#🌙 belphegor | a place created in dreams

[singthesongsofsin]

@themosthatedbeingg, as stated! Below the cut are some of the passages describing Hell from book 1 of Paradise Lost by John Milton. Text taken from the John Milton Reading Room.

TLDR: Hell is dark, and somehow on fire, smells like sulphur, and there's nothing there as it was untouched by God! When the demons arise, they create things, but it's nothing original, so much as an inverted form of what was lost to them in Heaven.

With hideous ruine and combustion down To bottomless perdition, there to dwell In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms. Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night To mortal men, he with his horrid crew Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe Confounded though immortal: But his doom Reserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought Both of lost happiness and lasting pain Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes That witness'd huge affliction and dismay Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate: At once as far as Angels kenn he views The dismal Situation waste and wilde, A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round As one great Furnace flam'd, yet from those flames No light, but rather darkness visible Serv'd onely to discover sights of woe, Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can never dwell, hope never comes That comes to all; but torture without end Still urges, and a fiery Deluge, fed With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd: Such place Eternal Justice had prepar'd For those rebellious, here thir Prison ordain'd In utter darkness, and thir portion set As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n As from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole. O how unlike the place from whence they fell! There the companions of his fall, o'rewhelm'd With Floods and Whirlwinds of tempestuous fire, He soon discerns, and weltring by his side One next himself in power, and next in crime, Long after known in Palestine, and nam'd Beelzebub. To whom th' Arch-Enemy, And thence in Heav'n call'd Satan, with bold words Breaking the horrid silence thus began.

[...]

Back to the Gates of Heav'n: The Sulphurous Hail Shot after us in storm, oreblown hath laid The fiery Surge, that from the Precipice Of Heav'n receiv'd us falling, and the Thunder, Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage, Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now To bellow through the vast and boundless Deep. Let us not slip th' occasion, whether scorn, Or satiate fury yield it from our Foe. Seest thou yon dreary Plain, forlorn and wilde, The seat of desolation, voyd of light, Save what the glimmering of these livid flames Casts pale and dreadful? Thither let us tend From off the tossing of these fiery waves, There rest, if any rest can harbour there, And reassembling our afflicted Powers, Consult how we may henceforth most offend Our Enemy, our own loss how repair, How overcome this dire Calamity, What reinforcement we may gain from Hope, If not what resolution from despare.

[...]

Is this the Region, this the Soil, the Clime, Said then the lost Arch-Angel, this the seat That we must change for Heav'n, this mournful gloom For that celestial light? Be it so, since he Who now is Sovran can dispose and bid What shall be right: fardest from him is best Whom reason hath equald, force hath made supream Above his equals. Farewel happy Fields Where Joy for ever dwells: Hail horrours, hail Infernal world, and thou profoundest Hell Receive thy new Possessor: One who brings A mind not to be chang'd by Place or Time. The mind is its own place, and in it self Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n. What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less then he Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n. But wherefore let we then our faithful friends, Th' associates and copartners of our loss Lye thus astonisht on th' oblivious Pool, And call them not to share with us their part In this unhappy Mansion, or once more With rallied Arms to try what may be yet Regaind in Heav'n, or what more lost in Hell?

[...]

At which the universal Host upsent A shout that tore Hells Concave, and beyond Frighted the Reign of Chaos and old Night. All in a moment through the gloom were seen Ten thousand Banners rise into the Air With Orient Colours waving: with them rose A Forest huge of Spears: and thronging Helms Appear'd, and serried shields in thick array Of depth immeasurable: Anon they move In perfect Phalanx to the Dorian mood Of Flutes and soft Recorders; such as rais'd To hight of noblest temper Hero's old Arming to Battel, and in stead of rage Deliberate valour breath'd, firm and unmov'd With dread of death to flight or foul retreat, Nor wanting power to mitigate and swage With solemn touches, troubl'd thoughts, and chase Anguish and doubt and fear and sorrow and pain From mortal or immortal minds. Thus they Breathing united force with fixed thought Mov'd on in silence to soft Pipes that charm'd Thir painful steps o're the burnt soyle; and now Advanc't in view, they stand, a horrid Front Of dreadful length and dazling Arms, in guise Of Warriers old with order'd Spear and Shield, Awaiting what command thir mighty Chief Had to impose: He through the armed Files Darts his experienc't eye, and soon traverse The whole Battalion views, thir order due, Thir visages and stature as of Gods, Thir number last he summs. And now his heart Distends with pride, and hardning in his strength Glories: For never since created man, Met such imbodied force, as nam'd with these Could merit more then that small infantry

[...]

