#buckle up folks!!

[inhuman-obey-me]

Solomon, Nightbringer, and the Fight Over Humanity

(Not in that order)

So, we have plenty of things to discuss about Nightbringer.

It would be way too much to tackle it all in one post, so here we're going to focus on Lesson 9/10-A -- which provided an interesting insight on Solomon, angels and demons, and Nightbringer.

(We will, however, also be bringing up information in Lesson 11 normal mode as well, so, spoilers ahead!)

Let's start with Solomon, and his self-assigned role as a so-called protector of the human world.

Solomon, of course, is the sole human of the cast apart from MC. He is called the "Witty Sorcerer", as well as referred to as Solomon the Wise, and he's also known as the most powerful sorcerer ever to have lived. He received his Ring of Wisdom from Michael, and has pacts with 72 demons. In other words, he has ties to both realms, obtained power from both, and thus became the most powerful human magically ever to exist -- at least until MC came along. This is why he represented the human world when all the chaos was happening in Season 2, and why he is the representative for humanity now.

So, as the one who represents humans, in Lesson 9-A, he is asked to choose: Diavolo or Simeon? Demons or angels? Which road should humans follow? Protection or happiness?

In 10-A, he responds by calling it an "impossible choice." So he chooses neither.

This gives us a lot of context as to what he meant by "protector of the human world" -- someone who is trying to keep out those influencing forces. He wants the human world to be seen not as something "between" the two other realms, but as something capable of standing on its own and making its own choices. Rather than being something to be fought over between demons and angels, which have always been vastly more powerful than humans, but he wants humanity to be respected as its own neutral third party which should be left alone. Humans should be free to determine their own fates, not members of these other two realms.

(Interestingly, on a side note -- the line "I just want to be free, that's all" sounds a lot like something Thirteen would say! Perhaps that's one reason why, despite her frustrations with him and constant efforts to obtain his soul, she actually seems to understand him and be sort of close with him?)

Now, of course, this is a fake scenario, and Diavolo and Simeon themselves were not actually personally fighting over humanity this way. As he said, the place is "definitely strange" and, as he says soon after, is just a test of his convictions. Still, it effectively gets to the heart of what demons and angels have fought over since forever: control of humanity. Sure, Diavolo wants to establish peace and respect between the realms -- but outside of him, it gets at the heart of the bigger picture of the historical conflicts between the Devildom and Celestial Realm.

And that, then, brings us to Nightbringer, the character, and what their goals may be.

Solomon mentions that him wanting to be free is part of the agreement with 'him' -- and given the character he speaks to right after this scene is Nightbringer, we can assume that's probably who he's referring to. What exactly that agreement entails remains to be seen, but in their conversation we see that Nightbringer had wanted Solomon to choose a side.

Nightbringer also brings up MC, wondering if our involvement will affect Solomon's convictions, but Solomon insists that MC would make the same choice.

Nightbringer pushes the question, however, questioning whether Solomon can truly know how MC feels or what MC will do. It's no wonder then that in Lesson 11 Solomon tries to make MC promise that in the worst case scenario, MC would side with humanity. Whatever Solomon's agreement with Nightbringer is, it seems that it not only has to do with his freedom but humanity as a whole.

Which of course brings us to the big question: Who is Nightbringer?

All things so far have been pointing to Barbatos -- we see him in the opening animation and the prologue animation. We know Nightbringer has control over time, which has always been Barbatos' wheelhouse. Lesson 11 further seems to imply this, as we have an interesting link in conversations. In Lesson 10-A, Solomon says that Nightbringer "made him who he is today".

In Lesson 11, we learn a bit more about Solomon and Barbatos' relationship thanks to Thirteen. She mentions that Barbatos is the one who brought Solomon to the Reaper's Cave, and more importantly to the Fountain of Knowledge within the cave. That was also when Barbatos tells Solomon he is the "Witty Sorcerer". Thirteen also says before this that she blames Barbatos for how Solomon is the way he is because he let Solomon experience "anything he wanted".

This actually tracks with conversations all the way back in Season 3. We know that when Barbatos first met Solomon, the latter was on the verge of death after summoning Barbatos without a pact. We also know that Solomon was not known as Solomon the Wise/the Witty Sorcerer yet, but Barbatos knew he would be in the future.

(Wow, Solmare actually being consistent on something for once? Amazing.)

