#om analysis

[luckykittysshowerthoughts]

Michael and his role in Lucifer’s corruption

Alright, resident Michael fan checking in. As someone who hyperfixates on him, I read into every little mention of him, and I’ve found some passing moments that have some pretty interesting implications if you look into them. 

What if I told you Michael was the reason Lucifer fell?

No, I don’t mean in the sense of literally casting him down. That’s not a new revelation. I mean in the sense that it was Michael’s decisions that would inadvertently cause Lucifer to stray from their Father in the first place.

We get a few glimpses of what Lucifer was like as an angel in the game, and in the Devilgram “The Glory Days”, he’s depicted being just as faithful and stuck-up as any other angel. Father good, demons bad, so on and so forth. He pulled no punches insulting demons and the Devildom at any opportunity.

The way I see it, there were two distinct things that chipped away at that mentality.

Number one: Meeting Diavolo.

In Season 3, while MC was in the past, angel Lucifer reveals that the little meeting between himself and Diavolo in “The Glory Days” was actually never supposed to happen- it was supposed to be Michael, not Lucifer. Michael had shirked the responsibility and stuck it to Lucifer instead. Because of that, Lucifer ended up meeting one of the most influential people in his entire life, and also a major factor in his decision to start questioning Father. We see this clearly in a line from “The Glory Days”-

“To recognize and accept one another, and work for the betterment of all...if that were possible, why hasn’t Father made it his goal as well?”

In Season 3, Simeon goes on to mention this meeting again, asking past Lucifer (paraphrased):

“You’ve already met with Diavolo, haven’t you? The doubt is already growing in your heart...”

Meeting with Diavolo had a huge impact on Lucifer’s worldview, in a way that doesn’t exactly favor the Celestial Realm. And it happened because Michael didn’t want to do his job that day.

Number two: His little siblings.

Lucifer’s fiercely protective of his little siblings... and he has to be, because he has a penchant for taking the most unruly of angels under his wing. Beelzebub, who apparently couldn’t control his own strength as an angel and would thus often destroy things. Asmodeus, who ran off to party in the human world. Belphegor, who slept through meetings. Lilith, who obsessed over humans.

But where did this habit of collecting misfits begin, I wonder?

I think it began with Mammon. He’s the closest to Lucifer, after all. I think Mammon taught Lucifer that one didn’t need to be perfect or fit the Celestial Realm’s standards to be worthwhile, and Lucifer would go on to use what he learned to bring others under his wing the same way he did Mammon.

And, how did Lucifer meet Mammon?

Again: Michael.

Michael practically thrust Mammon onto Lucifer. In Season 3, it’s explained that Michael was at his wit’s end trying to get Mammon’s behavior under control, and eventually gave up and transferred him to Lucifer in hopes Lucifer could get him under control. As he’d hoped, Lucifer did. But Lucifer also gained something else from that experience. A fierce love and protectiveness that would lead him to fight for Lilith all those years later.

I wonder how often Michael thinks about that day he made Lucifer go to that meeting, or the day he gave him Mammon. With the blessing of hindsight to tell him what it would snowball into years down the line. I wonder if it haunted him when he faced the decision of sending Lucifer down.

[inhuman-obey-me]

The End Times

Well, here we are. The final lessons have been released, all in a flurry. It's been interesting times, y'all.

JK, they said the world of OM will continue, and we're not going away either. We still love our demonic dumbasses. This is, however, the last lesson of the apps. And, uh, we didn't talk about the last 3 before this either, considering the flurry.

So, maybe for one last time: let's get into it.

(spoilers up to NB Lesson 60)

Nightbringer

The first thing to address here, perhaps, is truly: for splitting off a whole ass second app titled Nightbringer, they really didn't tell us anything about him in the end, huh!

We never did get the answers to what he wanted out of our second set of pacts, what his deal with Solomon was, what his overall goals are, or who he even is. He just showed up, we got some early info on him, and then he basically fucked off for the majority of season 2 and basically all of season 3. At least they did end on a nice little message from him, though, echoing the start of the game...

So will we eventually get the answer to ANY of those major questions? The world may never know...

A Celestial Shitshow

What we do get, first, is the resolution of the whole Raphael arc of this season -- at least, the closest they could come to giving us a resolution.

We do not get a precise answer to what he felt or thought in the moment of Michael refusing to even try to appeal to Father on Simeon's behalf, which he was seemingly so unable to confront at the end of 55. However, after the collapse of Babel, Lucifer and Simeon go to talk to him again, more calmly this time.

The source of Raphael's distress comes down to loneliness. Like Simeon, he remarks how quiet it became in the Celestial Realm when the brothers, apparently the only loudmouth troublemakers that ever existed there, fell after the war. With the possibility of Simeon also becoming a demon, Raphael felt incredibly lonely at the thought of losing another former seraph and friend from the Celestial Realm.

Luke comes up to chime in about being there for Raphael, and Simeon realizes he doesn't want to just leave those "two kids" alone to fend for themselves. With that decided, he concludes that he is not so fine with becoming a demon after all, because he wants to return to the Celestial Realm for their sakes.

MC, with the help of Lucifer's power, then breaks through Babel's projection of collapse, which had reflected Raphael's distraught feelings, to restore it to its actual not-destroyed state, and further uses their new protection powers to return everyone to the Devildom. More on that later!

Also, Michael is a dick again. Raphael is set to be punished for the whole Babel thing, and Michael basically plans to let that happen, until Simeon threatens to "hold it against him" as a grudge. Which is hilarious, because Simeon has no real power or anything against Michael at this point, but angy Simeon is so scary, Michael apparently backs off.

Anyway, setting all the all of that aside, there's also still more SF to get through.

Three Worlds-building Science

In the process of restoring Babel, MC and Lucifer conveniently also remove all the demonic powers/energy from Simeon, so that works out nicely! He's no longer "demonic." However, of course, this couldn't just be such a nice simple wrap-up as that, so next, we get a whole bunch of lore-contradictory worldbuilding around the way cells work for each type of being!

It turns out, while angels and demons both have homogenous cells which are purely one or the other, human cells can actually transform into either one, in the right conditions. And although all demonic energy has been cleared out of Simeon, he apparently still has some of those transformed demonic cells, and it's possible he will have his demonic cells activate or start to transform again in the future. Plus, even with his decision that he wanted to return to the Celestial Realm after all, it's not really in anyone's control out of the cast to do that for him, and the Celestial Realm would not allow him back if he has any demonic cells.