Less then Arch Angel ruind, and th' excess Of Glory obscur'd: As when the Sun new ris'n Looks through the Horizontal misty Air  Shorn of his Beams, or from behind the Moon In dim Eclips disastrous twilight sheds On half the Nations, and with fear of change Perplexes Monarchs. Dark'n'd so, yet shon Above them all th' Arch Angel: but his face Deep scars of Thunder had intrencht, and care Sat on his faded cheek, but under Browes Of dauntless courage, and considerate Pride Waiting revenge: cruel his eye, but cast Signs of remorse and passion to behold  The fellows of his crime, the followers rather (Far other once beheld in bliss) condemn'd For ever now to have thir lot in pain, Millions of Spirits for his fault amerc't Of Heav'n, and from Eternal Splendors flung For his revolt, yet faithfull how they stood, Thir Glory witherd. As when Heavens Fire Hath scath'd the Forrest Oaks, or Mountain Pines, With singed top thir stately growth though bare Stands on the blasted Heath. He now prepar'd To speak; whereat thir doubl'd Ranks they bend From wing to wing, and half enclose him round With all his Peers: attention held them mute. Thrice he assayd, and thrice in spight of scorn, Tears such as Angels weep, burst forth: at last Words interwove with sighs found out thir way.

[...]

There stood a Hill not far whose griesly top Belch'd fire and rowling smoak; the rest entire Shon with a glossie scurff, undoubted sign That in his womb was hid metallic Ore, The work of Sulphur. Thither wing'd with speed A numerous Brigad hasten'd. 

[...]

And Strength and Art are easily out-done By Spirits reprobate, and in an hour What in an age they with incessant toyle And hands innumerable scarce perform. Nigh on the Plain in many cells prepar'd, That underneath had veins of liquid fire Sluc'd from the Lake, a second multitude With wondrous Art found out the massie Ore, Severing each kind, and scum'd the Bullion dross: A third as soon had form'd within the ground A various mould, and from the boyling cells By strange conveyance fill'd each hollow nook, As in an Organ from one blast of wind To many a row of Pipes the sound-board breaths. Anon out of the earth a Fabrick huge Rose like an Exhalation, with the sound Of Dulcet Symphonies and voices sweet, Built like a Temple, where Pilasters round Were set, and Doric pillars overlaid With Golden Architrave; nor did there want Cornice or Freeze, with bossy Sculptures grav'n, The Roof was fretted Gold. Not Babilon, Nor great Alcairo such magnificence Equal'd in all thir glories, to inshrine Belus or Serapis thir Gods, or seat Thir Kings, when Ægypt with Assyria strove In wealth and luxurie. Th' ascending pile Stood fixt her stately highth, and strait the dores Op'ning thir brazen foulds discover wide Within, her ample spaces, o're the smooth And level pavement: from the arched roof Pendant by suttle Magic many a row Of Starry Lamps and blazing Cressets fed With Naphtha and Asphaltus yeilded light As from a sky. The hasty multitude  Admiring enter'd, and the work some praise And some the Architect: his hand was known In Heav'n by many a Towred structure high, Where Scepter'd Angels held thir residence, And sat as Princes, whom the supreme King  Exalted to such power, and gave to rule, Each in his Hierarchie, the Orders bright. Nor was his name unheard or unador'd

[...]

