#first post that isn't entirely about blitz

[starshower1215]

I feel it is important to note that the number one rule for writing romances is this: If the characters have to kiss for one to know that they are in love, they are not in love.

Subsequently, in any well written romance, characters do not have to explicitly kiss their romantic interest or confess to their romantic interest for the reader to understand that they are in love. 90% of communication is not put into words. There are little details, little hints. The art of romance is in its subtle storytelling.

[sincerelystesichorus]

let's talk about that one scene in oops

(and fizzarolli in general bc me and my autism r obsessed with this scene and haven't seen someone break it down. also ft. blitz lmao)

just a general scene and vague character breakdown/analysis!

i first of all want to admire the perfect representation of best friends to enemies with blitz & fizz because ugh.

And like Blitz tells everyone this but the way it's so malicious here. Just the perfect simple dig and Fizz's little shit eating grin because it delivered how he knew it would sdfkjsdkf. Shoves Blitz to the side because really that's all he cares to say. Fuck you and what you did to me, bye bye <3 Fizz is so for talking shit and dipping (House of Asmodeus) I love how messy it is but also shows how he really doesn't hold malice for Blitz otherwise. Obviously we see this front and center later in the episode once they start reconnecting, but I like the subtlety and how he's so willing to snap at Blitz despite his usual anxiety with confrontation.

Blitz also knowing exactly what to say to really piss Fizz off once things escalate <3

(Fizz literally so smug and content with himself lmfao)

(smirk wiped off bc hey that's the thing i'm sensitive about!!)

But Fizz keeps his composure. And if you'll let me be alarmingly gay for a second, I love how his version of keeping his cool as a messy gay is managing to basically recreate this drag race confrontation in what is probably my favorite set of Fizzie lines.

eat him up babes. also it's so important that that shitty coffee and fizz were on this side of the street for framing i'll talk about it more in a sec jfskjdfksf.

and now my personal favorite exchange of this entire scene that is criminally underrated imo:

love his face after this line. I SUPPORT DISABLED PEOPLES WRONGS sfjdlkfsdd. literally so fucking nasty with his clown wit but also so justifiable because yeah blitz did just pull this nightmare and dip in fizz's pov. i cannot wait for that to get touched on more likeeee why were they kept apart ugh.

and finally!!

this cut to blitz,, specifically the scarred side of his face is sooo good.

the face of a man who just achieved critical vicious mockery vs. the face of a man that knows he can only win this interaction one way now

Blitz does deserve a little violence maybe <3 Fizz underestimated his ass jjdkfsdlk.

Idk I just love how indicative this whole interaction is for their characters but especially Fizz, it's a perfect build-up for him. Fizz has major imposter syndrome with dual layers because of general haters but especially because of Mammon and Asmodeus. Not on any fault of Ozzie's,, we just see Fizz obviously thinks he isn't fully deserving of their relationship/his situation and the healthy dynamics of it and so do most major news outlets apparently askjfsk.

(full fizzy meme post & also i like how this is a special also like damn do u think they were also apart of the crossword??)

It'll be really interesting to see how his character develops in future episodes because I feel like a lot of what I've rambled about here has come to a resolution after 2 Minutes Notice in the musical special lmao. I really like how here when he goes to compose himself, this is how he does it.

Makes me wonder how many times him and Ozzie have had the self-worth and imposter syndrome conversation before it finally stuck in the Mammon Musical Special. I just love their relationship and how they compliment one another,, and how it projects into Fizz's other relationships because they're healthy for one another. Love my OTP love Blitz & especially love Fizzie. Obviously.

[flower-boi16]

How The Circus WASTES Potential

So recently I just finished watching all of Season 1 of Helluva Boss. Season 1 was...fine. Not great, but it was enjoyable even if half of the episodes were kinda forgettable (Except for Cherubs, that one just straight-up sucks), but there were some good aspects to Season 1. One of those good aspects was episode 7, Ozzie's AKA the best episode of the entire show. Ozzie's was a legitimately great episode that left a lot of great potential for the show to explore that could have made it great...

...and then The Circus happened. I already didn't like The Circus to begin with but after rewatching Season 1 I can safely say that this episode legitimately pisses me off now with HOW MUCH potential it wastes. In this post, I'm going to explain all the interesting potential Ozzie's left for the show, all the interesting ideas and character arcs that the episode leaves for the show to explore and how The Circus completely ruins all of that

1. Stolas

First let's talk about Stolas. Believe it or not, In Season 1 Stolas was...actually fine. This was because Season 1 didn't repeatedly coddle and woobify Stolas unlike Season 2 where we are supposed to sympathize with him for some reason. There was a lot of potential for Stolas to go through an arc of becoming a better person and realizing his mistakes, Ozzie's shows that.

Ozzie scolds Stolas for "giving it all up for lust", by cheating on Stella with an IMP to satisfy his sexual desires. And after that, Blitz cuts off Stolas due to being upset that their relationship was just about Stolas wanting to fuck Blitz, and after Blitz drives away Stolas just...sits down on the stairs to gaze at the sky.

Ye see, this could make for a very interesting character. A man who cheated on his wife so he could try to satisfy his sexual desires for someone else, but hurt others while doing so, including the person he's abusing. Because of Stolas's selfish need to be...really really really horny, he ended up hurting the people that cared about him, who HE also cared about. He hurt Stella through cheating on her by hurting her feelings, he hurt Octavia by starting this whole mess and paying more attention to Blitz than his own daughter, and he's hurt Blitz because well...he's the guy he's sexually harassing to satisfy his own hornieness.

This could have set up an arc for Stolas where he realizes his own mistakes and goes through a character arc of becoming a better and less toxic person; a redemption arc, if you will. This could have been incredibly interesting to explore...

...and what does The Circus do? Why, it throws away ALL of that. Season 1 Stolas was a man who made many mistakes and was heavily flawed...Season 2 Stolas meanwhile is my least favorite character of all fiction. Instead of beginning a possible character arc for Stolas where he grows as a person and makes amends with the people he hurt just to satisfy his own sexual desires, it decides to erase ALL of his flaws and turn him into an UwU soft boy.

The episode is the beginning of Stolas's woobification; instead of a man who hurt others to satisfy his sexual desires, we are supposed to see Stolas as an UwU soft boy who we are supposed to sympathize with because...he has a mean wife. I'm sorry, but that's not a sympathetic enough quality for us to like a character, especially when you can't even sympathize with Stolas in the first place because he isn't a good person, in fact, while writing this and realizing how much Stolas hurt others to satisfy his sexual desires, I actually loathe Season 2's characterization of him even more.

Instead of having Stolas begin to grow as a person, The Circus tries to make Stolas into an UwU soft boy and we are just supposed to forget all of his wrongdoings as a person AND as a father. It throws away all potential to make Stolas interesting and makes him an UwU soft boy instead.

There was potential to make Stolas an interesting character who grows from his mistakes and becomes a better person, but The Circus throws ALL of that away.

