u/AlternativeQuality2

**Details below for those who haven't seen the original bio. Once again, major thanks to u/ValuMaul for letting me include/reimagine this character for my AU!**

DISCLAIMER: This character is heavily tied to my AU versions of Stolas and Stella, which differ from their canon versions in several major ways; keep this in mind if it sounds like I'm misrepresenting them in the bio/relationship details here. Thanks! ;)

Name: Revia Ars Goetia
Age: 54
Species: Goetia; resembles a Melanistic/'Black' Barn Owl
Height: 8'-9" (266.7 cm)/eye level with Stella
Hair: Waist-length, ashen gray, similar to Octavia's.
Feathers: Pitch black, with a rusty red-brown patch around her face.
Eyes: Goetia luminous red; her right eye has a glowing white, paper-thin scar on it from a fight with an Exorcist.
Wardrobe: A black and violet ballgown/'battle dress' concealing a form-fitting gray armored bodysuit.
Weapons: Can handle most firearms, but most often fights with two three-foot-long square-tipped Blessed machetes.
Gender: Female
Orientation: Asexual (possibly homoromantic)
Abilities: Shapeshifting; accelerated reflexes; shadow magic; construct generation (she can summon any weapon she's held at least once, as well as legions of soldiers/larger weaponry if necessary)

Voice Claim: Cissy Jones; imagine TOH's Lilith with a Cockney accent.
Theme Song: Free Dominguez - 'A Stranger I Remain.'

Bio: Revia was born in 1969 in a small town in Yorkshire, UK, to a lower-middle-class upbringing. Her mom remarried when she was still in kindergarten, but despite the mayhem that usually came with such a situation, Revia was as happy and cared for as any child her age should be. The birth of her little sister when she was about eight years old felt like the perfect cherry on top of her hard, but not unhappy, life. Her only gripe at the time was not having a friend to keep her company and give her the affection her parents were redirecting towards her new sibling. She went to school, but most of her classmates were turned off by her free-spirited nature and her love of macabre topics, which stemmed from her relatively isolated life; this created a vicious cycle that'd only cause further problems down the line...

But starting one night about four months after her sister's birth in 1978, Revia began being visited at night by a shadowy figure, who turned out to be a child her age—a young boy with a polite yet haughty demeanor that suggested he came from money or influence, but belied a mischievous streak and a heart of gold. However, he was no ordinary child. He was a birdlike humanoid figure who introduced himself as a king of demons in training who, by chance, happened upon Revia while practicing portal magic to access the Living World. Far from wanting anything nefarious, he, too, was simply lonely and seeking company. Surprisingly, the two found themselves warming up to each other, and from then on, Revia would receive semi-regular visits from her not-so-imaginary friend at night, and later discreetly by day. And you might know this new friend.

His name's Paimon. Yeah, THAT Paimon. This sad lil' fella that just wanted a friend was and is the future Mister 'I'm so good at daddying (NOT)' King Paimon. ...you can stop laughing now.

For the next seven years, the two remained close friends, even as their lives grew harder and more angsty. But while Paimon faced an uncertain future as a Goetian King, Revia had her own struggles. As is almost a cliché in situations like this, Revia's parents gradually paid less attention to her and more to her baby sister, giving her more praise and affection while, at best, leaving her to fend for herself, or, at worst, openly criticizing or condemning her as the problem child. Her community didn't offer much help either; over time, Revia's ostracization by the town turned into open contempt, which only deepened her cycle of isolation and regression, pushing her to seek joy and companionship among her fellow delinquents, who, unfortunately, only saw her as someone to exploit for their own benefit.

The things they, and even more respectable people in her community, did to her were... Scarring in a way that has haunted her for decades. Let's go ahead and leave it at that.

