Belphegor, as of late, often takes to the attic for his afternoon nap. Naps, usually. These days, heaviness sits in his bones and lead weighs down his chest.
But even his sin isn’t friendly anymore, because he dreams in his sleep. He dreams of universes - infinite universes - where he meets you and falls in love in any way that isn’t the same as the reality he comes from. Sometimes, he doesn’t step towards you that day at the top of the stairs - and his eldest brother swoops in to deliver the truth about his sister’s death before he can make his biggest mistake. Other times, he lives as a human; and he gets his long-awaited meet-cute with you in a scene that looks oddly-familiar to the dating sim he had played with Levi last week.
Most of the time, though… he closes his eyes. Then, he opens them.
And you’re there, sleeping next to him, murmuring that you’ve forgiven him for all he’s done.
...
“ - phegor..? Belphegor?”
No, no, not yet - he doesn’t want to wake up yet. Dream you still hasn’t gotten to the part where you tell him you love him.
“Gosh, Belphie - Belphegor, it’s time to wake up!”
His eyes fly open. Like a catapult, his posture snaps upright - and you recoil, hands up defensively.
“Woah, there - I’m sorry! Lucifer wanted me to call you downstairs.” You explain. He blinks at you, dumbfounded, but you don’t notice in your hurry to wake the others. You only babble something about Lord Diavolo, an emergency meeting, Lotan - and scurry out the door. A few moments later, Belphegor hears the patter of your feet and the knocking of your knuckles again, for another of his brothers. Then, the same babbling. Then, footsteps, and it continues.
But what was it you had said? ‘Belphie’?
Surely not. You haven't called him that since...
He lets his eyelids flutter shut. The line between reality and dream goes as blurry as his vision.
Masterlist here! Thank you for reading through the Three Realms Archive!
Summary/Details: You celebrate Belphegor’s and Beelzebub’s birthdays, at different points in time. Slight, slight reference to Lesson 16. Angstyyyyyyy.
___
You chirp and squeal with glee, spinning to a song that sounds foreign to Belphegor’s ears. A song for him, you had said. A birthday gift, you had insisted.
“Dance with me, Belphie!” You laugh, clasping his hands, wrists colliding and clanging with the metal bars in a way that infuriated him. Were you mocking him? Were you relishing the fact that you were free to sway and twirl like a flower petals; not trapped in an attic, forgotten and rotting? Were you relishing in your freedom, looking down on him with the pride that only one who had gotten past his eldest brother could boast? Did you follow his voice, trudge your way up those stairs, just to gloat by singing and humming some unnecessary tune?
His tired gaze falls to the floor. A single cupcake sits on a saucer; a single candle sticking out of the icing on top. The candlelight it provides is bright - too bright for a pair of eyes that have only known dark and dust for too long - and he squints, looking away from the cupcake and back at your face.
It’s unfair. That same candlelight makes you look bright, too. Bright and beautiful, illuminating your smile with a glow that tempted him to reach out beyond the bars of his prison and -
No.
The Avatar of Sloth lets his arms go limp, straining something resembling a smile. It’s enough to convince you, though - and you go back to dancing, holding him so close that he can feel the warmth of your cheek on his.
Disgusting humans. With you none the wiser, he squeezes his eyes shut, to envelope himself in the darkness that embraces him in the attic when you’re not around. It’s a darkness that’s familiar… a darkness where, if he squeezes just enough, he can see her. His sister is there, in the darkness, and she helps him to remember.
Humans are the most dangerous form of temptation.
And he won’t make his sister’s mistake.
_
You chirp and squeal with glee, spinning to a song that has Belphegor wide awake.
Through open, alert eyes, he watches his twin brother lift you up by the waist with ease, and you both twirl under the gentle glow of the ballroom chandelier.
The cupcake you had made for Beel has long been devoured (candle and all, to no one’s surprise), and the Avatar of Gluttony’s sheer size mean that you both are bathed in the glow of the ornate chandelier above you in the centre of the room, laughing happily as you dance to a song once meant for him.
