#helluva stella

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I think we all know Stolas is something of an alcoholic but if you don't know what I mean when I say Stella is one check out my last analysis here.

Anyway, realistically Via's the most likely to develop an alcohol problem even before substance abuse when it comes to the pills, just because both her parents seem to self medicate with alcohol. She already has displayed common traits of children with alcoholic parents. Anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, behavioral issues, extreme self-criticism, and a fear of conflict or abandonment.

Reddit post

First off I'm going to give a list of hints that tell that Stella MIGHT, not definitely does, MIGHT, actually care about or love Via to some extent.

1. After her nightmare at the start of "Loo Loo Land" Via called out for both Stolas AND Stella. Meaning that Via thought that Stella could come to comfort her. She is way past the age by this point that she would think calling Stella would work if Stella had never shown up before.

2. Via had also called out for them in a way that she would have to call out for Stella first. "Mummy, Daddy" flows better then "Daddy, Mummy" But she could of just easily gone "Daddy! Mummy!" Which also flows well because of the hard stop and also implies that Stella was more of an afterthought or a last ditch effort, or Via could of just called out for Stolas.

3. Stolas also notably tries to get Stella out of bed and that ALSO implies that Stella has gotten up before. There really is no reason for Stolas to bother if Via's this old and Stella hasn't gotten out of bed for her once.

4. Stella actually went places with Via in person. This is notably because the other bad Goetia parent Paimon wouldn't even take Stolas to the circus in person. He basically just did it by magical zoom call. Stella however DID go to Loo Loo Land in person with Via. And no matter how you look at that on the surface doing something like that is out of character for Stella.

5. Stella notably doesn't seem to hate Via. If she did when Andrealphus told her that everything Stolas had would go to Via knowing her she normally would be angry at the idea of it. But she didn't care.

6. Via doesn't hate Stella. Clearly, after all if she did she'd probably be less concerned about how this whole cheating thing affected Stella.

7. In almost every photo that Stella was in during I will be okay Stella either looked annoyed or had a clearly fake smile. All except for one, one of the photos shows Via with both Stolas and Stella and not only does Stella's smile look more genuine but this is also the only one that has Stella physically touching Via. As a side note, this is the only picture we haven't to my knowledge seen a full, unobscured look at. This is usually done in story telling to hide a secret.

8. Stella only insults or speaks ill of Via when Stolas is around. Implying that the main reason she does that isn't because she truly means that, but because she knows it will bother him. This also goes for when she does things to hurt Via. It all immediately goes back to hurting Stolas.

9. Via trusts Stellas judgment. In Mastermind Stella stops Via from trying to get to Stolas. Via notably stops after Stella does this. Via understands that the implication of Stella behavior despite not saying anything is "theres nothing that can be done" and Via believes her. If Stella didn't at least try to come off like she cares about her the very least Via probably would of pushed Stella off but she trusts Stellas judgment so she gives up.

10. Stella would pick Via's word over Andrealphus's word. When Via points out that Andrealphus losing to I.M.P would be a bad look for him he immediately backs down. This would only work this way if both Via and Andrealphus both knew that Stella would choose Via's word over Andrealphus's.

11. Stolas behavior in Mastermind comes off as far more reasonable if you consider that he's aware that Stella would protect Via and not hurt her.

12. Stella is a vicious social climber, and yet Via not only isn't already matched up with someone but doesn't seem to be aware of arranged marriages at all. This could imply that neither parent has talked to her about it because they BOTH just don’t want it to happen.

Before I continue, I'm giving an example on how this show has ALREADY shown us that it can hint that there was more to a character then was initially shown.

A LOT of people seem to be under the impression that Ozzie and Fizz were set up as villians or antagonists, and that they were wasn't any clue to how they actually were. Some people even swear that Ozzie and Fizz's personalities were changed so the story "can have even more wholesome yaoi" or something to that effect.

No. Absolutely incorrect. There were MANY hints that there was more to Ozzie and Fizz then the jerks that they looked like they were on the surface in "Ozzie’s".

1. Ozzie in particular was pretty nice to Moxxie all things considered. He was a bit ... forward in his methods ... but he was basically was telling moxxie that the song he was singing wasn't the vibe the club was going for and encouraged Moxxie to sing something more appropriate. It's only after Moxxie refused to play along that he started insulting him.

2. Truth Seekers implied that whatever Blitz did to Verosika and Fizz, as the fake Verosika eloquently put it, was because he decided to "shove away anyone who gets too close until they resent (him) for being a selfish, shitty, shit fuck!"

3. Unhappy Campers backs this up by making it clear that whatever caused Blitz and Barbs relationship to implode was his fault so that solidified that this was a pattern.

4. Ozzie and Fizz were clearly just... not saying what they really felt. There's no way that they hate lovey dovey stuff if they snuggled for a split second.

5. Saying that Stolas was following the spirit of lust while being the embodiment of lust reeeeaaallly sounds more like a compliment then a flat out insult.

