#i really love her and ozzy's dynamic 🥺

[mp3minded]

Ozzy: My Analysis.

This was a long time coming, because from the very first time I played his route (which also happened to be the first I completed the season to the end with), I knew Ozzy was a fundamentally interesting character that I'd want to dedicate a whole essay for, because it's one way I like to show my affection for these characters 🥺

(Problem was, I felt like I wouldn't of been able to do him justice before, but after my final research run, I don't think that's a road block for me anymore.)

One thing about his route is, no matter how you approach it, there'll always be a level of pain to it. I think the only exception to this is if you tell him, in paraphrase, "I'm interested too, but I'm not ready to commit yet," when he confesses to MC after the Doghouse Challenge, because that option allows MC the best of both worlds.. those two worlds I've experienced first-hand, I'll detail below.

If you tell him "I feel the same way," that day, it'll be held in the back of his mind that, at-least some point in time, he was your #1 choice (even if you end up choosing someone else in the end)

The pain waiting for MC on this path is, of course, how directly affected she is by everything that happened after her shock fake-dumping. (I even liveblogged my reaction to a lot of it, when I consciously paid attention to everything happening outside of Ozzy and MC's bond, within my #my exp tag, early March.)

Him patching things up with Grace, which she revealed to MC during Casa Amor

What he did during Casa, in reaction to seeing MC again in the postcards, (which didn't paint her in a positive light), which was a skinny-dip threeway kiss (which he IMMEDIATELY regretted)

Not breaking things off with Grace as soon as he should've after Casa (in my opinion), which I think should've been that first morning when all the OGs woke up together in the villa again, at the latest

And, on the topic of the Casa drama.. one moment I really like is, even if MC chooses to "play dumb," when piecing together what likely happened.. Ozzy couldn't keep her in the dark for too long even when he first considered it, which to me is so cute 🥺💗

@operationnope brought up some very good points when I asked her opinion on the situation. Being reminded of a very core part of Ozzy's character amidst the hurt was just what I needed 🥴 even if he fumbles along the way, he still wants to do right by all of the involved parties, and that includes Grace.

And, that leads me to what my final research run was all about.. seeing what his route is like when you friendzone him instead, before Casa. And, holy hell. I thought it would've been easy enough, but that came with its own unique set of challenges.

@ariendiel I remember at one point just thinking, "this is probably the closest to the Noah route experience I'll ever feel," and I know y'all Noah stans had it even tougher because there was no way to even couple up with Noah at all, outside of the disaster recoupling 😭 y'all don't get enough credit for REAL 🥺💙

It was a very isolating path, where even Ozzy flips back and forth between acknowledging MC's interest in him after all, with her actions, to "I'm friendzoned" mode. Everyone else, including Grace, just brushes off everything MC does, with the clear exception of the final recoupling.

And that all applies even after I told Grace that it could become a thing still, him and MC together 💀

On the one hand, yes I can sympathize with Ozzy's position in this scenario. But also it's like, Ozzy.. read the room! 😭🥺

Or, alternatively...

...from what I can tell from this difference of his dialog after the final recoupling.. he was reading the room, and was just trying to play it very cool with MC.

So, what is the overarching theme with Ozzy no matter how you approach his route? *checks the melted inked note on my arm* ..something about not knowing how to handle being in love for the first time, with the very real possibility of (total) rejection.

And, this song sums up his route to a T 🥺 and y'know what, maybe I did feel myself fall for him all over again as I was listening to it, on this last run 😭

[helluvapurf]

*sips tea seeing HB "Mastermind" making its rounds*

...Sooooo, this latest episode's content definitely was... alot, in more ways than one lol .w. Don't really have the energy atm to do a full "Pros & Cons" list like my prior reviews, soooo... have some jumbled first impressions below lmao:

NOTE: Obv there'll be some spoilers ahead so do keep note of that... aaaaand like usual these ARE just my own personal thoughts at the end of the day, so *please* try to keep things civil if you disagree with anything below. Thank you. 🙏

WOO, nice to see some more Sins introduced on-screen! 🤩Satan is pretty rad with his cowboy dragon aesthetic, the sleepy sheep lady (Belphegor, I think?) looks cute, and I do like the idea of Leviathan being a two-head split creature (tho ngl, I kiiiinda wish her "pretty" half wasn't just a taller version of the Glam twins 😭 might just be the Bi in me talking hlhjk but... Viv y u so allergic to giving us pretty monster ladiessss-)