A solemn Councel forthwith to be held At Pandæmonium, the high Capital Of Satan and his Peers: thir summons call'd From every Band and squared Regiment By place or choice the worthiest; they anon With hunderds and with thousands trooping came Attended: all access was throng'd, the Gates And Porches wide, but chief the spacious Hall (Though like a cover'd field, where Champions bold Wont ride in arm'd, and at the Soldans chair Defi'd the best of Paynim chivalry  To mortal combat or carreer with Lance) Thick swarm'd, both on the ground and in the air, Brusht with the hiss of russling wings. As Bees In spring time, when the Sun with Taurus rides, Pour forth thir populous youth about the Hive In clusters; they among fresh dews and flowers Flie to and fro, or on the smoothed Plank, The suburb of thir Straw-built Cittadel, New rub'd with Baum, expatiate and confer Thir State affairs. So thick the aerie crowd Swarm'd and were straitn'd; till the Signal giv'n. Behold a wonder! they but now who seemd In bigness to surpass Earths Giant Sons Now less then smallest Dwarfs, in narrow room Throng numberless, like that Pigmean Race Beyond the Indian Mount, or Faerie Elves, Whose midnight Revels, by a Forrest side Or Fountain some belated Peasant sees, Or dreams he sees, while over-head the Moon Sits Arbitress, and neerer to the Earth Wheels her pale course, they on thir mirth and dance Intent, with jocond Music charm his ear; At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds. Thus incorporeal Spirits to smallest forms Reduc'd thir shapes immense, and were at large, Though without number still amidst the Hall Of that infernal Court. But far within And in thir own dimensions like themselves The great Seraphic Lords and Cherubim In close recess and secret conclave sat A thousand Demy-Gods on golden seats, Frequent and full. After short silence then And summons read, the great consult began.

[singthesongsofsin]

I mean yes, that’s exactly what happens!

Which one of them ‘casually’ suggests they play with multiple decks, so the +2/4 stack into a monstrosity like +88?

The Archangel siblings playing Uno —

@brokendreamscreation ( for mike and lucid)

@heaven-said @feiiitan @abyssalthreads @timelostobserver

@singthesongsofsin

[singthesongsofsin]

✏️ - From @umbravotum

@umbravotum | incorrect quotes (you didn’t specify a muse, so I just tossed all of them in to see what comes out!)

Dia, after watching Vassago get shot by someone: You’re dead. You are very dead. When you are a corpse I will hack away at your flesh and eat you raw. Vassago: Dia, I’m not dead yet. Dia: Let me have my moment of rage to avenge you. Vassago: I’d prefer it if you didn’t let me die.

-

Vassago: Do you even have a plan? Jayden: This is the plan! I break you out, chaos, destruction, something something something, we win! Vassago: Oh, of course, the old “something something something we win”. That’s a terrible plan!

-

Tara drunkenly wanders around the house and Jayden is drunkenly giggling Vassago, completely sober: sighs Well, looks like it's just me and you against the wold, Hellaina. Hellaina, going to their room: Nope, just you. shuts door

-

Vassago: Are oranges named orange because oranges are orange or is orange called orange because oranges are orange? Vox: Which came first, the orange or the orange? Adelard: Orange was first used to refer the fruit 1280 years ago but was not used as a color until 1000 years ago. Hellaina: What was the color called before then? Jayden: There was no color, duh! Everything was black and white!

-

Vassago: I have a question. Hellaina: Shoot. Vassago: Is the S or C in scent silent? Vox: Fuck you, I’m going to be thinking about this all day. Hellaina: Okay well, cent is pronounced the same way as scent so I’m gonna say the S is silent. Vassago: Okay, but sent is also spelled the same way. Vox: Google says that the C was added in the late seventeenth century, so I guess the S is silent. Jayden: Plot twist, both the S and the C are silent and the E actually makes the sss sound. Vox: Jayden is not allowed to talk anymore.

-

Tara: Everyone synchronise your watches. Adelard: I don't know how to do that. Belphegor: I don't wear a watch. Vassago: Time is a construct.

-

Svetlana: Vassago, I am nothing if not a woman of principle. Svetlana: Now let’s break into this apartment.

-

Vassago: The fastest way to a Adelard’s heart is through ch- Dia: Chest cavity. Vassago: Vassago: Cheese.

