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Mammon: Greed - to collect and covet material objects and goods
- There’s a knock on your window just after you wake up. It’s been happening for a few days now, but you never catch who’s doing it. The window itself is quite high up, and if it’s someone throwing rocks on a regular basis, well, they’ve got very good aim.
- On a whim, you leave a camera rolling overnight. The following morning, you hear the knock again, and this time, you’re ready. The batteries are almost dead but thankfully the camera managed to catch the last few moments before winking off. Plugging it into your laptop, you scrub through the entire night so you can catch the early morning. And - well. It’s not what you were expecting.
- In the hour just before you go to sleep, you notice a crow land in the branches across from the window, its eyes glinting gold through the lens of the camera. It doesn’t move all night. It doesn’t even sleep. In the morning, about the time you guess you woke, it flies up to the window, pecking the glass once with its beak, and then it flaps away into the brisk air.
- You set the camera up the following evening, just to check if it was a fluke. Yet again, the crow lands, watching over you as you sleep before flying off in the morning after you wake.
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Odd, but honestly not the weirdest thing you’ve experienced by far.
- The next evening you leave your window open. There’s no knock in the morning, and for a brief moment you feel sad. Did you scare away your new friend? But - a glint catches your eye - sitting on the windowsill is a shard of broken glass - a light amber color, likely from a broken bottle.
- It becomes a habit. Each evening, the crow perches on the branch outside, and the following morning, it leaves a small trinket on your windowsill. You’ve now collected a few bottle caps, some coins (though, oddly, in different currencies), glass of varying colours, and even a random key. The quality of the items the crow brings seems to increase every visit. You start leaving out pieces of fruit and occasionally strips of meat, which are always taken at some point during the night. It’s all fun and games - until it starts bringing you valuables.
- Emeralds, sapphires, golden rings, diamonds; you start a collection that would make Tiffany’s seem like a children’s costume jewelry store. You know some of it definitely belongs to real people, because the news is reporting a ‘string of high-profile thefts’ across the entire fucking world.
- You entertain the idea of reporting the valuables as stolen and have a minor breakdown about how to explain ‘it wasn’t me - it was this crow!’
- You never bring yourself to do it, though. Finders, keepers, and all that.
- There’s something comforting about this crow’s presence. The golden glint in its eyes shines impossibly as you go to sleep, and in that moment you feel treasured.
Leviathan: Envy - an insatiable desire for the unattainable, that which does not belong to you)
- When you first return to the human world (after your very much warranted ‘mourning’ period, of course) you decide to go and visit one of your favourite places from your childhood - a beach that’s little more than a cove a few minutes walk from your home. Upon arriving, however, you notice the place is packed, and there’s a pang in your chest when you realize that this isn’t just your place anymore. You snap a picture regardless, and send it to one of the group chats on your DDD.
- You continue to return though, hoping to catch a time when the beach is quieter. You have more luck in the mornings than the evenings, and slowly you force yourself to wake earlier and earlier just to catch a moment of peace.
- At some point, you mention heading down to the beach to one of your friends. Their face sours, and for a moment you think you said something wrong. Perhaps it was the mention of the early start?
- Over the coming weeks and months the beach becomes quieter and quieter; the early risers, joggers, and dog walkers slowly petering off until you’re the sole visitor down by the shore. Sometimes you think you see a glint of bright scales out in the ocean, though it’s far bigger than any fish you know to inhabit the nearby waters.
- You continue to bring up the beach to your friends, excited about the return to your quiet, safe solitude. Every time you do so, they close off and regard you coldly.
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There’s new owners, they say, no one is allowed down at the cove. They kick out anyone not on the approved list.
- Well. That’s bizarre. You haven’t encountered any resistance during your many visits, you tell them. Of course you don’t is the response, and you think you’re maybe imagining the bitterness in their voice.