It wasn’t fair, Belphegor wants to think, watching as Beel indulged and indulged in the temptation of loving you. It wasn’t fair, he wants to think, hearing the birthday song which he had never paid attention to until it was no longer his name you sang. It wasn’t fair that he never let himself eat your cupcake.
He watches the two people he cherishes most waltz together, arm-in-arm and hand-in-hand, from a lone sofa in the corner. Around you, your friends and family gather around to join in the festivities; bunching up until the only view he has of your dance is through the tiny, narrowing slot of space between a content Lucifer and a cheering Lord Diavolo. It narrows - and narrows… and the last thing he sees is Beel pull you in by the waist for a deep, loving kiss.
Belphegor smiles bitterly, watching you hum against his brother’s lips. You look too bright, and too beautiful.
He squints, looking away from your face. The bright lights must be making his eyes tear up.
___
(y’all i just gotta accept that writing angst comes easiest to me, and idk if that’s a problem 😭. i hope y’all are doing good, though - esp with all the obey me news as of recent, such as the new content stopping. if anyone has any theories of what’s coming next, or anything they’d like to see in om’s future, feel free to share!)
(This me rambling, feel free to ignore and lesson 16 spoilers! ^^; hi hello btw!)
I wanna see MC sometimes staying at Purgatory Hall and the Demon Lord's Castle more often as an escape to truly relax and maybe see the brothers try to overcome some of their struggles in their own, even if it's just a bit, if not for them, then for MC who has done so much, maybe even too much, for them, y'know?
Lesson 16 was quite the turning point, but not a lot of things changed. I wanna see before and afters with everyone. I wanna see angst where everyone is trying to be normal (maybe because MC is trying to be normal), but when the slightest thing goes wrong, they all flinch to shield MC or something. The smallest smell of vlood after chopping up food for dinner? Flashback to lesson 16. MC being too cold? Mammon flashes back. Belphie standing over MC (holding blankets or just so happen to be there for some reason)? Levi is holding his breath.
But at the same time, i want to see MC flinch from Lucifer. Before Belphie, Lucifer was going to hurt MC or worse, and he did it the most and has succeeded in hurting MC the most out of the brothers. I want to see MC hold their breath anytime he gets angry but is completely calm with Satan. I wanna see MC's shoulders tense while helping with paperwork alone with him but be completely fine with doing the same with Diavolo. I wanna see Mammon acting as like a bridge between the two.
Everyone is so creative on how they write lesson 16 but i don't see a lot of "after the lesson" ones. I always wondered, if their MC went through that (assuming if they made ir canon in their MC's story), what changed, if at all?
Phantom Pain
First oneshot of Scars, Wounds and Minor Inconveniences: a oneshot series featuring slice-of-life snapshots of the aftermath of Lesson 16. Naturally, features spoilers for OG Obey Me! up until that point. Each oneshot will have an associated headcannons post, which will be linked when it goes up!
(thank you to @kittylilyheart for inspiring what will now be a oneshot series dedicated to everyday life in the aftermath of lesson 16, because there's just so many characters in this series with so many things you can write for each. they gave so many interesting examples in their submitted idea; so I'll be including some and incorporating my own. If you have an idea for something related to Obey Me! or Obey Me! Nightbringer that you'd like me to put to writing, please read the rules pinned to this blog before submitting to the blog's inbox!)
_
It’s like pins and needles, starting at your neck and running down your back. Mammon sees you arch your back oddly as you go to knock on the door to the Demon Lord’s castle; and immediately knows.
“Hey, hey.” He says as he bumps his shoulder into yours, fingers touching your sleeve. Even though he’s seen this a bunch of times, he never really knows what to do. “Ya, uh. Ya got the needles-thing again?”
“Yeah. Ugh, why now?” You groan through gritted teeth, waiting for the feeling to subside. Both you and Mammon were used to this, episodes happening every now and then. Temporary bouts of phantom pain down your back and sides, where arms had hugged you and…
Dwelling wouldn’t help. And besides; they barely inconvenienced you. You sat down and pressed your back against a nearby wall.
“Don’t do that. What are ya doin’?”
“It feels better when I put my back against something hard and flat.” You state matter-of-factly, never breaking eye contact as you slowly slide down. He looks more confused. You grin. "As long as Beel hasn't got his fifth dinner on it, the kitchen table is nice, too."
