Skeletor. Art By Tony Bamber.

day 1 of kataang week: cultural exchange!!

Bhaalist brides get a lot of luxury and little sleep.

Older than history itself

What if the oldest vampire was a Neanderthal girl 🤔

I can’t fathom any legitimate reasons anyone might actually like Stolas that aren’t covered with rose-colored glasses.

It makes me curious as to how people all process his actions differently, considering I used to like him before I put a little more thought into why I even did in the first place.

lol

So basically we've came from

The husband (aka Stolass) cheating on his wife (aka Stella) ruins their family and makes his daughter (Octavia) upset. He needs to try his best to figure everything out and make amends.

to

"I would feel bad if I hurt you but we both know I didn't do that!"

to

"Cheating implies there was a betrayal but this woman never loved me and our marriage was arranged. So my cheating isn't cheating and yada yada yada" or something kinda I didn't bother to remember this lame bullshit correctly (sorry not sorry)

to

Cheating is not a big deal. Actually it's pretty cute though! But only if you're gay man and your ex is a homophobic evil bitch (well OF COURSE she's a homophobic evil bitch and you're a pure innocent angel - there's no doubts - so she deserves to be cheated on and die). Divorce/break up first and then start a new relationships - NO! Cheating - that's the only way out of your miserable marriage. You should cheat on your spouse. It will make you happy!

Wow, that was a ""wonderful"" journey we had! Now what's next? Oh, lemme guess!

Actually Stella had been cheating on Stolass during their entire marriage! And she did it with an imp! So she's a stupid hypocritical bitch cuz she's a straight woman! and she'd cheated first! See?! Stolass' cheating is completely justified! Stella is bad, Stolass is good. Stop asking questions. Just repeat after us: Stolass did no wrong! Stolass did no wrong! STOLASS DID NO WRONG! Stolass! Did! No! Wrong!

Just... Ughhh!

Viv trying NOT to justify her precious UwU soft boy's cheating (or any other bad actions of his) for one fucking second challenge (impossible)

The murder queens

maggie robertson the master of playing murderous unhinged monster women

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.

Lae'zel joins the short hair crew

💪🥺

Alright, I think this is the last short story comic I had queued up to finish.  Just something that evolved out of headcanon convos!

I think the Beifongs, while they may not have had a typical childhood, I think ultimately they were still really close.  Which would be why it would be so devastating, especially to Lin, what they eventually became.