#infernal dictionary

[stellae-de-baphometis]

The Bastardised Interpretations Of Daemons (And Other Spirits) Within The Dictionnaire Infernal

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So I got the idea for this post from my best friend @sortiarus-de--naturas--daemonum, and we both agreed that this was something that needed addressing; Especially in regards to Daemonolatry.

The Dictionnaire Infernal is one of the most widely known grimoires on demonology and all things occult. But what a lot of practitioners might not know is that it's actually quite a problematic resource for Daemonolatry and occult practices, and for several reasons. In fact, I personally don't think it's a reputable source in general, and this post is going to be detailing exactly why that is.

So without further ado, here's why the Dictionnaire Infernal might not be the greatest resource for Daemonolatrists, and why it's much more problematic than you think!

Full post under the cut. ↓

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So, why is the Dictionnaire Infernal a bad resource for Daemonolatry and daemons in general? Well...

For starters, the book was written by someone who had very, very problematic views on other religions and belief systems... As in, racism, xenophobia, and religiophobia kind of problematic.

On top of that, Jacques Collin De Plancy (the author) had converted to Catholicism by the time he had started writing the Dictionnaire Infernal. So at this point, he was already going to have a biased interpretation of the Daemonic Divine, as he was interpreting them through a Christian-tainted lens; That is, in comparison to someone who seeks to learn about and venerate them. As a result, the entries on the daemons within his book were evidently written to play into the vilifying and denigration of daemons in general.

And to add insult to injury, a later edition was published with added illustrations, likely commissioned by De Plancy and drawn by Louis Le Breton, showcasing bastardised interpretations of daemons and demonised deities, interpreting them to look as monstrous and hideous as possible.

All around, it seems that both the spirits' entries and their illustrations were made with the main intent to mock and degrade them, as well as to portray them as being mere dirt beneath the feet of the Christian God. Obviously, a book portraying daemons in such a way is not going to be very helpful to a Daemonolatrist. If one wants to honour and work with daemons, what use is such a book that primarily mocks their very existence going to be?

Don't get me wrong; I think it's okay to go to the Dictionnaire Infernal for research, but only with the foreknowledge and understanding that the lore and mythology of the daemons and other spirits listed therein runs much deeper than the mere entries within the book, and that you shouldn't rely on it as your sole source of information on the Daemonic Divine.

But aside from these glaring issues, the Dictionnaire Infernal is just iniquitous and amoral in general; Which is no surprise, given that it was written in the 19th century and people back then held some very problematic beliefs... But that doesn't make any of it okay.

So, what other issues lie within the pages of the Dictionnaire Infernal? Let's delve into them...

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◦──⋆ I ⋆──◦

~ Demonising Deities Of Other Religions ~

Something I noticed from the get-go was the fact that De Plancy is very quick to declare deities from other belief systems as Christian demons who oppose God, when they're historically not documented as such. He did this with several Hindu deities such as Bhairava, Ganga, Kali, Durga (a.k.a. Deumus), Kateri, and Garuda. The illustrations of these deities drawn by Le Breton seem to be quite shocking and possibly kind of racist as well.

I mean, take these depictions of Bhairava (left) and Kali (right) for example, and they seem to speak for themselves. I don't know for sure if these depictions are racist or not, but they definitely feel like they might be...

At the very least, they seem to be extremely bastardised and monstrously grotesque misrepresentations of these deities. See these more historically accurate depictions below for comparison:

De Plancy also included entries on deities and entities such as Abraxas, Adrammelech, Alastor, Astarte, Chemosh (Chamos), Dagon, Dumuzid (Tammuz), Flaga, Guayota, Hadad (Rimmon), Milcom, Moloch, Nergal, Nibhaz (Nybbas), Nisroch, Pan, Peckols (Picollus), Pluton, Proserpina, Pucks, Rubezahl (Ribesal), Succoth-benoth, Torngarsuk, and many others that were criminally misrepresented and twisted into something they weren't.

It likely only reinforced the idea of deities such as Moloch, Chemosh, Dagan, Adrammelech, and Abraxas being considered Christianised "demons" rather than simply just deities pertaining to other religions and belief systems. Even mere underworld deities tasked with watching over the dead in the afterlife (e.g. Peckols, Pluton, Proserpina, Nergal, Dumuzid) were tainted with the stereotypical Christian idea of Hell; Fire, brimstone, pain, torment, and suffering for all of eternity.

And while some forgotten gods of dying religions might take a liking to being embraced as daemons or daemonic deities worthy of veneration in the context of Daemonolatry (as long as it's done in a respectful manner of course), these deities have still been obscenely misrepresented through the distorted perception of De Plancy's problematic views on other religions.

And that leads us into his similarly skewed views on the Daemonic Divine themselves, which isn't any better...

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◦──⋆ II ⋆──◦

~ The Monstrous Misrepresentation Of Spirits ~

So not only was De Plancy a racist religiophobe (which was already rather obvious lol), but he was also quite uneducated on daemons as a whole; That is my personal opinion as both a Daemonolatrist and a Daemonologist. Having converted to Catholicism, this likely made his perception and interpretation of daemons extremely biased, because it's quite commonplace for Christianity to depict daemons in a grossly negative light.

They're basically viewed and treated like they're evil incarnate and are frequently scapegoated for most of the world's problems by religious extremists, even in the modern day. As someone who has a lot of love and respect for the Daemonic Divine, these ideas criminally misrepresent the daemons I know and love; And that goes for how they're portrayed in the Dictionnaire Infernal as well.

On top of De Plancy having a warped perception of daemons, he also seemed to have limited knowledge of the Daemonic Divine beyond their grimoire appearances; He didn't seem to have much of a UPG on them (other than the fact that he believed they were literal fallen angels who disobeyed god and were cast out of Heaven as a result), which is probably because he was biased, and didn't care to see daemons in a different perception beyond the Christian interpretation of them being the "villains".

From the thorough research I've done, it seems much more likely that daemons originate from deities pertaining to pantheons of other religions and belief systems, rather than being literal fallen angels. But that's for a whole other post in and of itself.

Aside from deities such as Baal and Astarte already being bastardised into the daemons Bael and Astaroth, as well as being depicted as such in the Dictionnaire Infernal, De Plancy himself also misinterpreted and misrepresented several deities and spirits of other folkloric backgrounds. This is very evident in his "hellish hierarchy" of spirits he considers demons included within his book. He also assigns absurdly inaccurate roles to them too. Here are just a few examples:

Kobal - This is likely a demonisation of both the Kobold sprites of Germanic mythology and the Kobaloi sprites of Greek mythology. Kobolds were commonly considered household spirits who stirred up mischief around the home. In some accounts, they were also known to do chores at night that humans neglected to finish during the day. Kobaloi were said to be impudent and mischievous spirits that were fond of tricking and frightening mortals. They were companions of Dionysus and also had the ability to shape-shift. De Plancy represented these sprites as a singular demon and assigned him with directing theatres and being somewhat of a "stage manager" in Hell.

Nybbas - This is a demonisation of a supposed deity of the Avim called Nibhaz, worshipped during the reigning of Shalmaneser I, mentioned in 2 Kings 17:31 of the Bible. Nibhaz is a rather obscure Mesopotamian deity mentioned in the Bible who was either 1) A deity whose history and mythos has been lost to time, or 2) A deity that likely never even existed in the first place. Thus, there's barely any information on Nibhaz, other than the fact that they apparently appeared in the form of a dog. De Plancy portrayed this deity as a demon under the name of Nybbas, who was in charge of managing the visions and dreams of mortals. He was said to be treated with little respect, and was regarded a "buffoon" and "charlatan".

Nergal - Here's another Mesopotamian deity that was mentioned in 2 Kings 17:31 and later demonised by De Plancy, though, Nergal seems to have a much more pronounced mythos. Nergal was a chthonic god associated with plagues, war, pestilence, death, and devastation. However, he was also said to be a benefactor to mortals; Hearing their prayers, reviving the dead, and protecting agriculture and flocks. He was equated with Irra, a god of war and scorched earth. This is probably why Nergal was later regarded as a "destroying flame" and described as "scorching". De Plancy assigned him with the role of being chief of Hell's "secret police". He is also listed as the first spy under Beelzebub's command who, in turn, is under the surveillance of "the great vigilante" Lucifer. I have absolutely no idea why Hell would even need secret police or where he even got that idea in the first place, but go figure lol. That's De Plancy for ya.

Proserpina - As far as I know, I don't think Proserpina was actually demonised prior to her appearance in the Dictionnaire Infernal. It seems that her entry within the book is the first time she was ever demonised. Proserpina is a Roman goddess (Greek equivalent: Persephone) of fertility, nature, agriculture, vegetative growth, the underworld, and the season of Spring. She is best-known for the myth of her abduction to the Underworld by the chthonic god Hades (Roman equivalent: Pluto). De Plancy includes her in his "hellish hierarchy" where he regards her as an archdiablesse (French for "archdemoness" or "arch-she-devil") and princess of evil spirits. In her grimoire entry within the Dictionnaire Infernal, she is described as being queen of the infernal empire and is associated with serpents and snakes.

Hutgin - This is another case of De Plancy demonising sprites and faeries. Hutgin is likely a demonisation of Hodekin, a kobold or sprite of Germanic folklore. Hodekin was said to be a helpful sprite and somewhat of a familiar spirit who lived with the Bishop Of Hildesheim. Hodekin was said to mainly be a nocturnal spirit and only active at night. He could see into the future and could warn one of problems to come. One of the myths surrounding Hodekin is that he was tasked with watching over the bishop's wife to make sure she remained faithful while he was away. Whenever she tried to cheat on the bishop, Hodekin would step in and assume frightening shapes, scaring the paramours away before the wife could be unfaithful. De Plancy assigns Hutgin with the role of being Hell's ambassador to the country of Turkey (for whatever reason lmao).