This brings up some pretty terrible implications about the Celestial Realm, which we're not sure were the devs' intentions exactly, but which become implied nonetheless. After all, Simeon's punishment was to become a human, but if it's a known fact that humans can turn demonic and they would refuse to take him back with any demonic cells, even dormant ones, that's just a really shitty trap of a situation! Plus, they were able to convert his cells from angelic ones to human ones, so if they have the ability to change him at a cellular level, why can't they just purge the demonic cells from him in the process of changing him back to an angel? Lucifer has specifically noted before on his transformation to a demon that he supposed that was his punishment, so that also seems to have been a punishment inflicted by God, implying the ability to also manipulate the brothers at a cellular level into demons! And if human cells can become angel ones as well, what does that mean for Simeon's punishment of becoming human? Could the punishment be undercut by his cells naturally turning back to angel cells? Come on, devs, it's called consistency!!

But hey, it's not like this series has been particularly consistent on its lore in the past either...

Anyway, the Science Fair is still going on -- and Leviathan has a mad scientist moment, coming across a unique potion that could help with restoring Simeon back to a more fully human state, ridding his body of any dormant demonic cells! The problem is it requires three very rare and hard to procure ingredients, but it turns out Solomon had also thought about this potion a while back, so he conveniently already has two of the three rare ingredients! Part of the reason Solomon never brought it up before, however, is that the potion only has a 60% success rate and is known to have some pretty bad side effects including the briefest mention of possibly even death???, and with how complicated Simeon's feelings had been up to this point, it didn't feel like there had been a good time to bring all that up.

Deciding that Simeon can decide for himself if he wants to take the risk after the potion is ready, we have a little adventure to obtain the third ingredient that places us back in the Starfall, which we visited during our time in the past. We momentarily have to avoid the subject of the past as Leviathan recalls that you were there, but is brushed off as misremembering because that wouldn't make sense, after all! Haha...ha...

Leviathan makes the potion for the Science Fair, and then Lucifer and MC keep Simeon company while he takes it. Simeon begins to succumb to the potion's effects pretty quickly, but Lucifer steps in to try and take the pain from Simeon and transfer it to him -- with MC then also stepping in to help share it. Simeon ends up not suffering as much, but is still knocked out with a fever for a bit.

Upon waking from his fever and analysis of his cells and some other genetic science, Simeon has now returned to his fully human state, meaning that he should be able to get back to the Celestial Realm! -- if they'll have him.

The end of the game seems to initially imply that he might be reinstated as an angel -- but the very last text we see is that Simeon will be opening up the Angel's Halo again in the human world. So is Simeon still a human? Did he become an angel again but they have him stationed in the human world?? No clear answer!!! Why would they ever end the final lesson on giving us any clear conclusions? Nope, never, and so here we are with no more lessons and yet another big fuckin' cliffhanger.

Well, they did say there are new projects in progress, at least...

Anyway, Later is Now

So, back to MC and how overpowered we've become.

Through this last season, there has been a focus on how much stronger MC has become, especially when it comes to their protective/defensive magic. We know it's because of the double-pacts, but that is a secret from most of the cast to avoid space-time fuckery.

In Babel, MC is able to control this magic for the first time. As mentioned above, we use our pact with Lucifer to break out of the illusion created by Raphael's breakdown, which also clears Simeon of his demonic energy. MC then uses their power, with some guidance by Solomon, to get out of Babel and return everyone to the Devildom.

That's a great sign, as otherwise MC has had zero control over this power activating. Of course, that means we have to use it one last time as the game comes to an end -- but this time, on the moon.

That's right. The Devildom moon is really into MC and is on a crash course to the Devildom (hi Majora's Mask) to also get some of that sweet, sweet MC power. Our cast gets thrust into having to deal with the situation as the final Science Fair competition, because the Research Institute is basically giving them the responsibility (with the House of Lords being ridiculous and not getting the news to Diavolo faster because, um, they suck).

Satan wonders if MC's protection power can be used here and stop the moon on its crash course, so of course that is what we are going to do. Solomon leads you up into the sky, and after a pep talk, leaves you to choose one of the brothers to help carry out this mission. Whichever brother you choose ends up getting knocked out in the process, to protect you. After a few days, we find out how to wake them back up and yay, they're conscious again!

With that handled, it's time for the classic OM tradition, throwing a goodbye party for the exchange students!! PARTY TIME! Everything's good now! Hurray!!!

Does this all seem rushed? Sure. Does it reek of them hurrying to tie up loose ends because this is the last lesson? Yup. How much of this was actually planned in this messy rushed way from the start anyway? Who knows! Did they also leave us on that big Simeon cliffhanger anyway, for funsies? Abso-fucking-lutely.

But that's it for the last 4 lessons! After 5 years, finally, MC has completed all of their tasks...congrats to us!!! 🥹

Now to wait for whatever new projects are coming next...

[louisfruit]

About my last post: I think Lucifer makes comments that seem yandere about how MC couldn't leave him if they tried as a defense mechanism. He hates how vulnerable MC makes him and how they could easily hurt him by leaving so he tries to take control of the situation by acting controlling. The man is afraid of getting hurt

[neodiekido]

imagine being autistic AND trained to kill since you were 10 years old makis understanding of social cues never had a fucking chance

[collecting-dustbunnies]

Obey Me Nightbringer Theory Time: MC is an Unreliable Narrator

Part 1: MC is an Unreliable Narrator | Part 2: A Clash of Ideals

What if the MC knows more than they are letting on? What if the MC's motives is different from ours, as the player?

(Disclaimer: Long post. Different from my meme content. Contains spoilers for all of NB and OG content. Also I may wake up tomorrow and cringe at this, but hopefully you can enjoy my delirium?)

OG = Obey Me Original

NB = Obey Me Nightbringer

It all starts from the beginning

We can see traces of this from when we first launch the game, with MC's first text messages with Nightbringer. And I'm not talking about the messages that we saw when the game first launched, but the new re-write of those same messages. You can compare the differences between the old texts and the new texts on @impish-ivy 's post here (thank you for allowing me to discuss it here). I'll include some of their screenshots as reference.

Let's take a look at the new version of the text exchange. Now, I don't know about you, but I have no idea what Nightbringer is talking about. But Sheep-chan apparently does! If MC answers that they think they understand what he's talking about, they get to keep their memories when they get sent to the past. But if MC says they don't have a clue? The game assumes that they have lost their memories. This seems like a strong indicator that MC knows something that we, as the player, do not know about Nightbringer and their powers. This exchange is very different from how things played out in the original version of these text messages where:

Yes I know them. Really well, actually = MC has their memories.

