#the ruling demonic legion of hell

[creamtese]

Demons and Stigmas

I made a reddit post about this, and thought I should post it on tumblr too for easier reading!

I wanted to make a post about all the stigmas and demons that we know so far. The names are all anagrams of Ars Goetia demons, and some of them have similar powers to the demon or have potential motives to summon said demon. With that, we can possibly predict what some of the stigmas do that we only have a name for, as well as what might have been their motivation for summoning their demon.

I've taken some information from the Ars Goetia wikipedia page, and bolded some things that I thought are noteworthy.

Frostheim

Kamurai Jin, Bianerus.

Bianerus is an anagram of Naberius

Jin can command people to do as he says with his stigma

The demon Naberius (also Naberus, Nebiros and Cerberus, Cerbere) was first mentioned by Johann Weyer in 1583. He is supposedly the most valiant Marquis of Hell, and has nineteen legions of demons under his command. He makes men cunning in all arts, but especially in rhetoric, speaking with a hoarse voice. He also restores lost dignities and honors, although to Johann Weyer he procures the loss of them. Naberius appears as a three-headed dog or a raven. He has a raucous voice but presents himself as eloquent and amiable. He teaches the art of gracious living. He is depicted as a crow or a black crane. Concerning his name, it is unclear if there is an association with the Greek Cerberus. It is said that in 1583, Johann Weyer considers both of them to be the same demon.

Ishibashi Tohma, Argeas.

Argeas is an anagram of Agares

Tohma's stigma lets him send vibrations long distance.

Agares (or Agreas), ruling the eastern zone of Hell, and being served by 31 legions of demons. He can make runaways come back and those who stand still run, finding pleasure in teaching immoral expressions. He also has the power to destroy dignities, both temporal and supernatural. He is depicted as a pale old man riding a crocodile.

Lucas Errant, Iggnaim.

Iggnaim is an anagram of Gamigin

Lucas has a barrier

Gamigin (also Gamygin, Gamigm or Samigina) is a Great Marquis of Hell who rules over thirty legions of demons. He teaches all liberal sciences and gives an account of the souls of those who died in sin and who drowned in the sea, speaking with a rough voice. He also answers what is asked about, and stays with the conjurer until they are satisfied. Gamigin is depicted as a little horse or a donkey, which changes form into a man under the conjurer's request.

Fuji Kaito, ???

No stigma name currently, but we have an idea of what his powers may be from something Hyde has said.

Vagastrom

Mido Alan, Yagsal Olbalsa

Yagsal Olbalsa is an anagram of Glasya-Labolas

It's never been explicitly said, but it seems to be some sort of super strength

Glasya-Labolas (also Caacrinolaas, Caassimolar, Classyalabolas, Glassia-labolis, Glasya Labolas, Gaylos-Lobos) is a mighty President of Hell who commands thirty-six legions of demons. He is the author and captain of manslaughter and bloodshed, tells all things past and to come, gains the minds and love of friends and foes causing love among them if desired, incites homicides and can make a man invisible. He is depicted as a dog with the wings of a griffin.

Kurosagi Leo, Haxs

Haxs is an anagram of Shax

Leo's stigma allows him to have enhanced hearing

Shax (also spelled Chax, Shan, Shass, Shaz, and Scox) is a Great Marquis of Hell, and has power over 30 legions of demons on evil horses. He takes away the sight, hearing and understanding of any person under the conjurer's request, and steals money out of kings' houses, carrying it back to the people. He also steals horses and everything the conjurer asks. Shax can also discover hidden things if they are not kept by evil spirits, and sometimes gives good familiars, but sometimes those familiars deceive the conjurer. He should not be bothered too often. Shax is thought to be faithful and obedient, but is a great liar and will deceive the conjurer unless obliged to enter a magic triangle drawn on the floor. He will then speak marvellously and tell the truth. He knows when lies are told and uses these to teach lessons. He is depicted as a stork that speaks with a hoarse but subtle voice; his voice changes into a beautiful one once he enters the magic triangle.

Haizono Shohei, Spurno

Spurno is an anagram of Purson

We don't have an explicit answer for what it does yet, but he was able to trip? throw back? the anomaly in episode 2

Purson (also Curson, Pursan) is a Great King of Hell, being served and obeyed by twenty-two legions of demons. He knows of hidden things, can find treasures, and tells past, present and future. Taking a human or aerial body he answers truly of all secret and divine things of Earth and the creation of the world. He also brings good familiars. Purson is depicted as a man with the face of a lion, carrying a ferocious viper in his hand, and riding a bear. Before him, there can be heard many trumpets sounding.

Jabberwock

Sagara Haru, Bahnti

Bahnti = Bathin

Haru's stigma reduces the affect of gravity on his body

Bathin (or Bathym, Mathim, Marthim) is a Duke (Great Duke according to Pseudomonarchia Daemonum) of Hell, who has under his command thirty legions of demons. He knows the virtues of precious stones and herbs, and can bring men suddenly from one country to another. He helps one attain astral projection, and takes you wherever you want to go. He is depicted as a strong man with the tail of a serpent, riding a pale horse.

Otonashi Towa, ???

Another one we aren't really sure of

Shiranami Ren, Raothtas

Raothtas = Astaroth

We don't have an explicit answer as to what his stigma does, but he was able to remove ink stains from the floor

Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth) is referred to in The Lesser Key of Solomon as a very powerful demon who commands 40 legions of demons. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is depicted as a nude man with feathered wings, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a beast with dragon-like wings and a serpent-like tail. According to Sebastien Michaelis he is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness, vanity, and rationalized philosophies. His adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him. He was also said to give to mortal beings the power over serpents. His name is possibly taken from the goddess Asherah or Astarte.

Sinostra

Hoshibami Taiga, Malab

Malab = Balam

All we know is that he has good luck

Balam (also Balaam, Balan) is a great and powerful king of Hell who commands over forty legions of demons. He gives perfect answers on things past, present, and to come, and can also make men invisible and witty. Balam is depicted as being three-headed. One head is the head of a bull, the second of a man, and the third of a ram. He has flaming eyes and the tail of a serpent. He carries a hawk on his fist and rides a strong bear. At other times, he is represented as a naked man riding a bear.

