In keeping with previously using emo ass music for Stolas-spite Stellitz, Emptiness Machine by Linkin Park.
This one's very easy, 1st verse through chorus are Blitzø, 2nd verse through chorus are Stella, alternate and duet onwards.
Don't really have an explanation for the blade imagery specifically, maybe a callback to Stolas' deflections in Western Energy — it does link back to him liking beartraps used in bed and thus links to using Blitzø. "Flashing your favorite point of view" can be reflective of Stolas' tendency to see his beliefs as the only true facts (see: Stolas thinking he'd been flirting with Blitzø throughout season 1, his tantrum in The Full Moon where he's decided Blitzø doesn't love him so kicks Blitzø out, his belief that he doesn't look down on Blitzø, his belief that Blitzø "couldn't be bothered" to save him from Striker, his belief that he has let people see that he likes Blitzø because that menu scene was nothing and was definitely not their last appearance together before hell's public, and seemingly his belief that he told the truth in the trial??). "I know you're waiting in the distance / Just like you always do, just like you always do" can be Stolas as a looming threat, powerful enough to ruin Blitzø's life on a whim. It would also have a nice link to Stolas' sudden appearances to save Blitzø, like in Truth Seekers when he literally and vaguely says "I have my ways" when asked how he knew they needed help. Also in Mastermind given Stolas (in Blitzø's view) stops his execution just in the nick of time, which yeah it's decidedly a good thing for Blitzø but it still'd reinforce the paranoia. That said, this would only have impact if Stolas still had those "ways" so maybe Mastermind wouldn't've happened or maybe AU divergence at this point, who knows.
I'm gonna skip to the other verse which is Stella's because they both get a pre-chorus & chorus and they're quite similar, so I'll do them simultaneously later.
"Going around like a revolver" is an obvious tie to both Stella & Stolas' own cycle of abuse in their relationship, and specifically the revolver imagery has a nice link to Striker's gun given the assassination attempts are the culmination of that cycle. But also it goes beyond them to be the cycle of the Goetia family lifestyle, especially with the following line "It's been decided how we lose". "'Cause there's a fire under the altar / I keep on lying to, I keep on lying to" could be a bunch of things to do with Stella's feelings on her arranged marriage to Stolas. The "fire" could be the pressure of the wider Goetia family to keep the marriage intact, which is forever ruined from Stolas making their issues public by calling for a divorce. It could be her feelings of her marriage and by extension presence in the Goetia family being a danger — the arranged marriage itself, having to exist around those with powers she seemingly doesn't possess, her brother — that she lies to herself about by enjoying the luxuries it gives her.
Pre-choruses: "Already pulling me in, already under my skin / And I know exactly how this ends, I". Very much just that Stolas is a constant presence they have to deal with that they know could fuck them. For the first line, both parts of it work for both of them but the first works more for Blitzø and the second for Stella imo.
Now chorus. I'm gonna put each line then separate bullet points for Stella & Blitzø reasonings.
"I let you cut me open just to watch me bleed / Gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be"
Stella, through choosing to stay married to Stolas, "let" herself stay stuck.
Blitzø willingly degrading himself just by being around Stolas, enduring all Stolas' comments and touches, sometimes playing into it himself, just so I.M.P. can get by.
"Don't know why I'm hoping for what I won't receive / Falling for the promise of the emptiness machine"
For Stella, this is about the Goetia family. Stella is not meant to be anything more than a mother. If she fails at that, she's worthless to them. If she succeeds, she's done all that she's worth. There is no reward from them.
For Blitzø, this is about class dynamics and imp discrimination. If he can get I.M.P. running, he'll finally be respected as a person, not simply seen as some bottom of the barrel imp. He can make a name for himself, not be a nameless slave to the systems that be. Stolas is just the personification of this futile hope, Blitzø holding out for the day Stolas will respect him and see him as a person, but for as long as he holds that hope Blitzø is damning himself to misery.
Finally, "I only wanted to be part of something" and all the variants throughout. This is simple. They just wanted to be important for who they were. But that want led to them participating in a system that stripped all dignity from them. What they once enjoyed they now loathe. The freedom of being a royal at the top of society is restricted by all the duties and expectations from being a woman. The freedom of being a business owner is restricted by all the discrimination from being an imp.
