#and you also really understand the importance of family that way

[thekitsandthekats]

i wonder if people understand that to hate haley is to really really misunderstand aaron.

like, im not trying to make this about him but i think stories are so intertwined because obviously they are.

haley and aaron were highshool sweethearts! he said he fell in love with her after watching her rehearse. haley must've felt something too for them to be together, then to be together that long! she's been with him through law school, through being a prosecutor, through being on S.W.A.T, through FBI training and all the years working up to being the Unit Chief of the BAU. she's been right there with him!

they have jack and there is her happy family, the peaceful idyllic life dreams are made of, but of course aaron keeps working, he's always traveling to situations where he could die at any moment. that's hard, guys. to know that your husband could go to work and not come back, every single day. haley is an incredibly strong and loyal person and determined to keep her family together. but all of that is difficult in the face of aarons job. she knows that he loves her and jack, she knows that he's a good father but she also knows he's bound to duty, to his job, to saving eveyone he can. when she leaves its not because the love wasn't there but because she couldn't do it anymore. and there's strength in that too.

to leave the love of your life, the father of your children, someone you've been with through so much, since you were a teenager. do yall understand how difficult that must've been.

and even after she leaves, she still sends aaron videos of jack and little updates on his life. i always think of the end scene in seven seconds when aaron asks to see jack even though he's sleeping. haley stares at him for a beat before she says yes and ive always thought that she must see something on his face. a kind of look that means he's just come back from a difficult case and needs the reassurance of his family. so, of course she says yes.

the reason i say to hate haley is to misunderstand aaron is because her death broke him in unimaginable ways. the guilt must eat at him, killing him everyday. do you understand how important family is to aaron. he tells rossi once that he did everything for his family, that before the divorce he tried his hardest in everything. and to have haley be murdered because of her connection to him, because foyet used her as a tool to get to him.

he loved her with everything in him, and haley loved him just the same. to not respect her position in his life, is you doing a disservice to yourself. theirq story is heartbreaking gold.

im honestly tired of all the criminal minds fans dismissing haleys death. like that woman is strong. she knew damn well in that moment she was going to die but her kid was right there so she held herself together until her last final moments, so idc if “she cheated” or whatever bullshit yall try and use to hate on her — she was such an understanding wife and an amazing mother and im tired of yall shitting on her when you wouldn’t be able to handle half the shit she went through.

and i can now breathe!

[cute-little-fly]

Every day I understand more why some people have trouble with watching Helluva.

A lot of details and characterizations are not explicitly shown, but are shown indirectly and you need to rewatch and dig deeper for yourself and catch those details.

I won’t enter into the debate of wether that is good or bad storytelling. Is just a way to do it, for some people work, for some don’t. That’s it.

One recent example: some people was puzzled why Blitzø saw a family with Stolas and Octavia, and they think is Out of character he wants that.

However, with small details they have shown that was Blitz’s driving force since the beginning. But even himself didn’t realized until now that he has opened his heart.

Examples:

If he was trully a cold blooded asshole he wouldn’t have adopted Loona. Never never… he would have adopted a more aggressive and deathly hellhound if he really only was there for the business. Immediately seeing her as his daughter for no reason.

Like, all his façade is just bullshit just bc of that… but I will tell you something else.

When we see his backstory at the circus we see how his life was. A family circus… a family business… having an office for a circus=having his family in better work conditions. He recreated this in his adult life.

Adopting people on the way because he connected with them. Of course, he brought Millie to the team because how amazingly good she is. But don’t you think he also felt a connection with her too? An special one? This is shown while they are fighting. He enjoys fighting with her. Wrath imps culture circules around fights. This is a way they bond. He wanted her there because he felt a connection.

With Moxxie was the same. The exact same thing. He is just there adopting people he feels this connection with to recreate the circus.

Now, the next step for that would be expand that family with his current SO and his daughter; because his wish hasn’t just been having the circus family kind again, he have always wanted a romantic partner too. He has been months regretting having lost Stolas. Months to think about what could have been, about how he is the person he loves and probably could have formed a family with if having the chance.

People are just not willing to think if they are not clearly shown something. Also, is an indie cartoon so they don’t have much time to show things and they need to progress the story.

But essentially the problem people have with HB is that one.

They have a problem with Millie because she is not directly shown having things outside the main cast because she isn’t usually focused. Her backstory episode was also an important Blitzø episode, so they think is as simple as saying: all her development revolves around men. As if Blitz’s development didn’t revolved around the people he cares.