With all of that information, we can easily see Barbatos "being who made Solomon who he is today", and thus being Nightbringer. What version of Barbatos though, we have no idea, because it certainly isn't the Barbatos we are familiar with. But considering time travel shenanigans, as well as the fact that Barbatos seems to even have power over alternate universes, there are just too many possibilities to even begin to guess.

Now, before Lesson 11 we actually were ready to post our theory that Nightbringer could possibly be Michael. Why?

Solomon makes a mention that Nightbringer "sounds like a demon" with the threat, which is a weird thing to say to a demon

We've heard characters mention that Lucifer and Michael were both the head angels and similar in many ways, but also were in a sense opposites. Lucifer, as a Latin name, translates to light-bringer -- so Michael could be the opposite, night-bringer

Michael has previously sent us back from the past, back in Lesson 44, suggesting some degree of power over time -- although with the caveat that MC had come there via a dream, not physically as we have this time

When talking with Adam in NB Lesson 8, he mentions that he heard trumpets before meeting Nightbringer, and trumpets are often associated with angels, though Adam believed it to be a demon

Michael is the one who gave Solomon the Ring of Wisdom, also "making him who he is" in a way. You also have to complete all of Lesson 10 to unlock 10-A, and the last scene we see is Lucifer recognizing the Ring of Light on MC -- an interesting parallel, to say the least, timing-wise

However, there are plenty of holes in that theory, which Lesson 11 just seemed to amplify.

Us being us, of course, we actually would like to provide a third option for who Nightbringer could be. There just so happens to be another demon that Solomon has a pact with in the Ars Goetia that also has control over time, and is associated with the sounds of trumpets... :)

Of course, we don't actually expect the game to have suddenly put Purson in as another character in the game, but it's a fun idea. After all, Nightbringer could potentially be someone else entirely and Barbatos is just a red herring!

We'll just have to wait and see for now, and we still have hard mode to finish getting through too, but damn are we ravenous for more Nightbringer content.

[spacehomos]

Kaos

The Gods

[nobigneil]

"I know exactly what edging means thank you very much"

[notbecauseofvictories]

man, the world seems terrible and full of bad things, and then you read about the Chicagoan who started developing ramen recipes with meticulous (even obscene) attention to detail, or an Irish hurler who decried state-sponsored spending for sports complexes live on air, or well-considered analyses of films or animated television shows and whether they are narratively/dramatically coherent, and it's....well, it's okay to be here. I like it here.

[sunriozz]

Had a butchlander teen au thought where HL comes to billy when he couldnt handle his abusive household and billy would put his own (motorcycle) helmet over HL's face so the latter could cry without fear of billy judging him how his family always did.

[notes-in-the-margins]

2x04 / 2x05

Foreshadowing Jess Mariano ✨

New York from space poster / Lorelai’s New York T-shirt and The Photograph™️

[lichen-punk]

pants so far uwu

[reduxulousoctopus]

I have decided that this is the in-universe reason why Wolverine doesn't smoke in X-Men TAS/97.

[anachronismstellar]

I've pasted what I've written for Airplane vs The System and it already has 8 pages

Here we fucking go I guess

[fangswbenefits]

Already writing part 5 of Frustration

[h0neyandthemoon]

DM me for the NSFW handle if you’re sick of me whining on here and want content that’s less of a downer.

[pearlescentpearl]

Political Pawn AU

Hello! And welcome to my next bullet point fic; my take on a Fëanor lives plot! To no one’s surprise; Beleriand is on fire.

The Balrog that would have dealt Fëanáro a mortal blow instead takes an arrow to the eye, forcing a crack in the press of fire demons wide enough for Nelyafinwë to reach in and pull him out

Fëanáro is full of fire and wrath still, but his body shakes from pain and blood loss, vision swimming at the edges, hand cramped around his sword. It’s almost like coming out of a creative fugue; tired and hungry and disoriented, and he thinks, reflexively, ah, where’s a fortifying cup of spiced wine when you need it?

But there is only ash, and pain, and his faithful sons carrying him away from what he feels, from what he knows, would have been the death of him

His wounds are many but he will live; his will is too strong

Barely has he been tended to, and settled in his tent, when the message comes; that Morgoth has sent an emissary, claiming parley and teasing about surrendering the Silmarils

It sounds too good to be true, and so it must be a trap

Nonetheless, Nelyafinwë begs leave to go

“Of course, Morgoth is lying,” he says, eyes alight with his own inner flame. “But don’t you see? He will send more than he promises and so a credible force will be moving outside Angamando. Are we to let them roam free, unchallenged? I mean to crush them, and so convey our contempt at this thinly veiled trick!”