Romeo Lucci, Tiris

Tiris = Sitri

He can turn things into bombs

Sitri (also spelled Bitru, Sytry) is a Great Prince of Hell, and reigns over sixty legions of demons. He causes men to love women and vice versa, and can make people bare themselves naked if desired. He is depicted with the face of a leopard and the wings of a griffin, but under the conjurer's request he changes into a very beautiful man.

Shinjo Ritsu, Acimo

Acimo = Camio

Ritsu's stigma lets him harden his body, to the point bullets cannot damage him

Camio (also Caim, Caym) appears in Ars Goetia, the first part of The Lesser Key of Solomon as a Great President of Hell, ruling over thirty legions of demons. Much detail is offered: he is a good disputer, gives men the understanding of the voices of birds, bullocks, dogs, and other creatures, and of the noise of the waters too, and gives true answers concerning things to come. He is depicted in 19th and 20th century occultist illustrations as appearing in the form of the black bird called a thrush, but soon he changes his shape into a man that has a sharp sword in his hand. When answering questions he seems to stand on burning ashes or coals.

Hotarubi

Kagami Subaru, Talnandio

Talnandio = Dantalion

Psychometry

Dantalion (or Dantalian) is a powerful Great Duke of Hell, with thirty-six legions of demons under his command; he is the 71st of 72 spirits of Solomon. He teaches all arts and sciences, and also declares the secret counsel of anyone, given that he knows the thoughts of all people and can change them at his will. He can also cause love and show the similitude of any person, show the same by means of a vision, and let them be in any part of the world they will. He is depicted as a man with many appearances, which means the faces of all men and women.

Kusanagi Haku, ???

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Kotodama Zenji, ???

ahhhh eto...bwehhhhh

Obscuary

Edward Hart, ???

thanks old man!

Mizuki Rui, ???

I don't recall him saying his stigma, but he's able to relieve pain and exhaustion temporarily.

Lyca Colt, Ramsochisa

Ramsochisa = Marchosias

He can follow the scent of anything, so long as he's smelled it before

Marchosias (also Marchocias) is a powerful Great Marquis of Hell, commanding thirty legions of demons. He is a strong and excellent fighter and very reliable to the conjurer, giving true answers to all questions. Marchosias hoped after 1,200 years to return to heaven with the non-fallen angels, but he is deceived in that hope. He is depicted as a wolf with a man's form as well as a griffin's wings and a serpent's tail, that under request changes shape into a man.

Mortkranken

Isami Yuri, Agnihaet

Agnihaet = Haagenti

10000 iq moment

Haagenti (also Haage, Hage) is a Great President of Hell, ruling thirty-three legions of demons. He makes men wise by instructing them in every subject, transmutes all metals into gold, and changes wine into water and water into wine. Haagenti is depicted as a big bull with the wings of a griffin, changing into a man under request of the conjurer.

Kirisaki Jiro, ???

wahoo

Let me know if I missed anything or got anything wrong! Hope this helps with your theorycrafting and oc making 💖

[ineffablelunatics]

Crowley’s Memory of Saraqael and Furfur

There’s a distinct parallel to be drawn from Crowley’s interactions with both Saraqael and Furfur. Both times, Crowley pretends that he doesn’t know who they are. Both times, the opposite party explains who they are to him in detail. But what are the differences?

Furfur. Furfur comes into the dressing room with just Crowley and Aziraphale. He tells Aziraphale that they’ve never met, but Crowley has met him. Furfur explains to Crowley that they were in the same legion before the Fall. Crowley says that he remembers going into battle, but not going into battle with Furfur. Furfur becomes agitated and explains how they fought together. Then says that it doesn’t matter, because Crowley broke the Infernal Code by consorting with an angel. Then the rest of the scene ensues. But why did Crowley say that he didn’t remember Furfur?

It was the only power that Crowley could show in the situation. If he lashed out immediately then Furfur knows for certain that he’s guilty. If Crowley acts like he doesn’t remember Furfur then it could be plausible that he didn’t know that Aziraphale was an angel. It’s plausible deniability. His status in Hell also helps with this. From what we know the lower demons wants to be him and the higher demons are annoyed by him. The lower demons know that he gets to work on Earth, almost for himself, but the higher ups don’t like that he acts indifferent and can be quite arrogant. So when Furfur comes saying that he’s broken some rules, Too Cool For Hell-Crowley starts answering, “Who are you? I can’t even remember who you are. How was I supposed to know he was an angel? Who cares?”

Saraqael. The first thing that Saraqael does is answer Crowley’s question to Muriel about Gabriel’s trial which he hadn’t even started to ask yet. They say his chosen name and then say that they didn’t think that they would ever see him again(not too affectionately but not hateful either). Crowley says that he doesn’t know them and it seems genuine. Saraqael says ‘when you were an angel; we worked together on the Horsehead Nebula.’ During this statement, they’re almost smiling, but then he answers that he meets a lot of people whilst laughing, and this annoys them(similar to Gabriel later). But did he actually remember them or not? If he doesn’t, why pretend?

I think Crowley remembers who they are after they mention the Horsehead Nebula. Simply, because he laughs. At first, he looked like there was a blank, but of course, a nebula would trigger his memory. If he remembers them or not, he has two options: tell them he knows them or tell them he doesn’t. Pretending that he remembered them would maybe give Saraqael a reason to trust him. If they trust him, maybe they will let him look at the file anyway. If he does the opposite, pretend he doesn’t know them(or maybe he really didn’t), then it almost looks more honest and trustworthy. For some reason, most of the angels don’t take the time to remember them whether Crowley knows that or not, up for debate. But if he really wanted to get into the file, then wouldn’t the best way to be making a friend like he did with Aziraphale? But for some reason, he knows that it isn’t. Because I really do think that if he had told them that he had remembered, they wouldn’t have believed him. I think either way, they were going to let him into the file. The archangels believed that Crowley and Aziraphale had more information. Yes, he got himself into the file and all that, but Saraqael didn’t try to smite him, and that means that he chose right.

