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queenlilith43 · 3 years

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The Princes of Hell

Okay, this is it. After six and a half hours, I have finished the post.

This includes all canon information and my theories. Feel free to reblog with your own.

Tag list: (love y'all, tell me if you want to be added or removed!) @the-blackdale @patalliumapples @murderbabies @blueth0rn @herondalesofterrasen @revati3008 @tenacioushubb @pjo-tsc-trc-otherthingstoo @bookeater34 @unorganisedbookshelf @clarys-heosphoros

Extra thanks to @patalliumapples without her help this post never would have been finished. So thank you for helping me.

Belial

Belial: The Thief (From Hebrew Bel’yy’al, meaning “wickedness, a wicked man, a destroyer)

Has sometimes been called the father of Lucifer (?)

Claimed to have convinced Lucifer to rise up against God in rebellion

Patron demon of the month of January

Invocations to his name can be found in the Black Volume of the Dead

[11:8 . . . the hordes of Belial . . . ]

[13:4 Acursed be Belial for his inimical plan, may he be damned for his blameworthy rule]

[4:2 ?’s fury unleashed against Belial and ? the men of his lot]

[13:1-2 ?]

There are coins on top of his Bible verses, like coins placed on dead man’s eyes. He also has a map behind him, which looks like London?

Belial has one confirmed eldest curse: Tessa Gray, born in 1862. All descendents of Will Herondale are descendants of Belial, with his grandchildren James and Lucie Herondale, ones he has his eyes on. Another grandchild is Mina Carstairs, as of GOTSM very small.

Belial is not very smart, nor is he powerful. His plans tend to fall apart at the seams. Despite this, he tries to keep up with the mundanes. At one point in Chain of Iron, he had black nail polish on.

His main goal is to walk on Earth, which he just can’t, compared to other demons. He can do this by possessing someone of his own blood, but in that case two factors get in his way: His sexism and his own stupidity. Belial (as of TLH) is trying to possess James, but not Lucie. Because he is a sexist pig.

Belial had a plan to use Jesse Blackthorn’s body to walk on the Earth, because Jesse’s soul had a small part of his he could use as an anchor. However, due to his dumbassery and lack of foresight, he was defeated by the Shadowhunters. This plan tied into his necromantic abilities, which his granddaughter Lucie seems to have inherited.

Belial also steals realms. He stole Belphegor’s realm from him a long time ago, and once kicked it, moved onto a bigger prize. In Chain of Iron, he tried to steal Edom, which is Lilith’s realm. She showed up, beat his sexist ass, and now Belial has to find a new realm.

Allied with Leviathan.

He has a huge weakness in the sword Cortana. If he is stabbed with that three times, he dies. The sword is so potent because embedded in Cortana’s hilt is a feather of the archangel Michael, the one who put him in Hell in the first place. As of Chain of Iron, he has been stabbed with Cortana twice. The next one will be the fatal blow.

Belial, in Ghosts of the Shadow Market and Chain of Gold, showed the ability to shift into other people to tempt you. It's kind of interesting how he did that.

“You have me wrong, child, if you think I feel that humans are foolish.” - Belial, Page 469, Chain of Gold

“Belial, who ‘did not walk among men,’ was described as the prince of necromancers and warlocks, and a thief of realms.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

"'To-may-to of agony, to-mah-to of ah-gony,' Belial said. His reflections in the mirrors wept tears of blood. 'Do you know what causes us pain? The one who made us has turned his face from us. We are not allowed before the throne. But adamas, that's angelic stuff. When we touch it, the pain of our absence from the divine is indescribable. And yet it's the closest we ever get to being in it's presence. So we touch adamas, and we feel the absence of our creator, and in that we feel the smallest speak of what we once were. Oh, it's the most wonderful thing you can imagine, that pain.'" - Page 148, Ghosts of the Shadow Market, Learn About Loss

“‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ It’s a nice thought, isn’t it? From the book of James, too . . . I see that you begin to understand a fraction of your power you could have if you embraced your true heritage.” - Belial, Page 490, Chain of Gold

“Beliya’al, liar, ruin-lover, I could not believe you would have broken the trust of millenia--would have tried to take from me the land granted to me by Heaven itself.” - Lilith, Page 544, Chain of Iron

Belial appears in Ghosts of the Shadow Market, Chain of Gold, The Lost Book of the White, Chain of Iron, and should be in Chain of Thorns.