Some is rooted in Stolas slander so diehard Stolas & Stolitz stans may want to skip.
x Stella = even now he doesn't really want to acknowledge having any relation to her prior to their involvements with various Vees given their histories. Blitzø did try to move forward and eventually does get to a good place with her — turns out mutual griping over someone can be a good icebreaker! He considers her a friend but there's still a layer of... something that keeps him from fully accepting it.
x Velvette = they don't know each other all too well and they are pretty fine with that. Sometimes there might be a deeper question that's given a brief yet telling answer, but most of the time they're trash-talking everything & everyone that so much as looks at them wrong and they love it. Vel's solid relationship with Loona as a "cool & caring aunt"-type figure does endear her to Blitzø.
x Valentino = very distant because of Valentino's track record of sexual abuse. He does find himself wondering what fucking someone with 4 arms would be like sometimes, especially if he's overhearing Valentino flirting with someone (especially if it's Vox), however these thoughts can lead to Blitzø spiralling.
x Vox = he's found someone on the same wavelength as him in too many ways: nerdishly obsessive with their interests; businessmen with everything to prove; isolated within self-made walls reaching to Heaven and beyond from past relationship issues. Blitzø knows his behaviours. He knows his reasons. He knows how he wants others to receive them. He knows why they don't. He knows just how bad some of his habits are. While he struggles changing for the better, he's able to get through to Vox a bit. Vox is someone he can communicate with both in his snarky jibes and with occasional plain honestly and the only difference is tone. If he can't help himself, he can help him and that'll be enough.
Gonna do a few posts expanding on relationships within PolyVeeStelLitz / polyveestellitz character by character. Links to each post as they're made below, and your chance to block the "polyveestellitz" tag for any followers not interested
As said by the anon of this post, Misery Business (Paramore) is a certified Stellitz anthem
Obvi Stella pov (at the start at least), huge spite moment for getting the imp Stolas wanted so bad he trashed his life to try have him. All 'cause Stella just. Actually met the man Blitzø is that Stolas ignored.
The song uses I, he & she. These are mapped onto Stella, Blitzø & Stolas respectively.
First verse sets up Stella & hatred of Stolas. I like “I'm in the business of misery” having a double meaning of a) Being miserable and b) Making Stolas miserable. b) does logically follow on from a) so makes sense. The references to time in relation to Stolas (“body like an hourglass” yes ik body types but it sets up the running theme of the rest of this & the next line; “ticking like a clock”; “it's a matter of time before we all run out”) give off You Will Be Okay vibes but hostile and less astral-time based, which makes sense for Stella's version.
“I waited 8 long months, she finally set him free” referring to the Full Moon Deal & Stolas freeing Blitzø with the Asmodean Crystal. I don't even want to start deciphering Helluva's timeline to see how accurate this is but The waiting "8 long months" can have different meanings too!: a) 8 long months of planning revenge using Blitzø or b) 8 long months of waiting to make a move on Blitzø. I personally prefer a), I like my Stellitz forged from mutual spite and vengefulness toward Stolas. Both being loud, extroverted, reckless and open personalities and with a uniting point in hating Stolas, “Two week's and we'd caught on fire” almost feels too long. “She has it out for me but I wear the biggest smile” is Stolas hating Stella more than he ever thought he could and Stella not caring in favor of the better things in front of her or lavishing in it alongside Blitzø. This could take on something extra if Stolas is actually planning against them.
3rd verse is Stella pettiness. The one bit I have anything to say on is “And about forgiveness, we're both supposed to have exchanged / I'm sorry, honey, but I passed it up, now look this way” because it can read like a response to Stolas trying to keep things peaceful in their marriage but not acting on it himself, so Stella's fully given up the ghost and is making Stolas face it.
All of this last (?) verse is just calling Stolas out for acting soft and kind and misunderstood just to keep Blitzø coming back to him despite Stolas pushing his boundaries and wrecking his self worth, Stella not having any of it.
The chorus is the obvious Stellitz link. The gloating of it all for getting what Stolas wanted, getting a win over him, all for just treating Blitzø as a person. If I did specific lyrics I'd just write the whole thing so I'm just gonna gesture at all of it.
Writing it all out, you could do a switch from Stella for the first 2 verses & chorus to Blitzø the next 2 verses & chorus, then duetting the rest. Stella gets the "I watched his wildest dreams come true / Not one of them involving you” and Blitzø getting “Just watch my wildest dreams come true / Not one of them involving” because they back eachother up and directly confronts Stolas in those last 2 which is what he'd care about most. He wouldn't care about Stella's dreams coming true without him but Blitzø's he would be hurt.
Or, my incredibly self-indulgent GoldenGoose fankid
Headcanons in here!
Really just looks like his father with some of Stella's colours.
Whatever species Mammon is. 4 arms. White fur.
I'm saying that species is furry. The exoskeletal parts in the demon form look very noticeably different from the white bits soo. Furry. Short fur.
Also except his teeth are retractable. Like Stella "has" (like, they're prolly are just for emphasis but I wanna take it & ride, yk?). Maybe they're Stella's beak's colour. & have them be proper pearly.
Also personally here FUCK the boot feet he's getting fur covered versions of Stella's feet or the fur cuts off a bit before hand just he's getting claw-looking pad type feet.
Pupilless eyes. Purplish-pink.
Notable eyelashes! Not quite the forearm-length ones of his mother but they aren't mistakeable for eyeliner.