Between these two interactions, Crowley acts very differently to the two people involved. To Furfur, he acts indifferent, but also agitated. He’s wearing his hat to his brow with his glasses on and he keeps his legs turned away from him. To Saraqael, he looks them in the eyes with glasses that are quite light, comparatively. He doesn’t turn away and he stays engaged. He even laughs. The first thing that Furfur brings up the War and the Fall. Two things I don’t believe Crowley likes to remember. The first thing Saraqael does is answer questions and reminds him about stars(some of Crowley’s favorite things). They don’t bring up the War or the Fall or even Eden. They bring up the fact that they worked together on the stars. I think he respected them for that.

So does he remember them? I think so. I think maybe that he was drawing a blank on Saraqael, because from what we see in Before The Beginning, Crowley was very absorbed in his work. So he might would need some specifics to help him out. Furfur, on the other hand, he might not have remembered, because he blocked him out, because he tried to block the Fall and the War out. Either way, it was plausible deniability on his part. My main reason for his memory being intact(perfect?no) is Muriel and Gabriel. When Gabriel is in the bookshop with just Crowley, they talked about gravity and he said that it seemed like a good idea when “we” were all talking about it. He also knows Muriel’s rank and class without them ever mentioning it prior. He also knows exactly what their job entails. He also remembers where Gabriel was pulling those lines from when he would “wake” up. Crowley seems like he has a handle on his memories. Now, could there be something wrong with them or did something happen to them? Were they fixed? Maybe, he walled some of them off like humans do. Either way, I’m excited to find out.

[myfavoritesstuff]

No Regrets

Pairing: Alastor x Reader

Prompt: Alastor making the wrong deal.

Warning(s): Manipulation

Note: Alastor never made a deal with Lilith in this.

Word count: 634

In the sprawling depths of the hellish realm, where darkness reigned supreme, there stood Alastor, the infamous Radio Demon. With his charismatic smile and sinister charm, he ruled over the damned souls with an iron grip. Yet, amidst the cacophony of screams and tormented wails, there was an emptiness in his heart—a void that no amount of power or control could fill.

One fateful night, as the crimson moon hung low in the sky, Alastor’s path crossed with yours. You, a lowly demon caught in the throes of hell, caught his attention like no other. Your defiance against the horrors of the underworld intrigued him, and soon enough, he found himself captivated by your spirit.

As days turned into nights, and nights into eternities, Alastor found himself falling deeply, hopelessly in love with you. He watched from the shadows as you navigated the dangers of hell, your strength and resilience shining like a beacon in the darkness.

One evening, as the flames of hell danced around you, Alastor approached with a proposition that would bind your souls together for eternity. “My dear,” he purred, his voice a melody of temptation, “let us give our souls to each other, completing the experience of love in its truest form.”

You, caught in the throes of love and longing, gazed into his crimson eyes and nodded, the fire of determination burning bright within you.

With a flourish of his hand, Alastor offered his soul to you, a swirling mass of darkness and power. The moment it touched your being, a rush of exhilaration swept through you, and a sinister smile tugged at your lips.

Alastor’s heart skipped a beat as he noticed the change in your demeanor, a flicker of fear mingling with the love that still burned fiercely within him.

“My sweet Alastor,” you whispered, your voice laced with newfound power, “from this moment forth, you are mine.”

With those words, you held his soul in your grasp, twisting and molding it to your will. Alastor, bound by love and now by your command, could do nothing but obey.

Yet, even as you held him under your control, Alastor’s love for you burned brighter than ever before. He danced to your tune, a willing puppet in your hands, his heart singing with a love that knew no bounds.

As the days turned to weeks and weeks to months, the bond between Alastor and the reader grew ever stronger, though it was now a twisted, dark thread that bound them together. Alastor, once the feared and powerful Radio Demon, now found himself at the mercy of the reader’s every whim.

Under the reader’s command, Alastor used his powers to wreak havoc upon the denizens of hell, his once cheerful demeanor now twisted into a sinister grin. Yet, through it all, his love for the reader remained unyielding, a constant flame burning in the darkness of his soul.

The reader, now possessed of Alastor’s soul, reveled in their newfound power. They commanded legions of demons and tormented souls, their laughter echoing through the halls of hell. Yet, instead of regret or sadness, the reader felt a surge of euphoria at the power they now held.

One night, as the crimson moon hung low in the sky, the reader found themselves alone with Alastor in the depths of their shared domain. The air crackled with tension as they stood face to face, the weight of their twisted love hanging heavy between them.

“Alastor,” the reader whispered, their voice a haunting melody in the darkness, “do you regret giving me your soul?”

Alastor’s eyes, once filled with love and adoration, now held a glimmer of sadness. “Never, my dear,” he replied, his voice a soft murmur. “Though I am now bound to your will, my love for you remains unchanged.”

[tyrantisterror]

The Fuck's Up With Mammon?

Ok, so, in the grand history of Christian folklore, there are dozens of different ways that the society of Hell and its various demons can be structured. One of the most popular is The Seven Princes of Hell, which divides Hell between seven ruling demons, each of which represents the seven deadly sins (and is opposed by saints who represent the seven heavenly virtues). It's fun because it's got a solid theological theme and not too many working parts - seven is a more digestible number than nine or, like, however the fuck your sort out all the demons in the Lesser Key of Solomon, each of which has some arbitrary number of legions of demon soldiers under their command, and the deadly sins theme gives you a clear way to make each prince's domain stand out.

(Obviously I'm a bit biased here, since I used a modified version of the Seven Princes of Hell for my own story about demons, but still, I think the point stands.)

Now, who the seven princes of Hell are can differ. Binsfield, the guy who coined the name, lists them as follows:

Lucifer, Prince of Pride

Mammon, Prince of Greed

Asmodeus, Prince of Lust

Leviathan, Prince of Envy

Beelzebub, Prince of Gluttony

Satan, Prince of Wrath

Belphegor, Prince of Sloth

However, there are earlier versions of the seven princes that rearrange things. Beelzebub has been given the sin of Envy at times, Belphegor has been given gluttony, and both Belial and Abaddon/Apollyon have taken the role of prince of Sloth. With me so far?