They don’t think is important to her character that she is the one keeping them together in hard times. They don’t think this relates to how sometimes she doesn’t feel seen. She is the best in assassin but still… she doesn’t feel seen.

She was a regular assassins when she met Blitzø. She wasn’t one considered special or anything. Blitzø was the one who saw that potential and saw HER!

This is why he is her bestie.

[nerdygaymormon]

The Queerness of the Oz movies

The 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz is considered a queer classic, even though most of the queerness is subtext. The 2024 movie Wicked stands alongside it as a queer movie.

The Wizard of Oz

Television became part of American homes in the 1950s & 1960s. Unlike today, the options of what to watch was limited to only 2 to 4 channels. The Wizard of Oz was aired annually on television and soon became a familiar part of American culture. The movie was noted for its over-the-top characters, jubilant songs, lavish costumes and production design, and fantastical performances. It’s very flamboyant, no wonder it caught the attention of gay people.

Because the movie was so familiar, it could be easily referenced with the expectation everyone else would understand. For example, a store catering to the gay community could sell T-shirts with an image of Glinda and her words from the movie “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Or a poster of Dorothy standing at a crossroads and the Scarecrow saying, “Of course, some people go both ways.” “The Wiz,” a Broadway musical produced by a black gay man and adapted as a film starring Diana Ross, occupies an important place in both black and gay culture. Patti LaBelle continues to sing her own empowering version of “Over the Rainbow” at LGBTQ events and Todrick Hall’s “Straight Outta Oz” explores his experiences as a young, queer man of color through identification with various situations from the story.

The main character of the movie is Dorothy, a girl from a small community who is misunderstood by her family. She sings the song "Over the Rainbow," which is about longing to go to a place beyond the rainbow where the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. Soon a tornado comes and picks up her house in Kansas and sets it down in a land called Oz. The scenes in Kansas are filmed in sepia tone, which is when black-and-white photos are stained a brownish color, and the land of Oz was shot in technicolor. The journey of Dorothy going from Kansas to Oz reflected queer people's desire to leave the black-and-white limitations of small-town life for a big, colorful city like New York or San Francisco, full of quirky characters who would welcome them.

The whole aesthetic of the characters in the movie can be seen as over-the-top and have inspired drag acts for decades for their camp style. Plus, let's not forget all that drama over a pair of shoes!

The three male characters who become Dorothy's travel companions in Oz are stereotypes of gay men. The Scarecrow was too loud, the Tin Man is the sensitive type, and the Cowardly Lion is like a befuddled old bachelor who even refers to himself as a “sissy” and “dandy lion” ("sissy" and "dandy" being common adjectives to describe gay men). Dorothy easily accepts and welcomes them even though they were different. Dorothy created her own "found family" just as many do in the queer community. The phrase "Friend of Dorothy" became code used by gay men to identify themselves to each other. “Oh, you don’t know Bob? He’s a friend of Dorothy.”

The Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, aren't just hanging out with their campy friend Dorothy, they go on a journey to find their true selves, to understand that they are not who others told them that they are.

Judy Garland, the actress who played Dorothy, became iconic within the queer community. She was proud of her gay fans and welcomed them. Despite her immense talent and impressive career, her personal life was fodder for the newspapers as they eagerly told of tragedies and failures. Judy withstood those hard things, she was seen as a survivor, which having a life of perseverance was admired by the queer community, especially in the 20th century when they were at risk in many ways from society. Judy was also famous for being vulnerable, sharing about her mental health, her addictions, and her self doubts. That humanness let her queer fans feel connected with her. Even to this day, gay men will refer to a good friend as their “good Judy,” in honor of Judy Garland.

Judy Garland's funeral was held on June 27, 1969, which later that night the Stonewall Riots erupted. Not that the two events are related, but it was seen as symbolic that her death also marked the passing of the era of secrecy and assimilation. We moved into the beginning of the queer-rights movement for liberation. Subtext and secrecy would give way to openness and unambiguousness.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, challenged San Francisco queer artist Gilbert Baker to come up with a symbol of pride for the gay community, something positive as an alternative to the pink triangle. The pink triangle had been used by Nazis to identify and persecute homosexuals, and was reclaimed in the 70s as a bold symbol of remembrance and action against persecution. Rather than a symbol of oppression forced onto us, let us choose a symbol of our own. Gilbert created the Rainbow Flag in 1978. The song "Over the Rainbow" did not serve as inspiration for the flag, but many people tied the two together. The rainbow flag represented hope that we can make a place of acceptance and compassion, just like the song lyrics.