-

Belphegor: When I said you should try being friendlier this isn't what I meant. Vassago, stirring a cup of tea aggressively: Oh, so now I'm TOO friendly? There's no pleasing you. Tara, who broke into their house an hour ago: Two sugars please. Vassago: Coming right up.

-

Hellaina, to Vassago: When was the last time you let someone hug you? Vassago: thinking Vassago: 2012. Dia: 2012…? Vassago: Yeah. I almost died and it really freaked Adelard out so I let them hug me.

[singthesongsofsin]

Belphegor's ability to attend is... nebulous, at best, because he is a Sin, but he's not from Pride, so this is more theoretical than anything, but I'm having a lot of fun figuring out what everyone would wear, so everyone gets fashion!

Like his typical formal wear, it's sort of treading the line between feminine and masculine, and it is comfortable so if he does fall asleep while there, he won't be in a terrible state. He's going for a very monochromatic fog theme.

To really sell the whole fog vibe, his mask has this gauzy veil attached, and the draping pieces of the mask, and the veil are meant to imply the lack of harsh edges. The same with the lace flats. He isn't wearing much jewelry, mostly just the ring, which is a moonstone, and thus looks a little bit like fog condensed.

I'm not certain how he's wearing his hair, but probably as a bun with the hair pins scattered in it.

@cannibalxroses for the Ball! As for the dates: @slothxdoc @themosthatedbeingg

[singthesongsofsin]

“Bell , can you believe this shit, apparently everyone thinks I’m severely depressed and I apparently need therapy for my PHD or whatever they called it “ he’s making a rare appearance in sloth to see Bell and complain while looking like he hasn’t slept for 3 weeks .

( also Luci it’s PTSD not phd ))

@themosthatedbeingg

Belphegor doens't even look up from the plant he's watering, humming as he throws a look over his shoulder at Lucifer. His door was always open to his family, even if Tara seemed to be the one who used it most often. He lifts an eyebrow. "First, I think you mean PTSD, not PhD, that's a degree, and last I checked, not one you have,"

Belphegor sets the watering can down, "Lucifer, I think everyone is right. I thought it was clear? I love you dearly but..." he trails off, and gestures at Lucifer. "You're not exactly the same man that inspired all those statues the mortals made, when was the last time you ate something other than pre-made food? One of your Clydes stopped a few weeks ago to get you the limited edition bread the bakery a few streets away was advertising."

[singthesongsofsin]

MULTIMUSE QUESTIONAIRE

Tagged by @e-m-p-error

RULES: Answer the questions with the Muses that would best fit the answers. Bonus if you give details why. If tagged, copy and paste into a new post – DO NOT REBLOG!

1) Rank your softest Muse and your toughest Muse. (Personality-wise)

Jayden is the softest by far. He's here for a good time. He's not scary. He's here because he was an idiot. He's a cupcake.

The toughest... is either Hellaina or Tara I think. They're both pretty stable, take no shit muses. Hellaina is Vox's second, and Tara is many things, one of which is a Fallen Angel and a mercenary.

2) Which Muse would blow through $1000 quickly?

Vox or Metatron for two entirely opposite reasons: Metatron only mildly understands money, and just Would Not Get it. Vox has enough money that he just doesn't care. He'll make it back in a day or two.

3) Do any of them have nicknames? Is there a meaning behind them?

Yes! A few of them do! Depending on how much of a nickname one considers Vox, he counts, which was the pretentious gay's use of latin coming in clutch for his name in Hell because he couldn't be Vincent.

Dia's name is already a nickname from life.

Tara's has a few motivations behind it. On one hand, it's more subtle when on Earth, but it's also more casual than Astaroth-- Astaroth is the name of the Fallen Angel, and delegate to Earth and the other Rings. She is a greater demon. Tara is Belphegor's best friend, she's the one who's eating gelato in Italy because she spends so much time in Italy.

Svetlana uses Lana a lot of the time, because it's more recognizable to non-Russian people, but she has a whole list of diminutives with specific usage meanings behind them.

4) Are any of them up-to-speed on the latest trends? Anyone more old school?

