#helluva villains

[caldella]

When you're freeze-framing Stolas' "It was me, and i have no regrets" line from Mastermind and you realize one of his pupils is becoming visible as he's maintaining his act but also processing how he's dooming himself in real time and very very much having regrets. 😢

[bones4thecats]

Me, everyday: "I'm gonna be productive and do so much more writing and drawing!" Me, hearing beep of a new video based on my interests:

[orionhelluvaranting]

Stolass has been banished, lost all of his powers and suffered from a nervous breakdown but still...

That's how he kicks Andre's ass right after arriving at the palace. And he lifts a huge ice statue up like it's nothing. And, uh... Elsa's evil rip-off just lies down, squeaks and sucks it up submissively despite he has appropriated ALL of Stolass' powers!!! Bitch, WTF?!

Also a little bit earlier in the same episode:

Vivzie, could you please be consistent at least throughout a SINGLE fucking episode of your own show?! You literally have so little to no interest in something outside of the glorified toxic yaoi you doesn't even try to hide it anymore!

[hoothootarts]

They cuddle and sleep together T^T

Credit goes to @ggyzmio, whos work is more than lovely

[tealvenetianmask]

Thoughts about Striker being a "supremacist:"

On the surface, he's sort of a social class activist/ Robin Hood archetype. I think he truly thinks of himself this way. But when Blitz calls him a supremacist, who's he a supremacist against exactly? It's imps. This guy hates imps (and also identifies as one, even though he's clearly some sort of hybrid, which is interesting).

Let me show you what I mean. The short version is that he's the self-hating minority bigot trope, and it's executed really well.

"Blue Bloods"

"Disgusting, rich, pompous goetia"

"Some of us have everything we care about taken away by fuckers like you."

"You don't get to talk over me. . . all you ever do is try to talk over us."

"Once I split your neck open and let you choke on your own blue blood, you won't be worth any more than the tomb stone you'll be buried under."

So . . . first, he doesn't actually say a lot that's solely about royals, and ALL of the quotes above are about how royals look down on people like him, NOT about any inherent flaws that they have. They're about class, not race, unless you count "blue blood" as race. I don't. It's tied directly to money. "Disgusting" comes up in reference to Blitz's relationship with Stolas, but the words "rich" and "pompous" follow immediately. Striker hates royals because he hates that society places them above him.

Imps

"Pathetic."

"You little things aint worth the cleanup."

"Oh I remember how easy you are to choke the life out of, little one."

"Blitz, come on. You know the two of us are superior to most of our kind."

"I still think it's embarrassing. You're wasting a lot of potential relying on a weak little . . ."

"Vermin"

I think that this is where Striker's worldview comes into clearer focus. He thinks that Moxxie and Millie (and by extension MOST imps) are inferior to him. The word "vermin" is particularly telling. There's something visceral about his disgust for "lesser" imps.

I think Striker worries that they reflect who he really is. I think he truly believes that imps are inferior to higher class demons, and he fears that if he doesn't prove himself to be special (through violent dominance), he's vermin himself.

Notice how in the image below, his edge over Moxxie is all about size and physical strength- the things he implies throughout the episode make him the superior being. Look at that wide smile. He loves the feeling of being superior.

Relationships between imps and royals

"You are so above sucking on a disgusting rich pompous goetia . . ."

"kill the unkillable . . . starting with the one that treats you like a plaything."

"Blitzy"

"You two are both embarrassments to our kind for meddlin' with blue bloods to begin with. But at least loud mouth here has the sense to only fuck his rich bitch, instead of being a little purse dog."

"This worthless little pet reeks of his over bloated master. I'll at least enjoy getting rid of him."

Striker clearly sees these relationships as imps lowering themselves. It doesn't seem to occur to him even for a moment that these relationships might involve genuine care because he sees all interactions between social classes as being about power and "who wins."

Notice that despite in theory caring about the power dynamics, Striker puts most of his shaming language on the imps in the relationships, and uses demeaning language to do it- "embarrassments, purse dog, little pet," as if they're at fault (for being used, in his view . . .?) and should be ashamed.