Before long, despair had slowly eroded what love and care remained in Revia's heart. All she wanted was revenge on those who condemned her. No, not even revenge—just acceptance and an end to the constant pain. She longed to return to the happy life she had before her younger sister kicked her out of it, a family that loved her, friends who cared for her, if nothing else, a chance to give that life to others who were in the same dark place as she was. At that moment, a sympathetic Paimon reached out to Revia with an offer—an invitation to return to Hell with him, where she could spend the rest of her days as demon royalty, crown and all... and as his sister to love and confide in. The tormented girl didn't hesitate. With a blend of authority and compassion, Paimon transformed her into an avian Goetia like himself, the rare and magnificent creature he saw her as. The suffering soul gladly followed him back to Hell to begin her new life, but not before testing her newfound power by destroying her old hometown—finally avenging her suffering.

Revia's arrival shocked Paimon's family, especially his father, King Bael, and his first arranged wife, Octavia the First. Still, arrangements were made to welcome Revia, with her origins kept secret from the press, public, and even Charlie and the Sins; anyone who asked was told she was just a newly discovered bastard—a 'kid from an affair'—with no further details. Although Revia and Paimon grew as close as true siblings could, the hatred in Revia's heart held fast, and it took some time to make relationships beyond her new brother. Nonetheless, she eventually warmed up to Octavia I, Charlie, and some others.

Furthermore, although she enjoyed her new life immensely, the Ars Goetia family's entitled, elitist nature made the adjustment process uncomfortable for Revia. It didn’t help that she eventually witnessed the systemic abuse and injustices Hell's nobility wrought on imps and other lesser demons, and later, what Overlords wrought on them and fellow Sinners. All of these, given her upbringing, left a bad taste in her mouth and motivated her to spare others the same misery she went through. But, in time, Revia realized there wasn't much her new friends and family could do about the everyday suffering of Hellborn beyond what 'the system' permitted. Revia, Ars Goetian Queen, couldn't do much either.

...but Revia, demoness, could do plenty.

Using her skills from her delinquent life in the living world along with her new demonic magic, Revia dressed in a secretive costume and took on a new identity as a vigilante, patrolling Pentagram's streets at night and dispensing good ol' vigilante justice whenever she could. Unsurprisingly, the others, including Paimon, eventually found out and were quite upset about being kept in the dark. Un-unsurprisingly, they supported Revia's efforts. Charlie and Paimon pulled some strings and eventually made her an overseer of House Ars Goetia's standing guard, giving her the perfect cover to sharpen her skills while still fulfilling noble duties.

And like a scene out of a comic book, Revia became one of Hell's first 'homegrown' superheroes, eventually known as 'The Blackbird'. Although her secret identity was never uncovered by anyone outside a very select few in Hell's elite, most knew that, despite helping Hell's lowborn and less fortunate, she was a Goetia of some kind, defying the stereotype that they were ignorant and uncaring about lowborns' plights. This Batman-esque clash of traits made her an icon among Hell's youth for many years, and comics and graphic novels celebrating her (embellished) legacy remain highly sought-after collector's items in the Seven Rings today.

Revia's heart opened a tad more when his nephew, Stolas, was born, and she grew deeply attached to the gentle-natured child as soon as he was old enough to talk and think. But sadly, it was around this point that things began to take a slow but steady turn for the worse at House Ars Goetia. Paimon's growing royal responsibilities led him to become increasingly disconnected from his family life, leaving Octavia I as the only parent to guide Stolas through his youth, and Revia as the only one who could give Stolas something resembling positive masculine guidance. Still, it healed Revia's tortured soul somewhat to be there for his cinnamon roll of a nephew, as well as for her future niece-in-law, Stella.

But this silver lining was short-lived. One fateful New Year's Day, while the Goetia were attending one of Lilith's concerts to inspire hope after the Exterminations, shots rang out. An imp had been unwillingly enlisted by an unknown party to publicly and violently assassinate specific figures in Hell's nobility for an unapparent reason.

...including Octavia I.

The trial and its effects on Hell are complex stories in their own right, but two specific outcomes are essential to Revia's story. First, Revia herself soon discovered the truth. The attack was a false flag; a staged event by a faction of the Goetia determined to gain control over both the Hellish public and its elite circles by portraying imps and other lesser demons as inherently rebellious and eager to revolt whenever they could. That faction also, behind closed doors, held a particularly hateful agenda toward women in Hell's nobility, from the ladies of the Goetia to Charlie and Lilith themselves. In fact, her joining the Goetia was a key factor in the faction's development, simply because she was successful without being a 'proper Goetia lady.' Revia had heard hints of this before, but had no solid proof until now, and now she was technically a target as well.

