tenthhell

[tenthhell]

Gentle reminder that I've moved both Ori and my multi muses over to a new multi blog!

I may remember to check back here every now and again, but likely not frequently. If you have reblogged replies to things I've posted here or on @devilssight please message me a link on the new blog to make sure I see it.

#''omg how do you come up with this stuff'' well I've been plagued by visions since birth // ooc.

[tenthhell]

Its my birthday.

#voted most likely to “accidentally” unleash an evil curse // mobile. #I'm not getting to do much about it until I get off work tho #Also I'm generally in the mood for attention bc I've gotten it from 3 people today and that's it #Anyway! #To add more purpose to the post #Part of my bday gift to myself is gonna be the new multi

[tenthhell]

Personally, I don't really care for the idea that devils are genuinely incapable of forming positive relationships with others; not only does it feel super flat for a whole fully sentient species to be stuck in a small range of emotions ( and also they're obviously a social species as shown by the fact that, unlike demons, they go WELL out of their way to have a society proper, and society means connection ), but also, it's more terrifying if they have the ability to care and generally choose to see you as little more than a sheep to be harvested at their choosing.

I will, however, say that it's a lot less likely bc in their culture, theirs is a world of competitors and souls to be harvested -- B U T that means that if they actually do decide to stop seeing someone as such for literally any reason, that person is special. ( And the retribution for betrayal if it ever happened would be nuclear in proportion. )

#I am the patron saint of your demise // general hc. #devils pair bonding with someone is a v serious deal bc it IS such a vulnerable position #( which lbr isn't too different from humanoids barring the fact that devils tend to default to malicious intent ) #hence why you don't often see them do it #devils hate looking weak bc it's an opening for someone else to manipulate that #ofc I don't think friendship or romantic relationships are necessarily viewed in a negative light #( if anything I think it's more of a neutral one bc I don't feel like there's a big emphasis on either in their culture ) #it's just that them opening themselves up to it is objectively allowing a hole in their defenses #it's like a cat showing you their belly and the way they hate it unless they trust you a lot

[tenthhell]

I'm in a pokemon mood, so here's what Ori's team would look like

Asmo's team would be

And Nethfari's team would be

#I'd wish you the best but I am the best // Orianna aesthetic. #because the truth is this: when the house is both hungry and awake every room becomes an open mouth // Asmodeus aesthetic. #come in peace or leave in pieces // Nethfari aesthetic. #funnily enough I thought Ori'd have more psychic types but it turned into dark instead apparently lmao #that's okay the silvally is her psychic type

[tenthhell]

I need y'all to understand that Orianna's tent is as comfortable as it is a liability; it's soft, it's decadent, it's richly coloured. It will attract attention from thieves. But it's fine bc those caught stealing will either be roasted or flayed and devoured to make a fucking point.

Thing is though....... Orianna isn't an adventurer. She's not used to living in a tent out in the wild, so of course her setup is ridiculous. It's the equivalent of a filthy rich person going camping for the first time bc that is actually on point.

#revenge is beneath me. accidents however can happen // Orianna headcanon. #should I make a joke about coming out of the tent in the morning with slippies and hair curlers now or later #Ori vc: why do you have so little to sleep on?? Is this some kind of peasant joke I'm too royal to understand #no but to be clear it might be gaudy af but it's also chalked full of books and alchemical shit #probably to the point she has a sleeping corner and a working corner and a dog space and the rest is a jungle of tomes and glassware #and gods only know what else #it's like Howl's bedroom in there don't look

[tenthhell]

There may be variances depending upon specifics in relationships, but tbh I'm just going to put my foot down and say Ori's default is going through with ceremorphosis.