What will Belial do next? Well, the first thing he’d want to do is steal himself another realm. That could give him power and other demons he could control. Hopefully he learned his lesson and doesn’t go after Edom again, and instead attacks a demon like Belphegor, which can be defeated easily.

Belial is still working with Tatiana Blackthorn, and some people have suggested that they are in a relationship. I wouldn’t rule it out, considering the fact Belial calls her his “dark swan” and seems to care for her. She also provides half of his braincells, and is the only reason why he hasn’t been killed yet.

At both the end of Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron, Belial has been seen talking with Tatiana. Her idea was to go to the Adamant Citadel . . . but for what? She also gave him a key to some tombs. The Silent City.

Something’s down there. And Belial won’t stop until he gets what he wants. It may be to possess James, but what else is he planning? (Time to re-read the last chapter of both Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron!)

Belphegor

Belphegor (Associated with the sin of laziness.)

According to the Infernal Dictionary, Belphegor was Hell’s ambassador to France.

Belphegor’s prime is widely associated with the Number of the Beast, 666

*The only Prince of Hell ever to have married a mortal, but the marriage was not a happy one. Belphegor returned to Hell denouncing the institution of marriage.

Known as “Lord of Opening” and can open passages to Pandemonium, the city of demons.

Known as the enemy of Beauty and despises beautiful things.

Instead of a face, we have a skull, similar to the skull on Sebastain’s flower card. (Look it up if you have to, but it’s there.) Another skull can be seen where the page flips over in the top left corner.

No known eldest curses, since Belphegor has been floating around in the void since at least the 1200s.

Belphegor used to have a realm of his own, but that was stolen by Belial. That only contributed to his unwillingness to work with others, something that could come into play later.

No known alliances, and probably doesn’t have any.

“Belphegor, the prince of sloth and, strangely, tricksters and snake-oil salesmen.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

“Poor Belphegor. I wounded him quite gravely when he was not expecting it. No doubt he is still floating in the space between worlds, trying to find his way home. Not a nice fellow, Belphegor--I wouldn’t waste your sympathy on him.” - Belial, Page 466, Chain of Gold

“Azazel and Asmodeus have worked together, as have Belial and Leviathan, while Belphegor hates his brethren.” - Magnus, Page 441, Chain of Iron

“Belpehgor and Belial had ignored each other completely since they arrived, each refusing to acknowledge the other’s existence.” - Page 364, The Lost Book of the White

He only appears at the end of The Lost Book of the White, with brief mentions in both Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron.

Theories: Belphegor has an interesting power. The ability to open passages straight to Pandemonium. If he’s played right, he could lead all the demons back to that city. If not, he could take all the demons out of the city.

Good for us, he doesn’t work with his brothers. He really doesn’t like them, and now probably resents Belial for stealing his realm. I wouldn’t blame him, so Sammael is going to try his damndest to get his brothers to work together.

Belphegor also hates marriage, which could crop up in TBOVTD. By then, Malec will have been married for at least two years. (Eek!) And if he gets involved with them they’re going to have another problem. Thankfully, it took Magnus and Alec beating Sammael’s ass to have him believe in love, so Belphegor might not be as big a problem as we thought.

However, Sebastian Morgenstern’s flower card holds a skull similar to the one Belphegor has on his portrait, suggesting a connection between the two. It’s a far stretch, but we’ve learned never to rule anything out.

Leviathan

Leviathan (Often considered the demon of Envy)

Born a twin he murdered and ate his sister.

Leviathan is sometimes pictured as a serpent eating its own tail, considered the origin of ouroboros.

[Symbol of ouroboros . . . which was the symbol of the Pandemonium Club in Clockwork Angel . . . which has something to do with Mortmain.]

“In that day, the Lord, with his sore and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the slant serpent Leviathan the torturous serpent: and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” - Book of Isaiah

He claims he was the serpent in the Garden of Eden

One of the oldest Princes of Hell.

The only Prince of Hell who is not a fallen Angel - Leviathan was always a monster.

Leviathan represents the element of water.

He has no known eldest curses, but if he does, their warlock mark would probably be tentacles, as theorized in Chain of Iron.

He can sneak into anywhere with his tentacles, even very small places. That’s odd, considering the fact he is really massive.

Allied with Belial.

