set your mind on me
marifk reblogged
(taps mic)
Lately, I’ve been thinking about marriage in fantasy settings, especially in the Forgotten Realms. Marriage there is a bit of a mixed bag depending on the culture—some people swear before a god, others just make a vow to each other, and some pantheons won’t even allow it. But then there’s the Nine Hells, where “marriage” is a whole different game. It’s basically just another form of contract, centered around power and ambition, not love. I mean, archdevils have consorts.
Here’s how I see it working (headcanon based!!!):
In the Nine Hells, marriage is purely transactional—no romance, just strategy. Archdevils like Asmodeus might get “married” to secure loyalty or expand control, while lower devils form alliances to stay protected or climb the ranks. It’s more about manipulation than a true partnership, with everything centered on hierarchy and control.
So,the details:
- Marriages are contracts that spell out everything, right down to resources and loyalty.
- High-ranking devils “marry” to gain territory or influence—think of it as consolidating power.
- Asmodeus might “marry” mortals or lower devils to bind them to him with one-sided contracts.
- Archdevils may partner up if it helps with a shared ambition—definitely not for love.
- Succubi, incubi, etc., lesser devils in general form temporary alliances focused on survival and personal gain.
- Devils might stage fake weddings to mess with mortals, make a point, or even humiliate captured souls.
- Maybe not even fake!! I feel like they lowkey enjoy the ceremonial part as lawful evil beings.
- These “marriages” aren’t about loyalty or intimacy,they’re all about hierarchy, dominance, and ambition.
- And ceremonies?? Archdevils don’t skimp on their entourages. Expect flower girls with fire-breathing bouquets, ring bearers chained to hellhounds, and a best man who’s literally bound to stand by the groom.
- Vows are heavy on consequences. If one party tries to “break up,” they risk a century of infernal litigation, endless fines, and probably a curse or two just for good measure.
- Devils are all about traditions, so gifts often include ancient relics with curses, power-stealing potions, and sentimental keepsakes from past consorts who didn’t survive the arrangement.
- The post-ceremony bash is anything but relaxing. Sinful, hedonistic bash. lol
And Raphael? For him, marriage would be a calculated power move. He’d make it all about control, writing up a contract that stacks the odds in his favor. He might go all-out with a fancy ceremony just for appearances, but he’d see marriage as a tool-definitely not a source of genuine connection. If the arrangement stopped being useful, he’d cut ties without a second thought.
That said... his human side could make him feel a bit conflicted... He’d treat it like a strategic deal, but there might be a tiny part of him that longs for a real connection, for someone who could match him in wit. His possessiveness could even have a protective edge, hiding a faint desire for actual companionship. But he’d shove that deep down, refusing to let any sentimentality interfere with his plans. He’d lie to himself with things like “every respectable archdevil should have a consort, so, I shall wed him/her”.
...So, to sum it up: In the Nine Hells, marriage is just another way to win at the power game. If devils exchanged rings, they’d probably be shackles, and the vows would be about “honoring the contract” instead of “honoring each other.”
And Raphael? He’d probably make a great wedding planner, if your idea of romance is a soul-binding contract with enough fine print to make a lawyer weep. Just don’t expect him to throw the bouquet. He’d keep it as leverage.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk
marifk reblogged
Anonymous asked:
What about Raphael monologuing and/or being his smug self only to be surprised by "his" little mouse interrupting him by grabbing the collar of his clothing and dragging the cambion in to a searing kiss before she says something like 'You talk too much' or 'I got the gist, thank you' and gracefully striding off before he can even think to react? (your choice if Tav does this when it's just her and Raphael or if she pulls this stunt in front of a group of her companions who would likely be left there stunned for a few moments as well)
I took forever to get this done but I did your request with a bit of a twist I hope you enjoy!
Warning: last step is NSFW! MDNI! 18+ only!
How to shut a devil up in 5 easy ways
If you had to describe Raphael, you would say he is dangerous, mysterious, and admittedly very pleasing to the eye… the only problem? Raphael doesn't know how to shut up… is it a bard thing or a devil thing to have the inability to shut up? Personally, you wouldn't mind listening to him talk all night; he has a magnificent voice… But you're busy; you can't always sacrifice your time to entertain him. Though he doesn't always get the hint, so you will have to get creative…
marifk reblogged
Mr @straycatj chilling cool style (⌐ ▀ᆽ▀ )✨
marifk reblogged
// Something that I find very curious about Raphael. It appears that most devils don't seem to wear a lot of clothes, or to say, their armour is still pretty revealing. Understandable in places like Avernus where it's likely very hot, but even in pics we see in places like Cania, the Cold Lord Mephisto still doesn't appear to wear a whole lot of clothes (usually shirtless, or skin showing still). Then there are those devils that don't even REQUIRE clothes (or maybe they just wear loincloths).
