#also: viv was the head writer on this episode

[totaldramafan-lauri]

OK, so.....u-um......this episode was......a lot! Obviously.......and.....

I-I'm gonna need some time and multiple rewatches to sort out all my feelings, so.....m-my extended thoughts will come later, cuz I'm busy with Splatfest.....

b-but.....my first impression was.....complicated.

I-I'm just a mess of conflicting emotions right now......I really really REALLY enjoyed myself.....b-but.....personal feelings got in the way at the same time, so I can't speak objectively right now.

Fizz isn't who I thought he was. This is something I have to come to terms with. He's been my favorite character ever since Ozzie's, and I'd been waiting so long to see him again, and learn more about him, and.....I-I certainly did.......

This is what happens when you put someone on a pedestal.....You build an image of what they are in your mind, and worship only that side of them, which.....leads to.....expectations that are too....high....

I'm happy I learned more about Fizz and what he's been through. But his personality didn't live up to the Fizz I had in my head since Ozzie's - over a year ago. I-I'll get into this in my extended thoughts, but....y-yeah.....I'm gonna need time to absorb this new information. I-I'm certain that he's still my favorite character, and that much will stay the same. I adore the guy. But....th-the exact way I feel about him......I-I'm not so sure.....

It's.....different now. And that's fine.

But, getting past those personal feelings......this is probably THE best written episode of the series so far.

I-it was all moving so fast, yet it was paced so well.....It kept the story moving, yet made sure to GUT PUNCH us with emotion on the way. That backstory scene was probably the closest I'd ever come to crying while watching Helluva.....that scene was short, yet it explained SO much about Blitzo and why he h-hates himself and- Th-the way his voice was- I-it was so hard to listen to.....

And the ending is probably the best episode ending we've had so far, showing that Blitzo IS able to fix his mistakes.....

I also loved so, so many more things than I can list here...T-trust me, I'll get there.....XD I-it was just a very climactic episode, simply put....and it makes me VERY excited for the show's future.

I can't make a call on if this is my favorite episode yet (again, I REALLY REALLY FLIPPING LOVE OZZIE'S, and also Exes and Ohs - but I think this is better than Truth Seekers which is already a high bar), but it's definitely a wow episode. And....I understand if it's other peoples' new favorite.

I-I just.....have some stuff to sort out first.....b-before I can say anything....

The only real problems I have are: 1. Stolas suddenly being outta the hospital with no mention that he was ever there, and 2. The song is the worst of season 2 so far, which PAINS me to say as a Fizz fan (I really wanted something cool from him.....b-but then again, I guess "House Of Asmodeus" was more Ozzie than him, so....a-again, I shot myself in the foot with high expectations)

S-sometimes, things don't go as you expected.....b-but you get something you love out of it anyway. Monster's University taught me that.....

[oceansarepink]

ppl point out Blitzo literally apologized to Stolas in Ozzie's (when he shouldn't have had to) when Stolas accused him of never feeling sorry but I just noticed

that wasn't the only time

Blitzo literally says 'I'm sorry' when he says he can't go rescue Stolas from Striker because he's busy.

so that's twice he apologized and Stolas somehow forgot

and if you count non-Stolas related apologies he also apologizes very loudly and sincerely to Loona at the end of Seeing Stars.

Stolas acting like Blitzo is this prideful guy who never apologizes and it's a major flaw of his is just him rewriting reality, yet again. it comes off like he only believes it because Blitzo wouldn't cave immediately and apologize a second time for expressing how Stolas made him feel (or in Stolas' head, for refusing to believe Stolas genuinely liked him despite it being entirely Stolas' fault that Blitzo has no good reason to believe that)

honestly it really feels like the classic abuser strategy of projection where the perp accuses the victim of doing something they literally just did to their victim

the perfect moment for Stolas to apologize would have been at the end of full moon - a genuine apology, not that weaselly-words 'I'll do everything but say it's my fault for making the deal' speech he did earlier. but he doesn't and in the very next episode accuses Blitzo of being the one who is incapable of apologizing

yucky abuse dynamics asides, idk why we're expected to believe Stol1tz will last longer than five minutes when one party is comically incapable of self-reflection or sincere regret and the other party is being manipulated into apologizing just for expressing their feelings

🤕 except it’s the writer herself who keeps altering past events to make her favourite character look better. So she creates a new character flaw in Blitzø who has actually apologised more than any in the character in the show. 7 times in the series.

1. Sorry I (x) your husband - to Stella (weird but it counts)

2. In truth seekers when he vowed to be a better friend to moxxie and reminded him his value, and to use his actual name. I count that.

3. I can’t do it tonight alright, I’m sorry. - to stolas

4. Loona my sweet baby girl I’m so sorry I’ll never replace you no matter what.

5. Aw shit stolas i cant today alright I’m sorry I’m literally on my way to take Loona for her very important S.H.O.T.

6. I’m sorry Fizz. I’m so sorry you got so hurt, I’m sorry for what you’ve lost and I know I can never make that right. But You have no idea what I lost in that fire. I mean it’s all my fault, I’d hate me too. I do hate me.

7. Stolas, wait, I’m sorry. - stolas kicked him out

8. Him berating himself and verbally lifting stolas up as amazing, so that he stops crying and stops drinking. Shows remorse also. None of which stolas deserved.

Stolas has once. To via. Unless you count a polite ones in those simpering texts of his. In seeing stars via doesn’t let him because she blames herself entirely due to Loonas words. I struggle to count the “sorry it’s a bad time yet again Blitzy but I’m in a sitch” because he’s asking for something. So if you stretch, that’s maybe 3.

The sad part is Blitzø internalises all of stolas’ cruelty and insults and believes them to be true. Blitzø already has an internal voice of hate and criticism; stolas is his externalised self hatred. Because why wouldn’t he believe the prince, stolas is the one dressed so nicely, singing so nicely with pretty props, crying and surrounded by people crying with him, who all hate Blitzø, so stolas must be right.

Idc, Blitzø knew stolas was in trouble and reacted accurately. He had other things to do and Millie offered to help him. He was going to go over there. It’s weird that Viv wrote him to say “he can get hurt?” “I didnt think he was capable of-” and this was all she could come up with to make stolas all wounded and all betrayed. I’m tired of Blitzø throwing himself in the line of fire all the time. Stolas encourages his worst instincts. It’s not his job to protect stolas. But he did anyway. Even if he had saved him Viv would say “but it’s his fault striker even came back at all because reasons” I think it’s Stella’s fault actually but maybe that’s just me? He’s angrier at blitzø than Stella because he didn’t fulfil his damsel fantasy?

I think vivzie doesn’t account for fans who aren’t knee deep in stolitz Twitter, Instagram, ao3, r34, tiktok etc. Those fans have the romance in their heads the show doesn’t need to even write it. I’m guessing their dynamic will end up as Stolas replacing Loona. Blitzø allows him to abuse him because he feels guilt and sympathy, he wants there to be love between them. The relationship is based on this feeling of remorse and self hate, and pity for how lonely and hurt stolas is.

[trashogram]

When i write this pls delete my tumblr if those fans are coming at my head//j

Srsly but i need someone to talk about this. My only concern and complain about the Helluva Boss finale is at episode 11 and 12. For Episode 11 i was shocked and did'nt actually thought stolas would be there in the episode. My mind was like: "Dude, are'nt you and Blitz are still not on good terms from Apology tour and you come to the trial as if you care for him??" That is the moment i knew something is wrong with the shows writing. It just does'nt make sense for Stolas immediately want to save Blitz there when the other episode before they are still not good with each other. It's so rushed for me to the point i feel weird watching the ending and hard to have sympathy with the story now.

With episode 12, I hate how everyone overlook Octavia as "not appreciating Stolas who 'try' to be a good father" Reminder to you that she's a teenager. She never understood whats going on around her. Seeing your parents fight and find out one of them was the problem of course you would turn against them as well. Its just frustrating for me.

Also Pilot Stolas could have been something we can get ALL ALONG. I JUST HAVE THIS FEELING THAT PILOT STOLAS COULD BE MORE LIKEABLE THAN SHOW STOLAS.

I will never bored myself to say this but i will sell my soul to litteraly anyone who is willing to re write this 2 show. Litteraly. They. Could've done. Better. Thats all from me.

Anyone that comes after you for being critical of Helluva Boss is an idiot. Period. And they’re not worth deleting your tumblr for, hon. Don’t sweat it. I’ll gather you under my wings like a mother bird and shelter you from their obnoxious tantrum-ing.