“Leviathan, the demon of envy, chaos, and the sea, who was monstrous and rarely summoned.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

“Something surged out of the sea-foam--another tentacle, this one thrashing and alive. It was as big as a grown human and impossibly long, and as it reared back out of the waves, Thomas could see that its underside was covered with hundreds of hard, spiked barbs.” - Page 523, Chain of Iron

“They were a motley sort of crew, he had to admit, from Belial--appearing, as he most did, as a beautiful, pale-haired man--to Leviathan, who was more of a dark green serpent, with sleek scales and arms that could be charitably described as tentacle-adjacent.” - Page 363, The Lost Book of the White

He appears in both Chain of Iron and The Lost Book of the White, as well as being mentioned in Chain of Gold.

Theories: Leviathan has a high chance of showing up again in TLH. Allied with Belial, he can be called on anytime. The Shadowhunters did fight him off in Chain of Iron (this was in Cassandra Jean’s postcards released shortly before the book, pay attention to any official art for hints at Princes of Hell, especially in TWP) but he could come back. However, he is very large, and I don’t think Belial would think lightly of getting Leviathan back to help him.

The symbolism is high with the ouroboros symbol. This was the symbol of the Pandemonium Club from Clockwork Angel, who were involved with Axel Mortmain. This is loaded, especially when you consider Mortmain also had Belial involved with him, and now Belial wants to possess Tessa’s kids, who never would have existed had it not been for Mortmain’s little experiment. Leviathan could have some callbacks to TLH in TWP, especially as we learn more about his alliance with Belial. I wonder how they formed it, and also when Azazel and Asmodeus work together.

Leviathan does mess with the theory of all the Princes of Hell melding together, because has different origins. However, it’s totally possible that there could just be pieces of Lucifer inside of each Prince they have to get out and put together.

Mammon

Mammon, from the Aramaic Mamona meaning “wealth, profit”

When the rich do evil, they are almost always tempted by Mammon. He can also tempt the poor with promises of wealth.

[“Mammon being carried up from Hell by a wolf, coming to inflame the human heart with greed” - Thomas Aquinas]

(His diet consists of blood and gold.)

Mammon fell from Heaven when he tried to convince Lucifer that rather than remaining in divine service, the angels should use the wealth of Hell to control the universe.

Mammon is often pictured with many eyes, with which he searches for gold.

[‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.’ - Matthew 6:19]

((Runs Hell’s bank))

A ring is in the top left corner, with a sword on it. It appears to be made of gold.

No known eldest curses.

All we know about him is that he’s very possessive, from what I’ve observed. He represents what greed does to a person.

No known alliances.

“Mammon, the prince of greed and wealth, could be bribed with money and riches.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

“Leviathan and Mammon had decided to sit in the same chair, each arguing it was the only cosmically large chair present and as the most sizable of the princes he deserved it more.” - Page 364, The Lost Book of the White

Mentioned in Chain of Gold and appears in The Lost Book of the White

Theories: I think he won’t do much. He’s the Prince of greed, so all we need to do is just give him some money, and he’ll be good. Plus, Mammon could still be fighting with Levithan over that stupid chair that he’ll forget he has to actually do things.

The challenge with Sammael trying to get these guys to work together is that they don’t want to. Leviathan and Mammon fought over a chair, Belial and Belphegor ignored each other, and Astaroth was very skeptical of the whole thing. I honestly hope that they do need to work together to get Lucifer, because we can avoid this whole mess just by having these guys try and work together. It will not turn out very good for them.

Although we have confirmation Hell has a bank . . . what do they do down there. Does this mean there’s a main Hell dimension, with Pandemonium at the center? This is an interesting question that needs to be answered.

Astaroth

(Also known as: Ashtaroth, Astarot, Asteroth, Great Duke of Hell)

If a magican approaches Astaroth with a blessed ring of silver bearing the Seal of Solomon, he will be protected from Astaroth’s deadly aura.

Astaroth can see the past, present and future from his realm.

The prince of accusers and inquisitors, associated with lawyers and misuse of the law.

“Asteroth is a great and strong Duke, coming forth in the shape of a foul angel, sitting upon an Infernal dragon and carrying on his right hand a viper.” - Pseudomonarchia Daemonium (Viper appears across the pages.)

After his fall from grace, his wings became those of an eagle.

Asteroth alone of the Princes of Hell believes he has been misjudged. If a warlock summons Asteroth, the demon will plead his case, explaining why he deserves to be reinstated as an angel.