I thought about delving more into why Striker sees Blitz as closer to his own level, and I think it comes down to the things he values (physical strength, willingness to kill, detachment/independence), which are not the things that we the audience end up liking the most about Blitz. He misses the point of what actually makes our boy great, basically. 😍

I've spent a lot of time reading and watching videos about real life white supremacists because I like to be miserable, and . . . yeah, this character really shares their view that some people are inferior to others, and that the traits that make them inferior are inherent and immutable. The people he hates just aren't the ones he'd have us believe he hates.

[mr-malumm]

NASTY SNAKE MAN FOR MY BESTIES DTIYS ON INSTA!!!!!

[redjoey1992]

Stella and Andy are so obnoxiously cartoonishly evil that they make the Wet Bandits look like Hans Gruber by comparison. Seriously, is being evil their only character trait? Even the Disney Villains have more character depth and subtlety in their villainy.

[trashogram]

You know what?

Stolas defenders been real quiet since Stolas tried to sacrifice himself for Blitzø without giving a flying fuck about Octavia, Stolas’s own daughter. Again.

[vaggieslefteye]

your level of insecurity is INTOXICATING!

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

If You Are Disappointed With What A Shit Show Helluva Boss Has Become Here Are Top 5 Shows To Get On Instead

Lacakdaisy

2. Villainous/Villanos

3. Monkey Wrench

4. Metal Family

5. Murder Drones

[rabbitsonthemoon]

Dabi was the best guy the league could've asked for to fill the job of setting a whole-ass mountain peak forest on fire during the training camp arc.

He's got prior experience on his resume and everything!

[mocamagical]

Charlastor week 2024: Day 6 Marriage Proposal "Now that I've rescued your little town from certain doom, I'm gonna take the mayor's daughter as payment, witness us at the chapel and don't say anything you'll soon regret. yeehaw"

[bones4thecats]

Some writers looking over their fics before publishing: Yes, perfect to submit. Me, not giving it a second thought as I pray to every deity I can thing of that it doesn't flop because of my rushed-typing speed and shaky-nature:

[criticalcrusherbot]

💁🏽‍♀️: Informal rant post right quick. What the majority of critics are missing is that the tragedy of Stolas’ marriage is not that “Stella is a huge fucking bitch.” Rather, the true tragedy lies in the fact that the marriage was arranged.

He is gay.

He had little to no say in any of the major decisions which shaped his life. His job, his destiny, his family, were all decided for him.

AND Stella is abusive and a massive fucking bitch. His character arc isn’t simply “sticking it to the bitch of an ex-wife” (even though I’m sure that will be part of it). Instead, it’s about how his arrangement-turned-situationship-turned-maybe something more with Blitz gave him the epiphany and the courage to live outside of the expectations set for him by Paimon and the rigid structure of goetic society.

“Then you walked in my room and like sparks in the dark, life was suddenly thrilling and new.”

“My entire life has been written in stone, he taught me that I could choose.”

“I am the Mastermind, the master of my fate.”

This isn’t about hating Stella, people. (I personally think she’s a really fun character with a lot of potential for some interesting character development.) What it IS about is Stolas taking control of his life after living thirty-whatever years with the entirety of it being decided for him.

It’s high-society period drama-esque, people. I thought the show was being very clear about this 🥲 I’m really trying not to overuse the term ‘media illiteracy’ but????

[idrawtooslow]

Let's thank our villainous voice actors!

Everyone say "Thank you!" to Georgina Leahy, the voice actor who brought to life Stella, this horrible lady-demon-bird-thing whom it feels so good to hate!

Anyone can chew scenery, but to really make a character feel odious in a way that makes it feel cathartic to hate them… that takes talent and hard work.

And the way Leahy voices Stella just a little lower and hoarser than her natural voice… that isn't something you can do all day without risking permanent consequences.

~@~

Let's also remember to thank Jason LaShea, the voice actor who brought to life Andreaplhus, the most punchable conniving bastard in web animation!

Sneering isn't a talent, but building a lawful evil antagonist with just the right balance of arrogance and sliminess, while matching the physical appearance and mannerisms of an animated character, is very much a talent, and also requires a lot of hard work!

So, as we wait for Season 3 and dream of wringing these characters' scrawny little bird necks, let's remember to show some love for the humans behind our villains, yeah?