Thelonelyhangman - 🤖no Bot.ya Le Saben🤖

dump

On Stella (Helluva Boss)

The fandom fights a lot over Stella and how she's written. Fans who like the way she is presented say it's fine that she's a one-dimensional 'evil queen' trope. It's not bad writing that she's so shallow and one note--some villains are better that way.

That isn't an inherently wrong statement. Some of the most fun villains are shallow, evil, for evil's sake types. Unfortunately, I don't think Stella works as this type of villain for a multitude of reasons.

Reason 1: Stella's 'evil' trait is at odds with the themes of the show.

Stella's primary evil trait is that she's cruel to Stolas simply because she likes being cruel to him. She's abusive and hates him. That, by itself isn't the problem. The problem is that the story isn't about Stolas being in an abusive relationship--it's primarily about two people from two different classes, and how they have to become better people and change in order to have the loving relationship they both want.

Yes, Stolas being in a past abusive relationship could be a hurtle to his growth as a character and him being in a relationship with Blitz, but the show never goes there even when it could. Stolas is not shown as being triggered by Blitz's yelling at him. In Apology Tour he has no issues fighting back and telling Blitz off, ordering him to leave. Blitz's yelling and more aggressive attitude isn't what leads to their misunderstandings, where Blitz accidentally hurts Stolas by reminding him of Stella's abuse.

Instead, Stella's abuse isn't even touched on in any major way, and does nothing to move the plot forward or cause connected drama between the two leads. Yes, she hires Striker to kill Stolas and that does at times cause problems, but she didn't need to be abusive inorder to explain why she'd want Stolas dead. In a world where assassins and murder is around every corner, it'd make just as much sense for Stella to hire Striker because Stolas cheated, and it made her a laughingstock among her high class friends.

I'd even argue her abuse makes the story make less sense. We know, from Stolas's own admission, that once his daughter was born, their marriage wasn't necessary. He claims he stayed to give Octavia a normal life, but if Stella is as volatile as she's shown, why would he think Via being around her was a good idea? If Stella had been less outwardly antagonistic and instead more cold and standoffish, with the both of them having mostly separate lives, intersected by polite, if strained family interactions when around Via, then him staying would make sense.

One of the reasons I think more people wanted Stella to be a caring mother to Octavia was because it explains why her and Stolas were still married despite her constant abuse towards him. If Stella cared about Via, and they were close, Stolas would be not only reluctant to leave but to let their false pretense of 'happy couple' slip in front of Via, since both would hurt her. It also would make Octavia's choice to stay with Stella and her anger at Stolas hold more weight, and give Via more complicated emotions. She'd really love her mom, but be confronted with the fact she hurt her father, who she also loves. As it is, it's pretty clear to see that as soon as Octavia finds out Stella is pure evil, she'll easily go back to Stolas with very little if any internal conflict.

Reason 2: Vivziepop claims she's not a one-dimensional character.

A really huge issue with Stella being presented as a one note bitch, is because the creator herself claims she's not. In an interview, Vivzie says Stella is like Beatrice Horseman from BoJack Horseman, saying that at some point we will see things from her perspective.

The problem with this is that Stella has already been portrayed too negatively and flat for this to work. Beatrice worked because, while yes she was awful to Bojkack, she also had Alzheimer's which gained her some sympathy points, as did the way Hollyhock cared for her. She also wasn't always over the top horrible to Bojack, being more passive-aggressive and neglectful.

On top of that, despite her abuse toward BoJack, particularly when he was growing up, she wasn't framed as the reason for all of BoJack's issues. He was still responsible for his own shitty actions as an adult, and when he retaliated toward her, like tossing the baby doll off the balcony, it was framed as shitty behavior. More than anything, their interactions said more about BoJack than Beatrice. Him trying to hurt her, by throwing away her baby doll or putting her in the shittiest nursing home he could find was to show how BoJack wishes he could retaliate against his mother for all the things she did to him, but it leaves him feeling hollow because he knows that due to her disease she's not aware of who he is. It's meaningless, doesn't help him get any closure.

