#𓇻 ˖ ⋨ ╯character study — my existence is a scandal.╰ ⋩

[arsprince]

i outlined brief character tidbits here, ages ago... but let me ramble a bit more about the evil bird prince and, specifically, how i approach the show canon. 🦉

with regard to the narrative. i portray stolas as an antagonist, as was intended originally in the pilot episode. i draw inspiration from the gothic genre, with stolas as the morally grey-but-mostly-wicked antagonist that looms as a constant threat / nuisance for blitzø and IMP, tackling themes of classism and the political structure of hell — given that their business only exists because stolas permits it.

with regard to his origins. i will eventually make a detailed lore post on the ars goetia. as detailed in the lesser key of solomon, or the lemegeton, there are seventy-two demons comprising the dynasty of the ars goetia. stolas himself is the thirty-sixth demon and he is ancient. abiding by demonology, the ars goetia, the most ancient of them, are the fallen angels that once served lucifer in his rebellion against heaven, aiding him in his quest against the Lord. (whether this rebellion was a war, as in paradise lost, or rather the mere act of tempting lilith & eve, as in the show.) for their loyalty, they were granted command over lucifer's legions and his magic & grimoires. stolas himself was young during the time of the rebellion / the fall, os his memories are only vague. of the ars goetia & their respective powers, stolas' domain is astronomy. he embodies the pursuit of knowledge, a scholar among demons if you wish to summon him, offerings he might appreciate are herbs, precious stones

with regard to his ambitions. stolas' ambitions have lain dormant for centuries; he had entertained himself by tormenting mortals before but gradually, hell's influence on earth has dwindled and the days of medieval wars and demon summoning are mostly over. with lucifer absent in the politics of hell, and the power struggles occurring, primarily within the pride ring with all the overlords and their turf wars, stolas thinks it's time hell went back to its former glory. he's mostly just bored of lounging around and gossiping with the aristocrats when once he used to command armies. he would like to amass more power, surely. strike a few strategic alliances.

with regard to IMP and the grimoire situation. as mentioned, stolas grants them the grimoire for their business. he does this on the premise that they do his dirty work for him and take out whatever mortals he needs them to. of course, this is kept hush-hush as it is entirely illegal. whatever this means for his & blitz's dynamic, i leave on a per-interaction basis. i'm down to adjust this, especially in light of the new episodes, and plot something out!

with regard to my headcanons. i think it'd be neat to explore some political intrigue with the ars goetia, to have stolas actively engaged in a political chess game with andrealphus. i'd also like to explore more of his & stella's arranged marriage, and their dynamic, for which i'm open to all sorts of interpretations. basically, i'd love to plot out all the canon dynamics and see how we can make it work. also stolas making deals with sinners / overlords for mutually beneficial reasons.