Only Stolas's Feelings Matter When He Feels Hurt (Screw Blitzo's When It Comes To Holding Him Accountable)
I think what I hate about Stolas and the narrative does is never take into consideration about Blitzo being rightfully pissed at Stolas for his shitty actions, but at the same time we are supposed to side with Stolas feeling hurt he was called out and being pissed that Blitzo didn't come to his rescue when he needed to be there for his daughter for an important doctor's appointment. However, Blitzo should get over being used as a plaything for Stolas because Stolas gave him an empty grand gesture without every directly apologizing or actually treating the deal like it was fully his fault. And he really expected Blitzo to jump right into a relationship with him without giving him some time to process and maybe give each other space before they can even think of anything. Yet, he is hurt when Blitzo gives him backlash for pulling this like his own feelings doesn't matter. And he's right despite how the bird makes a big deal about wanting to free Blitzo he really doesn't fully take Blitzo's own feelings into consideration and just thinks mostly about what he wants. He just wants to move on fast from his shitty actions with Blitzo and make him fit his fantasy novel scenario while not doing anything to earn it.
Gender aside, when most ppl picture an abuser they picture someone like Stella: lashes out physically and verbally and is constantly cruel with no sympathetic qualities. But the reality is that multiple types of abuse exist including ones most people don't realize is abuse, there are abusers who like Stolas speak softly and calmly.
This is why it really grinds my gears when Stolitz/HB fans claim I and other Stolitz criticals "are so privileged they don't recognize women can abuse men." They are the ones who don't realize the full extent of what abuse can look like.
Abuse doesn't have to be screaming, open insults and physical violence. It can be guilt-tripping you, gaslighting you and saying things that make you feel small.
APOLOGY TOUR SPOILERS / HELLUVA BOSS CRITICAL POST
(please just dont read if youre a fan/are gonna be annoying in my tags/replies)
i LOVE verosika. i was super excited to see an episode all about her. she has EVERY right to be mad at blitz, and i do enjoy seeing things from the perspective of his victims. BUT.....i was really disappointed in her portrayal in apology tour. MOSTLY just because i was dissapointed in stolas portrayal in apology tour, and think this ep wouldve been better if it was more about BLITZ instead. rant under the cut
im not gonna give the whole rant about how annoying it is that stolas is constantly woobified, because 100 critical blogs have done it much more gracefully than i ever could. but it is just SO dissapointing to watch a man that couldve been SUCH a compelling villain be the ONLY one who is EVER sympathized with in the show. we are supposed to feel bad for him and believe that both sides are wrong in the stolitz situation, when stolas' crimes are SO MUCH WORSE than all of blitzs bad deeds combined. he co-erced blitz into a sex contract as the only means of doing his job, and then made HIM feel guilty for not falling n love with him during it. the 'both sides are in the wrong' comment gets particularly frustrating when the show has, tme and time again, only let stolas be the one with support. blitz is made to look unreasonable, no matter how right he is. and, in this instance, stolas is the one getting invited to this party to celebrate being ""wronged"" by blitz.
back to verosika. especially now that the episode is out, i am even more firmly on her side. the fact that blitz broke up with HER because things were getting too serious is interesting (albiet not as interesting as i think it couldve been but thats a rant for another post). im not saying she should forgive blitz, but i do struggle to fully agree with her because of how she treated stolas in the episode. she is the first to comfort him, the first to try and encourage him to shit-talk blitz, etc etc and i just dont understand.....why?
ive already had problems with her character since the sexual assault ""joke"" from spring broken, but this also really left a bad taste in my mouth. i totally understand her desire to party and sympathize with other people who were harmed by blitz, but its frustrating that stolas was invited to be among them. stolas, the man who is very much NOT THE VICTIM in his relationship with blitz. this is more the fault of the writers than verosika herself, but it is SO FRUSTRATING that she gave him the spotlight and is trying to help him heal from a situation that is ENTIRELY HIS FAULT. stolas didnt just hurt blitzs feelings, he sexually coerced and abused him. of all people, shouldnt verosika understand how terrible that can be? the kind of hurt that can do to a person? im not saying that this terrible relationship FORGIVES blitz's wrongdoings, but you shouldnt be giving his fucking abuser a stage and a microphone to talk shit about his victim. this becomes so much more insidious to me with the conversation she has with blitz on the balcony, later. this was actually a pretty good scene imo but it could certainly be better.