I don't really know how De Plancy came to such conclusions regarding daemons, deities, and other spirits; But clearly, a lot of these depictions are not very historically accurate lol. And that leads us into the next section of this post, where the depictions of the Daemonic Divine in particular weren't exactly without error in comparison to their other grimoire appearances.

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◦──⋆ III ⋆──◦

~ The Inaccurate Depictions Of Daemons ~

A lot of people in occult spaces are likely familiar with Le Breton's illustrations within the Dictionnaire Infernal. However, what a lot of people don't know is that the illustrations and grimoire entries aren't very historically accurate depictions of the Daemonic Divine; That is, when you compare them to the daemons' original grimoire appearances in books such as the Livre Des Esperitz, Fasciculus Rerum Geomanticarum, Liber Officiorum Spirituum, and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum. From the disparaging illustrated depictions to the bastardised lore, the Daemonic Divine aren't exactly documented so accurately within the Dictionnaire Infernal. Let's delve into some examples:

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Pruflas (also called Bufas, Suffales, Bulfas, Pruslas, and Busas) is a daemon that appears in the Livre Des Esperitz, Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, and the Dictionnaire Infernal.

In the Dictionnaire Infernal, Pruflas is depicted as a man with the head of an owl. But for some reason, his illustration depicts Purson rather than Pruflas (Purson is described as a lion-headed man riding a bear, also being associated with trumpets). Perhaps this was either some sort of error, or De Plancy and/or Le Breton considered Pruflas and Purson to be the same daemon, even though this is not stated anywhere in the Dictionnaire Infernal.

In the Livre Des Esperitz, Pruflas's appearance is not described. In the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, he is said to appear as a spark of fire. In the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, he is said to appear with the body of a fiery flame and the head of a nighthawk or nightjar (described as "nycticoraci" in the original Latin version).

The term "nycticoraci" or "nycticorax" is translated to "night raven" in English. This term likely originates from Leviticus 11:16 of the Bible, which regards the "night raven" as any bird of ill omen. The specific birds regarded as night ravens mentioned in Leviticus 11 are; Eagles, vultures, black vultures, red kites, black kites, ravens, horned owls, screech owls, gulls, hawks, little owls, cormorants, great owls, white owls, desert owls, ospreys, storks, herons, hoopoes, and bats (even though bats aren't birds lol).

Later, the term "nycticorax" was used to name a specific genus of night herons. It was specifically also used to refer to the best known species, the black-crowned night heron. Given that the term "night raven" can refer to any bird of ill omen in Christianity, this may explain why daemons such as Stolas, Andras, and Aamon are depicted as either being owl-headed or taking on the appearance of an owl.

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Buer (also called Gemer) is a daemon that appears in the Livre Des Esperitz, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Ars Goetia, and the Dictionnaire Infernal.

In the Dictionnaire Infernal, Buer is depicted as appearing in the form of a star or five-pointed wheel. Le Breton's illustration depicts him as a disembodied lion's head with five goat legs, giving him the ability to "walk" or roll in all directions. This is a historically inaccurate depiction of how Buer appears, because he isn't depicted as a quintuple-goat-legged lion head in any of his grimoire appearances whatsoever.

In the Livre Des Esperitz, Buer's appearance is not described. In the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, he is said to appear in the form of a star. In the Ars Goetia, he is said to appear in the form of a "sagittary" or centaur, specifically when the Sun is in Sagittarius.

Buer is likely a demonisation of Chiron, a superlative centaur from Greek mythology who specialised in healing, medicine, and astrology; Which explains Buer's similar functions and the account of him appearing in the form of a "sagittary" in the Ars Goetia.

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Barbatos (also called Barbates, Barbares, Barbais, Barbas, and Barbarus) is a daemon that appears in the Livre Des Esperitz, Munich Manual Of Demonic Magic, Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Ars Goetia, and the Dictionnaire Infernal.

In his Dictionnaire Infernal illustration, Barbatos is depicted as a bearded hunter wielding a hunting rifle, and he is said to inhabit the forests. In his grimoire entry, he is alternatively said to appear as an archer. He is also compared to Robin Of The Woods (a.k.a. Robin Hood) and Jack In The Green.

In the Livre Des Esperitz, Barbatos's appearance is not described. In the Munich Manual Of Demonic Magic, he is said to appear as a forest archer who is accompanied by four kings carrying trumpets. In the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, he is said to appear in the form of a shouter, forest man, or wild archer. Alternatively, he is also said to appear as a centaur or "sagittary" that is described as being "half-man and half-beast". In the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, he is said to appear in the form of a woodland archer. In the Ars Goetia, he is said to appear in the form of a "sagittary" or centaur, specifically when the Sun is in Sagittarius; Similarly to Buer.

While his form described in the Ars Goetia is said to be a mistranslation, it's not technically an inaccurate depiction. He appears as a centaur in the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, after all. His depiction as a forest man isn't too inaccurate either, given that Barbatos is possibly tied to the mythical figure Woodwose originating in medieval Europe, and functions similarly.

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Gaap (also called Tap, Goap, Coap, Taob, Ducay, and Balath) is a daemon that appears in the Livre Des Esperitz, Munich Manual Of Demonic Magic, Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Ars Goetia, and the Dictionnaire Infernal.

In the Dictionnaire Infernal, Gaap is said to appear at noon in human form. But in his illustration, he is depicted as a devil-like figure, or more plausibly, as a man riding upon the shoulders of a devil-like figure. Many people have interpreted this illustration as the demon figure being Gaap himself. But given his Dictionnaire Infernal entry, it's probably more likely that Gaap is the human mounted on the shoulders of the demon-like figure.

In the Livre Des Esperitz, Gaap's appearance is said to appear "very benignly". In the Munich Manual Of Demonic Magic, he is said to appear as a healer that assumes human form, and is also regarded as a doctor. In the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, he is said to appear as a misshapen image. In the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, he is said to appear in a "meridional sign". In the Ars Goetia, he is said to appear in human form when the Sun is in the Southern signs.

As previously stated, it's likely that many people have interpreted Gaap's illustration as him being depicted as the devil-like figure, instead of the man that is mounted on him. Looking at his other grimoire appearances, it's likely that the illustration was meant to depict Gaap as taking the form of a human mounted on the shoulders of a devil-like being.

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Beleth (also called Bileth, Bilet, and Byleth) is a daemon that appears in the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Ars Goetia, and the Dictionnaire Infernal.

In the Dictionnaire Infernal, she is said to appear as a "terrible" king riding a white horse, preceded by cats blowing horns and trumpets. However, her illustration seems to depict her as cat-headed person playing a horn, surrounded by dancing mice. Perhaps this illustration was meant to depict one of the horn-blowing cats that precede Beleth? I'm not sure.

In the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Beleth's appearance is not described. In the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, she is said to appear furiously, riding upon a pale horse; The sounding of trumpets and the playing of all sorts of other musical instruments are heard before her. In the Ars Goetia, she appears pretty much in the same way as described within the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.

It's also just my personal UPG that Beleth is a girl lol, as I believe she likely originated from the Mesopotamian goddess Belet-ili. As far as I know, I don't think Beleth is depicted as a woman in any of her grimoire appearances. Her Dictionnaire Infernal entry and illustration don't seem to align either, so it's likely that the trumpet-blowing cat drawing was meant to depict the cats that precede Beleth, rather than Beleth herself.

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These are just a handful of the inaccurate depictions of the Daemonic Divine and other spirits within the Dictionnaire Infernal. If I were to delve into all of them in great detail, this post would be far too long... So I'm gonna end it there lol.

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In conclusion, I personally don't advise going to the Dictionnaire Infernal as your sole source of research on daemons; Especially if you're a daemonolatrist. I'd instead recommend looking at their other grimoire appearances, especially the earlier ones. The grimoires I recommend looking into are:

Livre Des Esperitz

Fasciculus Rerum Geomanticarum

Liber Officiorum Spirituum

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Ars Goetia

I hope you find this post helpful! And as always, I wish you well on your spiritual path. Also, a big thanks to my friend @sortiarus-de--naturas--daemonum for helping me out with this post! I could not have written this without her. 💜

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❀༻ Ave Satanas ༺❀

+. Image Sources .+ ... Nightjar Photo ... Centaur Image V1 ... Centaur Image V2 ... Flower Petals Image ... Horse Rider Image ...

#daemonolatry info posts #demonolatry #demonology #demons #dictionnaire infernal #daemonic divine #paganism #daemonolatry #daemonology #pagan #daemons #witchblr #paganblr #daemonblr #infernal dictionary #demonolatry resources

[catycomics]

Abigor- The first Demon I met in my travels through hell. Gave me what appear to be good advice about warfare. Didn't seem to care that I was just a traveler and not a soldier.

#Demonology #infernal dictionary #demon

[mauesartetc]

So quick question:

How exactly is this supposed to be Paimon?

Based on how this demon’s traditionally described, he takes the form of a crowned man with an effeminate face riding a dromedary camel, and as far as I know, he’s not related to Stolas. Helluva Boss’s version, meanwhile, is an owl and Stolas’ father. Was it really that hard to follow the assignment? And I thought their version of Andrealphus was bad. Sheesh.

It would’ve been the easiest thing in the world to give this character a different name, or not involve Stolas’ father in the story at all. In fact, what if “Stolas” were just a name passed down through generations, and when the current Stolas died, his son became the new Stolas? Sort of like a Princess Bride “Dread Pirate Roberts” situation. What’s the point of using names from the Ars Goetia if you won’t stay true to the demons that hold them?

