As Much As I Look Forward To Blitz Learning Some Self Care And Self Love, He’s Definitely Not Going

The amount of bad faith arguments from antis is utterly astounding. I just saw 2 different people argue that Blitz being fine with killing the mom in Murder Family and not the gay couple in Sinsmas was a sign of Vizzie being obsessed with gay people and hating women.

The entire story of Helluva Boss is Blitz coming to terms with his trauma and the ways that has shaped his relationships as an adult. That’s not even a B plot. That is literally the main story.

The show begins with him hiding his trauma behind bravado. He has lost his family and feels responsible. He adopts a daughter, but is afraid to place any boundaries on their relationship and trades away genuineness for surface level gifts and compliments.

He craves intimacy but is terrified of actually finding it. He fucks around with whoever he wants and crosses every boundary with M&M, constantly trying to insert himself into a successful relationship, without putting any effort into building one himself.

He’s determined to prove he’s not just a screw up, so he starts a business based around one of the few well paid jobs imps seem to be able to get in Pride (hired muscle), and he doesn’t think twice about whether the people he’s killing actually deserve it or not.

By the end of Apology Tour (though honestly it starts before this) he has realized that he doesn’t want to be like this forever. He doesn’t want to cut himself off from people. He wants genuine connection.

In Sinsmas, Blitz immediately clocks that the family they are about to kill bears a superficial resemblance to his and Stolas’s relationship. When he goes out for the job, he sees the future he wants, the same one he has only recently allowed himself to admit he wants, and yeah, it’s too much for him to go through with it.

It makes sense that a repressed Blitz firing on bravado and overconfidence would distance himself from his hits in episode 1. It makes sense that the more he opens himself up to being vulnerable, acknowledging his trauma, and finding genuine connection with loved ones, the harder that would be, especially when his own emotions are so new and so raw.

Yes, Blitz loved his mom and he’s not over what happened to her, but his coping mechanism is to push his emotions away and try to forget about all of that. He’s not trying to do that with Stolas in Sinsmas. In fact, he’s very notably trying to do the exact opposite, so of course his reaction to this hit would be different.

If you don’t understand that, you are (at best) not paying attention to the plot or (at worst) are willfully ignorant and intentionally trolling fans of this show because you have nothing better to do with your time.

I find it really interesting how effective human made weapons/technology is against Hellborn. (And even Heavenborn in some cases)

Tranquilizers

Taizers

Truth Serum

Ghostf**ker’s Ghost Sucker 9000

Not even a higher ranking demon like Rolando is immune to human made gadgets. Because Millie specifically called the Ghostf**kers show “earth trash”, implying that the vacuum Blitzø bought was likely human made.

Holy Pendent

I’m not sure if I’m looking too much into it, but my stint in the Good Omens fandom has got me conditioned to expect a Humanity Vs. Heaven Vs. Hell scenario.

As unlikely as that sounds, I can’t help but find it an interesting idea, and I’m interested to see if DHORKS actually manages to become a decent threat in season 3. After all, they still have that portal to Hell they’re working on, and we still haven’t seen who’s actually running the whole operation. Agent 1 and Agent 2 HAD to of made their report to someone to get the funding needed for their new base and weapons.

This resonates SO much with me! Just because I’m Ace doesn’t mean I’m not interested in the emotional aspect of a relationship, so watching people flip out over Alastor being shipped with anyone is especially frustrating. It’s like they can’t believe an Asexual has the capability of getting close to anyone, and their treatment of Alastor when it comes to ships just proves that.

Thats why this is such a great message! Really appreciate this take

I wish there were more fanart with such a message, so that it would finally reach these otherwise intelligent people. Because I'm so tired of reading "but he's aroace" comments☝️🤓 or that I can't ship a certain ship.

People, calm down! You're not even right lol.. Normal ace/aro/aroace people don't have a problem with it, not like you fanatics.

Just let people do what makes them happy...

After rewatching Mastermind, I feel like the episode actually draws a very interesting distinction between Blitzo’s and Stolas’s respective big ‘Heroic Sacrifice’ moments. Namely in whether they are genuinely necessary sacrifices or a wasteful moment of a character pointlessly throwing their life away.

You see, when Blitzo does his big ‘throwing himself on the sword’ moment where he takes all the blame on himself in order to get Moxxie, Millie and Loona spared, it’s a genuinely heroic, necessary act.

In this moment, Blitzo truly did have NO other options. They were ALL being threatened with death, so Blitzo leveraged the one tiny bit of power he held and took all the responsibility onto himself.

This is very much not a case of Blitzo ‘throwing his life away’. Right then, he was going to die no matter what. But through his sacrifice, Blitzo made sure that the people he loved would live.

Now let’s contrast this with what STOLAS did. He does do essentially the same thing Blitzo just did to save him just as Blitzo saved his loved ones.