Stella is not presented as anything other than over the top abusive in every scene she's in. Nothing in the show suggests she's anything besides violent, even going so far as having her choking dogs in a childhood picture. Nor is Stolas's treatment of her supposed to reflect on him or characterize him. The only time it might is when he ignores Via because he's too caught up fighting with on the phone, but again, it's not given much focus and he doesn't reflect on it. The same goes for the cheating--yes, Stella was abusive and he doesn't necessarily owe her anything, but Stolas refuses to acknowledge that what he did clearly upset Stella, both times he talks about it asserting that he knows he didn't hurt her. No, they weren't in love, but cheating is still degrading, and Stella is obviously upset. Frankly, I think it would have made more sense for Stolas to rub that fact in her face--he has no issue insulting her, as we see later in that conversation. Instead, his continued assurance that he didn't hurt her or do anything wrong feels like the writers talking through the character, afraid watchers will judge Stolas to harshly otherwise.

Stella getting the Beatrice treatment will likely fail because there is nothing to soften the audience toward her even a little. She has been presented as Stolas's tormentor and nothing else. There are flashes of possible sympathy for her when she interacts with her brother, but for the most part they're framed as Andre being right and Stella being stupid, rather than Stella possibly being manipulated and used by her brother.

It also will fall flat because unless her background is another showcase of how even the upper class are hurt by the system, and this leads to something either story or character wise for the main cast, then there is no point to bring it up. The point of Beatrice's story was to show how generational trauma seeps down into the next generation. BoJack doesn't even have to know about it for it to reflect on his character and explain why he is the way he is. He and his mother parallel each other, where they start out as innocent children but through their parents mistakes, they grow up into cynical, bitter adults who both feel as if they've wasted their lives.

Reason 3: To many villains.

Stella has taken a backseat in her own villain story to her brother, who, just like Stella, is simply evil (he's even characterized as a catty bitch, just like she is, except less of a yeller). It's true Andre wants power, whereas Stella wants...well nothing really, just Stolas dead I guess, but for the most part they are nearly the same. Andre is just a better written version of Stella since he actually gets to make plans and have an end goal.

Once Andre gets introduced, Stella is redundant because she offers nothing different and in fact offers less to the story overall. If Stella was going to be a flat, evil for evil’s sake villain, she and Andre should have been combined. It would have made far more sense to have Stella be a bit smarter and be the one plotting to get Stolas's power. It also would have made the court scenes more impactful because Stella would be a character that was established far earlier, and who we know is a major threat to Stolas, since she's the one that hired Striker to torture and kill him.

If Andre was going to be the main big bad for Stolas, then Stella needed to offer something different. Generally the underling under the main villain is more sympathetic, and less evil, as a way to showcase how much worse the main bad guy is. Or they're more charismatic and show up far more than the main bad guy, like Azula and Ozai. As it is, Stella is neither. She shows up just as little as her brother, and does far less.

And, while Vivzie is a woman herself, I do find the handling of Stella to have mysoginistic undertones, mainly that since her brother has shown up, she is constantly shown as stupid, and that her only good quality is her looks--things her brother constantly brings up, but are not framed as shitty on his part. Them being essentually the same charater make this look all the worse, since Andre, as I've said, didn't need to be a charater at all, and Stella could have been the main villain instead. To pretty much sideline a female charater in order to introduce a male charater that fills the same roll is not the best. Just like racisuim, sexisuim doesn't have to be done purposfly, and I don't blame anyone who finds this choice to be sexist.

Then there's Striker.

Another reason I think Stella and Andre should have been combined. Striker worked really well as the side antagonist under the main villain. He's the one we see more of, he's more charismatic and has hints of a generally interesting backstory, one that we know would fit into the theme the show has of class issues. He's a mirror of what Blitz could have turned into, while Stella could be presented as Stolas's opposite. Even their work relationship could be a dark mirror of Blitz and Stolas's real love for one another.