Right, ok, so here's the thing: ALL of these demons have shit going on in folklore outside of their role as potential princes of Hell. Well, all except one. To wit:

Lucifer, despite being a translation error, quickly became the front-runner in the grand race of "Who is THE Devil in the Bible, i.e. the leader of Hell itself?" It helps that said translation error was made by King James in his version of the Bible, which, while a terrible translation, is an amazing piece of poetry in its own right and beloved by many Christians because of it. Notably, Lucifer is The Devil of Paradise Lost, which is up there with Dante's The Divine Comedy in being one of the most important and influential depictions of Hell of all time.

Beelzebub is one of the oldest demons in all of demonology, predating Christianity itself, and is pretty close to Lucifer in the race for "Who is THE Devil," with arguably a better claim to the position despite Lucifer being the more popular candidate for the role.

Satan gets kudos for being one of the few devils that's ACTUALLY named in the Bible... even if it's less a name in context and more a title akin to "prosecuting attorney." Because of that, he's arguably got the greatest claim to being The Devil, and in most works where a different devil gets the title, Satan is treated as one of his alternate titles anyway.

Asmodeus was set up in folklore to be The Devil, and has a pretty strong claim to the title because of that. He's also clearly what Dante based his description of the devil's physical appearance on, with his three different colored heads and all, and that gives him some major props.

Leviathan is also a rare demon who gets mentioned in the Bible, although in the Bible it's pretty clear he's not a demon but rather a big sea monster, and a lot of Christian folklore treats him as such instead of as a demon. So that's a pretty big "other thing going on" for him - sometimes he's not even a demon, but more of a godzilla.

Belphegor was mentioned in a good number of texts predating the concept of arranging demons by the seven deadly sins, and while he was mostly a minor demon (akin to most of the other residents of the Lesser Key of Solomon, like Shax or Marchosias or what have you), that's still something. Becoming a Prince of Hell gave him a greater claim to fame, but still, he had a career before it.

Abaddon/Apollyon is one of those demons whose name is ALSO a synonym for Hell itself, which is a pretty big deal. He can be a demon, or he can be hell, or he can be BOTH, like in the takes where Hell has a literal mouth to swallow sinners and is portrayed as kind of a living monster in its own right. He also got to be The Devil in Pilgrim's Progress, and that's pretty cool.

Belial is one of the absolute earliest demons, having been cast as The Devil in the Book of Enoch, which is kind of the O.G. Abrahamic demon story (as much as any written story could be the source of it, anyway). Thus, while Belial may not have the most popular claim to being The Devil, he arguably has the best claim to it, or at least the earliest. Also, Belial is just as often depicted as a lady demon as he is a male demon, which means Belial is the best candidate for a Princess of Hell.

But that leaves... Mammon. And as far as I can tell in all my research, Mammon's claim to fame is and has always been being the Demon of Greed. Like Lucifer, his existence is owed to a translation of the Bible personifying something that was not originally a person - "mammon" was just supposed to mean money and other material wealth, but then it became, well, Mammon, the demonic personification of Greed.

He's the demon who was made for his sin, rather than being given it after his creation. The only demon whose existence purely hinges on needing a personification of a sin, the only one who has no other shit going on. Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, they all have rich histories as demons in folklore, but Mammon? He's just greed.

And that's weird to me. Were there no other, more popular demons who could embody the concept? How does Mammon feel having nothing else to him beyond his sin? It's kinda weird, right?

I've got no greater point to this, I just thought it'd be fun to share.

[bardraelyn]

Were the Fallen cast out because they were illiterate?

Ok, big angry thinky meta below. Something just clicked in my head this afternoon, and I had to have a bit of a rant about it.

It was the word "ineffable" that triggered it.

I was thinking about how most demons can’t spell—canonically. It’s not just Shax. The guidebook on angels that Furfur carried has a ton of errors, both in the actual text and in the handwritten annotations. And if they can't spell, it seems likely they also can’t read well, either. Furfur sure struggled with it, and he’s usually on tasks that require a ton of paperwork.

Angels, on the other hand, don't seem to have that problem—the ones that are still in Heaven, that is. (Also, neither does Crowley, but we'll come back to that.)

So, what, did God make a bunch of angels with reading, writing, and/or language difficulties, who presumably had trouble with written directions, and then cast them out of Heaven because they couldn’t understand Her plan?

“Nope, too many questions. Out you go!”

God's great big plan is supposed to be ineffable, right? As in, “too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words”?

Well, who the fuck told everyone it was? The Metatron? The so-called “Voice of God” who is, as we’ve all seen, rather a bit of an asshole?

And are we to take that literally, as in unable to be expressed in any words at all (written or spoken), or is the implication that it simply can't be codified into written language?

If it was the Metatron who called it God's plan ineffable, did he say that because he didn’t want to bother explaining parts of it to a bunch of struggling angels?

"Oh, you can't read it because it's ineffable! It can't really be put into words, so that's the closest approximation of what you're meant to know. Just do your best, and stop asking so many questions!"

Or did he decide it was ineffable because he couldn’t understand it?

He was so condescending toward Muriel about reading a book. Is he masking a disability (and barely hiding some jealous rage) with that holier/smarter-than-thou facade? Is that why he called them "dim"?

He's clearly a bully, which strongly suggests he's insecure, so what are the odds that he's been hiding the written directives from God and started giving "Her" orders verbally instead (declaring himself the "Voice of God" in the process) in order to hide his literacy issues from the other Archangels?

Has he been making up the rules all along? Are the Heavenly Host and their Opposition fucking up God’s actual plan for the universe without even knowing it because the Metatron can’t fucking read?

Did God cast out the Fallen angels, or did the Metatron cast them out to feel better about himself?

Are the legions of Hell mostly made up of illiterate angels, mixed with a few other angels who hung out with them and perhaps even tried to help those who were struggling (just like the big ol’ softy that Crowley happens to be would have done, once he realized the unfairness of their position)?

And what about that Rebellion?

Did Lucifer take advantage of the struggling angels, or was he acting on their behalf, like a parent who takes on the school board when the principal and teachers won't abide by the special needs students' individual education plans*?

If it's the latter, where is/was God in this system?