But in context, Stolas’s big moment of sacrifice is a complete WASTE. Because while Blitzo truly had zero other options, Stolas DID.

I mean think about it; Stolas is a Goetia. He has POWER, he has influence. The ABILITY, at least potentially, to save Blitzo.

But did he attempt to use any of that? When he appeared in that courtroom, did Stolas try to argue Blitzo’s innocence? Try to push back against his brother-in-law’s scheming? Try literally anything OTHER than big dramatic self-sacrifice?

No. Literally the first thing Stolas did was go straight to throwing everything away, INCLUDING HIS LIFE to save Blitzo. Admitting to whatever made-up bullshit Andrealphus used to frame Blitzo and co. in the first place and just throwing himself on the sword right off the bat.

And that’s not a good thing!

Blitzo was ready to sacrifice his life after it became clear that there was no other way to save his loved ones.

Stolas was ready to sacrifice his life because it seems to have been the first thing he could think of.

Do I really need to spell out how this is a VERY BAD THING for Stolas?

Especially given that one of those things he immediately decided to throw away without a second thought to save Blitzo happens to be HIS DAUGHTER.

I mean, you want a character contrast?

One of the last things Blitzo says is to ask his two best friends to take care of his daughter.

While I think it's pretty goddamn clear Stolas wasn't even THINKING about his daughter.

And before anyone pipes in with any trite about how their precious-little-blorbo-who-can-do-no-wrong ‘didn’t have time to think of anything else’ and ‘was just trying to protect the man he loved’,

Again; LITERALLY THE FIRST AND ONLY THING HE COULD THINK OF WAS THROWING HIS LIFE (and daughter) AWAY TO SAVE BLITZO. How the FUCK is that supposed to be ‘good’ or ‘excusable’?

And despite the ‘wholesome Stolitz domesticity’ ending note, Stolas’s reaction makes it pretty clear he is currently processing just how MASSIVELY and UTTERLY he just FUCKED UP. Particularly the whole ‘Oh shit I just threw away my daughter…’ reaction to Blitzo and Loona embracing.

Overall I think this is very much a deliberate contrast meant to highlight these characters’ growth, or lack thereof, as well as showing how they deal with a moment of true crisis.

For Blitzo, this is very much a make-or-break, back-against-the-wall moment where he demonstrates how much he truly loves his new family with a truly heroic act of self-sacrifice. Blitzo knew he was going to die no matter what, but he made sure that his loved ones would be saved.

Which of course is meant to sharply contrast how STOLAS handles the situation.

Blitzo’s moment of self-sacrifice demonstrated how much he loves and cares for his new family, to the point where he will lay down his own life to keep them safe. Whereas Stolas’s moment of self-sacrifice demonstrated how little he cares for HIMSELF, or anything other than Blitzo. To the point where his first response was to throw away everything, including his LIFE, and his DAUGHTER, to keep Blitzo safe.

Why Blitz is uniquely in a place to be there for Stolas

I know we all "know" this, but I just wanted to point this out as someone who's written for characters having to comfort each other a lot. You kind of have two territories for hurt/comfort scenes. 1) A character who has no idea what the other is going through, and feels a bit lost but does the best they can. and 2) a character who knows exactly what the other one is going through, because they have been through the exact same thing, and it makes their sympathy all the more devastating.

Backstory aside, I just wanted to point out Blitz's expressions as it really hits him what Stolas has lost:

First you have Stolas trying to contact Via. "Pick up pick up pick up... Via dear please, pick up. Please pick up. No... no, no, no. Shit." Where have we seen Blitz do this before? On screen, when he was trying to contact Barb. Off-screen, when he was trying to contact Fizz when he was the hospital. "I tried, for everything I had, Fizz." The way he looks at Stolas here: Blitz knows what it's like for family and friends to shut you out when you've fucked up. His response? To take the phone away. "Hey, it'll be okay."

Then you have THIS devastating scene which was storyboarded just brilliantly. We've known in theory what Stolas has lost, but now it's literal, physical. We get the visual of his home, his family, his powers and privilege and the only life he's ever known, as twisted and lonely as it was, and he's physically blocked from it, Via walks away and the door seals behind her, he is shut out of that world completely and with a finality that he can't ignore anymore.

Who else lost everything they knew in a sudden, very physical literal sense? Blitz, with the fire. The circus, his family, his mom, his sister his best friend, his job - his entire life, physically gone, burned to the ground, and he was also blocked from making reconnections by his father, the same way Andrealphus is doing now with Via. Right after that devastating shot of Stolas's tears in the reflection of the ice, is Blitz, right there, providing his jacket (even though he hates the cold ;-;) This is the face of someone who knows what that specific type of trauma and complete loss is like. But right there, behind him, is proof that it does get better, that you can recover from that loss: IMP is with him, the new family and life he built for himself from literal ashes.