As it is, Striker is under two other villains, one of which has become essentially unless to the story (Stella can't do anything Andre can't at this point, especially since her and Via aren't shown to have a close relationship). This reduces his threat level and reduced his screen time since he now has to share it with another character. We can see this in the newest episode, where we get a scene where Andre is talking to Stella and then Striker appears later at the trial with no explanation. If Andre and Stella were combined, that scene could have been Stella going over the plan with Striker instead. This would have helped Striker's character, since as it is, his appearance at the trial is confusing. Maybe he's just out for himself and his selfishness won out over his hate of Royals, maybe he was blackmailed, maybe he was so furious and his pride wounded so much by Blitz he'd do anything to bring him down, maybe it's a combination of all three. We don't know because we aren't given the set up. Is it cool that Striker was a suprise? Sure, but in this case it wasn't worth not showing the charater's reason for doing something that seems to go agasint his own charaterization.

Reson 4: Threat.

One of the main reasons to have a simply evil villain is so the can be incredibly menicing. The Aundence doesn't have to feel anything but fear for the protagonists and hate for the villain. They pose no deep moral question, and it feels great when they're beaten.

Despite being a major villain we never see her threat felt by the protagonists. Take her abuse of Stolas. We see her go to hit him and he catches her hand easily and tells her off without issue. Stolas has no problem standing up to Stella ever. In The entire show Stolas is never portayed as afraid of Stella.

Contrast this with how Moxxie and Crimson interact. Yes, sometimes Moxxie does stand up to his father, but we are shown how terrified he is of Crimson multiple times during the one episonde they interact. In comparison Stella's actions never make Stolas even worried. The most we see is him doging things when she throws things at him, but he doesn't seem genuinly afraid, and it's forgoten as soon as she leaves.

He insults her over the phine, insults her to her face. When he learns she hired Striker we arent shown him suddenly relize he underestimated her and become afraid. He instead he's more conserned with his reletionship with Blitz and getting him a crystal. Stolas never tells Blitz about Stella, so we don't even know how Blitz feels about how she treated him.

It's hard for a pure eveil villain to work when only one charater even seems to know they exist and they aren't even worried about offending them. The only way this could work is if Stella pretended to be nice most of the time, but was secretly ploting, like Scar in the Lion King. Instead she's framed as this force of nature, pure bitch, who torments Stolas, yet Stolas doesn't even show anxiaty when having to meet with her, something we know he's prone too because he shuts himself in the refrigerator when contemplating his confession to Blitz ending badly.

If the writers want Stella to be evil--make her evil. Let her be powerful and scary. Have Stolas fintch at her voice, show flashbacks of her hitting him, let her win arguments and verbally tear Stolas down. Make her smart enough to plan things on her own.

I think when alot of people say Stella is a badly written charater it's not nessesarily because they wanted her to be good, or complex. I don't see alot of people angry at how Mother Gothel was written (besides her deisgn being anti-semetic) or Maleficent. It's possible to write evil, one-dimensional female villains. The issue is that even as an evil bitch, Stella falls short in a mutitupe of ways. Her charater is a complete waste, even more so now that her brother has been introduced. She has no reason to exist and serves no narritive purpose. Even as a raod block to the Stolas/Blitz ship she isn't nessesaey because their main issue is the class systum. Stella could have been dead before the show started, leaving Stolas with Via for drama, and Andre could be the evil uncle trying to get Stolas's power.

Stella is pretty much a sexy lamp, execpt the sexy lamp is also a bitch. She's less affective then the random bitch charaters introduced in romatic webtoon comics that are only there to be mean to the main charater and try to steal her man. Stella's not badly written because she's pure evil and simple, she's badly written because she doesn't serve a purpose in the story and could be replaced with a sexy, evil lamp.

Why do I keep ending up in fandoms that glorify and romanticise abuse? I don’t know how it keeps happening, but here’s what I signed up for when I entered my fandoms, vs what I got:

Helluva Boss expectation: Wacky assassin comedy about demons killing people in the living world on behalf of sinners in Hell

Helluva Boss reality: Watch Blitzø get raped and then be forced to date his rapist but also feel bad for the rapist because he’s an uwu soft sad gay bean

Fruits Basket expectation: A drama/slice of life show about a girl finding family, and her and said family healing from their trauma

Fruits Basket reality: All of the trauma in the Sohma family can be boiled down to the most abusive cunt you’ll ever meet in your life, but also WHY DON’T YOU FEEL BAD FOR AKITO THE ABUSER? DON’T YOU WANT HER AND SHIGURE TO DATE? Also there’s incest and pedophilia and for some reason that’s treated like it’s ok

She-Ra expectation: Reboot of that cool show from the 80s about magical princesses fighting against the EVIL OVERLORD

She-Ra reality: Abusive war criminal gets away with all of her crimes, and as a bonus, she gets to date the very girl she abused. NOW FEEL BAD FOR THE ABUSIVE WAR CRIMINAL

The Last Supper by Marcelo Ventura

Nothing pisses me off more than seeing people say Striker is homophobic/transphobic but if I call Stolas a fetishisizing freak who took advantage of poor person and their circumstances and is a manipulated asshole I'll be the bad guy right ???