But I see what you’re saying, and yeah the writing is atrocious. Personally I started getting irritated by the time of (S1:E6) Truth Seekers and (S1:E7) Ozzie’s bc of the back-to-back hits on Blitzø (which was subtle foreshadowing for the real horrors to come and sweet summer child me had no idea 😣) and then (S2:E1) The Circus began the true spiral into total disillusion when they had the audacity to use SA as a tool for sympathizing with Stolas.

I’m done watching the show as of the Season 2 finale because I’m not a fujoshi girl by any means, and that’s the only reason I can think of anyone sincerely enjoying that crap — but then I know others may have a higher tolerance for bullshit than myself.

If Viv knew better, she would’ve done minimal to no writing for the show and allowed Brandon Rogers to be the head writer. We would’ve gotten pilot!Stolas then, my dear.

RIP Creepy Bird Mouth 😔

[chaifootsteps]

there were a lot of bad moments but there was one line in particular that bothered me

'do you ever regret the things you do?' followed by Stolas asking if Blitzo has ever apologized before

And the answer is yes, Stolas - yes he literally has. The person he's apologized to is Stolas at the end of the Ozzie's, the one time he shouldn't have had to give an apology - because he just didn't want to sleep with Stolas that night. Did Stolas just conveniently forget about that?

(also to Loona at the end of Seeing Stars, the other time he ended up taking on too much responsibility in an argument with someone who had no intention of acting less shitty towards him)

it's just so galling to hear that from Stolas of all people, given how he's been physically incapable of apologizing to Blitzo so far and obviously wasn't even considering it at any point in this episode. Does he think his 'I'll do everything but literally say I'm sorry' speech in Full Moon means he's basically in the clear at this point?

(And Stolas has apologized to Via once and learnt precisely nothing from it, he's just as shitty as ever - but sure, criticize Blitzo for prioritizing his daughter's health over rescuing his incompetent feathered ass for a second time. Weird how the writers don't have Blitzo point out he should understand since he has Via)

It's clear he's still not understood what Blitzo meant when he said 'don't pretend there's anything between us but sex - you make that really clear all the time' - forget being slow on the uptake, is Stolas experiencing time dilation or something? is his brain running Windows 97?

if Blitzo still doesn't trust him once the deal is done, most people would realize that there's maybe a bigger problem here. or that the deal itself is a justifiable reason not to immediately trust him and be able to switch gears just like that. but Stolas is so hung up on getting his needs met he still hasn't shown any real consideration for what's going on in Blitzo's head. He gets unproductively frustrated about Blitzo "projecting" the role of a prince on him (heavy air quotes there because he really is an idiot if he thinks his title doesn't matter - they opened this episode with him lounging around his fancy fountain while Blitzo has to scale the wall just to talk to him) and never asks why Blitzo is irritated with him (of course Viv is just going to frame it like Blitzo believes Stolas could never love him to let Stolas off the hook as much as possible)

The closest he's got is remembering a couple of shots from season 1 during his song (he's finally exhibiting signs of having a functional memory! what a miracle! and it's something from season 1!) but even then he's still like 'hmm, is there something I should learn from this? was it perhaps wrong of me to ask for sex as repayment for saving his life and demean him constantly around the theme park while he was uncomfortable? :('

it's really something to see the writers pole vault right over 'Stolas is a mess but could fix his life & relationships with enough work' all the way to 'Stolas is not only pathetic but is the densest motherfucker to ever walk the 7 rings' (hey, if he thinks it's fair game to call Blitzo that...)

It's the writing equivalent of watching someone repeatedly insist that 2 + 2 = 5. Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it.

[snorkling-in-sodasea]

Ghost F-Kers Rant

Because yeah, I'm pissed at this episode. I initially liked it but that's literally just because it had the fucking Stolitz drama that I'm so sick and tired of at this point to the back. It may be how the episode even happened but it was still to the back.

Then I read YMMV on TV tropes for this episode and realize that, under Informed Wrongness, Blitz is a fucking douche. Again.

And now I'm right back into hating Blitz so I don't like the episode as much anymore.

It's amazing. It truly is. Stolas is literally the only reason I can ever care about Blitzo. When Blitzo is being made to care about and fall in love with his abuser and sexual extorter. Take Stolas away, though, and I go straight back to hating Blitzo and wanting him to suffer.

And no, I don't mean 'suffer' like that fucking constant trauma dumping that the show writers seem to do with Blitzo in every single episode now. I'm talking about making him suffer comedically.

Eustace Bagg from Courage the Cowardly Dog. Dan from Dan Vs. Those two men are grown up entitled babies and yet, I can feel for them far more than I ever can Blitzo. Eustace and Dan definitely don't need a sexual abuser like how Blitzo does for me to feel sorry for them and/or like them

Maybe that's because of two major things that are coming to me off the top of my head. For one, the writers made sure that Eustace and Dan got as much shit as they gave. Or at the very least, they often made sure to remember that they're assholes and should be punished for it

The other thing is probably that, more often than not, it was funny. It wasn't just cathartic when these assholes got consequences for their jerkass behavior. It was also funny. Sure, Courage the Cowardly Dog and Dan Vs. are comedies but maybe that's it. Helluva Boss really was better off being a comedy and nothing more, so that way, Blitzo can suffer like Eustace and Dan and that would've been perfectly fine

Because really, nobody's ever held accountable in the right way. As in, the actual fucked up shit someone does, especially if they're in Viv's favor, actually get held accountable for that shit. It's treated as no big deal that Blitzo has always stalked his employees and tried being their 'third' against their wishes. Stolas is constantly written like his worst flaws are just not being aware or missing the hint, like his racism and fetishizing ways aren't a thing he does, as well as neglecting his daughter the very second Blitzo re-entered his life. And getting into Hazbin Hotel, and just to give a couple of examples for that show, only a fucking passing mention is made about Angel always violating Husk's boundaries and apparently Husk isn't a bad guy for taking his frustration out on everyone and airing their dirty laundry when it was only Angel who was bothering him at the time. At least if Helluva Boss was strictly a comedy that made assholes suffer comedically, then I wouldn't give as much of a fuck (I don't know about Hazbin Hotel but I'm staying focused on my rant for Ghostfuckers here)

But yeah, I hate how, in this episode, Blitzo nearly bankrupts the company that Millie works in and she's the one who says sorry to him. Like, does Millie seriously not realize the end result that would've affected her? Sure, Blitzo may have given her a new life she loves but he was threatening to end it. And worse, he couldn't have been bothered to care or even think about how his incapability of managing his personal shit without dragging others into it would have affected the employees he claims are his family

Come on, Millie, your and Moxxie's jobs were on the fucking line! If anything happened to your job, then you wouldn't be able to stay in your apartment building. You wouldn't be able to have the city life. And if you can't stay in the city, where you were so damn happy to be in because it proved you could be more than a simple farm girl or, at best an underpaid goon, then you. Would have lost that.

You would have needed to go back to the farm where you were worried you'd be stuck in for the rest of your life. And honestly, you're lucky that you even have someone to turn to, somewhere to go, even if you hate it. Because I'm sure there's so many people who become downright homeless all because they're out of a job. But yeah, even though you're lucky, Millie, Blitzo's actions would have still left a negative impact on your life that you never would've wanted

Let's not forget how it affects your husband, too. Moxxie would have preferred the in-laws over Crimson, yeah, but it's still not gonna be a happy life for him. Not when he's with people who just barely hide their disdain towards him. That means Moxxie's life is also going to be severely negatively affected, his life would have taken a turn that he would have never wanted, and it's all because fucking Blitzo decided that a pity party for himself was the most important thing ever

Honestly, Blitzo only seems to be caring and selfless in comparison to Stolas. When it comes down to it, Blitzo will still make himself the most important person in his own life. And yeah, that does make itself known when he's in a 'mood' because there's people out there who would legitimately rather throw pity parties than actually overcoming adversity or personal problems

Blitzo was looking to adopt a kid at the pet pound but he didn't want a 'sad-looking' kid. He didn't see poor souls that shouldn't be there, he just saw the place potentially providing a convenient sap who can 'learn' to love him. He just adopted Loona because... she's the prettiest? I'd like to believe 'he saw himself in Loona' but either those kids earlier were a different type of sad from Blitzo himself or Blitzo just saw a pretty, crying girl and wanted to save her (in a platonic way, I just don't know how else to phrase that)