I don't know who they are = MC has no memories.

[The official reason for this change was "to make the game more enjoyable for new players", but I don't buy that. In the original version, it was quite clear which option you had to pick to signal to the game that you have not played OG. While in this version, it's way more convoluted, since the player will have no idea what Nightbringer is actually talking about. It just causes people who have played OG to accidentally signal to the game that they haven't. Why change the text to be even more confusing, when the original version would have sufficed for newer players?]

Now let's follow this line of thought for a moment. Nightbringer states that the MC has received "a second chance at a fated meeting", and MC has to answer that they think they know what this means if they want to keep their memories during the time jump. If they don't, then Nightbringer assumes that they have lost their memories.

Which leads me to believe that Sheep-chan is not entirely an innocent victim who was unwittingly sent to the past. Instead, they were a willing participant of the time jump. Maybe they have some understanding on how Nightbringer's powers worked and wanted to meet the brothers again. Maybe they too were curious to see what their ideal world looked like. With this idea in mind, let's re-evaluate everything MC has said and done in NB.

MC's interactions with Nightbringer (and Michael, I guess)

After the intro, the next time MC directly interacts with Nightbringer is in Lesson 12 of NB, where they get sent into a coma after breaking the rules at the Fountain of Knowledge. Let's look at what he says here for a moment.

The first thing Nightbringer asks MC is what they think of this world, a rather unusual thing to ask someone who is kinda sorta dying. If MC says they want to go home, Nightbringer expresses some confusion as to whether the brothers of this world are not to MC's liking. It makes sense for him to be confused here, since he sent MC to this timeline under the impression that they would like this world (or at least, view this world as a stepping stone to reach their "place of joy").

(Then again, if MC responds that they are enjoying this world, Nightbringer is even more perplexed that they can remain upbeat in such a precarious situation. But knowing what canon Sheep-chan is like, why is this surprising?)

After this, he explains that his motive is to lead MC to a place that will "bring [them] joy like no other". This fits what he had said in the beginning of the game:

"Shall I take you someplace you will be happy? Somewhere that will bring you more joy than any other."

"A world you desire, and where you will be desired."

- Nightbringer, intro text message

He then goes on to emphasise that both he and MC want the same thing. He comments on how MC has done a splendid job getting closer to Lucifer and his brothers. This is where I feel that Nightbringer was never MC's enemy, as both parties have similar goals, and they need each other to some extent. MC needed Nightbringer and other mysterious forces to set the gears in motion so that MC can become closer to the brothers, forge pacts with them, and reach their "ideal" world. Nightbringer wants to bring MC to this place of happiness, and he sees MC forming pacts with the brothers as the way to get there. In this case, Nightbringer is a co-conspirator here.

This idea then gets brought up again when MC sees Michael in Lesson 13, when he saves MC from their coma. He warns MC that the Celestial Realm would be less willing to tolerate their behaviour if they ally themselves with Nightbringer (which, is exactly what MC has been doing so far). Is Michael afraid of the MC trying to forge their ideal world together with Nightbringer? Or is he afraid that MC is getting tricked by Nightbringer?

This also explains why Nightbringer never interacted with MC again after this incident. Everything MC had done in NB was what Nightbringer had wanted as well. Nightbringer didn't need to intervene because everything was going according to his plan.

Comparison of MC's actions in OG vs NB

When we consider the fact that MC may have actually wanted to go back to the past and meet the brothers again, a lot of their actions (and even their inaction) makes more sense. When Solomon tells them they need to make the pacts to get back to their own time, MC is in no rush to obtain these pacts. In fact, they don't even think about making those pacts until Season 2 when they are faced with an ultimatum to make those pacts, which is, they have to forge the pacts before MC and Solomon lose their connection to their original time. This is different from the usual behaviour in OG, where they were extremely motivated to make a pact with every brother from Beelzebub -> Asmo -> Satan and employed help from multiple people to acheive this goal. They even took the initiative to ask Lucifer for a pact on the day before they left the Devildom, when they had no reason to do so.

This is very different from how Season 2 of NB played out, as MC simply waited around until each brother went beserk (in the case of Mammon, Asmo and Satan) before they even thought about proposing the pact. In Lucifer's case, even though MC (after much prompting) spoke up about needing to go back to their home, it was Mephistopheles advocating for MC that ultimately convinced Lucifer to let MC go. And later on, MC remained on the sidelines and let the other characters take the reign in rescuing Lucifer from Cocytus. Compared to the original game, where MC takes on a more active role in forming their pacts, MC is more passive in Nightbringer, simply biding their time until the opportunity to make a pact falls onto their lap. Is this how somebody who desperately misses their home and wants to go back ASAP would act?

Regardless of how you choose to play the MC as, they always express some hesitation in leaving behind the brothers of the past. No matter how many times you try to make the MC say they want to go back home ASAP, Lucifer will gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss MC into admitting that they do not want to leave. Simeon in Lesson 35 of NB even reaffirms this by saying "I'm sure you really feel that way deep down inside. Even if you don't realise it". Bruh.

But why? MC should know that their home is with the boys of the present timeline. Why has the MC never considered the repercussions of staying in a timeline that they don't belong in? Or even considered how Solomon could lose his powers for good because of MC's hesitance? Why had MC never once stopped to consider how the demon brothers they had left behind would feel about their absence? This shouldn't even be a dilemma.

Unless... this past was the place they wanted to end up in the first place. That, like Nightbringer had said, this place will bring them joy like no other.

As an aside: One of the few insights we get about Sheep-chan's inner thoughts is the nightmare they have about the brothers trapping them in the attic and preventing them from leaving (in Lesson 33 of NB). Which has horrific implications, considering the attic still did not exist at this point of time. Was Belphegor's imprisonment and the Lesson 16 incident so traumatic for MC that the attic is the place that they associate with imprisonment?

Note how some of the brothers keep suggesting that THIS is the outcome that the MC really wants. But this also provides another possible reason for the MC's hesitation to leave: The fear of how the brothers' of the past would react. The fear of brothers turning against them, despite everything MC had done to protect them. Speaking of what MC had done to protect them...

MC forging their place in the past Devildom

MC hasn't taken active measures to forge their pacts to return home, but you know what they have shown to be more interested in? Asserting their place in the Devildom of the past, and spending time with the past version of the brothers.