2. Stella

So, this is the most obvious one; Stella. I want to make a post about my own ideas about how Stella could have been a more interesting character, so I'll just say this; like with Stolas, there could have been potential to make Stella interesting. We didn't really see Stella that much in Season 1, the only times where we ever saw her were when she was yelling at Stolas for cheating on her in Loo Loo Land and when she was talking to Striker on the phone in The Harvest Moon.

Aside from that Stella was barely in Season 1. That being said however, there could have been potential to make Stella more interesting. They could have made Stella a good character...

...but they didn't. Instead of making Stella an interesting character, the show instead decided to make her into a one-dimensional abusive asshole. My issue with this isn't that they "ruined" Stella, my issue with this is that they threw away all potential of making her interesting. However, not only that, they not only removed everything that made Stolas a nuanced and interesting character, but they ALSO turned what could have been an interesting and nuanced conflict into a "UwU soft boy gets away from mean woman!!!".

They made Stella SO one-dimensional. Like, that "I like tormenting you" scene was so fucking LAME. They made Stella into a one-dimensional asshole rather than actually making her an interesting character. They could have made her flawed like Stolas and they could have BOTH grown as people here, making this an interesting and nuanced conflict, where they have both made mistakes and are heavily flawed people. But, no, who needs THAT when we could have Stella be a boring asshole and have Stolas be a boring UwU soft boy. It over simplifies BOTH characters and removes everything that could have made them interesting.

There was potential to make Stella a nuanced and interesting character like Stolas, and there was a potential to make Stella and Stolas's conflict more interesting and nuanced by portraying them both as heavily flawed people, but The Circus threw ALL of that away.

3. Stolitz

I already talked about how The Circus ruined Stolitz as a plotline and how the episode began all the issues the relationship has in my Stolitz post so I'll keep this brief; Stolitz in Season 1 was an intentionally toxic relationship where Blitz felt bound to Stolas and where Stolas just wanted to fuck Blitz. It was an interesting, intentionally toxic relationship showing what happens when a relationship is only based on one fucking the other.

The Circus meanwhile tries to forget ALL of that and tries to turn Stolitz into an UwU childhood friendship and ignores all the toxic aspects of the relationship. It removes all the things that made the relationship interesting in Season 1 and tries to make this a relationship for the audience to root for...even though Stolitz is an objectively toxic ship and NO AMOUNT of retconning is going to change that. The episode begins ALL of the problems with Stolitz and after that point, Stolitz turns into the show's worst-written plotline EVER, and it all begins with this episode.

4. Conclusion

The Circus is one of the worst episodes of the show. I dislike this episode even MORE after rewatching Season 1. Helluva Boss's ideas had the potential to be interesting, there were a lot of ways the show could have gone with those ideas in Season 2 and how it could explore them...but instead of that, the show wasted ALL of its potentially interesting ideas in just. one. episode. The Circus is one of the worst episodes of Helluva Boss, it destroys all of the potential the show could have had and is the beginning of its MANY issues.

[chaifootsteps]

There was this reddit post where people talked about why they cheated. No shocker, they did it for the rush. One person even said it was like they were living in their own fanatsy and the rush they got sneaking behind their spouses back. When I think of Stolas and Stella's relationship, I think of that. I feel like Stolas just likes the rush. He's so weirdly hypersexual to the point he asks in inappropriate situations like infront of his daughter who is a minor and after Blitz drops him off at his house. Then I remembered he's an imaginary character being written by someone and I think of all the comments calling it dollar store yaoi. The relationship isn't even appealing, it's a weird power dynamic where we have to feel sorry for a dude who is basically a rapist.

You just think about that entire first season when we all thought Stolas was ageless, immortal, and doing what he did out of a desperate attempt to add color to his eternal life. It was a sympathetic motive, if not an excuse.

Nope, turns out Blitz is his Yaoi 101 childhood friend and his wife and rape victim need to treat him with the kindness he deserves by virtue of being Viv's favorite character.

[hemipenal-system]

merry christmas to those who celebrate. have some debauchery on the house.

✨ reindeer post-job shenanigans ✨

it's a long night for everyone, and the whole sleigh crew gets back cold, hungry, and exhausted. they just need something nice to lift their spirits, you know? here's how you can help each of them, should you find yourself into a position to do so:

✨Dasher ✨ - usually gets delegated all the leadership jobs when Rudolph isn't there, and returns obscenely stressed every single year because of it. she's really not cut out for this job, but her name comes first in the lineup so she's stuck with it. she probably won't even want anything really, just snuggle up to her and tell her she did a good job – she needs to hear it. put on a movie or something, make a warm dinner, and put your arm around her and pepper her with gentle kisses. she'll fall in love.

✨ Dancer ✨ - limitless ball of energy. she spends the night entirely just hyping Dasher up enough to do her job, and she's still absolutely pumped afterwards. whatever position you end up in, she's probably doing all the work in an attempt to tire herself out, but she never seems to be able to. do some stretching first, it's gonna be rough and hard and will probably leave you gasping and bruised, but she'll be reassuring while she rails you senseless.

✨ Prancer ✨ - doesn't really want to be there either, but is fine with it. really is just chill as hell. she likes to show off her partners, so expect to be displayed on a pretty leash or railed in front of the others fairly often. she also tends to be down for whatever on your own time, so if you suggest something she'll probably try it out with you, in front of everyone, of course, since she just likes to be around you (and in you. preferably in you.)

✨ Vixen ✨ - she may be the most overtly feminine one on the crew, but don't be fooled by that. her job requires strict discipline, and she'll hold you to the same standards, whether it's brusquely making sure you've eaten enough and hydrated that day or it's learning three new commands a session and practicing all the previous ones until you don't even have to think about it anymore. when you say that makes you feel like an animal, she smiles and says it's hotter that way. lean into it for her.

✨ Comet & Cupid ✨ - they do pretty much everything and everyone together, and you're no exception. they may both be goofballs who can't stop joking around the entire time, but that won't make it feel any less good for you. whether it's both ends or both in one, they will both be involved at once, and it occasionally does get competitive as they fight to see who can make you enjoy it more. really, they're here for your pleasure, so don't be afraid to tell them what you like and they'll try to do it!

✨ Donner ✨ - scary as shit. like, fur dyed black, horn piercings, threatens to crush elves under her hooves if they get in her way scary. she will most likely seem initially standoffish to you and graduate to just being fully mean. if you cry during it, she will find that attractive and keep doing whatever made you cry. multiple safewords are almost definitely a must if you like any form of cnc so she can casually ignore the first one. you will have to tell her every time you fuck to put her knife collection away. you're pretty sure she has murder charges. she might cry afterwards though. just hold her and tell her you had a good time and she didn't hurt you that bad. affection is hard for her.

✨ Blitzen ✨ - spends a significant amount of time blitzed and is also absolutely massive. if you ask her nicely she will shotgun weed with you. she'll actually probably do it if you don't ask either, just be careful kissing her before you end up higher than the sleigh. very very into having you sit in her lap, she loves how surprised people get when she stiffens under them. she knows her size, and she's really gentle, but it's still a lot, so just be safe. she understands if you can't fit her, but that's ok! she'll be plenty chipper regardless! aftercare for this is probably gonna be a warm bath or some kind of massage to put your guts back where they're supposed to be. she's also the switchiest, and would probably enjoy being tied up by you or by her teammates. (especially bc she's so much larger than them it's the only way they can handle her) good luck.