Blitzo wanted to get together with Barbie despite how it's the most obvious thing ever that she doesn't want him in her life again. Blitzo still goes out of his way to find her, being hostile the very second he doesn't get answers that he wants, makes Barbie out to be the bitch that he voluntarily took a week-long search for her, and never calls off the hit that would cost Barbie her job. Blitzo obviously had to know during the verbal confrontation that the target for Moxxie's job is someone Barbie needs for her own job. Yet, when the physical confrontation happened, Blitzo never stops Moxxie from killing the guy. It seems nice on the surface to offer Barbie help when she was out of a job but, given his general attitude in Unhappy Campers - specifically towards Barbie in this case - and the fact that Blitzo lets the hit happen even though he should know how it would affect Barbie, it just comes off as Blitzo wanting someone around who would notice it when he dies. Even if Blitzo didn't think of making Barbie dependent on him so that she'd have an excuse to be around him and give him a chance to 'mend' any broken bonds, it's still clear enough that he decided that his livelihood is more important than Barbie's thanks to, once again, never calling off that hit. Probably the most insulting part is that Blitzo offers help like his general nasty attitude towards Barbie and complete disregard for her personal wishes wasn't going to be an issue at all. Oh, and let's not forget how Blitzo spent months not knowing that Barbie checked out of the hospital, meaning that he never had a desire to talk to her or check up on her for months. That just seems, at least to me, more like he only cared in Unhappy Campers about a bond with Barbie for his personal gain

Blitzo may have cared about Fizzarolli but he had the fucking gall to play the misery game with the guy who lost his limbs, which means that his very lifestyle is affected and it's only lucky that Fizzarolli even secured new limbs and a job to keep living. After all, Blitzo may have been thinking about his mom but it's not like Fizzarolli didn't have people, too. (At least I hope so, since Viv, for all the new characters she creates, rarely ever gives almost any named character more than five connections to others) The thing is, Fizzarolli would have needed hospitalization and care and most people in the circus would have been either dead or too busy to do so. Some might even think of Fizzarolli as dead weight and wouldn't want to even bother. In fact, as awful as he's actually allowed to be, Cash Buckzo is notable for being willing to do so, especially for an unrelated young man. So yeah, Fizzarolli is lucky that he even had anyone wanting to take care of him, especially since I can't hold hopes for anyone else in the circus, and that's even more true since he's never had any parents or blood-related family appear in the show so far. So to shorten it, Fizzarolli lost his limbs, his anatomy - at least until he got new limbs - his very lifestyle and possibilities for the future with or without Ozzie, any friends he could have lost to the fire, and, to some extent, the ability to live peacefully thanks to the fucking trauma. But no, Blitzo decides to act like he's the one who lost more than Fizzarolli ever did, because he fully believes his own pain is what wins the misery game. The guy who only got fucking scars from the fire (I'm not saying that losing his mom isn't a big deal but I still believe Fizzarolli wins the misery game since that's how Blitzo wants to play)

And like I said, even if Blitzo was actually genuine when he first gave jobs to Millie and Moxxie, Blitzo sure couldn't give a fuck that he negatively affecting their futures in this episode thanks to caring only about satisfying himself and throwing a pity party for himself. Blitzo can't even give 'unconditional' support without attaching conditions to it; he legitimately thinks a coupon is needed to leave Millie and Moxxie the fuck alone because he apparently thinks that caring about their boundaries isn't worth anything if there's nothing in it for him

So yeah, I do agree that Ghostfuckers is better than other episodes of this season. Then again, it feels like I'm given a whole batch of burnt cookies and the latest episode is just a cookie not as badly burnt as the other ones.

That's not really a good thing, if you're just not as bad as the others. It's just that Ghostfuckers is a cookie that tastes good when I ate it but then I'm discovering, to my dismay, a downright awful aftertaste

[campbell-rose]

Helluva Fucking Rant: S2 E6 

OKay I’m a big fat liar and my pants are burning my ass rn, I know I said I’d do Rwby designs next but then the whole leaked episode drama happened and now it’s out and I need to complain. 

*Off the bat, I’m not going to talk pacing mainly because I have little experience with dealing with pacing (having never written anything more than comic strips lol). The episode didn’t feel too fast but anyway 

I’m going to organize this based on gripes I have per character. 

Fizzarolli: He is my baby. He's like kind of babygirl if that makes any sense. “Maybe I could burn the milk this time” 

I adore Fizz as a character. He’s not babified or infantilized like a lot of Viv’s other gay men. So far. Who knows, the writers have proven how adept they are at contradicting and retconning characters. But uhhhh what the fuck was he doing in Greed? Am I stupid? Like, it’s never spelled out. Is it for pr? Is it a deal with Mammon type thing? Is he promoting something? If he had somewhere to be why did he let his dogs run him all over creation??? Like, bit of an issue there as it’s only vaguely mentioned that he was practicing something. 

His backstory is like... acceptable I suppose. Not what I was expecting. I was expecting like, what we got, and a combination of some other theories I had personally. See, my issue is the fire and how imps have been shown in previous episodes to be, ya know, IMMUNE TO FIRE. Imagine if, and bear with me here huge stretch I know, imps are immune to fire and hellfire – but not holy fire. Like, shit straight from the angel’s burning halo type fire. That would make sense, since hellfire is a thing in pop culture and biblically accurate angels are all gold and flames! 

I do like the idea that fizz’s entire body is white from scars, however I think his scars need texture for the idea to sell. Maybe in full costume it’s covered with makeup, but come on people he was lit on fire, you ever seen a healed burn? Fizz being scared of the flames legit made me sad, I love him so much. However they’re trying to show he’s got like ptsd (maybe not exactly but still) from it, but it feels inconsistent to me for some reason. On a final note, he never should’ve forgiven Blitzo in any way, shape or form tbh, I would’ve preferred what Barbie did just straight up, I don’t like you, I can’t forgive you please leave me alone.  

Asmodeus: This cemented for me how much I fucking hate his design. His stupid head is so tiny and his body is built like a brick shithouse like, it’s so unbalanced and weird looking. I like his character here I suppose. No noticeable inconsistencies from his first appearance. His va is killing it tbh, love him so much what a king. 

I’m fine with his character, what I’m not fine with is the weird consent angle their going with. Like... he is the SIN of LUST??? Valentino is more of what I’d expect as the sin of Lust compared to Asmodeus. Also, the WEAKEST and most NON THREATENING SIN??? KESHADOG IS RIGHT THERE 

Crimson: He should’ve been hired by Mammon to get back at Asmodeus. Maybe Asmodeus has an unpaid debt with Mammon and has been shirking him so Mammon is like ‘i have your fucktoy now, give me my money or you won’t get him back’ 

Like his little video chat could’ve been context, like “You don’t know me, but you may know my employer – Mammon?” 

The paperwork would make sense then, Mammon is sending over contracts and bullshit Asmodeus has to sign. The importance of reading the fine print would be even more present because Asmodeus is dealing with someone on his level who can actually fuck him up, not some nobody imp he could kill with a glance! Crimson’s motive could be that Mammon offered him a share of Ozzie’s stock and would let him run some shit because Crimson has become a prominent member of higher society despite being an imp, which is the only reason Striker is partnered with him. 

Striker: Striker baby doll, please just fucking kill Fizz. Like, stop fucking standing there, kill the fucker. Omg I was so annoyed with his lack of action this episode. Both Fizz and Striker are incredible agile and snake like characters, this whole distraction song should’ve been a mix of striker trying to kill Fizz/Fizz avoiding him and Crim’s gang being just flabbergasted by the bullshit they’re witnessing. It’s been shown before that Crimson ony ever sits on the sidelines while his goons get killed so like????  

Anyway, Viv can try as hard as she wants to paint Striker as in the wrong and a bigot, but it won’t work on me. He’s completely in the right because imps are literally the slave/working class in this caste system. Fizz is (to imps in the slums and less fortunate) probably the epitome of a pampered lapdog plaything of the upper class. ANd that could’ve been something interesting to explore. Why not show the perspective of other imps that think like Striker, maybe have them be antagonistic to Fizz because he’s Asmodeus and Mammon’s pet, or maybe Fizz finds out that’s what people think of him and he’s horrified and that’s why he’s mad Blitzo calls him a whore. But no, because Striker is an evil bigot who sides with the evil woman Stella so nobody else thinks like he does. 

