GARY MILLER

FULL NAME: Astaroth Mensophos

NICKNAME(S): Gary Miller

SPECIES: Gary is a normal human being just like you and me (Archdemon)

KNOWN LANGUAGES:  English, Latin, Spanish, French, German, ASL

RELIGION: Satanism, Neopaganism/Wiccan, Viviran

AGE: ~6,500 (appears ~50)

GENDER: Male

PREFERRED PRONOUN(S): He/Him (any accepted)

SEXUAL/ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Pansexual, Polyamorous

OCCUPATION: Grand Duke of Hell, Cult Leader (verse dependent), Clinic Worker, Landlord (Verse dependent)

EYE COLOR(S): Brown/Red

HAIR COLOR(S): Red/Blonde 

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 147 pounds

BODY BUILD: Firm, solid, muscly

NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: Odd scars spanning up the lengths of his arms and in several places along his body and face, some brand marks, several tattoos of runes

ALTERNATE FORMS: Demon form

FACECLAIM: None

VOICECLAIM: None

PHOBIAS: None

MENTAL HEALTH: None

PHYSICAL HEALTH: None

ASSISTIVE DEVICES: None

MEDICATIONS: None

PARENTS: Miriam Bell (mother), Unknown father

SIBLINGS: None 

PARTNERS: Alu Tenecapri (long-term partner)

CHILDREN: Azarkh Sophonox (son, missing), Amanda (adoptive daughter)

FRIENDS: Minrathus "Zagan" Aterden, Lucina "Kimaris" Valor, Kingston "Beleth" Valor, Valentin "Valefar" Quixote, Alastor Rosales 

ALLIES: The Eternal Order of the Second Death, followers of Queen Satan 

RIVAL(S): John Ward

ENEMIES: John Ward, Cops

Content warning for mentions of death, torture, satanism, cults, and violence.

A direct descendant of one of Nod's wisest and most powerful fallen, Astaroth is a Grand Duke of Hell commanding over 40 legions of demons. Serving as the Grand Duchum of Vitality, he served as Queen Satan's direct second-in-command, overseeing all domestic and foreign affairs of the kingdom of Hell and reporting them back to her. Regarded as intelligent, crafty, and well-read, Astaroth served as a faithful second-in-command under her regency and was well-regarded among the denizens of Hell. Following the schism of the monarchy however, Astaroth was forced to flee the realm along with most of the Magistry and the few other demons that had not already subscribed to Lucifer's lunacy. Much like the lost princess however, his expulsion was hastily done and he was forced to wander the earthly realm with little memory of his past.

--

In the 1930s, a cult dedicated to the Devil took a nun by the name of Miriam Bell and performed on her a ritual known as the Second Death, wherein they carved out her face and turned it into a mask in order to create a portal to Hell. From there, they began passing newborn infants through the portal in hopes of receiving a response when one day, they did. A little arm reached back through, and upon bringing it into the world, it was a little boy. They named him Gary Miller and raised him within the cult as one of their own, unaware that Gary was a demon. Still, they recognized he was special and treated him as such.

Gary was a strange child from the beginning. More attentive, well-mannered, and more sociable than others - but only with his cult. As he grew into the perfect cult leader, it became clear that he was more than just "a normal human being." He had the power to reach to the other side and summon demons. He had an intimate knowledge of rituals and all that needed to be done for them. He was exceedingly deceptive, charismatic, and intelligent. Though there is little more to expect from the being responsible for preparing the world for the Antichrist. In order to sustain his cult, he acquired an apartment building to keep them together and an abortion clinic to supply their ceremonies with newborns and emergency offerings. All this in his search to find the perfect vessel to usher in the Antichrist via a ritual called the Profane Sabbath. Originally, his mother, Miriam, was to be the vessel. But her body was far too old to handle the power of the UNSPEAKABLE. Instead, he set his sights on Amy Martin, a young girl working at his clinic. He convinced her to come with him to the apartment and attempted to perform the Second Death on her, but the ritual was incomplete when she escaped, though she remained possessed. 

Following the failed attempt on Amy, one of the other cultists, Tiffany, attempted to perform the Second Death on herself and used her neighbor, Lisa, an unknowing and unwilling sacrifice. Another botched sacrifice summoned forth Alu, Satan's general directly under Gary, his old friend, and his partner. Alu, coming to understand what was going on, managed to invoke a spell that shook Astaroth from his amnesia and remind him of who he was and what he was doing. From there, the Duke switched gears. He shifted the focus of the cult to be more in line with the Queen's beliefs -- rejecting shame and inhibition and favoring healthy indulgence and self-love so long as no others were harmed. Additionally, he would help serve as a beacon to the scattered members of Hell's resistance, regrouping the lost and plotting ways to try and dethrone Lucifer once more.