Raphael, even in cambion form (since his clothes don't change), seems rather conservative compared to other devils we see. Dressed fully, clothes that cover almost every inch of him save for his face and hands. Even when he DOES get "armour", it's ridiculous little knee guards and around his hips. Armour that isn't really covering a lot, perhaps because devils just don't make suits of entire armour so he made do with what he had?
The cambions at the start of the game in the Nautaloid are bared skin, Yurgir has bared skin, I suppose we could also go off Karlach's clothes as well, which has bare skin (since she was a soldier of Avernus). Mizora, a cambion, DOES wear a dress that definitely covers most of her body, but even Mizora is sexualised, with the open leg seems and her breasts being revealed (because of course devils are supposed to be alluring).
Obviously Raphael enjoys the sight of himself in skimpy clothes, otherwise I doubt Haarlep would be dressed in that little leather harness we see. Even more curious, what if Haarlep wears these things because Raphael can't? He likes to SEE himself in them, but maybe he doesn't have the confidence to do it himself?
Also obviously Raphael is playing an act in the sense that he likely feels more appropriately dressed before Tav etc, and looks smart compared to the whole 'evil devil' look.
I just find it curious. Just another little Raph being dramatic and so very Raphael in his theatrical attire. Looking proper and prim, because he obviously loves himself so much and must look pretty for his clients. Perhaps Raphael is very "there's a time and a place"?
I just find it fascinating, and I bet other devils look at his attire and roll their eyes. Raphael, the outcast, always doing things differently to stand out from his own kind. Perhaps it's entirely a status thing as well? Maybe it's a message? Who knows! I just found it interesting that Raphael is one of the only devils that seems to dress extremely conservatively (maybe he's not as confident as we all believe him to be after all?).
I have a LOT of Raphael thoughts lately >.< and they are eating at me from the inside, I'm trying to hold them in but they're starting to just burst from the seams lol.
marifk reblogged
Helldusk armor, Rosymorn Monastery lighting and big beautiful brown eyes.
marifk reblogged
young raph.
marifk reblogged
some screenshots i took in my raphael playthru HES SO HANDSOME GYAHHHHHH i cant do this anymore chat
marifk reblogged
Anonymous asked:
a reflection of Roman Empire-esque devil society
what makes it Roman Empire-esque?
what do you mean, in canon? In canon it's not Roman Empire-esque at all. Why did I write it like that?
A bit of background on the whole thought process!
I was a bit taken aback how homophobic and penis-centric the whole Haarlep-related section was in a game that clearly is not like that otherwise ("bottom" as an insult, cannot last long = bad in bed as if penis is the only magical tool for orgasm, etc.). And when I thought it's just Haarlep's type of humour, I was taken aback by the reaction of Raphael to this very cheap insult. I could have imagined he would just snicker and snide at a tasteless (objectively) joke but HE DID NOT. He lost his holy shit, shaking from fury. And it is an insult included directly at masculine virility - imagine insulting Mizora by "you cannot last a minute in bed HAHA!!!", she would be like "pup... you okay there? do you need some water? who told you it's funny?"
So how come, I thought. And the only way it made sense for a man to react like that if Raphael himself is a product of a society with such beliefs and Haarlep knew where to hurt him most. Like ofc it's insulted pride, but it only works in a societal upbringing that perceives it as a grave insult.
And the more I thought about hells, the more it made sense. Most of the devils are male, most of the layers are ruled by devils looking like middle-aged men, the ones that are not are ruled by somebody's daughters / wives / proteges, it's very hierarchical, very power and status obsessed. Most of the devils can change their appearance at whim yet still present only as male. So, which society is male-based, ultra hierarchical, militaristic and high on order while still hedonistic?
That's right. The society where the insult quote unquote "I will sodomize you and face-fuck you, cocksucker Aurelius and butt-boy Furius", from a male opponent to another male opponent originated and was like BURN LEVEL 9000.
