Debtors

## What are Debtors?

Debtors are individuals who have made a deal with a specific Demon in exchange for their soul. While making this deal does not necessarily mean that the soul is doomed, if they break their contract in any way then their soul contract will be collected and become the permanent possession of the Demon. Some debts are able to be paid back, freeing the debtor, while others are impossible to save. Each debtors debt has it's own unique set of circumstances and rules. The Demon who made the contract may also ask for favors not included in the contract itself. While these favors can technically be turned down, it can be very dangerous to do so as debtors do not have the same protection as other toons gain from the Angel treaty so Demons can do things like take them to Hell for "punishment". In fact, many Angels view debtors as Demon puppets equivalent to low-level imps. Mugman does not the fallen Angels tend to be nicer to debtors but it is still not a good relationship (Ch 148). Debtors are often described as having no choice in their actions once they have lost their souls and are essentially helpless in their servitude to the Demon who has claimed their soul, at least to the extent their contract binds them.

### Soul Contracts

How deals with Demons are sealed between them and others, who then become debtors. All of the rules, promises and requirements that the Demon and debtor are bound by are recorded on this paper. These contracts can be made for a variety of reasons besides just obtaining the debtor's soul, the only constant being that it is an exchange between the Demon and the debtor. Other reasons for making a soul contract are to have the debtor collect a certain amount of souls for the Demon or to have them do some other form of work (Inky Extra's Ch 109). Once a soul contract is signed the soul of the debtor, though continuing to reside inside their body, is now tied to the contract and by extension the Demon's magic (Ch 148). Soul contracts are held by the debtor to who they belong until they break the rules of the contract or complete the terms set in it. Soul contracts can be negotiated and rewritten after they are completed. Debtors are fiercely protective of their contracts as whoever has theirs essentially owns their soul.

Once a soul contract is made, the Demon legally owns that soul until the contract is completed, assuming it's not a life-long contract. This means that if the debtor does anything to break their contract or fail in the Demon in some way the Demon is legally allowed to punish them since the debtor is their legal property (Ch 148). Demons view soul contracts as very valuable and will attempt to acquire as many soul contracts as possible. Soul contracts are actually considered so valuable to Demons that the act of stealing soul contracts is one of the few things illegal in Hell. However, making soul contracts is not something that can be done by every Demon as the Demon attempting to make the contract must be powerful enough to bind the soul in question. This means that only middle-class Demons and higher can make contracts (Inky Extra's Ch 109).

When writing a contract many Demons will also often include loopholes or extra stipulations to the soul contract when creating it in order to gain more from the victim. If the debtor dies before having their contract collected and there is no clause written in regarding death then the contract dissolves and the debtor's soul goes free (Inky Extra's Ch 109). Out of all Demons, The Devil's contracts in particular are infamous for being terrifying even by Demon standards (Inky Extra's Ch 89).

Scholars believe that the soul contract system was first invented when Demons began walking on the Surface again after the signing of the treaty. This would mean they are only a few millennia old but there is no confirmation on whether this is true or if soul contracts were also used in the time before the war (Ch 151).

## Known Debtors

### The Devil's

* Cuphead
* Mugman
* Cala Maria
* The Sykes Brothers
* Jeremy Fairfax
* Yosemite Sam
* Bug Bunny (on the run)
* Big Bad Wolf
* Beppi
* Jack-in-the-Box
* Ribby and Croaks
* Cagney Carnation

### Ava's

* Dimitri
* Barley
* Charley
* Edgar

### Azazel's

* Gloomy
* The Ringleader

### Black Hat's

* Mr. Biggis
* Dr. Flug
* Billion Bill
* Percival McLeach

## Interactions Between Debtors

The existence of debtors is generally unknown (or at least fairly vague) to those who are not debtors or Demons. Since most debtors also take to hiding their contracts for safety it is generally only other debtors who can identify them. Debtors will trade news and rumors' with each other when they run into each other. Cuphead mentions that a way to recognize a debtor is to ask "How much do you owe?" to which they usually reply "I'm working on it." (Ch 111) He also says that debtors will usually be people looking for directions or trying to find someone that isn't obviously wanted. It is considered rude to ask what a debtors debt is or why they have a contract. Debtors are more often then not criminals of some kind so one should always be somewhat cautious when dealing with them, however there are those who are good people. Debtors under the same Demon will usually at least know of each other. When dealing with others under a different Demon, or even the Demon themselves, the amount of respect shown for them depends on whether the Demon is a higher ranked Demon then the debtors own.

### Collectors

Collectors are the individuals sent to collect a debtors soul contract at the request of the Demon, usually because the contract has been broken. There have been times though when a collector was sent out simply because the Demon was not happy with the work the debtor has been doing. Collectors are often considerably strong individuals as they usually need to forcibly take the contract from the debtor in question. As long as the debtor avoids/beats the collectors sent after them they will still keep their soul even with a broken contract. Collectors themselves are often time debtor's who are collecting soul contracts as part of their debt. Some known collectors in the series are Cuphead, Mugman, and Yosemite Sam

## Known Soul Contract Terms

### Cuphead and Mugman

The Cupbros current soul contract was negotiated between Cup and The Devil a few months after they lost their fight with him. The contract states that the Cupbros have to do a certain amount of specific tasks for the Devil, however they wouldn't know how many tasks or what any of those tasks would entail. In exchange, the Cupbros would get their souls back as well as being given one charm and one super between the two of them in addition to their bullets to complete their tasks. Elder Kettle was also protected from The Devil and anyone working for The Devil as long as the Cupbros had no contact with him (Ch 172)

### Cala Maria

Cala's contract is what allows her and her sister Ebi to suppress their gorgon abilities, allowing them to mingle with the rest of society without turning everyone around them into stone. This contract is what gives Cala the ability to choose whether she wishes to be in her mermaid form or her gorgon form at any given moment (Ch 95)

### The Butcher Gang

All three members of The Butcher Gang (Barley, Charley and Edgar) signed a contract with Ava to become an infamous gang. Until they obtain infamy Ava is not only unable to take their souls but also seems to be under some contractional obligation to save them from the consequences of their own innumerable screw ups (Ch 109)

### Dimitri Dogstoyevski

Dimitri made her contract with Ava in Chapter 110. After witnessing a discussion and deal made between Ava and the Cupbros Dimitri signed a contract in order to save her life and the life of her friend Chiantzi. According to the terms of the contract Dimitri will not reveal anything she heard or saw from the moment Ava arrived on the scene to anyone who was not present at the time in exchange for the safety of herself and Chiantzi. This contract is lifelong and if broken Ava get's Dimitri's soul.

### Bigby (Big Bad Wolf)

Bigby's contract gives him immortality, he doesn't age and he can't be killed through any normal means. However, he must also spend his immortal life serving The Devil. While it is unknown how long Bigby has been living like this or the specific details of his contract Cuphead has speculated that The Devil probably wrote an Achilles heel into Bigby's contract somewhere so it was really just up to The Devil how long Bigby would live for (Ch 162)

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* The concept of debtors and soul contracts come from the Cuphead game