But also, the catch is that the parasite really can't replace her at all, both bc of the unique transformation of the party, and also bc of the fact that a devils' soul is their body; they can't be separated. So she's a sort of eldritch mixture of both mind flayer AND devil. This will, however, mean that she's got multiple forms like Raphael; "elven," devil, which is unchanged, and then her actual form, which will be some amalgamation of devil, mind flayer, and serpent. ( That last bit is a gentle nod to the fact that dad is actually a literal gargantuan snake. )

#revenge is beneath me. accidents however can happen // Orianna headcanon. #eventually I need to commission someone to draw that last form of hers #but I also need to concretely envision what that would look like #I do however know that I want it to look absolutely terrifying <3

[tenthhell]

Orianna has three paths which she can follow, depending upon the interactions she has with the party and plausibly other outside individuals as well.

Good ending: she actually becomes cognizant of the fact that becoming an archduke isn't something that she really wants for herself, because it means spending more time focused on the politics and running of her layer by necessity than she can be on her studies. ( Yes, she can do both, but the point is that Orianna would really prefer to spend ALL of her time on the latter, because she's a scientist and scholar at heart and by absolutely NO means a politician. ) Her morality can go either way here, in terms of evil or neutral, but she is strictly locked into lawful bc of who she is as a being, her culture, and the fact that she has legitimately purged chaos from her soul more than once. Despite the fact that Asmodeus does actively want power for his children, he will still accept the change of her course. Nethfari, on the other hand, is quite pleased her daughter's learned to live her best life.

Neutral ending: Still not quite aware of her own personal wants in life, Orianna still plans on eventually becoming an archduke, just not necessarily in the immediate future. Strictly still evil. Basically a return to the way things were before, but now as a squid devil.

Bad ending: Orianna takes the Crown of Karsus for herself, and uses it to depose ( or possibly kill ) one of the other archdukes to take their place. Obviously also still strictly evil as well. Also not fully certain as of yet how I'd like to envision this playing out, bc ofc there's the law that would need to be considered, and the fact that she'd refuse to follow the same path to power that Glasya did bc surprisingly, having all of your fellow archdukes want you dead isn't exactly ideal.

#revenge is beneath me. accidents however can happen // Orianna headcanon.

[tenthhell]

@tenthhell

this was the vibe i got from Orianna when looking at her bio page and reference pics

#I fear no evil; the shadow is mine and so is the valley // Orianna. #both accurate and adorable ty <3

[tenthhell]

          Wandering eyes cross the field of colours speckled every which way, thought springs forth from Orianna's lips before they were given much thought. The plants back home spared no such energies upon such displays; every piece was for survival, whether that meant the toxins laced in every leaf, the teeth to bite, or the malice to drive its parts to the snuffing out of life. In comparison, these frilly little things felt so devoid of purpose.

          "That depends entirely on the context." Arms fold over her chest, tail curling to one side and then the next, and only now does she take note of where Ramon is. "'Tis difficult to get much else to compliment my complexion, but a lack of variation in one's environment is enough to drive the mind to distraction. In organic life, however, I find it to be... Unsettling that the pigmentation lacks its typical purpose."

The paladin stopped just an inch away from plucking the flower he knelt down to collect. He turned his head towards the tiefling, wondering what---if anything---prompted her to state her opinion.

"I take it you prefer dark colors?" he asked. "Blood reds, deep blues, grey and black?"

#alwaysaknight #Ori vc: if it's going to be bright it had better at least be poisonous

[tenthhell]

@lclthlcved replied:

Scare. If it's even possible

Perhaps the effort is worth something, but she's realistically just going to sweep a languid hand under her chin and smile sweetly. "One must wonder whether they who attempt to alarm a devil is brave, creative, or foolish. Move again and we shall see which, mm?" One may also need to live in fear of that which truly scares a devil.

#lclthlcved #[ it is actually possible but also extremely fuckin difficult bc??? #well there's a lot of factors really but mainly Ori just doesn't really know too well what fear means

[tenthhell]

@spiderwarden replied:

Kill. At least try. We must show dominance.

Try, try as much as you can; you might win, or you might earn enough of Orianna's respect to earn some of the party dominance. Only some, though. Halfsies maybe?

"I do so appreciate a woman who opens a conversation with threats of physical violence.... You and I shall get along swimmingly."