The best example of this is Lesson 11 of NB, where the MC hesitates to promise to Solomon to protect humanity, but with no hesitation, promises to take care of the brothers even with full knowledge that they would be punished for doing this. If we remember Lesson 35 of OG where MC, Solomon and the demon brothers went to the reaper's cave to break Beel's curse, Solomon was surprised that the demon brothers' punishments for breaking the reaper's rules (turning into a Little D) were so mild. It was implied that without MC unconsciously protecting them with their magic, the brothers could have died or been wiped out from existence upon breaking the rules.

A weakened MC of the past who retains their memories of this incident in the reaper's cave would know just how severe the backlash would be if they make promises in the cave. But this did not stop them from doing so anyway. This shows where MC's allegiance truly lies: Not with humanity, not with any mysterious forces at play, but with the demon brothers. It's hard to tell what the MC hopes to get out of making such a dangerous promise.

The most optimistic take is that they felt forced to prove their loyalty to Lucifer and his family by taking such a drastic action. After all, MC is used to sacrificing their life for the people they love. Throwing themselves at death is nothing new to them.

The most cynical take would be that this bold decision was actually a calculated move by the MC to assert their importance and their role in the demon lords' lives. To show just how bad things can get without them. To guilt-trip Lucifer and Belphegor who had doubted the MC's allegiance, so that they never doubt MC again.

Regardless of their motivation, the MC's actions showed that they are inseparable from Lucifer's family, and this incident served to further cement the MC's importance to them. This allowed MC to strengthen their bonds with the brothers once again. So that they can create a world they desire, and they will be desired.

Putting this all together

Obey Me: Nightbringer paints the image of a MC being ripped from their home and being thrust into an unfamiliar world. Yet, the MC's actions in NB tell a different story. It shows us that Nightbringer is turning the gears so that MC can go to a place surrounded by people that they love, and who will love them no matter what. Because it wouldn't be enough if the characters of the present were hopelessly in love with them, but the characters of the past should also feel the same way. Even if that is a world the MC does not belong in.

All I'm saying is, Sheep-chan is sus as heck.

[dazaispinkietoe]

Belphegor needs to get OUT of my head😡

Touching back on that whole "Belphegor avoids MC because he's still struggling to cope and accept" thing I had going on a while ago...It could also be a part of how Belphegor tries to escape his emotions or isn't sure what to do with them? I was looking at the Dreamscape lyrics during my free time in school, and the lyrics "...I used to say this so easily, But now the words get caught when you're around," "Welcome home Goodnight, I want to say these things but I can't. It's so frustrating, my mind is a mess. What finally comes out is 'Goodbye'," and "I can't stop this feeling of missing you. I wonder why, I still don't know. Indulge my selfish wish..."

At first I was just kind of like "Meh, sounds like a normal Belphegor think to say, right?" But then I realized that I only thought this because of how frustrated he pretty much always seems with himself. The song generally talks about how he's confused with his emotions and can't seem to talk to MC normally, but also says that he wants to actually talk about what they are. (Which is why I don't understand the people who say Belphegor doesn't care about the MC because he so obviously does?? He would do so much for them and tries to behave differently to accommodate their needs or spend time with them :() I feel like this is one of the reasons we don't see Belphegor interacting with MC very much, because he's always conflicted between his feelings and obviously can't communicate very well

So even if he did want to try and express his emotions, he doesn't really know how to until he can't express them calmly anymore

[alcyneus]

im sorry [university name] for slandering you to high hell, i didn’t know we was cool like that

[good-beanswrites]

Reworking my neurodivergent Fuuta post because I had more to add and wanted it in one place 👍It started out just silly thoughts and projection but I have a lot of evidence now??? It feels pretty solid!

🔴 He holds to an overwhelming sense of right, wrong, rules, justice, etc. It’s a system that makes sense to him (you learn to apologize before anything else, right?) and he’s obsessed with it. He's an extreme rule follower. He's obviously careful so he's not called out online, but even inside Milgram. He follows Es' orders naturally. Even though they’re silly, in the minigrams he’s repeatedly reminding people of the rules about requesting items. Even though he'd been shown to voice thoughts about escaping, he refuses, and is too much of a stickler that he won’t even let other people request things considered dangerous.

🔴 He takes things very literally, most notably some of the interrogation questions. In both his vds he’s pretty particular about describing his involvement, taking a long time to admit he could be a killer because his situation falls pretty far out of its normal definition.

🔴 He’s shown to be intensely lonely: sitting alone, walking alone, watching others from the outskirts, but thriving online where the social rules are different. He has trouble identifying/defining friendships, choosing to focus on the sharing of interests and excitement.

🔴 However, he does find a group that accepts him and listens to him -- and that feeling of belonging becomes intoxicating. The typical “gets a taste of doing something correctly but then gets carried away and crosses a line in excitement”

🔴 He doesn’t think hard work can get him anywhere in society, he doesn’t have any goals, he struggles at school, he wants to just go with the flow -- aka, burnout from trying so hard in a society that isn’t made to accommodate you. Instead of focusing on that, he loses himself in fictional worlds of heroes and villains. He sees connections in everyday life, occasionally getting so lost in them that thoughts of them bleed into reality.

🔴 He's bad at lying. Or, he has to deal with people pointing out nonsensical body language cues to make assumptions about his emotions (which is just as much a neurodivergent experience, unfortunately).

🔴 I know all the prisoners have some kind of act they put up to cover up their true emotions, but it’s still so obvious how he lashes out in anger instead of properly processing/expressing his legitimate fear of the entire situation.

🔴 Extreme restlessness when waiting in an empty room all alone

🔴 This may be more personal interpretation than evidence (because I don’t know how it holds up in the original Japanese), but his line in Muu’s bday timeline just struck me as someone who isn't usually accepted or accommodated for when they're feeling down.

🔴 Also. Transed Gender. 🏳️‍⚧️

[izzyzalezbian]

Me reading fics where Mammon and Lucifer love each other:

[misc-obeyme]

what are your thoughts on the cheeky lil cow boy (belphie)

Ah yes, Belphegor, a bit of a polarizing character in general, I think. People seem to either really love him or really hate him.