This is true enough enough that it persuades Fëanáro to let him go, despite faint misgivings

Later, of course, they learn they should not have. All who went with Nelyafinwë have been slain, the bodies desecrated and arranged in cruel parody. The only one missing from them is Nelyafinwë himself

Fëanáro truly thought he had known anger before, when his father was slain

It is nothing compared to knowing his son may yet live, but who knows in what condition?

Fëanáro has been up to the Gates of Angamando just that very day, and his memory is impeccable. There is no forcing those doors open with what siege supplies they’ve cobbled together so far

So far

Fëanáro will change that

The Mithrim Sindar are welcoming, numbers decimated as they are from Morgoth’s initial flood of his monstrous forces, and the mountains of Hísilómë are rich in metal ores

They can make something great here; it is only a matter of time

Time the Enemy seems keen not to grant them

it seems Fëanáro can dedicate his forces to building, or wiping out the enemy, not both at once. How aggravating

There seems to be a roaming raiding party just close enough to concern them every other day

Eventually, enough is enough; Fëanáro puts Kanafinwë and Turkafinwë in charge of a cavalry force with a significant number of the remaining horses, and commands them to keep Hísilómë clear as far as they can safely roam

They are not his most useful sons for building fortifications anyhow

Under Morifinwë’s baleful and exacting directions, the possible foundations for a great fortress are mapped out; it is misty, and often rainy inside the shelter of these mountains that trap cold and wet wind from the west and north, not especially favorable building conditions when their only source of illumination comes from starlight

How the Mithrim Sindar eke out an existence in such darkness is a wonder that merits studying

Fëanáro glares down at a map; there are few eastern entrances into Hísilómë, the main one is what the locals call Eithel Sirion, the headwaters of a river. If any eastern pass shall be the greatest concern it will be one with a water source

“Does any claim the great grassy plains that encircle Angamando outside the Wethrin?” He asks of Aewendir, the surviving Lord of the MIthrim Sindar

Not that they use the word ‘Lord’ exactly. Lathron, he is called, ‘listener, hearer,’ a pun on both his function; to hear his people out that he may resolve their troubles; and the fact visibility is often terrible by the lake on account of all the mists

“No,” Aewendir says dryly. “And don’t let anyone blow smoke up your ass otherwise. We’re the only folk crazy enough to live so close to the shadow of Angband, and reviled are we for it by the southern king and his court.” He spits on the ground. “And yet it is our word the southerners rely on for news of Angband’s movements when orcs are abroad.”

Fëanáro is growing very fond of Aewendir; he has a steady practicality about him that puts him in mind of Nerdanel, and a bitterly amused yet philosophical way of looking at the world that both intrigues and disconcerts 

“We shall build at Eithel Sirion then.”

It’s yet more work to keep roving orc bands at bay, but the fortress must be built if Fëanáro is to have the facilities to devise siege weapons capable of cracking Angamando

The mountains are generous with stone, and the Land of Echoes with wood, but the constant attacks are tedious and slow things down

His Ñoldor are split three ways now; the wandering cavalry under Kanafinwë and Turkafinwë, the builders at Eithel Sirion under Morifinwë, and the rest on the western lake shore with Curufinwë, Telufinwë, and Pityafinwë directing necessary domestic efforts 

It’s all a finely oiled machine just barely balanced on a knife’s edge, the slightest upset--!

Fëanáro goes over the numbers again and again, but there’s really no help for it. If only Nelyafinwë had not gone to--

But there is no help for it so they make do. They will get through this if Fëanáro has to will it into truth

One year slips by before he knows it, and a messenger from Angamando is on their doorstep once more

The fact it is a Maia is all that keeps Fëanáro from having it slain on the spot, but that is as far as he can deduce of its identity, its fána so twisted and befouled there’s no telling what it started as

It holds an iron chest in its hands

“One year has the rightful King of Arda held the Crown Prince an esteemed guest in his home,” the being rasps through torn lips and blackened teeth. “But all good guests must leave eventually to stay a good guest. His Majesty offers your son back to you, Finwion, if you but agree to forget your Oath, depart Beleriand, and never return to darken His Majesty’s doorstep. What shall it be, Ñoldorán; your son or your jewels?”

For a shameful moment, Fëanáro’s conviction wavers. Could it truly be that easy--?

But no

Morgoth’s last offer to surrender what he stole was a lie. It was a lie then, and it is a lie now

Fëanáro will not be fooled. 