He has stripes down his eyes like Soul notes depict Mammon as having. They are the same colour as Stella's eye stripes.
Outfit I have no clue how to describe.
No hat.
Auric's head fur is styled to have two small cat-eat/owl plumicorn type tufts. Purely because I think it would look nice. Maybe they'd curl like a jester hat or show but I don't know yet.
Regal suit-type outfit with subtle jester elements. Maybe??
Like the lapels (& maybe coattails) extend and curl a bit and have small diamonds hanging off chains like the dollar signs on Mammon's hat.
Ruffles on the sleeves.
Maybe a subtle harlequin-type pattern on the clothes.
Nakey feet, no shoes, bird style
Such a mother's boy.
He knows about her struggles with status and fearing it will all be taken away. He tries to ease her mind & bring her joy.
When she was her father's, it was constantly emphasised how nothing was hers. Her clothes were all still his, he picked what she had to choose from if he let her choose at all. Her bedroom was really a room in his house he allowed her to use until she was married. Her name was only picked to match her betrothed's duty.
Even when she was married to Stolas, nothing was ever really hers; it was all Stolas' or Octavia's should he die. Sure, Stolas was largely only catty at most to her, so she could act like things were hers and he would rarely act against it. But he could do more if he ever truly wanted to. Odd's are he would let her keep things that were informally hers, but that was never guaranteed.
Now, she's with the Sin of Greed. They've worked past some things that hurt her, yes. Habits and traits of the Sin that made her issues exponentially worse. Habits and mentalities of her own to lessen the issues' impacts. These don't change the fact that no matter how much Mammon says what's hers is hers, he could go back on that on a whim. She is better at assuaging those thoughts now. Yet the thoughts still persist. And in the times she notices that, no coping strategy is enough.
Having a child didn't help initially. Yet again, she's the end of the ownership chain. It got easier again with time and practice, as well as with Auric's own help.
All his gold is rose gold.
Now it's because he likes it.
Originally it was because it reminded him of Stella and he wanted it to be proof to her that they'd all be together.
Trash talk champion
He is the spawn of two of the most vicious tongues in Hell, after all.
While he never got into the physical entertainment side of jestering like his dad, he did take to the verbal side of it. Strongly.
Jester's privilege on crack and he abuses it as you would expect from the metaphor.
Though the privilege is not a thing with family. Auric, Stella & Mammon can and will roast each other, minimal hesitation. There are some boundaries, obviously; they do love each other.
He also doesn't really have it with the Sins but that won't stop him. And not because he'll hide behind his parents - no, he will deal with the repercussions himself - rather because he's just that cocky.
He does like the, y'know, "cheering others up" side of it too. Genuinely, and not just for Stella. That said, the mockery is fun.
He sings sometimes. Not the best, not the worst. He doesn't care about being good as long as what he sings has the intended effect.
Really likes decadent, indulgent drinks.
All of the syrups in a café, all of the shots in a bar
Life is a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine to him.
Also the things that are just in themselves just Extra, no additions needed (but he still probably will add something): flaming long island iced teas with candied bacon and cherries; dirty matcha lattes with a layer of cherry at the bottom and chocolate syrup drizzled on the cup's edge & on top of the whipped cream; freakshakes with whole chunks of chocolate & fruit in them, cotton candy on top of soft serve ice cream, the straw stabbed through a slice of chocolate cake absolutely covered in frosting.
Drinks specifically because of growing up with Stella as a mother.
Foods at events were generally the same. At a circus the most difference came from sauces. Some of the most variety at cafés or tea parties would be from having a bunch of different tiny sandwiches in one mouthful. Even then that can just end up tasting like bread.
Drinks though, he saw them being different early on. Stella always asked for some extra flavoring and sometimes her tea would be a latte. Her friends would do similar things. He joined in quickly. Weirdly initially, as kids tend to do when they're just starting out doing things (he added a salad dressing he liked to his sparkling fruit water the first time; Stella was fucking appalled and Mammon nearly fainted from laughing so much when he heard), but he learnt and refined.
Stella is quite proud of this influence. It gives them something to connect over, especially when he suggests concoctions to her that he thinks she might like out the blue. They will openly insult each other's tastes
Beelzebub has caught word of this. She gives him "little" taster bottles of flavoured Beelzejuice every now and then.
Bee doesn't really know how she feels about Auricaulx. He's a piece of shit like his father, but he isn't a complete piece of shit. He can be polite, can have a good time with others, even puts them first sometimes.
(Her liking Auric would probably lead to her giving Mammon another chance, which'd lead to her seeing that Mammon isn't as selfish anymore.)
On the meta side of this, the name is a really happy happenstance
Named after the mythological metal orichalcum, said to be second only to gold in value, that's now believed to be copper or a copper alloy.
Such as rose gold.
(Yes it's most likely actually brass but shhhh)