Generally speaking, I think he's deceptively cunning, but not in a malicious way. He's pretty chill most of the time, but he'll do stuff like manipulate his brothers to get them to do his chores for him. Except for Beel, of course. And really they are a unit. Belphie is always ready to fight for Beel and vice versa. But I also really like how they just quietly support each other. Someone will say oh Belphie fell asleep in this weird place and Beel will immediately be like I'll go get him. Or Belphie will be like we need to make sure we bring food to this thing because Beel will get hungry. Like they're just always thinking about each other and I think that's really sweet.

Belphie will also call people out if he wants to. If he has no reason to keep it to himself, he'll straight up tell you if he thinks you're doing something questionable. And his issues with Diavolo indicate to me that he has a problem with authority, like he would be more defiant if he wasn't also lazy lol.

Inevitably, though, we can't really talk about Belphie without discussing the Lesson 16 Incident. At this point, I think most people are aware of those events, but just in case, I'll put the rest of this under a read more. And also it's kinda lengthy, so be forewarned lol.

First of all, I have to say that I was honestly so confused about what was happening in Lesson 16 that I didn't fully understand that Belphie had killed MC. I had to read it multiple times and then read what other people were saying about it. So I never had an intense reaction to it.

But to be fair, it wasn't like we didn't know there was something weird going on the whole time. I knew it was the youngest brother locked up there and it seemed like it was wrong, so that made Lucifer out to be the bad guy of the situation. Then it turns out that wasn't the case at all.

Belphie is manipulative. That's just part of his character. And when he has something that he's trying to do, he's going to use that skill to get it.

Some people are still mad at Lucifer for locking Belphie up at all. Some people are obviously quite upset that Belphie killed MC.

But here's what I think.

It isn't that black and white. Aside from the confusing time travel shenanigans, this event is one of the most realistic things that has ever happened in the story.

Belphie shared Lilith's love of humans. Together they wanted to learn more about the human world. It would be easy for him to blame himself for her interest and what ultimately led to her death. But even if he didn't, he saw the way that it tore his entire family apart.

It wasn't just that his dad got mad at his sister and they had an argument or something.

It was that his dad was going to end his sister's existence and in defiance, his older brother rebelled. And there was a war. This was not some squabble. This was siblings fighting siblings.

Belphie watched his brothers and sisters fight and hurt and kill each other and it all came back to Lilith falling in love with a human.

And then he fell with his brothers, cast out of his home, losing everything he's ever known. His brothers are changing and suffering just like he is.

They don't talk about it. They clearly all keep secrets regarding it still, things that don't come out until MC comes along. Which is supposedly thousands of years after the fact (at least in OG). That means Belphie has had all that time to let that trauma fester. To let it twist inside him. To let it morph into the one thought that became most dominant: that humans are bad.

Is that a fair assessment of what happened? No, of course not. But we're dealing with a war traumatized fallen angel that clearly hasn't worked through any of these feelings in thousands of years.

And then he defies Diavolo and Lucifer panics.

Yes, Lucifer should have found a better way of handling it. But remember what happened to him when he defied authority? He is trying his best to protect Belphie. He is trying not to lose another sibling. He is also still traumatized and therefore overreacting out of fear.

And so was Belphie.

Imagine being locked up like that and a human comes along. A human is free among your brothers to do whatever terrible things humans do while you're powerless to stop them. Of course he's going to try to manipulate that human into setting him free. Of course he's then going to eliminate them because humans have been historically bad for his family.

I read this situation as Belphie being both afraid and angry that a human - the thing he's convinced himself was the main cause of his sister's death - has become so close to his brothers and has the access to his family that could cause another rift among them.

You could say that it was Belphie's idea to get MC to have all the pacts, but that isn't really true, either. By the time MC meets Belphie, they already have a pact with two of his brothers. He sees them already starting to worm their way into his family. And he knows that the only way to get out of the attic is to encourage it. He doesn't really have a choice.

Maybe everyone can now call me a Belphie apologist. But I'm always coming at this from an outside fictional standpoint. I'm like listen he's a flawed character and it's actually pretty realistic of him to react this way considering the circumstances.

However, he did kill MC. And that's why my own MC, Ciaran, has issues with Belphie for a while. It's also traumatic to have someone kill you, so it isn't like I'm saying MC should just forget about it or forgive Belphie immediately. I think it probably should have taken a lot more time for MC to trust Belphie again. Certainly that part of the story was a bit rushed.

But they're dealing with lesson format constraints and also it's a silly otome game so I guess fully formed character arcs can't be expected. Especially since we aren't dealing with routes and they have to cram everybody into the same set of lessons.

In the end, I think Belphie is an interesting and complex character. I think there's a lot of space to explore more about this particular aspect of him, but due to the format of the media and the lack of routes, his more in depth character arc just doesn't exist.

I personally have no problem with Belphie as a character, but I also understand why people don't like him. I am always of the opinion that everyone is free to love or hate or have any emotions at all about fictional characters lol. This is just my personal opinion.

[the-pessimists-paradigm]

Leviathan and Social Anxiety

Could there be a name for his reclusiveness?

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) involves fears of judgement, fears of criticism, avoiding social situations, and worrying when you do something you think is embarrassing. But how does this tie back to Leviathan, the otaku in Obey Me!, notorious for gaming in his room all day?

In Lesson 1-10, Leviathan retorts that it would be crazy if people saw him, an otaku, inviting a normie into his room. He spends a lot of time playing watching anime, gaming, and reading manga. Could this be caused by underlying anxiety, leading to unhealthy coping mechanisms?

It's revealed by Lucifer that Leviathan takes classes online. A key symptom of SAD. He also very much dislikes social gatherings, choosing to avoid them. In the devilgram story "The Life of the Party!", he reveals that he likes his own room way more than a bustling party. He remarks if he goes to Asmo's party, he'll be crouched in a corner, all alone.

Sadly, although he's skilled at his interests, he doesn't think highly of himself, indicating low self esteem. In the same devilgram story, when you act surprised about him baking a cake, he assumes that the main character is thinking that he's a gloomy introverted nerd who left his cave. He also says that he wanted to show the main character how cool he is by becoming the life of the party.

The main character gives support to Leviathan by engaging with his interests, making him feel special. There are potential remedies for social anxiety, such as focusing on people's words, breathing exercises, and building your self esteem. If you have someone with social anxiety in your life, be open minded and listen, maybe even suggest therapy.

[plasma-studios]

okay i know we all love the joke of being cruel to the characters in On Mercy but in case it wasn't clear, the story was always going to have to end happily. for all the suffering they must and will endure, i would not betray them a happy ending.