Though, that task has proven somewhat difficult between running his cult and making sure rent is paid on time.

Naturally a determined and hardworking individual, anything Gary sets his mind to he can achieve. There’s no stopping him and it’s better not to try and get in his way. He locks onto goals and not only seeks to achieve them but has the intellect, resources, and craftiness to find the easiest and most effective way to do so. This works wonders for the fact that he is performative and seeks to display himself as someone amicable and admirable, one who can do no wrong. It improves others’ perceptions of him. This, of course, makes his job of manipulating others much easier. His vindictive nature and charm, paired with this well-established positive image of himself makes convincing others to join his group all the more easy for him. He knows exactly what to say and how to say it, and knows how to gain control of a situation to steer the outcome in his favor. Aside from using people for his own personal gain, Gary couldn’t care less about most. His caring, kind-hearted nature is a facade and something he wears only to throw outsiders off his scent. He doesn’t care for most people and looks at them from the perspective of “if you’re not with me, you’re against me”. Very rarely does he look upon outsiders with interest as he’s very picky about who he wants.

When it comes to the cult/community on the other hand, Gary’s concerns and emotions towards them are sincere. He genuinely considers the cult a large family and works hard to maintain order and peace within it. He acts as a leader more than he acts like a boss and strives to lead them all to greatness. He trusts in each member and seeks to be an inspiring figure they can all look up to and come to when they need help. He’s very attached and dotes on individual members when he needs to and he cares about each and every person he’s brought into the cult. He finds their work is a team effort and will stand to protect his cult members whenever it is needed. Despite having led them for quite a while, Gary has never engaged in a relationship that was anything beyond platonic with anyone of his cult members. This is primarily because he focuses on contacting the UNSPEAKABLE (in his cult verse) and prioritizes the interests of the cult as a whole over that of one individual. (It’s also because he’s not too good as reading into intimate signals. He’s got his head in the clouds a lot of the time.) That’s not to say he’s completely closed off to the idea, though he does show quite a bit of an aversion to it. Previously, he made it painstakingly clear that he favored Amy the most, much to the dismay of some.

Cult and facade behavior aside, Gary makes it blatantly clear that he’s not fond of authority. He’s had a few informal run-ins with the law in the past and while nothing is on his record, he’s had a history of keying police cars, putting graffiti up in a lot of places, smoking and drinking underage, and generally being a nuisance to sheriffs and troopers everywhere. Nowadays he’s mostly cleaned up his act— or so he has everyone believing. In reality, if he’s feeling particularly bored and has nothing to do, he likes leading cops on a goose chase before disappearing or going out and graffitiing places for fun. He still has the occasional smoke and drink now and then.

DISLIKES: Authority, excessive alcohol, sleeping in too late

Verses

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• Gary is known among demons as the Grand Duke Astaroth, and Satan's right hand. 

• Gary and Alu have a very long history together. They view each other as life-long partners and are not hesitant to show affection towards each other. That being said, they're also very open with their relationship and polyamory is a frequent practice for them.

• At one point, Alu and Gary actually had a child together. His name was Azarkh. However, Azarkh was conceived and born during the period right before Gary's ejection from Hell - wherein he was coerced into a sexual relationship with Lucifer. When Lucifer learned of the child, he took him from Gary and Alu assuming it was his son. When they tried to fight back, he had them removed from Hell. Gary has not recovered from this loss and children are still something of a sore spot for him.

• Gary can be incredibly charming. He’s vindictive in the worst possible way and his good looks don’t help the fact.

• Gary has an intimate understanding of demons and how to commune with them. 

• While Gary might take a liking to someone, that’s not a guarantee that others in the cult will. Even if they disagree with him about a person of interest, they will obey his order not to harm them. Usually.

• No one knows about Gary’s cult. No one knows that Gary is a cult leader. They might be able to find out, and they might be able to see through his cheerful act if they try hard enough, but otherwise, Gary at face seems like just a simple, happy man doing his work proudly and without any skeletons in his closet.

• Gary is a rather warm-bodied person.

• Gary is okay with hugging people so long as he’s at least a little familiar with them. He’s not all that comfortable with more intimate contact otherwise.

• Gary has a list of practices his cult partakes in. Here are just a few of those practices.