“Weird humans…” Mammon mutters disapprovingly, but he sits beside you to wait it out. His head flops to one side, cheek resting on your head, as he makes the ever-so-cliché show of pretending to stretch his arm above his head, over yours… and, eventually, around your shoulders. You snort as his fingers fidget, figuring he just doesn’t know where to place them. They first settle on your chest, lingering over where your heart beats. Then, they scurry up to your collarbone and settle on your pulse point. He presses around a little, as if searching. Then, with a satisfied hum, he leans back against the wall, too.
“I think it’s going away, now. Mams. Hey, Mams.” You shake his arm a few minutes later. He blushes at your willing contact (as if he hadn’t been holding you close this whole time) and the cutesy nickname, but shuffles back to give you space to stand. Though not before checking your back first, touching the back of his hand to the skin between your shoulder blades, which your outfit exposes. Because you’d been leaning on a metal wall, your skin is cold.
He freezes. Your skin, cold. Your lips, not breathing. The slight red from where his hand had pressed against you has a slightly red flush. Red - red, just like it had been when -
He makes a show of dusting off your shoulders, one hand curling its fingers just enough to press a little more around your neck pulse point.
He hums again, satisfied. Then, the sheer amount of touching you that he’s done today hits him - and he turns his head to the side with a not-so-subtle cough.
“Y-Yeah, okay. Good. Let’s knock, then.” Mammon straightens and flashes you one of his signature grins. You notice it wobbles a little, but you attribute that to the adorably-dramatic cough he was forcing out of his throat just moments earlier. “If we get back late, Lucifer’ll think we’re slackin.”
“We can’t stay longer? Lord Diavolo said in his letter that I can work at the castle for as long as I like.” You pout. Secretly, your heartbeat gets a little faster; you swore you read the letter correctly. You look at Mammon hopefully, avoiding looking at the path behind you; which was starting to look awfully short. “I thought we were getting back after Lucifer goes out tonight.”
Mammon raises an eyebrow. “Ya wanna stay that long? It’s dangerous out. It’s safer with Lucifer around. ” He protests worriedly - but catches himself quickly. “W-Well. Not that I can’t protect ya… But everyone’s at home, too! The more people around, the better the protectin'!”
“Mammon -”
“Mammon is probably right, MC." Suddenly, you hear a voice behind you. "Though, I admit - I hadn't thought about that when I wrote the letter requesting your visit.”
The two of you jump. You and Mammon immediately find each others’ hands, and whip around to face the source of the voice. Mammon is already stepping forward, stretching his arm in front of you protectively... when he sees who it is.
“Lord… Geez, Lord Diavolo. Barbatos.” He nervously chuckles, stepping back. “We were literally just about to knock. Warn a guy next time, why don’t’cha?”
“No worries, Mammon. Sorry for startling you.” Diavolo offers apologetically. He nods in acknowledgement to you. “Hello there, MC. Lucifer may worry too much if he doesn’t see you before leaving the House, so it may be best for him to see you’re safe and sound, first.”
You look up slowly at the Crown Prince of the Devildom. The prince’s demon butler stands just behind his liege, almost blending into the shadows. They look so… tall. So towering. You don’t register the words that come out of your mouth.
“Oh, u-uh. Okay, then. I’ll help with some RAD event planning, then leave. early”
Mammon gives you a look, shuffling closer and bumping his shoulder into yours, again. “Oi, human, are you sure? I thought earlier you said -”
“I’ll do what Lord Diavolo, said. It’s probably for a reason.” You reply nonchalantly as Barbatos steps forward and unlocks the front door. You can see the hallway as it creaks open and it’s dark. It reminds you of a room you had woken up in when you were pulled from your home with no warning. It reminds you of winding stairs that had lead up to an attic, with a shadowy figure waiting behind a locked door. It was the home of two people who, try as you might, you could never, ever say no to.
Was it fear? You didn’t think so, you could talk to them pretty easily. Agree with them, easily.
Was it hatred? Not that either. You knew Mammon appreciates them for their part in saving you, so you guess you do, too.