Wicked

The overall theme of the movie is about being "othered" but embracing your own true self, and this resonates strongly with queer audiences.

And there's the central relationship of the movie, the one between Elphaba and Glinda. While the movie never outright positions them as romantic partners, their connection has a depth and intensity that feels queer coded as it feels somewhere between friendship and love. Even when the male love interest is introduced, it's the relationship between these two women which is most interesting. The monumental moment at the dance is these two women dancing together. When Elphaba goes to meet the Wizard, she takes Glinda with her, not the handsome prince. Likewise, after discovering the Wizard has no magic powers, Elphaba wants Glinda by her side when she flies off to the West. Not to mention all the casual handholding and touching in the movie. At a minimum it seems they're somewhat closeted or in denial of things they feel. The queer possibilities of their relationship will inspire countless pieces of fan fiction.

Elphaba is ostracized for her green skin, which is something she was born with and can't change, and it's seen by many as a metaphor for the experiences of marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ people. Elphaba learns to stand in her own individuality and otherness and embrace her true self, and that makes her powerful.

Glinda gave a weird hat to Elphaba who wears it only to have everyone laugh at her, but Elphaba makes this accessory her signature look. Wearing clothes that are a bit different from the mainstream and having your hair colored in vibrant colors are both queer tropes, and so having Elphaba make this accessory part of her personality feels very on point.

The Land of Oz is a place where queer people simply exist. Some of the Shiz students wear skirts, some wear pants, some a combination, in a definite show of gender inclusivity. The environment lets everyone individualize themselves and figure themselves out. In the ozdust ballroom are men wearing makeup. Queerness doesn't seem to be a problem in this land, which is wonderful.

Another theme of the film is the danger of having systems of oppression set against groups of people. The government declares talking animals to be the enemy and uses its power to ostracize them and to remove them from positions of power. The symbolism of saying those who are different need to be silenced is chilling and relevant. Having laws limiting what the the goat professor should teach and then forcibly removing him from the classroom reminds me of the "Don't Say Gay" and anti-trans bathroom laws which have been passed across the USA.

Then there are the songs! "What is this feeling" has Glinda and Elphaba sing lyrics which seem to depict a crush. What is this feeling so sudden and new? I felt the moment I laid eyes on you. My pulse is rushing, my head is reeling. Yeah, well, my face is flushing. What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame, does it have a name? A song about these confusing, conflicting feelings for each other feels very love-at-first-site, but the punchline is that they hate each other. But come on, they lie awake at night thinking about each other as they sing this song. In a few years they'll look back and recognize this obsession was a crush.

Regarding the song "I’m Not That Girl," Jonathan Bailey, the gay man who played Prince Fiyero, stated “’I’m Not That Girl’ is such a queer anthem. I mean, the thing is, the themes in this resonate with everyone, but that thing of being born into a world that tells you that you’re not worth, you’re not worth anything or that you’re unlovable. And to harness that and to know that actually that will and is your superpower. And it’s about the people you meet along the way and the relationships you forge which helps you strengthen that. And yeah, I hope all queer kids can see this story and know that they are going to be okay.”

The song "Popular" isn't necessarily gay, but at one point as they're singing this, they're lying on the bed together looking into each other's eyes, and then Glinda adjusts to basically be on top of Elphaba.

The climax to the movie Wicked is the song "Defying Gravity" The character Elphaba sings of how she wants to live without limits, going against the rules that others have set for her. Queer audience members identify with the character Elphaba because of her journey to accept that she’s different from others and this changes what she expects and desires from life.

And finally, the casting of so many actors who are openly queer:

Elphaba is played by Cynthia Erivo who identifies as queer and bisexual and is currently in a relationship with the actress Lena Waithe. Having a queer, Black woman play the role of Elphaba makes her character's journey feel even more personal and adds depth of meaning to the feelings of being othered & ostracized.

Elphaba's sister, Nessarose, is played by Marissa Bode who has a girlfriend. Having her in the film provides queer disability visibility during the press tour. I love that both Thropp sisters are played by queer actresses.

Prince Fiyero is played by Jonathan Bailey who is gay and launched the charity The Shameless Fund which aims to help members of the queer community across the world "live authentically, love freely and thrive." Fiyero shows up to Shiz University and seduces most everyone with his glances, touches, and winks. No one is safe. A bisexual king.

Pfannee is played by Bowen Yang, who is gay. Pfannee wears a skirted uniform and reacts to Prince Fiero by saying "You can do anything to me."