✨ Rudolph ✨ - very confident as the team leader and nowhere else. he spends most of his time hiding from the girls when they're not pulling the sleigh, not because he doesn't like it but because he has actual jobs that aren't taking reindeergirl cock to the base 24/7/364 and he literally doesn't have time for all of them. he'd be happy if you'd take some of the strain off him, and would find some innovative ways to reward you if you asked.

[sparatus]

WIP Game - Desolas fucks up on purpose pretty please?

wip game

THREE PEOPLE ASKED FOR THIS ONE IM WHEEZING local menace is just so so appealing while setting shit on fire gonna tag @teamdilf and @korblez while im here

okay so for some additional comedy i mean context, there's this post, which led to this exchange:

and lo, a crackfic was born

basically! valis's family does not like des. des does not like valis's family. valis has been keeping low contact with them, no visits, for years. unfortunately, they now have two chicks, 5yo taniria and almost-1yo desivius, and valis's parents' desire to hold grandbabies finally outweighed their desire to never see desolas in person ever. so they pester valis into agreeing to a visit, and getting des to bring food.

problem: desolas is king shitbird.

he's sabotaging that shit on purpose.

valis is kept entirely in the dark, for plausible deniability (and also because sivvi still needs his food regurgitated for him and des isn't entirely confident his affront to the spirits is safe for regurgitating parents), but baby tanni is recruited to """help""", and she is SO good at helping daddy :) saren and the feral coyotes he found in the trash are on a mission but love chaos and are happy to also provide dipshit ideas.

have a snip:

--

When she made it into the kitchen, Des was carrying Taniria on his hip, bouncing to the beat as he serenaded her with… Galactic Cannibals, she was pretty sure, it sounded like one of Saren’s playlists. Tan was only four and didn’t really understand the lyrics, but her muxaup was singing and dancing with her, and she liked music that made her move as much as any turian, so she was having a blast just clinging to Des’s arm and giggling. She noticed Valis first, turning her head at the sound of the cane and squeaking an excited, “Phatzhi!” as she stretched out an arm to invite her to the little party.

Unbidden, Valis’s mandibles lifted, just a few degrees, just in time for Desolas to glance over his shoulder. “Oh, hey,” he purred, lifting his own mandibles in that easy grin of his. “I found one last package of ground cornin in the freezer, so we’re making… Iunno, it’s pasta with meat and cheese, nothing fancy. I see you survived your call with the demon.”

And just like that, her faint smile fell into a grimace as she slowly paced forward to pull out a chair at the table and slump into it. Des’s grin slowly fell, too, and he clicked his mandibles against his face and reached over to turn off the music. “Uh-oh, Phatzhi’s makin’ a face,” he told Taniria. “You better go work your magic, little bird.”

Tan chirped, and when Des set her down, she came hopping right over to Valis’s chair, eyes big and curious. While Valis shifted to let her daughter climb up into her lap, Des whirred. “Alright, what did she say? You look like you found a whole hive of something venomous under the bed.”

Valis scowled and pulled her mandibles in against her face. “Apparently, we're invited to Solstice," she huffed. “So my mother can meet the kids.”

Desolas blinked slowly, moving his mandibles in and out while he thought. “Hold on," he said finally, “they invited us last year, but you didn't tell me ‘til after Siv was born, ‘cause you said fuck off, on account of. Y’know.” He gestured vaguely to her belly. “No travel while pregnant and about to pop."

“And not likin’ my husband," she grumbled. “Tan, what's the rule about words Muxaup says?"

"Not ‘til my mubbles get long,” Tan replied promptly, tapping the backs of her stubby little mandibles.

Valis chuffed and ruffed a hand over her daughter’s scalp, trying not to get distracted by her heart fluttering over how small she was. "Smart lass,” she purred, and Tan giggled and pressed into the touch.

Des purred briefly, then puffed and went back to the meat. “And, you only let it slip last year because you were blitzed on painkillers and forgot you weren't gonna tell me. And yet now this year, you're telling me three weeks in advance." He tapped the grease off the spatula, then turned fully to fold his arms and face her. “You accepted, didn't you."

[robinreflects]

I got an ask for you!

For both Hazbin and Helluva, what episodes of each respective series do you hate/are your least favorites thus far? And what are the main issues you have with them, if any specifically call out to you?

Personally for Hazbin it's Episode 3. It feels the weakest to me structurally speaking compared to most of the other episodes, like Alastor was going and doing this thing he's up to while the B plot does fuck all to actually show the characters bonding together. Charlie and Vaggie's conflict there felt like the most nothing thing ever, too. Zestial deserved way more than Episode 3, I hope he has something to do in Season 2.

I think Carmilla definitely needed to have more time at that point to have the Vaggie parallel as well -- Whatever It Takes was a great song but the parallel felt kinda out of left field to me beyond the premise of the two having people to defend/protect (though I suppose it could be interpreted as foreshadowing for the characters' interaction later on). Until Episode 7 with Out For Love, not only are the two characters actually interacting with each other, but Vaggie's character is a lot stronger here, and her conflict with Charlie was stronger than the one in Episode 3.

For Helluva, GOD it's a 1v1 against S2E4 and S2E5. Besides the stupid dick joke that killed the energy for S2E3 I liked the rest of it enough compared to these ones. It felt like they kinda character assassinated Striker for the sake of, yet again, ANOTHER dick joke despite...Also making him hate sex/dick jokes???

And the camp one was fun but just felt really unproductive to the narrative besides the stuff with Blitz and Barbie. Then again, I thought that should've been its own episode, instead of some forced B plot in an episode that could've easily been more like S1E1, where we get to see the characters actively doing their job and it being actually funny and entertaining. (Murder Family is one of my favorites btw, I've seen it several times when we only had the first few episodes out. I wish the show had a bit more episodes like it.)

Hello! Thanks so much for the ask anon! I started writing this as a short post, but it ended up being way longer than I intended so... the Keep Reading option it is!

I don't particularly hate any episode of either show, but there are a few where I stopped and thought this... isn't that important in an 8 episode season, especially for Hazbin Hotel. Both of those shows are framed like sitcoms; where you have an ensemble cast of characters in the same setting and put them into semi-realistic situations which creates a comedic effect, the problem is sitcoms are usually at least 13 episodes a season long, but most times one season of a sitcom has the standard of making their season a 20-25 episode one (or... at least they did before).

For Hazbin Hotel, the lack of extra episodes shows very much, episodes 3 and 5 are so far the best examples of this in my opinion, they both very much feel like filler episodes. There are some very important establishments in both of those episodes, as you mentioned for episode 3. The setting up for Vaggie and Carmilla as an interactable duo later on in the show, as well as most likely foreshadowing Vaggie's and Charlie's argument later on in the season. Alastor's plot serves as a "subtle" hint for his ties to Heaven, which is (I'd confidently say) revealed in the last episode.

