#these characters deserve better

[crooked-wasteland]

Vivienne Medrano started her writing career on a comic by the name Zoophobia. A comic that lacked any sense of story whatsoever. While she would argue with comments about the lack of purpose by saying the story was Slice of Life, it was a forewarning of her future to come.

The story started with a concept of overcoming prejudice, but was quickly washed over with a bombardment of a large ensamble cast at the very start before introducing a whole separate but attached world that spun off into Hazbin Hotel. At no point actually finding a reason to care about the original premise of a prejudicial school counselor overcoming those qualities to help those around them that were substantially different from them.

Rather, Medrano has perpetuated the misnomer that Slice of Life is the same as storyless. And that's the greatest misunderstanding of a genre that can be achieved. Slice of Life being deemed meaningless time wasting as you look into the dull happenings of someone else's benign problems is a childish perspective.

Slice of life is the cornerstone of coming of age narratives like Grave of the Fireflies. For young adults, a slice of life mature story about what it means to grow up, or inner child healing, or how to move on would be a niche that could shape a generation for the better. Especially in our Era of the internet where most of us have spent more time learning socialization online.

Where people are stripped of their humanity and nuance, and tone is read into lettering on the cold blue light of a screen in the dark. Unless this little pixelated square and string of text makes me feel important by either agreeing with me and thus making me feel worth through their "support" for my beliefs or flatter me and validating my existence before disagreeing with my points, they are the villain of the second.

And especially being a show released at the height of a world trapped in quarantine, where all our sense of community and humanity came through a screen, Helluva Boss seemed to want to be a dark comedy that tackled the topics of damaged inner-children, relationship and abandonment trauma, self worth and moving on from past mistakes, and the complicated minefield of grey morality.

This is not mere conjecture either. Medrano has an outspoken love for shows like Bojack Horseman but lacks the understanding of why this absurd vision of slice of life was so emotionally and mentally profound to an entire generation of young adults. Medrano herself has liked sycophantic tweets comparing Helluva Boss to Bojack Horseman and subtly props herself on these pedestals alongside her idols despite not deserving of the comparison.

Blitz is the show titular Boss of the series and is very obviously a concept inspired by Bojack directly. Both Bojack and Blitz are performing artists, but while Bojack was immensely successful, Blitz was not.

Bojack's history is that of two abusive parents who had no love to spare for him. Instead, his only worth came in the form of performing. It was the only time he felt any ounce of love from his cruel mother, Beatrice, who used him as a means to elevate herself socially while simultaneously feeling any form of worth through the validation of strangers. Bojack is aware his mother was not a great parent, but he has a damaged inner child still desperate to get her approval and affection. Even though he genuinely hates her, he has a lingering empty maw within himself that begs for her love. Bojack suffers from a fear of loss.

When Sarah Lynn drinks his alcohol, he throws the hair dressed under the train to save himself. Despite his honesty having a high chance of being seen as the accident it was and excuses being made for him, Bojack was too insecure to recognize his protection through his popularity. He grew up with a mother who was the definition of conditional, and any small or large mistake could be the catalyst that took everything he had worked and waited for away.

Bojack's sabotaging of Todd also showsbthis fear of loss more blatantly. However, it lacks the understanding as to why Bojack would want to keep Todd near while also chronically putting him down. This is where the lack of understanding best shows between what Medrano thinks is happening and reality.

Blitz begins his story much the same way as Bojack. Instead of a slave driving mother profiting off her son, it's Cash Buckzo, Blitz's father and owner of a circus, who slave drives his children to perform. Blitz loves performing but is not deemed talented enough to be valuable. He has an implied sick, unseen mother who is treated as his motivation for complying with his father.

Medrano doesn't seem to realize that an external motivation lacks the emotional depth needed to have an audience empathize with the character. This is a repeated issue in every character.

Blitz isn't seeking a parent's approval but is instead held hostage by the desire to help someone else, and to do that must be submissive to an authority who has no care for him.

Stolas isn't at war with himself over cheating on his wife due to the fact that he is a gay man in an arranged straight relationship but instead is a victim in his own life. He is told what to do and how to do it by every other person in his life and doesn't have an internal sense of responsibility that he is contending with. He has no needs vs. wants. Instead, his wants are universal. To be loved is a base desire, and Medrano puts no effort into expanding on what that means for her character. Instead, utilizing the natural inclination in her audience to pretend there is depth in Stolas' conflict.