#spiderwarden #[ I need to send you a thing skjdnhh

[tenthhell]

THE DEATH OF STALIN 2017, dir. Armando Iannucci

#I'd wish you the best but I am the best // Orianna aesthetic. #because the truth is this: when the house is both hungry and awake every room becomes an open mouth // Asmodeus aesthetic.

[tenthhell]

Orianna appeared! Do you...

Scare

Embrace

Flirt

Kill

#voted most likely to “accidentally” unleash an evil curse // mobile.

[tenthhell]

quick asmodoodle i am very fond of, heeeey. 

edit: added some sketchy size comparison between regular tiefling, Mephistopheles and Asmodeus, and damn, that dude is lorge XD

edit2: and one more doodle added XD

#the devil is and will always be a gentleman // Asmodeus.

[tenthhell]

As a somewhat different but equally important lesson on devils, we're going to talk about their society.

In terms of alignment, lawful evil is absolutely the standard. Chaotic behaviour in the Hells is never tolerated and is seen as abhorrent beyond all reason -- which does mean you are actively painting a target on your back. ( Though Tiamat seems to be an exception to this??? I may make hcs on why eventually beyond the fact that she actually guards the portal from Avernus into Dis. ) Beyond the fact that it flies in the face of what they as a society value, it's generally never wise to remind a devil of a demon. Neutral is tolerated inasmuch as you play by the v specific rules painted out for everyone, bc frankly Asmodeus himself must abide by these rules too and therefore so shall everyone tf else. Evil is the gold standard by which you will survive, bc devils don't get PTSD from fucked up shit but any other alignment absolutely will. Again, neutral can be tolerated, but good will be quickly snuffed out. No, you cannot play pretend; they can smell it on you like goddamn bloodhounds.

The layers of the Hells are as follows: Avernus, ruled by Zariel ; Dis, ruled by Dispater ; Minauros, ruled by Mammon ; Phlegethos, ruled jointly by father / daughter duo Belial and Fierna ; Stygia, ruled by Levistus ; Malbolge, ruled by Glasya ; Maladomini, ruled by Beelzebub ; Cania, ruled by Mephistopheles ; Nessus, ruled by Asmodeus, who is also the king of the Hells.

Tiamat used to rule Avernus, but she apparently either didn't give a shit about or fucking sucked at the Blood War, and was therefore forcibly removed and put in her current position of guarding between layers. Which is still important, particularly in the case of Avernus and Dis.

There are four tiers of devil. Lemures are their own, lowest of the low rank. Lesser includes, imp, spined devil, bearded devil, barbed devil, chain devil, and bone devil. Greater includes horned devil, erinyes, ice devil, and pit fiend. Archdevil covers any unique devil, and are usually a duke or duchess, or the archdukes/duchesses. There are absolutely other types of devil beyond these, but I'm not clear where they all sit in this format, and there's also a lot of them anyway.

The Pact Primeval is an agreement signed by lawful deities that dictates the system of punishing damned souls. There are three copies, one in the Hells, one in Mount Celestia, and one in Mechanus, and are all heavily guarded, and exude power from their parchment. This is something Asmodeus has long since figured out how to exploit for each and every loophole, and has been put on trial for this at least once and was acquitted of wrongdoing. Which is to say, if you die and end up in the Hells, no good or neutral deity can or will do anything for you.

There are four dialects of the Infernal language. The first is Least Infernal, which is very basic and used for commands or insults. It's very harsh sounding. The second is Lesser Infernal, and is what almost all humanoids learn; if you know this dialect, you can understand the higher forms, but you're not fluent in them. This version is less gravelly than Least, but certainly not musical, and is equal to any mortal tongue in complexity. The third is Greater Infernal, and it is the tongue of the greater devils. It is, to quote, "full of obscure patterns that seemed to meander misleadingly before snapping to an unexpected point. Speaking it properly required careful planning and the ability to respond intelligently to phrases based only on the most subtle of cues. It was said that two greater Baatezu ( another word for devils ) could hold entire conversations in this form of Infernal using only the beginnings of their sentences." The fourth is called High Infernal, also called Mabrahoring, and is an archaic form of the language spoken by archdevils, and thus considered the court language of the Hells. To quote, "This form of the language was so utterly corrupt and evil that its malevolence could drag listeners into hateful despair just through hearing its patterns." Only unique devils can learn this dialect, but comprehend languages can decode it.