The song between Carmilla and Vaggie felt really forced and it's my least favorite of the bunch, I have a general problem with the songs in the show, which I will talk about later on. Carmilla's part of the song I understood or rather I understood why she was singing her parts; Vaggie's worry came out of nowhere. It can be argued that the entire B plot of Vaggie trying and failing to take on Charlie's role served as build-up, which then culminated into her part of the song, however, it didn't come across that way. Characters trying something that is typically not in their comfort zone and failing due to the circumstances or characters around them is a popular tactic in sitcoms for a funny scene (I mean the reason why s6 ep15 of Brooklyn 99 is funny is because Rosa needs help but is unwilling to ask for it and it gets to an absurd point) so seeing Vaggie trying and failing didn't come across as serious and as of deeply ingrained insecurity of her's as it was intended, which adds to the song feeling forced on her part. The problem isn't the fact that her plot of the episode had that surprise sad moment, but rather the fact that it went way too deep into her insecurities; the start of this was the "never fail you" part, and most that came after.

Episode 5 is way more of a character-focused episode and a filler episode than episode 3. Again, it is an important episode and serves as a very nice segue to episode 6 (my personal favorite), as well as giving us, the viewers (not the fandom, but new viewers who have found this show and decided to watch it, maybe having not even seen the pilot) some context into Alastor's character and status. Which is a good thing, Alastor's backstory is good character-building. And of course, introduces Lucifer to us for the first time, we finally see the King of Hell.

But that's.... just what it is, establishing. I can establish Character A in my own personal story, however, if I don't use or mention said character at all until later on in the story, so much so that people might have even forgotten about them, then I didn't do a really good job. I believe it's safe to say that Carmilla and Lucifer are both iconic characters within the show, so I don't believe people have forgotten about them, but I don't remember Carmilla or her weapons being mentioned once throughout episodes 4-6 when she and her weapons were an essential part in the finale. These points apply to Zestial as well, as you said I really do hope he gets at least somewhat of a bigger role within the show in the second season.

I genuinely hate being a person who says this, as I am a big musical theatre fan, but the songs come out of nowhere; the characters just start singing for no reason whatsoever other than the crew saying "I'd like a song here", most of them are really good (and I won't even go into the fact they got so many Broadway legends on the show), but that doesn't take away from the fact that most of the time there is no reason for a song to be placed in that scene. As well as most of the visuals of the songs looking like a mesh of those cool shots we've all seen in animatics on YouTube.

For Helluva... Fuck that'll be somewhat of a convoluted answer. The entire show kind of got away from what it was presented as in the pilot, so I have very much a hard time picking out which episodes are my least favorite. What I got from the pilot (which is always there to set the overall tone of the show and characters, as well as just test out how successful the show/premise would be) is that it's a modern sitcom-y spin-off (think Brooklyn 99, New Girl, Modern Family, etc; also those sitcoms that have cut to the funny event mentioned scenes) of Hazbin Hotel. So I went into it with that mindset, and the first episode does keep up with the premise we were originally given, which is why I like it so much. As well as Unhappy Campers, I really enjoyed that episode because it felt like it was keeping true to the original premise of the show. The other episodes... it's not that I dislike them, I dislike the abrupt tonal shifts the episodes give us; for example, Murder Family (as I mentioned) gives us that funny quirky sitcom tone the pilot gave us, but then Loo Loo Land is a much more serious episode. It's not a bad thing for a comedy series or a sitcom to have serious moments or serious episodes, it's great in fact. That being said, those scenes/episodes need to be done either later on in the show when we are already connected with the characters (such as Marvin's death in HIMYM) or have to be shown later on in the episode itself (Angel's abuse in episode 4) because the introduction scene (or first scene) introduces us to the tone of the episode and most of the time in sitcoms or comedy series the tone of the episode is supposed to be comedic. The serious scenes hit so hard because of the emotional plot twist we as the viewers are experiencing. In Helluva Boss though, most of the "serious" episodes' intros already have a serious introduction scene, which gives off the effect of drastic episodic tonal shifts.

[neutral-emerald]

SWAP AU SUMMARY BLITZ GO

I have had this Roleswap AU sitting around half-told because I (genius) thought it would be a good idea to tell the adapted plot of Sonic Heroes through little comic snippets, and then realized that the points I wanted to cover could not be easily conveyed through comic snippets. Well, NO LONGER! I am now going to write up a summary of most of the games I have notes on, with doodles interspersed where I see fit!

Firstly, a summary of games I've previously covered! Mostly covering Sonic and Shadow, because they're kinda the centerpiece(s).

Sonic Adventure

Not a lot to say about this one, actually. It's kinda just a prelude to SA2. Rest assured that it DID happen, though.

Sonic Adventure 2

Sonic gets taken out of stasis and tries to blow up the Earth, much like canon!Shadow does. I go into the details of his motivation in this post, and kinda nudge at some of his interactions with Shadow in this one. Relevant to note is that Sonic mistakes Shadow for a Prototype of the Ultimate Lifeform, and then eventually concludes that Shadow is the real Ultimate Lifeform, rather than Sonic.

Sonic Heroes

There's two comic snippets I've made of this, here and here. To summarize/explain:

The first follows up on SA2, with Shadow still bothered by the stuff Sonic said to him about being a prototype, and being unaware that Maria found and has spent all this time reviving Sonic.

The second comes in two parts: First, Tails finds Sonic (and Knuckles, who was trapped in this vault as a casualty of the Shadow Androids having taken over (reminder: the Shadow Androids are swapped with Metal Sonic)), and discovers that Sonic has lost all his memories. Second, Team Sonic bump into Team Shadow, which Shadow isn't terribly pleased about seeing as he's spent all this time thinking Sonic was dead.

It is at this point that I left this whole AU sitting on a cliffhanger for several years. But NO LONGER! I will now elaborate on what happens next... under this readmore bc this is gonna be a long post.

So the main conflict between Sonic and Shadow would be based on the fact that Shadow desperately wants Sonic to elaborate on what he was talking about when he implied Shadow was artificially created like him. Sonic, who might I remind you has amnesia, doesn't know any more about it than Shadow does. Shadow thinks this is a cheap attempt to dodge his questions, they fight, you know how it goes with temperamental hedgehogs.

Now, as I mentioned, the Shadow Androids have been swapped with Metal Sonic. I don't feel like figuring out the details of what that means for the Androids, but what it means for Metal Sonic is this: Maria wasn't sure if she'd be able to save Sonic's life, so she drafted plans for a robotic body to transfer his consciousness into as a last resort. Whether she actually has the technology to do such a thing isn't entirely relevant; what matters is that Tails discovers the blueprints for this and perhaps even a half-built prototype, and it raises the question of whether or not the Sonic he found Knuckles guarding is the real deal, or just a robotic doppelganger.

And that all covers what I have to say about Sonic Heroes, which leads us into...

Shadow the Hedgehog

The Black Arms attack. Alien invasion, y'know the drill. Due to his swapped status, Sonic is the one with Black Doom's DNA in him, so Sonic is the one who gets approached and told to come help take over the planet.