Loona is similarly a victim. She and Stolas are not fighting their own emotions, but the bullies contrived in the plot for them to confront. Her fault isn't her own insecurity that she must overcome. Rather, it is the fault of every other character for not coddling her insecurities due to her having a sad history. Actively fighting against the notion that people should ultimately be responsible for themselves.

This gives the impression of someone who believes a sympathetic past must justify one's behavior in the present. It's a blatant misreading of the idea that everyone has their own storm to navigate. The idea behind that saying is that you should be kind despite what you are going through because it is easy to believe you win the bad day Olympics when you're in the middle of it, not because someone else may be going or has gone through something worse.

Wrapping around, the Todd and Bojack relationship is a clear parallel to the Moxxie and Blitz relationship. But while Medrano uses the line "I'm hard on you because you can do better" as to why Blitz is a chronic asshole to his "friend", the writers of Bojack are not at all interested in justifying abuse. The reason Bojack ruined Todd's chance to leave can be seen as sympathetic because he is afraid of being alone and the loss that comes with that. But he isn't cruel or rude to Todd to make him better, rather it is the systematic disintegration of Todd's sense of ability and self worth to keep him codependent to Bojck and less likely to leave. It is only when Todd is away from Bojack that he actually comes into his true potential. The support of those around him telling him how badly Bojack treats him and instilling confidence in Todd to try things once again ultimately results in him escaping Bojack. It is a slow process for Todd to leave. He doesn't just walk away like it feels in the episode. Rather, he has spent seasons slowly becoming more and more distant from Bojack with new relationships and hobbies, even as Bojack tries to brow beat and insult him into complacency.

Instead, Medrano thinks things just happen from large, grand gestures and emotional beats. That a sad past is a free ticket to being an awful person who is accountable to no one. Much like the villain of Bojack Horseman.

[strawberrybyers]

they killed off eddie, made dustin have eddie die in his arms, they may or may not kill max, they don’t address why mike was acting weird and mean to will for 2 seasons, will byers’ plot has been left in the dust, mike and el make no sense like in terms of both characters they don’t go together, truly believe robin’s scene with vickie making the pb&js will probably be the last scene we get of them since they’ve made it apparent they don’t care about queer characters because will they have the guts to actually give robin a girlfriend? we’ll see!, jonathan and nancy are lying to each other, will is lying to mike about the painting, steve is still in love with nancy, nancy is still trying to choose between jonathan and steve, lucas got severely traumatized by being beat up having a gun pulled on him while witnessing max go through excruciating physical pain to the point she practically died then he saw jason’s body ripped in half, will is absolutely heartbroken having to endure his best friend treat him terribly then hear that same friend admit that the best day of his life was when he found el even though that’s when will went missing, once again what is the reason for mike to act weird with will for the past 2 seasons why ruin his character by having him act like a jerk for no reason, erica who is 11/12 years old was attacked and held down by an older teen, like lord they put these characters fucking through it in volume 2 and not in a way that makes the show good or moves the plot forward? like it was for sure an emotional roller coaster but in terms of it being great? it’s going to be a no from me. and why did the ending look like a scene from the second act of a natural disaster movie that’s on at 3am on a saturday? anyways these characters deserve better and volume 2 made it apparent we’re just running in circles with a few of the plot points or that a lot of details don’t even matter because apparently if you notice them, just forget about them because it’s a dead-end SMH 🙄

[aye-of-newt]

guillermo del toro’s pinocchio is a beautiful film but my god no one has adapted that story like neverafter. you can never look at it the same way again after listening to lou wilson, a black man, explaining that he chose to play as pinocchio because it’s a story about a little boy who isn’t allowed to make mistakes. that in pinocchio's story, he is fundamentally barred from childhood at once upon a time. he must earn something that everyone else is granted from birth. the other boys get to tell lies and play and get into trouble, but when pinocchio does the same thing there are grave and violent consequences. his pinocchio is trying to understand why the world is so unfair, why the rules are so different for him, why everyone else gets to be a real boy.

and I think about it every day.