Great to see Asmodeus, Beezlebub & Mammon back all at once, and their courtroom getups were pretty cool~ 👀Loved Ozzie & Bee's lil friendship, along with Mammon being the most annoying brother-like figure to both Bee & Ozzie lmao

BLITZ'S (almost) FINAL SPEECH TO HIS WHOLE CREW PRE-EXECUTION (+requesting M&M to take care of Loona if he died), MY HEART- 😭😭❤️For all this man's flaws/past mistakes, there's NO denying how much he loves his employees & loved ones at the end of the day (& vice-versa on their ends)... hhhhh q-q

The inner-most squee I had at the Fizz cameo & his frantic worry for Blitz (+texting Ozzie to protect his best friend), aaaaaa~ TwT 💕💕 (*also semi-related side note; but YAY a lil Verosika cameo too (loving her twin-tail hairdo~), even showing fearful concern for Blitz's fate? Aww~ 🥺🩷Plsss let this be a sign her character's not completely done in terms of screentime, I'd SO love for more Blitz/Verosika bonding moments (to maybe a potential brotp forming) as he got with Fizz! 🙏🙏*)

Striker returns, yaaaay!~ 😍 ...aaaand he's mainly just there to act like a dumb grunt to Andre's plotting, oh... 😐'least his court getup's pretty snazzy though, loving the jacket~👌

Blitz + IMP finally getting to receive some hero treatments in the public (Impkind's) eye, fireworks, street celebrations, and potential new clients-included? Sweeeeet~ 👏👏

...well I'll be, Stolas actually getting some narrative consequences here?? 😲😲Standing up for Blitz's life, taking the blame for the Grimoire's misuse, accepting his punishment of the 100 year ban from his status, wealth & powers that were part of his life since forever... daaaaang, now this is some good character building here!~ 👀 Now, with such an honorable & grand gesture Stolas did for the sake of Blitz, their brief duet, and the end shot of them basically becoming roommates now that Stolas has nothing left... does this make me an official Stol*itz shipper now?? 🤩 ...Hmmmmmmmmm, nah lol 🤷‍♀️Now, okay I don't mean to sound like some negative nancy bitch or however, cause I AM proud of Stolas taking the lengths he did to protect Blitz & IMP (and now with him not having a fancy prince title anymore, this could potentially give him the chance to challenge his past privileged/classist mindset, living in the same social class as the same Imps his fellow Goetia society have long-oppressed). However, if there's anything I've learned from shows like Bojack Horseman... big grand gestures are NOT the be-all/end-all answer to proving romantic compatibility 👏👏

When it comes to any sort of relationship, romantic or otherwise... what should matter most is consistent, genuine care & support from one partner to another. And as far as we've seen from Stolas & Blitz's dynamic up til this point... imo, they really haven't had enough positive (non-sexual) bonding moments (save for stuff like their attempts at small talk at "Ozzie's", Stolas laughing at Blitz's sitcom jokes in "Seeing Stars", one photo of Blitz smiling while they slept), to justify them being some "destined-for-one-another" couple? 🤷‍♀️ Not helped by how both men were constantly avoiding & bickering at one another for most of S2 up til now... Iiiii can't be the only one who found it just a tad rushed Blitz was suddenly all "loving/domestic hubby mode🥺🥺" towards Stolas at the end... right? .w.;; Esp. in light of Stolas going through so much as he had to in one trial (+the realization of what'll become of his daughter, following said-punishment) ...he really, really shouldn't be in the mindset for tackling romance rn (at least til he continues to grow & heal better, down the line)... with OR without Blitz😔

....buuut yeah, thats just my own take on the matter; so ofc NO shade at all to those who are genuine Stolas/Stol*itz fans btw (thanks to this ep and/or previous ones), you're valid!👍👍For me, I'll still be vibing onwards with my own personal HCs/ships, so feel free to stay tuned for that if you're curious! :>

Now that we've finally got to meet Vassago upfront, Iiiii'm honestly a lil disappointed he was just... "there" in terms of plot-relevancy (even with all his previous trailer/merch hype)? .w.;; Don't get me wrong, I DO find it refreshing that Vassago's actually a nice guy, and that Stolas did have some genuine support in the Goetia society after all. But other than Vassago wholesomely cheering on Stolas by the sidelines... hmmm, I can't help feeling like not much would've changed had Vassago not been here at all, ngl 🤷‍♀️ Maaaaybe S3 might change things if he gets more spotlight there instead (esp with what I remember everyone theorizing of Vassago (possibly) becoming a 2nd love interest for Stolas .3. idk, part of me's kinda curious how that'd play out with Blitz in the picture- 🤔)?