While Sonic is getting seduced to the dark side to varying levels of success (I do NOT know how to adapt the multiple routes system and I'm not even going to try), Shadow is having an absolute time of it. He's started experiencing intense intrusive thoughts/compulsions directly in response to the aliens, driving him to A: Destroy the Black Arms at all costs, and B: Gather the Chaos Emeralds. Not that he wouldn't be doing those things regardless, it's just that some previously dormant part of his brain has switched on and is forcing him to do those NOW, RIGHT NOW, RIGHT NOW IMMEDIATELY. NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT OTHER THINGS DO IT NOW.

This leads him into conflict with Sonic, who may or may not be tentatively on Black Doom's side for the promise of answers about who he really is, and/or who is also trying to gather the Chaos Emeralds. Again, Shadow the Hedgehog's story has way too much going on all at once to coherently adapt within the purview of this post.

The TL;DR for the ending is this: It turns out that just like Sonic accused back in SA2, Shadow is an artificial being created by Gerald Robotnik, but he's got nothing to do with the Ultimate Lifeform project. Rather, he was created with the express purpose of destroying the Black Comet when it would return 50 years later. He was put in stasis as a baby and unfrozen some ~35 years later by Maria's parents, to be raised as their own and prepared for his eventual purpose of fighting off an alien invasion. Unfortunately, Maria's parents died when they were still young, so he just kinda stumbled ass-backwards into a bundle of sleeper-instincts and has to figure things out as he goes along.

Does a pretty good job in the end, though.

I could get into Sonic 06 too, but that one's pretty disconnected from the arc that these games form, so I think I'll save it for another time. Sorry for the long (long, LONG) wait for all this!

[fanthirtheen]

A long post really negates any statement of "but I don't actually care" so I'm not going to pretend I don't. On one hand I would love to have like, a real conversation with an anti-Stolas HB fan that's respectful because I'd love to question them and understand where they're coming from, but I feel anyone calm and respectful enough about it wouldn't have the flavor of anti-stolas I don't understand. I've never had a problem with anti-character rhetoric before, and I don't inherently hate this either, it just rubs me wrong 80% of the time.

Scrolling Tumblr like the morning newspaper while I wake up, fitting some serotonin into my brain before the sun comes up, and I'm once again seeing more anti-stolas stuff. Which is. Not terrible because I really don't care if people dislike him like/dislike whoever you want to. But, like, every point I see them make I can't really argue against aside from staring at them for a second and saying, out loud, "that's just factually wrong". Like, every point. Stolas coerced blitzo into sex from the beginning? No? Blitzo went to steal from him and he convinced Stolas it was a sexual thing. Stolas flirted with Blitz at first but admitted he was joking IMMEDIATELY when Blitz started coming onto him. Stolas was JUST pathetic enough for Blitz (bleeding heart Blitz who uses sex as a tool already and has no problem handing it out to get something in return Stolas isn't the only one he's fucked to get something out of) to decide to stay and fuck the guy once. But he didn't he stayed all night.

Also we've had two episodes about Stolas caring about his daughter? He isn't a perfect Dad but that would be so fucking weird if he were. Because. You know. He doesn't have a lot of role models on how to be a great dad. Or how to have a healthy loving relationship. But he's obviously trying and Octavia obviously has appreciated his effort. They still have progress to do but it is factually an ongoing show it isn't over yet that's kind of how story arcs work.

Mostly, I get the impression that anti-stolas people are just mad that he isn't the villain he was aimed at being in the pilot. Viv isn't a "coward" for changing some characters personalities. She also (in the pilot) had Millie antagonizing Loona like they were work-rivals and that's gone entirely. It was the pilot. Things change between the pilot and the show. I get being attached to a villain, but for fucks sake the criticism of "Stolas pity party" makes me think you're just an asshole that I would hate irl. Do you say that shit about irl people when they express trauma/depression/anxiety/sadness in a way that isn't suppressed or martyrdom? Y'all are upset by a character that doesn't exist.

(And also obsessed with a version of Stella that doesn't exist. Y'all keep wanting a more tender version of her that doesn't exist in the show. Which, I guess, is argument for criticism on the creator again but, like, if you don't like what exists in the show maybe you just don't like the show?)

[theflamesbeyond]

sending u a bunch … 3, 12, 19, 22, 33, 38 👀

Thank you, Jay!!! I really appreciate it. :')

3. Armax Arsenal Arena: Do they participate? How do they like it?

I think Mara, being an athletic and competitive person, would've liked watching and participating in the Armax Arsenal Arena before she joined the Alliance. It would've felt like a game to her then. By Mass Effect 3 though, I think it'd feel too real for her to enjoy it, because of how many times she and her friends were injured and nearly died fighting geth, collectors, etc. So I don't think she'd want to watch or participate.

12. What does Udina think of them?

Since Udina and Anderson dislike each other, I think in Mass Effect 1 Udina disliked Mara because of how close she is to Anderson, and how much she and Anderson have in common. I think in Mass Effect 3 though, Udina can tell that Mara has come into her own, and recognizes that whatever disagreements they had in the past are less important than working together to stop the reapers.

19. What are they like, when in a bad mood? How obvious is it?

When Mara is in a bad mood, she hides her emotions behind a mask of professionalism, and withdraws from everything except her work. After the Skyllian Blitz — during which she lost her entire team, suffered a debilitating concussion, and was made into a "war hero" against her will by the Alliance to save face — she spent several years in this state, and most people assumed that it was her base personality. So, it isn't obvious to most people.

22. What was the post-Lazarus reunion between Shepard and Joker like?

Mara was elated to see Joker again. It was a tremendous relief to know that he'd successfully escaped the Normany SR-1, and to see a familiar face. I think there was a small part of her that was confused by and disappointed in him for agreeing to work for Cerberus, but after a long discussion with him about why he did it, she understood his reasoning.

33. What does the Council think of their first human spectre?

I don't think the Council was impressed by Mara as much as they wanted to placate the Alliance, which was pushing hard for Mara to be made a spectre. Additionally, I think that they considered her mission to retrieve the beacon on Eden Prime a colossal failure, and were disturbed by her insistence that the reapers were real and Saren was working with them. The only reason they proceeded to make her a spectre was, again, because they cared more about placating the Alliance. For those reasons, the Council dislikes her and criticizes her every action for the duration of Mass Effect 1. They don't reconsider their opinion of her until Sovereign and Saren attack the Citadel and she helps stop them. However, after Cerberus revives her and she starts working with them, they quickly (and understandably) revert to disliking and distrusting her again. They maintain that opinion of her until she helps stop the coup in Mass Effect 3.

38. Lucky, or unlucky?

I think she's very unlucky in some ways, and very lucky in others. She was very unlucky to lose both of her parents early in life, to be sent to an abusive foster home, and to have no one to turn to for help except the 10th Street Reds and later the Alliance. But she was very lucky to survive the Skyllian Blitz and the events of Mass Effect 1, and even luckier to be successfully revived after she died. Not to mention going on to survive the events of Mass Effect 2 and 3. I think if you asked her, she'd say she feels lucky to be alive at the end of it all, despite the mental and physical trauma she endured and has to live with.

Link to ask meme.

[cloudycasey]

if you've seen episode 6 and 7, would you say that there's any autistic coding for blitz there or?