Anyway, here’s how I’d handle Paimon, taking inspiration from his sigil, the Infernal Dictionary’s representation, and a bit from the Helluva design. It’s a first draft, but it’s already much more faithful to the original depiction. Viv Medrano acts like basic visual research is so darn taxing when it’s really not that difficult if you just try.

I hope the Helluva team at least gave him a camel to ride, though knowing Viv it’ll probably be a llama instead.

#helluva boss #helluva critical #character design #redesign #paimon #demon #ars goetia #infernal dictionary

[tiny-huts]

Really not over how quickly Asmodeus called everyone in his little circle of hell and was like "hey guys there is a boy I really like. Make sure you're NICE TO HIM or so help me" and they were all like okay! Sounds great!

#i just downloaded the entire infernal dictionary to his head also #hope he likes it :) #zerxus ilerez #exu spoilers #critical role #exu: calamity #Asmodeus

[lovelyverosika]

You didn’t know but with a twist

Hazbin Hotel! Adam x Fem!Reader

Warning: swearing

A/N: Hey<3 My name is Verosika and I’ll write fanfictions whenever I have the time to :) This is my first time writing one, so it’s based on the song "You didn’t know" to make it easier for me. Just to let you know english isn’t my first language..so be prepared for some grammar mistakes :,D

Y/N POV:

We all sat in the courtroom, waiting for the trail to begin. Next to me was my husband Adam and Lute. I wasn’t supposed to be here but Adam wanted me to hear the "childish" and unrealistic ideas of the princess of hell.

After everyone was here Sera spoke "We're gathered here today to determine whether or not a soul in Hell, can be redeemed into heavenly realm by means of this 'Hazbin hotel', Princess Morningstar?",Sera said wanting Charlie to speak up.

I looked down to Charlie,my head resting on Adam’s shoulder. "Webster's dictionary defines redemption as-" before Charlie could speak Adam interrupts her: "Objection, lame and unoriginal". I sighed at his immature behaviour and gave him a slight bump with my head.

Charlie was flipping through her cards making Adam roll his eyes. "If you have actually evidence, then show it already." He said,glaring at Charlie. "We have two patrons already they’re making incredible progress" Charlie defended and I smiled, "Who?", I asked. "Angel Dust" Charlie spoke. "Oh yeah, the pornstar demon" Adam snickered as he added. "He's totally worth being redeemed".

Suddenly Monika,another demon stood up. "Well then, if you know so much…what do you think it takes to get into heaven?",she spoke. It was quiet until I asked if Adam was okay. He scoffed as he pulled out a golden paper from his pockets and a pen, "Give me a fucking moment, okay?",he then started writing and gave me the paper as I read it out, "Act selfless, don't steal, stick it to the man?", I chuckled looking at him with an raised eyebrow. He shrugged "Uh, yeah? Sure got me here...didn't it?",he said seemingly questioning himself. Sera sighed before saying: "He was the first human soul in heaven."

In the following hours Charlie showed us the improvement of this demon called Angel dust and how he did everything what Adam wrote on his list but nothing happened. Sera only sighed as she wanted to declare the trail as failed and that we will see what brings someone to heaven when the first soul arrives. I sat there with my head hanging. I felt bad for keeping my secret,especially when I looked over to Emily,who held the paper that Adam had written earlier.

Emily: But she was right, Sera. She showed us a soul can improve. He saw the light, Sera. Checked all the boxes that you said would prove a person deserves a second chance. Now we turn our backs, no second glance?

Sera: It's not as simple as you think. Not everything is spelled in ink.

Charlie: It's not fair, Sera!

Vaggie: Careful, Charlie, keep a cool head.

Charlie: No! Don't you care, Sera? That just because someone is dead, it doesn't mean they can't resolve to change their ways turn the page, escape infernal blaze.

Y/N: I'm sure you wish it could be so. But there's a lot that you don't know.

Lute: What are we even talkin' about? Some crack-whore who fucked up already? He blew his shot, like the cocks in his mouth. This discussion is senseless and petty.

Lute & Adam: There's no question to be posed!He's unholy, case closed. Did you forget that Hell is forever?

Adam: A man only lives once, we'll see you in one month. Gotta say, I can't wait to…

Y/N: Adam…

Adam: Come down and exterminate you.

Emily: Wait!

Adam: Shit…

Emily: What are you saying? Let me get this straight…You go down there and kill those poor souls?

Charlie & Y/N: You didn’t know?

Adam: Whoops

Lute: Guess the cat’s out of the bag.

Adam: What’s the big deal?

Emily: Sera, tell me that you didn't know…

Sera: I thought, since I'm older it's my load to shoulder

Emily: No!

Sera: You have to listen, it was such a hard decision. I wanted to save you, the anguish it takes to do what was required.

Emily: To think that I admired you, well I don't need your condescension. I'm not a child to protect! Was talk of virtue just pretension? Was I too naive to expect you to heed the morals you're purveying?

Charlie: That's what the fuck I've been saying!

Emily,Charlie & Monika: If Hell is forever, then Heaven must be a lie! If angels can do whatever, and remain in the sky. The rules are shades of gray, when you don't do as you say. When you make the wretched suffer just to kill them again.

Monika: Don't you act all high and mighty!Adam did you ever think your "sweet" wife might be a liar?

Y/N: Huh? Wait no…please!

Monika: Don’t be such a crybaby! Why hide the fact that you were a demon just like us?

Part 2

#hazbin hotel #adam x reader #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel adam #hazbin hotel adam x reader #x reader

[eternal-kosmo-ghoul]

Could you maybe write an established relationship sodo x fem reader smut with breeding kink and knotting with romantic fluffy after care??

Thank you🖤🖤

“darling amour”

❤︎ Synopsis — Sodo’s a mess of emotions— an unpredictable storm that never knew the touch of gentleness and tender care… until he met his current mate. With her, he can learn to be sweet… caring, and shower his lover with so much affection he never knew he had within him.

Pairing: sodo ghoul x ghoulette!reader (she/her)

Theme: smut ❣︎ , fluff ✿

A/N: I’m experimenting with a new writing style so I hope it doesn’t seem to weird aaaaa. I haven’t written with a fem reader in a while, and idk if I wrote the breeding kink well … so I hope this suffices

CW: NSFW CONTENT. Established relationship, Sodo has issues but it’s ok because reader is amazing, AFAB reader, Breeding kink, knotting, p in v, vaginal sex, praise kink, love marking and hickeys, probably more I can’t think of, but Sodo gives reader lots of love and aftercare <3

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Sodo was an interesting little thing.

A rather stoic and hotheaded little fellow, the firecracker of Ghost— you’d probably find Sodo’s name in the dictionary under the word “temperamental”.

Sodo never let anyone get too close to him, always keeping his walls closely built around him, and rarely opening up. He had made it clear since day one that he isn’t a man that speaks with his heart, but rather with instinct— always snapping his teeth and growling at anyone who tries to get too close. Many of the ghouls and ghoulettes have learned to not irritate this man, as the outcome that came from it was never a pretty sight.

Of course, he wasn’t a completely heartless monster, Sodo was just… troubled. He had his friends, like Rain, Phantom, Swiss, all of those guys, but even they have learned not to try and pry into the secrets of Sodo’s issues.

That is until she came to his life.

Y/N, She was a new little infernal into the pack, Papa had summoned her to serve as a new member of their strange, yet welcoming family in the ministry. Sodo didn’t know what it was about this ghoulette that got him so drawn to her. Maybe it was her sweet yet gracious hand gestures, or the way that her voice was just so angelic, like a mourning dove singing it’s alluring and enchanting song.

Call him delusional for swooning over this demon the moment he saw her— but maybe love at first sight wasn’t so silly to Sodo anymore.

And it seemed that Y/N took a liking to Sodo as well, as she clung to him the moment she was summoned. Newly summoned ghouls usually take a bit to adjust to the topside, the overwhelming sensations of the human realm having freshly summoned ghouls on high alert and hissing at anyone who dares to step a foot into their direction. Yet for some odd reason, Y/N stuck to Sodo, and he didn’t mind one bit.

This seemed to work in their favor, because one thing led to another, the fire ghoul and the new ghoulette started dating. It was… a new experience for Sodo, to say the least. He’s never opened up this quickly to a fellow infernal— let alone one he just met recently. However, the fire ghoul always found himself drawn to this beautiful beast.

Something lured him in like a moth to the flame— drawing him into her presence like an symphonic melody. And honestly, Sodo wasn’t complaining, because this woman was everything he wanted in a mate.

She was a stunning ghoulette. Beautiful like the flames of Hell themselves, a sexy beast that had any man or woman shaking in their knees just from her sheer presence alone. Y/N was everything he could ask for. His little darling amour. An absolutely kind and understanding mate, gentle to the touch but absolutely wild in the sheets.

And oh boy did Sodo love this woman in bed.

Maybe it was the way she let out those soft and elegant moans, or how her tail would intertwine with his every time she was close to finishing. The way he drilled his cock into her tight heat had her squeezing so tightly around him… and the feeling just drove Sodo over the edge every single time.

Y/N was a freak in bed, and the fire ghoul was here for it.

“Fuck, darling. You’re going to squeeze me dry.” The guitarist panted between sharp and haste moans, moving his hips in a rhythm that had him and his lover panting heavily from the sheer feeling of pleasure.

Y/N just let out her own soft and breathy moans, her claws gripping onto the silk-woven bedsheets beneath her, while her lover thrusted into her slowly and sensually.