((The demon of the month of August.))

On the page there is a pentagram, with his name around the edge.

No known eldest curses.

We know literally nothing about him except the fact he seems like the ultimate lawyer. Interestingly the word “inquisitor” was used to describe him . . .

No known alliances.

“Astaroth, who tempted men to bear false witness, and who took advantage of the grieving.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

“If that’s the way it’s always been, then that’s the way it’s supposed to be,’ said Asteroth. There was nodding from the others.” - Page 364, The Lost Book of the White

Mentioned in Chain of Gold, appears in The Lost Book of the White

This guy is powerful, but we don’t know much about him. He just hasn’t showed up that much. Although I sense he could be important.

According to his page, Astaroth can see the future from his realm. First of all, that’s powerful. Second of all, I’ve theorized in the past that some dreams Clary, Magnus, and Kit have had are prophetic. Which means these dreams could come from Astaroth, who’s just been chilling in his realm. It’s very crackpot, but it could work.

Also, the “tempts men to bear false witness” part? We literally have the Mortal Sword from THULE, another realm, and we’re just using it as we would normally? Astaroth totally could mess with the truth-telling sword. He already might have. If Lilith can mess with Cortana, Astaroth can do this. That would also be a nice way to tie TWP back to TMI.

Azazel

Azazel: Forger of Weapons.

(name meaning: Scapegoat)

“The whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.” - Book of Enoch 10.8

Associated with those on whom blame falls unfairly.

He taught mankind the invention and use of weapons, to raise up blades against each other. ((He was the whisper in the ear of Cain when he struck down Abel))

In punishment, he was bound to the rocks of Dudael, in the wilderness, where he will abide until the Day of Wrath.

And then we have Azazel, chained up, with a demonic symbol on his chest. The chains have left scars on his wrists. There’s a train ticket up in the left corner I think says Chicago.

No confirmed eldest curses, and it’s unlikely he has one

Azazel has been chained up on Dudael for a long, long time. If he gets free, we’re screwed. However, that looks unlikely, seeing as he is supposed to be released on the Day of Wrath. (Let’s ignore the fact that it was a chapter title in City of Ashes.)

Despite being chained up in another dimension, you can still summon Azazel. However, like Magnus, be prepared to have to deal with Azazel being stubborn, and not wanting to leave.

He also takes happy memories when you summon him, feasting on them, just like Asmodeus does. It’s very similar the way these two work.

Azazel can make demonically-aligned weapons. They are very powerful, so keep that in mind.

Allied with Asmodeus.

“Azazel, the forger of weapons who fell from grace when he gifted humans with the instruments of violence.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

“He’s not a cat, Sylvester. He’s a Greater Demon. Lieutenant of Hell and Forger of Weapons. He was an angel who taught mankind how to make weapons, when before it had been knowledge only angels possessed. That caused him to fall, and now he is a demon.” - Magnus, Page 207, City of Lost Souls

“You may not be proud like old Faustus, warlock, but you are impatient. I am sure my willingness to remain in this pentagram will outlast your desire to keep watch over me inside it.” - Azazel, Page 235, City of Lost Souls

Appears in City of Lost Souls, mentioned in Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron, and then shows up again in The Lost Book of the White.

He’s the literal lieutenant of Hell, which might explain why he’s allied with Asmodeus.

Azazel is going to be put to work making weapons if they manage to summon Lucifer, I just know that.

If he gets from Dudael it’ll be around the time they get the Lucifer situation resolved. And when he shows up, all Hell will break lost.

Asmodeus

(Associated with the sin of lust and described as “the worst of demons”)

Also known as Ashmedi, the king of certain demonic spirits (the shedim & djinn)

He personally battled the angel Raphael after being cast out from Heaven.

It is said Asmodeus was bound to King Solomon and forced to do his bidding.

Loves gambing and runs all the gambling houses in Hell.

He is often called on by those seeking REVENGE

He is the demon of the month of November.

He hates water and birds because they remind him of God.

In the center of the page there is a thing of barbed wire.

(If I go on a rant about him, I’m sorry, but I HATE HIM.)

Asmodeus has one confirmed eldest curse, Magnus Bane. It’s hinted that he had a lot of other children, but barely any of them lived past 100 years.

