making mistakes and trying to improve, this takes time and we got time because we're going to have 50 eps in total

i also think that people have a very distorted mentality of what a good parent is. It's not about never making mistakes, because that's impossible, we're all going to make mistakes at some point. it's about when you make mistakes, realize and apologize and try to improve

people act as if in s01ep02 when octavia ran away stolas was just wanting to drink and watch soap operas, and not what really happened. he was very stressed (most likely why he forgot) due to the divorce and upset and sending stella's belongings to her

and about when stolitz stayed in the studio, blitzo had said that loona would look for octavia, and there wasn't much he could do other than wait for blitzo, and he wanted things to end quickly ("Now, hurry up and wow them, so we can get back to finding Via.")

like, what should he do? kill everyone? two reasons this would be a bad idea: he said he had limited powers, and even if he had powers what good would that do? hell would have known about the incident much quicker and would have had much more problems with the i.m.p. and the grimoire and stolas's daughter running away with the book. d.h.o.r.k.s. were part of a secret organization, so it's a very different scenario

and it's not like stolas and octavia's arc is over. and sometimes we need characters making mistakes for the story to flow, and it was good for loona and octavia to talk to each other

people act like stolas intentionally wants to hurt octavia, not by accidentally making mistakes and then later trying to make things right. as i said before, it is impossible for us to never make mistakes. and we have so many examples of bad fathers in helluva, but do people focus more on the father who is trying his best and making genuine mistakes and then apologizing when he realizes he made a mistake? this is so weird and nonsense to me

[dgoldhunter]

I'm so done...

Don't get me wrong, I loved many things about apology tour (mainly Verosika) but I was hoping this to be the break from the drama of Stolitz instead of a continuation of it. And thought I loved Verosika and her final interactions with Blitz... it felt a little... I dunno.. not logical? (not her interactions, but most of the episode)

Stolas and Blitz relationship is a whole can of worms on its own, but I'm on the team that Stolas was forcing Blitz, like I mean in the pilot of HB it showed how uncomfortable Blitz was with him, and in the very first episode how he was forced to it since he was in a very dire situation (and Stolas knew about it, since he is seeing it developing in real time throught his bubbles)... (and I mean, the pilot face says it all)

But back on track...

So my questions, how Verosika knew about their break up? All of it happened between Stolas home, not even in public, and I don't think Stolas posted it on social media... also Why is she treating him so nicely and touchy? I mean on Ozzies, the bouncer showed reverence when he saw Stolas and let him in alongside Blitz.

I could see her treating him with more respect, or asking him if its alright to hug him or something because of his royal status, or at least refer to him as "your highness" (and in Stolas fashion he would be like "Oh don't need to be so formal but eh... anyway). Sure, they are in a more casual and comfortable environment, but even then, there are some manners expected when approaching a royal. If you are going to disregard his status, then why have a ladder with the different races and their social hierarchy? I get it was to show how sweet Verosika was really, but there could be a ton of approaches to this (and it wasn't hard to tell, since she was only mean to Blitz and has been speculated since her first appearance she is really nice and lovely once you get to know her).

And talking about approaches, this episode could be PERFECT to explore more about Blitz and Verosika. Yes, they talked at the end and we get to hear that the shitshow Blitz pulled on Verosika was after she told him she loved him (and she admitted she was embarrassed since it was the first time she felt that way). Put Stolas on the sidelines for a little while, and focus on these two. Maybe not a hearfelt talk for the whole episode, but making Blitz realize that before he could apologize to Stolas, he needed to work on himself first and foremost(because his apology to him was very forced as well). I think their talk came too quickly, and even then, why talk? Why Blitz would ask Stolas for forgiveness? In his eyes on Full Moon, Stolas was using him and he ended their contract, so he snapped (rightfully so, he first forced him and now is tossing him aside).