He will drive open the Gates of Angamando and rescue his son himself, and whatever miseries he has suffered will be inflicted on Morgoth fivefold! Tenfold!

“Úmaia you are, and Úvala I name your thrall-keeping master!” Fëanáro scoffs. “Slink back to your hole and tell him to stuff his false offers back behind his teeth where they belong!”

The being laughs, a horrible scraping croak that’s half a wheeze. “Very well, Finwion. A souvenir to tide you over then. A token of His Majesty’s consideration.”

The chest is tipped open and a wealth of loose red hair, vividly bright even in the light of the Fëanorian Lamps, spills out upon the ground like a bloodstain half tossed by the wind

It reeks of blood too

The breath catches in his throat. All that hair, Nelyafinwë’s pride and joy. It didn’t seem real to see it bereft of his son, to see it tossed carelessly on the ground where-- where anyone could trample it

He feels numb

The anger is too strong, there are too many directions he wants to shove it at once

Behind him, Telufinwë lets out a cry and looses an arrow into the Úmaia’s mangled torso

Fëanáro reorients. Draws his sword and shoves it through the being’s throat and cleaves its head clean off. There’s an eruption of fouled power upon its death, but it must be the weakest in Morgoth’s enthrallment for it barely rocks him on his heels

“Pay what it said no mind,” he tells his sons, the lot of them wet eyed and reaching for the hair on the ground. “The Enemy is a liar, dishonorable, and a cheat. Even if we agreed to the deal, Nelyo would only be returned to us dead. The only way to get him back is to wrest him from the pits ourselves!”

Their spirits firm. Good

[nonalectos]

FARSCAPE S01E16 - A Human Reaction

[serickswrites]

Hook, Line, And Sinker II

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Warnings: captivity, restraints, torture, forced to watch, gag, physical violence

Caretaker couldn’t believe they had fallen for Whumper’s trap. Couldn’t believe they had walked right into it. How could they have been so stupid?

“On your knees,” Whumper ordered as they came up behind Caretaker, “or the next thing I do to Whumpee won’t be pretty.”

Caretaker dropped to their knees as their heart filled with dread. “Please, don’t hurt them,” they said as Whumper cuffed their arms behind their back. 

“Crawl, Caretaker. Crawl to the wall,” Whumper ordered. 

Whumpee’s eyes flashed as Caretaker moved. Caretaker could see the anger, could see the sadness, and could see the fear in their expression. “Please, do whatever you want to me, just…just let Whumpee go. You have me now, hurt me.”

Whumper attached a cable from the wall to Caretaker’s cuffs. They kicked Caretaker roughly. Whumpee gave a muffled cry around the gag as Caretaker coughed. “Oh, but I am hurting you, Caretaker. And I’m going to keep hurting you.”

“So,” Caretaker wheezed, “you’ll let Whumpee go?”

Whumper cocked their head as they stared down at Caretaker coldly. “You misunderstand, Caretkaer. I’m going to hurt you with the best tool at my disposal: Whumpee.”

Caretaker’s heart thundered in their chest. “Please, just let them go. Hurt me instead. Hurt me. Please.”

Whumper skipped over to Whumpee, hands immediately going to Whumpee’s hair. “I am hurting you, Caretaker. I’m going to break every bone in their body. I’m going to make sure all they know is pain. And that, that Caretaker is how I am going to hurt you.”

Whumpee’s eyes were wide as they heard Whumper detail the plans for their torture. “Please, you have me, just let them go.”

Whumper spun on their heel, yanking Whumpee’s head along with them. Whumpee gave a muffled cry of pain as Whumper pulled their hair. “How does it feel to know that the only reason I went after Whumpee was because of you? How does it feel to know that the only reason they will suffer is because of you?”

“Please, I beg of you,” Caretaker pleaded. “I will do anything.”

“No. I want your pain, Caretaker. And so I will have it.”

Tags: @whumperofworlds @mefattortoise @gala1981 @whumpy-bi @whump321 @st0rmm

[yangjeongin]

HYUNJIN BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN (2023 EDITION) ↘ D-12 | through the eras: GO LIVE

[thesunpersists]

You Know Where to Find Me

Chapter 4: Don't Let's Start

Eleven-year-old Katniss had long outgrown scuffles in the school grounds. But every so often, she could be provoked into one. — Eighteen-year-old Katniss has half a mind to roll up her sleeves and fight Peeta Mellark. Right there in the busy courtyard.