- It’s a pattern you begin to notice - exclusive venues in which you’re always on the invite-list. Priority and pre-sale tickets to the hottest events arriving in your inbox. Every time, garnering the bitter eyes of your relatives and acquaintances. It’s exciting, special, to be the one experiencing all this. Made even more so, knowing that so many desire what you have.
- You realize that beach was just the start, though it’s definitely your favourite of the lot. It’s become a place just for you. You snap a picture of the sun rising over the waves. This one, you post to your instagram, with a single orange heart.
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(You also notice that your luck in the gashapons at the arcade has become insanely good. It could be a coincidence, but…)
Satan: Wrath - to seek vengeance; impatience and revenge
- To be fair, you don’t make it a habit of confronting every person who slights you. You’ve had enough drama in the last year to last you a lifetime, and the last thing you want is to go and create more. You’re typically more of a let bygones be bygones type anyway. (Forgive and forget).
- It’s not like your life in the human world has a surplus of people trying to wrong you. Occasionally you’ll be cut off while driving and it annoys you, but you continue on with your day. Sometimes your packages will be delivered to your neighbour, and it takes them a few days to let you know, letting you stew in your anxiety about their apparent arrival in the interim. (Forgive and
forget).
- Over the next few weeks you start to notice more and more coincidences pop up around the more annoying and troublesome people you interact with. A follower who commented something uncomplimentary in response to one of your posts has their account banned and deleted. The annoying neighbor who often parks in your space has their car totaled the day after you try to ask them again to move their damn vehicle. The professor who uncharitably graded your assignment a low pass because he didn’t like your attitude is now under review and has lost his tenure. (
Forgiveand ████).
- It all comes to a head when you’re passing by one of your neighbours as they move their stuff out of the apartment. There’s an eviction notice pinned to their door. It’s not much of a loss - after all, they were the ones who’d keep your mail long past the point of helpfulness. They snark at you as you pass, making a comment about your somewhat smug air, warning you’ll be next.
- You don’t even get the chance to respond before there’s a yell from above, and something is falling and - wow. Who knew a falling flower pot could draw so much blood. That’s definitely going to be a pain to get out of your light shirt. It’s with this annoyance that you ring the emergency services to come and save your unconscious (ex)neighbour from bleeding out. (████ ██ ████)
- From that moment on, you’re definitely more aware of the karmic coincidences, for lack of a better term. While you avoid provoking people outright, there is a small part of you that revels in satisfaction when those that inconvenience you are inconvenienced themselves. The severity of these coincidences seems to scale to the impact the other person’s actions have on you. If you take advantage of this sometimes, well. Who could prove any of it?
- (Retaliate. Remember.)
Asmodeus: Lust - an intense longing; unbridled sexual or amorous desire
- Sure, you have social media. You’re no luddite, and it was your one tether to the human world while you were stuck in Devildom. You quickly learnt that human memes and demon memes were very much not the same (except for a few bizarre crossovers. Both seem to be obsessed with Orbs).
- You never really had a huge following though. You had maybe a couple hundred followers across twitter and instagram, averaging maybe 20 likes and similar interactions per post. That is, until recently.
- Seemingly overnight, your follower account on all platforms (including your anonymous tumblr account) has skyrocketed. There’s even a notification in your emails from twitter about verification. Just…. What?
- You open your accounts to see if maybe it was a specific mention or throwaway meme that somehow caught the attention of the internet at large. Your latest post was a cute pic taken by Asmo during your final week in Devildom. It’s you from behind, gazing out at the twinkling lake by Dia’s castle. It was posted a few days ago, though - and yet the like counter just keeps ticking up and up. The comments on instagram are nonsensical - lots of hearts and starry eyes and a few more suggestive strings of emoji. Your phone continuously buzzes with notifications, and it’s starting to get overwhelming - so you turn on do-not-disturb.
- As a bit of an experiment, you decide to post a quick snap of your bewildered face, captioned “so… did y’all mean to follow me or is this some kind of prank?” - no tags, no emoji.