Or hell, make it about Blitzo and his past relationships including her, how he fucked up every single one of them, knowing about more about how he meet them, how he fucked up in every single one of them, make him feel remorse since the beginning, not to just feel remorse at the end just because he couldn't get the uwu bird back. (In one episode of "The mentalist" TLDR: Doc Dungan, a football star, is told to the media to be dead when in fact he is alive. He gets to watch what people really think of him, including his ex wife, and gradually this was the wake up call he needed to stop being a self-centered asshole, more things of the episode of course, but i liked this take, now that Blitz was in a somewhat similar situation of him not being dead but having the opportunity to see and hear his exs opinions, honest opinions, about him, not just the hate part).

And... putting all this behind, WTF with Verosika's psycho break with the cake? Her voice completly changed and it feel... odd. Sure, she is not fan of Blitz, and everytime he showed up, she showed the contempt and the bitterness towards him. So this change of personality of hers stabbing the cake with so much malicious intent felt really odd coming from her. Like, following HB logic (ugh, and there isn't much), this outburst is more like how Stella would react to a Stolas cake, seeing her cartoonish hate towards him and how she treats him. Verosika never had that type of "hate" towards Blitzo. In Spring Broken aside from the fight on the parking lot, she was ignoring him, until he came to challenge her. And in Ozzies was a coincidence both of them were there at the same time, and she took the opportunity when it presented to diss on him.

So her acting like a maniac vengeful ex who wants him dead seems a non logical change (and if she wanted him dead, like the scene implied, she has the resources to ask for a hitman). I get the cake was there as pettiness symbol. But still pettiness is different from hate. And then revert that change that on was during 2/4 of the episode (the manical laughter also set me off).

At the end it was showed that she still cares for him in a way (showed in the lasts bits of the episode)... so? I would also expect that kind of murderous rage from people with absolute hate and bitterness (again, like how they are depicting Stella, damn, Stella acted the same way when discussing Stolas death if I recall and in other situations when Stolas was almost hurt).

I don't think she was acting to make him feel welcome (because Stolas looked uncomfortable when she started to act that way, and I get many exes would have those feelings towards him, but... ) and she definitely wasn't drunk, even if she have been drinking since the start of the party, it think at this point, she has a very high tolerance, so she would need a lot more to get drunk.

So yea, I loved Verosika and her return, but I expected an episode centered around her (like spring broken was) instead of shifting the focus again to stolas and blitz, who have been the main focus since the beginning of season 2. If Verosika knew about the whole shit Stolas pulled, I don't think she would have invited him to the party, since the exes part means a consesual relationship, something that Blitz and Stolas thing wasn't. Hell, I think if she could, she would have called him out (again, yes, she hates Blitz, but she still cares, I don't think she would have liked to know how his ex was raped repeatedly) since now its shown that his royal status is bleh.

So yeah, the episode felt like a excuse to comfort Stolas, still make Blitz the bad guy, give Stolas the thumbs up and comfort while Blitz rots in self hate. Verosika being the tool to comfort the poor uwu bird.

Uf, this was a long rant, and even if you don't agree, that's fine. I'm just a guy who loves Verosika Mayday... but is already tired of the writing that pushes this couple at the center of all of it.

[akirathedramaqueen]

Is the knowledge of magic gatekept by Hell's elite?

Time for another shitpost speculative analysis. And, suddenly, no conclusions—just some facts I’ve gathered about the topic from the show and a bunch of questions for you. Because this time, as much as I would’ve liked to deliver some hot details, there isn’t enough information yet, and I prefer not to claim anything without having at least some degree of certainty in it.

So let's just talk and make some fun, semi-educated guesses, shall we?

Yesterday, @tealvenetianmask released a wonderful post about Blitzø and his insecurity regarding his intelligence. Give it a read—it's a topic that isn’t discussed enough. One of the points raised was his limited access to education, which made me think.

Grimoire.

An infinitely powerful artifact possessed by Stolas Goetia is central to the series, at least before The Full Moon episode, as it is the only way for Blitzø to access the mortal realm. While it serves its own purposes for bringing together—and ultimately breaking apart—Stolas and Blitzø, it also has many interesting properties and details that allow us to speculate on magic as a whole.

It made me think: Who theoretically can use this grimoire or other spell artifacts? Why is it that no one but Stolas is permitted to use it? Are there genetic and/or biological reasons for this, or is the restriction societally driven?

Namely, would all hell beings be able to use magic if given the chance to learn it?