Andrealphus's antagonist spotlight here... was fine, I guess? Idk, I can't say I've ever been too big a fan of Andre beforehand (mainly from his late-inclusion in the Stolas plot feeling a lil forced + him stealing the spotlight of what could've been interesting villain potential for Stella imo). Not to say I didn't find some of his hammy dialogue funny, along with enjoying the visuals of his ice magic... buuuut yeah, still pretty lukewarm towards him either way 🤷‍♀️could've also done without those creepy af comments about his sister as well... like bruh that in*cest shit wasn't funny the first time, whyyy keep bringing that back- 🤢

Speaking of Stella... ehhhhh, still a pretty flat character as she was in previous episodes (which I guess shouldn't be too surprising with this show's track record with female characters ngl 🤷‍♀️). Interesting to finally see an on-screen interaction with her & Octavia though (granted, not exactly on a good note given her evil smirk at the end... but I guess it does answer some HC questions I had previously of what their mother/daughter dynamic is like, hmmm... 🤔).

As for Octavia in-question... hhHHHH MY POOR BIRD CHILD T-T 💔💔Girl practically watched her greatest fears coming true (aka: Stolas abandoning her for the sake of Blitz), seeing what became of her dad on live-TV. Even if she obviously doesn't know the full story (esp with her mom & uncle pulling strings), its still SO heartbreaking when you consider her trailer sneak-peek ("You never loved Mother, you don't love me, you love him-"). And with only one episode left before S2 wraps up... ooooof, this ain't gonna be pretty ;-;

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-Hoooo yeah, that was alot of rambling my bad... but yeah, thats about as clear of thoughts as I have rn regarding "Mastermind". Even with some of the (admittedly) bloated cast, and some other narrative nitpicks I have with it... I'm honestly hyped to see how the upcoming finale will tie all these big plot points together! 👀🤞🤞

[helluvapurf]

13

forgot i was still doing this ask meme for a sec my bad lol

13. worst blorboficiation

Do you mean in terms of canon portrayals, or fandom-wise? Hmmm... if we're just talking canon here, then... weeeeell- >>

-Now before anyone freaks out, no I don't "hate" Stolas... at most I'm honestly just kinda... "neutral"-feeling whenever he pops up on screen these days 🤷‍♀️

Concept-wise, I do like the idea of Stolas being this seemingly aged, powerful figure among the Ars Goetia... struggling to balance his twisted desires with his family/royalty responsibilities. Often getting lost in his own head to focus on anyone but his personal joy/fantasies-

...but at the same time, not too far gone that he can't reel it back in-time to eventually realize his mistakes, and try to do whatever he can to fix it (no matter how successful or not those attempts be-):

It was unique, compelling and overall made Stolas an entertaining character from the initial HB pilot to the end of S1. Making me super intrigued of how this crooked, broken bird could eventually grow and learn from all that happened into S2...

...aaaaand then "The Circus" & onwards just... idk, decided to do away with all that to make Stolas more like an innocent, pure-natured soul all along... who never meant to come off like a selfish jerk 'cause he's just soooo lonely & sad, having the sweetest of intentions all along~ 🥺🥺

and its like... usually I don't mind giving sympathetic/tragic backstories to explain why they behave the way they do in the present-day... but with how S2's been framing things with Stolas atm, any and all mistakes he's pulled in the past has become the fault of other people's doing?

Stolas & Stella having a cold, loveless marriage that ended in him getting caught cheating (+Stella hiring a hit on him because of said cheating)? ...Well then clearly thats all Stella's fault for being a raging harpy from birth, so bitch got what she deserved when he dumped her ass, haha~

Stolas having a demeaning, belittling view on Imps (even around Blitz a few times in S1)? ...Well then that clearly was just the fault of his eeeevil dad Paimon, pushing the idea in his son's head from his kid years (who was so pure at heart enough that he wanted to bow to Blitz, when they met, awww~).

