Pact headcanons + OC Lore
Instead of doing anything on my to do list, here’s some OC lore nobody asked for!!
I don’t really have one set pact mark headcanon. I switch it up OC by OC depending on what I think suits their character or their story best. There are three ways I imagine the marks appearing.
The pact magic manifests itself in a bespoke location on the human’s body based on their relationship with the demon’s aspect
The pact marks for the seven sins come in a prearranged design that has spots for each one, and the design fully manifests itself when the first pact is made
The pact mark appears in a location of the demon’s choosing via touch
There’s only one consistent thing between these, and that’s that the mark appearing hurts, but in different ways for each headcanon. I’m just a sadist to my OCs, I really don’t have an excuse.
Under the cut I’ll be going more in depth as to which of my OCs I assign to which headcanon and why, as well as talking more about how each kind of pact is made and how they hurt.
Thatcher, Lori, and Val all get the ‘pact marks appear in bespoke locations relevant to their relationship with the sin of the demon they’re pacting with’ headcanon. These three characters are, in general, the ones who deny their true feelings the most. Having the pact marks show up in symbolically relevant locations denies them the ability to hide that. Each of these reminds them of the ways in which they are the worst, and what they have chosen to do with themselves, which drives their development.
For these kinds of pact marks, the marks appear on their own without requiring additional touch. The pact itself is initiated via blood sharing and incantation - the magic inherent in mixing demon and human blood is amplified by the spoken spell, and that is what creates the bond. There is of course the initial pain of creating the wound to share blood, and then the magic manifesting is also painful and feels like receiving a brand from the inside. It burns. Magic and demon blood are both harmful to the human body and the pact making process reflects that.
Thatcher represses everything they feel that they were taught was improper. The twisted sense of pride they inherited from their parents led them to a deeply ingrained sense of shame that keeps them from speaking honestly, and makes them capitulate to others and hide. They try their best to be what each of the brothers needs, at first, to stay in their good graces. When Thatcher finally gets it, their pride mark goes right at the base of their throat.
Val hides her true feelings under a happy exterior because of her depression. She is often deeply sad and lethargic and disconnected under the smokescreen. But she is loathe to let anyone know she’s anything but a delight, and the lack of being understood by others (that she has imposed on herself) makes her angry. Even though she did it to herself. She makes no moves to change this until its nearly too late. Her sloth mark drapes across her shoulders like a blanket, heavy and ever present, and a reminder of how she treated Belphie - and how he treated her in return.
Lori feels a lot but expresses all of it as anger because he’s emotionally constipated. Just like his sister, he feels the need to be seen a certain way, and that way is strong. And he feels, in general, wronged by life, and he carries that with him. He has physically hurt himself and others with his fighting bouts, both in and out of the gym His wrath mark is large enough on his right forearm to be a sleeve on its own, and he sees it whenever he goes to fight, and the reminder can be tempering for him. Can be, but not always.
Leigh, Melisande, and Sonja all get the ‘pact marks appear in a prearranged design with empty spots for all seven sins’ headcanon. The design and placement varies for each of them.
For these marks, the pact is initiated with touch, and the demon is instinctively drawn to where the mark should start, guided by the magic. It knows. This pact feels like being cut. As the lines of the first mark and the guide appear, the magic cuts its way into their skin - not physically, magically of course, so there isn’t blood, but it feels real. The skin is inflamed as if they had actually been hurt afterward.
Leigh gets a straight line going up her back, starting at the base of her spine. Her spine is a physical weak point and her posture is a source of insecurity for her, so having the pacts in a place that forces her to relinquish intimate touch to the demon making the pact is symbolic of how she will reap greater rewards through emotional intimacy and openness than staying closed off. It’s easy at first since she doesn’t need to reveal much to get the lowermost mark from Mammon, but she has to reveal more and more to get each one, and eventually someone is going to see her posture brace, and she’s going to be embarrassed.
Sonja gets what is essentially a summoning circle epaulet. Mammon’s mark goes right on her left shoulder and the guide spreads out from there over the back of her shoulder, her upper arm, collarbone, and left breast. The guide fills out from there. She does a lot of manual work, so her arms and hands and torso are how she enacts her will on the world, and the power she gains from her dealings with demons are best reflected in those places. It is also so visible to remind her that she can indeed have an effect on her surrounding instead of just being part of the scenery.
Melisande has the most intricate of these designs. Not only are the marks themselves intricately woven symbolism and script, the spaces between them are decorated in swirling floral motifs. Vines and blossoms and leaves outline the spaces on her stomach where the pacts will go when she gets them. It starts with the first one under the center of her rib cage - her core, where she breathes from, from where she speaks her truth - and as she gets more pacts, the foliage spreads to accommodate the addition to the mark. Where Leigh’s and Sonja’s are some degree of empty until they get Lucifer’s mark, Melisande’s looks like it could be complete at every stage. One of her running themes is about how it is possible to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress all at once. “Show me a permanent state of the self” and all that.
Emil and Parker have their pact marks placed upon them in a location of the demon’s choice. These two have a lot to learn as far as their relationships to others, and are independent to a fault. By having the demons lay hands on them and choose where their marks go, they will learn that allowing others to guide them is not the godawful trial they make it out to be. They will learn that there is some comfort in being lead instead of leading.
These pacts are initiated by the demon’s touch and they have to draw it in with their claws, and it feels like getting a tattoo. Magic and intent being pushed against the skin and penetrating just deep enough, scratching their commitment into the human in a physically intimate process. There’s a degree of ritual to this one, but it can range from casual to high protocol, depending on the demon. Preparations can also be made to ease the pain on the human’s part and replenish the demon’s energy after expending the magic required.
Emil does his best to tell each of the demons where they can put their pacts and wants them to be as non-visible as possible. Mammon, Levi, and Beel all agree to his demands easily, and put their marks down the right side of his torso. Asmo, Satan, and Lucifer all argue for locations of their choosing - the back of the right hand, the nape of the neck, and over the heart, respectively. Emil allows them after some argument. Belphie is the only one who asks where he wants it, as part of his penance, and Emil asks for it to be on his left hand, both as aesthetic balance to Asmo’s on his right and as a show of forgiveness to him, since the whole killing him thing actually was weirdly helpful. Eventually he grows to regret hiding Leviathan’s mark where he can’t easily see it.
Parker also tries to command where the demons can put their marks. They don’t want the demons dictating where the marks go, but also aren’t decisive enough to really decide for themself, though usually they are very sure when it comes to matters of their body. They negotiate locations with Mammon and Levi - the left bicep and the right wrist. Beel wants his mark on their stomach and they agree. Neither of them think much about it, but that’s when Parker realized their crush, as he was marking them while they laid in his bed. Parker fought both Asmo and Satan for days until they reached a compromise to have their marks on Parker’s thighs, Asmo on the left and Satan on the right. For all the shit they put Lucifer through, they don’t fight him much on wanting to put his mark on their sternum. Belphie, again, asks where they want it, and they have it put right below Beel’s, since they don’t feel like it’s right to keep the twins apart even in this small thing.
That sure was a whole lot of lore for my way-too-many OCs, I hope y’all had fun reading about all the pain I put my children through :3c