Yes! I've been meaning to make a post about this, but I feel like how Moxxie is portrayed in his trip showcased his insecurity about his intelligence, even though only HE was creating the Moxxie illusion in the first place, therefore HE had to know the words that Moxxie was saying in order to make him feel insecure about himself. It's contradictory, and perfectly shows how autistic people tend to under credit themselves and their smarts because they aren't seen as conventionally intelligent. I'm just saying, how in the world could that part of the trip even exist if he didn't even have the ability to create such a strange landscape in the first place? However other than that it's really clear to me Blitz's issues reaches FAR more to personal matters that isn't inherently caused by his autism, so I won't even bother talking about anything else in that episode that hinted to his autism that wasn't apparent to me. As for episode 7, Blitz is shown hugging himself and hugging a pillow for comfort, he was trying to seek out pressure stims for comfort. He was also distress humming while entering his house, and to top it off he curled up into a ball while breaking down in tears. All of these things are extremely common in emotional breakdowns with autistic people, and signifies he was seeking comfort unconsciously and was perhaps touch starved. But at the same time as soon as he was offered the physical attention he wanted from Stolas, he immediatly declined because his emotions were too intense to ignore to get what he wanted yet. Needless to say...once you figure that out the entire situation becomes all the more heartbreaking ;-; I hope this helps!

[vizowrites]

Okay idea: Lets assume that all hellhorses have some form of flaming mane and tail. And that the brightness and size of these flames can be a strong indicator of the horses health\strength. So, imagine: Blitz scrolling online, not looking at anything in particular, when he comes across a sales post for a horse. Blitz has seen tones of these, given how much he looks up horses, but usually scrolls past them cause he knows damn well he cant afford a horse yet. But this post immediately catches his eye. Not only is this horse dirt cheap, but its condition looks horrible. Its hooves are cracked, its colors are dull, and what should be a brilliant inferno of a mane and tail is barley a flicker. Blitz can tell this horse is by no means being treated right. He immediately mentions it to Striker and begs him to help him save it. Striker knows all too well that once a hellhorse is mistreated, that its damn near impossible for them to trust anyone again, and that they can become very aggressive towards people. Still he figures that, at the very least, they can get it healthy and possibly set it free with a wild herd. Plus, there's no way he can say no to Blitz. So they go to buy the horse, and Striker fully expects a full on war just to get near the horse, let alone get it to the stable. Imagine his shock when this scrawny, neglected horse ambles over and just presses its head into Blitz's chest, nuzzling as close as possible while Blitz just hugs its head, practically crying in both joy and sadness for this neglected hellhorse.

-PTERODACTYL SCREAMING-

Honestly I'm right there with Blitz in the feels!! ;-;

This is absolutely brilliant tho Love!! Especially because I feel like Blitz and Striker would both recognize in their deepest heart of hearts that buying this horse is not.....logically practical at all. Yes, Striker has Bombproof, but even he's having to be kept at Joe and Lin's ranch [out of the kindness of their hearts] for now, because there's no way in hell they would be able to keep him in their apartment--or any part of Imp City. There's just no way that adding another horse into the mix would be feasible. They know this.

But the look in Blitz's eyes as he turns to show Striker the listing for this horse already tells Striker that they're going to be getting it no matter what.

They're both a little on edge when they arrive at the ranch that's selling it, though. Blitz keeps fluctuating between angry and hurt every time he pulls up the post again to look at the pictures, and Striker's tail has been rattling at a faint but consistent rate since they first agreed to get it. He's not about to just leave it in the hands of these assholes who clearly didn't know how to properly take care of a hellhorse in the first place, but this also isn't the first time he's dealt with horses who've been in the hands of neglectful and abusive owners. It's not easy work to help them recover, and it's even harder to get them to trust that their new owner isn't going to be the same kind of piece of shit that their former owner(s) were. More than that--and the thing that's kept his tail rattling throughout the entire trip out there--is that he knows just how defensive and dangerous they can be when that trust isn't there.....and he knows that Blitz doesn't know. He's told him, he tried to tell him, but he knows that Blitz still doesn't know it the way that he does.

And as much as he wants to help this horse, he doesn't want to have to be in the situation to do what he knows he would do if it tried to--or actually managed to--hurt his mate.

.....He really shouldn’t have been surprised when he turned around from finalizing the sale with the original owner to see Blitz already climbing the corral fence and walking right up to the thing.  

“Fuckin’ damnit Blitz--” Striker raced over as fast as he could, but he knew it wouldn’t be fast enough.  He could see the horse’s attention already drawn in his boyfriend’s direction, already moving towards him as Blitz helped to close the distance faster.  Striker felt himself take a sharp intake of air just as he jumped over the railing, seeing the horse’s head go right for Blitz’s chest.....to nuzzle him.  

Striker froze as his feet hit the rough dirt on the inside of the corral, his eyes going momentarily wide before blinking once.  

.....What?  

Yet there Blitz stood, somehow unharmed, with this broken and battered hellhorse pressing as close to him as was physically possible for them to be with each other.  It was almost as if the horse somehow understood that it was safe now.  That.....somehow.....it could trust Blitz. 

Blitz had never felt something like this before in his life.  

His arms wrapped carefully around the creature’s neck after the initial shock wore off, hugging as much as he could without straining the poor thing too much and very lightly brushing his fingers along the barely-there flickers of flame that made up it’s mane.  

“.....I know,” Blitz whispered so quietly that Striker had to strain to hear him--and even then, he found he couldn’t really do it without taking a few slow steps closer.  “Trust me, I know I’ve--I-I’ve been there, Sweetheart.  But you don’t have to worry about a bunch of dumb fucks who think they’re taking care of you but don’t actually know what the fuck they’re doing anymore--”  He pressed his forehead to the front of the hellhorse’s face as he gave a soft nuzzle in return, only glancing over when he noticed that Striker was now standing there behind him.  He smiled softly.

“.....You’ve got someone who loves you now.”  

[robyndehood]

My Son's Story (pt. 1)

DISCLAIMER: I Know it's a bit of a long read, but it's important. Please read. I promise it isn't boring. Thank you!

Hi Everyone,

Intro

This is my first real attempt at Tumblr. Please contact me if anything I post violates a rule or is not considered appropriate. Anything I post, I truly mean no harm nor offense to anyone. But I need to write daily again to regain my gift and share it with the world. I have been working on my version of the "great American novel" for years. As a child, I was well on my way to becoming a successful author, but people had other ideas for my career path - and to put it bluntly - my contribution to society. Writer's block set in and then what was second nature to me - creative writing, became a lost skill. Or maybe a distant memory. Writers know that half the struggle as an artist is the dilemma of our own aspiration towards perfection. But nothing is perfect. It is a social construct and the antithesis of true beauty.

The Ultimate Birthday Gift

So, that said, let's talk about my son. He's three - he's actually turning four in December. He was born on my birthday and has been the greatest gift that I have ever received. I won't pretend that he is perfect or even generally compliant with my directions. But he's loving. He's empathetic. He's brilliant. He's beautiful. And most of all, he is the sweetest person I have ever met.