The second outcome was that... Paimon took the bait. If he was stoic and arrogant before, that was nothing compared to what he was now. Blinded by rage and despair at his wife's death, he gladly followed the deceivers' new narrative regardless of what Revia or anyone else said. And to be fair, any accusations she could have made against them would likely have seemed ridiculous even without the fog of emotions in her brother's mind. Still... It was tragic and heartbreaking to know that the one she'd once confided in about her sufferings as a female victim was now, however reluctantly or ignorantly, supporting those who'd gladly inflict such abuse on other women and girls in Hell.

The thought, combined with her potential status as a target, was enough to make Revia reluctantly decide to leave the Ars Goetia almost without a word. The Blackbird, however, continued to prowl the Seven Rings, fighting the House's decline into decadence and authoritarianism at every turn with an increasingly violent, wrathful streak; a consequence of her partially starting to regress into the hurt, bloodthirsty young girl she was before Paimon saved her...

Revia eventually found a home in Wrath, in the ruined city of Dis. From there, she launched further killing sprees against everything from Greed's crime lords to the Overlords of Pentagram, all in the name of destroying the broader influence of the Goetias' increasingly decadent wings. Over time, she also recruited fallen warriors, troublemakers, and vagabonds from every corner of Hell, broadening her scope to include the pursuit of brutal and bloody justice across the Seven Rings, tearing apart Hell's establishments one abattoir-ish homicide at a time. During this period, Revia, perhaps falling back into old habits, found company among some of Hell's most morally ambiguous characters. Specifically, a certain woman in a big hat with an affinity for chains... Though not bound to Roo or interested in her broader agenda, Revia occasionally calls upon her for extra firepower or to point her toward the next 'prey' whose slaughter would benefit Hell the most. Chains aren't just for binding and forcing; sometimes, they can be used to get things moving.

Still, despite this darkness and bloodlust, there remains one part of her agenda that none can argue the purity of: Revia still wants to save what good remains in the Ars Goetia, starting with Stolas and his family, the ones she loved, and still loves, more than she could ever hate everything else.

Personality:

-Short Version: 'Spawn/Lady Death in the Helluvaverse,' and a reevaluation of the 90s-2000s anti-heroine archetype; she carries herself like Bayonetta or DMC's Dante, but internally she is more like Batman, T3H's Dimitri, or Solid Snake; a grizzled veteran of the combat zone in both life and afterlife who, while offering plenty of sage wisdom, struggles with severe PTSD and/or ASPD.

-Long Version: If her backstory didn't already make it clear, Revia is nothing if not complicated. But perhaps the most defining trait of her personality is how much her troublemaking, juvenile delinquent past still shines through, even in her increasingly older age. Though she's become more professional and stoic with age and trauma, Revia still takes pride in being a Midlands working-class tomboy: rebellious, loud, sarcastic, and not giving two flying fucks about the fancy decorum imposed by the Goetic traditionalists or other snobbish demons. Even in her more serious moments, when she's pondering her next move or conversing with the few allies she has left, she's not above showing off that famous British dry wit. Revia is also strongly against abuse and/or squandering of power, which she's not afraid to make clear to her various enemies. She particularly dislikes 'lazy' powerful figures like Alastor or Lucifer; those who hoard power and influence without even using it, let alone for anything constructive. To that, she has much greater respect for people like Carmine, Rosie, and even the Vees to some extent (not Valentino, though, for semi-obvious reasons).

