#anyways LOVE THE SHOW SO MUCH OMG

[zarnzarn]

i see all these comments talking about this after the new episode, but. i would like to state for the record that stolitz isn't. toxic.

first off, the concept of a toxic and a healthy relationship are such... vague terms. when you're online, drenched in language and tight moral boundaries, trying to put a nuanced story like helluva boss's into boxes is easy to attempt and impossible to do.

a toxic relationship is one where one or both parties is maliciously affecting the other. I'm talking fetid, nasty, rude interactions where there is more hurt than love. they're unhappy more often than not when they're with their partner, there's no respect or give from the other side.

stolitz is nothing like that.

Stolas actively cares about Blitz and actually has no fear or hesitation in ADMITTING IT OUT LOUD TO OZZIE. he has been calling, texting, commenting, laughing and finding ways to spend time with Blitz. he's throwing everything he has to the wind, finding the courage to move forward with the divorce, putting everything he has into trying to keep him. he's been alone in a palace since he was born, on medication, with such less people dear to him that he remembered the circus boy who spent a day with him DECADES ago- so when blitz comes into his life and brings back in laughter and color and sex, he's holding on with everything he's got.

and blitz does care!!! he cares a LOT, the whole series we see him falling in love with stolas through SHOW NOT TELL (his expressions, his choices, his fear, his lashing out) and utterly unable to process that stolas cares about him too when talking to fizz; almost a desperate kind of denial-

cause yknow. the first time he tried to confess something to someone he really liked, he accidentally killed half the people he knew and ruined the lives of the rest?

thats gonna leave just a teensy impact on the will to express your emotions in the future, methinks.

even before that, he clearly felt like on some level that he was unworthy and he's said twice that he despises himself for the accident even though it wasn't actually his fault. being self aware doesn't stop the emotions from emotioning.

he keeps insisting its only sex so urgently to anyone who doesn't ask because he can't even imagine it being anything else. he's both disappointed and relieved when he repeats that stolas sees him as a novelty, because what else can it be?

(there's a whole other spiel of how brave both Stolas and Blitz have to be to say it out loud even when asmodeus can't afford to, considering how publically and completely beaten down both were at the club.)

(there's also another whole spiel about how frustrating it has been for ME to see all these comments over time with such bad takes based on like,, 20 min worth of info of a show that takes months to release an ep. like godDAMN have some patience?? let the story UNFOLD MAYBE? IT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE AN EXPLANATION WHY WOULD YOU CRITICIZE THINGS THAT ARENT EVEN FINISHED ESPECIALLY AN INDIE ANIMATION- i digress)

mind you, this has NOTHING to do with abuse. an abusive relationship is one where one is actively harming the other with full awareness. Stella is an abuser and their marriage is abusive.

and stolitz isn't that; it isn't even unhealthy or toxic. it's a consensual, transactional fuckbuddy relationship that slid into something more for both of them.

but!!!!! one of the main reasons for the problems that everyone looks over is-

they're in a BDSM relationship.

I can't possibly delve into dynamics without making this a 10k research paper BUT even though we've gotten only hints and costumes and dialogue- they're very clearly and undeniably in a BDSM contract. Behind the scenes of this crazy show is a whole different story, of these two delving into the most hardcore kinks out there- knifeplay, painplay, bondage.

if you've gotten into the community, if you've read a couple dozen particularly good fics by authors who know what they're talking about, hell; even if your only experience is fifty shades or 365 or whatever- you gotta know that BDSM scenes are crazy fucking emotionally heavy. there's so much that has gone down between them during their full moons that helluva can't get into!!

but you know how in so many of these popular medias and fics, the dom in the relationship is also like,, the billionaire/mafia heir/prince, etc, the one with financial and physical power? this isnt that. it has been very clearly stated that stolas is subbing, blitz is domming.

now take a moment and think about how much that fucks up the dynamics.