I know we all expect Vox to be the most up to date, but he's not. He owns the trends, and he runs them, but the person who spends the most time online, keeping up with them is Jayden. Hellaina also knows as a result of her job.

Adelard barely understands the modern era. He's not up to date on the trends, he doesn't have a cellphone. He thinks radio is too complicated some days. Metatron also has no idea.

5) Who has the best relationship with their siblings?

...Belphegor? The bar isn't super high. Most of them are only children, and while Hellaina has a sister that relationship is... not good. And at least some of Belphegor's are also down in Hell as the other Sins. He has their numbers. It's... well it is. He misses them despite them all, in theory, being there.

6) Karaoke night! Who is likely to grab the mic first and bust out a tune?

Jayden. Jayden is lord of the pop sensation. Dia also is likely to! She'll drag people into musical theatre duets.

7) Who is least likely to enter a beauty pageant/model?

Hellaina wouldn't, Dia... I can see her doing it, but it would be more for fun, some sort of fashion show Cannibal Town is putting on. Vox would be dragged into it through like... Velvette and Valentino, it's a press thing, he would not do it of his own volition. Adelard, Belphegor, Svetlana, and Astaroth wouldn't. And honestly I think Jayden would.

8) If your Muses visited a haunted house where actors scare you, who would panic and who would be unfazed? 

Hellaina wouldn't be phased. Dia is having a great time, she's not scared at all, but she's having fun! Svetlana... honestly, I think, might be spooked, but depending on what it is, but has a decent poker face. Tara is unafraid, Belphegor is more likely to be. Metatron would have the like... funny moth-eye effect in which he is shocked but not scared. Honestly I can't decide if Adelard is scared of them, or if he's just been down in Hell for so long nothing even registers anymore, it's just another Tuesday. Vox isn't scared. Jayden is livestreaming the whole thing, he's going in unafraid of anything! And at the second scare immediately spooks and drops his phone.

9) Are any of your Muses particular about taking certain modes of transportation?

Vox has been Hell's foremost advocate for a subway system for literal decades. He cannot drive, so mostly he is driven or walks. He's sort of the one with an interesting answer.

Metatron can fly but doesn't usually.

10) Share a little-known fact about any Muse.

Of the sinner muses, Adelard has the highest body count. He has killed far and away the most people, and considers it wholly justified.

[singthesongsofsin]

✏️ (for Bell )

@themosthatedbeingg | incorrect quotes

Lucifer: I’d kill someone if you asked me to. Belphegor: I’m pretty sure you’d kill someone even if I didn’t ask you to.

Belphegor, to Lucifer: I'm leaving for the weekend, so I hid 100 dollars in your room for food. Clean your room, and you will find it.

While the Squad is in a battle Belphegor, trying to warn about the location of an enemy: To the left! Lucifer: Take it back now y'all!

Lucifer: There are some things beyond our understanding. We must accept them and learn from them. Because these moments of crisis are also potential moments of faith. A time, when we either come together or fall apart. Nature always has a way of balancing itself. The only question is, what part will we play? Belphegor: Did you just make that up? Lucifer: No. I read it in a fortune cookie once. Belphegor: Lucifer: A really long fortune cookie.

Lucifer: Why does my arm shake and turn bright red when I’m eating dirt? Belphegor: Belphegor: Why are you eating dirt? Lucifer: Did I ask you if I should eat dirt? No, so answer my question.

[singthesongsofsin]

Can you fight god?

Dia oneshots god.

"Ooh! ...What do you think happens if I eat God?"

Hellaina totally has the composition to fight god.

"I would hope so, I'd expect no less-- certainly no less than Vox."

Jayden has killed god and you're next.

Queue the wails of "It was a mistake! An accident!" (This was almost certainly the result of a Tiktok recipe gone so terribly wrong).

Metatron can kill god easily.

"I wouldn't quite put it like that. I don't fancy becoming one of those poisoners who kill their husbands in their sleep,"

Tara has a five episode fight with god. Astaroth is god.

"...Does this mean after my five episode fight I just become God? Hey Lucifer-- you've got a new Dad."