Magnus, at 400 years old, is his pride in joy. In The Red Scrolls of Magic we saw Asmodeus trying to manipulate Magnus, and again in City of Heavenly Fire. (This also happened in the TV show which . . . heh heh it was not good. I felt so sorry for Magnus.)

Asmodeus is one of the smartest and most powerful Princes. He actually seems to be the only Prince who is serious most of the time. He doesn’t crack jokes, and is normally a silent, brooding figure.

Asmodeus had a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand, courtesy of Magnus. (Magnus made a joke cult and then chose Asmodeus as the demon it would worship to piss off his dad. It did not end well.) Asmodeus could have ended up appearing on Earth because of the cult . . . but he needed an immortal life to anchor him.

Although now he has that life. He took Simon’s immortality at the end of City of Heavenly Fire, as their price for going back to Earth. Strangely enough. Asmodeus hasn’t made any moves with it. He’s just sat there, with the immortal life in hand, not doing much of anything.

Asmodeus also feeds on emotions and memories. We’ve seen the way he acts, no wonder he’s so composed.

He alone of the princes respects Sammael and understands his plan on a deeper level. Asmodeus looks like someone who wants good ol’ Luci back.

Because of him, we know of the eldest curses. He brought up the idea in The Red Scrolls of Magic, and it seems his eldest curse is very near and dear to his heart. It’s like he plans to do something with Magnus, something big.

Every Prince of Hell has his own realm, and his is Edom, who he shares with Lilith. But he doesn't hang out there a lot because, according to him "it isn't exciting anymore!"

There exists an incantation his children can use to summon him, a twisted version of the Lord’s Prayer.

Allied with Azazel.

“Asmodeus, the demon of lust and rumored general of Hell’s army.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

“I want to talk to my son. It has been almost two centuries since we last spoke, Magnus. You don’t call, you don’t make sacrifices on my altar. It wounds your fond parent.” - Asmodeus, Page 300, The Red Scrolls of Magic.

“I was a seraphim once, one of the angels indeed. Part of an innumerable company. Then came the war, and we fell like stars from Heaven. I followed the Light-Bringer down, the Morning Star, for I was one of his chief advisers, and when he fell, I fell with him. He raised me up in Hell and made me one of the nine rulers. In case you were wondering, it is preferable to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven--I’ve done both.” - Asmodeus, Page 621, City of Heavenly Fire

Appears in City of Heavenly Fire, The Red Scrolls of Magic, and The Lost Book of the White, mentioned in Chain of Gold and alluded to several times.

Theories: Asmodeus is going to use Simon’s immortal life. He has to. It’s just sitting there, and he must have a plan for it. This probably will be fully realized in The Black Volume of the Dead. Which is also one of the books in the Malec series.

Which means here comes my crackpot theory! I’ve mentioned before I think Magnus will get possessed by a demon . . . but what if Asmodeus has something to do with that? I doubt Asmodeus himself will possess Magnus; he’s way too smart for that. However, Asmodeus can easily use less powerful demons to mess with Magnus. He already manipulates him, what else could happen?

Just based on Asmodeus’s attitude towards Magnus, I feel like Magnus has a huge part to play in the upcoming demon war of TWP. (Need to re-read The Red Scrolls of Magic to figure out more, but what I have so far could be scraped into a decent theory.)

He’s also the general of Hell’s army, so that will show up again.

Sammael

The Serpent

Youngest of the nine Princes of Hell

Sammael, name meaning venom (or poison?) of God

It is believed he was the original serpent of the Garden of Eden and seduced Adam’s first wife Lilith. Later became his lover for many thousands of years.

He was the guardian of Esau and the patron demon of Rome.

There is a feather lying on his page.

No confirmed eldest curses, even if I have that headcanon Ragnor is actually his son and he ignores him. @patalliumapples came up with that one.

Sammael performed the ritual that weakened the wards with Lilith, also known as the Incursion. Without him, there would be no Shadowhunters.

After that, he wandered around in the void. (FYI I will now call him Johnny Appleseed because that is my nickname for him and I can't look at his picture without thinking “Johnny Appleseed”)

Johnny Appleseed came back, and with it, gained the Sventhorn. Johnny then used it to take Shinyun and Ragnor in his service. Those two tried to get Magnus into his service, stabbing him twice with the sword. Magnus was able to get out of being absorbed into his magic by Alec’s sacrifice. (This is why I love Alec.)