I also want to point out the incredible character growth here. Blitz, a man of many words, who has a snarky comment and ill-place joke for every situation, doesn't feel the need to say anything or try to do something to help "cheer up" Stolas. He just sits with him in silence. Then later, when they do connect, he isn't too brash. He brings up his sister. Initially this surprised me, cause Barb isn't given a lot of focus in the story; I would think first of the fire itself or Blit'z mom or Fizz. But he's right: Barb is the closest comparison to what Stolas is going through with Via. The fact that Blitz brings it up means he knows exactly what this is, he's known it the whole time. "I miss her every day. But... you just gotta keep tryin."

Stolas has just lost everything, his entire life is turned upside down and he's not afforded the chance to try to get any of it back. But who better is in a place to help him see the light on the other side, who is living proof that if you "just keep trying" then you can make a new life for yourself, and hopefully, one day be able to re-connect with the people who were important to you, than Blitz.

I am calling it right here and now. One month before Octavia turns 18, Blitzø is going to adopt her

I think people don't take into consideration enough that Blitz likely struggles with chronic pain.

Stiffness, soreness, and an inability to handle textures or clothing types-we see Blitz either in oversized clothes or super skin tight clothes, nothing in between.

In other words, clothes that are so tight they can't rub, or clothes so big they're not going to. He likes soft things, like sweaters and hoodies, and seems to have a preference for very specific blankets.

The idea thay Blitz had to figure this all out on his own, with painful trial and error, discovering what hurts and what doesn't, what he can tolerate and what he can't. Stumbling over compression gloves by sheer accident, self medicating with booze and huge, soft sweaters on bad days, hurts my soul.

The idea that even Millie doesn't know, that bad pain days are just Blitz drunk again, fucked off in his apartment because he feels like it, or hung over and doesn't feel like coming in, with no one, not even Loona, realizing that every movement makes his skin feel rashy, raw, tight, painful-that his joints ache and his vision is blurry and his face hurts like someone's holding a flame to it.

How do you build the confidence to be part of the hellaverse fandom? I adore your art and love seeing how you and other artists are just being unapologetically yourselves and having fun. I'm too anxious to ever actually interact other than liking things and anonymous messages of support...how do you do it? I want to join and have fun but I'm so intimidated by the toxic aspects of the fandom. Sorry to ramble but I wanted to know if you had any advice!

This question hit me in the feels! 🥺❤️

Okay there is a long answer to this but I think I’ll be able to keep it short and I can only talk about my experience;

- if you live in a societal context where the institutions in power insist that you hate yourself, then you probably will get some feeling of confidence as a side effect of fighting against everyone just to like who you are. Not everyone survives this endeavor, so it’s a pretty big deal to those who do. Due to the nature of the shows, I think hellaverse has the tendency to attract fans who have gone through this in some way with society. (I’ve dealt with real bullshit for a long ass time, so navigating a fandom is not so intimidating for me 💖)

-most everyone (irl and online) is a total fucking sweetie pie, which makes me feel happy to chitchat online or express my appreciations~

-block assholes liberally 🚫

Be free, have fun~

Something that has always stood out to me (and got me thinking) IRT Blitzø and his true nature underneath all of his sharp edges is this specific scene in Oops:

Here, Blitz is very, VERY badly burnt. Enough to be permanently disfiguring on at least a third of his body. Yeah, Fizz had it worse, but this is still awful and was probably horrifically painful. But he barely seems affected, because his only concern is his mom. We as the audience can't hear what he's saying, but he's clearly calling out to her in this flashback.

Blitz could easily, and understandably, put himself first here. But he doesn't. And it says a lot about him. Take this with several other standout moments in (and upcoming!) the show...

...and you get a really good picture that one of Blitz's core traits is how protective he is of those he loves. A lot of the fandom writes him off as nothing but a selfish asshole that doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself. And as sad and uncharitable as that read of him is, it's also kind of funny because if you actually watch the show it's obviously not the case at all.

Blitz values and is very protective of his loved ones, and if you can't see that you're blind or purposefully ignoring moments like this.

something tells me that stolas is just beginning to suffer.

I mean my boy blitz has been mentally tortured several times, had his self hatred reinforced by the people he cares about (intentionally or otherwise), been harassed in public, had an entire party of people who (allegedly) hate him and been fucking possessed while being forced to relive every single one of his most painful experiences by John waters fishsona!!

You cannot tell me that stolas temporary banishment and his daughter disowning him next episode is going to be the end of it!

Head my words stolas fans for you will now know what us blitz cells have been thought and I will pity you because your owl is going to be put through the fucking meat grinder when it comes to painful character development!