Belphegor can kill god easily.

Like father, like son.

Tagging @themosthatedbeingg, @halcyonterror, @holyfurnace, @shadowofthehost Tagged by @e-m-p-error

[singthesongsofsin]

Belphegor blows a breath across the top surface of his tea, looking over the rim of the mug at Beelzebub. It was usually a good idea to make sure he had caffeine before... and during company in order to stave off the inevitable fall to rest. The rain hits the glass, running down and into the gutters. "It is,"

He laughs gently. "It's less common here on Sloth than some of the rings. It’s, what, Satan, who gets it the most?” Mammon tended more towards acid.

He waves a hand dismissively. “Nothing important, just which tea cakes you preferred.”

A    BLOOD   LUST    INBOX    MEME.

@singthesongsofsin​ said:  our  muses  looking  to  the  sky  as  it  rains  blood. | for Beelzebub from Astaroth or Belphegor?

“Isn’t it beautiful~?” Beelzebub breathed, voice filled with awe, as she looked out the window. Lips curling into a sadistic grin as red drops continuously splattered against the glass. 

She glanced at Belphegor out of the corner of her eye. “Ah, forgive me, darling. I haven’t seen rain like this in quite some time. I consider myself fortunate to be able to witness it when I have the opportunity. Now, what did you say again?”

[singthesongsofsin]

🌙🌙 | So while most of the characters here won't be attending the ball, at least not actively, I want to do up outfits for all of them, and the funniest part is that it's actively making me question Belphegor's gender. His outfit won't be a suit, this is the second time I've had to consider formal wear for him and its quite feminine.

[singthesongsofsin]

🌙🌙| And everyone's favourite narcoleptic idealist has fixed tags!

[singthesongsofsin]

“Guess who tried to jump from their 8th story balcony today~ “ Lucifer bursts in with two smoothies .

( for Bel ;3 )

@themosthatedbeingg

Belphegor's relationship to all of his siblings had been... tense for centuries. On one hand, it was lovely to be increasingly close with Lucifer, on the other... Belphegor blinks, slowly pushing himself away from his dining table. "Okay.... For fun, to die... what was your motivation there?"

[singthesongsofsin]

🌙🌙| Some Sloth ring headcanons

Sloth is a weird, an anomaly even in Hell.

The majority of demons on the ring are Sleep Paralysis Demons, though there’s a fair share of Baphomets and ones from other rings. For the other Hellborn whose families have been in Sloth for several generations, they’ve clearly been coloured by the weirdness of Sloth.

And Sloth is weird. Politically it is, the entire ring is unionized. There was a problem back in the early 1800s, not too long after the Industrial Revolution on earth, of Hellborn coming to Sloth and exploiting its workforce. The general approach is ‘hey we don’t like that’, and it was a unanimous decision.

Speaking off that, Sloth is run by a council: Belphegor is technically the highest authority, and they meet every six months. The other members include a variety of people, including some Ars Goetia from Sloth, and a variety of the more standard Hellborn. Half of the meeting sis Teri g things up for the next six months, and half making sure everything previously set up is still running. Occasionally emergency meetings are called, as in the case of unionizing.

The ring itself sort of feels like Wonderland. It feels like a dream made real a lot of the time, cobble streets in some areas, flowers that glow, and some regions that seem to alter themselves at whim. Physics tends to go a little funny in some regions.

It rains a lot. Sloth isn’t an aquatic ring, that’s Envy, but the flood drains see a lot of use.

Sloth’s largest industry includes work on Earth, think Astaroth, the Sleep Paralysis Demons, to a lesser extent, the soul jars. But within Hell, Sloth both possesses the primary university (with correspondence courses offered in all the other rings) in Hell, as well as, or perhaps because of, a thriving medical industry. Sloth is where most pharmaceuticals are produced.

Sloth imports quite a lot from the other rings. The most notable of Sloth’s connections with the other Rings come from Envy, and Pride. Belphegor has a remarkably good business relationship with Vox, and so the vast majority of media and a lot of technology is imported.