- The effect is pretty much instantaneous. Immediately the notification counters tick up and up and up. There’s a few flattering comments (and a few not-so-flattering ones), and just as many hearts as your previous post. One comment, from an account you don’t know, stands out to you: “Imagine being *this* attractive but also so humble it hurts. Your fave could never.”
- Over the next few weeks you continue to post - from selfies to scenic shots to random shower ideas to your thoughts about Succession and why you think cousin Greg is endgame. No matter what you post, it always seems to be a hit. Even that incomprehensible keysmash you accidentally posted to twitter as you fell asleep. There’s even Buzzfeed listicles (“27 times MC stole our hearts with a smile”). Asking your followers doesn’t help either - it seems like overnight you have lodged yourself in the public consciousness as a desirable figure. They all clamor to get your acknowledgement, and you quickly find even the simple act of liking someone else’s post can be cause enough for others to become jealous.
- It’s flattering. Really. It’s doing wonders for your self-image, getting all these compliments on your photos and selfies. You definitely find yourself starting a few trends here and there, and hey, you’re just doing your job to make the world that much more aesthetically desirable.
- (Out of your thousands of followers, only one stands out to you. The first to like every post, to comment “YESSSSSS MY LOVE!!”: Asm♥deus.)
Beelzebub: Gluttony - to overindulge and over-consume to the point of wastefulness
- You were pleasantly surprised to find your pantry fully stocked upon your return to the human world. You were expecting to have to clean out the stuff that had inevitably staled in your year away, and restock from scratch. Except, no, you don’t have to because absolutely everything you could ever want is currently filling your kitchen to the point of overflowing. Everything from fine, artisanal products to cheap junk food. It keeps you fed for so long that you find yourself having to chuck out a few fruits, vegetables, and breads that have gone off because you didn’t eat them in time.
- You keep expecting to have to go out and replenish the supplies for yourself, but no, the pantry is ever-full. Fresh produce seems to appear out of nowhere, and you never find yourself short of an ingredient when it comes time to start cooking. There’s always just slightly too much - your garbage is often full with uneaten food-waste.
- This inexplicable phenomenon continues, and impossibly escalates. There’s random food deliveries during the week on the nights you’re too tired to cook for yourself. Your cravings are instantly satisfied by the appearance of precisely what you were longing for. You think maybe it’s some kind of magic - it’s not out of the question, especially with your powerful friends and lovers. You try not to think about the cost - monetary, or otherwise…
- As you’re walking past your favorite bakery, you hear a woman complain that they never seem to have their famous macarons anymore. You overhear the server apologize, and try to explain that the lot are often bought right out of the oven. With a jolt, you realize that those very same macarons are the ones that are stacked up beside your fridge, way more than you could possibly want or eat.
- With a guilty jolt, you realize that it hasn’t occurred to you until this point that you could just give away some of the food. There’s no reason for it to sit in your kitchen until it goes off - there’s plenty of people who could appreciate it, after all. And yet…
- You don’t approach the woman, or offer any of the macarons. You continue to hoard your food until it goes off. You appreciate the rich, tasty ingredients, and especially enjoy doing things like chucking A-grade marbled steaks haphazardly into the pan for a quick sear, none of the careful preparation it would normally merit.
- This is your food. And no one can tell you how to manage it. Nor should they
Belphegor: Sloth - the forgoing of responsibility, to be disinclined towards effort or exertion
-
A soft, warm hand cups your face, while another plays with the ends of your hair. Breath, not your own, fans over your lips as he leans in close.
“Stay with me, my human.”
You crack open your eyes, and for a brief moment, you get a glimpse of a soft, sleepy smile before you feel yourself falling through nothing and you - wake up.
- Though you’re not the type to really remember your dreams, you know that they’ve been especially sweet since returning. The fragments that you do remember feel warmer, safer, and more loving than anything you’ve felt while in the human world.