You think of the phantom pain from earlier, then think that the darkness of the castle hallway looks a lot more inviting than dwelling on painful memories and difficult questions. So you let your feet follow Diavolo and Barbatos into the castle, laughing when Diavolo fondly tussles Mammon’s hair and enthusiastically piping up with ideas when Barbatos lists off the upcoming events to be held by the student council at RAD.
Mammon does hang back a little at first, though; wondering why you disapproved of his idea when he said it - but then agreed so readily when Diavolo did. But Diavolo did help you with the whole Belphie situation. And he was grateful Diavolo had you brought to the Devildom at all. So he follows you and thinks nothing of it.
And you follow Barbatos and Diavolo. Listening to their every word, like it was instinct. Like you didn’t really have a choice. Just like you didn't have when they had saved you.
Just like you had no choice when they had first brought you here.
(first chapter of the blog's very first series! this was pretty interesting and challenging to write as i really didn't want anything sad or angsty; just the same tone as my other slice-of-life stuff but with little pangs of hurt from the habits that the characters pick up after the belphie incident. i'd like to think that mc and the obm cast actually do recover pretty quickly from lesson 16, but not for the reason of forgiving each other easily, which i'll get to in later chapters. in this case, mc gets along well with dia and barb out of trust for them saving them, but also because they've always taken the reigns on their fate anyway.)
Third oneshot of Scars, Wounds and Minor Inconveniences: a oneshot series featuring slice-of-life snapshots of the aftermath of Lesson 16. Naturally, features spoilers for OG Obey Me! up until that point. Each oneshot will have an associated headcannons post, which will be linked when it goes up! This series was inspired by an idea in my ideas inbox, so please read the rules in the pinned post and drop any writing ideas you have in there!)
Belphegor, true to the nature of Sloth, watches his brother; and does nothing.
Where the Avatar of Sloth sits, a cloudy haze - rising and falling like dry ice - swirls around him. He touches the clouds swirling about half-heartedly, savouring the cooling sensation as the condensation forms on his skin. It’s a clear, grounding feeling; different to his brother.
He knows his brother can’t feel the haze that surrounds him.
After all, it’s not really his brother.
Belphegor used to love slipping into his brother’s dreams. Of course, the Beel he sees in the dreamscape isn’t the actual Beel. The actual Beel wouldn’t eat mountains of junk food without working out the next day; and the actual Beel would never sit at the family dinner table in front of heaps of fancy dishes without his family sitting alongside him. And, though these were but a small subset of the multitude of dreams Belphegor had seen his brother have over the years, Belphegor had never seen Beelzebub like this before. Belphegor had never seen Beelzebub stuck having the same dream for more than a few weeks.
Not since Lilith died.
The Avatar of Gluttony cycles through scenes. Walking. Eating. Studying shoulder-to-shoulder for a group project. Taking a morning jog and settling down to a picnic and watching the sunrise. Wandering with a loved one, hand-in-hand, ooh-ing and ah-ing at street food stalls at a idyllic funfair; surrounded by wonder and amazement and happiness -
Belphegor approaches the echo of his brother’s dreamlike state. He watches the human who is beside him in each scene.
This human, of course, isn’t the actual human Belphegor knew. The human in real life didn’t have a eyes this bright, or a voice so honey-sweet, or a laugh so perfect. This human was Beel’s. The human Beel saw, when he looked at them in the real world. The human who Beel spent time with in his dreams, because he’s lost too many chances to in real life.
Belphegor remembers the victorious glee he felt when you had broken down that day. About two weeks after he had tried to murder you, he thinks. He didn’t really remember much, other than Beel defending him for something that he had set up. Was it hiding one of Beel’s labelled puddings and saying you had eaten it? Was it that time he pretended you had told him off for something he didn’t do? Belphegor had lost track.
Belphegor remembers smiling discretely as you - your voice as meek as prey - as you asked Beel why he always believed his twin brother straight away. The sixth-born hadn't responded, and Belphegor remembers willing his sin to fill the room.
After a few minutes, tears had fallen from your eyes. Belphegor had frowned, hearing Beel’s breath hitch. He had heard something similar before. A few times when he needed to choose between Belphegor and Lilith dying; between staying with Father or falling with Lucifer. Despite obviously crying, you had stayed silent.