this is much more opinionated and i wouldnt be surprised if even the critical community isnt with me on this one, but i long for an alternate verson of this episode thats focused on verosika being on blitz's side, instead. its been over 5 years since they dated, and even though she is still allowed to be mad, it would be nice to see that shes moved on. maybe give her a new partner like barbie wire and let her throw these parties just so she can look back and laugh and help blitz's other victims heal in the same way that she has. not to bring up an also not-great show, but in rick and morty, we see a relationship between rick and one of his ex-partners named unity. they were really terrible for each other, enabling bad/unhealthy behaviors, generally being awful. their break-up was messy, but in recent seasons, we see unity coming back, upon hearing that rick was doing something self-destructive. they worried about him, because a part of them still cared, as much as they were hurt by his actions. i would have LOVED to see a similar thing with blitz and verosika, where verosika finds out about the relationship blitz is trapped in/just got out of. i think it would be SO MUCH MORE naratively interesting, for her to be supportive of his little apology tour, and maybe even inviting HIM to the "blitzo sucks" party. not everyone (or anyone) needs to forgive him; in fact, i think coming to this party would give him perspective. his relationship with stolas has hurt him so badly, he can finally step back and understand the harm that he did to all these people. the apologies that he gave, as he admits in the episode, were shallow. but i think framing stolas as the toxic one would be better in helping him realize that he has done wrong more than what the show is currently doing. and maybe some people at the party WILL forgive him. maybe he can apologize on the stage, and some people will empathize with his situation and believe that the apology is genuine, because hes finally had to be on the other end of his own hurt. and maybe THAT would be the first step in helping blitz realize that maybe he isnt completely unlovable, because there are people who cared about him enough to be THIS DEVASTATED upon getting their heart broken by him. a conversation with verosika about what he did to her would hit so much harder after this, imo
anyway. im sorry if this is completely incoherent/a bad point. i was just thinking about it and i am so sick of everyone being a stolas apologist </3
Miss Heed And Stolas Have Some Unsuspected Similarities
Even though Miss Heed reminds appearance wise of Verosika, I realized she and Stolas are basically the same type of character but the difference is how they are treated by the narrative. Stolas and Miss Heed are presented as old childhood/teenhood friends who come from privileged backgrounds and in the past used the characters for their selfish means. In the present time both still use their supposed love interests for their own means and lack any self-awareness of how harmful their actions are.
However, the biggest difference between Stolas and Miss Heed is the fact that the former isn't treated as toxic and is even pitied because of his bad marriage and having a neglectful father. On the other hand, Miss Heed has shown she too has sympathetic qualities like having low self-esteem and replacing it with her social media obsession, but one thing it doesn't do is the fact it holds her accountable for her actions and doesn't try to make it seem everything is okay. The biggest problem with Stolas is that it whitewashes his actions and tries to shift the blame onto other people including Blitzo himself. However, that doesn't erase the fact he acted manipulative towards him and leveraged the book so he can have sex with him. The narrative tries to make him a sympathetic woobie when it really just makes him more disgusting and unpleasant. This again in contrast with Miss Heed who the narrative reminds us is a pos and doesn't try to coat what shitty stuff she does.
I also noticed how the relationships progress from that episode. The episode from "Heedous Heart" knows Miss Heed still has feelings for Flug, but it's the fact that she uses and abuses people to feel better about herself makes it clear that their can't be a relationship because it would end up with her just using him over and over again. And frankly Flug is wise to see it and leave her where she is instead of enabling her like he did in the past. This is in contrast with the end of "Ozzie's" where instead of validating Blitzo's right to put his foot down with Stolas we are meant to see it as him being too closed to open himself up. And the biggest focus is just on how sad it is that Stolas wants him but Blitzo won't let him in (despite the fact that Stolas used him to satisfy himself). And that is another similarity, both of them (Stolas and Miss Heed) use people to satisfy themselves regardless of how they feel and will whine when they don't get their way. Again with Miss Heed is a sign of her immaturity, while with Stolas it's a pathetic attempt at making him sympathetic.
Since Full Moon is out, what are your feelings regarding the episode and how it may affect things going forward?