__________

* Probably took advantage, let's be real. Hell is not a nice place. But maybe he's just a very overwhelmed, frustrated, and rather crappy parental figure who had a breakdown and left the kids to run amok, and they all went Lord of the Flies on him. Who knows? We really have only Crowley's word and the fight with Adam to base our deductions on.

[the-six-that-thrive-if]

All this low key chaos while im hugging dante and warden like

Mine

Also can you tell me about the *six* other IFs??? Considering how much I love this one, I would love to look and support the rest of your work!

LMFAO 💀

LIST OF IFS

-Deceit's Crescendo — @deceits-crescendo-if

Horror, Ancient Fantasy Romance

MC dies and is tasked with collecting a special item of a banished God, but the only way to do so is through the connects of current Gods and forming a connect.

Demo is already in works, and has a blog for it!

[Has ties to TSTT — The MC is TSTT MCs ancestors.]

-The King's Appraisal

Murder Mystery, Romance, Horror

MC applies to be on a clued based dating show, where all contestants are giving roles, such as duke, baron, earl, etc etc. Whilst trying to solve the murder and win one million dollars, or find love. But perhaps this is more than a game.

Still in the beta stages, no demo.

-Death's Tango

Yandere, Dark Romance

MC gets happily married to their husband, Damian Holloway and has been for five years until the passing of their grandma, which has them go away for a week, much to their husband's dismay. Yet during the trip their trip, MC'S family gets into a freak accident, and MC slowly starts to suspect that her husband and his fucked up family is responsible.

Current beginning demo stages. No blog yet.

[Only IF with only one RO]

-Efflorescence

Pirates, Sirens, Dark Romance, Horror

MC is sent with a team of people to mend relationships between the growing world and a private and isolated kingdom in order to gain resources that only the Kingdom has. Yet there's a legion that looks over the kingdom.

Not demo, out of beta stages.

[This is a story I wrote that I'm changing into an IF.]

-Nine Blood Dances

Ancient Dark Romance, Horror, Demons

MC has a special ability that is needed to pick the new Ruler of the 9 Circles of Hell, and is taken away from their home and into the hands of the 9 personifications of hell's circles, who all need them to help decide the new Ruler.

Began demo, still beta stages.

[Soft ties to TSTT]

-Desidera

Romance, Horror, Gods & Divine

MC has no recollection of the past, living as a servant to a king, until a man, known as the Black Death comes and kills the king in order to Kill the God that rules over MCs world. He keeps MC alive with the expectation that MC will serve under him. While he seems revenge on the gods who killed his mother.

Beta stages.

[This is also a story I wrote likes a year ago, that I'm converting into an IF.]

[ao3cassandraic]

Angels, demons, language, and culture: part 3

(Part 1 and Part 2 for those interested.)

"I play an ineffable game of my own devising. For everyone else, it’s like playing poker in a pitch dark room with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a dealer who won’t tell you the rules and who smiles all the time." --God, Good Omens

This is just. Creepy and awful and so, so wrong for a quasi-omnipotent being. Ugh. Good Omens!God is an abject horror.

But if you're one of the poker players at that table, what do you do? You try to figure out the rules and mark the cards, naturally. Especially if leaving the table only happens via swan dives into burning sulphur, or getting kicked out of the only home you've known into a hostile desert with lions in it. While pregnant, yet.

So, I did a Bat Mitzvah back in the day, as it happens, and my Torah portion was from Deuteronomy. Which is, as I am hardly the first to notice, chockablock full of rules. Good Omens definitely leveraged (rather than inventing) the idea of trying to figure out Her rules and codify them in writing! Note, however, that the Bible per Word of Gaiman is a human thing. Codifying divine rules? Therefore also a human thing, minus I suppose the Ten Commandments -- though I can certainly envision a Good Omens in which Moses was, um, not exactly telling the truth about the source of the tablets; we only really have his word for it.

Angels and demons, who have a low opinion of literacy and just generally don't seem to be very good at it, never did this. We see that Aziraphale, Before the Beginning, has intuitively figured a few rules out: don't question Her, don't comment on (much less critique) Her decisions or designs, don't ever ever piss Her off. The Starmaker hasn't gotten this far, tragically, and our Crowley remains confused throughout the show as to what rule he can possibly have broken that earned him the identity-changing torture She inflicted on him.

Fundamentally, Crowley doesn't want to -- perhaps can't -- believe that She is capricious and cruel. He thinks there are rules, "don't test to destruction" being a major one. We know he's wrong, however. She straight-up told us so, in the quote at the top of this post! Aziraphale, too, knows, though he buries this knowledge as deep under the words "ineffable" and "Great Plan" (there is no Great Plan, She told us so, it's all a game to Her) as he possibly can -- I think as a coping mechanism -- and does his best to avoid drawing Her attention again after the Sword Incident.

But we see angelic and demonic confusion about the rules of Her game again and again. It's at the root of Aziraphale's successful Great Plan/Ineffable Plan hairsplitting at the airbase. It's why Aziraphale has to (with Muriel's help) dig through the contract for Job, and why Gabriel and Michael can't even be arsed to, even revising Job's reward on the fly. They're guessing! They're guessing about the rules based on what they've seen of Her caprices! She likes sevens!

It's how Crowley rules-lawyers the demons into letting the Whickber Street tradespeople go. If there are actual rules of Heaven-Hell engagement -- and there may not be! Crowley's pulled plausible-sounding lies out of his arse before! -- I'll bet you anything you like practically nobody in Heaven or Hell has actually read them. (My top picks for rules-of-engagement authors, if those rules actually do exist, would be Satan and the Metatron.)

And it's why Uriel has to ask the Metatron, as unsure and afraid as Uriel has ever looked in the entire series, whether the remaining archangels have done something wrong. The Metatron's response refuses to clarify what's at issue -- he, like Her, won't tell anybody the rules. If I'm feeling extremely cynical, I think She and he refuse to explain the rules because they're more powerful if there's no rulebook that rank-and-file angels can use to contest them with.

It makes me so sad. The legions of Heaven would assuredly have followed Her rules, if they only knew what those rules were! Fanart of the just-fallen Starmaker routinely breaks my susceptible heart, not least because the commonest expressions on his face are agony, sorrow -- and confusion. It's just all so damn unfair.