[singthesongsofsin]

🌙 | Room of Jars

Perhaps Belphegor’s most important responsibility, and quite possibly the one he takes the most pride in, is the shelves upon shelves he has in the back rooms of his house. From the door, the shelves seem endless. Most people don’t know the jars exist; Lucifer and the other sins do, especially because Belphegor fought for the right to protect them. Even then, knowing they exist doesn't mean that any of them like the room.

The Hellborn are the least perturbed by the room-- they were never human, and thus have less sense for the room being as fundamentally wrong-- but even they find it unsettling.

But what are the jars exactly? The jars are combination of things. Some people die with souls too torn and tattered to create a sinner, so they keep falling until they hit what is, essentially, a giant magical net cast all over Sloth. Some humans who make deals with demons, and whatever they did pulls their soul apart and auctioned off, only to wind up here. Others run afoul of supernatural creatures that eat more than just their bodies.

But, the majority of the jars, are those killed by Angelic weaponry. The ninety-nine percent in Exterminations, the others from the black market weapons. They fall, again, but this time their soul is not enough to stop themselves from falling. Hence the net. it blankets Sloth, and catches the souls of those who would otherwise fall beyond the reaches of the world.

The jars are a manifestation of a soul too weak to take shape. Some are etched metal with what sound like coins or pearls inside, others a traditional urn. Each soul is different, and so is each jar.

There are rumours of Sinners returning after death, appearing a decade after an Extermination like nothing happened, and for those in the know, of jars returning to life; Belphegor knows those are just rumours. Sometimes a jar does seem to be taken by more agitation than normal, and he brings them out to sit on his desk, and he always hopes it means a soul might just coalesce out of it. Without fail, they return to their restful state, and are taken back to their spot in the shelves.

They're not really… alive. They aren’t conscious, it’s not even peaceful so much as it just is.

Every so often, Belphegor alters the rooms they are kept in. Perhaps a cellar would serve them well, in the dark? Or a skylight with light? Plants? Nothing ever seems to awaken them, but they aren’t going anywhere and he is unwilling to give up trying, or maybe just hoping that eventually they will pull themself together enough to break free of the jar.

[singthesongsofsin]

Demonic Form

Whilst Belphegor tends to keep a fairly human form, quite a lot like the one he had before the Fall, as he gets more upset, the inhumanity of it comes out. If keeping a physical form is too much effort, then it dissolves into an incorporeal mist-like one, but the in between state is terrifying.

The edges of physicality become blurry; he gets taller, sunken, empty eye sockets, limbs elongate, hanging like all the muscles and ligaments don’t exist. As if his entire body is becoming less attached to its normal bounds, sinking outside the lines.

Alongside the abandonment of a a typical physical body, his voice goes strange. It’s still coming from his form, but it echoes, whispery from every direction.

People who see it understand where sleep paralysis demons come from, like a children’s crayon drawings of the monsters in the dark come to life.

[singthesongsofsin]

Muses

Hellaina

With a soul technically belonging to her boss, Hellaina is the second most powerful person in Vogitek.

Bio

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Astaroth

Deals, nightmares, and sloth, Tara is one of the original fallen Angels who started Hell.

Bio

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Belphegor

Prince of Sloth, and ruler of the Sloth ring, Belphegor is one of the single most powerful people in Hell... provided you can keep him awake long enough.

Bio

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Adelard

The kindly uncle to all of Hell, Adelard is the closest thing Pentagram city has to a librarian... and library. A former plague doctor, Adelard is probably the oldest sinner most people interact with.

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Dia F. Hyde

Cannibal, pathologist, and loving wife to Vox's PA. Dia is one of the regulars at the Cannibal colony.

Bio

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Svetlana Leonidovna

Russian cosmonaut who got lost in space. Now she's made of the fabric of it, and trying to find her way home.

Bio

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Metatron

The Voice of God-- Metatron is the first creation, and older and more powerful than that. Right now is is also a false God.

Bio

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Jayden

Velvette's PA-- he's pretty sure it's mostly for the joke, but that's alright. He's been dead for about a year and a half and has not stopped screaming yet.

Bio