As you may notice, each dialect of Infernal is tied to a caste; one may not speak a dialect above their station, and doing so will be punished for insubordination. Mortals are always kept in the Lesser Infernal caste. ( No, you will not impress any devil by having learned how to speak Greater or Mabrahoring Infernal. You're going to offend and anger them, and possibly have your bloodline cursed at best. )

Every devil but the highest ranks dreams of being promoted, as it means more personal power, and less being stomped on ( sometimes literally ) by the devils above you. Only the ranks of archdevils and pit fiends can promote devils below themselves, and may typically do so as a reward for particularly pleasing service. Once promoted, devils go through a painful ceremony that lasts up to a day, and retain memories of their devil history. Each time a devil is promoted, it must purge itself of chaotic behaviour and thoughts, making the highest ranking devils, ice devils, and pit fiends pretty rigid in their lawfulness. ( Devils who are born to high ranks are still expected to purge themselves as a coming of age ceremony. ) The faster you are promoted, the more painful it is.

There is actually a ministry of promotion, whose sole job is to record and scrutinize promotions, as there are actually strict requirements to be met. Superiors who don't follow those guidelines are punished by being put on the frontlines of the Blood War. The guidelines are along the lines of: none may rise til another falls. Incompetents don't rise in power. Speedy promotions are discouraged. Good isn't rewarded, evil is. Exemplary service means no mistakes.

One should actually note that backstabbers are more often promoted, and there is a LOT of intrigue surrounding promotion. Sometimes, specific devils' reports are doctored to keep them from being promoted.

If you suck particularly hard, you're going to be demoted. Typically, sucking refers to failure or disobedience.

It's pretty standard for devils to be ambitious, despise defeat and humiliation, extremely, EXTREMELY John Wick levels of vindictive.

The court of the Hells does see plenty of mortals, as it is where pact-related matters are tried ( have plenty of concrete evidence BEFORE you go to court, as court is unforgiving and deadly ), but is also where punishments for lawbreaking is decided.

Every devil but the absolute lowest ranks have true names. To know the true name of a devil is to have power over it; one can summon it and bind it into your service with their true name, though this usually requires a ritual, and possibly a sacrifice and or a devil talisman, which are amulets with a devil's true name written on it and bathed in the blood of someone the creator loved at the time of crafting. The effects vary by rank: regular devils serve for nine days, greater devils for nine hours, and archdevils for one specific service. Naturally, devils are very protective of their true names, and almost never share them willingly.

Asmodeus knows the true name of each and every devil who has and will ever exist.

Money actually legitimately Does Not Matter to devils; it serves no purpose beyond Mammon's own greed. Devils deal only in souls ( often in the form of soul coins ), gems, soul larvae, magic, knowledge, and favors.

#I am the patron saint of your demise // general hc. #okay to reblog #I sincerely hope I haven't forgotten something I wanted to add to this #but all things considered I probably have lmfao

[tenthhell]

A few extra little devil biology tidbits I either forgot to add, or else have come to understand better and can therefore actually explain:

Also on the list of weird devil biology, they have this specialized organ called an ovatorium. There's no real close analogy to it in humans beyond ovary, which really isn't that close; it holds dozens of tiny sacs that contain the fetal forms of the various types of devils. When a devil is promoted, the proper type of devil rapidly grows and bursts from the ovatorium and is the new body of the devil. Realistically, the old body is probably a snack for later. And, to clarify: yes, even archdevils and archdukes still have this, because it's absolutely possible for them to be demoted by any number of ranks their superior feels like. Demotion also stimulates the regrowth of the fetuses of devils of rank higher than the one it was demoted to.