Me encanta👌💞

Azula encounters the dragon.

Eso es todo💪😎, más razones para que terminen juntos tienen de sobra, lastima que no han salido nuevos episodios por un tiempo🥺😢

Subtle and not so subtle Clues/Hints that both Cell and Freeza are gay AND that Freeza has a crush on Cell🔽

- In ep 1, Cell and Zarbon have a "moment."

- When Freeza is choking Cell with his tail, he says, "You've awakened something I think.." Alluding to the fact that he may be into choking.

- In ep 3, the obvious, "I choose tails." "So you're giving me head?" Line is obvious.

- Before Freeza throws the ball at Cell, he calls him a "comely cockroach." Comely means pleasant to look at or attractive.

- "No Freeza, fuck ME."👀

- In ep 4, Freeza's response to Dodoria saying Cell's being topped by Froginyu is to instantly, without hesitation say, "Who hasn't?"

- When Froginyu lunges at Cell at the recycle and trash bins, Cell says in the background, "Do not lick me there! I do not know you enough to lick me there!"

- In ep 6, Freeza was watching Cell from his window the whole time.

- In the Christmas special, Freeza's eyes lit up when he saw Cell's gift, but I also think his heart lit up, if you know what I mean.

- Seeing them both sitting next to each other peacefully listening to King Cold's story brings a tear to my eye.

- In ep 8, Freeza is constantly needing to talk to his dad, it screamed coming out to me.

- Freeza's eye roll and tail whip when Cell came up behind him REEKED of sass.

- When Freeza sees Cell and King Cold talking, he says, "What if he hasn't talked about me all day?" Who is talking about? Cell? Or King Cold? I think Cell.

- Freeza says Cell has gotten him down in the dumps because he's been stealing all the attention, but I think there's more to it than that.

- Dodoria implied that Freeza's feelings of abandonment were coming from within. "Maybe it's not about Cell, maybe it's about you."

- When Freeza is having trouble sleeping, he says, "Damn you, you Chartreuse Charlatan!" And at first I thought Chartreuse was the color purple so I assumed he was talking about his dad, but after looking it up, Chartreuse is the color of Yellow and Green, so he was actually talking about Cell, meaning that he couldn't sleep because Cell was on his mind.👀

- In ep 9, when Cell finds Freeza trying to break into his garage, he assumes he's is having a midnight fling with Super Kami Guru.

- I can't lie, when I first watched this episode, I thought Freeza and Cell were going to start making out after they both slapped each other.

- The amount of times Freeza says "shut up" to Cell in this episode (Not in a mean way, but in a somewhat endearing way) is definitely a testament to Freeza's crush.

- "I dressed as your father so I could lure you into here and have you all to myself in the dark." "So you admit it!" Need I say more.

- "What do you do in your free time?" Cell was actually attempting to try and get to know Freeza😍

- Cell tried to understand why Freeza is so damn bitter about being dead. "Why do you even bother now?!"

- Freeza's tone changed when he said, "You really think you're going to get out of here?" It felt like a wall was coming down between the two of them.

- Seeing them both finally have a decent conversation and ask each other, "Do really believe that you can do good and go to heaven?" Is really refreshing, they should talk more like this in the future.

- Cell being able to pick up on Freeza's daddy's issues within 2 episodes.

- "Goodnight, Lord Freeza." Cell has never once called him Lord Freeza until this moment??

- Even though Cell ended the argument, Freeza is obviously unsatisfied and wanted to argue more.🤡

- Their sleeping positions before they go to sleep and right when they wake up is a DEAD giveaway.

- FREEZA WRAPPING HIS TAIL AROUND CELL DURING THE NIGHT??