ShenShen is played by Bronwyn James who has a wife. So both of Glinda's sidekicks are played by gay actors although they don’t play these characters as the stereotypical “gay best friend,” but being the catty “mean girl” is also a gay trope, so it fits.

Dulcibear, the bear nurse who raises Elphaba, is voiced by Sharon D. Clark who is married to Susie McKenna. Having Dulcibear voiced by a queer woman gives added meaning to her choice to raise Elphaba after she was rejected by her father. During the song "What Is This Feeling," if Elphaba had written to Dulcibear instead of her father, maybe she'd have gotten the response, "It sounds like you're in love with her."

Even the straight actors in this cast are kind of queer adjacent. Ariana Grande who plays Glinda is considered a gay icon for her singing career and her brother Frankie Grande is gay. The Wizard is played by Jeff Goldblum who is campy and he was even a guest judge on an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. Madame Morrible is played by Michelle Yeoh who in every scene looks like she is doing Marie Antoinette-inspired drag and both Elphaba and Glinda both want her more than they want Fiyero.

[evieelyzabethh]

hiii i was wondering if you could do platonic Mel x reader headcanons? (like theyre friends and reader is on the council???)

thank youu and have a lovely day💗

omggg thank you! i always worry that everyone skips the mel sections. there is not nearly enough love for her, and she is literally my fav character

Contrary to popular belief, Mel is not a cold person in the slightest. She is certainly a bit hesitant to affection and softness, but it isn't unwelcome. When she first arrived in Piltover, freshly cast out by her own mother for her aversion to violence, she is very off balance. You don't become the richest person in Piltover in such a short period of time by being friendly, wealth is won through strategic kindness and an ability to play the long game.

It would be hard to crack that exterior at first, partially because she expects that everyone else is playing the same game she is. She thinks that the friendship is less soft and more professionally symbiotic. You scratch her back, she scratches yours kinda thing. And it's no reflection of who she thinks you are, she's not even aiming to form any personal judgements or get to know you outside of work, but politics is a performance. How genuinely you play your role is of little importance to her, as long as it benefits you both.

This being said, you are far more tolerable than the rest of them. Besides actually being her age, she respects the approach you have, you are always forthright with your goals, even if the plans you have to achieve them are under the table. You're consistent and she appreciates this. Though she understands the charade of smiles and civility, she knows that most of these people don't care about much other than keeping things exactly the way they are.

Early on in her journey in Piltover she doesn't care much about the fate of the Zaunites, this isn't her home, and that instability is one she is largely ignorant to and doesn't believe it's her responsibility to fix. She does want change. Is this desire to make waves to prove a point to her mother overseas, initially yes, but the point still stands that she wants to do something. That may be what she likes about you most. Not only that you want change, but you want it for yourself. You are here to represent your family, but you are so much more than a name. She admires that you want a legacy of your own, that your morals are your own, that your goals work toward a vision that you dreamt.

While she has Elora to remind her of home, she has you to help build her future in Piltover and figure out what she actually wants. As she warms up to you, you have somewhat of a mentor/apprentice type relationship, though far less formal. Besides teaching her of the culture, what happens in the Undercity, and your personal thoughts and opinions on the cycles of violence, you learn about Noxus. You learn about all the places she'd want to take you to, the difference in politics, how much more aggressive it is.

Mel is someone who usually keeps a calm and cool exterior but being friends with you allows her to break it down. Especially after days where she begins to wonder what she's even doing here, days where she just feels like a pawn still being moved around the board by her mother. She's good at the politics, but it's tiresome, still having to constantly play by someone else's rules. It dawns on her when you are the only person she can think of while sobbing alone in her all to big room that maybe you aren't just some work acquaintance.

Now that the very long introduction is out of the way, Mel is such a hugger. She is very physically affectionate; it's her way of catching up on all she missed out with her mom. She's the type to cradle your head in her hands and rub your back

She is also the 'break up with your boyfriend' friend. If your partner is not giving you what you deserve, she really doesn't see the point in continuing the relationship. She is truly baffled by the excuse 'but we've been together for x years, I can't leave them'. YES YOU CAN! AND YOU SHOULD! People are replaceable, she does not believe in remaining in the company of those you don't like, especially if it doesn't benefit you.

She was also robbed of a traditional sort of girlhood, so she adores those kinds of hangouts. So many sleepovers, except instead of junk food and soda, its wine and fancy charcuterie boards. Self-care nights involve super expensive skincare and a terrible movie playing. If you two get drunk enough, you may even get into a pillow fight and leave the room covered in down feathers and empty satin pillow covers.