in stolas' eyes, blitz is a confident, dangerous individual who's an old friend and cherished memory of his, who he's trusted wholly with his safety during sex and he's lucky to have; and he has been in an abusive arranged marriage for the past eighteen Years, he's probably not going to be pushing his luck with his dom that much in the first place. plus, blitz is never cowed by him during their conversations- think back to the first phone call right after he stole the book, completely unafraid.

and for blitz, it's someone trusting him again- but it's also a royal- a blue blood who's nearly untouchable and so much more powerful- who couldn't possibly like a piece of shit like him, apart from the sex he gets out of it. he only flirts once he gets some sort of cue from Stolas; he's desperately trying to view this as only a Goetia trying to get his rocks off, despite all the evidence to the contrary, because anything else is unfathomable to him, no matter how clearly Stolas shows it, because of the ptsd.

both of them thinks the other has the power. both of them aren't expecting the other to keep shut if something's bothering them.

and there's so much conflicting messages from the other too!

stolas calls him a plaything when trying to intimidate the humans; stolas cups his face gently and asks if he's alright

blitz asks him on a date and tells him to get better soon; blitz yells that it's only sex and doesn't reply to his messages

ya see?

bring it to fizzozzie for a second now; even though they do look all good on surface, you can still see fizz's trauma and doubt in all their interactions, they're still forced to keep the relationship secret. do you see his face when Ozzie says in hyperbole that he's never leaving the house again, or when someone accuses him of being a pampered house pet or when he got sexualized in the 7th ep? whatever happened in the interim between the accident with mammon, it fucked him UP. even though oz seems to be well aware of this when he tells him not to apologise and in their general interactions, fizz still visibly has trouble separating plaything/commodity from healthy relationship.

shout the fuck out to Ozzie btw, man knows whats UP. rooting for these two so much omg.

i forgot where I was going with this point, I'll edit it when i remember. but yeah! lovely fucking relationship, but damn what angst filled issues.

anyway, to sum up- stolitz is not a toxic relationship. the relationship is stuck sludging through misunderstandings and careless microaggressions and trauma responses, but it's not unhealthy or toxic because of the simple reason that most of the current hurt comes from... a misunderstanding. stolas didn't realise blitz would need reassurance about what they were and blitz didn't see stolas as someone who could get hurt.

unecessarily calling it toxic, even online, is more impactful than people think too. almost all spindlehorse ARE on all social medias; so MANY YouTube animators i know have found jobs there; they see your words, especially since a lot don't tag posts with "anti hb" correctly to keep them out of the main tag. there are Very few queer medias made BY queer people that haven't gone through heavy corporate revisions- helluva boss is practically a historical landmark in its success. it's very very very fucking easy to forget that not ten years ago some of the only queer videos on YouTube were butter lover (one kiss at the end post credits), dirty paws and welcome to hell (subtext).

the amount of "critical talk" helluva boss gets for what it is is very unprecedented. it's a beautiful show. can't wait for the next episode.

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

Elim Garak: fucking around vs finding out

[neeks-happy-meal]

THE CHARACTER DESIGN. THE THEMES. THE LAUGHABLE IRONY OF BELOS VS LUZ (and also Easter). COLLECTOR REDEMPTION ARC. EVERYONE REUNITING. ALADARIUS MOMENT. HUNTLOW. LUMITYY. ALL OF THEM LIVING THEIR DREAMS. THE EPIC BATTLES. TRULY THE BEST FINALE WE COULD’VE ASKED FOR.

[finncakes]

obsessed with her, she's like a fire emblem character to me

[drbtinglecannon]

The plot of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is actually better than original plot, by a large margin

[adamnsey]

[juneviews]

“Thank you so much. You’re good to me.”

[swords-and-starlight]

Poseidon and Sally is a man’s idea of romance. Paul and Sally are a woman’s idea of romance.

[disposal-blueeee]

doodles

edgar vargas and squee by johnen vasquez

scriabin by zarla-s

[the-nihilistic-rhapsodaire]

Ok so, can we talk about how Buddy Daddies episode 7 made me cry so much?