- Also in ep 8, Freeza was having trouble sleeping ALONE in his bed, because he couldn't stop thinking about Cell, but he's able to sleep without discomfort on the hard concrete floor with Guru's annoying snoring in the background, but he's cuddling CELL that's the only main difference. There's no WAY this is a coincidence.

- In ep 10, Cell has a problem with Bojack being in his "personal bubble" but he sure didn't mind Freeza's tail wrapped around both of his legs in the previous ep.👀

- Freeza's neck roll when he says, "The basic bitch holiday." This man is FRUITY.

- Cell's line, "Top me, Zarbon." He knew what he was doing idc.

- Cooler's expression when he saw Freeza looking after Cell when he went to pee👀 he KNOWS.

- Their miscommunication when they think they're both talking about Cooler and Bojack never gets old.

- Cell mistakes Cooler for Freeza's ex, and Freeza doesn't say anything like, "I don't even swing that way!" He just simply corrects Cell and says, "My brother!" TFS is planting seeds I'm dead serious.

- "So he seems to hate everyone, what's his deal?" "Don't act like you care!" Oh really Freeza? Don't act like you're JEALOUS.

That's all! For now..

I feel like if Frieza introduces Cell to Cooler and Cold, the first thing they would notice is that he's very tall. The size difference between Frieza and Cell is very noticeable. Cold doesn't say nothing out of respect but Cooler being petty tells Frieza that Cell is too big for his fun size body and both end up in a sibling fight that Cold tries to diffuse. Cell just stands there smiling but secretly agreeing Cooler.

Tw: Graphic depiction of suicide and discussion of abuse

This animation is spectacular and I adore every second of it. This is the true mask-off moment the show was too cowardly to give him and it is my canon end to the series at this point.

The song used for the animation is "Now That You're Gone" by The Raconteurs is very obvious about its meaning that the animation has taken full advantage of. It begins with the image of Stolas asking an absent Blitz what he'll do "now that [he's] alone" and the image cuts to a closeup of Blitz struggling through a white landscape littered with those golden feathers from Truth Seekers.

It's clear that Stolas is getting a petty revenge from breaking Blitz's pride. But the framing of the song makes it very clear what direction the narrative is going. Stolas goes back to his normal life (presumably the video was being made before Mastermind) where he takes back the book and gets back with Stella. Clips of him enjoying his high roller life of luxury. The line that best emphasizes what Stolas is actually trying to do is in the line:

"Who is going to love you if it isn't me?"

Which goes back to my point about abuse in relationships and how that very much is the ground floor of control. Where they isolate their victims from others in order to warp their perception of reality. If you rewrite their world where no one else will ever love them, that will be true. If you can alienate someone from what a healthy and loving relationship looks like, just then saying "I love you" is the proof of their love. It allows the opportunity for the victim to justify the abuse for the abuser to make it make sense that their abuser must love them.

And my favorite part is how, on beat, the animation cuts to Blitz being comforted by Moxie and Millie where Moxie flicks away the golden feather on top of their three entwined tails. A short but powerful bit of storytelling that lingers just long enough, unlike the show that tends to rush every single frame. The feather landed on top, just like how Stolas inserts himself in their lives, and Moxie is rejecting it so as to protect his friend.

And then the music cuts as Stolas changes the lyrics from "What will you do now that I'm gone" to "What will I do now that you're gone".

Which recontextualizes the delivery of the song and connect the early tells to a more overt understanding. Stolas stares into the camera and becomes progressively more unhinged as he realizes he did lose.

The entire point of someone saying "You won't find anyone better than me" isn't a farewell for better things. It's expressly to reel a victim back in, and it lines up perfectly to Stolas' unwillingness to talk to Blitz or have any conversation where he acknowledges his own issues, especially in Apology Tour.

I know some will say Stolas shit talking about the Blitz Hate Party is a sign that he knows he is pathetic, but he doesn't talk to Blitz about that in a way that lumps himself in with the rest of it. He talks about "All these people" without ever acknowledging specifically that he is an active and enthusiastic participant in this pity party. Even ending the episode for Stolas with him begging to have literally anyone love HIM, even as he is at this party, partaking from the table, over how much he felt entitled to Blitz.