“Ngh… good.” Y/N uttered out quietly, but her tone was laced with lust and affection. “That’s how I know I’m doing a good job at getting you off.”

Sodo looked down at Y/N. His forehead was glistening with sweat and his cheeks were flushed a lavender color. His entire body felt hot, and yet he couldn’t help but give his partner a half-smirk if both desire and love.

“You little minx, you just know how to get me all riled up. Fuck I love you so much.” The fire ghoul groaned out, his voice resonating through the bedroom. Sodo’s thrusts only increased in speed, the head of his cock hitting that sweet, sweet spot within Y/N’s walls that had her tail quivering and her legs twitching.

Sodo could feel the ring of muscle tightening around his erection, which only made the guitarist let out a series of moans that almost sounded pornographic. “You’re such a good girl… taking my cock so well… mmmh~ you’re going to make me lose it.”

This… affectionate and tender side that Sodo had to him, he never really knew it was in him. He was so used to being such a hateful and spiteful ghoul, a fierce and snappy infernal who was angry with the world, angry with himself. He didn’t think there was an ounce of love in his body.

But this moment with Y/N… clearly proved him wrong.

Sodo’s hip thrusts were slow and sensual… being sure to hit every inch of Y/N’s insides in a way that had her squirming under his hold, begging for more. He slowly picked up the pace, and his moans only increased in volume while his fingers gripped his lover’s wrists more tightly.

“So… nnngh~ good for me.. love you so much— so, so much…” Sodo uttered out, his speech becoming more incoherent. The fire ghoul could also tell that Y/N was enjoying this as much as he was— due to her rather high-pitched moans that almost sounded pornographic.

As the guitarist’s moans and groans increased in volume, he dipped his head down towards the ghoulette’s neck. Sodo’s fangs were bared as he gently sunk them into the soft flesh of his lover, leaving hickeys and bite marks between his heavy grunts and moans. These marks… were proof of how much he loved Y/N, how he cherished her like a goddess… and wouldn’t trade her for anything else.

And he was going to keep showing that love in all the ways he can, sexual or not.

“Ahh~ Sodo please…” Y/N moaned out breathlessly, her tail moving to curl around Sodo’s tail while Sodo pounded into her relentlessly. “Please.. please fill me up..”

Sodo might as well would’ve just came right then and there. Y/N’s voice sounded so hot when she said it like that, he definitely wanted to fill her up with his seed now— wanting nothing more than to see his own cum dripping out of her tight heat.

“Ohhh baby~ I’ll give you more than just that.” The guitarist grunted out, feeling his semi-hardened length pulsing inside of his lover’s hole— the walls tightening around his cock and just making him crave Y/N’s body even more.

“Fuck—! You’re such a good girl for me… ohhh you just look so goddamn gorgeous under me like this…”

Sodo’s lips moved to capture Y/N’s in a fiery and heated kiss, slipping his forked tongue into her mouth as they made out. His thrusts didn’t stop either, and he felt himself getting closer and closer to that brink of pleasure— that feeling that made him feel the closest to heaven.

“You’re so fucking sexy… I love you so much.. mmmh~ so so so much..”

Y/N moaned loudly into the kisses, feeling her lips go numb from how passionate Sodo was being. She felt like passing out from the pleasure, but each of Sodo’s hard, yet pleasurable thrusts only kept her eyes shot wide open in pure ecstasy.

“Nnngh! I’m gonna cum—! Sodo… Sodo please I’m gonna cum!” Y/N cried out, her mind completely fogged with nothing but more lust and carnal desire. She could feel some of that ghoulish instinct within her begging for more and more of Sodo’s cock.. and she was allowing for herself to experience it.

Sodo grunted rather loudly as he heard Y/N beg for a release, and he just couldn’t resist biting her neck slightly— leaving a dark and bruising hickey on a spot that would definitely be difficult to cover up.

“Oh yeah? You’re going to cum for me? Mmmmh fuck~ don’t hold back now… let me feel that pleasure you’re experiencing!” Sodo panted out lustfully, his pupils shaped like hearts as he stared down at his lover with so much love and desire.

Sodo’s thumb moved down to gently press down against Y/N’s clit, before moving it in a circular motion while he was thrusting inside of her— giving an extra sense of stimulation that had Y/N squirming and screaming Sodo’s name.

Y/N could feel that knot within her abdomen being slowly undone— before she finally let out one last cry of pleasure, releasing her essence all over Sodo’s cock while it was buried deep within her.

Sodo shortly followed after her, letting out a loud groan before thrusting into Y/N one last time with a hard push. The fire ghoul released his hot seed inside of the ghoulette, ropes of thick cum filling her up to the brim completely. His orgasm was so intense, there was a bit of that slick fluid dripping out of her hole.

Both infernals just laid there for a moment, giving themselves a few minutes to catch their breath. Sodo laid gently on top of Y/N’s chest, before slowly pulling out of his lover, feeling their mixed fluids leave behind a trail that snapped off.

Wordlessly, Sodo got off of the bed and went into the bathroom to grab some towels. One for Y/N and one for himself. He then crawled back onto the bed again, before gesturing to Y/N to come over to him.

“Come here, darling. Let me clean you up.”

Y/N just nodded and slowly got up to move over to Sodo. The fire ghoul then wrapped his arms gently around Y/N’s waist and pulled her into his chest— her bare back resting against his chest. Sodo then used the towel to clean up any remaining fluids down between Y/N’s legs, being extra careful and sensitive so he didn’t stimulate Y/N’s aching privates any further.

Sodo’s touch was so gentle and tender. While he was cleaning Y/N up, he’d occasionally leave a kiss or two on the ghoulette’s cheek— which in turn made her giggle from the ticklish feeling.

The sound of her giggles swelled Sodo’s chest with a familiar warmth that he was slowly getting used to.

“Mmmh.. I love how you’re being so gentle..” Y/N whispered quietly, turning her head around to be met with Sodo’s loving gaze. “It’s one of my favorite things about you.”

Gentle. Sodo would never describe himself as a gentle being. But, his lover saw past his cold exterior, and awoken something more sweet and caring within him. He liked being gentle.

“I do try,” Sodo answered back with a smile, before softly kissing Y/N’s lips. He then cleaned up the last few traces of that sticky fluid, before putting the towel down.

“There… all cleaned up. And you still look as gorgeous as ever.” Sodo praised with a chuckle following after, peppering Y/N’s face with sweet and short kisses— which made her laugh in a delighted manner from how Sodo was acting.

“Oh my Satan— you can be so cheesy sometimes.”

“Only for you I am~ and you know you love it too, Y/N.”

“I do. That’s why I’m your mate, you dummy,”

The fire ghoul only rolled his eyes playfully, and pulled Y/N into his arms again— gently laying down on the silk sheets with his mate in his arms, caressing her and pulling her close.

“Yeah… and I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else.” Sodo whispered softly, burying his head into the crook of Y/N’s neck.

He could breath in her scent, and it was a comforting one. She smelt of roses and fresh vanilla, with a hint of sex from what they both did just now … but it was a comforting sense that brought peace to Sodo’s mind.

Sodo just stayed cuddled up in Y/N’s embrace, while he too was holding her closely. Their bare bodies clung together like two perfectly fitted puzzle pieces. Sodo purred softly and nudged his horns gently against Y/N’s jaw, to which she just chuckled and gently stroked them, her tail moving to intertwine with Sodo’s.

“I love you, Sodo...” Y/N whispered into his ear softly. Her tone was comforting and soothing, it made Sodo feel at ease.

For the first time in a while, he felt peace. He felt calm with his mate… because she has slowly broke down his walls, and carefully opened up his heart… to feel loved again.

“… I love you too, Y/N,”

And he just smiled, feeling his eyes flutter shut as he drifted off into dreamland, dreaming about nothing but peace and love.

▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

#ghost bc #ghost fanfiction #nameless ghoul x reader #nameless ghouls #sodo ghoul #ghost smut #the band ghost #nameless ghoul headcanons #nameless ghoul smut #sodo smut #sodo x reader #dewdrop ghost #dewdrop ghoul #dewdrop x reader #dewdrop smut #ghost headcanons

[sighed-the-snake]

So, about Furfur's angel book. Remember the part about Baraqiel?

Image text: BARAQIEL. Dominion. Angel of the Sky. Appearance: Hair an eye-burning jinnjer. Eyebrows with the appearance of a grisly slug. Often draped in red. Occashunly damp, most likely singed.

I recently got my hands on a copy of A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels, by Gustav Davidson.

And here is the entry for Baraqiel!

Image Text: Barakiel (Barachiel, Barbiel, Barchiel, Barkiel, Baraqiel, etc. -- "lightning of God") -- one of the 7 archangels, one of the 4 ruling seraphim, angel of the month of February, and prince of the 2nd Heaven as well as of the order of confessors. Barakiel has dominion over lightning and is also one of the chief angels of the 1st and 4th altitudes or chora in the Almadel of Solomon. In addition, he is a ruler of the planet Jupiter and the zodiacal sign of Scorpio (as cited by Camfield in A Theological Discourse of Angels) and Pisces. With the angels Uriel and Rubiel, Barakiel is invoked to bring success in games of chance, according to De Plancy, Dictionaire Infernal.[Rf. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews I, 140.]

Lightning of God We see Crowley let off some lightning while too angry to control himself, and an angel of lightning could easily be considered an angel of the sky.

Archangel Baraqiel We assume Metatron was referring to Satan when he spoke of the Prince of Heaven they lost. Could he have been referring to Crowley? There was a lot of hatred in the look Metatron gave Crowley in the bookshop.