Let’s examine the evidence we have and try to answer at least some of these questions.

Clue one: Using the grimoire by anyone other than Stolas is illegal

It is clearly stated by Stolas himself in these two episodes.

You know, I have been... permitting you to access the mortal realm less than... legally for quite some time now? S1EP1, Murder Family, 8:31

You will be able to go anywhere you want in the human realm without fear of consequence. Without breaking demon law. You no longer need my grimoire. S2EP8, The Full Moon, 19:05

The question is, why? We know it’s not crucial to have Goetia blood to channel magic from the grimoire—Loona has read spells from it, as we'll discuss later.

Could the reason be that the Goetia family wants to keep their powerful artifacts a secret and maintain their hold on power?

Clue two: Magic books are written in runes

The grimoire and Stolas's book about Asmodean crystals are written in runes, suggesting the potential existence of a language barrier when sharing magic-related knowledge.

Left - S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 17:44 Right - S2EP1, The Circus, 19:45

It is oddly convenient if you want fewer people to understand the sacred information you wish to keep to yourself.

Clue three: Stolas does not need his grimoire to cast spells from it

It is briefly discussed in the Seeing Stars episode.

[Blitzo]: No chance you can conjure us a couple of those, can ya? [Stolas]: Sadly, no. I'm afraid without my grimoire, my powers are just a tad limited in the human world. [Blitzo]: What, you can't memorize your fucking spells? [Stolas]: Oh, your memory's so great?  S2EP2, Seeing Stars, 6:33

See, Stolas does not deny Blitzø's assumption and gets annoyed when his memory is belittled. Therefore, I believe we can safely deduce that it is indeed a matter of only remembering the necessary chants to cast a spell. It is still possible that the artifact holds power on its own and Stolas needs it to access magic in the mortal realm, but it doesn't seem like the absence of the book prevented him from making two poor little human beings soil their little fancy trousers.

S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 19:11

And he does not need the book to summon the portals, it is seen multiple times throughout the series.

S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 20:10

Not mentioning him performing small magic tricks quite regularly:

Left - S2EP6, Oops, 7:42 Right - S2EP8, The Full Moon, 2:00

So, can we make a conclusion the grimoire is not so unique after all, if to memorize all the spells? Not sure, because... okay, I promise, we will get back to it later.

Clue four: Loona can use the grimoire, even though she is a lower-class demon

And she can shapeshift without any artifacts, which might suggest she has more magical abilities than other members of I.M.P. Her ability to read runes is also noteworthy.

Shhhit! I can't... I can't read the spell in this light! I can't see dick! S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 17:43

Do you think she could become a skilled magician with proper education? It's quite impressive that she knows the rune language to begin with, given her origin!

Clue five: Blitzø, Millie, and Moxxie are never seen using the book

Is this accidental, or are they simply unable to use the book? If the latter, is it because they are physically incapable of channeling magic (e.g., due to being imps), or is it because they don’t understand the language of the spells?

I noticed them bantering about replacing Loona because of her horrible attitude once or twice (such as at the beginning of the Seeing Stars episode). Does this mean they could take on her responsibility of opening the portal, or is it just bluff? There’s no way to know for sure.

If I'm so terrible, how about you just grow a pair and replace me? S2EP2, Seeing Stars, 3:03

Clue six: The I.M.P. crew is never shown trying any spells from the book other than those for portals

I.M.P. never tries any spells other than opening the portal, which seems strange, especially since they could have used disguise spells, as mentioned earlier in clue three.

Is it because they physically can’t use other spells, or is it an unspoken rule not to meddle with a powerful artifact whose true implications they might not fully understand?

Clue seven: Without the grimoire, the I.M.P. crew is not able to access the mortal realm

And it is posed as a big deal—the whole Season 2 setup revolves around Stolas freeing Blitzø by calling off the transactional agreement and providing a grimoire replacement, the Asmodean crystal.

Official Music Video, Just Look My Way, 0:11

This seems to contradict clue three. Perhaps there are specifics we have yet to learn or understand.

Why? If simply remembering the spell is enough, they would only need the book once. If Loona can read runes, she could write the spells down when Blitzø stole it, making the entire ordeal unnecessary.