Same with Job, and Peter Davison sells it beautifully. Poor Job assumes he must have broken Her rules somehow, and blames himself for not even knowing how. That's totally on Her, though! If Her rules aren't clear enough for righteous Job to be able to trust his own righteousness under a horrible test, that's Her fault, not his!

The closest that Heaven and Hell -- and humanity, for that matter -- have to Her rules is prophecy. I probably don't need to spill many pixels on how vague and confusing prophecy is, how often it's counterfeited, and how pointless it is to try to live your life by (or trying to avoid) true prophecies; prophecies will invariably gotcha you. Good Omens is hardly the first work of literature to point this out. (Try the story of Oedipus. That's a good one. Yeesh. Or, if we want to be all Biblical about it, Moses again.) Agnes Nutter may well be the only genuinely well-meaning prophet in the entire history of prophets! Even so, her book is incredibly bewildering! Generations of her descendants try to figure it out, and mostly they fail -- look at the annotations we see on Anathema's index cards.

So when @thundercrackfic asks me what Aziraphale gets out of books, my first (though not only) answer is "rules for living." Not just rules for living as safely as possible around Her, though -- rules for living among humans, too. I headcanon (and posited in "Endgame") that Aziraphale has been collecting human etiquette manuals as long as humans have been writing etiquette manuals. Codified rules, like the ones in Deuteronomy, likely help him feel more secure.

I think this is also why Muriel characterizes books as portable people. Muriel is trying their sweet adorable best to figure out the Earth rules on the fly, since nobody Upstairs told them (or indeed knows, the Metatron aside) what those rules are. They do have Aziraphale to help them along -- Aziraphale is so much better than Upstairs! he doesn't condescend or insult, he just gently instructs -- but Aziraphale can't teach full-time, he has other things on his plate. So Muriel the scrivener, one of the few angels who would have a clue about literacy due to the nature of their job, gravitates to books and discovers that they too can be gentle and compassionate teachers.

The final question outstanding is how well Aziraphale understands and assimilates human books, especially fiction, especially especially non-literal figures of speech. It's an excellent and complicated question, and I don't think I have The Answer to it, but I'll see what I can do.

[magick-johnson]

From the Ars Goetia

Kings of Hell:

Baal: First king of Hell. Rules the east, has 66 legions of demons. Teaches invisibility.

Paimon: More loyal to Lucifer than other kings. Rules the northwest, has a roaring voice. Teaches arts, philosophy, and sciences.

Beleth: A “mighty and terrible” king with 85 legions. Attempts to scare the conjured, but then can make men and women fall in love with them (I think).

Purson: A king with 22 legions of demons, who can find hidden things, find treasures, tells the future, and knows the creation of the world.

Asmodeus: A powerful and dangerous king of Hell. His name means “wrath demon,” but he’s actually associated with Lust. Breaks up marriages, encourages adultery. Associated with luxury and pleasure.

Vine: A king and earl of Hell, commands 36 legions of demons, knows the past, present, and future, finds hidden things, creates storms, destroys or builds towers.

Balam: A powerful king of Hell with 46 legions of demons, can answer questions about the past or future, teaches invisibility, and improves wit.

Zagan: A king and president of Hell, with 33 legions of demons. Improves wit, and transfigures things (wine to water, water to wine, blood to wine, blood to oil, oil to blood, raw metals into coins).

Belial: A king of Hell with 80 legions of demons. Gives “presentations and senatorships.”

[cthulhuwritesstuff]

Helluva Boss trailer analysis/theory time.

Buckle up, I’ve had an epiphany (or just brain rot, who knows)

Let’s talk about this guy.

Vassago is described as: “The third demon in the Lesser Key (including Thomas Rudd's variant) as a prince "of a good nature" and of the "same nature as Agares". He rules twenty-six legions of spirits, and is summoned to tell magicians of past and future events, and locate lost objects.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Key part of this theory: “Summoned to tell magicians of past and future events.”

Now! Let’s talk about this guy.

Stolas, our sad little bird, who is, in fact, a magic user.

So for the confusion that won’t leave my head:

The thing in the trailer that just keeps bugging me is that something is off about this part. There’s details that don’t make sense to me.

First of all, Stolas’s facial expressions in these scenes; he looks like he is truly looking down on Blitz, talking down on him, treating him like a “impish little play thing”.

But Blitzo is just there, in Stolas’s garden, with his feet kicked up. Idk, but something about Blitz being so causal about this makes no sense to me. As well as Stolas’s whole attitude toward him.

Furthermore, the detail of the symbol on Stolas’s robe. That is just too obvious, it is glaring, and again it is very much a dick move since we know what kind of relationship and feelings Blitz has toward the circus and his past.

And the fact that in these scenes we do not see Blitz’s face even once, but we do in every other scene. (Might be cause in those scenes his circus mark is not there or looks different, perhaps, and that would be a clue like the carpet pattern in Ghostfuckers when he sees his mom, so we know it’s not real… omg, I am going insane, aren’t I?)

But then we have this scene.

Where Stolas looks terrified and not able to defend himself? Again, how does that make sense? Also, he is clinging onto Blitz, and there’s a sword? We already established that Andy might be the one attacking here, since it’s the same icy ground and stuff. But the rest of it is confusing.

Okay, wait, my POINT IS: what if none of these scenes are real?

What if Vassago just showed Stolas his possible futures with Blitz? A possibility where he never grew feelings and understanding? A possibility where Andy and Stella somehow take over the palace and his powers and trap him?

We know that future is not certain, and if we are to follow Dr. Strange’s logic, there are many alternatives to what the future might end up being. It all depends on our choices, right? Think of it as Ebenezer Scrooge, but in Hell. (Not to mention there is a Sinsmas episode….. JUST SAYING)

We already saw that Blitz deals with some introspection of his own, seeing his past, all the painful moments. So what if Stolas goes through the same thing with Vassago who shows him how, based on Stolas’s choices, these are his alternative futures? Even the “You never loved Mother, you never loved me, you love him” part? The “Do you have any remorse for what you do” part?

Even this part. (Past and possible future- emphasis on possible)

I don’t know… I do not know. Just saying. Just thinking cause they took over my brain! Anyway, that’s it.

