#i brought screenshots please read my five page double spaced essay with citations and footnotes

[elsecrytt]

ELSEY YOU CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS TO ME

Elsey listen it's 2 am i need to sleep but your addition to that Dia post KEEPING ME AWAKE

How does it feel to have such a big brain huh? You're amazing please keep ranting about whatever because i will eat this shit up

Oh, also you dropped this 👑

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA thank youuuuuu~ It's so sweet that you enjoy my Takes sfgkhhfgd and it's super encouraging to know that you get something out of them, hehe,,, it's always just.

So fun to see ppl who get similar vibes from the characters, sharing their own views and reasons for that,,, it's lovely to hear from you and Erin, and I'm glad y'all like hearing from me, too~

I've had this whole. Theory of Diavolo post floating in my head for ages but I haven't gotten around to it until now bc it requires a lot of. Screenshot editing,,,,

Now Presenting:

Diavolo - Truth and Lies

Spoilers for:

The Escorts (Memory SR, Chapter M, Luci and Satan on it) Devilgram

The Glory Days (Lucifer Chapter A UR) Devilgram

Main story up through Lesson 16

So basically:

Diavolo has the ability to tell lies - this is confirmed in several places in canon.

My personal headcanon/theory is that this isn't Diavolo being a people person (although he probably is, to some extent). This isn't even a special ability Diavolo has, either as a demon, or as a future Demon King.

I think this is a curse. Specifically, I think this is a curse that Diavolo asked a witch to place on him, and the caveat of this curse is that Diavolo cannot tell a lie.

It's totally possible there are instances of this being blown out of the water in canon but Diavolo is usually pretty diplomatic in his denials and avoids telling direct lies so just stay with me for a moment. I HAVE SCREENSHOTS!!

The first question of course is. "Who would have put a curse like this on him, Elsey? He's the Demon Prince. He's ridiculously powerful, what kind of witch could even do that? Even Solomon might not be able to."

We do know a witch who might have done it! A witch who would have been powerful enough, and who has a pretty interesting relationship with Diavolo: Maddi!

Maddi is acknowledged, by Satan, Lucifer, and Diavolo, to be extremely powerful. Literally Lucifer is going "When someone radiates power like she did..." Lucifer!

The really interesting bit is later on - that Maddi refused to return to the human world until Dia married her, and it was really long ago.

It sounds like, in return for casting this curse on Dia, Maddi wanted his hand in marriage. It'd explain both her entitlement, and the reason Diavolo had a hard time turning her down - because she did him a favor!

And also why Diavolo is pimping out Satan and Lucifer not to see her again lmaoooo. This, I daresay, is why Diavolo doesn't like her - it's not necessarily a reasonable request she's making, but she also did something for him that literally no one else could have done.

Plus she's supposedly smoking hot and if she likes Luci and Satan, her taste in men is absolutely fine. Listen Diavolo I'll take one for the team and marry her myself -

Anyways. Second point here - this happened "a really long time ago". This is a point in favor of my theory, because Diavolo has been asserting that he is honest/never lies for a very long time indeed:

This is a MEGA long time ago - before Lucifer fell from heaven, even.

Now ofc Diavolo doesn't outright say it's a curse (and I doubt this theory is something the devs intended), but it does sound like Diavolo is leaning on the "honest" thing pretty heavily, no?

(Bonus points: In his recently-released character songs, one of Diavolo's lines is actually - "I have nothing to hide/I am always honest")

Consider also the fact that if this is true, it goes a good way to explain how Diavolo is getting along with Lucifer so well, and pressing the point of peace even though Lucifer quite clearly looks down on demons as an archangel.

See, Lucifer actually tells a couple of blatant lies during this visit:

If Diavolo has this ability to know for certain when someone is lying, then he knows Lucifer doesn't hate him/the Devildom as much as he said (and Lucifer's dad hung him out to dry on the speech thing lmaooo)

Now, on to what I consider the most damning piece of evidence - we have the actual statement in Lesson 4 during Levi's TSL quiz, that Diavolo can tell when someone is lying

Diavolo was brought in to judge this event, too - almost certainly because he has this ability. "You know as well as I do" - this is something all the brothers, and possibly the demon populace as a whole, know about Diavolo.

Levi later does concede that he lost; he believes Diavolo's ability, and implicitly, believes that Diavolo isn't lying about it. But canonically, this is our confirmation that Diavolo can tell when someone is lying, possibly as some supernatural "ability".

The real proof comes in lesson 16. Belphie, at this point, absolutely despises both humankind - and naturally, the suggestion that Lilith became human - and Diavolo. That's important. He HATES Diavolo and Diavolo's ideas.

If you chose to tell him "I'm sorry you found out this way", he goes on to mope a bit until his brothers encourage him.

But what if you choose to say "You really won't believe it?"

Belphie insists he won't believe it. He could never believe it. And honestly this makes a lot of sense, and feels like the natural reaction he'd have to such an unforeseen revalation.

And then Diavolo says "It's the truth". Diavolo, who Belphie hates. What reason does Belphegor possible have to -

Aaaaaand he believes him. Just like that. Now, I'm gonna be real, I'm not super impressed with how the writers handled this plot twist, especially in light of the aftermath. HOWEVER.

It's still fucking weird that Belphie just accepts Diavolo's word so easily, accepts the entire story and spins right into repentance and blaming himself for Lilith's death...

...unless. Diavolo is magically incapable of lying. Perhaps because he's been cursed?

The brothers all know about Maddi (it's in the escorts mission). They very probably would all know why Diavolo doesn't get along with her, but still has to accommodate her when she visits. It would make sense for Belphie to know about this, actually.

Annnnnyyways that's my favorite pet Diavolo theory that's been rattling around in my head for a while. It's by no means canon or confirmed (canon seems to forget about Diavolo's ability to tell when someone is lying on the regular, anyways), but my god, is it interesting.

Diavolo being a living lie detector and unable to lie makes him an invaluable plot device, a useful tool to a resourceful enough MC, and even as cursed as the theory suggests, if you remember a little oneshot I wrote called "Heartache".

It is just. hnnng. Absolutely delicious. I love the idea so much and wish there were more of it in canon... but hey. That's what fics are for ;)