Assuming she's still dating Jayce, you definitely know a bit too much about him. It's very hard looking him in the eye after being told about the time she caught him shirtless in a stupid pair of heart covered boxers.

She gifted you one of her paintings for your birthday one year and almost cried when you started crying. Her art was always more of a hobby to air out her big emotions and her heart practically bursts with happiness every time you enter a room. You hang it right over your bed for protection in your dreams and it makes her beam with pride that you love it so much.

She is also such a good gift giver in general. I think she'd be super into journaling and would have like a million of those things, one of them dedicated to her friends and their interests.

Speaking of her journals, I think she'd have one for different goals. For example, one for all the books she wants to read for the year and dedicated pages to rank them and give her opinions. Maybe one for all the places she wants to visit one day. You two would totally swap books and have a friendly competition with your reading goals

[thewistlingbadger]

I've seen people make the argument that if you like/support Ellie Williams or Abby Anderson from The Last of Us Part Two, then you should be fine with Caitlyn Kiramman's actions in Arcane season two and I'm gonna break down why I disagree with this.

It's true that both TLOU 2 and S2 arcane are revenge stories and have similar story beats. Caitlyn Kiramman is a cop who comes from a privileged family and she ends up losing her mom, Cassandra Kiramman, in a terrorist attack against her city. The terrorist responsible for the attack is Jinx, the sister of Caitlyn's romantic interest. In the first season it's clear she has a good heart that ends up being corrupted by revenge in the second season. Caitlyn becomes so blinded by her hatred for Jinx she ends up pushing away those closest to her and she comes heinous, discriminatory crimes against the lower class.

Ellie Williams starts off TLOU series as a little girl who's sarcastic and lonely and also immune to a deadly zombie virus. She forms a father/daughter like relationship with a man named Joel Miller, the man tasked with ensuring Ellie makes it to a hospital on the other side of the country in order for a cure to be made for the virus. Ellie ends up living with Joel in a safe haven after they make it to the hospital, because according to Joel while Ellie was unconscious in the hospital, it was revealed that Ellie wasn't the only person who was immune and they didn't need her to make a cure. As Ellie gets older, she uncovers the truth: Making a cure from Ellie would have killed her and so Joel not only stopped the cure from being made, but he also killed everyone in the hospital. This causes a heavy strain on their relationship and Joel ends up being murdered right in front of Ellie before she ever got the opportunity to make amends with Joel. This makes Ellie go on a quest to kill Joel's murderer and in the process she ends up killing countless people and she loses everything to her lust for vengeance.

Ellie and Caitlyn have a few similarities but the similarity that's most important for the sake of this post is the fact that they lose a parent and end up losing their morals on their path to vengeance. For me personally, there're two reasons why I hold Caitlyn and Ellie on different levels.

1. Relationship

Both of the last of us games focus on the relationship between Joel and Ellie. In the first game alone you spend hours upon hours with the two characters. You're there for their ups and downs and you watch them go from strangers to people who genuinely care for each other. You can only really care about a relationship if you spend time with them, and in arcane, we spend no time with Caitlyn and Cassandra. We understand that their relationship is a bit strained because they have different perspectives on life, but this is the only thing we can really say about their relationship. The closest we get to them having some kind of positive moment is when Cassandra makes sure Caitlyn and Vi get an audience with the council and when Cassandra gives Caitlyn a nod to go after Vi after she leaves. This is all we have for this relationship. So realistically, outside of the fact that Cassandra is Caitlyn's mom, why should I care that Cassandra is dead? Like I said, we don't see anything substantial from their relationship. Not in flashbacks or during Cassandra's life or after her death. We never even see Caitlyn really grieve the loss of her mother. She never sheds a single tear for her. She talks about how her mom's death has left a hole in her and she talks about how it feels impossible to live up to her mom's legacy, but this doesn't really tell us anything about Caitlyn actually FEELS about her mom or her death. We never even see Caitlyn feel any kind of way to the fact that her relationship with her mom ended while they weren't on good terms. When Joel goes in TLOU 2, we see exactly how it impacts Ellie. We see her mourn his death and we see her frustration in losing him and how she struggles with remembering him exactly. We see how she's tortured by the fact they left things on bad terms and also by the fact that Joel maintained a lie for years. We understand exactly why she's doing what she's doing, even as she pushes to newer extremes. We don't have this for Caitlyn. For Caitlyn, it seems at the start that she's doing it for her mom and that makes sense, but then we see Caitlyn take on a much bigger role in society and it just seems odd and unnatural. It doesn't feel like it's about her mom anymore.