Crowley also told Beelzebub that the whole erasure from the Book of Life thing was something they said just to scare the Cherubs and that it wasn't actually a thing. We think of fat little cupids when Cherubs are mentioned, but Cherub is just the singular of Cherubim, and those guys are just one step below the Seraphim.

And he was teasing them.

Crowley says he understands what Aziraphale is offering him better than his angel does. If he was a Seraphim, then I believe it.

I know Furfur's book places him as a Dominion, but Neil can be an unreliable narrator, and who knows how accurate a demon's book might be. Neil could have also just decided to make Crowley a Dominion instead. Afterall, the angel guarding the Eastern gate in the bible was a Cherubim, but Neil and Terry changed that to Principality when they made Aziraphale.

Also, if Crowley was hanging out with "Lucifer and the guys," that suggests he was a high ranking angel. You're friends with the people you see every day. They were probably his office buddies.

Crowley said in the beginning of S2 that he worked "very closely with upstairs" on his nebula project. Anyone who has worked for a hierarchical business knows that lower order employees aren't even allowed to talk to the higher-ups directly. They would have to submit their issues to their direct supervisor, and that request would go up the chain until it's taken care of, probably never reaching the highest levels of the company. If Crowley was working directly with "upstairs," and his crossed fingers suggest a close collaboration, then he must have been a very high rank to be allowed to talk to them directly.

It is also worth noting that the use of the singular seraph, in the Book of Isaiah, is translated as "flying fiery serpent."

Ruler of the signs Scorpio and Pisces Crowley is hissy and wrathful and WILL CUT YOU, but he also loves children, and turns goats into birds so he doesn't have to kill them, and breathes life back into smooshed doves, so this makes perfect sense to me. Who's our moody little snek, you're our moody little snek.

Invoked to bring success in games of chance We have already seen him outsmart Heaven and Hell with Armageddon. He is uncommonly sharp-witted and capable for a demon, or even an angel. Look at the way he invented regulations for the Rules of Engagement so convincingly that Shax backed down, and how he got Muriel to sneak him into Heaven. I would definitely want an occult force like Crowley-Baraqiel on my side if I was doing something risky.

#good omens #Crowley was Baraqiel #good omens meta #good omens analysis #A Dictionary of Angels Including Fallen Angels #Archangel Crowley #Crowley

[tyrantisterror]

Still Buzzing About Beelzebub

I wanted to leave this at vague blogging but fuck, man, I can't leave it be. I have a special fondness for Beelzebub as a folkloric figure, and I can't help having very intense personal feelings about how he's adapted. So I'm going to blather about the Lord of the Flies for a moment, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Ok, so, extremely oversimplified spark notes version of Beelzebub's history as a demon concept: there was a god named Ba'al who was worshipped by a rival religion to the Israelites, with "Ba'al" meaning "lord." It's theorized the full name of the god was "Ba'al-zebul," which would roughly mean "Lord of the Heavenly Place." Like many other demons, Beelzebub began as a satirical take on a rival religion's god - in this case, Ba'al-zebul becomes Ba'al-zebub, which means "lord of flies." It's a pun, and, like, a grade school playground level taunt. "Haha, your god's not the god of heaven, he's the god of shit-eating bugs!" basically.

Ba'al-zebub eventually evolves through translation into Beelzebub, and by the point it does it's gone from a petty mockery of another god to a major figure of Biblical apocrypha. In fact, when it comes to figuring out the "real" name of The Devil, Beelzebub has probably the second best claim to it, being not only one of the first devils ever named, but also one of the first ones to be listed (by apocryphal sources) to being the leader of the fallen angels - his only real competition is Belial, who might beat him out in terms of seniority on these points, but with folklore this old it's kind of hard to say someone's a clear winner in this sort of thing.

While other devils would later gain more popularity for the position of The Devil (Lucifer and Satan being the frontrunners despite the former being a result of a translation error and the later being more akin to a title than a name proper - "Satan" isn't too far from "Prosecuting Attorney" in its original usage), Beelzebub has always remained pretty damn prominent, often being The Devil's close second in command or at least in his inner circle, such as in works like Paradise Lost and Marlowe's Faust.

Perhaps his biggest claim to demonic fame, especially in recent years, is his position as one of the Seven Princes of Hell, being one of the elite demons to not only rule Hell, but also represent one of the seven deadly sins. Beelzebub is generally placed as the ruler/representative of Gluttony, though occasionally he's repurposed as the demon of Envy instead.

Ok, cool, so why do I have my hackles up? Well, there's an internet cartoon that's set in Hell with a great deal of buzz about it in animated circles, and they've been dipping their toes into demonology now and then. And apparently this is their take on Beelzebub:

It's... it's a fucking fox. It's just a fucking fox. I mean, ok, it's got fairy wings and second set of arms and, like, a tail made of honey, but still... it's just a fucking fox.

Here's the thing about Beelzebub: the name "lord of the flies" is fucking unique as demons go. It's descriptive, it's different. Most stories that make Beelzebub distinct from The Devil take the opportunity to make his title very literal, because by doing so they make him distinct from his fellow devils - and as a result, Beelzebub tends to be really fucking memorable.

Like, here, look at some of his peers in the Infernal Dictionary;

They're all beautifully illustrated, but most (not all) of them are pretty much what you expect when you hear about a classical demon: hairy goat guys with some dragon features mixed in. But then you get the guys like Beelzebub:

And that hell-fly stand out. He still fits with his peers - the antenna evoke horns, he's got subtle reptilian features like scales and just a bit of a serpentine quality to his abdomen/tail, but in a sea of goat men, he stands out as the only big ass fucking bug guy.

Because that's his thing! He's the bug guy!

Now, this isn't a question of mythic accuracy, because that's a fucking laughable concept, because assuming there's one version of a myth that can be held above all others as "canon" is such a foolish notion in of itself, especially for a character who started as just a satirical nickname for another character and only evolved into his own entity later. Plus there's the fact that, historically, portraying Beelzebub as something other than a big buy monster has been done a lot of times. One early description of Beelzebub goes as follows:

"...a swollen face and chest, huge nostrils, horns, bat wings, duck feet, a lion's tail, and a covering of thick black hair."

Which might look something like this:

And you know, that's not unworkable. A lot of demons have similar depictions - hell, just look back at those Infernal Dictionary depictions. A guy like this wouldn't be out of place with them. But, like, he also wouldn't stand out. It's not that being a big bug is the "accurate" take on Beelzebub - it's that it's the interesting one.

Look at that video again. This is a setting that already has a metric fuckton of canine demons in it. That song and dance number is mostly filled with hellhounds. Why make Beelzebub yet another canine? What's the reason for it, other than laziness or, like, artistic cowardice? 'Cause, like, not to be judgmental of a subculture I'm not a part of, but there seem to be a prominent number of furry artists who, as creature designers, just cannot come up with good designs for non-canine creatures for the life of them. It just feels like a person who looked at the myths, wondered "how on earth can I turn that into an early 2000's deviant art OC covered in hot topic paraphernalia?" gave up after half an attempt and just drew a rail thin emo raver fox girl because that comes to them like swimming does to a duck.

But I think if "emo raver scene party girl circa 2003 Beelzebub" is your character design pitch, you can do that AND make the Lord of Flies look like a big fucking bug. Maybe even work in some body diversity into your series full of rail-thin Johnny the Homicidal Maniac knockoff fursonas. It's Beelzebub, dammit, she has a right to stand out a little!

...

Ok, all this said, one criticism I've heard leveled at the Lord of the Honey-Fox-Fairies here is that the representative of Gluttony should be fat, which a lot of people rightfully pushed back against as being fatphobic. Which, to be fair, it is. But it's also a misunderstanding of Gluttony as a sin, which this take on Beelzebub is ironically also guilty of.

Gluttony is not simply eating a lot of food. Gluttony is the waste of resources that others could use. A person who orders a shitload of food, takes one bite, and throws it all away so no one else can eat it is just as gluttonous as a person who eats every last morsel - perhaps even moreso, since even they don't get use out of the food in question. In recent years the Catholic church classified pollution as part of the sin of Gluttony - because by fouling rivers and bleeding farmland dry with fertilizers, you are wasting valuable resources the world needs. Gluttony is less about what you consume and more about what you keep others - specifically others in need - from having access to.

What's depicted in this song isn't gluttony, because no one in this song is starving. Nothing is being wasted, no one is kept hungry for the sake of the selfish. There's a scene where Beelzebub actually gives a person MORE food, which is... it's literally the opposite of what gluttony is! Gluttony does not feed the hungry - gluttony keeps them starving! That's why it's evil!

In many ways this song is more a depiction of the sin of Lust, which is similarly misunderstood. A lot of people reduce it to "wanting sex," but lust is specifically about pursuing pleasure so selfishly that you neglect your duties to yourself and others. Drinking to self-destructive excess is not gluttonous, it's lustful. Eating sugary candy that has no nutritional value and makes you less healthy is lustful. This whole display of gratuitous self indulgence that the song focuses on - and that fact that said self indulgence hurts the people choosing to partake of it - is the definition of lust.

It's all a very shallow and poorly thought out take on the seven deadly sins and Beelzebub himself, and that's pretty disappointing from a piece of media about Hell that's so strangely popular. But hey, at least Good Omens got the Lord of Flies right.

#Beelzebub #Demonology #The Seven Deadly Sins #Gluttony

[munsonbrackets]

Tutor Astarion

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lHIfng6qd90 IDK why this makes me feel something, but I’m not mad about it.