For real, I'm currently working on a proper review, but in short, this is the most consistently good episode of the season, it doesn't have the best moments, but it also far surpasses the worst season 2 has had so far.
Ivankov And Bon Clay Are Better LGBT Representation Than Stolitz
Vivziepoop might say she's the premier gay show, but Oda has been in the queer business for more than two decades than when she first had those ideas of her characters in middle school. I don't know how you can top okama kempo users like Bon Clay and Ivankov who managed to go through hell to bring the main character to is brother. Vivziepoop stans might say Stolitz is the embodiment of representation- if you want a toxic relationship that is excused over and over again until they retcon the toxic power dynamics. On the other hand, if you want someone like Ivankov who at a young age help organize an event that changed his world's course of history and is a member of the resistance against a dystopian government then check out One Piece- which some might be put off at the size but it's worth it.
Sure Stolas is a demon prince and Blitzo is an assassin, but that is when the series remembers that fact and just have them focus on wangsting about how strained their relationship is. While Oda never makes us forget that Ivankov and Bon Clay like everything else in the series is a badass to respect all while being camp as possible. Heck with it, Ivankov is better at crossdressing than Blitzo does and it's with the help of his devil fruit which can convince a certified lady's man like Sanji to be turned on by his female form. Best of the series actually handles the idea of them going up against an unfair system better than Helluva Boss because they don't gut that storyline to make away for romantic slop that downplays the rich partner's flaws. These two have got nothing on One Piece's best.
In fact, knowing that they met as children makes me think that Stolas idealized Blitzo and it is a red flag when you idealize a person. Plus then the way their relationship started is terrible. Stolas could have done something to make the relationship healthy. But the thing is he is so toxic and everyone will pretend to ignore that. It seems that he was so desperate that he saw Blitzo as an escapism, forced him to be that for him and nothing more.
Money on the table, gentlepeople. Who thinks Blitzo's going to have to do all the apologizing for daring to not recognize what a great guy Stolas is and always has been?
Yep, It's Just Practically Official The Makers Just See Octavia As Manipulative Emotional Tool To Make Stolas Look Good And Disregard Her When She Gets In The Way Of Their Treasured Ship
This is supposed to be a joke, but in execution we all now Octavia at this point is just a tool to make Stolas look like a "good" dad when in practice he's putting Blitzo over her so much that it's not funny. Wasn't one of Octavia's fears is that her father will abandon her in order to pursue Blitzo.
With that comment that Brandon Rogers did it just confirms to me that at this point they are putting Stolitz so much over everything else that yes even Octavia is seen as an obstacle even though a parent's child should be more important than their booty call. And the fandom and the creators prioritize the other way around.
Seriously, in "Seeing Stars" we see him again neglect her when she wanted to keep his promise to see the stars. Also despite saying it's important to find her he slows down to watch his boy toy perform. In other words, he's all false words until next time when he breaks a promise or continues to be a lackluster dad. But we are supposed to give him slack because he's supposed to be trying hard or again invoking Stella in order to make him look good. Boy can barely do the bare minimum for his daughter without messing up and looking like a selfish pos.
And people want to point to this line as a sign of how much he loves Octavia, but again like everything else it's emotional manipulative bs when you realize in practice he has all of the power and could more easily break up. Sure, it would have be a shock to a young child but since Octavia is born he could have just packed up and kicked her ass rather than wallow in his self-pity while finally getting with his imp toy. Stella was made an obstacle from the start so that we would feel less sorry when he was cheating on her with Blitzo. However, it gets less sympathetic when we see how it affects Octavia and it makes him come across as a selfish asshole. At first the first season was condemning them, but nope season 2 basically makes him sad misunderstood woobie who can't do no wrong including ignore his daughter in favor of focusing on Blitzo.
It's funny that Loona isn't joked as an obstacle to Stolitz like Octavia is. It's probably because Octavia grew up with a married family and again doesn't like ramifications that come with the changes. One of them includes the fact that her father only pays attention to his crush while putting her on the backburner. And again despite the fandom saying Octavia and Blitzo would get along this joke panders to the idea that squashes it if Blitzo sees her as an obstacle to their relationship. And you know if it was the other way around Blitzo would be furious anyone would see Looney as an obstacle. And so would Stolas, but we know that in actual practice he would choose prioritizing Blitzo over his daughter and the narrative will say other wise.