2. Damage

Ellie gets consumed by vengeance. She loses her friends, her girlfriend, her personality, everything. And she keeps going too, she keeps hurting her enemies and her allies. Ellie has killed so many people on all sides it's genuinely gross. But not as gross as what Caitlyn does. Caitlyn doesn't kill anyone in her mother's name that we know of, but Caitlyn uses her grief to oppress the lower class of the nation of zaun. She gasses the city which leaves its citizens sick and afraid. She sets up borders and checkpoints in the city and treats innocents like they're criminals. Caitlyn's heartbreak over her mom's death is used to discriminate against others and Ellie's grief is NOT used to do that at all. For Ellie, anyone who stands in her way for vengeance is against her but Caitlyn villainizes the entirety of the undercity.

I've also seen people compare Caitlyn to Abby Anderson, who in TLOU kills Joel in front of Ellie because years ago, Joel killed Abby's father. Although we don't see much of the relationship between Abby's dad and Abby, we can understand the severity of his loss because we see how it impacts Abby and we know his death was undeserved. Abby's dad was a good man and a doctor. He helped people and cared for those in his community. The only reason he was killed was because Joel shot him in order to save Ellie. Abby doesn't witness her dad's death firsthand like how Ellie does, but she does walk in on her dad's dead body, and we see her anguish at the sight. Cassandra Kiramman was not innocent. She was a member of Piltover's council, the political body responsible for the oppression of the lower class. We know she had prejudice against those from the undercity. This is another reason why I lack sympathy for Cassandra and her relationship with Caitlyn but have it for Abby and her dad. TLOU 2 shows us how the death of her father still haunts her years after its occurrence, and it also shows us how even after she got her revenge, she still felt the emptiness his death left her with. Again, Arcane really doesn't explore how Cassandra's death truly impacts Caitlyn.

[cute-little-fly]

Those takes are so bad intended, and I am so tired about the comparisons with Bojack. The shows are pretty different, and Stolas doesn’t do anything close as the awful things Bojack does… Bojack tried to hook up with a minor, drugged a co-star he work with as a child and made her addiction worse etc… I am forgetting a lot of things but he basically damages all what he touches. Bojack can be very relatable and all, but he deserved all what he got.

Stolas acted inappropriate with Blitz and Via and he was unaware of how his classism and deal hurt Blitzø a lot, but that’s about it. It doesn’t even compare to the shit Bojack does, and also, Bojack is more rooted in our society’s illnesses. The intended arc for all this characters in their stories is completely different.

I would add to this response critique, that Helluva similar to Hazbin has also themes of redemption and question and change of power structures.

Charlie wants to redeem sinners and change heaven and how they don’t want people to redeem. Not all sinners will earn redemption, but let the ones that want to try to earn it and save themselves. Or change the system entirely for that to be the objective.

Blitzø is a guy that challenges hell power structures and hierarchy, that ended being an asshole because of his trauma, but that is healing, and his assholery is more a façade. He has healed also other people around him, by building a foundation family business and with Stolas redemption and healing they will touch upon how two people that grew in the polar opposites of power structures can find a middle ground. One comes from the top, other from the bottom and they both made history. Could they have the potential to change things? Who knows, but the show could end with some sort of revolution inspired in them. Mastermind seems to tease that.

On the other hand, Bojack is a guy that worked on a tv famous program, never wanted to do anything besides having success. His success and child traumas lead to drugs and other things that made him a bad person to others. He was given lots of opportunities to change, and started lots of relationships that he messed up and he wasn’t able to really change at the end, only in jail but he had no drugs… So, people cut him off even if for some of them it was painful, because they needed to protect themselves from him because the guy is an actual danger. Even if he is traumatized at all, people will end up hurt with him (is funny that Blitzø is the opposite, he thought he hurt people, but he actually made them better by being with them). If anything, Blitzø and Bojack are the opposite. Stolas is similar in the sense that he unawarely hurts people but he is taking accountability of what he did, even if less severe and starting an arc of unlearning his classism. Something that Bojack never did.

It’s a completely different story, but is also a drama show similar to this one so the inspiration is there but the characters, themes and setting is just completely different. Like, it would be worse if Viv just straight up copied Bojack in everything, don’t you think? She was inspired by a good drama show and she made her own, but about people that really want to change and redeem themselves, and trully work in that direction. That is valid.

Some people change, and some other don’t. Both takes are very realistic. When people don’t change the only way is cut them off. When people do change you can forgive them or reconnect with them if you want to. We all make mistakes.