Also, his new va has the sexiest voice i've heard since live action Buggy or sub Crocodile so I'm not complaining about him taking up screen time

Him all disheveled is straight up working for me

Blitzo: Once again he gets away with being shitty and stupid and awful because he’s a woobie. Why the fuck was the crux of their hatred based on a birthday cake and the miscommunication trope??? I hate this so much.  

Was Blitzo in love with Fizz? Is that what that blink and you’ll miss it letter was? I’m getting very tired of this show having blink and you’ll miss it plot beats. That isn’t showing not telling, it’s like sweeping shit under a rug. Its like they think just because it was on screen for a frame the audience will catch it and be like ‘omg it happened’ or feel smart for catching something. Stolitz making up through text shouldn’t be a pause the video and read moment for fuckssake. 

I’m finding it very ahrd to tolerate Blitzo. On the topic of him though, I saw the leaked episode. WHY was Barbie taken out of the final flashback???

What the actual fuck???? Like... once again the women in this show are just shoved away and forgotten this is like Naruto level female character writing guys. Naruto had one good female character and she was still sidelined half the damn time. 

Also i fucking hate how this show can't be serious for more than five seconds like when Fizz and Blitzo hug and Blitzo is like 'haha wanna make out' i hate this but it isn't as egregious as having dildos during an abuse scene

Conclusion: Animation was amazing (also one of my fav animators KittenSneeze is an animator for Spindlehorse now like i love them so good for them), plot was whatever, characters are where the story falls, this won and I can’t anymore. 

Actually no, not conclusion. You know what really makes me hate Helluva Boss? It isn’t fair. I know that sounds childish and stupid, but who cares I’m childish and I’m stupid. Why is it that someone like Viv, who consistently doesn’t take criticism and is just a shit person all around gets rewarded for doing dogshit all the time. Yeah it’s a bit step for indie animation or whatever but she literally has Alex Brightman in her fucking pocket I don’t wanna hear it. Lackadaisy has earned it’s time in the goddamn spotlight, not Viv and her stupid creations. It’s so unfair. She got popular off of happenstance for her kesha sparkledogs and now she’s off bastardizing demonology and writing borderline backwards gay and female characters and she’s getting praised as the patron saint of queer rep and indie animation. Like, she doesn’t deserve it. Genuinely. I wish I could just post my demon story and people would just flock to it like flies to shit and shower me in praise and protect me from any criticism. But that’s not how real life works, but for some reason it is for Viv. Its just... I hate it. 

Anyway, baby rant over. This episode was like 7/10 tbh. It wasn't amazing but for Helluva Boss it was good. Sarcastic Chorus made a video about it that I'm gonna watch because honestly his takes could convince me this show is on Arcane's level lmao. Bye bye <3 

[eyecan02]

The Charlastor POV of the Dubbing Recording Studios

Guys I just had a thought. What if the writers behind episode 7 made it such a heavy Charlastor episode because they (like some don't know the full lore of Alastor/Chaggie) just wrote it like that because they felt Alastor and Charlie eventually getting closer than Chaggie was inevitable at some point?

It reminds me of what the Latin recording studio of Hazbin Hotel said once on Tiktok. One person was begging for Charlastor to be canon in the comment section of the ep 7 charlastor bedroom scene and the Latin studio responded with "Maybe."

Do you guys remember that? They obviously have no control over what becomes canon but it made me think that the Latin studio was naturally able to put two and two together. So did the Italian studio.

I covered this one in my posts but don't know how to link older posts on here yet, but in that post the Italian studio didn't know how to translate "ace in the hole" so they had Rosie say "so you still know how to put the ball in the hole."

Which we know of course means "fucking". That's a wild jump from ace in the hole. The fact that the Italians saw the Charlastor bedroom scene probably as a seduction and Rosie saying Charlie was too young for Alastor, it gave them the confidence to think that they weren't wrong for suggesting that Alastor still knows how to "fuck". XD

A lot of those studios probably didn't even know Chaggie was a thing until episode 5. So if those two studios can see a natural chemistry between Charlie and Al then I imagine other studios must also see it heading in the canon direction.

Whether it ever becomes canon or not, at least we have Charlastor writers on our side. There's plenty more good Charlastor food coming. I can feel it. That being said I'm excited for eps 2x5 and 2x7 as Viv and Erika hyped them up a lot so I'm very optimistic about this "great tension" they spoke of for those eps.

[showtoonzfan]

Ganna be honest the only reason I’m sticking around Helluva right now is because I’m waiting for the Fizz and Ozzie episode, as well as seeing Fizz’s backstory. I don’t give a shit about Barbie’s episode, (REALLY hope that’s not the next one, if it is I’m not watching it, I can’t stand another fucking poor pity me Blitz episode) nor the episodes that come after since we already know by the leaks how this shit is ganna end, so I really think I’m going to drop the Stolitz show after the Fizz and Ozzie one.

Season 1 was bad but season 2 is just worse. It’s retconning fucking everything, flip flopping it’s character motivations and can’t stay fucking consistent for the life of it, the female characters are still pushed to the back and have no thought or care written into them compared to the males, the humor is absolute dogshit because the creator only sticks to one fucking form of comedy every single time and can’t focus on the serious aspects without an unfunny shitty gag or distraction, the constant push of everyone wanting you to ship Stolitz and care about them despite them still having no chemistry or reason why they should end up together, (and being horrible people themselves) the constant dangling of future plot threads only for it to have an underwhelming “conclusion”, and introducing new threats when we STILL haven’t gotten to know our main fucking characters well and their dynamics/relationships, the show tries so hard to be deep and compelling but fails every time because in reality the writers have no idea how to write trauma and abuse and it’s just a fetish show for people who sexualize gay men to the maxes and get off to sex, the obvious fact that Viv has NO idea where this story will end or what her end goal is for the show, so she keeps pulling ideas at the top of her head without planning what will come after, causing everything we watch to not have any build up, proper time and dedication, or feel earned.

The show CONSTANTLY goes back to the status quo every episode and barley acknowledges the previous one that happened or existed, the characters stay the same and are never going through actual fucking development, learn from their mistakes or past, and when the writers aren’t retconning things, the characters are exactly the same as they were in the beginning of the show. The only characters I slightly care about at this point are Via, Striker, Fizz, and maybe Ozzie, but Striker clearly is a tool that Viv seems to have no sympathy for, and Octavia? Well…fuck Octavia, who cares about her feelings, lol, she’s a meanie for being upset with her father and needs to suck up to him just because he’s nicer, and when I say I “like” Fizz and Ozzie, that’s not saying much. We barley know them and I hate that Fizz is tied to Blitz in the first place, because you know Viv is going to end up sucking Blitz’s dick for every shitty action he did and have the end work in his favor. It’s so predictable, Fizz and Blitz are going to make amends, even if it’s not this season, I know it’ll happen, cause every fucking episode that focuses on Blitz wants you to feel bad for him and side with him, even when he’s being called out for being a dick, especially if you’ve seen the leaks. Speaking of those, with Viv mentioning that this season has 12 episodes and episode 12 was ALSO leaked, it gives me no hope or interest for the show. This show wants you to hate anyone and anything who doesn’t side with Stolas and I don’t give a shit about him and Blitz, since this is literally confirmed to be the Stolitz show, and these are two awful unfunny characters who should have never been main characters in the first place.

There are tons of better shows out there right now, as well as old shows I haven’t watched yet, and I need to stop wasting my breath repeating the same thing over and over. Tearing the show apart IS fun, but at the same time, it’s the same case with every episode. Fast pacing, unfunny humor, tonal problems, filler, favoritism in writing, lack of buildup, retconning, and the main point that certain characters suck and others deserve better. It’s legit the same issue every time so that’s why it’s starting to get so tiring critiquing the show and watching it, especially since I don’t give a shit about the characters or story, cause the characters I actually care about get thrown in the dust while the characters that fucking suck get focus constantly and idolized, and whenever an upcoming plot for an episode SEEMS like it’ll intrigue me, the potential is swept out the window because no one on this writing team is a good writer, not Adam, not Brandon, and especially not Viv, who hasn’t learned anything or improved, and doesn’t realize that she just doesn’t have the writing chops for what she’s TRYING to accomplish, and the show will never improve because the creator is a stuck up brat who can’t take criticism and treats it like acid rain.