Maybe, just knowing the spell isn’t enough to use it without the book. Maybe, special education or training is needed to prepare the body for it. Or, maybe, being born into royalty is a prerequisite for channeling magic without artifacts.

Maybe, if not conclusions, let's at least make a guess?

So, here’s everything I’ve gathered on the matter.

Without additional information, it seems a bit contradictory, and I admit, I sometimes get the feeling these might be plot holes left because this isn’t the focus of the story. This would be surprising though, as the show is usually very detailed and well-built in terms of worldbuilding.

I’m going to try to fill in these gaps with my speculations, just for fun. Please don’t consider this as making any claims; it’s more about me engaging in some mental gymnastics because I’m a lore geek and love figuring out how the fictional world works in media.

So, my take on whether the knowledge is gatekept or not: in short, it is.

If not so short:

I speculate (like highly speculate, because I have no proof), that any hellbeing could theoretically learn and use magic. It might require certain genetic preconditions, natural talent, and extensive training, but success is possible to varying degrees;

Artifacts assist in channeling magic for those who are untrained—like the grimoire helps the I.M.P. crew open portals;

Magic knowledge is encoded in runes to complicate the learning process for those not taught in it;

This knowledge is kept secret and shared only within royal circles, with different branches having their own secret techniques and specialties;

There are also laws prohibiting the sharing of this knowledge with lower-class demons.

Why? It’s simple—power wouldn’t be power if it could be used by just anyone. Withholding resources and granting access to it only to the wealthy is a characteristic of non-democratic regimes, and, mind you, Hell is an absolute monarchy at best.

But what do you think? Share your opinion via poll, reblogs, and comments!

Instead of my usual funny giggles at the end, I’ll reiterate from my reblog yesterday:

FREE AND ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION FOR ALL

Because only by sharing knowledge and making it public can the community truly prosper.

[autumnmobile12]

Helluva Boss S2 Trailer:  “You don’t love mother and you don’t love me!”

I have a problem with this line, and I’ve had a problem with Octavia’s character for awhile now, so I’m going to talk about it.

To cut her some slack, her house and family life is a mess.  Fighting parents, cheating dad, feeling neglected by both parents, and she’s a teenager on top of that.  I get it.  Moody, angsty teen with a really good reason for being moody and angsty.

And Stolas isn’t blameless in all this.  With the cheating, he’s actively a problem, but we can see that he loves his ‘little owlet.’  But he is a terrible father.  In the Seeing Stars episode, I thought that it was going to be a lot more Stolas and Octavia-centric on their relationship, but no.  He and Blitzo spend most of the time looking for her just dicking around in some human comedy act when they really didn’t need to be there.  Seriously, it wouldn’t have been the first time Blitzo massacred a group of humans to get out of an awkward situation, but if Stolas is so concerned about his daughter, then why didn't he do something about their situation? If he loves his daughter so much, why is he okay with this distraction? He's not even the one who gets him out of it in the end.  That was the first time Helluva Boss actually disappointed me.  I don’t think the brief bit of backstory we got with Blitzo and Loona justified the rest of that whole bit, so it was really pointless.  That piece could have been handled better.

Throughout the Stolitz ship, Stolas is 100% ignoring Octavia.  But terrible dad aside, the line from the Season 2 trailer, “You don’t love Mother and you don’t love me!” should be emotional.

Except…. “You don’t love Mother….”

…why would he?

Does Octavia not see what a violent, toxic bitch her mom is?  She has seen her screaming, getting violent, and throwing things. I suppose Octavia could have the opinion that Stella's anger is justified with the cheating and all, but then that explanation implies she thinks reacting violently like that is acceptable behavior. And let’s not forget Stella straight up ordered a hit on Stolas, which nearly succeeded.  Does Octavia not know about this?  Again, Stolas being a terrible dad for not taking steps to get the daughter he supposedly loves away from the psycho who ordered an assassination, but did none of this get back to Octavia?

