on Archive of Our Own.(An AU where Blitzo runs away after Helluva Boss Season One, Episode 7.)
The story itself can be found here.
Things sure do happen after the fiasco at Ozzie's: Blitzo vanishes into thin air. His unforeseen departure affected everyone associated with the horse-enthusiast assassin, but they persevered in their efforts to carry on without him. Unbeknownst to them, a series of unexpected events awaited them one year later…
Forget And Forgive provides examples of:
- All Just a Dream: In chapter 3, it seems as though Blitzo has returned home and is reunited with his hellhound daughter. It was then unfortunately revealed to be just a dream Loona had been in when a ringing phone call woke her up.
- Alternate Universe Fic: Takes place in a timeline where Blitzo runs away after going through a terrible, humiliating date at Ozzie's from Helluva Boss Season One, Episode 7.
- Amnesia Episode: This is a major plot of the story, beginning at chapter 10 with Blitzo appearing to have no memories of his past life before working at Mammon's circus.
- Big Damn Reunion: Moxxie and Millie both get into a tearful three-way hug with Blitzo after Fizzarolli confirms that it’s the real him. It had been a year since their boss was away, so the married imp couple was understandably in such an emotional state that they had finally got their missing friend back after a long time, despite his memory loss.
- An awkward, yet wholesome reunion occurs when Stolas arrives at the I.M.P. office and sees his missing beloved Blitzo before him, much to his incredulity.
- Broken Tears: Many tears were shed across most of the Helluva Boss characters in this fic.
- Can't Take Criticism: After Loona blatantly jeers at Stolas and the married imps, Millie lashes out in rage. She viciously slaps the hellhound in the process, and simply returns the favor to her.
- Confirm Before Reveal: Moxxie and Millie, with Blitzo tagging along with them, head to Ozzie’s to seek help from Fizzarolli to prove whether or not the imp assassin in the same room as them is the real Blitzo himself.
- "Dear John" Letter: The I.M.P. crew reads a farewell letter that was tearfully written by Blitzo with heartbreaking words and bad spelling.
- Dramatic Irony: When Moxxie and Millie were both gearing up in the mortal realm for their upcoming murder task in chapter 21, they discussed the matter of Loona and came to an assumption that she’s doing okay on her own for the time being. This is a dramatic irony here as the readers already know that Loona isn’t, because she got abducted back in chapter 16, and the story shifts to an abandoned building where the hellhound receptionist is being held captive by Striker.
- Also happens at the beginning of chapter 26, focusing again on the two married imps. As they plan to stay in the mortal realm longer with much time to spare, and before the story shifts to a different scene, the last thing Moxxie says is that having Blitzo back makes him feel like nothing else could go wrong. There’s dramatic irony occurring at this point because the readers already get the feeling that something may go VERY wrong later in the story, based on the recent events that took place beforehand.
- Heartfelt Apology: Blitzo, despite losing his memories, does this with Fizzarolli while hugging him in comfort and tears.
- Stolas profusely says how sorry he is to Blitzo as he breaks down, expressing a lot of remorse for how he took him for granted and the consequences that came with it.
- Hostage for MacGuffin: It is implied in chapter 22 that the reason why Striker is holding Loona captive is because he wanted to make a ransom with Blitzo, where the assassin imp would have to surrender Stolas’ grimoire and the blessed rifle in exchange for the safe return of her adopted daughter.
- How We Got Here: Following the revelation that a year had passed since Blitzo went missing after the Ozzie’s incident, subsequent chapters in the fanfic feature flashbacks and descriptions of past events. These flashbacks serve to shed light on the circumstances surrounding Blitzo’s disappearance and illustrate how these earlier occurrences have directly led to the current timeline of the narrative.
- It's All My Fault: Throughout the story, Moxxie, Millie, Loona, and Stolas all display their sorrows and regrets for causing Blitzo to leave on his own terms. And surprisingly enough, Blitzo’s bitter ex-girlfriend Verosika Mayday also feels this way, too.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Verosika Mayday is shown to have redeeming qualities outside of her confident, vivacious behavior in the fanfic. In a friendly conversation with Moxxie and Millie, the pop singer opens up about her thoughts and feelings regarding Blitzo’s absence in somberness, even lamenting the verbal abuses exchanged between him and herself. Additionally, as an act of generosity and a gesture of respect towards Blitzo, Verosika gifts each of the two imps a ticket to Mammon’s Traveling Circus before bidding farewell to them.