I am going to go slightly off-topic for a bit; just to paint the full picture. I don't want to ramble and I am definitely a believer that a short and to the point message is almost always far superior to a long and complicated message. But bear with me because this snippet of the backstory is essential. And my son's story is important.

Appalachia

We live in Pittsburgh, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range. There is no other way to say it than the unadulterated, ugly truth of it - Pittsburgh is racist. Very racist. Beyond that, there is a general lack of common courtesy to outsiders, customers of businesses, other patrons in stores, etc. And the rudeness, is actually pretty much unrelated to the racism. It sounds strange and surely, minorities who are on the receiving end of it would certainly assume that racism was the reason why they said "excuse me," "thank you," etc. and about half the time are ignored like they're a ghost. But don't get it twisted - there are many times the aforementioned behaviors by many Pittsburghers IS induced by racism AND a lack of common courtesy and manners. You see, their deep-seated tribalism is indoctrinated into many Pittsburghers so completely from a young age that they know no different. It would be difficult for them to understand this article and I'd bet anyone ten bucks that if enough PIttsburghers read this post - they will attack my analysis of Pittsburghese culture as though the post itself is a blitz on the entire city.

Brown or White?

I am latin and there aren't many latins in Pittsburgh. But when we moved to Pittsburgh when I was in seventh grade, people knew my last name. Summer had just passed and I do get brown. I can get brown very quickly in the right type of sun and I get brown eventually in the sun that exists in cloudy and northern Pittsburgh. In seventh grade, some boys decided it would be funny to call me "estupido," and up until two years ago, I avoided sun exposure that would reveal my "brownness" like the plague.

Subversive, Subconscious, and Secret Racism

So, not long after I started that strategy, I was treated as white. (Side note: latins can be any race; but it seems that societal constructs are seeking to change this long accepted designation and categorize latins as some in between, brown race and not an ethnicity. To be honest, I am ok with that and now proud to be latin.)

The reality of being treated white in Pittsburgh for many years was that I learned what white people actually said when they were only with other whites. The most common thing that was said was one white person mumbling to other white people that someone was a "dumb n******" or a "dumb monkey." I've heard white adults refer to children who were black as "n***lets." But it was always this crocodile smiling through their teeth behavior. They'd never dare say it to a black person. Instead, they'd just indirectly discriminate against them.

I do have to mention that by no means do all Pittsburghers behave this way. It's just too many of them. I don't know the percentage, but if I had to guess I'd say - 50% plus.

Yes, Racism Happens All The Time Even if You Don't See it Happen

Many white people will tell you that racism is gone because they don't ever observe it and Obama was president - a black president. Therefore, everything is now over. I can admit that I have experienced my share of discrimination when my skin darkens. But I had no clue how bad it was for black people out here until my son became the recipient of the ugliness of it all. To me, racists are by definition ignorant cowards; so it makes sense they'd pick on a small boy whose only family is his mother.

Evil Always Starts Slowly

If one reviews history, every evil dictator or regime began slowly chipping away human rights. By the time the citizens realized the dire state of their country, it was too late. Their freedoms were already taken away and mechanisms to fight back had also been methodically erased.

When my son was born - a boy who is half African (his father (if you want to call him that since he is basically not involved) is from Ghana); no issues arose for the first two and a half years. But then the indirect discrimination started. The same rules that applied for white children didn't apply to him. I could give so many examples. But let's just say, as a rambunctious boy, if my son mimicked a white boy's same rambunctious behavior, we were confronted and the white family was not confronted.

One day I made an appointment for my son's hair to get cut at Philip Pelusi. They made the appointment knowing that he was only two and a half. The receptionist let me know that the stylist was a "Grade A Stylist," so I would have to pay more. I was fine with paying more; cool. After the appointment was made, I mentioned to the receptionist that my son was mixed race. We ended the call and I began to get my son ready to leave. Within ten minutes, the salon called back and informed me that they didn't/wouldn't cut my son's "type of hair." I promptly returned the call and explained his hair was curly, that's all. They blatantly lied and told me that the stylist doesn't cut ANY curly hair. Right. So, if a white lady came in with curly hair she would be turned away? I doubt it. Either way, the stylist is "Grade A." She is also licensed to cut hair by the state. Shouldn't a requirement for state licensing require one to know how to cut all "types of hair"?; I saved the recording, by the way, and still have it.

As months progressed, little by little wherever my son and I went in "white areas," we felt hostile vibes. Other incidents occurred that couldn't be proven as racial discrimination, but I knew. Whites behaved as though my son didn't deserve to be around them.

Southern Hospitality

We traveled down south a few times in the past year. Yes, some of the south is very racist still to this day. But not where we drove. Suddenly people responded when we said "excuse me," "thank you," etc. No white families prevented my son from playing with their children. No one told me my son was a nuisance or put out that vibe.

The Lesser of Two Evils?

But we had to come back each time because we live here and I've been working my way out of the projects that I have lived in for four years. Shootings. Open drug use and sales. The smell of crack in the hallways. Infestations in other apartments that come our way no matter what we try. People peeing on the hallway floors. Yes, seriously. Young children being encouraged to bully and beat up other kids. Children stealing or attempting to steal my son's toys because their mothers buy them none. Gamgmembers as young as twelve.

So, I concluded: "yes, we will move, but until then, we only sleep in our apartment and we do not play at the projects' playground." I figured IF I saved a certain number of money since I have a car that I saved for and bought last year, we would make it in our new, chosen city (Tampa or Jacksonville).

But then the racism against my son in the "white playgrounds" became worse. One day he was playing with a five year old boy at an indoor playground. The mother had no issue with it. The father of the boy arrived half an hour in, promptly scooped the boy away from my son, and told his son that he had told him he was not to "play with n*****s." My son couldn't understand why he could no longer play with his new friend and kept calling to him, "friends again!" while sobbing because he thought he had upset the boy. I had to leave with my son because of it.

Another time, a ten-year-old boy taunted my son on an outdoor playground and called him a "dumb monkey." My son first attempted to yell, "I NOT DUMB MONKEY," a few times; but the boy persisted and even smirked in my direction. My son ran to me and asked me to make the boy stop. No parent in sight and again, I just had to leave with my son.

Enough is Enough

Finally, last month or so, my son and I were at our usual laundromat doing laundry. We had finished. My son skipped a few steps in front of me and tried to open the glass door but couldn't push the bar to open it because of his height. He placed (yes, placed..lightly) his foot on the door to try to give it a bit more of a nudge. I was a few seconds behind him so just pushed the door open and we went to our car to load our clean laundry into it. In retrospect, I saw an older white male go next door to the beer store right after we walked out of the laundromar. The beer store employee approached us as I loaded my laundry into my car and then intended to leave.

The beer store employee told me he was getting "reports that kids were kicking glass." He said kids. Plural. And what he said made me envision a bunch of grade school kids kicking around broken glass on the sidewalk or parking lot. I responded calmly that "I have one kid and he's been with me the whole time. He wasn't involved." The beer store employee wanted drama to transpire. It was obvious. He said in a threatening manner: "Just so you know, I have cameras." My son and I exchanged glances because we were confused. What kids? Kids were kicking glass. Where? What glass?