First of all, Kazuki was very relatable this episode because watching him, I remember my mom doing all the chores in our house- and sometimes I couldn't or just didn't want to help her, and seeing Kazuki go through the same thing kind of made me realize how I often underapprecaited my mom's efforts.

Second of all, I love that we see Rei sort of grow as a person this episode. In the beginning he kind of pissed me off a bit because he didn't really want to help Kazuki with the house or properly taking care of Miri at all, but I understand this might be because he hasn't had the chance to develop emotionally

But then, after Kazuki left, we see Rei trying his best to care for Miri and we see that he genuinely loves this kid- His daughter. He might not know much about housekeeping and general childcare, but Rei has his own strengths. And, as we see in the last minutes of the episode, Rei is trying to do better and help Kazuki with chores and cooking with Miri trying to help as well!

This episode made me cry because even though their family gives us cute, wholesome, and funny vibes every week, they also show the realistic, and serious side of having a family.

Families need teamwork- it isn't up to one person only to do all the work, and I love that!

I love Rei and Kazuki so much this episode because they know now that they can rely on each other and take care of their daughter together.

That they can help each other achieve their best selves and that both of them are very important to Miri. Rei and Kazuki are both Miri's papas- it takes work to be a family, but at the end of the day:

They are family

[foreverppl]

Moodboard for Amais Rena (he/they), lead singer of alt rock band Way Way Downers @infamous-if

Playlist

[insert-neologism]

bad astrology by flower face

[todayisafridaynight]

What do you think Mine’s reaction to Masato / Aoki be like?

tbh they'd probably be. amicable. at the very least.

[plumdale]

I binged ‘the ones who live’ this weekend and I can’t stop thinking about how fine Rick was looking ughhh that man had me giggling and kicking my feet it’s SICK

[rainymoodlet]

Kiss Me in Komorebi 🌹 pre-show

An Exclusive Interview with the Bachelor! (pt. 3)

prev. | next. | beg.

[camping-with-monsters]

My beloved man… I made a Golurk OC and he’s been my everything lately 🧡

Standing at 11 ft, just over the average height, Hercules didn’t get much of a chance to really relish his newfound size and strength with any amount of pride like he should have. His whole just is that when he was but a small, child sized Golett, he wandered off and found himself in a small cave. But inside, some pretty hectic no-good Pokémon found his arrival interruptive, instead opting to wanting to teach him a lesson of knocking first. But boy, for a small Golett, he really showed them not to be so rude to guests even if unwarranted. Hercules overpowered the group with impressive strength for a small Pokémon, and it drove them away. Before he had a chance to recollect himself out of the scare and leave the cave, his body began to glow, the exertion of power triggering evolution. His body started to morph into what would be his massive sized-Golurk form, but alas, such cave space was no bigger than he was, and the confined space couldn’t hold his sheer size.

As he evolved, the ceiling and walls began to crumble on him, and in panic of the realization, he thrashed about, trying to stop from the crash. Alas, he clattered to the ground as the rubble covered him in, it too heavy and him too tired to escape… the tunnel to the cave entrance too narrow anyway.

In his painful endeavor in hopes of one day escaping, he beats at the ceiling of the tunnel with his single right arm exposed with his head. It makes the ground slightly rumble and quake… but no one usually suspects a Pokémon within the ground like that could be the cause. At least, not a massive Pokémon of his size. How would it even get down there?

Parts of his left side mostly and his legs have deep red markings around, which are technically scarring. Due to leaking water in the caves that eroded parts of his body, it didn’t want to give up that easily, and instead healed with bright jasper-like scarring. Not many see this, though, for he’s still ever waiting for the chance to find release, longing for the sun once again…

I don’t have a super specific use for him other that RP at the moment, but god I love this guy so much :)

Here’s the flat color version of the ref to make life a little easier :)