This animation fits perfectly in with the events and logic of the show and Stolas in the canon.

Honestly the ending of this animation is the only self-actualization I support for Stolas and Blitz in the canon series. This is my finale, anything after this is a zombie fic that refuses to just stay dead.

202 rewrite (the last few mins at least)

random headcanon: Thanks to a pep-talk, Blitzø helps Octavia begin to realize how toxic her parents' treatment of her is.

partial rewrite of the last few minutes of "Seeing Stars" under the cut

quick note: Blitzø in my au is an imp/incubus hybrid, so he has wings/can fly. he's also missing an eye (both are mentioned here)

skip to the scene at night. Octavia had given up trying to disguise herself; despite how fun it had been looking at all the different human stores and clothes, it didn't erase the fact that she was still distraught over getting ignored by her father that morning/her parents' divorce.

thanks to Via's social posts, Blitzø is able to track her down. he removes his wings and tail which were hidden beneath his clothes and flies up to meet her at the top of the observatory. Via pretends like she wasn't crying and gives Blitzø the cold shoulder. he calmly questions her as to why she ran away. instead of answering his question, she snaps at him:

“Why the hell do you care? I thought you were too busy flirting with my dad to worry about anyone else around you.”

Blitzø shifts uncomfortably, unsure of how to handle the situation. He sighs, fidgeting with the fabric of one of his gloves.

"And how'd you even find me? I thought I lost you in the crowd...," she mumbled.

Despite the awkwardness in the air, Blitzø laughed. "I'm a trained assassin, kid. I kiiinda gotta be good at tracking people down," he pulled out his phone. "Also, your Sinstagram has all your locations pinned. Cool pictures by the way."

"Oh, thanks," Via answered, sniffling again.

Silence fell between the two of them once again. Blitzø scratched the back of his neck.

"Uhh...you okay?"

"I...well...," The bird demon suddenly shot Blitzø a glare. "Why do you even care? You don't know me and I don't like you."

He let out another huff of laughter. "I know. And I don't blame you, I wouldn't like me either," Blitzø chose to focus on the grassy floor beneath him, which was pretty far down from where they sat.

Octavia peered up at him wordlessly, tipping her head as if silently urging him to elaborate. Instead, Blitzø shook his head.

"So what's wrong? What're you doing up here in the human world?"

Tears filled her eyes once again as she clenching her fists, a small burst of magic shooting out from her hands as she grew more emotional.

"'Cuz I'm an idiot! I spent all day looking for a place I could see some dumb meteor shower," she sniffled, furiously wiping away some tears that escaped. "A-and then all I get is this!"

She gestured towards the smoggy sky.

"Yeah, smog's a bitch," Blitzø scratched the back of his head awkwardly for the second time that night. "So..why a meteor shower exactly?"

Octavia scoffed, crossing her arms as she scowled. "I've been waiting to go see it since I was a kid. My dad promised me we'd go, but I guess he'd rather spend the day screaming at my mum instead."

Suddenly the flood gates opened and Octavia now wept openly, boiling-hot tears streaming down her face.

"Why does he hate her more than he loves me?!"

Blitzø sat in silence and let the teenager cry, a pang of guilt shooting through him. He caused this. He tore this poor girl's family apart.

"Octavia," he forced himself to look her in the eyes. "I don't think you're an idiot for feeling like this. You're dad's an ass...," he trailed off, unsure if he should talk shit about Stolas to his own daughter with so much on the line."...stronomically good smooth-talker, he can make you believe just about anything, then make you feel like crap when he screws up. Right?"

Octavia nodded once in response.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's not your fault. Hell, it took me forever to believe that myself with my own dad."

"Wait, your dad didn't take you to meteor showers either?" she asked innocently.

Blitzø paused and scanned Via's face, unsure if she was joking or not. Shaking his head, he continued. "N-no, my dad was just an asshole who'd get my hopes up, then rip the rug from under my feet. I remember this one time, he promised to take me to see the best cirrus show in all of Hell for my 12th birthday. So when the day finally came, I asked him when we were going and he laughed in my face, told me I was stupid for getting my hopes up and to never rely on anyone, ever,"

The imp swallowed as he bit his lip.