Johnny is now wanting to summon Lucifer, partly as a way to get Lilith back, and partly as a way to raise Hell.

No known alliances.

“There was Sammael, the first to loose demons upon the Earth.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold

“I know we don’t talk much,” - Sammael, Page 363, The Lost Book of the White

“I’m really much more the waterfalls-of-blood, abstract-sculpture-of-viscera type.” - Sammael, Page 300, The Lost Book of the White

Mentioned in several books, like Chain of Gold, City of Fallen Angels, and appears in The Lost Book of the White

His next move is to summon Lucifer. He needs to herd cats, AKA get the other Princes to work together. And I think he might be able to do that.

Lucifer

9 - Hell from beneath is moved for three to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the Earth; it hath raised up from their throne all the kings of the nations.

10 - All they shall speak and say unto three, art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?

11 - Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread unto three, and the worms cover thee.

12 - How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nation!

13 - For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God

14 - I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high

15 - Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit

16 - They that see thee shall narrowly look on thee, and consider thee, saying, is this man that made the Earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms

17 - That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities there of; that opened the house of his prisoners?

18- All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19 - Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

A splatter of blood lies on the page. A shadow across a throne.

No confirmed eldest curses.

Little is known, except we have confirmation of existence, and he ruled with the other Princes. But where did he go?

The Morgenstern is associated with him.

No known alliances.

“And lastly, of course, there was Lucifer, the leader of the archangels, the most beautiful of any prince, the leader of the rebellion against Heaven.” - Page 277, Chain of Gold.

“Of course, if you’d bothered to think about it, you’d think it a little strange that the symbol of the Wayland family would be a falling star. So I had to take precautions . . . I forget how regrettably lax mundane education is. Morgenstern means ‘morning star’ As in How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nation!” - Valentine, Page 446, City of Bones

“Nous serviam. It’s what Lucifer had inscribed on his banner when he rode with his host of rebel angels against a corrupt authority.” - Valentine, Page 258, City of Ashes

“Yes. I want to talk about Lucifer.” - Sammael, Page 365, The Lost Book of the White

Anything could happen with the Prince. For this theory section, I implore you to come up with your own theories based on the Bible verses above. Tell me what you think will happen when this Prince comes back to rule as a king.

So this is the post. Thank you for reading my 4779 words that involved me going slightly insane.

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alirhi · 3 years

Text

The problem with DJ

Like I said, sweetie gets his own post lol. It's funny how far he's come, from a random side character made just to be killed off, to my go-to RP boy, to my favorite character I've ever written. I'll skip the origin story lol (aka the irrelevant random RPs over the years) and get right to the meat of the problem: Crossroads.

It all really comes back to my flaky friend, A. Back when she was creative and invested, she made this crazy girl, Casey, who DJ fell head-over-heels in love with. Casey was highly toxic and came with some unusual baggage, but that's what I loved about her as a character. And honestly? Every girl in DJ's life is kind of toxic. That was rather the point.

DJ describes himself as "a walking, talking stereotype." He's a broke, drug-addicted teen from the wrong side of the tracks with an abusive alcoholic father. His mother committed suicide when DJ was 4, and DJ's been an addict since he was 13. He's also got ADHD, and he's a genius. Sleeps through the few classes he actually attends and still gets straight As genius. He's got two distinctly different groups of friends: his more straight-laced school friends (most of whom have known him since pre-drug days), and his rave/burnout friends. He's also an indiscriminate (ish XD) manwhore. He'll sleep with literally any girl who shows interest, as long as he's not her first (ties into his lack of self-worth and stuff. he doesn't want anyone to be "stuck with" the memory of him as her first - Casey straight-up lies to his face to get him to fuck her 😂 I love her. she's so awful...)

I eventually gave him a little brother, because I'd never put much thought into why DJ - who, again, is scary smart, and also unnervingly self-aware; pretty much impervious to denial - would do drugs. When he was just a random RP character, I...didn't really care? 😂 His background and motivations were less important than the hijinks he got himself into. But then A fell as hard for him as I did, and we decided to give him a real story, so he needed a real motive. Enter baby brother AJ, who is their father's true target, so DJ does stupid shit to piss dad off and keep those fists flying at him, not baby bro.