[neymiiie]

I just want to see him again.

[starwarjotta]

Cody surrounded by family and the people he loves, because that is what he deserves

[riverthebooknerd]

okay but in aziraphale's defense, i would also 100% fall in love with crowley, agent of hell or not

LOOK AT HIM

[cheese-water]

Generation Loss is a comedic tragedy in every sense of the word. Every character we see exemplifies this fact, but no one other than The Austin Show proves its truth.

We begin at the carousel. Austin, Gay, takes his turn by pleading for himself to live because he has a wife and children back home. The rest of the cast interrogates him about his “wife and kids,” clearly suspicious of his truthfulness without even knowing his dubbed “title.” Everyone in the room treats Austin like a joke.

In turn, so do we.

Next, we reach the closet and shortly after the failed drag show, Austin remarks, “Look, I uh… I didn’t expect to die here.” It’s a moment of pure honesty, whether we like it or not. It happens again when the Puzzler tries to party with them, and Austin has to angrily remind him that they are his captives and are actively trying to kill them.

Austin: “What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? We're trying to get out of here. I have children and wives— wife. One wife! What is this some sort of game? I’ve been stuck in hear for hours it seems. We’re trying to get out. Why is nobody else freaking out? We’ve got C4 strapped to our neck…”

It isn’t until Ethan’s death, his blood pooling out from underneath the door, Austin screaming at the others, begging them to have a reaction, to care about their circumstances, to care about death, that we finally understand Austin’s role in Generation Loss.

After all, in every great comedy, someone always has to play the straight man.

[etfrin]

NSFW

- - -

mean husband!Regulus Black who swears that every time he spills his cum into you, it's just his duty as a Lord so you can give him his pureblood heir. It's not because of how cute the dress looked on you and it would look even cuter on you when you're pregnant.

mean husband!Regulus Black who gets hard when you smile at him so prettily and wants to wreck you whenever you insult him ten times worse than he does. you're not afraid of him, he loves that. Thrives on the fact that he can make your bratty mouth drool with his fingers and tongue only.

mean husband!Regulus Black who loves you, truly loves you but won't ever admit it out loud unless you're unconscious from a heavy session of getting bred and he kisses your forehead, oh so gently, and whispers, "My darling, my love." He kisses your cheek, "Oh, how you have my heart, sweet." He is unaware of the fact that sometimes you're aware and that you hear his words and it just makes you fall harder for him every time.

[clouvu]

Offering lil doodles of them bc my eyes have been opened

[blitheringmcgonagall]

Do you ever think about the fact that Sirius Black was so mentally strong that despite being imprisoned in Azkaban for 12 years; 12 years basically in solitary confinement because he’s hardly chatting to the Voldy crowd; and we are told he was ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY GUARDED in the entire prison - despite all this, During Fudge’s visit to Azkaban, Sirius casually asked if he could have Fudge's newspaper (since he missed doing the crossword), which the unnerved Minister handed over?

Because I do.

And do you ever think about the fact that despite surviving 12 years of hell, then other stuff like eating rats in a cave and risking getting his soul sucked out by Dementors, the only time we see Sirius Black in a bad way is when he is stuck in Grimmauld Place for the first time since he ran away as a 16 year old. Stuck there reliving old memories and old losses and unable to help Harry (his whole raison d’être), drinking and low in mood. He gives Buckbeak his mother’s old room (does he want Buckbeak to ruin it or an excuse to go into it, Probably both) and leaves Regulus’ room completely untouched, unchanged, like a shrine to his ‘idiot, too soft’ baby brother?

Because I do.

[crooked-wasteland]

How many times does a writer have to poorly write a female character before you have to just consider the idea the writer hates women.

Every single female to female interaction in Helluva Boss exists on a sliding scale of hostility, ramping up from Harvest Moon onward. In Harvest Moon, Millie has the most meaningful interactions for her character between her mother and Sister Sally May.

Millie and her Mother do not have a great relationship. Millie's mom is constantly scrutinizing and criticizing everything Millie does. Millie is given a blatant double standard compared to her other siblings. Anything Millie does has consequences while MtF transgender sister Sally May is spoiled by both the family and the writers.