I am probably dead wrong, and this is just a bunch of word vomit, but I had to get it out of my system.

[twost3ps]

Listen! Listen! Listen to me! How about this: Paimon is the 7th ex, and Adam is the real mother of Stolas. 😂 I immediately thought of this when I listened to "No Way" from Six The Musical.

The only reason they break up is because Adam finds out that Paimon had an affair that he didn't know about. (Basically like Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon's situation.) This would add a layer of trauma to Stolas's situation. I guess it's like father, like son, except the father was an asshole while the son was forced into a child marriage and just wanted to be happy. Stolas didn't know or remember Adam being his mother because Paimon got child custody, and Adam wasn't allowed to see him. This would add some drama once Adam finds out about the child marriage and Stella abusing his son. Also, I want to see Lucifer find out that one of the Kings, more obedient to fight than the other kings, has two hundred legions of demons under his rule and is the asshole who wouldn't allow his now-boyfriend to see his son. I want to see how the fight would happen.

I'm so sorry for tge late reply it's exam week 4 me so I've just been jumped by work but-

LMAOOOO 💀💀💀💀

This is so good actually omg...

DAMN I JUST NARROWED IT DOWN TO 3 😭😭😭 I WANT THIS ONE TOOOOOOOOOO

AUSGSHSJSN man I love a good Adambowl hhhhhh

But so so good yummm

But I think Paimon's affair would definitely add more trauma to Adam.

Bro. If he's added, that mean THREE people cheated on him- Lilith, Eve, and now Paimon

It would KILL him

For Stolas, I think this could be fixed by saying Adam laid an egg and the incubation period is LONGGGG. And i mean long af, probably due to one being a Goetia and the other being a human, sooooo. It also puts out good reason why Stolas would have no idea that Adam was his mom in the first place because he hatches after Adam is forced away.

Paimon probably threatened to reveal Adam's residence in hell to Lucifur and heaven and it drove Adam away, scared of punishment. Either way, he would have to leave the baby. Still hurt tho and it made him so upset for years.

Sadly, the stolas plot point would most likely have to be scrapped to complexity and timeline stuff. I have no idea how it would work sory wiseee. But I'm gonna write this thing. It's more of an idea, so for now, yes, Adam has a baby ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

Oh but when Adam finds out what's going on 💀💀💀

Death man. He's gonna make Lucifur throw hands. Not on just Paimon but on Stella too. BRUHHH

Imo, I think Adam was and is a good parent. He's just an asshole to literally everybody else. He might have wanted to find Stolas before, but he had no idea where to go. And for plot reasons, he doesn't understand hell heigharchy or any of its big leaders, he just got with a big strong hot bird guy for a while. He just hoped his kid was fine (he was not lol)

As for Lucifur, yeah, he's gonna throw hands. He knows it's hypocritical of him to get mad at Paimon for cheating on Adam but he's still so pissed. And for not letting Adam see his kid, man if he could never see Charlie again he would actually die, so he's gonna beat tf out of him

I think Paimon would just take it ngl, he upset his king and although he doesn't understand why it's a big deal he's just gonna take it o3o

This thing is all over the place and has so many loopholes that I would have to get help for piecing this in but I do love this idea

[reachartwork]

Ose (also Osé, Oze, Oso, Voso) is a Great President of Hell, ruling three legions of demons. He makes men wise in all liberal sciences and gives true answers concerning divine and secret things; he also brings insanity to any person the conjurer wishes, making them believe that they are the creature or thing the magician desired, or makes that person think he is a king and wearing a crown, or a pope. Ose is depicted as a leopard that after a while changes into a man.

[luceafarul-de-dimineata]

Tired dad!Lucifer AU - Introduction

(This is not cannon and I wrote it before the Gamigin event. Not proof-read, fuck it we ball)

Lucifer was God's favourite creation. Though God loved all His children (except Raphael), He had a soft spot for Lucifer. The angel was smart, kind and unlike the other angels, he would actually question God's words. When God created humans and placed them in the garden of eden, Lucifer was the only one that actually talked with them politely. Gabriel refused to look at anyone but God, Michael would lose his temper instantly and hurt them and Raphael was locked in the basement for existing.

Even though God prohibitated Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, Lucifer didn't understand this decision. One time, while he was hanging out with Eve admiring the flowers, Lucifer turned around and asked innocently "Have you ever eaten from that tree?". Eve trusted Lucifer, so she decided to try the fruit of knowledge with Lucifer, before sharing some with Adam. Gabriel saw this and, like the sifonar that he is, told God immidiately about the breaking of the rules. Adam and Eve where sent to Earth, but Lucifer just got the "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" speech.

Gabriel was furious that Lucifer got of scot free and decided to spy on him. He hated that God loved that Morningstar more than him and decided to start a drama chanel about Lucifer. Lucifer secretly liked the admiration that he was getting, even making friends with some lower classed angels.

One day, Gabriel went up to Lucifer and asked him for a friendly duel. They distroyed a whole country in Heaven in the process, so God had to step in and calm the two down. Since God had been working on this funky new project called "hell" where demons would live, he decided to put Lucifer in charge of looking after the place. Lucifer took some of his friends and, as they were packing, Gabriel snuck into the room with his legion and ripped all of their wings and drilled horns into their bodies before throwing them in Hell. Lucifer tryed to tell God about this, but Gabriel deleted all the e-mails Lucifer sent God's way.

Finding himself in Hell with only some of his former angel friends and 6 demon kids, Lucifer had to adapt to a new life... the life of a single father.

[greenerteacups]

If you had to rank the core 7 canon books how would you order them?

Goblet of Fire my beloved <3 (tournament arc my beloved. yule ball my beloved dragons and mermaids and riddles my beloved viktor krum fleur delacour cedric diggory my beloveds QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP my beloved. real costs of war my beloved. the start of the actual story of harry potter and that's a hill I will dig my grave in.)

Prisoner of Azkaban (murder mystery + marauders lore + last real self-contained adventure novel in the series, also introduces the patronus mechanic, sirius black, remus lupin, etc. fun fact when i was growing up POA was the one book in the series I didn't own so I've read it the fewest times of any book and it STILL clears.)