In the case of Stolas and Via there are a lot of communication issues and misunderstandings between them. What Stolas was basically giving Blitzø the Grimoire and fail his promises and some important responsibilities as a father because of his depression and messy love life. It is not that it isn’t bad, but those are mistakes that can still be mended.

People say: she didn’t understood Bojack and I say to you: you are the one that don’t understand helluva because you don’t want to or is not a message you like and that’s fine.

Crushbot: This feels less like a good-faith critique and more like someone searching for a reason to hate Vivziepop and her work. The parallels between Helluva Boss and Bojack Horseman are there, sure—but reducing Stolas’s arc to a “can I copy your homework?” moment reeks of a desperate attempt to discredit the show rather than actually engaging with what it’s doing.

Parallels, Sure—But Context Matters

Let’s talk about the alleged similarities. Yes, Stolas being hated by the imps after his banishment could look like Bojack being “cancelled.” Both happen after courtroom scenes. Both involve estrangement from a younger female family member (Octavia for Stolas, Hollyhock for Bojack). That’s where the similarities end, and pretending otherwise ignores the wildly different purposes these arcs serve.

Bojack vs. Stolas

Bojack’s arc is about personal accountability and the destruction he leaves in his wake. His estrangement from Hollyhock is well-earned; she discovers the ways he’s manipulated and harmed others, and she rightfully cuts him off. The public backlash against Bojack is a direct response to his moral failings, forcing him to sit with the consequences of his actions.

Stolas, on the other hand, is being punished specifically for lending Blitz his grimoire, an illegal act that threatens the power structures of Hell. The characters in power (the Sins and the Goetia) care far more about this rule-breaking and his vague proclamation of being the "mastermind" behind some heinous plot than about his personal failings—cheating on Stella or neglecting Octavia emotionally. And they certainly don’t care about his classism or his (unintentionally) demeaning attitude towards imps.

Stolas’s punishment in Mastermind reflects Hell’s oppressive hierarchy and its misplaced priorities, rather than serving as a reckoning with his true faults. Comparing these two situations as if they’re identical flattens both narratives, ignoring the distinct ways each show explores power, accountability, and personal flaws.

The Martyr Argument

The claim that Stolas is treated like a martyr and excused for his actions is laughable. Stolas is flawed; the show never pretends otherwise. We’ve seen him struggle with his poor decisions and their consequences—particularly with Octavia. But his punishment in Mastermind isn’t about absolving him; it’s about highlighting the misdirected anger of an oppressive system.

This misdirected anger mirrors the real-world reactions of oppressed groups, who often lash out at convenient but less culpable targets when they feel powerless to confront the true source of their suffering. The hatred Stolas faces from the imp community doesn’t stem from his personal failings—it stems from the deep, systemic inequities of Hell's hierarchy, a system Stolas has long benefited from. 

The idea that Vivziepop thinks Stolas is “blameless” feels like an intentional misreading. Stolas is far from perfect, but his arc is about redemption and growth, not victimhood. If anything, the animosity he faces underscores the show’s broader themes of power dynamics and societal injustice, emphasizing how oppressive systems perpetuate cycles of blame and resentment.

“Can I Copy Your Homework?”—Lazy Critique

Sure, you can find surface-level similarities between Helluva Boss and Bojack Horseman, but that doesn’t make one a copy of the other. The thematic goals are wildly different:

Bojack Horseman is a deeply introspective, human story about accountability and the lasting damage of selfishness.

Helluva Boss is a surreal, melodramatic exploration of power, marginalization, and complicated relationships within a hellish hierarchy.

If anything, the similarities between the two are evidence of Helluva Boss drawing from familiar storytelling beats to craft something uniquely its own. Accusing it of plagiarism or lazy writing misses the point entirely. Stolas’s arc is tailored to Helluva Boss’s world—a chaotic, exaggerated, and deeply emotional sandbox that doesn’t care about “grounded realism” in the same way Bojack Horseman does.

The Real Issue

Let’s be honest: critiques like this aren’t really about writing quality or thematic depth. They’re about taking perverse joy in tearing Vivziepop down. It’s less about legitimate criticism and more about manufacturing outrage. It’s exhausting.

The truth is, Helluva Boss does what it sets out to do: deliver a visually stunning, emotionally resonant, and often absurd story in a way that resonates with its audience. If some people are so hung up on surface-level comparisons that they can’t see that, maybe they’re not the intended audience—and that’s fine. But let’s not pretend their bad-faith critiques hold any weight.

[anatolienne]

im honesty glad that i lived away from my family for 4 years bcs of school

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo standing up for his brothers in the things that really matter to them.