[sweetshelluvaau]

wait when was fizz ooc /gen

like tbf we didnt know a lot about him off-stage before oops so even tho he wasnt what he expected i wouldnt necessarily say it was ooc

same for ozzie

Maybe ooc isn't exactly the right term (at least in Oops case, the Mammon episode, oh he was completely ooc imho. I explained my thoughts about this here) more than how the narrative has everyone in the show be like 'isn't Stolas great?' and just defending him like Fizz you barely even know the guy! That or the writers fear that they can't write an abuse victim which happens to also be a horrible person. They have to be the 'prefect victim'. They took Fizz's bite away in the Mammon episode where he couldn't stand up for himself let alone have these insecurities he didn't have before out of no where?

Fizz not being able to protect himself physically? Okay I can buy that he's not a fighter. Fizz walking on eggshells around Mammon? Completely understandable being he's both his idol and his boss. But I'm sorry he wouldn't have sit there and take Glitz and Glam insults without snapping back? He'd also chew out that obsessed fan as well (which would also show how he grew from a timid teenager to a Snarky Shit). Yeah he may get a word from Mr. Christmas Tree after for the fan thing, but with G&G? C'mon, a little drama is great entertainment Mammon would eat that shit up if it means more view and money.

However with the case of Oz: He was written as if he was a complete idiot just to make Stolas look better in Oops. Yeah thankfully he didn't kiss Stolas' ass and seems to not like the guy (and I know Viv is gonna recon that in the future because god forbid we have a character that isn't a villain not like Stolas) but the whole thing with the lawyer and and Ozzie making really rash decisions (I mean yes he's hot headed but he's not stupid) and really Stolas NOT needing to be there.

Also saw someone in the critical tag mention this today: I'm sorry, Ozzie would sense something is up with Stolas and his 'feelings' for Blitzo. We had this ham fisted consent speech that went over owl boys head and you're telling me a man who's lived for thousands of years and has most likely dealt with some of the worst of humanity and demons Earth and Hell have to offer isn't gonna sense any red flags? And considering how much he hates people like Mammon, I'm sure plenty of the Ars Goetia aren't any better.

In other words Ozzie could smell bullshit from a mile away.

Also I'm ranting about this again for the hundredth time but Ozzie wouldn't sit around listening to some lawyer, he'd go to rescue Fizz himself. The guy can teleport anyways so I'm sure he can easily sneak into Crimson's compound and lay down the smack down like it's no one business because he's a SIn for crying out loud! And maybe after seeing Blitzo keeping Fizz safe and having that conversation with Stolas, Oz would likely just give Blitzo the crystal as a thank you suppose to giving to Stolas to give it Blitzo being again, he's picking up bad vibes.

That or have Fizz deliver it at a later date. After all, it was Fizz who said he 'earned it' and who's word do you think Ozzie is going to take to heart? It sure ain't Hooters.

That being said I'd also blame the fact that the same character can act one way in another episode and then have a completely different personality in the next if it means fitting the narrative. No one character is consistent and can change if it means making a character look better or again, fits the narrative of that said episode. What did they have some character development the last few episodes ago? Never mind that we're back to their old self or better yet, they have a completely new personality all together the fuck?

Honestly, I'm kinda drained from making the same agreements all time. All I wanted was a silly demon show about some silly demon assassins, not whatever the fuck we got now. At this point I just want to focus mostly my AU and other projects.

[woomycritiques543]

Okay, following up in my heated ask about Viv where I stated her ableism... (And other things about her too but mainly the ableist part) I do apologize for being so heated but as an autistic it hit me hard in a way seeing a joke being played for laughs the way it did

critic-cal-zonez post is an example of what I meant yesterday in my ask where they stated Viv made a very tasteless joke about (blitzo almost calling a neurodivergent character r*tarded) (only to acknowledge Viv can't say the r word because it's used as a slur towards neurodivergent people). Meanwhile in the pilot episode of helluva boss Vivs writing team use the r word freely and even after fans called it out they never apologized for it. You'll find this *joke* in the newest episode "Western Energy" where blitzo waited 5 years to take loona to the vet for a shot. At 3:27 (start of joke) to 4:22 (end of joke) is what I referred to. That being the joke made in the episode about neurodivergent and lower functioning autistic people. Basically playing off the joke like being neurodivergent and autistic automatically means I'm r*traded and stupid and deserve to be treated like crap because of it hope that explains it all :D

Ah, that is very concerning.

They used the r word towards a character who had a “slow” though process, while another character who’s definitely autistic gets called “smooth head, slow-” for not catching up immediately on what Blitz was saying, and he’s also a hyperfixator, both of which are autistic traits. -and even “reta^^^” in the pilot and then this episode now referenced when it depicted the r word as “offensive and quirky!”, shooting itself in the foot since that means that the show showing a slur as “quirky!” is not just something horrible that the writers did-

But it’s now canon in Helluva Boss…

-and people defended this as “But it’s a demon in-“ but that doesn’t fucking matter if it’s depicted/animated as “cute and quirky!” In the scene instead of as a problem especially since we now know that Vivziepop is 100% an ableist person.

These are the same people who have insulted people by calling them “mentally unstable” or a “psycho!” and constantly use the show as a way to mock something people have in real life- aka MENTAL DISORDERS!

Moxxie is called slow and “retar^ded!” and is constantly insulted whenever he has a hard time understanding why Blitz is insulting him, which isnt just gaslighting, but ableism that the show 100% romanticizes to the point of having Millie, his “defensive” wife excuse what Blitz does or just not exist at all every time this happens. It’s 100% ableism on the writer’s part, and the fact that people tried to use the fact that it’s a depiction of ableism to gaslight people into not seeing the way the ableism is being depicted is absolutely disgusting.

Anyone who actually supports the disabled doesn’t write ableism this way, anyone who actually supports us doesn’t defend it either. 

It’s also super weird that the only characters in the show that get ableist insults are ones with neurodivergent traits. Also, Vivziepop is ableist in real life so… that explains a lot.💀

[luneemeritus]

TW: SA, RAPE

I can't believe I have to reblog this only to defend Angel Dust (read: a sex worker that is being raped, eslaved, abused, trafficked) even though the original post was not even about him.

My point in the original post is that any kind of representation can be interpretated the wrong way and turned into something "problematic", specially gender identity and sexuality. And guess what is happening in the comment section 🥰 exactly what I pointed out.

One thing is wishing the Hellaverse had more sapphic couples aside from Chaggie (I agree, I also wish for more sapphic couples in the future). Another thing is accusing Vivienne of intentionally "fetishizing" mlm and "not caring" about wlw couples, even though 1, she is a queer woman, 2, she isnt the only writer. Yes, she is the head of the project, but Adam and Brandon also participate in the writing. Actually, Brandon is the one who helped Viv to write Stolitz, he's literally the hero of Stolitz shippers. Try to examinate why you're putting all the blame on Viv, for something that is not even true.

Before I get to the main rant here, let's talk about the mlm couples: Stolitz, Fizarozzie and Huskerdust. Stolitz began being a sex centered relationship, a transactional fucking, sex work, basically. The problem started when they developed feelings for each other, both Stolas and Blitz are very damaged and toxic people that hurted each other even unintentionally. They broke up, they're not having sex anymore, and both of them realized that keeping this relationship into sex only is problematic for both of them. Ok. Now Fizarozzie: there are two, TWO, moments where sex is briefly mentioned between the two. The first time is in the first minutes of "Oops!" (S2-Ep6), and in the last minutes of the same episode (there's also a scene when Fizz comments about Ozzie's cock). That's it. Aside from that, they have a healthy, adorable, lovable dynamic that is not sex centered. I'm really, really trying to find anything problematic about Fizarozzie but honestly it's impossible. Are we really forgetting the main dynamic between them: keeping their love a secret? Which proves that Ozzie is actually the strongest of Sins because he is able to show vulnerability despite what Crimson said about him? Are we ignoring all of that just to push the narrative that "it's all about sex, all mlm couples, all of them"?