Not that any of it makes Stolas' infidelity okay. If you're unhappy in a relationship, leave it. But with the way Stella behaves, there's no rational way Octavia can expect her parents to love each other. It sucks to be the child in that position, especially a teen still figuring things out, but that is very much an 'it is what it is' situation and you gotta make the best of it in whatever way you can.

As it stands, it isn't fair for Octavia to entirely blame Stolas for their family falling apart.

"You don't love mother and you don't love me," makes it sound like Octavia is consciously choosing her violent, narcissistic witch of mother over her dad. This also doesn't make sense with the plot because there's no sign of Octavia having a close relationship with her mom. There are no portraits of them together in a loving embrace as we see with her and Stolas. Plus, Stella doesn't care about Octavia. The only two times in the show she vaguely mentions her is as the 'one egg that finally dropped out of her' and when she and Andrealphus are discussing the inheritance that will go to Octavia. She doesn't care about Stolas either. The only effect the cheating had on her was the idea of public embarrassment for their family.

Neither of Octavia's parents care for her the way they should, so for the, "You don't love mother and you don't love me," line to work to its fullest impact, it should have been phrased as, “You don’t love me!  Neither you or Mom love me!”

I do love Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel…but Octavia’s character is really poorly handled.  I remember it being said in an interview that Helluva Boss does have heavier focus on its male characters while Hazbin Hotel was supposed to be more female-centric, but when it comes to Octavia, that structure in the storytelling is crumbling under its own weight. There is a story here and it has some major gaps that need addressing.

To give them some benefit of doubt, maybe this’ll be addressed in an episode before that line hits, so maybe it’ll make more sense. Or they could make it clear she said it out of anger.  At least, I hope so because I really need some righteous retribution for how Stolas behaves with his daughter.

...

Edit for clarity: The point of this post is a criticism of the lack of story we get for Octavia that justifies her motives, not a criticism of why she herself behaves the way that she does. The dysfunctional family is heavy stuff and since it is a front and center issue with Stolas' background, it needs more attention than the series gives it.

[chaifootsteps]

I see your Ozzie punches Stolas and give you the following alternative:

Blitzo has his first meeting with Ozzie and is impressed by how professional he is. He accidentally lets slip how much less stressful being under his supervision will be and Ozzie asks what he means.

Blitzo immediately tenses and starts stammering with before finishing with a sheepish 'Stolas didn't tell you?' (even though his stomach is already sinking because of course Stolas wouldn't mention anything that would make him look bad)

When Ozzie demands to know what Blitzo tells him - reluctantly, while habitually minimizing what Stolas did to him. When Ozzie bursts into flames he's terrified - but Ozzie sees straight away and calms down, reassuring Blitzo he isn't mad with him.

Other nobles know to send demons trying to get to the human realm to Ozzie for official processing, but Stolas risked a powerful grimoire to sleep with a lower class demon?

He gets all sorts of ick thinking about the power difference but he asks Blitzo if they at least had some kind of safe sane & consensual agreement or contract in place so no one was doing anything they were uncomfortable with.

Blitzo says no and when Ozzie asks why he tells him Stolas had so little concern for his safety when he first proposed the deal that Blitzo thought trying to rearrange terms was pointless. Then when Blitzo tells him what exactly happened when Stolas proposed the deal, Ozzie is so quiet Blitzo is worried he's going to combust the whole office.

Instead the sin asks, very quietly, if he can give Blitzo a hug. After he agrees Ozzie reassures him that Stolas is an embarassment to the Goetia and he's sorry for everything he was put through. Blitzo is too teary eyed to speak, so Ozzie asks him to stay with Fizz while he goes to take care of something.

Cut to Fizz and Blitzo eating comfort ice cream together while Hell news catches live footage of Ozzie busting into Stolas' palace and dragging him out by the ermine cape to haul him in front of a tribunal to face the music for breaking demon law and coercing Blitzo. Stolas squirms and tries to throw Blitzo under the bus, but luckily Fizz is there for emotional support and Blitzo gets a curious 'Good for you. Was hopin' you'd be free of that fuck someday' text from an unknown number that's signed with a cowboy hat & clinking beers emoji so all in all it's a pretty good night.

How this entire ask makes me feel:

Thank you for this, Anon. I'll be keeping this one very close.