- Fizzarolli is another demon who has a softer side in the story. After confirming Blitzo’s identity to Moxxie and Millie, the former circus imp partners have a private conversation and manage to be on good terms with each other at the end, despite Fizzarolli’s hatred towards his ex. However, this interaction leaves the disfigured imp with mixed feelings about Blitzo, leading him to seek solace in a discussion with his lover Asmodeus. Fizzarolli expresses distress and insecurity while venting about Blitzo, but becomes bittersweet when the sin of lust provides comfort and evokes feelings of affection between them. Later on, in further chapters, Fizzarolli feels more assured to let go of his animosity towards Blitzo, encouraged by Asmodeus to take steps toward rekindling their relationship.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: In chapter 18, Blitzo and Stolas receive some dedicated personal time and space to reconnect and have a private conversation, while Moxxie and his wife retrieve Loona and bring her to the I.M.P. office. This allows the two of them to catch up on their relationship without interruptions.
- Manipulative Bastard: Striker does this tactic as a way to gain Blitzo’s trust and sway him to his side, cunningly exploiting his enemy’s amnesiac condition for his own motives. He weaves little bits of truth into his lies regarding their encounter at the Harvest Moon Festival (Helluva Boss Season One, Episode 5) to make what he says sound believable enough. Even though Blitzo was initially skeptical of Striker’s claims, the cowboy imp provided tangible evidence to support his assertions, effectively sowing seeds of doubt within the assassin’s mind.
- My God, You Are Serious!: Upon learning of Blitzo's undisclosed departure, Stolas first dismissed it as a mere prank orchestrated by the I.M.P., assuming it to be a playful jest. However, his perception swiftly changed when the avian prince met a distraught Loona, who attacked and berated him the moment he arrived at the I.M.P. office. It left the Goetia demon no doubt that the situation was far from a jest.
- In chapter 10, after Moxxie and Millie find Blitzo to their absolute dismay, the horse-caring imp nonchalantly banters with them. This angers the married imps initially, thinking that he was just messing around before learning from their boss that he was suffering from amnesia.
- Also occurs in chapter 13. It begins with Moxxie and Millie both attempting to explain their situation to Fizzarolli about Blitzo’s memory loss, even pleading for his help to confirm that it’s the real imp they know. Of course, Fizzarolli doesn’t believe them and laughs it off as a joke. However, he was later proven wrong when Blitzo consistently exhibited genuine obliviousness whenever the jester imp probed him about his recollections. Blitzo embracing Fizzarolli with heartfelt comfort and a tearful apology was the final nail in the coffin, leaving no room for denial. It was at that moment when Fizzarolli fully grasped the truth of Blitzo’s amnesia.
- Same Character, But Different: Mainly revolves around Blitzo who returns later in the narrative, but he suffers from amnesia, resulting in a significant change in his personality. Although he retains his passion for horses and flirtatious demeanor, he is more considerate, cheerful, and empathetic towards others. Blitzo extends this newfound compassion and his different nature even to the demons he wronged in the past, unaware of his previous connection with them or the harm he caused.
- Sarcastic Clapping: Loona does this exact action while mocking Moxxie and Millie in chapter 6.
- Taking the Bullet: Moxxie rescues an imp child from a rampaging hellhorse named Spruce Bookshelf during chapter 9, but at the cost of him taking the beast’s collision. Luckily, he was saved by a certain imp before Spruce Bookshelf could harm the sharpshooter once more.
- Tears of Remorse: Loona, Stolas, and even Verosika Mayday all happen to fall into this very case since they were close to Blitzo and knew him well more than anyone else. At some point in the fic, they independently evince their guilt for playing a part in Blitzo running away.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Loona explicitly does this not only towards Stolas, who she hates and blames for Blitzo disappearing, but also to Moxxie and Millie afterwards. She made clear good points on everyone’s flaws, stating how much fault they’re at for being the reason Blitzo left them all. However, Millie gets her turn when she retaliates and chews Loona out for driving Blitzo away as well.
- The Reveal: A huge revelation occurs at the end of chapter 9. While Moxxie was recovering from the hellhorse attack, he discovers to his absolute shock that the horse trainer who came to his rescue and is currently treating him was his long missing friend/boss Blitzo.
- At the end of chapter 21, Loona’s kidnapper is revealed to be none other than Striker.
- During his visit at Shax’s home in chapter 23, Stolas discovers that one of the horse plushies amongst his cousin’s horse collection belonged to Blitzo, which indicates that Shax was involved with his beloved imp. The avian prince then angrily demands the truth from Shax by force, and soon learns the full story of what happened to Blitzo.
- Chapter 25 follows with Shax telling Stolas what transpired almost a year ago (following by a flashback scene regarding Blitzo). It is revealed that the runaway imp had made a bargain with Stolas’ cousin, offering his horse plush as payment to have the Greed demon seal away all of his memories. Furthermore, there is a condition, set by Blitzo himself, that must be fulfilled for his memories to be restored.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Moxxie expresses his disbelief with Fizzarolli’s weird idea of verifying Blitzo’s identity.Moxxie rolled his eyes and complained to the jester, “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re gonna ask him to name this horse?? There’s no way this can prove whether or not it’s Blit—”