Sally May condescends her older sister constantly. Being given a position of superiority by just her attitude while the way she is allowed to get away with the same things Millie does but can't be excused for shows a clear golden child and scapegoat child. However, none of this ever gets addressed. We are meant to believe that this is what healthy and good female to female familial relationships are supposed to look like when it hinges on unfair family dynamics.

This could have been the plot to the episode. Millie is seeking a constantly critical mother's approval while watching a younger sister get preferred treatment. It would allow a ton of character for Millie. Constant scrutiny and unequal treatment have a psychological effect on children.

Madrano insists there is a sibling rivalry between Sally May and Millie, but doesn't seem to realize where rivalries come from in family dynamics. If it was a competitive outlet like a sport, that would be one thing. However, the only comparison we see throughout the episode is that mom lets Sally May do whatever she wants while Millie is left out. That kind of sibling rivalry is not healthy on a fundamental level. Kids in healthy families get treated fairly. That means that kids should be held to the same expectations in broad strokes while making room for their individuality. Punishing one kid for doing the exact thing the other one is doing without consequence is not a loving, healthy family dynamic, and it says a lot that the criticism is leveled solely on Millie. The only cis female child.

Then there is Truth Seekers. The pilot was the only point where any suggestion of tension between Millie and Loona was expressed before the two had basically no interaction with each other in the series proper. However, it is written like we should just assume they have a not-great relationship as they make little jabs at one another. Like, there is this presumption that women just naturally don't get along that colors their entire interaction. We are supposed to get this idea that they are growing closer throughout the mission but have no foundation of where they are growing from, and every "bond" made is generously coated with backhanded compliments.

Even when being kind, the characters can't help but hiss at each other with insults towards female sensitive issues like aging. It's up there with making fun of someone's weight. It's an issue unfairly targeted towards women that is a genuine source of distress in Western society. Madrano, being a woman, especially one who has openly struggled with aesthetic concerns of her own body, finding nothing wrong with characters attacking female characters for their looks says a lot.

There are additional quips of just blatant misogyny throughout season 2. The character assassination of Stella from being a potentially abusive, cold, and selfish partner to being hyper emotional and screeching all the time with no ability to have a complex throught beyond the level of a toddler. The repeated insults of "bag of holes", "pussy face" and "tit haver" by Blitz as female side characters are boiled down to nothing but the sexual qualities which are then used to demean and belittle them.

The true zeitgeist of Madrano's attitude towards female relationships is seen best in Episode 8. The early interaction of Loona and the poodle hound is vapid, which makes the hostility feel less personal between the characters and more a continuation of this female misogyny. The reasoning for Loona to become so upset is weak throughout the episode but is simultaneously felt to be justified while being a character flaw.

The poodle shows an embarrassing picture of Loona with the same vapid reasoning as Stella: I hurt you because it's my enjoyment. Seeing how this is the second appearance of this characterization, this is where I begin to believe that Vivienne had a hard time making friends with other girls in school. Instead of any level of self-awareness towards maybe herself being an unagreeable person, she assumes this was just how women are. The way she frames Loona in a lot of these scenes feels too personal. It almost feels she assumed we all had this kind of experience growing up as young women, and that is why it never gets fleshed out more.

The scene could have been used so much better with being specifically targeted towards Loona and her character. Have the poodle say something like, "Loona? Lunatic Loona? Is that really you? We thought you, like, died or something!"

Have Loona feel awkward and out of place, unsure if it's an insult or a legitimate concern, and have her toe that line of neutrality as she tries to assess the atmosphere. It shows a desire to be accepted, a very raw inner self that is quick to be triggered, as well as her lacking in interpersonal skills. She can simply pull in with a defensive, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Then, have the poodle respond with something like, "I dunno. You got adopted one day and then totally disappeared. When they didn't return you, we all just assumed you died or some shit."

It is a cruel joke that says way more about Loona than anything we have been given. It can get a laugh as well as open the door to so much unspoken lore that fans could actively explore. It actually establishes Loona's fear of abandonment that never gets set up at all throughout the series. Even Seeing Stars doesn't establish that fear, yet still tries to act like it is present in the story.

This sort of cold disinterest in Loona better fuels the level of insecurity needed to have Loona lash out the way she does. Instead of being so thin-skinned that embarrassment alone triggers her to blow up, have it be the utter loneliness that people she knows don't care whether she is alive or dead and that she lacks fundamental worth to others.