When DJ meets Casey, he's drunk and high and accidentally gropes her. She punches him and knocks his ass out lmao. He later apologizes, and she and her twin brother Seamus join DJ's school friend group, and she and DJ become fwb. That's the most he can really offer; DJ doesn't date, because he knows he won't be faithful, so why string a girl along? Naturally, because he's book smart but otherwise kind of a moron (lol not really, just no will to live. he tried to kill himself 3 times before he was introduced to drugs. his friends keep warning him about STDs and he's like "eh, death by karma actually sounds pretty apropos") he ends up getting Casey (and a couple of other girls) pregnant.

One of those other girls is his dealer/rave bestie, Luna. Aside from Casey and her family, here is the biggest divergence between the story A and I worked out together, and the one I'm now writing alone. A hated Luna; she hated anyone who was competition for Casey, because she'd latched so hard onto this DJ/Casey pairing that everything that could have been something for them to overcome, she just saw as a threat that needed to be squashed. So she insisted on killing off not just the baby (Lu was always going to miscarry), but also Luna. Y'all... that hurt. A lot. I adore Luna. I'd sooner kill off DJ (and in fact, there's a version of the story where he ODs and dies, and Casey eventually marries AJ). I did not want to kill Luna. But for the sake of not arguing with A forever, I did, and it became a huge part of the overall story, because DJ was in love with Luna. I saw this as an opportunity to explore poly love. A was just like "fuck that. kill her. want a poly ship? Thow Izzie-" (one of DJ's school friends, Izumi) "-into the mix! Casey likes her!" Gods forbid I wanted a little friction and compromise, people finding common ground and learning to live together. DJ likes Izzie, he does. And Izzie canonically does have a huge crush on him. But she's possessive and catty - just like Casey - and they would have imploded.

When I decided to remove A from the equation, my first impulse was "fuck yeah! I don't have to kill Luna! LUNA STAYS, BITCHES!!!" but like...

Now I have to rework DJ's entire arc, because his crippling grief and guilt over her death drove pretty much the rest of his story.

Anyway, in the old version (with the three phases), in phase 1, DJ got clean, married Casey, and got his shit together. In phase 2, they were gender-swapped (there's a reason for that beyond a god's weird sense of humor lol but I'll get to that in a minute) and DJ went from a mousy drug-addicted pacifist to a deadly cleaner for Casey's Irish mob family. It all ties into which parent (s)he is afraid to reflect. male!DJ is terrified of becoming his father; female!DJ is disgusted by what she sees as her mother's weakness and refuses to be her. So while boy-Deej danced and played drums and never took a swing at anyone even in jest, girl-Deej was a fighter, and a damn angry one. In phase 3, back to being a boy and a druggie, DJ overdoses and dies. And the Goddess who'd been trying to get her hands on him this whole time finally manages it. See, Adaghar (god who gender-swapped DJ and Casey) knew about Larash's (goddess who wanted DJ) obsession, so he was trying to make sure DJ lived a long life and went to literally any afterlife that Larash couldn't reach. She finally gets him, and through a series of odd events, he ends up killing Adaghar and taking his place, becoming a god.

That's all gone. 😂 Now DJ's just DJ, no grand destiny or anything, just a kid with an awful home life who needs to clean his act up and do right by his kids. Honestly, that's enough imo. I still adore him and can't wait to get his story done so I can read it... but I'm totally stuck. I don't know how his story ends anymore. I know he can't end up with Luna even if she's alive because they'll end up strung out and on welfare for the rest of their short, painful lives. They are deeply, deeply in love with each other, but they're both tortured addicts and Luna has zero self control. Neither of them will ever get clean if they're together.

And like... that's not even getting into all the craziness with DJ's oldest son, Ari. Ari had different versions, too - one where DJ had no idea he existed until he was about 7 (and had gone through some shit, poor kid) and showed up on daddy's doorstep; that version grew to be an angry, snarky little shit and I love him to pieces. Then there's a version where DJ found him when he was 2 and cleaned his act up and Ari grew into a happy, well-adjusted kid. And obviously in the girl-DJ version, she, y'know, gave birth to him lmao so she knew about him. But Ari had this whole arc with a vampire and he moved to Achlys in one version, and in another (the one where DJ died) he was adopted by AJ and Casey and became a doctor, and... ugh. I love this kid. And now everything about him is a big question mark, even more so than DJ cuz - guess what? the vampire was A's character, too! 🙄😖

Blargh. I dunno, guys. I don't know what to do with this whole thing.

#writer problems #rant #dj gallagher #halp

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