Stolas not being the most attentive father to Octavia, ignoring her feelings over & over? ...Well then clearly thats all on Via for not being grateful for the big, noble sacrifices Stolas put into loving her (esp as she apparently only exists to be a “precautionary heir” from his toxic marriage), and the fact that he's trying should be enough to forgive all his faults as the best dad ever~

Stolas being a pushy creep towards Blitz during their S1 dynamic, stepping over boundaries despite Blitz's clear discomfort? ...Well then that's clearly all on Blitz for being the one who put the moves on Stolas first, who was just a flustered bean from the start wanting to reconnect with his old buddy & gained true feelings overtime... why can't Blitz see how much Stolas loooooves him~? :ccc

...Aaaaand yeah, idk about yall but ehhhhh- I just couldn't really get into that angle the more I watched S2 :/. Not to say that Stolas’ last couple appearances were bad, per-say ('cause I did find his sassiness to Striker while kidnapped + his reading-enthusiasm with Ozzie's contract pretty funny)... buuut to make a long story short:

Shady, morally gray Stolas who needs to work on himself >>>>> Sad baby boi Stolas who did nothing wrong ever

[helluvapurf]

Ayyyy new HB episode just dropped, and its the Fizzarolli one!~ Been SUPER curious about it since the initial trailers/sneak peek previews, soooo... lets talk about it~

*SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T SEE IT YET-*

First things first, the Positives:

-Loved loved LOVED Fizzarolli and Asmodeus since their initial debuts in "Ozzie's", and... yeah, I very much enjoyed them here too!~ 👏From Fizz's maniacally-pampered goofiness to Ozz's "lovingly suave & powerful" demeanor, it blends into some super enjoyable chemistry when we see them both onscreen~ ❤️Not that they have a flawless relationship ofc, given Ozzie's overprotective coddling at times & Fizz being too careless about his own safety (+his inner worry of what the public would think of Ozz dating an Imp)... but at the end of the day, whether it's fluffy cuddles, kinky fun, or pummeling the hell out of some boring lawyer dude... it seems like nothing will ever tear these two apart, aww~ :3

-Blitz and Fizz's dynamic was SO fun to watch from start to finish, everything including their snarky banter at the start, their gradual teamwork when kidnapped, and their heart-to-heart by the end was quite touching to see play out (like man you can just FEEL the pain in Blitz's voice as he recounted all that tragedy/genuinely felt remorse for what happened... poor guy ;-; )🥺 I know some could argue that Fizz forgiving Blitz at the end was a little... "rushed", but personally I like to see it more as them agreeing start over "fresh" to give time in rebuilding things, with plenty to catch up on now that they're free from danger 👍 Here's to some more great Blitz/Fizz content in future HB eps!

-As... "lukewarm" as I've grown towards Stolas lately, I honestly found him pretty fine here in terms of character portrayal/writing (surprising too that he didn't take up much screentime since he stayed more to the sidelines during the B-plot... huh .3.). The lil bit of him excited to read the contract was pretty funny too lol ("Ohoho, I love words!~")

-Didn't expect to see Striker so soon, but he proved a fun threat to watch along with the bigger arsenal in Crimson's gang! 👌 Curious to see what he'll be up to next, with that slick escape of his by the end~ 👀

-I liked the lil fly-Chihuahua things Fizz had as pets during the intro, they were cute :3

-Much better writing in the humor-department here, as even some of the "raunchier" jokes (like from Fizz and/or Ozzie) didn't really phase me here since most of them do come from two prominent Lust Ring performers. Ironically enough though, it was actually Crimson who surprisingly gave me the most laughs ngl (like the screen recording threat to Ozzie, his confused face at Fizz singing in Italian, etc. lmao).

-Beautiful shots of animation & color work as usual, and even Fizz's song (-cluttered as it was lol) proved an amusing one to see given the circumstances of him improvising the whole time XD. Hope we'll see more of Alex Brightman's singing talents in HB's future, given his past Broadway work! 👏

-So it looks like we were right to assume Stolas is planning to give Blitz an Asmodean Crystal after all (possibly meaning the end of their Full Moon deal, too? :o), so that'll be interesting to see how that'd play out later (esp. now that Fizz gave the okay to let Blitz have it by the end, thanks to their renewed bond ^^)

Now, as for any potential Negatives...:

-As much as I enjoyed Striker's antagonist role here, along with the looming forces he gained from Crimson's alliance... like, why is Crimson of all people here for the villain-count, again? .-. Sure, it is refreshing that Striker's learning to let go of "sucking up" to Goetia's (aka: Stella & her brother) to get by... buuuut idk, I would've thought Crimson's next big appearance would've been suited more to a Moxxie and/or Millie-centered plot, I guess? 🤷 Idk...