Then you had left.
And you hadn’t talked to Beelzebub since then.
Belphie continues to watch as Beel cycles through memories with you. There are so many, Belphie realises bitterly. So much time of this stupid human’s short, fragile life… spent taking care of his twin brother whilst he was locked away in the attic.
Each memory ends the same. Beel looks so insufferably happy. He nuzzles his face into your hair when he hugs you. He has the biggest, dopiest grin when he looks at you. He holds hands with you.
And each time, without fail, the dream of you fades away.
It is then when Belphegor needs to stop himself from breaking; holding his chest as if his heart is going to plummet through it. And - even with all his power - he finds some invisible wall preventing him from soothing his brother. The haze that circles around him drags itself across the floor lazily, reaching out for Beelzebub from where Belphegor stands. From Belphegor's view, the fog is like an extra hand for him - a manifestation of his guilt - causing Beel pain, even in his dreams. Belphegor can't un-create something he's created, after all.
He remembers each of Beel’s sounds you fade into nothing. Things he hasn’t heard from his brother in a long, long time.
The choked yelling of your name as he grabs air… just like when Beelzebub had reached out to save Belphegor, instead of Lilith.
The grunts of desperate effort as he dives headfirst, phasing through you and crashing to the ground…just like when Beelzebub had tried to save Lilith after.
The crying.
Just like when the twins had curled up together in their new, demon-filled home, in their new bedroom in the House of Lamentation. The sleep had been unbearable as their unfamiliar wings and tail thrashed against the sheets, trying to fight off both the discomfort and the memories of Lilith's death.
… Belphegor wakes up. He ignores the wet streaks running down his cheeks. Probably sleep-drool.
He ignores that the wet streaks start at his eyes.
Suddenly, his D.D.D flashes. Or, he thinks it is, but it’s actually his twin brother’s, using his charger. Belphie glances at the time. 4:00am. A few, small whines leave his brother’s lips. Belphie glances over to Beel and sees him slightly toss and turn in bed.
Belphie can’t do anything.
Avatar of Sloth, indeed.
… Belphie glances again at Beelzebub.
The Avatar of Sloth goes back to sleep.
…
Later, you wake up and take a look at the time on your D.D.D. 8:00am.
After months of nightmares, you’ve had the best sleep of your life - as if someone’s gone and chased away the memories of stairs and attics and blood. You used to go to the kitchen for a snack after waking up from a nightmare; but after exploding on Beel about two weeks ago, you found it hard to speak to him. You couldn’t blame yourself. He wouldn’t believe you when you would say that Belphegor was making you take blame for things you didn’t do; you weren’t sure he’d believe anything you’d say.
But you missed Beelzebub. You couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if you came up with a plan before breaking down in front of him and Belphegor. What would have happened if you had tried to talk to him again, instead of ignoring him?
You knew, for certain, Beel wasn't a bad person.
So what would happen if you... tried? Instead of wondering?
Sighing, you get out of bed and begin to pack your bag for RAD. You spot a snack in your bag; some chips that came free with a deal from the cafeteria that you didn’t really like.
But you know who would like them.
And you wouldn’t want them to go bad.
You steel your resolve, open up the Chat app on your D.D.D and scroll down. A lot. Then you reach Beel’s contact and type out a quick:
“Hey, it’s been a while. I think we should talk. And I have a snack you might like.”
The response is almost immediate.
“Yeah, of course. When and what time?”
You aren’t sure you would have been ready for this if you had just come out of one of your usual nightmares, sweating and sobbing.
So you thank the mysterious force which fought them off and get ready to meet Beelzebub.
(a new installationnnn!!!!! a few things, like beel constantly needing to choose between loved ones, belphegor being a menace to mc, belphegor entering beel's dreams, mc not being able to talk to beel. don't worry, though, i'll be doing some more casual stories for this series; esp since the last two have been really sad ahaha)
(As usual, a huge thank you to @kittylilyheart for the original idea! please check out my masterlist in the pinned post for the whole series, which is still in progress!)