Now, about Huskerdust: it's not canon in the show yet but it was confirmed by Viv and, come on, everyone shipps it so let's count it as canon. Angel and Husk started the show not getting along. Husk is being forced by Alastor to stay in the Hotel, he can't stand anyone in the Hotel but specially Angel's facade. Angel, oh Goddess, Angel is a sexual slave. Is that clear yet? He is being trafficked. Abused. Dehumanized, for years, by the man he once loved. He doesnt perform that facade because he wants to, it's not a matter of ego, it's a matter of survival. Do we have that clear yet? Angel is more than his facade, he is more than his trauma, and the show let that very clear. Angel didn't have his boundaries "disrespected" by Val, his boundaries were DESTROYED. He is not treated as nothing but a piece of meat, an object owned by Val. OF COURSE he is not going to cope well with this situation. He is not a perfect victim, no one is, perfect victimhood does not exist. Yes, Angel pushed Husk's boundaries several times and harrassed him. The same way Husk pushed Angel's *emotional* boundaries, making extremely rude comments about Angel's work for no reason other than assholery. Angel and Husk got along when both learned how to respect each other, but mainly, when Angel finally understood that it was safe for him to let his walls down. To let his facade down, because it was causing him to self destruct and act inapropriately. Saying that Huskerdust is a "sex centered" relationship is insane.

Why am I saying this? Because Angel's victimhood and his complexity as a character was not my original point. Yet his hypersexuality was brought up, not to discuss his character, but to prove Viv "fetishizes" mlm couples. Something that is simply. Not. True. Now, I used the term "victim blaming" inapropriately and I apologize for that, I shouldn't wrongly accuse anyone of victim blaming. But you know, isnt it kinda hypocritical to call me out for accusing you of something you didnt, while accusing Viv of things she also never did? Listen, it's still fucked up to bring up Angel's flaws that had nothing to do with my original post. Try to examinate why you care more about Angel's flaws than what is being done to him (read: the reason of why he has these flaws in the first place) and what he is doing to improve himself. Angel was called out for acting inapropriately, and stopped. Where is the fetishization? I can't see it.

Just because we didnt see Chaggie fucking each other or devouring each other's mouths, it doesnt mean they didnt care about Chaggie. We will get a sexy Chaggie duet in S2, guys. We have multiple Chaggie fans, maybe it isnt for you, maybe you wished it was more tender and intimate, which is fine, but straight up accusing Viv of fetishization and being unwilling to write wlw and female characters in general? Nu-uh. We have Verosika, Millie, Quee Bee, Charlie, Vaggie, Carmilla, Velvette, Stella (yes she is a monster but still a good villain), Lute, Sera, Emily, all great female characters. Ok, you dislike Vivienne, you dislike the Hellaverse, but while you can criticize it we can also disagree with your criticism. I tagged this specifically to Hellaverse fans, for them to relate to my point.

Now. Let me try to clarify what I mean to say with my original post. Personally, *I*, I, Lune, wish the Hellaverse had more trans rep. I wish Sally May appeared more, I wish she and Verosika would be a wlw couple, and I want Baxter to be transmasc. *I*, I, Lune, wish there was a brazilian character, because I would love to see someone of my culture to be represented in a show that I love. But you know what? All of this, it's a *ME* problem. Not Vivienne', not Brandon's, not Spindlehouse's, not Prime Video's, a me problem. Authors dont need to write what you or I want, they write what they want. Being critical of the media you consume is different than having beef with the authors because their writing didnt go as you wanted. Neither Helluva nor Hazbin are finished, what about we wait before criticizing or aproving everything, hm? Imagine if I take my frustation about a brazilian character not existing in the Hellaverse to the point of saying, "nah the creators are anti-brazilian because yes". Nu-uh.

Also,

This is the third or fourth person that, instead of foccusing in what I'm saying in the comment section, checks what I say in my bio/tags/post/whatever to use against me. Can we stop that? Please? It's not cute. We can both like media literacy and disagree with each other, I'm not ashamed to say that bringing up Angel's flaws to prove Viv is fetishizing mlm couples is bad.

Something that I learned about queer media: nothing will never be enough. The stupiest reasons will cause people to create a witch hunt against authors and accuse them of real bigotry. "Your representation didn't go exactly as I wanted, therefore you are a monster and a real danger to real people."

If your media has flawless heroic little puppies queers, it's trash and horrible and liking it makes you a terrible person. If your queer characters are not flawless heroic little puppies, then they're evil and you hate queer people (even if you are queer yourself).

It's sad that the same people preaching about love and acceptance are the same and first ones to attack and harrass queer creators and built unsafe space for people that love and relate to flawed characters. And I'm not even entering the anti-sex positivity discussion and how liking porn and including it in your stories is bad and fetishization and dirty, some "progressive" people have the same views as alt right boomers

[hazbincalifornia]

Hazbin Liveblog Episode 8

And the finale!

Oh yeah, I bet you'd like to see Alastor get fucked. /shot For real though, the animation here is so good.

Lilith mentioned again. Hmmmmmmmm.

Angel getting off the pole by flipping around like it's an actual pole is a nice touch.

I like Angel's little hat.

6/10 for going 'but if we don't win' during a pep talk, even if it's followed by something sweet. Cherri's unimpressed look is great though.

Oh, Niffty. I love not dying too, Vaggie. My favorite thing to do.

The animation on Alastor's little head-waggle is fantastic.

Alastor and Niffty moment, eeeee! Mimzy's right, he really is sweet if he actually likes you. He let her put a crown of roaches on his head and just laughed a little.

Oh, Angel is in love in love.

MISS BOMB...

THE CAPTIONS STRAIGHT UP CALL IT 'ROMANTIC MUSIC'

He's doing his best!!!!

Two dicks semi-canon, huh.....

Aaaaaand I'm tearing up at the soft ballad love reprise of More than Anything... love always matters, whether familial, romantic, platonic, or something in between.

And the kiss is lovely, not too quick but moving in at the same time and confident the other reciprocates. That's so sweet.

I never really noticed before, but why do all the exterminators have different horns? You think they'd all match either Adam (as the leader) or Lute (as the general that isn't Adam but is one of 'them'.)

The more intense Lute is, the more I like her.

So all exterminators are women? Wonder how that happened, if Adam decided he just wanted to lead an all-girl army or they were all made off one specific base.

Oh hey, cool outfits from Charlie and Vaggie! I like the Apple symbol on her mask/helmet thing.

Cherri looking butch and me looking Gay, mayhaps... I also love how Angel tore the middle off his suit and, although I can't quite tell from the style, hotpants. He's going down with his midriff exposed, by god.

Oh hey, Velvette isn't straightening her hair! Probably not worth it if they're laying low where nobody's watching. I love her dress too.

"Let the slaughter begin" I am going to rewatch that a few times. Just for me.

Niffty is definitely helping by stabbing the corpses. I love her.

I just noticed Charlie's in a cute little crown! It looks good on her, subtle but tasteful.

Ponytail Vaggie Fucks. And she WILL be fucking Charlie by the end of the week, I'm s. That's a look meant for eating pussy.

Adam coughing after taking down the shield... he's probably not used to putting in any real effort, just taking down helpless sinners like fish in a barrel.

"First man, next to die" is a banger of a line.

And the Alastor Swear tally is up to three!

"Jazz is for pussies" is nothing next to the first man line. Up your game, man, you're talking to a real wordsmith. Alastor's whole Thing is obnoxiously talking you to death.

I am like 90% sure whoever put in the 'edge-lord' line was snickering to themselves while writing it. He is, but we love him. (Viv's comic joking about how he's an edgy deviantart oc was just going around again the other day.)

I actually wheezed out loud at 'too much fucking red'.

Alastor absolutely pinned it- Adam's coasted for far too long and doesn't have any real, dangerous bite behind his bark. Alastor's probably fucked over dozens of overconfident pricks just like him.

See, 'radio is fucking dead' is a better line! Don't know how much sense it makes for Adam to know to say that since Alastor didn't really introduce himself as the Radio Demon, but still.

Oh. Oh he fucked up.

Alastor swear count is up to four, and the first one that's not carefully calculated.

On one hand: This is Bad. On the other, as a Favorites Getting Fucked Up Enjoyer: This is great.

I love how Velvette and Val seem to be watching Vox freak out over the actual screen.

And a thousand fic-writers cried out in anguish at Vagatha being decanonized. Was that ever canon or just a fanon thing?

You know, it makes perfect sense the fireworks thing from the pilot could be used in combat.

Yeah, you did walk right into that one.

Aaaaa big brother Angel is so good. Poor little eggy.

WAIT, ARE WE.... WAIT IS THE DEATH ACTUALLY GONNA BE PENT OR IS THIS GONNA BE A FAKEOUT? At least he got his kiss.

NOOOOOO

Oh fuck Charlie looks badass, and of course it would be like a magical girl thing.

I love how brutal Lute is- slamming her head violently against the table especially. There's no attempt to make the girl on girl fight 'sexy'.

Oh wait, she has a tail???? I didn't see it at first, but it's a good look on her.