Again though, I calmly responded that my son wasn't involved and he should check his cameras. He told me he was calling the cops. So I got my three-year-old son in his car seat and set a time limit of ten minutes to wait. We weren't running when he didn't do anything. The cops of course showed up about a minute later. It's ridiculous because in our projects (different police department than the laundromat police department), there have been shootings where children were outside playing when several clips were emptied into crowds and the police station is a block away. I know people called and it took an hour for them to arrive on scene.

Long story short, the laundromat cops knew it was a bullshit call. The supposed "kicking glass" was because my son placed his foot on the door to try to open it when we were LEAVING. The police eventually informed us that was the alleged "kicking of glass." There was no kicking that happened. The door wasn't even dirtier, let alone damaged because my son tried to use his foot to open the door. Lightly, by the way.

Even though the police were kind to my son, for the next week, my usual gregarious child was terrified to go anywhere. He eventually told me it was because "the cops will chase me and take me to jail because I bad guy now."

He's over it now. Mostly.

But we still have to pick between the craziness of playing at our aforementioned projects or going to a "white playground" and risking my son being rejected. It's usually a 50/50 shot that he will be rejected. If he gets rejected, he gets very upset.

Again, these are problems we never faced on our travels down the southern eastern seaboard. We didn't get treated like this at the destinations or on the journey by car to and from the destinations.

I knew we were living in an extremely racist and rude area, but one day I found this. It's a map delineating the results of a study conducted by Google and others regarding the level of racism in different parts of the country.

I already knew this much. But it's good to know I'm right that we are in the worst part of the U.S. for racism and the kindness we received traveling to those certain southern states was no illusion. And I did ask locals before I found this map if I was right that people are kinder to all colors in whichever given area.

Not the Worst Thing That Happened But the Last Straw

People talk a lot about Karens these days. This lady looked like she jumped right out of a Karen meme. My son was two feet away from her while we waited in line and she said as obnoxiously as possible: "Can you handle this? Please get him out of MY space." Yeah, I didn't let it go. At all. Her argument was that she said "please" so it's OK to make my son feel like a "this" and not a little boy. I held him while he sobbed. Long story short, I decided right then anywhere has to be better than this.

It isn't me just knowing people are being nasty to my son and I'm upset. He understands. He had an evaluation for something and he tested very well. He cried about each of these incidents. He just wants to make people smile and make friends.

So, next month we are going for it. I'm no where close to the aforementioned goal. I have some savings. We may end up in shelters at first after savings dry up in a few weeks. But we cannot survive up here. Nor can we advance here.

Side Note

I wrote this mostly to inform others of the status quo and reality of racism and the real effects it has on one tiny boy. And I know it will just get worse if we stay since it's this bad already.

But if you anyone knows of any resources to help us get on our feet in a month in Tampa or Jacksonville (Tampa is my first choice, but either one.) I have applied for housing, even though I didn't and don't want to go back to projects; but I'd take one down there over watching my son endure so much pain any day of the week.

Ok, so final part: I'm going to say upfront I feel extremely awkward with this paragraph because this isn't my way (years before my son was born I was homeless for a stint and never sat with a sign or a cup. Just couldn't do it), but for my son, I'm going to drop my cashtag here. Everyone is struggling and I know there are people with much worse problems. I appreciate anyone who has read this far and can help spread the reality of what I wrote about. That's the reason for the article; but if help is received at all because of it, we would be grateful but it's definitely a far second most important reason for the post. Here it goes, for my baby, in case it'll change his life and give us that better foot up, here it is: $RobyndeHood

[chaifootsteps]

I just came across a couple of commentaries concerning Stoliz and Stolas more specifically, and one of them had good points (but could be picked apart) while the other was right on the nose (or beak, in this case).

The first indicated that Blitz had never indicated that their relationship was more than a transaction that was meant to be kept on the down-low, and that Stolas in comparison had never tried to keep their "relationship" a secret, rather it was Blitz's use of the grimoire was the secret. But the analysis fails to point out that, up until Ep.7, Stolas hadn't been taking the relationship seriously either. He didn't in LooLoo Land; he didn't in the Wrath Ring. Blitz was his toy that he could call on once a month (and I'm assuming more often than that as time went on) and whose entire job relied on this little game that Stolas insisted that they were both playing. Which they weren't. Because it's not a game to Blitz. It's work; it's an exchange.

However the post also brought up that Blitz hadn't been specific on-screen with his boundaries with Stolas either, which is a fair point. One could assume that he was too afraid to, and that saying anything would lead to Stolas refusing to give him the grimoire, but I don't think we have enough evidence to say that for certain. With TV shows, the only canon we have is what is presented to us in each episode, not what we assume to happen in the background while we're not looking.

The other commentary was super interesting because it framed Stolas as being sad and pathetic and wanting to sort-of roleplay having a loving relationship to escape his marriage, but he's altogether "just too afraid to stand up for the relationships he so desperately seems to want". He doesn't stand up to Stella when she reacts to his cheating with abject violence, he doesn't stand up to Asmodeus when he's bullied for giving up his outwardly perfect and luxurious life for a common imp and a pale fantasy. The author suggests it's because of his position as a Goetia, but then why would he make such a big deal about Blitz in the Wrath Ring? Why doesn't he bother about keeping their affair a secret? He's simply got absolutely no emotional backbone and his very presence is a source of discomfort and hatred.

Sorry for dumping all that on you, but you always have such in-depth thoughts about this show and I love seeing more of them!

Oh, that's total bullshit to say that Blitz has never tried to assert boundaries. Blitz has done nothing but tried to assert boundaries just about every time he's ever been seen on screen with Stolas and Stolas has blithely ignored them every single time.

The first time outside the pilot we ever see them interacting, Blitz tries to tell Stolas this is a bad time and that he's trying not to get killed. Stolas does not care, pushes ahead until he's gotten the sexual deal from Blitz he wanted, continues to ramble on about what he wants to do with him long after Blitz isn't even on the phone anymore.

In Loo Loo Land, Blitz asserts on the phone that he's not having sex with Stolas, isn't going anywhere with Stolas unless payment's involved, and then at the park, begins to tell Stolas that he will go right the fuck off if Stolas tries anything sexual with him. Stolas says he's cute when he's serious, to Blitz's disgust. Blitz also says he won't be sleeping with Stolas because he's not "a day hooker."

In Harvest Moon, Blitz says not to call him Blitzy. Stolas continues to call him Blitzy, and until this most recent episode, almost never called him by his actual name. I think he did like once, and it was while he was knowingly ignoring Blitz's attempts not to get shot in the head.

It's up for debate whether Stolas ever wanted something more substantial with Blitz or whether that happened as his family moved out and his life fell apart, but we've seen that Stolas at the very least has a nasty, nasty habit of ignoring what people are saying to him and just hearing whatever he wants to hear. As far as he's concerned, Blitz's many, many protests might as well not even exist.

And in the minds of really diehard Stolas apologists like the one you're describing, he's right. Blitz's feelings and attempts to assert boundaries are dust in the wind.