On Mercy is not a story of self-destruction, of the characters being consumed, to the point of no salvation. On Mercy has never been an Ouroboros story. On Mercy is a story of destruction, yes, but it is also a story of recovery from destruction. It is a story that says yes, even from tragedy, there can be new life. There is no "lost cause". There are consequences, and boy you could definitely argue that On Mercy is about consequences, but there is not such thing as an end all lost cause. No matter what, redemption is never an impossibility. No matter what, no one is ever a lost cause. That is the kind of story I need, and want to write.

Take the Dreamtale twins, for instance. Dream and Nightmare in particular are characters born for tragedy, and have lived a tragedy (out of context but technically spoilers), so it is even more important to through them show that there can and must be new life after a tragedy. There are a thousand ways to end their story unhappily, and I refuse: because even for them; for all they have endured and all they have done, I refuse the notion that they cannot be saved.

If there's one thing I can promise you, the reader, it's that On Mercy will not end without fulfilling its promise to herald new life and new hope.

[inhuman-obey-me]

Celestials and Saltiness: Lessons 48/49

HAHAHAHA of course while we had irl stuff going on and couldn't go through the lessons for a couple weeks, was when the Big Stuff drops. But we have caught up, and hoo boy, there is plenty to discuss. So let's discuss! Strap in, it's a long one.

(MAJOR spoilers for NB lesson 48/49 below the cut)

The Situation

Let's start with what's actually happening. Hey, remember when the devs decided Simeon is a human now as punishment over the whole stealing the Ring of Light situation? SURPRISE, they've decided he's becoming a demon after all! You know, like all of us fucking expected of what happens to angels when they are punished and fall? Yeah, that.

As it turns out, despite the whole "I'm human now" gradual reveal across two whole fucking seasons, they've now decided this has been going on since basically all the way back to his human world cafe days in OG Season 3 to say he was starting to become a demon even back then, or at least so Solomon theorizes. So...basically the entire length of his "human" punishment thus far. Cool, cool, we're sure that's totally not a retcon due to the devs realizing they wrote themselves into a corner. Definitely had a plan all along, that's why they bought themselves 2 seasons of Nightbringer time travel shenanigans of time before getting into this. Totally.

Anyway, setting aside the salt (for now), we are told that this demonic aura has been starting to appear whenever he feels deep emotions, somewhat similar to how power manifests for the brothers. Solomon tells us that it's because Simeon has a unique ability to access his latent power - which is an interesting little tidbit to note, as it implies that they took away his angel powers but he has his own inherent powers which he was just never able to access until now. We have long held the headcanon that God artificially limits angels' power, so it's very interesting to us to see that it may be suggesting something similar here.

On a related minor worldbuilding note, this does confirm the detail that celestial power has a distinctly opposite feeling than demonic power, meaning that their magic and powers are not neutral. And we also get an in-game reminder that demons do not like angels, so in this situation, it would be expected that an average demon might think an angel deserves to fall and want to torture/kill them if given the chance.

By the way, all of this is going on during the Science Fair Chemistry competition specifically, which is...an interesting parallel to say the least. Chemistry is the science concerned with matter -- including its composition, structure, and how it changes down to the molecular level. We've always been of the opinion that Simeon just turning into a human was odd as it's been established that demons and angels have different physiology in comparison to humans (like how Demonus can get both demons and angels drunk, but doesn't affect humans). Simeon turning into a demon with the absence of his angel powers makes sense.

Celestial Realm Reactions

Now, the consequences.

First, let's look at the political implications. Diavolo, Barbatos, and Lucifer know that this does not bode well for relations between the Realms. After all, what will the Celestial Realm think, having one of their own turning into a demon after they sent them to the Devildom for the exchange program? Especially considering everything that happened with Lucifer and the Great Celestial War, it would be very easy to point a finger at Diavolo and the Devildom for being a corrupting influence.

Lucifer also mentions that Simeon is currently not allowed through the gates into the Celestial Realm without first obtaining forgiveness. However, that status as a human is an ongoing punishment (think of a kid being grounded by parents), not a one-and-done thing, opening up an implication that this transformation is not necessarily intended to be permanent. That's also totally not a retcon, we're sure! If he turns into a demon, that challenges the supposed punishment and calls into question which realm actually has a claim to him -- in a situation where both answers would have precarious implications for Diavolo's peace plan.

So, that's the Celestial Realm as a whole, on a political level. But let's take a look at the individual angels we know too, shall we?

First, there's the big question mark of Michael. We know that he's the one who called Simeon back to the Celestial Realm about the Ring of Light, and we also know that he is in fact the one Simeon stole it from. However, Lucifer assumes Michael is planning to bring Simeon back to the Celestial Realm when he gets the chance, so it seems like he was not actually the one to decide on this punishment and may actually be working to end it. And interestingly, this would not be the first time Michael has acted on his own to seemingly try to cancel out a punishment from God -- as a reminder, he also went off to the Devildom disguised himself as Raphael to try to invite the brothers back at the end of NB Season 1!

Considering Lucifer's insistence that Father would never forgive him, plus his Cocytus punishment at the end of NB Season 2, it does seem like Michael probably didn't have permission from God to go inviting them back. If he's also looking to reverse Simeon's punishment, that would show a surprising rebelliousness from the top angel of the Celestial Realm! So it will be interesting to see how Michael's role in this whole situation unfolds.

Then, we have our sweet baby angel Luke -- who ends up crying himself to the point of passing out when he finds out. He's grown a lot since he first arrived to the Devildom, no longer thinking that all demons are inherently evil monsters -- but he's still very proud to be an angel. He loves Simeon dearly, as the one who has acted as a parental figure of sorts for him this entire time. Luke is adamant about protecting and helping Simeon in any way he can, even if he's not sure what can really be done.

However, this sets up quite the conflict for the poor boy. He was too young to know Lucifer and the other brothers at the time of the Great Celestial War, so this is his first time reckoning with an angel he's known personally becoming a demon. And on top of that, this began with the Celestial Realm's decision to punish Simeon for taking the Ring of Light -- saving MC and Lucifer, and stabilizing MC's "ring" to essentially save all of the Three Realms.

In other words, Simeon is becoming a demon now for saving everyone. So it begs the question -- will Luke, who has unquestioningly believed in the Celestial Realm until now, start seeing his home in a different light after all of this?