Like- Leo is the one who immediately pushes Mikey and Donnie into finding Raph the second it’s clear that their oldest brother is missing because he knows Raph can’t handle being separated like that.

Leo is the one who stands up for Mikey when Mikey wants to go on a solo mission, actively vouching for him and being the one to convince Raph into letting Mikey go, because being independent and proving himself just as capable of standing on his own two feet as everyone else means so much to Mikey.

And Leo defends Donnie’s honor in particular when his brothers’ intelligence is insulted because Leo is well aware of how important Donnie’s smarts are to him - and how important having those smarts valued and acknowledged is as well.

All this goes right into just how well Leo knows his brothers. For as much as he’ll tease or fight with them, he knows them, and he loves them.

[heymacy]

IAN GALLAGHER + his journey with bipolar disorder

╰┈➤ “At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of." - Carrie Fisher

[makiswirl]

can i just say. and this is probably a niche hill to die on. that i am so gobsmacked every time someone vaguely hints at the idea that jotaro doesn't care meaningfully for the other crusaders, usually particularly kakyoin and joseph, when those two actually tend to be the ones he reacts to being hurt the hardest

like he cares for his loved ones!!!! that literally plays into his character motives in every single part he shows up in!!! stop lying to me!!!!!!!

[borgialucrezia]

something something cesare always falling for rodrigo's ploy to pit him against his younger brother by rubbing in the fact that juan leads the papal army (aka cesare's greatest desire) so he mocks juan out of bitterness at every chance vs. rodrigo threatening juan to strip out his position (aka his honor and entire sense of being despite his incompetence) and giving it to cesare but juan doesn't fall for their father pitting him against his older brother and doesn't spitefully put him down but only begs their father not to take it away...

[wimpy-imp]

I remember many times when my grandmother would make off hand remarks about how testosterone would make me look like a joke. that it would be funny and unnatural for someone like me to have a beard.

before that i remember my mother outing me to my grandparents without my knowledge or consent. and then having to sit with both of them on different occasions for a year while they tried to tell me i was just a masculine woman. One where they thought it was okay to ask if I'd get pregnant if a potential partner "really really wanted it 🥺" (Which. sidenote. what the actual fuck??)

i remember the day after one of those conversations my mother took me into town for a "suprise" from my grandma. and they tried to make me get my ears pierced. even when i said i didn't want to. the only reason they stopped was because i had an autistic shutdown in public and they were too embarrassed to keep trying to force me into it. That happened 2 years ago. i have very real trauma from that day.

They never cared about my gender nonconformity until i came out.

They still seem to believe that I'd only be a man if i actually secretly hated myself.

[swagging-back-to]

worst trope is found family separating as soon as the antagonist is dealt with.

[sweetpapercroissant]

i don’t get the appeal of an incest ship if you’re only ever going to focus on the good romantic feelings and not the icky negative ones. the resentment the feeling of being trapped shackled wanting out and away from the person who knows so much too much about you since before you even knew to not allow it but at the same time you can’t imagine living in a world without them being away is like tearing a limb a piece of your soul you will never again be complete without them. no one else will ever understand you the way they do no one else will ever get so deep under your skin and you may hate it but you hate the thought of them not being there even more you can’t stand to see anyone else get to a part of them you didn’t and even worse when they get it before you. you push and you push and you push but when they let go it’s like you’re free falling and it doesn’t matter how far away you run you will never be far enough away because you carry them inside you everywhere you go. you tell yourself you want nothing more than to get away but they’re the only home you will ever have and you won’t ever let anyone get that close you’re already moulded to only fit in perfectly with them and you didn’t have a choice but this is who you are. there’s nothing you could do to make them let you go but there’s nothing you could do to make them let you go. you want to be so close to them you want to merge your bodies into one you hate how crowded you feel when they’re in the same room like they’re sucking in all the air and there isn’t any left for you and you want to get away so you can just breathe but you don’t even want to breathe in the air that hasn’t passed through their lungs first you hate that you feel this way you wish you could claw it out of your veins but then who would you be without it without them you want so much and it’s so ugly and you’re ashamed of how raw that need is how you want every part the good the bad the human you wish none of this had ever happened you feel dirty you never even had a chance to find something else be something else but then you look over and you love them so much so much and when it comes down to it nothing else was ever going to be enough for you anyway.

[iwanttobepersephone]

The biggest hill I will die on is that Pauline would NOT be motherly and that Flanny did a massive disservice to her character by doing that

[girlcrushau]