Called Vaggie was going to pull a 'you only get to live because I let you'. Brutal that she lost her arm though, but deserved.

Okay, I actually shrieked out loud with laughter at 'I'm going to fuck you' and it went dead silent and cut to everybody's expressions and Angel has the fucking best smug grin. I sense as soon as I return to twitter at least five people I follow will have that as an icon.

"Wait, what did I say" and it goes right back to fighting. Comedy gold.

Niffty killing him is pitch-fucking-perfect. I never would have seen it coming but I also adore it. Niffty the king-slayer.

The switch between drama and jokes in this episode are really on-point. I do think Adam obliterating Pentious in half a second was... a bit much, though.

Charlie... they were never going to listen.

A reprise of 'happy day in hell' with a theme of 'the show must go on'... that's brilliant. I love Jeremy's voice, it's perfect.

Alastor looks completely fucking unhinged and I'm Looking Intently.

WHAT? WHAT????? Is he like..... replacement Adam now???? Or just proof redemption works?

So.... Lilith masterminding Alastor's deal not proven or disproven, but she did make a deal with Lute somehow to kill Adam. Iiiiiinteresting.

[chaifootsteps]

I still think it’s an absolute joke that viv thinks ANY of her fanficy yaoi abuse writing no deeper than a piss puddle on the pavement is comparable to Bojack Horseman at all, and I feel like Stella vs Beatrice is the perfect example of that.

In Bojack, it’s established early on that Beatrice was/is a horrible mother to Bojack, the two best examples imo being her telling Bojack as a child that he ruined her beauty and that he better make up for that sometime soon, and her phone call telling him as an adult that he was born broken. But later on in the show, with the episodes The Old Sugarman Place and especially Time’s Arrow, we learn Beatrice suffered a terrible life too, one might argue even worse than Bojack’s, and that makes us sympathize with her. It’s obviously no excuse for what she’s done, especially since she was still actively making people’s lives worse with what she pulled with Hollyhock, we understand why she became the person she is. Time’s Arrow has such a cathartic and powerful ending, I’m never going to forget Bojack choosing to end the cycle of abuse that plagued his family for decades by giving his mother, with her final semblance of lucidity, by comforting her and making her think of fond memories.

Meanwhile in Helluva Shitshow we know jack and shit about Stella other than “i ENjoY tOrMEntiNG yOu” which is just, such a dogshit line. What were her parents like? What was her childhood like? What does she think about her brother? What is her personal life like outside of her family? What are her accomplishments? Interests? Goals outside of murdering the rapey owl bastard? We’re well into season 2 and we STILL haven’t gotten even ONE interaction between Stella and Octavia, mother and daughter, like are you kidding me? I cannot prepare for Hazbin if it’s supposed to be female focused while THIS is how a female writer writes her female characters, unacceptable is it what it is.

So yea, TLDR Beatrice solos Stella and viv should’ve never written for Helluva, things people are already well aware of. Sorry for the long winded rant but I had to get this off my chest after making an essay in my head about this in the shower. Hope you’re having a good day Chai, I’m now reminded of the absolute banger that is Hi-Fi Rush because of your username, thank you

This, this, this.

Beatrice was a masterpiece of a character. It's established very early on that she's absolutely awful, sometimes comically so and sometimes tragically, and also that she and Butterscotch are both miserable characters in a desperately unhappy marriage, and it just builds and builds from there into some of the most powerful writing on the show.

Stella is a character that's not only paper thin, but Vivzie will mock you on twitter if you like her or even attempt to sympathize with her.

[whiteasy]

What do you like about rahim? He was among the characters (also viv and steve and maybe Jackson) that i felt could have been relieved of their screen time. Like i know these characters were tied to other story lines, but a little creativity would have allowed the storylines to go on without them or with other characters on the show

It's fair to think that, though I guess I'm really attached to all four of them that I wouldn't handle not seeing them again (I was miffed that Steve didn't get as much screen time but I digress.)

What I really love about Rahim, from the small bits we got in both s2 & s3, was his duality, I guess. Like, as Eric says in the first episodes in s2, how he has this intense look and was staring at him from afar like he was plotting his murder but that was his way of flirting, which in my opinion makes him look really idiotic and I love that about him T^T he acts as this mysterious, charming and poetry loving (slightly pretentious) guy who's turned everyone's head the moment he transferred to moordale but is the same guy who's flinging his shit out of a bus station.

I love how he also seems kind of neurotic (I burned everything you gave me in a small, controlled fire) which kind of comes in full circle of him being a cat person (I seriously love the show for that dog person/cat person convo)

On a more serious note, I think my favorite thing about him is his perceptiveness, a trait very characters share in the show like Isaac, Maeve and Cal. He was one of the very few who immediately picked up on what Hope was on about (i told you it's never just a line/it's about establishing control) and for his young age he wouldn't be expected to reach such conclusions on his own. But his story that was only touched upon from the surface tells us he grew up too fast, and seen too much (some people still go to war, we're just lucky). And this is one of the reasons I wish the show delves more into his backstory. We don't even which country his family fled from (I am assuming they're of north African origins but there's more than one north African country). There's rarely any representation of ex-muslims in media and with Rahim, it seems like they're doing a half-assed job, giving him a rich background that's only ever mentioned on passing, and to further highlight the differences between him and Eric, perhaps of their incompatibility (not saying believers/non believers can't be a loving relationship where they respect each others' beliefs but the show seemed to use to further proof Rahim is not the right person for Eric.)

However, while he also seems like he doesn't flinch from speaking up his mind (I was suspended for my beliefs), he's still a teenage boy. He couldn't own up to what he did in France, and evidently felt embarrassed over it (though he quickly admitted it as soon as Adam tried to cover for him, likely out of pride, another trait that makes flawed and not as the perfect, Angel Man he was depicted as early in the show) which is understandable because let's think of what he's been through: He hasn't struck any kind of friendship upon his arrival to moordale except for dating Eric and we went how that went. Eric walked out on him publicly, which was a humiliating experience for him that left him the subject of gossip of the entire school for months (in the france trip, the guy with a wanking addiction tells him how people have been spreading a rumor about him not being able to wank anymore because Eric broke his heart). He's practically been isolated before he and Adam became friendlier and seemingly got over their differences. Now imagine being further humiliated for throwing his own shit in a sock out of their bus' window.

I'm still torn, however, as to why he decided to help adam with his poem. It could've been out of a sense of duty; to pay him back for having his back. or because he felt bad for him that he had to ask him, the guy he seemed jealous of and thought eric favored him because he was better with writing poetry (which is interesting in this case cos rahim didn't want adam to feel bad that he got suspended and told him he did it for his own belief)

to sum it up, Rahim is a really complex character who remains underexplored, and I know that lots of people resonate with him and his struggles. So, I would love for the writers to give him more screen time and a proper storyline and not just use him to prop-up other characters.

[karmamiakat]

Vivzie Streem #6 Information!

Does Alastor have a deer tail under his coat? Viv says it’s all up to you guys and your head canons! (She’s still not sure on it yet...but maybe.)

Katie KillJoy’s sexuality is straight and she sleeps with a lot of men. (No surprise there..)

There are rules that the creators and writers must follow among how the world works and there are rules in Hell. It’s mostly anarchy all the time but they do have some weird rules and laws they follow and of course the laws and rules set by the Angels and the Magne family. Other than that, it’s mostly a free for all. The Magne family mostly are figure heads and most have to deal with what they can get.

Charlie’s lips are naturally black! (I assume so are her nails...)

No, Vivzie does not want Gary Busey in Hazbin! Stop asking! XD

Sir Pentious and Zim are a lot alike even down to having dumb minions. They’re very smart in terms of making machines and creating brilliant plans and share the same brain wave and have the potential and capability of taking over and achieving their goals. However, they are too prideful and don’t have enough common sense to fulfill said potentials. Viv said they would either get along or be too similar to each other that they hate each other. (This was not intentional for Sir Pentious to be like Zim. He’s just goofy and she didn’t realize the similarities until she watched the Invader Zim movie which she has seen four times!)

When Angel is not present in front of people, he’s very chilled and wears laid, back, even non sexualized clothing. It’s mainly when he’s in public that he tries to present a very naughty persona. Viv said he would indeed wear footy pajamas too.

Husk is the gruffest and has the deepest voice of the whole cast!

None of the characters have multiple personality disorder or any of the sort. Put it short, everyone has a lot of duality to them without having different personalities.