-For someone who went through such an intense kidnapping/beat-up during his last starring role... I'm surprised Stolas is apparently walking around fine now, with no other visible injury? I mean sure, he is a Goetia so I guess it makes sense he'd heal up fast... yet since its only been canonically a week since "Western Energy" happened, I feel like he should've at least had a couple bandages/scars on him, to at least leave some more of a narrative impact of what he went through imo.

-Funny as the B-plot was with the boring lawyer guy... yeaaaaah I'll admit after awhile, I couldn't help wondering why Ozzie didn't just say "f*** it" and killed the dude already lol. Like, big threats from Crimson aside... Asmodeus IS an Embodiment of Sin nonetheless, arguably more powerful than any Goetia if we consider the Hell hierarchy system. Couldn't he have just... idk, raised up hell like Stolas did in "Truth Seekers" to go save his man? 🤷 Not that it took me out of the ep too much given all the great Blitz & Fizz content we got instead... buuuut yeah lol.

-With that one flashback sequence of Blitz and Fizz's childhood... I'm surprised Barbie Wire didn't show up much in it (save for the burned photo with their mom)? .-. I mean I'll admit I even saw some leaked storyboard-screencaps showing that Barbie was meant to be seen running out during the tent fire scene, but in the actual-finished ep she's just... not there somehow? Weird .x.;

-I'm... not really sure how to feel about Blitz straight up calling Striker a "supremacist"? Like yeah Striker's clearly within the "Eat The Rich" mentality since his debut in S1... buuuut with how its been subtly stated of how oppressed the Imp race is compared to most other Hell classes, I don't really get how Striker is "wrong" to outright detest royalty/rich folk? .-. Idk, hopefully they'll clear this up more with a later episode/backstory moment for Striker down the line... 'cause otherwise, the implications of it all just feels very... ehhhhh .x.;;

-...okay, I'm just gonna cut to the chase here (*and no offense meant-in advance to any shippers out there, btw*), but I'm... reeeeally not a fan of how much this show's been trying to "water down" Blitz and Stolas' current dynamic here 😑 Like, its one thing to show Stolas catching honest, genuine feelings but recognizing his mistakes enough to try & make things "right" (hence again, the Asmodeon Crystal thing)... but to straight up paint Blitz as being some "uwu stubborn meanie who doesn't know true love when he sees iiiiit~" is just... really? 🤦

Mind you, Stolas is the same guy who coerced Blitz into their Grimoire deal all so Blitz can keep up his I.M.P. business (& for Stolas to... well, "get some" >>;), kept stepping over boundaries throughout S1 (aka: calling him "Blitzy" over & over, hitting on him when he's not interested, etc.), and then didn't even try to defend Blitz when they both got publicly mocked in "Ozzie's" (only way later when they were in the privacy of his manor did he offer to talk/have some "cuddly couple time" together... 😒). Again, I don't mean to dunk on Stolas too much 'cause I know he IS trying to be better now (+Blitz wasn’t exactly a saint either, given that he only ever asked out Stolas back then just so he could spy on M&M >>)... but really, all that in mind I can't say I blame Blitz for not being exactly "receptive" to Stolas' affections 🤷 Personally, I think its best that these two just give eachother some space (once the Grimoire/Crystal thing is sorted out), imho...

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Aaaaand yeah, all-in-all I'd say this ep was... probably the best of S2, so far??😳Not "perfect" by any means, and def could've used a bit more polish in a few scenes/plot holes/script-writing... all-in-all, the strong chemistry of Blitz, Fizzarolli, Asmodeus amongst the drama made it a truly worthwhile episode~! 👏👏As for my current S2 ranking atm:

"Oops" (S2 Ep. 6)

"Western Energy" (S2 Ep. 4)

"Exes and Oohs" (S2 Ep. 3)

"The Circus" (S2 Ep. 1)

"Unhappy Campers" (S2. Ep 5)

"Seeing Stars" (S2. Ep 2)