6. When Ozzie went to stolas he nuzzled him. Which implied he was just being friendly in his own way.

7. Stolas texted Blitz that Ozzie is just kinda like that and that was Ozzie’s sense of humor is like, and he didn't intend to be super insulting.

There is more but I think I've made my point. The most obvious conclusion you could come to about what Ozzie and Fizz were like is that they were dicks. While it's only hinted but not flat out stated that they were actually good people. Not only that but some of these hints could also very easily imply that they were just jerks. The nuzzle for example could of been condescending, but since Stolas and Ozzie clearly know eachother well enough that Stolas thought Ozzie would give him a crystal and Ozzie both knows exactly what Via and Stella look like AND even has a nickname for Stolas we can easily see now that the nuzzle WAS just Ozzie being affectionate.

Going back to Stella, all of the things I've listened that hint that Stella might care for Via are just as subtle as the one's that imply that Ozzie and Fizz are more then just jerks. They're all easily things that could be missed completely.

Notice anything about how Stolas and Stella first react to via being upset? No? Yes? Doesn't matter I'm telling you anyway.

From Via's POV Stella is comforting her without the caveat that she has to mess up beforehand.

We have seen two major times that Stolas and Via interacted before Sinsmas. B**oth times Stolas didn't pay attention to what Via was feeling and needed from him.

We see Stella and Via interact once before Sinsmas. And in that moment from Via's POV Stella did something Stolas has never done over the series proper. Show Via she cares without fucking up first.

Now regardless of if you think Stella loves Via to any extent or not, obviously Stella wasn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart but Vias head was buried in Stellas chest, So she doesn't know that.

Stolas hasn't done that. He's too preoccupied with his own emotions. He only shows her he cares after a fuck up. Stella "showed" Via without fucking up.

Ever noticed that when Blitz is sad people correctly clock that he's depressed but when he's angry he's just being a dick? Ever hear that Stella can't be depressed because she's "happy with the life she had"? Ever see someone boil Loona or Barb down to their anger? Justified or otherwise? And not remotely understand the root of said anger?

Anger, irritability, and rage are very commom and frequently ignored symptoms of depression. Depression doesn't always manifest as sadness. It can be a short fuse, intense frustration, or sudden anger attacks.

For Blitz his anger isn't just him trying to push people away, it's also an outlet. One that he uses liberally enough that it's almost his default. For him it's "win win". He can push people away AND feel good doing it. The anger is also a way to justify pushing people away. "They're dicks, Idont need them.

For Stella, she almost certainly also has anger issues caused by depression, but unlike Blitz who's using anger as a form of armor, Stella uses it as a weapon. Stella quite frankly has a reason to be miserable. As Vivziepop says, Stella never wanted this marriage. Stella is miserable so she want's others to be miserable. Misery loves company after all. Some depressed individuals project their pain outward to normalize their own suffering. No it's not because of psychopathy. It typically stems from deep emotional pain, a lack of healthy coping mechanisms, or a desire for validation and connection, even if that connection is rooted in negativity. Stella "seems happy" because depressed people often seem happy. They mask.

Loona, just like Blitz uses anger to protect herself she's to push others away so she can't get hurt again. Anger WAS Loona's default. And she would get angry at the smallest things. Always one or two steps away from a breakdown. But as the show went on Loona notably seemed to become less angry. She made friends. Her bond with Blitz kept improving. And because of that by Sinsmas she's no longer angry because something goes slightly wrong. Also, ever notice that Loona was almost always on her phone? Depression and phone addiction are often connected. Excessive and compulsive smartphone use alters the brain's dopamine pathways, so it's easier for you to get that little blip of happiness when you use your phone, and it isolates you from real-life interactions. Which is what Loona wanted. She didn't want real life interactions because those could hurt her. She's not just maturing, she's finding healthy ways to manage her depression.

And for Barb see seems to take both the Blitz approach as using her anger as a shield AND Stella using it a weapon. Mostly the second. She does seem to want to push people away but especially with Blitz she seems to want her words and actions to hurt him to some extent. After all he's the one who ruined her life.

And as for how people say that some of these characters cant be helped, did you notice the pattern here? The angrier ther character is the, less support they have. Stella has no support, and she's by far the one here with the worst issues with anger. Barb is next up and while she does have support it seem tenuous at best. The person supporting Barb the most seems to have been Kendra and they likey broke up. Blitz is next and as the series has gone on he's gotten a lot less angry. He's still angry a lot of the time but hes come pretty far from his current low point in apology tour to Sinsmas. He has support. And so does Loona, and she's easily come the farthest. She probably had near Stella levels of anger at the beginning of the show but now shes managing her depression. If Stella and Barb hand more support they might not be this bad. But Barb still just pushes people away and Stella is, well, Stella.

And no, I'm not saying that everyone in the show that has anger management problems because they're depressed. For example Ozzie just seems to have anger management problems and Satan IS anger management problems.