But this isn't the only massive train wreck of escalation seen in the episode. Beelzebub is a genuinely sweet character throughout the episode who does nothing to even hint at selfishness or malice. She graciously accepts an embarrassing defeat in front of everyone while Loona can't so much as laugh at herself. Loona uses Blitz's win to then elevate herself socially in the party, not actually spending any time with her adopted father.

I am genuinely confused by people claiming that Loona was defending Blitz as Beelzebub is simply telling her that her dad is not doing well and that she should check on him. Telling someone their friend or family member is self-destructing is not something anyone needs defending from. That goes into the fanbase more than the writing however.

Back to the actual episode, the line that causes Beelzebub to snap at Loona isn't when Loona accuses her of being jealous or petty, but when Loona merely states that everyone loves Bee. For some reason, that comment is what triggers a fight. It shows a fundamental lack of understanding basic human interaction. That women are too emotional that they blow up for no reason. It almost feels more at home in a JustPearlyThings fever dream than an actual serious exploration of human emotion. Add to it the deescalation doesn't come from communication or finding common ground, but by elevating the comfort of a man.

I'm not sure how many times it needs to appear in action and be so forced to the point that it doesn't even bother to justify itself, by acting like this is just everyone's experience with women, before we can call a spade a spade.

[shootingstarrfish]

asmo but with a scorpion tail like he dESERVES

[praxeus-13]

There’s something so heartbreaking about watching your favourite parts of a tv show, the parts that you have loved for years and found so much joy in, being misunderstood, forgotten and erased by it’s predecessors.

13’s beautiful TARDIS interior, and sonic screwdriver erased to make way for nostalgia.

13’s clothes, her entire outfit, burnt up never to be seen again without any explanation.

Yaz, who 13 was in love with, who she wanted to tell everything to and spend the rest of her days with, not even mentioned - not even hinted at!

13’s character, her core personality traits and storyline reduced to ‘woman Doctor’ and fundamentally misunderstood!

13’s fam, the family that she found and built, not even mentioned or reminisced about!

I’m glad that the Timeless Child wasn’t erased, but I feel like so much else was that RTD didn’t properly watch 13’s era. It’s like he was given a summary and only took the parts that he thought was interesting.

13’s memory deserves better! She deserves to have passed on the baton to Ncuti’s Doctor, to have him running around high on regeneration energy while wearing her outfit! To use her sonic for an episode before choosing to make his own!

13 deserves to be remembered as a Doctor who was loved dearly by her companions and fans, as a Doctor who went through so much tragedy right from the start and struggled to deal with that, but still managed to face down her foes! As a someone who was optimistic and kind, but could also be cruel and harsh when needed! She was complicated, she went through so much, I love her and she will always be my Doctor.

She deserves to be remembered as more than ‘woman Doctor’, because she was so much more than that.

[gunstellations]

In the world I love

_

In a different world

[dreamchasernina]

Why waste 3 seasons building up the parallels between your protagonist and antagonist, slowly showing how they’re very much alike and their destinies are connected, foreshadowing them eventually working together…when you can just say “I just realized Zuko and I have a lot on our shoulders” in your seventh episode.

Silly writers and their character development…THIS is how it’s done.

[floating--goblin]

you know what hill i'll die on? terzo is not the sluttiest emeritus

I mean sure, he's the most dramatic and the most outspoken about sex, and he gave us Mummy Dust which is its own discussion-- but I sincerely don't see him, in his private life, being so promiscuous. Like out of all of them, I'm the most certain Terzo would be either monogamous or have a few regular partners at most, but I don't think he'd be big on casual flings. Frankly I don't even see him having sex that much at this point, he seems more attached to it as a concept than an actual activity he regularly engages in.

You know who's the inverse of that, though? The one Tobias himself calls a pervert? Secondo. There's your whore. I know he looks big and mean and authoritary but let's be honest, half of Infestissumam is about ritual sex and he's out in Vegas on the regular with more women than he can reliably satisfy. He says it himself that he became Papa because "he likes a sexy beat". THERE'S THE EMERITUS WHORE, AND I'M CERTAIN OF IT