Apple Daddy is more powerful than Alastor but Alastor is not to be trifled with! The way the hierarchy in Hell works is that demons get their powers by making deals and soul dealing, something that only demons and sinners can do, which Alastor has done a lot to require his powers. This is their own power and angels have their own power that is much powerful than that of a demon. However, where there are rules, there’s ways around said rules and that’s when things get more interesting as the series goes on.

Apple Daddy can play instruments and plays the fiddle really well but it’s not his favorite instrument. What’s his favorite instrument? That all depends on who is going to play him which they haven’t gotten yet, (Viv does want a specific actor to play him and hopes to obtain actor but she will not say who.) which is why he won’t be in the pilot. You’re just gonna have stay tune later on to find out! Viv did say that his favorite instrument is something he hasn’t perfected yet and he’s pretty bad at this instrument.

There won’t be a beach episode because Viv doesn’t want to put in too much filler but she will do a comic about the beach. (Also, please do not ask Viv to be a screen writer. She’s not taking any but she appreciates the thought!)

Originally, the idea for the Hazbin crew were that they were the type of devils that are summon to earth to tempt people to do bad things and it worked with the Zoophobia comic in it’s own arch called “Angels and Demons”, but Viv decided that it felt more of it’s own thing, thus she created the separate story line that we have now.

Alastor would think that “Avengers: End Game” would be the stupidest movie he’d ever seen because the movie is way too long for his tastes (most of the movies in his time were about 30 minutes or less) and he would just think it’s about people flying around with super powers.

Alastor wouldn’t care about foxes too much…(Viv said this when someone wanted Alastor with a dragon and a fox.) He does like dragons though and he looks awesome with a dragon!

[thoughtfulpaperback]

Charmed 02x17 SPOILERS!!!!!

Okay yall havent had time to do one of these in a while. But I had time to do a rewatch and so I am ready.

Non-spoilery part of this . . . I give the episode a 9/10. The writing (on its own and I'll get into it later) was better than many episodes this season so far. I have mentioned it multiple times this season that episodes 1 to 3 of this season had a different style and scope and (imo) writing pace than the rest of the season except for some of the most recent episodes. While I did have some favorite episodes later on everything pretty much after three didnt feel as grand as far as style went. These last few episodes the writing and style just got turned up. Which is actually great and super frustrating. The writers seem to have the same problem they had last season that is proper plot development/management. We shouldnt be getting all the interesting stuff at the beginning dragging everything out and making no plot progression, then theoughing in all the interesting stuff at the end to get us to stick around. We should have gotten the more plot development throughout the season not just big info bombs ever so often with little devoplement everywhere else.

Here is the truth and I hate it, we had more meaningful screen time and character development with Mel and Abby this one episode than in the entire season. Which is a no-no in my book. The episode on it's own is solid, interesting, and I argue well written, but it should have happened earlier. The things that were good about this episode should have been implemented this entire season. I mean not show will have an A + episode everytime. There will be filler. But it has honestly felt like the writers didnt know what they were doing with certain characters development until last minute. I don't know if that's true, it is just how it has come off to me. So I can understand the frustrations people have felt with this season and its writing. I have them but this episode had me invested and on the edge of my seat. I am excited for more. Which honestly hasnt been the case for many of the episodes this season. I dont mind the last minute overused troupe. I love fanfiction and so I do not easily tire of them, but again pulling it towards the end of the season when many plotlines have been subpar or are least handled in a subpar manner . . .

But on to the spoilers. I am going to go back to the standard likes, dislikes, and episode highlights

1. Abigael character development

Like yall it wasnt much, but like it was more than this entire season so far. I still have no idea what they are doing with Abby-and for me personally it is a little too late to salvage the damage-but the development was actually welcomed. It should have happened sooner. The writers need to pick a lane at this point and just reveal what they want us to think about her (you know like they do with plot bombs) because after some of the stuff and little character development some of us have just soured to Abby. I dont actually dislike the character I just am fustrated with the poor development overall. But I mean had they been doing these little moments across the season rather than setting her up in that weird, poorly handled, and now seemingly dropped love shape with her Harry and Macy (they completely didnt need to have her in there they could have introduced julian earlier on rather than put Macy in a relationship with him after she seemed to realize she had feelings for Harry and then it wouldnt have seemed like she was using julian as much).

2. Mel and Abby moments

The plot was interesting, the development of both characters was better. I mean seriously yall Mel admitting her mom wasnt perfect!!! Given the basic Marisol worship mel had last season and the lack so far of acknowledgement that Marisol made mistakes (regarding thier lives and Marisols marriage). Honestly if they had dropped the Abby Harry crap and had more mel and abby or abby Macy (considering I felt mads and poppy had some great on screen chemistry in the beginning and played well off each other even though it was antagonistic after episode 2) moments like these I feel not only would we know the character better but wed have had better plotlines overall.

Although I think Mel is too quick to overlook all of Abby's past behavior . . . She killed innocent witches and wants to be a demon overlord (or wanted, we dont know what she wants now). But Mel recognizing her mother's flaws and being open to th possibility of being wrong (something she has struggles with both seasons and only gets slightly addressed, if it gets addressed, when it happens) I mean I am here for it.

3. Jordan

I think what has been missing this season is the wittiness of last season and also the genuine fluff. I mean Jordan's comment about kissing Aunt Viv. 10 stars clever (true and revealing about inequity in punishment and treatment of men of color when it comes to sexual assult and harrassment) His excitement over magic. I mean in a lot of ways Jordan is what Galvin should have been/tried to be, but the writers can't seem to do relationship drama and good character development at the same time so....

Jordan is the best and I hope the writers dont mess it up.

4. Julian

So I like the reveal, because I think there is still room to wonder what exactly Julian does and doesnt know. What I understood from this episode is that Julian is behind the experiments in that he started them but the the creatures with those healing powers so that he can take those and use them to heal other. My guess is through creating "more" whitelighters or maybe they og thought they'd just figure out how to raise the dead. Julian at his core (so far) wants to help as many people as possible. Does he know that the creatures die in the process? Is he utilitarian and thinks it is justified? Or is aunt Viv the head person of the actual goings on and Julian is far enough removed from all of it he can emotionally detached from that. Like how for some people it is easier to hear about death than it is to witness it. I think most people are like this but I wont generalize.

Will he change his mind or will we see a different more sinister side of Julian. Like I am interested in getting to know more about his character now, because he has sort of been there as a plot prop more than an interesting character with development. Which is on the writers, the actor is killing it.

5. Hacy

Yall dont get me wrong I think after all the bad writing and angst that the writers did for most of this season, to pull a stunt like that basically at the end of the season was soo wrong.

But I feel that on it's own these moments of Macy confronting and admitting her feelings, the confession, and the little moments (like that face caress and holding him when they get him out of the cointainer) were precious.

That's the stuff we needed more of. Instead of the passive aggressiveness. I know some people hate the amnesia troupe but I prefer it to what they did with the abigael kiss and the jealousy love shape stuff.

Dislikes

1. Middle finger to season 1 and Galvin

Like dont get me wrong, emotional issues dont disappear from one moment to the other and some trauma takes years to overcome if it ever is overcome. But like wasnt Macy admitting she was lonely her whole life and it affected her ability to attach to people and recognize when she wanted someone the basic plot of season 1. I mean she straight up says in the last season that she was so concerned about whether someone wanted her that she never considered what she wanted. And then she says she wants Galvin and now she is saying she never realized when she wanted someone

I think a lot of season 1 has in some ways been "redone" this season. I dont like it because we came here from season 1. We recognized it was flawed. But we still invested time into it. I didnt mind a lot of it, in the beginning to be honest (maybe because I felt it was mostly scenery and vibe than actual erasing plot) but particularly in this episode it felt they were basically saying, "let's pretend it never happened" about the whole first season....okay harry.

In some ways I liked the sort of do over of some character types. I like Jordan as the "mortal in the know" more so than Galvin. I just dont think Galvin was well developed and handled last season. They are doing better with Jordan which is good because if they had messed up the writing for him too I would have been casting my "yall coming off as racist again, do better" look. My biggest fear is that they will mess up Jordan especially if they progress his relationship with Maggie. The writers seem unable to write good/healthy relationships and character development and still give good plotlines at the same time.

Episode highlights.

Macy rehearsing her break up with her sisters

Aunt Viv really trying it with Jordan

"Even white men can't do that anymore."

Abby bringing her bags the the house