I cannot stress this enough: if you aren't familiar with devil bones and are showed them, you WILL think someone is fucking with you, and you certainly won't believe this person has actually killed a devil because they fully look unnatural, and like someone has carved them. It actually does not matter if the being was born a devil or not. This is because all of devilkind was created by Asmodeus out of the original Baatorians after his curse turned him into a devil, and he took control of the plane. Hence why he is considered and called the father of devilkind -- though he does not, in fact, have very many actual, biological children at all.

The rule of inheritance is as follows: one begins with a devil. Their child with a mortal is a cambion. A cambion's child with a mortal is a tiefling. Tieflings are never more than 1/4 devil.

Succubi / Incubi are considered fiends, but not considered either devil nor demon, and can be found serving either. They're sort of their own thing, which is probably why they're able to change their gender at will while other devils have to go through three days of torment to do so after they've chosen a gender.

Humanoid alcohol doesn't effect devils at all regardless of how much they drink. ( Appreciation of the taste, however, is as deeply personal as is any food-related matter. ) Devils do have their own booze, though, and their booze WILL kill a humanoid and or anyone else without poison immunity. There are several different kinds, namely: gughalaki ( a sweet, viscous, hallucinogenic liquid made from fiendish centipede glands ), Infernal wine ( wine distilled from the fire grapes of Phlegethos, the fourth layer of the Hells ), and Screecher ( an alcohol I can only find described as a tipple that is both acrid and mind-dulling. )

The only way to actually kill a devil is to kill them in the Hells; if you kill them on any other plane, they're simply sent back to the Hells, where they can take anywhere from a few minutes to several years to reform. Greater devils reform as lemures and are tortured for 9 years before being returned to their former station, and often have lower-ranking lieutenants assigned to find and promote them in case this happens. Archdukes in particular are bound to the Hells for 10 years and cannot leave during that time. Lower devils reform as nupperibos, and do not retain their memories until they are promoted above lemure status.

All devils technically have souls, but not in the same way humanoids do. Ie, one can split soul from body with humanoids, but you absolutely in no way can do so with devils, as soul and body are the same thing. They're basically just tangible souls. If you somehow earn ownership of a devil's soul, you basically just have control over that devil.

#I am the patron saint of your demise // general hc. #okay to reblog #same deal as last time I made a devil biology lesson

[tenthhell]

@empcrer gets a plotted starter.

          The gift that keeps on giving, or the tick that won't stop biting? Such thoughts only ever surface after one of Raphael's incessant visits to the party or their camp. Truly, a devil who apparently couldn't catch the meaning of fuck off; or, more accurately, had something planned than he couldn't afford to have butchered, even in the face of scorn from his better. No matter; like humans dug out foxes, he and his schemes would be laid bare sooner or later.

          But the now all-too ( and admittedly rather expected this particular time ) familiar tug draws the she-devil from her own musings to the Emperor's call. No doubt, this, like their conversation earlier in the day, would also be about the same -- and he's lucky she doesn't consider his summons beneath her. The Astral Realm is pretty, after all.... And the Emperor's enigma fascinating, in its way, second only to the small bits of gratitude Orianna supposes he deserves; the tadpole's power is wonderful and all, but it wasn't lost on her that she'd have been its puppet were it not for him. Now whether she'll ever deign to share that.....

          "You should be thankful I am not a lady in need of her beauty sleep, you know." Bemusement laces her tone rather than the venom one might expect were she a creature that needed rest, but doesn't quite reach her typically serene expression. There are, after all, perks to being able to pick and choose when one sleeps, and at the moment, the highest of them is the ability to share these conversations with the Emperor without the bite of fatigue dragging down her temper. All the same, there's much to be said for getting off of one's feet, and so she wastes little time in settling on the ground across from her host in a comfortable side-sit.

                    "Now.... What might I assist you with tonight?"

#empcrer #v. act iii #Ori: I'm sick of Raphael >:( #also Ori: ykw I'll go gossip about him with my squid coworker