Then there's the next-youngest angel, and the newest in the cast -- Raphael. We didn't see too much of him, but we get enough that it's clear he's not taking this news well either. It's assumed he was suddenly called to the Celestial Realm because of this development, though we don't know exactly what they say to him about it, and when he returns, he's in a daze. We see Mephistopheles being the one to actually first run into him and try to talk to him, but he is mainly met with a very out-of-it angel, and he then takes him out to have his family's special Demonus because it's clear Raphael is distressed. In another scene, we see Thirteen run into a now spaced-out Mephisto and he asks her a "hypothetical" -- what happens when an angel reaches their limit? Also, Solmare, are y'all setting up RaphaelxMephisto as a ship?

And then, of course, we have the angel of the hour -- or rather, ex-angel. And Simeon's reaction to this change is...not so bad, actually. It's one of understandable confusion but also a kind of near acceptance. We've always been convinced that the reason Simeon was demoted after the Celestial War was because he stayed neutral and refused to fight. And how Simeon discusses the past in Lesson 49 suggests similarly -- he has always had regrets over not joining Lucifer, because he couldn't. Now that it seems he is possibly turning into a demon, he can't help but wonder how things could have been different if he had.

He mentions how he feels less unsure about this than turning into a human, as he always did want to be closer to the brothers, and didn't like that he was different from them. In that sense, turning into a demon doesn't seem so bad to him -- though he also doesn't have control over these powers yet, so he needs to be careful. And, if you choose the "are you a bad boy at heart" option, he mentions that maybe his loyalty to the Celestial Realm is lacking -- pretty understandable, after all he's seen from them and all they've put him through...!

And Then There's the Shady Sorcerer...

Now, that's all complicated enough for that delicate, delicate balance between the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, but let's not forget there's one more realm in the "Three" Realms, with one very conspicuously powerful representative here in our cast.

And so, where is Solomon in all of this? Well, we know he placed a protection charm on Simeon to protect him when it was thought that he was a "defenseless" human, so that even if a lesser demon messed with him, they'd be in for a world of pain. He was also, it seems, the first one to notice Simeon starting to transform into a demon, but kept that information to himself until confronted about it. Lucifer opens up to us that he can't help but wonder if there's some kind of connection between the sorcerer's activities back in the human realm and Simeon's predicament, feeling some doubts even if it seems everyone relies on Solomon and trusts him. And after all, Lucifer would be a demon with a good reason to distrust Solomon, since the sorcerer has long been after a pact with him, even on top of all the many powerful pacts he already holds with others.

Lucifer brings up some of his concerns to Solomon by asking him why he's been going back and forth to the human world so much -- to which Solomon answers that's making some preparations for unlikely scenarios. He insists it's not important, but we wonder...

Back in OG Season 2, Solomon knew about MC's "ring" which was putting the Three Realms at risk, and he secretly swiped the Night Dagger from the Reaper's Cave as a potential solution. His top priority, as we've seen, has always been protecting humanity from the battling influences of the other two realms. We know that's also part of his mysterious deal with Nightbringer.

So what possible plans and preparations could Solomon be making, and for what unlikely scenarios? Another war? Another imbalance of power? We'll see what awaits with this whole new situation...

[crowskullls]

discord is down but i have a burning question to ask you

do you think minutetech and talkingmime would be friends / get along

Funny as fuck to resort to talking to me through Tumblr asks LMFAOO but Yes, I do think they'd get along. Both are generally calm and laid back people. Mime is more snippy, but Minute also has his moments of being sarcastic. I think there would be a lot of lighthearted bullying and teasing because Minute says stupid shit sometimes, and it would confuse Mime. (But Mime does too, and is more than used to it from dealing with Fein all the time.) But they'd probably spend time brainstorming ideas and working together. They're competitive, they enjoy being good at things, and they're both massive nerds. They both also have fairly similar attitudes towards work and group projects with HBG/Lifesteal where it sometimes feel like they're an exasperated parent desperately trying to gather everyone for team bonding.

[luckykittysshowerthoughts]

Raphael as an Autistic Character

I recently went over this in an ask I received, but I thought this deserved its own standalone post. As an autistic person myself, I wholeheartedly believe that Raphael is the most heavily, yet most realistically, autism-coded character I've seen in media.

I've seen it the "Raphael is autistic" headcanon floating around a couple times, but I think he deserves a full breakdown not only on why he's autistic, but how it impacts and explains his character. Because just like with real people, it's one thing to just toss a label onto him, and it's another to understand how this impacts him as a person. I think a lot of the stranger or more unlikeable parts of his character are much more appreciable when recontextualized through an autistic lens.

So, here I go. Down the list of symptoms Raphael displays, starting with sensory processing symptoms and moving into social-emotional symptoms.

Sensory Issues: Hyposensitivity

When it comes to sensory issues, the elephant in the room is his sense of taste. Raphael has a hyposensitivity to taste- meaning he perceives taste to a significantly lesser degree to most people. This is clear when he consumes Solomon's food without being disgusted at the taste- as well as several other occurrences of weird taste, like absolutely dousing his sandwich in Hell's hottest hot sauce.

But it isn't just that he doesn't perceive the taste- he actively enjoys it, moreso than other foods. I think this is because, with his dulled sense of taste, "normal" foods taste bland to him. Something to the degree of Solomon's cooking is the only thing powerful enough to give him the kind of sensory feedback most of us get from "normal" food. Which is why he enjoys it.

I don't think it's just taste that he's hyposensitive to, either. He also seems to have a very limited sense of pain. In Season 4, Raphael is seen accidentally catching his hand on fire- and not even noticing until somebody else pointed it out to him, at which point he simply described it as "hot". I'm sorry, having your hand on fire isn't just "hot" like a summer day, it's searing agonizing pain. The fact that he was this nonchalant about it, when we've seen other nonhumans like Mammon respond to pain (and even being on fire) perfectly normally, says something. I think Raphael's lack of pain perception could also contribute to how violent he is- if he doesn't feel pain the same way most people do, he might not fully understand the weight of his harsh punishments. What he'd consider the equivalent of slapping someone's wrist with a ruler could be literally stabbing someone, we don't know.

Sensory Issues: Visual Processing

Raphael, like many autistic people, seems to be a very visually-oriented person. This was highlighted multiple times in the Devilgram "Raphael's Welcome". The first time it was shown was when Raphael refused to eat food Lucifer recommended due to how it looked. This is the same angel that eats Solomon's cooking with absolutely no issue, and yet gave a hard no to anything Lucifer offered him because it looked a little funny. His priorities are way out of wack. Visuals seem to be a very powerful influence over how Raphael thinks and feels, and this is very in-line with the autism spectrum.