That's not to say Revia isn't also caring and warm when she feels it's needed. Having experienced a difficult childhood herself, she recognizes signs of a young soul seeking comfort and protection. While she's not the type to be overly affectionate like Charlie or Stolas, she can be unexpectedly calm and gentle with children and teenagers. Revia is also more than willing to turn on that Goetic royal charm and flamboyance when she wants to, using her feminine wiles and grace to both comfort and entertain, regardless of the age of her 'audience'. Similar to Husk, however, she doesn't hold back when giving advice; she knows the harsh truths of both the Living World and Hell all too well, and the last thing she wants is for any innocent young souls to stumble into these truths the same way she did...

Overall, though, there's a good reason that Stolas and Stella both saw her as 'cool Aunt Revia' growing up.

There's something to be said about how much Revia's character shows when she's kicking ass and taking names as the Blackbird, too. Despite her age and extensive experience with combat, both in-person and tactical, she often acts more like a typical teenage superhero: boisterous, flippant, and eager to banter with her enemies, whether through taunts and cheesy one-liners (a bad habit she's never quite kicked) or brutal psychological warfare. The latter is especially risky, as given her age and background, Revia knows how to spot insecurities and flaws and make words hurt like a motherfucker, true or not. Both also mesh nicely with, specifically, her style of melee combat—an energetic mix of street fighting and fluid acrobatics that, from afar, looks like a gory ballroom dance, especially compared to other 'dance-like' fighters like Carmine's more balletic approach.

But even demons have their inner demons, and Revia has never fully escaped one of her worst: her bloodlust and thirst for vengeance. In the past, Revia's new family in Hell and her fresh start as the Blackbird helped her channel these destructive urges into something more controlled and functional. But as her new home began to fall apart, her mental safety nets started to break down, and over the years, her rage and despair gradually consumed her mind. This has been reflected in her increasingly violent and nightmarish rampages against her enemies, whether Goetia, Hellborn, or sinner. She increasingly treats her more powerful foes—such as Overlords, Hellborn crime bosses, or corrupt nobles—as 'prey' to be hunted down like game and slaughtered in spectacularly gruesome fashion, or even left alive while being horrifically maimed, both for her own catharsis and to make an example of them to the rest of Hell's hapless denizens. And if you're after someone she is/was close to... Satan help you.

But despite Revia's unapologetically violent streak and sadistic tendencies, the mental toll of having to eliminate legions of (comparatively) innocent people caught up in Hell's systemic or organized violence, whether by their own choice or not, still weighs heavily on her already tortured mind. This burden sometimes shows up as trauma-induced hallucinations and nightmares that she can barely control on her own. However, where others might enjoy unleashing that side of themselves without consequences (*cough* Alastor *cough cough*), Revia recognizes her slow and seemingly unstoppable slide into madness and chooses to hold herself back until the very end. She needs to survive long enough to make sure the elite of Hell she's been fighting against get what’s coming to them. And once that's done, even though she’s given up hope of ever returning to the good life she once shared with Paimon, she still holds onto hope that maybe, maybe, when the final day comes, she can either hang up her hat and fade into myth and legend, or... she can be put down like the animal she believes she's turning into.

Revia doesn't realize it yet, but... Those in the life she reluctantly abandoned for their sake want her to return, no matter what she's done. And the fact that she's stubbornly refused to give in to the darkness the way others like her would... might be enough proof that she's not the monster she believes herself to be.

Key Relationships:

-Paimon: Paimon was and still is Revia's savior, her brother, and her friend. ...which is why being apart from him hurts the most. During the years they knew each other, Paimon was the only one who truly connected with her; although she made friends who provided her with the comfort and love she craved—and ultimately helped her heal from most (though not all) of her past scars—Paimon held a special place because he was her first, and consequently the one who understood her personality and pain the most. At least... She thought he did. But over time, Revia saw how her brother's new powers and responsibilities were wearing him down, making him arrogant and cruel... Not to mention a poor spouse and an utterly incompetent father. No matter how much she and Octavia tried to reach him, Paimon kept missing the bigger picture, especially regarding how House Ars Goetia had become more controlling and abusive toward women of all statuses. The breaking point came when the tragedy of his wife's death made Paimon even more distant and bitter, more compliant (however misinformed he was at the time) with the changes happening to the Goetia family. Revia was already considered a wanted woman by then, so confronting him was pointless while he was too blinded by anger, pride, and toxic family obligations to listen. For now, it was best to walk away. But when the time finally comes, whoo boy... She’ll still forgive him, but not before she has a few choice words with him about how badly he fucked everything up.

