oh where do i even START. there is no metric or scale on this world that can adequately measure the sheer velocity of my eyeballs rolling into the back of my skull in contempt whenever Stolass the cringe ass nae nae baby comes on screen during the already painful watch of Helluva Boss. this goddamn piździelec is the bane of my existence. not only is he my least favorite Helluva Boss character, but my least favorite Hellaverse character in general. the narrative treats this pompous chicken drumstick as if he has the right to act like the victim, when all he’s ever done is put Blitzø in uncomfortable situations where Blitzø had to have sex with him to obtain the Grimoire, knowing full well that Blitz needed it to keep his business running. AND he keeps on neglecting Octavia, his DAUGHTER, to continue being weird towards/about Blitz. now, that in itself DOES make him an interesting character, but the problem is in the way he’s shown to us – as someone to be pitied. why is he treated like a good guy in the show, i will never understand. nerf the whiny bird and quit justifying his actions before I draw him stuck in a glue trap hitting the Peter Griffin death pose 🌞
Letting up on that hate-filled rant, let’s talk business!! Stolas is a self-centered manipulator with a victim complex that is blind to other people’s feelings in my rework. He blames everyone but himself for his actions and despises when things don’t go his way. In his eyes, it’s all Stella’s fault that he turned into a cheater (as if she wasn’t also forced into their loveless marriage like he was…). He was distant and cold from the start, and when Stella stopped trying to make their relationship work and quit taking his bullshit, he became even worse. His daughter isn’t exempt from his coldness either. As much as he swears up and down that he loves her, he still silently views Octavia as a nuisance, an obstacle that is firmly placed in the way of true freedom and peace that he could have been living, if not for his obligation to raise an heir. He feels entitled to being the way he is, since he’s never been treated all that well by life either. He very clearly feels trapped, but that doesn’t erase all of his faults.
I do like the idea of Stolas being a villain. A multifaceted character that has been wronged, but a villain nonetheless. And he is treated like one! He would NOT be the main focus of the show, however — the lights would be on I.M.P. tbh I’d rather go for a more episodic approach to the story, where each episode is about a different client of I.M.P. and we get to see the main characters actually doing their jobs as paid assassins and facing some wacky setbacks they have to overcome, rather than seeing the constant back and forth between Blitz and Stolas that the official show seems to revolve around now. So yes, Stolas wouldn’t be featured nearly as often! In fact, I feel like he’d usually get the most screentime in the heavy episodes: for example ones that would tackle his relationship with Blitz, or ones that would showcase his immediate family and how they all pretty much hate each other.
Now onto the design!! In all honesty, I don’t mind his official one, but I couldn’t help myself from hitting him with the redesigning-beam too. POW 💥
• He has gained quite a bit of feathers, especially around the neck. Also, instead of the weird hat-crown (???) with eyes situation he has in the official design, I just gave him a floating crown with one eye AND plumicorns – the ear-like feathers that owls commonly possess!
• I kept the astrology theme because it’s AWESOME. Every high ranking member of the Ars Goetia family has a different set of chores that they do to ‘regulate’ Hell. Stolas is the one in charge of the night sky in every Ring!! He studies galaxies, constellations and asteroids, among other things cosmos-related. he can also create galactic matter at will, hence the two nebula orbs he’s holding and the galaxy cape 🌌 (fun fact: you can phase your hand through his cape and it’ll be covered in star dust!)
• His cape is fastened with an Asmodean crystal. Why is that important? Well, an Asmodean crystal can work as an inter-dimensional transportation device just as well as the Grimoire. He knows what that kind of crystal looks like. Blitzø does not (Asmodean crystals are anything but obtainable for the common demons. Most have no idea what they look like). Also, Stolas has a lot of those crystals stored in the castle, thrown around forgotten chests and left unused. See where I’m going with this? Stolas purposefully retains this information and tells Blitz that he only has the Grimoire to spare, for which Blitz has to go to bed with him each month (as their agreement states), when he could’ve given Blitz one Asmodean crystal and part ways with him long ago. But he’s too selfish to let go of the imaginary relationship he created and continues the same cycle that leaves both of them more and more divided.
I think that’s it for now. This post is long enough as it is. Thank you for reading it though <3