The next time Raphael's visual fixation was brought up in the Devilgram was when he entered Majolish. The first thing he did was start looking at all the clothing up close and pointing out details about how they were stitched, the quality of the clothing, etc- to which Lucifer remarked that Raphael has always had an eye for detail. While Raphael is oblivious to or actively avoids other types of sensory input, visuals seem to be very important to him and how he understands the world.

Sensory Issues: Hypersensitivity

This one is going to be shorter than the others, because I really don't have as much evidence for it nor as much to say about it. But I do suspect Raphael to be hypersensitive to sound. Again in Season 4, when MC was looking for Raphael, the first thing Lucifer told them was to look for the quietest place around. While a lot of people prefer quiet, how on-the-nose Lucifer was with this combined with Raphael's more obvious autistic traits makes me suspect he might be hypersensitive to sound.

Communication Deficit: Social Cues

You know it's bad when Mammon tells you to read the room.

Honestly, I feel like that should be all I have to say. But you know what, I'll go on.

Raphael has repeatedly shown that he has very little understanding of social cues. He's somehow made it this far without catching onto the fact that everyone is terrified of Solomon's cooking, for example. He also once compared Satan to Lucifer after literally everyone in the room tried to warn him not to.

Raphael doesn't even seem to be aware of his own social cues and the impressions he gives off. When Diavolo announced that he'd be working with Thirteen, Raphael scowled and shook his head- only to seem genuinely surprised when Thirteen noticed this and took offense to his reaction, telling her that he "didn't say anything".

His understanding of social cues is... not very good. To say the least.

Communication Deficit: Emotional Expression

One of the first things we learn about Raphael is that he's incredibly difficult to read. It's not hard to see why other characters feel this way- the majority of the time, he has a completely blank expression. Hell, one time he flat-out said he was having fun and didn't even smile about it.

Smiles in general seem to be excessively rare with him, and it's often made a big deal of when he does.

Despite his lack of expression, he doesn't seem as emotionless as people portray him as. According to Simeon, he's actually "pretty intense". Even in the screenshot above, he's clearly feeling something, he just isn't showing it in the way a typical person would expect. He gives all the hallmarks of someone with very strong emotions but an inability to translate them to others- something very strongly associated with autism.

Communication Deficit: Speech

One of the other things we were told about Raphael before we met him is that he's incredibly quiet- to the point where others, including Luke, have difficulty understanding him as a person. Reading through the lessons, he has "..." dialogue significantly more than any other character. It's rare the game goes out of its way to include silent dialogue, and usually when it does it's in a very serious situation where it's meant to be emotionally impactful. This isn't the case with Raphael. He does this regularly, in casual personal interactions, and even to the point where it causes miscommunications with others.

An example I can think of off the top of my head is when he went to clean up a mess Thirteen created with her spiderweb bazooka. He left in the middle of a conversation to go do so, without giving any verbal acknowledgement of what it was he was doing, leading to Lucifer assuming he was goofing off and scolding him. Normally someone would say something along the lines of "we should clean that up", or "let me go clean that up real quick", or "I'm going to go clean that up", etc. Most people would say something like that without even thinking. But Raphael just gave his usual "...", and that socially inappropriate silence lead to a clear misunderstanding with Lucifer.

"Quiet" to the point of impeding on one's ability to connect with and communicate intent to others isn't normal, and it makes me wonder if he may be partially nonverbal.

Communication Deficit: Tact

Raphael is... not tactful. At all. He's incredibly blunt, even harsh, with pretty much everyone. It's so constant and grating that angel Lucifer stated that he actively avoids Raphael.

Given his other very clear social difficulties, I have to wonder just how much of Raphael's rude language is actual harmful intent and how much of it is just that he's awful with tact. I wonder how much he really meant all the dickish things he's said to the brothers.

It certainly puts his character in a different perspective. As does a lot of this. Which is why I wanted to elaborate this far on all of it instead of just throwing out autism symptoms and giving him an "I'm autistic and I think he is too" seal of approval. His character starts making a lot more sense when you look at it through this lens.

And now, of course, the obligatory Michael comment of the day.

(I'm sorry, you know me by now, I couldn't not.)

I think Michael is autistic too, and I'm mentioning it here because this ties directly into Raphael and his autism. It's said in Raphael's introductory video that he's "the only one who truly understands Michael". If Raphael is autistic, and he and Michael are on the same wavelength so to speak, it would make sense that Michael is too.

I think they're on opposite sides of the spectrum- Raphael is the cold/distant/withdrawn, deadpan, hyposensitive, partially-nonverbal autistic while Michael will turn out to be the hyperactive, overexpressive, talks-your-ears-off-about-special-interests, way too in-your-face due to lack of social cues, sensory-seeking autistic. Two sides of the same coin.

They'd both play into the double-empathy theory, that autism miscommunications are due to a mismatch in autistic-neurotypical communication methods and that two autistic individuals can generally communicate just fine.

[apiratefellinlovewithastar]

(I’m late to the party etc etc) I’ve been thinking and, is the Nightbringer truly as ominous as they sound?

Because if we go for the obvious all he wants is to cause a Second Great War for some unknown reason (perhaps to awaken the Demon King, perhaps to booster/settle Diavolo’s position, etc).

But to me that’s kind of a red herring? when MC falls into a coma, it sounds like he might be quoting someone else:

That sounds like a prophecy to me, and if PJO has taught me anything, is that prophecies can be misleading and not often as straightforward as you might think.

And the “I look forward to seeing you then…” can also be interpreted as time, or as the person… maybe even both.

Is Barbatos the Nightbringer, or is it MC?

It all points to it being Barbatos: the beginning of this story, Adam, the time traveling, Barbatos lore we’ve uncovered so far. Or he could even be a red herring as well, and for all we know there’s a third party somewhere out there. It could even be Solomon.

On his own, or influenced by Barbatos (or/and vice versa!!! what with the pact) , or even corrupted by something else (perhaps… knowledge?), since they keep mentioning how he “barely even counts as human” nowadays… he’s certainly MC’s friend and humanity’s ally, as the intro guide to Nightbringer tells us, but is he one for the demons? I don’t think so. He even tells us himself: “I want to change that. I want to show that humans aren’t as weak as they think.”

Either way, if MC is involved, wouldn’t it be tragically poetic and achingly delicious if they were the catalyst for a Second Great War?