-Octavia I (Stolas' Mom): Hilariously, Paimon failed to tell Revia that he was betrothed and had an arranged girlfriend before bringing her to live with the Goetias. As a result, Revia met her future sister-in-law by pure chance after walking in on them in Paimon's room. However, Paimon HAD mentioned Revia to Octavia I during their time knowing each other, so thankfully, much of the tension that could have arisen from another girl—especially a foulmouthed peon like Revia—showing up in her future husband's arms was avoided. And despite the usual hiccups that come with upper-class versus lower-class relationships, Octavia I's empathetic, loving nature quickly won Revia over. In turn, Revia's resilience and free spirit drew Octavia in, especially as Paimon became colder with age, and helped forge a close friendship—sometimes bordering on romance—that lasted until her majesty's tragic assassination. She still mourns her passing deeply and, more than that, mourns its effects on her brother...

-Stolas: Little Stolas was born just a couple of years after Revia arrived in Hell (Paimon and Octavia I got to baby-making almost immediately after marriage, per Goetia doctrine), and for some reason, he specifically tugged at her heartstrings more than the other children of Paimon. Maybe she subconsciously saw him as her own son since he was the child of the two people she loved most; maybe she was enamored by his seemingly innate gentleness; maybe she felt Stolas just... filled a hole inside her heart that she didn't realize could be filled at all. Either way, Revia joined the late Octavia I in doting on her new nephew as he grew up, at least until Y2K happened. She did what she could to mentor Stolas in the dark practicalities of life in Hell's underbelly and help him grow a spine in the ways Paimon 'tried' to do it as his father, but ultimately, the most she accomplished with Stolas was giving him the courage to call out the old man on his and Stella's wedding day. The rest, as we already know, will be up to Stolas himself.

-Stella: Stella grew up idolizing the Blackbird as a symbol of rebellion against the Goetia status quo that kept her stuck in her current life, secretly collecting the comics when she thought no one was looking. After their betrothal and first meeting, Stolas introduced her to Revia as a gesture of goodwill, and the two 'action girls' quickly hit it off. Revia saw potential in her 'little one-girl fanclub' and future niece-in-law, despite her bratty tendencies, admiring her fiery personality and no-nonsense attitude. She was the one to offer to train Stella even before she could ask or demand it herself. Under her guidance during this crucial phase in Stella's life, Revia became the 'cool aunt' who helped the peahen maintain her spirited nature and love of adventure while still preparing her for her future responsibilities as a Goetia (and also didn't hesitate to take Andreal down a peg when he was being annoying; also known as 'always'). Sadly, Revia had to leave Stella's life shortly before her marriage to Stolas, so she couldn't support her through her future with him or prevent her from being crushed by Hell's political chaos and becoming the bitter, Karen-like woman she is now. Though Stella quietly resents Revia's absence in this regard, she still deeply respects and admires her former mentor. In her free time, she continues to collect and practice with melee weapons, hoping to meet her again someday, test her skills, and show her progress. But will she be so excited when and if she learns the full story of her mentor's violent, complicated past...?

-Octavia: Octavia II was born after Revia had already fled, so she never had the chance to be there for the little one in the same way she was for Stolas. Still, whenever she could, she visited the young Via at night when the girl was troubled or having a nightmare, acting as an enigmatic mentor and confidant until she came of age (and got her first phone). Via never learned Revia's true identity as her great-aunt, or as the protagonist of one of the comics she enjoyed (casually) in her youth, only remembering her as some ghost or imaginary friend who warded off monsters under the bed. One wonders what seeing this night specter in the flesh will mean for Via... What is clear, however, is that Revia is just as eager to keep her grandniece safe as she was with Stolas.

Ugh, fiiiinne! I'll wear a hair net next time I clean the bar!

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