- You were already a bit of a homebody before your trip, leaving social engagements early to go home and rest, but now you don’t even bother going out. Not while sleep is calling to you so sweetly.
- You find yourself sleeping through your alarms more and more often. Not even the brightest, sunniest day - the type you missed while down in Devildom - could stir within you the interest or energy to be active, to enjoy the fresh air.
- None of this matters. In your dreams, you’re with them, with him. The longer you sleep, the more you remember.
-
Your breath is slow and deep, and you nestle your head into the warm, living pillow. His hands ghost over your sides and you hear him hum in contentment. You try to lean into his touch, to feel him.
“Lucifer told me that I need to stop doing this,” he says, and you shudder. That’s not right - you don’t want him to stop. You don’t want to lose him. You feel his smile against your forehead. “He says you need more than just sleep. That you’re wasting away.”
You try to tell him that Lucifer is wrong, you’re fine, you just need more sleep. But even now, in this place of dreams, the energy doesn’t come to you. All you’re able to do is sink into him even more.
“That wouldn’t be so bad, though. You’ll become mine forever. No one could make you leave.”
- You wake after that dream feeling like you haven’t slept at all. There’s a tiredness in your very being, and all you want to do is roll over on your pillow and return to him. What job, what, school, what hobbies? Nothing interests you anymore. You miss him, you miss them so damn much.
- Nonetheless, through some strength that you’re not even sure is your own, you pull yourself out of bed and into the shower.The hot water and the softly scented soaps that remind you of Asmo rejuvenate you and you begin your day with a breakfast that would make even Beel feel full.
- The next night, you go to sleep, and you do not dream. Nor the next.
- It’s months before you close your eyes and you feel his touch. In that time you’ve been beset by kleptomaniac crows, have become somewhat of an internet personality, and have chucked out more stale loaves of bread than you could ever know what to do with.
- “You need some time off. Both of us do. Come on, we can sleep like this, together…”
Lucifer: Pride - to put yourself before and above others
- It takes you longer than you’d ever be willing to admit that the reason why all these strange occurrences are happening is because either consciously or subconsciously, there are seven extremely powerful entities who are missing you.
- You try to distract yourself from that thought by focusing more intently on your studies. A passage is circled in one of the textbooks you pick up from the library, unwilling to pay full price for an elective subject’s resource. Religious Studies, because if nothing else it’ll be a bit of a laugh. “From pride, all other sins flourish. It is the father of all sins.”
- It hits you all at once.
- The hoarding of gems and wealth and your reluctance to part with it. The coveting of your favourite place, and the desire to keep it all to yourself. The satisfaction of
your enemiesthose that annoy you facing retribution. Reveling in the admiration of strangers. The inclination to over-indulge and the refusal to share. The assumption that outside of yourself, nothing else matters, not a single one of your responsibilities. These all are in response to the world bending to the whims of your loves, but your own feelings, your attitude stems from your Pride. After all, who else can claim they hold the loyalty of angels, demons, and immortals? Who else bears the love and affection of all the Avatars of Sin?
- (How very prideful of you to assume that you could live unchanged after that year, to return to a life that doesn’t really feel like yours to begin with)
- The best thing, the worst thing is that you’re so comfortable with this type of thinking. Even now you realize that hey, this is probably Lucifer talking, you wouldn’t give any of it up. It’s comforting. It reminds you of them. It makes you feel loved.
- (When you return to Devildom, you never quite work up the courage to ask the brothers whether any of it was deliberate or not. Lucifer does mention in a quiet moment that they were all a mess, even him, without your presence. They were missing something, someone.
“It was sub-optimal, of course,” he says, “which is something we should rectify so that it doesn’t happen a second time.”
“I thought both heaven and hell have rules against humans living here on a more permanent basis?”
“I’ve been to war against heaven for the sake of the ones I love. Between myself and my brothers, neither heaven nor hell could stand against us should I have to go to war again.”)