I was thinking about what @iwannaplaybg3butimbroke @kityana and @timkontheunsure said about my Beatrice Horseman/Stella Goetia post, and on second thoughts, you’re right - Octavia definitely didn’t know about Stella’s abuse of Stolas.
In the brief glimpses we see of Stolas and Stella’s marriage before Stolas had an affair with Blitzø*, Octavia isn’t around when Stella is cruel to Stolas:
Stella probably didn’t want Octavia to know that she (Stella) was abusing Stolas, so that Octavia would think well of Stella and not turn against her.
Octavia’s line in Loo Loo Land points to this, as she says that, when she was a child, her parents “didn’t hate each other”.
Originally, I assumed that Octavia had to know about Stolas’ abuse, because otherwise the writers would be throwing her under the bus and blaming her for not sympathising with Stolas, but now I see that it’s the other way around.
Octavia remains sympathetic if she doesn’t know what Stolas has gone through. If she still blamed Stolas for breaking up the family even though Octavia knew how miserable Stolas was, that would make her selfish, but since Stolas and Stella have been keeping the abuse from her, then no one can blame her for that.
I’m defensive about Octavia, because I hate how some writers stereotype teenage girls and dismiss their pain and problems as trivial.
Divorce is traumatic, being a teenage girl is traumatic, and being emotionally neglected is traumatic as well.
The above scene is -so far- the saddest scene in all of Helluva Boss to me.
Stolas, Stella and Octavia are sitting down to eat together as a family, but they’re completely disengaged from each other.
Stolas is reading a book and ignoring Octavia, Octavia is listening to music, and Stella is ordering a hit on her own husband.
It’s interesting that neither Stella nor Stolas tell Octavia off for being rude and listening to music at the dinner table - either they’re so caught up in their own affairs that they haven’t even noticed, or they know how unhappy Octavia is with their family life, and they’re allowing Octavia her music as a coping mechanism.
I hope that Octavia and Stolas reconcile and are a happy family again eventually!
(*not that I blame him for it; he didn’t owe his abuser any loyalty, and Stolas wanted to divorce Stella right after his and Blitzø’s first encounter.)
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for all the people who have the motivation to write fanfiction, here’s a request
fandom: helluva boss
pairing: nothing romantic, i just need more wholesome familial stolas and octavia.
genre: fluff, hurt/comfort, and/or slice of life
i just. i need it.
thank you.
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I love the detail (that I just noticed) of how Stolas and Stella are drinking from champagne glasses, while Octavia has a regular glass, implying that they (Stolas and Stella) are drinking alcohol, while Octavia isn’t.
In spite of all their mistakes as parents, Stolas and Stella don’t give their minor daughter alcohol.
It’s good to know that poor Octavia got some care and nurturing from her parents!
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