Order of the Phoenix (what if your friend group were all members of a secret underground martial arts association with the goal of Sticking It To The Man? would that not be the coolest? and legions of us answered powerfully: Yea, it would be The Fucking Coolest. has the most convoluted plot of any of the books and it drags like hell at some points but it's also a really cool dive into character psychology and it's the first time it actually feels like our heroes can lose.)

Half-Blood Prince (by far the darkest book in the story, includes the much-awaited Tom Riddle backstory and finally sets up the lynchpin of the climax via the horcrux mechanic; Draco finally gets something approximating an arc, or like, basic three-dimensionality; the Slug Club is a delicious POV into what Slytherin could be/can be/actually is, culturally speaking; but I'm not a huge fan of Harry's plot with Dumbledore, and it means most of the D.A. from Book 5 are left with not a whole lot to do besides sit around and talk to Harry like videogame NPCs— including, most egregiously, Ron and Hermione, neither of whom seem all that enthused about the author's decision that they ought to kiss.)

Deathly Hallows: I just wouldn't make most of the decisions this book makes with respect to about how to end the series, and I've had a long time to come to peace with that. It's a fun, well-written Quest story, but it's not about the things I'd like it to be about.

Philosopher's Stone: this is a children's book. That's not the book's fault, it's perfectly clear about what it is, but I'm not going to enjoy it as much as books written with older readers in mind. It's also pretty woozy about the magic system, which bugs me, especially when the book breaks established rules from later in the series.

Chamber of Secrets: I don't not enjoy Chamber of Secrets, but in addition to being a children's book, the tone problem kind of drives me up the wall. It's a horror premise (serial killer on the loose in a Gothic castle, girl being possessed by a demon, self-abusing slave chasing Harry around trying to break his bones) and it's written like children's fantasy (i.e. the tone's very flippant and arch and British humor about everything). If the plot of this book and Half-Blood Prince switched places, both would rank much higher.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Bael - Day 72

Race: Tyrant

Alignment: Dark-Chaos

July 16th, 2024

What better way to celebrate the amount of demons in the Ars Goetia than to talk about the very first in the grimoire? While Bael may be more infamous for his rather poor redesign in SMT II in the series, this demon is among the most powerful in the Goetia, if not the most powerful, being the first of seventy-two. Of course, as a Goetic demon, there's not much to go over historically here, but it's a simple, fun celebration, is it not?

Bael is a commonly recurring demon in many demonic compendiums, not just our favorite Goetic grimoire, and as an incredibly powerful demon in his own right, it only makes sense that he'd be the focus of several. For the most part, Bael has several common traits with slight differences from compendium to compendium, which are as follows- he may appear in the shape of a man, cat, or toad in the Ars Goetia, and similarly, he is purported to appear in the shape of all three at the same time in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, a similar compendium to the Lesser Key of Solomon that we're all used to. In fact, the design we all enjoy and try not to forget about, the SMT I design, is actually a near-exact match to Bael's drawing in the Pseudomonarchia, spider legs and all.

The ability of Bael is to make one invisible, as said in the Lesser Key- to quote, and this is his entire article,

(1.) BAEL.—The first Principal Spirit is a King ruling in the East, called Bael. He maketh thee to go Invisible. He ruleth over 66 Legions of Infernal Spirits. He appeareth in divers shapes, sometimes like a Cat, sometimes like a Toad, and sometimes like a Man, and sometimes all these forms at once. He speaketh hoarsely. This is his character which is used to be worn as a Lamen before him who calleth him forth, or else he will not do thee homage.

So, open and shut, right? A simple demon who can make one invisible, ruling over 66 legions of fellow demons. However, this simple depiction is only part of the whole story- it's commonly believed that Bael may be a bastardization of the Canaanite deity Ba'al, one of our previous Demons- this is due mostly to the similar name between the two, though some shared traits also draw comparison. It's said that a literal demonization took place, due to the villainous role that Baal took in the bible, and as time went on, Baal became nothing more than the name of a demon pretending to be a god.

Now, as for how it's depicted in SMT, the design was nearly perfect! It's an almost mirror image of the contemporary depiction given in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, and it was a fantastic depiction of the demon! So why did they redesign him in SMT II?

What is this? Is this supposed to be the mighty, fearsome ruler of hell? A demon who was second only to the rulers and barons of hell? After this design, he never appeared again- as much as a shame as this is, though, I can't say I blame him. One bomb in the market, and your company goes flat. Alas.

[orangehamster]

King Zagan

Zagan, depicted by Sketchbookuniverse

King Zagan is a Great, and Powerful King of Hell. He commands over thirty three legions of lesser demons in Hell.

Some of his powers/domains are:

Turning water into wine, and vice versa.

Turning blood into wine.

Blood into oil and vice versa.

Turning metals into coins.

Making fools into wise people.

Mentioned in the Ars Goetia, and Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, King Zagan is also called with the title of "President".

He appears as a griffin-winged bull who Transforms into a man after a while.

In my interpretation, he rules over transformation. He can mate ignorant people smart, which is a "positive" change, but he can also turn water into wine, which is... A kinda neutral change. Which could indicate that king Zagan is a demon that can trigger all types of transformations, whether they are positive or negative in our human minds.

A bull is a symbol of strength, masculinity, and fire. And his griffin wings might indicate that he is free spirited and independent. Or that he values independence.

Zagan is much more than a demon who can turn water into wine, wine into oil ,and so on. He is a demon of change. A demon of wealth. And a demon of prosperity.

The "water into wine" transformation might remind you of someone? Right?

That's right. Jesus Christ.

Which makes an interesting parallel, as it can indicate that this demon can turn impossible into possible and make miracles.

It seems like "turning water into wine" might be impossible, and can only be done in The Bible , and other religious books (and fantasy stories)... But that is just a metaphor. A metaphor that shows that Zagan can do miracles, make impossible things possible. He shows us that he is reliable, most of all. And that you can have faith in him to help you with anything.

[ask-theredcrown]

Aym, Baal, is there any significance to your names?

"My name comes from the head of the infernal powers! A king that rules 66 legions of demons! Aym is another demon that is a Duke of Hell, famous for setting entire cities on fire!"