Like imagine being some shitstain of a student (on purpose lowkey) and Astarion having to tutor you because he’s the best in the class, which of course he is considering he is a fucking elf. Like why wouldn’t he understand Elvish and Espruar?

And at first, you were genuinely trying to appease him. Every teacher you have ever had has told you that your pronunciation is remarkable, no matter what script you spoke. Really, your accent might actually just be the only thing preventing you from failing this class. And you might also not be failing because Astarion, top of the class (fucking showoff), is tutoring you.

Truly, they could have given you anyone else, even Halsin tried to volunteer (but he was quickly shut down by the teacher). No. Your dear teacher decided to kill two birds with one stone in a very simple manner. By teaching them how to throw. Astarion seemed to severely dislike teaching others what he had so simply been raised with and you were going to probably fail this class.

And at first, you hated it as much as he did. The sneery remarks that he made, as though he was mad at your parents for not teaching you something as simple as Espruar, you would be quick to respond in an indifferent snide comment in infernal. A language that he was, funny enough, not familiar with. Which just seemed to frustrate him even further. 

But then he corrected you, he was right with his correction, but there was still something in that snappy tone and sneering face that made your heart skip a beat.

The assignment was simple, you thought. Send a letter designated to your teacher. The letters' contents could be a memory, a short trip or a fun story you had come up with. And while you were supposed to have said ‘aerister’, a teacher, instead you accidentally said ‘ageas’, a guard.

- - -

Astarion looked at you from underneath a quirked brow and a slightly open mouth as if to ponder if you had finally gone mad or maybe to silently say ‘are you stupid?’, which obviously weren’t the words that came out of his mouth. “You wish to send this letter to your guard?”

You looked back at him with the same sneer, but also intense confusion. Did ageas mean guard? You swore you remembered it meant teacher… Astarion made no effort to tell you what ‘teacher’ was, so you spoke up instead “Obviously not! I know that ageas means guard! What I meant to say was-” You furiously scrolled a couple pages in your dictionary, trying to remember what ‘teacher’ was in Elduran, “‘aethus’.”

Astarion’s face dropped into a plain old sneer, without the look of your stupidity in his mind, and you felt a shit eating grin spread across your face. You were right, you had definitely been right-

“The word you’re looking for is ‘aerister’.” He sneers out, obvious pronunciation when he says it, so that you might repeat it. But there isn’t a moment for you to speak before Astarion snickers and speaks in a playfully condescending tone- 

“Unless you wish to send this letter to a male harper, which I won’t shame you for, it just simply isn’t the assignment.”

And you feel your heart thump. One hard heartbeat that makes all of the air in your lungs metaphorically rip out of your body, makes a tingle shimmy itself up your spine to make all of your hairs stand on edge, makes your heart feel like it has beat its last.

You could feel the muscles around your eyes spasm in small, practically unnoticeable, twitches as you quickly blurt out- 

“Aerister! Anyways, are we done now?”

Before you allow Astarion to sneer something back, you start throwing your pens into their respective places and leave quicker than you ever have. You only feel the heat of embarrassment creep up your neck after you are fully out of view of his gaze. With an exit like that, he must be just feeling…something? You didn’t feel like worrying about it and you head down the hall, heading home to figure out your own thoughts before you worry about his.

#Astarion #baldur's gate 3 #astarion x male reader #astarion x male tav #x male reader #fluff #bg3 #bg3 tav #bg3 astarion #male reader #he him his #bg3 x male reader #bg3 x male rav #vampire #baldurs gate 3 #mild bg3 spoilers #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #astarion x you #astarion x male #astarion as a tutor #tutor astarion

[inhuman-obey-me]

In the ars goetia they are represented as kings, dukes, and so on.. but the demons like Mammon, Leviathan, they are not part of the ars goestia, so could we say there are different structures of hell?

Well, the Ars Goetia is only one part of the overall grimoire The Lesser Keys of Solomon -- and it is certainly not the only grimoire that exists historically! Other famous grimoires include the Dictionnaire Infernal and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, though these also are far from the only ones. In fact, we have a book -- The Dictionary of Demons -- which sources and lists over 1,700 demons that have been mentioned in various grimoires and other occult texts over the ages. And here is what that book has to say on rankings:

In the vast majority of grimoires, demons are typically assigned a rank and royal title to indicate their position in the pecking order of Hell. In the Testament of Solomon, [...] demons sometimes present themselves as princes and kings - positions largely in keeping with the concept of royalty that existed at the time. Medieval works [...] expand the demonic hierarchy to include a variety of positions: princes and kings, dukes and earls, counts, presidents, and even knights - positions reflective of the feudal system at work throughout Europe during that time. The ranks attributed to the infernal legions may tell us more about the time period in which the various books of magick were penned than they do about the actual hierarchy of Hell.

It goes on to mention that seven ranks were eventually solidified within demonology, as seven was a number "of great significance in medieval and Renaissance Europe" due to the number of planets known at the time and the thought of seven spheres making up the heavens. The Lesser Key of Solomon was responsible for then assigning planets to each of the ranks, which in turn were linked to metals, and those metals were needed for the magical seals.

Basically, the ranks do sort of establish a sense of hierarchy in hell, but practically speaking, humans mainly need pay attention to those ranks more just for the magical practice of knowing how to deal with the demons correctly.

That said, we've talked about the Hierarchy of the Devildom in this post, which also lists the seven titles. It's also important to note that Mammon and Leviathan in particular are actually demons derived from other concepts/beings -- Mammon originally just meant money/riches, and Leviathan comes from a sea serpent referenced in the Bible, which actually has roots in Lotan. So Levi himself is actually Lotan, and he's just doing a really exaggerated roleplay when he says he's summoning Lotan. So in terms of different ranking structures then, the answer is sort of yes, sort of no. It's a mess of manmade governing systems as applied to theological creatures over time.

But in OM canon, we can very conveniently just throw most of this out because Diavolo is the one and only Future Ruler of the Devildom, the brothers and Barbatos are his immediate council, and everyone else serves as just general "nobles," such as the House of Lords. They probably have more in-depth hierarchies amongst themselves -- but for all we need to care about in the game, they're a big hassle of demons who give Diavolo (and the brothers) a hard time and should back the fuck off!! :)

#excuse our demonology word vomit lol #obey me #obey me! #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me nightbringer #obey me nb #omnb #demonology resources #obey me worldbuilding #not rly worldbuilding here but yknow #ask and ye shall be answered #ask and ye shall receive (essays)

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

Demon 79

This mini movie / episode was quite nice actually. 

Apparently, Demon 79 was originally supposed to be released on a sister series called Red Mirror which would deal with more supernatural things rather than having it all technology based. According to Brooker they might end up doing more Red Mirror episodes depending on the success of this.

Now there’s several nods to horror classics in this entry with the score of the shining being used as the title comes up. We also have the poster for the entry itself which looks like it’s playing on the one for that film along with it’s latter sequel Doctor Sleep. Made to evoke 70′s horrors this entry also tackles themes like race, politics and the incoming apocalypse. Centred around a woman named Nida Huq I couldn’t help think that this might be a reference to Brookers real life wife Connie Huq who has co-wrote several episode of the show in the past. 

After the title reveal we come across Nida and can hear bright eyes in the background by Art Garfunkel. This was written for the 1978 movie Watership down and the song itself is about a dreamlike state where someone goes on a journey. This is similar to Nida in the entry and they give a lot of focus to her eyes being wide open at several points. 

Now this episode is packed with a number of different easter eggs and ties back to other black mirror episodes from the off and throughout. There’s a shoe brand called Wolfies Footwear which might be building off the back of the last episode Mazey Day. We see the newspaper clipping talking about how a tipley publican named Robert Daly has died. Robert Daly is a name that has appeared in the series before and this was the character that Jesse Plemons played in USS Callister. This is probably director Tobey Haynes giving a bit of a shoutout to himself as he directed not only this but also that episode as well.  The talisman used to summon the demon also seems like a thinner version of the white bear symbol which actually appears later on in the flashes of Michael Smarts future.

The fictional UKN broadcaster from the universe announces his Britannia party and we learn that Smart actually took power from Michael Callow from National Anthem. However the flash here shows that he was kicked out for Racist remarks and a clipping in Loch Henry showed that he’d rebuke this. It then announced he’d start a new party which leads to the Britannia one which has the union jack in the white bear symbol. There’s also a shot of facial recognition at an eye level being taken out. This could indicated that the ADIs from hated in the Nation came from Smart and we see that they’re used on a black man showing that they have a racial angle to them. We also end up seeing one of dogs from Metal Head. A news ticker in Loch Henry confirmed that they were introduced by Smart and they of course caused a lot of issues in the country. 

It’s funny how Dog is thought to be the titular demon of the episode, when I definitively see it as Smart and hell doesn’t even want him dead because of all the evil he could do. Smart represents the control of the weak minded people who are easily swayed by politicians and he almost somewhat hypnotises Nida’s co-worker into voting for him.

Gaap is also a real life demon from the infernal dictionary who has shape shifting abilities and can show people a past. He states that he’s a misophape which is a lower class demon. 

At one point Nida reads the book Creative Visualisation which is about using the power of imagination to create what you want in life. 

Turns out that murderers can’t count as people who are killed due to them already being damned and thus she has to go after smart. 

Nevertheless the book is a major clue and we have the history with her mother adding to it as well. We know from the other entries that Michael Smart survived and benefits from this attack. 

The episode have the similarities to the son of Sam killings which too took place in the 70s. David Berkowitz said that a demon in the form of a dog told him to do it which though he’s admitted was a hoax could be the basis for this episode itself. 