Canon is not like that, but I unfortunately cannot make head or tails with canon hells, it's too contradiction-riddled for me, I do not understand how a society like that would even realistically function, so I basically threw the lore in the dumpster with HWLL and home-brewed most of the things.
marifk reblogged
BG3 Fics
damnation game series (Raphael / F!Tav)
For the love of the unholy and your own sanity, please mind the tags: DDDNE, non-con, horror. All related material can be found under "#HWLL" tag: fanart, head canons, songs, etc.
he who laughs last Tav played Honour Mode, Tav went to the House of Hope to show Raphael who was the main character in this game, Tav made the hilarious "twice as long joke", Tav lost to Raphael. The rest are the consequences of this brilliant decision and of pissing off the guy who told you he would flay you alive if you double-crossed him.
dinner & diatribes Raphael x F!Tav x Astarion. Can be read separately. Astarion & Tav are imprisoned by Raphael and are forced to play very wicked mind games.
belle de jour Raphael obsesses over his sleeping Archduchess wife.
other
trouble at the disco (Rugan x F!OC) Rugan and the intricacies of brat taming. Humour, very dirty.
knock knock (Raphael x F! Player) you like the devil? The devil likes you too! He likes you so much he is coming for you IRL. Meta horror, meta romance
headcanons
daddy raphael (like actual Dad!Raphael) Raphael NSFW quirks Raphael & The Family
marifk reblogged
Raphael (Baldur's Gate 3) | Figure
marifk reblogged
Anonymous asked:
So what is up with Korilla? Is she a voluntary servant of Raphael's or involuntary [due to him having her sister]? If you catch Korilla spying on you & manage to speak to her, she sounds brainwashed. What is it R wants from the two sisters?
Hope and Korrilla
I'm so glad you asked! Because I now have a little theory on it. I've started reading Brimstone Angels by Erin M. Evans (who is also a former editor for Wizards of the Coast) because it was recommended to me by @hellish-kiss (thank you <3). I'm only on the first book. I like it so far and there is a bunch of devil and cambion stuff in there.
In her books, cambions and devils have a tendency to collect 'sets' of warlocks. It's focused a lot on bloodlines, so a devil would collect warlocks of interesting bloodlines or siblings, and it's this huge thing in the books.
It made me wonder if that could be the thing with Hope and Korrilla. They could be the descendants of someone interesting, or it could just be that Raphael wants to have both of them because they are siblings.
Raphael is obviously more obsessed with Hope, but I think he might have hoped (ha-ha) from the start to get both of them. In a way it makes perfect sense. It's easier to control people when one of their family members might be in trouble too if you rebel against them.
Also...
Hope is a life domain cleric. The obvious deity would be Moradin, who is a lawful good god of dwaves, but we aren't really told. Keep that in mind for now.
Korrilla says that she had an "old dwarven master" who "beat her and fed her scraps" and then follows that up with "better to feast in the Hells than go begging to the Heavens".
Interestingly, it's said that Moradin's clerics are drawn from family lines, which mean that both Korrilla and Hope might have been Moradin clerics before. He is also described as such:
"He was gruff, stern and virtually incapable of compromise, tirelessly and unflinchingly defending his people, their values, and his principles of good and law. While a good heart was necessary for his acceptance, only quality results earned his approval."
What if Moradin is who Korrilla refers to as her old master? He does sound like someone who really demands a lot from his clerics, and Korrilla might've never been enough for him, which would make one bitter and start looking elsewhere. It would also further make her unable to understand why her sister won't give in, because she sees it as hopeless because Moradin doesn't do shit for them (and can't do shit when they are both in the Hells), but Raphael does.
I think Korrilla really does like working for Raphael, and from Raphael's point of view, they are both the perfect targets. Because clerics of Moradin is a bloodline thing, Korrilla and Hope might have been groomed from the start of their lives to follow a someone who is hard to please and gives little in return, and people like that make excellent employees. Not to mention the irony of Hope's name and the fact that he gets to corrupt two clerics. Win-win-win.
Korrilla might sound brainwashed, but if you have gone your entire life and "begged for scraps in the Heavens", the alternative that Raphael has given them is a hundred times better, because he does actually give her something. Even Raphael says somewhere in one of his books that he has barely ever been forced to punish Korrilla because she is just a model warlock and good at listening.
(Thank you for the ask <3 And good timing. I actually wanted to make a post about this eventually.)