"And the more he said and did shit like that to me, I believed him. It wasn't till I adopted Loona that I started trying to undo everything he told me, 'cuz I'll be damned if I ever make Loona feel the way I did," he flared his wings in anger.

"Just between you and me, you're not required to forgive your dad, or your mom for that matter. Sounds like you're better off without them," Blitzø mumbled, flicking his tail to-and-fro. "And I just wanna say that I'm sorry for causing this. I got in the way of your parents' marriage and tore your life to shit over some stupid book."

He gestured towards the grimoire, subconsciously narrowing his eyes at it. Much to his surprise, Octavia gave a small smile in return.

"Thanks. Y'know, maybe you're not a total dickhead like I thought you were," she smirked.

Blitzø let out a cackle, his sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight. "Gee thanks, so glad you thought of me like that," he rolled his eyes playfully.

Suddenly, several popping noises were heard and though the smog, Blitzø could see multiple colors. He suddenly flew up to get a closer look, then turned around to flutter over Octavia.

"Check it out, they're setting off fireworks down there! I know it's no meteor shower, but you'll get to see cool stuff in the sky!" he gestured towards the direction of the fireworks, waiting for Octavia's response.

"Sure," she shrugged, trying to appear cool despite the growing smile stretching across her face.

Within a few minutes, they found themselves amongst the happy, energetic crowd, joining in with the hoots and hollers at each firework that popped. In the twenty short minutes that the display lasted, Octavia felt at-ease and genuinely happy for the first time in a while.

---

"Alright kiddo, you ready to go back?"

Blitzø and Octavia arrived back in the same alley they'd originally teleported to so as to not attract any unwanted attention. The owl demon nodded as Blitzø opened the book and skimmed through, searching for the correct spell. He stopped upon finding it, narrowing his eyes at the text.

"You uh...don't happen know the spell off the top of your head, do you?"

Octavia shifted uncomfortably, her jaw tightening. "N-no. My parents haven't taught me yet."

"Oh," Blitzø flashed a toothy grin. "All good..."

"What's the problem?" Octavia quirked an eyebrow, concerned.

The imp fussed with the corner of the page. "I uhh...don't know what it says."

Octavia let out a puzzled hoot in response. "Wait, you can't read? You've been using it for months, how have you been able to travel here?"

"My employees have been helping me out," Blitzø mumbled, his gaze fixed on the concrete beneath them.

"They didn't teach you to read in school?"

Blitzø rolled his eye. "You do realize goetias are the only ones who have specialized teachers to help read and write, right? The rest of us are either self-taught or just never learn."

"I...oh," Octavia's feather fluffed up in embarrassment as she quickly snagged the book from Blitzø. "I'll cast the spell for us."

The princess' hands lit up as she chanted the spell, the portal opening back to Pride. Octavia entered first and Blitzø gave a couple of cautious looks around before he hopped in after her.

Stopping in front of I.M.P., Blitzø hovered in front of the door of the building.

"Welp, that was an interesting way to spend my day," he scratched the back of his neck. "But I'm glad we got all this sorted out...kinda."

Octavia simply nodded, handing the book back to Blitzø. "Yeah. Umm...thanks for talking to me before. Kinda felt good getting all my feelings out like that."

Blitzø smiled genuinely. "No prob. I know it's tough, but try not to hold that kinda stuff in anymore, alright? I know your family sucks ass, but maybe try talking to a friend or something."

Octavia shuffled her boots on the ground awkwardly. "I umm...don't really have that many friends."

Without saying another word, Blitzø dug around in his back pocket and pulled out his cracked phone. "Here, my daughter could use a friend like you. She's your age, so you two should get along well," he opened Loona's contact on his phone, holding it towards Octavia long enough so she could copy Loona's number.

"Thanks," the princess smiled.

The assassin simply nodded. "Just don't go telling your dad about this whole thing, alright? I don't think he'll be too happy you took the grimoire and ran away to LA."

Octavia scoffed and shook her head. "I won't. I doubt he'll even notice I'm missing."

Blitzø's smile fell a bit, but he decided to not dive into the topic. "Get home safe. Good luck," he gave a short wave.

"Yeah...you too."