The morality behind it is : Is it ok to kill someone when he’s a bad person or when he will do despicable things in the future. 

Can someone good and innocent do something terrible and bad for the greater good?

The actors playing the principal roles were perfect, especially the one playing the dancer in Bobby M. 

Why 79? 

Also the prime minister Michael Smart is finally in this entire episode from present to future.

Some good quotes: “- So don’t just hope for a better future. Vote for one!”

“- Cast out into a boundless, cosmic void. And doomed to spend eternity in a vaccum of infinite nothingness. Absence of matter, of time, of space, light, and sound. I would endure a profound, palpable, and ever-present lack of existence, alone in perpetuity, forever more.  - Sound like my life.”

“- My whole life, I never wished harm on anyone. I didn’t. - Uh... You couldn’t have summoned me for my trial if you hadn’t. Well, you had to be corruptible, not beyond corruption. You know what? You must have had some dark force inside you when you touched the talisman. There’s no shame in it.”

“- Then I choose Michael Smart. He’s the one. That’s that.  - Honestly, they are not gonna like it.  - But it’s within the rules, so they can lump it.”

“- So, I mean, you could come with. - Into eternal oblivion?  - Oh no, it’s much worse than that. It’s with me.”

#black mirror #black mirror season 6 #black mirror review #demon 79 #netflix show #netflix series

[renstears]

Nightbringer theories (Obey Me; SPOILERS!)

Alrighty so I decided to play Nightbringer after being scared of it for the past few weeks; so far, I have some questions and theories in mind. I’m still on Lesson 8 so I’m not sure if most of my theories here are gonna be right or just straight up wrong.

Questions & Theories:

- Since Solomon came with us to the past (or more like came to the past to come aid for our ass), wouldn’t there be a chance the Solomon from THAT timeline/past meet the present Solomon we know of? Wouldn’t this create a whole time paradox….?

- Lilith’s body got disappeared by Diavolo so that she can get reincarnated as a human; would there be a chance we get to see her reincarnated form at least if we don’t see her angel form? Also, reminder that Lucifer is the only brother who knows she got reincarnated, so most likely the other 6 brothers will have a huge fucking melt down like last time in the previous Obey Me game.

- When the game first started, we hear Solomon narrating a bit about Barbatos and this human Barbatos went to. Solomon used they/them pronouns for the human, at first, I thought it might be us/MC—but then it occurred to me, why would the devs only now reveal our/MC’s appearance and the timeline that Barbatos met this human must’ve been a very very long time. Either 1. They used they/them pronouns for the human to keep their identity hidden until revealed later on 2. The human is either one of our ancestors/related to Lilith’s reincarnated form or 3. This human might be a Biblical figure from the Bible; if you go to the official Obey Me Instagram; they illustrated Barbatos controlling a puppet that looks like a king (some speculated the king is David as he is the father of Solomon).

- In another illustration made by the official Obey Me cast on Instagram, it shows Diavolo gesturing to a red apple. Either this is indicating he was the one that lured Eve to eat the apple and regretted that decision which is the reason why he decided to improve his behaviors later in life.

- Man when I heard Raphael’s voice during Asmo’s arc I thought it was Adam, but nvm, it wasn’t. We may see Adam in the story though, like I mentioned in one of my previous posts, Adam was Lilith’s ex husband, so I don’t doubt that the devs would add an element of it to the story.

- There isn’t much information about Barbatos in demonology and from mythologies, but it's ironic that from said mythologies, Barbatos has the ability to reconcile arguments between friends/rulers but he seems to have this heavy dislike towards Solomon and refuses to speak about it. I seriously wonder what Solomon did bc this man fucking forgot what he even did to the butler.

- While I was doing research on Barbatos, I stumbled upon this (credits to Myths and Folklore wiki editors!) according to the The Infernal Dictionary (a book of demonology). This is stated about Barbatos:

"Barbatos, great and powerful demon, count-duke in the underworld, a type of Robin Hood; he is shown in the form of an archer or a hunter; He is found in forests. Four kings sound the horn in front of him. He's acquired the knowledge to divine the speaking of birds, the roar of bulls, dogs barking and screaming various animals. He knows the locations of buried treasures, say magicians. He reconciles quarreled friends. This demon, who was once of the order of Virtues of Heaven or that of dominions, is reduced today to commanding thirty hellish legions. He knows the past and the future."

I personally don't think in the game, Barbatos is an angel (or maybe he is an angel but man's disappeared for so long everyone forgot him and my guy turned into a demon afterwards/hj). It'll be interesting to see his lore and how the devs wrote his backstory. In mythologies, he's illustrated looking like Robin Hood, so maybe Barbatos (in the game) went to the human to give them justice??? Take my theories with a pinch of salt.

And that's all I can think of, I'll make more theories as I continue playing in my free time.

#barbatos obey me #obey me #obey me theory #obey me shall we date #obey me nightbringer #obey me nightbringer theory #obey me solomon #obey me lucifer #obey me diavolo #obey me lilith #obey me rant #a game theory #not me trying to research about Barbatos and Solomon from mythologies on Google just to find out why Barbatos hates Solomon #Barbatos ate and left no crumbs when he insulted Solomon tho—

[silversiren1101]

OC Mannerisms - Minovae Arangeir

Tagged by @dujour13 to do @the-raging-tempest’s OC mannerism meme - Template here

Art commissioned from Elena Kononenko :)

- NO. OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES >> Taldane, Infernal, Gnomish, Halfling, Abyssal, Protean (Innate)

- TONE OF VOICE >> Average but on the slightly lower side. Often with a slight husk if she's been barking orders a lot lately.

- ACCENT >> Wiscrani given she's from Westcrown [irl equivalent of Italian, specifically Venetian].

The haunting realization that my baby sounds Italian...

- DEMEANOR >> Easy confidence when observed and knows it, but distant and melancholic or preoccupied sometimes when she thinks she's alone or not being looked at. Approachable.

- POSTURE >> Hands resting on hip/armor or crossed. Straight.

HABITS

Talks with hands often if impassioned, and especially tail if greatly impassioned.

Sucks in lips between fangs when thinking.

Tail touches: congratulatory thumps on the back, gentle brush against side or leg if affectionate, protective coil around back of legs, quiet contact against foot if happy you're there.

COMPLEXITY (Fill in the circles as you wish)

- VOCABULARY >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️

A complicated question! Mino was uneducated for most of her life but pushed herself hard to catch up when joining the Hellknights. A lot of her vocabulary is only advanced when it's legalese or philosophical, and tends to be more crass or 'peasant' quality elsewhere. She also tries hard to sound on equal footing with the nobility when she's investigating them and around them, but falls short more often than not. She does not have time for leisure reading that would support a more robust vocabulary.

- EMOTION >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️

Minovae has been punished her entire childhood for any sort of emotion stronger than a small smile, and her subsequent entry into the Hellknights encouraged suppressing the despair and rage and grief and wrath long festering inside her. That being said it did help her with other issues that lessened a lot of those feelings and helped her understand and express happiness and more positive emotions better. As a matured adult that has been forced to acknowledge and work through what she's buried for decades, she still has difficulties with catharsis and actually letting herself process the darker side of herself. Bottling things up is her first instinct, not wanting to burden others with her negative emotions, but she is making steps to handle things more in stride rather than reaching a breaking point.

As such, most people only know her as a smiling and bright person, eager to crack a joke and cheer others up. Those that really know her know there's a lot more going on beneath the surface and can see the telltale signs she's needing a sit down and talk.

- SENTENCE STRUCTURE >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪⚪

Hellknights favor brevity in all situations where intense legalese isn't needed, but, well, Minovae is also a former bard. In casual situations she's what you'd expect of a friendly Wiscrani bard that loves a good meal and drink. In professional matters she's short and to the point up until Formality and Legal is required, THEN you might need to break out the dictionary as she is hyper specific, not wanting to imply or stretch facts beyond the core truth of the matter, and note where each clause and comma and punctuation she pauses for breath is.

Very Serious Business, you see.

PROFANITY

- FREQUENCY >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️

Minovae curses as punctuation. You can't take out the street urchin and bard, Hellknight or no.

- CREATIVITY (in regards to profanity) >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️

That being said with above, a Hellknight has to have a certain amount of decorum. She gets quite creative telling someone exactly what she thinks about them without outright telling them they should fuck themselves.

BOLD THAT APPLY

arse / ass / asshole / bastard / bitch / bloody / bugger / bollocks / chicken shit / crap / cunt / dick / frick / fuck / horseshit / motherfucker / piss / prick / pussy / screw / shit / shitass / son of a bitch / twat / wanker

THIS OR THAT

straightforward or cryptic?

finding the right word or using the first word that comes to mind?

masculinity, neutrality, or femininity?

formalities or with abrasiveness?

praise or equivocation?

frankness or flattery?

excessive or minimal hand gestures?

name-calling or magnanimity?

friendly or blunt

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

- DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME HEARING OR UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHARACTER?

Nope! Mino is loud in pretty much all aspects. She speaks loudly and clearly.

- DOES YOUR CHARACTER’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK?

It sure does. She doesn't like to beat around the bush and doesn't have time for it.

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER INITIATE CONVERSATIONS?

Yes! She loves talking to people.

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS?

If she has other pressing engagements, yes.

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER USE ‘WHOM’ IN A SENTENCE?

...probably... not? I can only think in legal contexts: "to whom is may concern"

- YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE?

but / though / although / however / perhaps / maybe

- HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER END CONVERSATIONS? 

"As much as I'd love to continue this - I'm expected elsewhere in a few!" Something like this.

- WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK?

Low when in casual setting. High when in professional setting, given she can *sound* like a lawyer if needed.

- IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS?

The strong Wiscrani accent for one! Specifically street Wiscrani. It's immediately obvious she is not from any sense of nobility or wealth, and might be the kind of voice you'd hear in the docks or fishing districts but more... 'trained'... Especially when she's had a bit to drink and the Hellknight education falls off she sounds like she just dragged herself out from behind some alleyway in the one of the poorer districts of Westcrown.

ANYTHING ELSE THAT WASN’T TOUCHED ON?

Despite being 100% Chelaxian, one would immediately clock Minovae's last name, Arangeir, as some bastardization of the Galtan surname Arangier. She did in fact 'take' it from a kind older Galtan woman that nearly adopted her, but was unable to for various reasons.

The full pronunciation guide for her name is:

Mee-no-vey | A-hu-ran-geer

But she has no corrections or preference for those that pronounce it more like the fish: "Minnow-vae". Or those that combine the sounds in her last name to: "ah-ran-geer."

Tagging no pressure @camelliagwerm @spyridonya @serenbach86 @minthy-fresh

#tag game #tag meme #oc: minovae arangeir

[mauesartetc]

Redesigning Helluva Beelzebub

Hoo boy, roll up the sleeves for this one.

The Original

In my review of Helluva Boss 108, I mentioned that Beelzebub's character design put me in mind of how some DeviantArt kid's fursona might look. And... Yeah I stand by that statement. The most likely reason I can figure Viv Medrano wanted her to be dog-like was to make a reference to her Die Young music video, which featured an anthro wolf singing a Kesha song (for context, Kesha herself voiced Beelzebub and co-wrote a song for this episode).

But for those who are unaware, Beelzebub's traditional depiction looks nothing like this.

Really the only visual similarities the Helluva version shares with the Infernal Dictionary version are the insect wings, six limbs, and the crown thingy over the head. (At least I think that's a crown-? Kinda hard to tell on both counts.)

Bee's eyes get somewhat more insectoid later in the episode, but that feels like a cop-out. Wow, her eyes and colors changed. Totally a bug demon, right?

They had the same problem in Hazbin Hotel with Katie Killjoy, who's allegedly supposed to be a praying mantis but barely resembles one, even after her transformation.

I understand the desire for fresh takes on old figures, and taking creative liberties so the new interpretation doesn't feel generic. But the changes should at least make sense. By now it's pretty clear Viv couldn't care less about representing Ars Goetia demons faithfully, as demonstrated with Paimon, Andrealphus, and now Beelzebub. You could slap completely different names on these characters and it wouldn't change a thing. I posted this meme a while back but it's never been more relevant:

On top of that, what reason could there possibly be for the design to be this damn complex? Why did she need so many markings on her face? Why did she need so many layers of hair? Why did she need flowing goo for her hair, tail, and body, each requiring dedicated effects animation?

When it comes to a hand-drawn production, less is more. Any superfluous details on a character just make unnecessary work for the animators.

Anyway, here's what Viv has to say about it.

Alright, I'll admit: The lava lamp bit is a little clever. Basically it works as a regular stomach does, but on demonic steroids. But it wouldn't look so much like Viv's making this up as she goes if we'd seen Bee's stomach performing its intended function in the episode. Let her chow down on a giant piece of food (maybe that cotton candy she's been handing out-?) and swallow it, and let Loona (and the audience) see it dissolving in her transparent belly. As a general rule, if it's not shown or explained in the work itself, it's not canon. Like I've said before, Viv: Elaborate on the nuances in the story you're telling, not on social media.

Also, "Her ears are designed after beehives"? Wh...Wha? Ma'am have you ever seen a beehive.

(Hell, even if you told me the ears were inspired by the generic cartoon beehive we're all familiar with, I wouldn't have guessed. There's a difference between being subtle and being vague.)

I can kinda see it in the overall shape, but that's a very specific design inspiration that wasn't clear at all in the design itself. Same with the "animal trainer" thing: I never would have picked up on that if Viv hadn't pointed it out. If a character design doesn't visually convey all the necessary information, it's not a successful design. Show, don't tell. There's a communication breakdown between what Viv's telling us and what Bee's design shows us.

(It's possible she actually meant "Her ears are designed after honeycombs", but even then, each compartment has a specific pentagonal shape that's not coming across at all here.)

I also find it interesting that Bee and Loona have almost the exact same body type. Of course Viv's pretty infamous for samebody syndrome, but it's actually unnerving how similar these two are.

Might this be a reference to Vortex's "type"? Is this foreshadowing a relationship with Loona? Am I overthinking this? Yeah, probably. Viv's demonstrated a clear preference for tall, skinny body types over the years, so it's safer to assume that's the explanation. It's all aesthetics. It ain't that deep. Occam's Razor and all that.

Finally, Bee how the hell does your shirt work.

The Concept

So at this point it seems most logical to lean into the "bee" thing for the redesign, and scrap all the canine elements. As for the blobby hair and tail... yeeeah let's nix those too. We're going for a streamlined version that's easier to animate. And because I ignored the ringmaster look for my redesign of Asmodeus, it only makes sense to do the same for Bee's animal trainer vibe (what little there is) for the sake of consistency. I know this version of Hell has a circus theme with its highest-ranking demons, but there's never been an in-universe explanation for why that is.

Let's look at actual bees, then. A quick peek at Google has informed me that certain insect species have smaller, "simple" eyes (also known as ocelli), in addition to their compound eyes. In bees, this manifests as a triangular grouping of three beady eyes on top of the head.

In her Helluva Boss episode, Bee's full demon form has three eyes, which could be a reference to this triangular arrangement, plus her regular form has two spots on her forehead in addition to the third eye. So it's possible Viv actually did research for something. Pleasantly surprised on that front.

Next, the body. I've noticed that some folks find Bee's skinny body type refreshing, as the sin of gluttony is too often personified with fatness. And that's fair. That's valid. But consider this:

Imagine any Vivziepop character saying that about a chubby person. Imagine the series sending the message that fat people can be sexy too, and that they have worth outside of their appearance, enough for at least one character to consider them girlfriend material. That they're valued and appreciated regardless of this culture's beauty standards (which we know nothing about since the worldbuilding is as thin and flimsy as tissue paper, but whatever). Imagine if this show finally had a fat female character who wasn't relegated to the background. Don't know about y'all, but that would be refreshing to me. And when you take into account all the fat-shaming of a character who isn't even fat, portraying a fat character as attractive would be a nice change of pace for this show.

Now let's talk about clothing. In the episode, Bee's clothes show off a lot of her body, with a cutout crop top and short shorts. We can take a similar approach for the redesign (something that still shows off her chest, belly, and limbs, in keeping with the extroverted "party girl" persona), but that perhaps includes more queenly elements.

The Redesign

Because this is a redesign, many elements were already in place, but I still had to figure out how this character would look as a bee. Here's where the preliminary sketches came in. Lots of trial and error in this process.

Wrestling with this character's face got a lot easier once I realized I could mold it into a pentagonal shape akin to a honeycomb compartment. It took a few tries, but at last, I had a final sketch.

All that was left to do was test out some color combinations.

I tried a few different approaches, but in the end, this is the version I felt worked best.

I used many of the colors from the original, but pushed the orange much harder since orange is the symbolic color of gluttony as a sin. And overall it gives Bee a nice honey-ish look rather than the generic black and yellow we already see on so many bees in cartoons. I thought the colored outlines on her clothing would add a soft, feminine touch, as well.

And just for kicks, here's a quick sketch of her giant form, inspired by the Infernal Dictionary drawing of Beelzebub.

Conclusion

The canon version of this character exists in the form she does for no reason than to stroke her creator's ego. "Hey guys, remember when I animated that Kesha fan video? Remember how cool that was? Wanna see me foist this unnecessarily-complex character design on other animators while I take a victory lap?" I wouldn't mind so much if Viv animated any of this herself, but she didn't. I could almost excuse this if she had no animation experience and didn't know how much work it requires, but she does. The self-aggrandizing entitlement is just off the charts. But a nonsensical design is leagues better than a stolen one, so... brownie points for that, I guess.

#character design #redesign #helluva boss #helluva critical #helluva beelzebub #vivziepop critical #body positivity #long post

[cheesehambu]

Demonical accurate Furfur

His demonic form was based on an illustration from the "Infernal Dictionary".

Bonus:

Original pencil sketch before editing and coloring.

Wanted to make a normal photo at the desk, but weather behind the window said me no!🥲

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens fanart #good omens furfur #furfur #fanart #digital art #traditional art #pencil #sketch

[elendsessor]

hey so fun fact this guy?

yeah he might actually be a mainline-ified demikids demon

not joking

glasya labolas only appeared in demikids light and dark versions as a boss and is, from what i can tell, unable to be fused. the recent demon showcase seems to display fusion as a possibility which if so yippee! here’s to another fucked up dog.

but what’s especially striking is in terms of design

i’d say 5v’s relatively more accurate than demikids but definitely isn’t 100% based on mythological depictions. glasya is a gryphon with the head of a dog (and apparently baby goat horns as shown in this illustration in the infernal dictionary). this seems to be the depiction 5v drew from because of the uh very suspicious smile but i appreciate the overall change in tone.

a lot of the more metallic(?) designs actually take a ton from ancient mesopotamian art and jewelry—fitting as the creature is of goetic origin. overall super interesting but the design might not jive with others. definitely a standout when it comes to the designs of other goetic demons depicted within megaten :)

#i really like this guy if you couldn’t tell #love all the inspiration taken #shantien rambles #smt #smt 5 #shin megami tensei v vengeance #megaten