#It's really just a little bit of character analysis asdfg

[danteinthedevildom]

Something I love about Obey Me is that, on the whole, for every trait a character has, they have another trait that actively counters it and thus makes them seem genuinely conflicting on a surface level, but wonderfully three dimensional on a deeper dive into their character.

E.g. People in the early-game sometimes think Diavolo comes across as a little two-faced, or that there’s something a little suspicious about him and the things he does - and I def. originally saw some theories (and when I first started playing, had some suspicions of my own) that he might end up being the real “villain” of the game. 

A lot of this stems from the fact that he seems genuinely friendly, open, and willing to spend time with the exchange students in casual, informal ways, but also has abilities and moments of power abuse that seem to completely diverge from the image of the smiling prince. 

Surely someone who does this is hiding something? Surely that carefree attitude is just a facade? It’s definitely the sort of twist you could expect with the character setup present in Diavolo.

But when you look at it, there’s a reason behind this duality that doesn’t actually fall into the usual tropes - and instead builds a much more interesting, well-rounded character. 

(Spoilers ahead, both for Lesson 16 and for the most recent Lessons, especially involving Diavolo’s childhood.)

For instance, how could he claim to see Lucifer as a friend when he has him bound by an Oath that puts an incredible power imbalance in their relationship, and stops him from speaking of it?

The answer is that he’s genuinely never had a friend in his entire long life that hasn’t had some form of reason to stay by his side. To Diavolo, the Oath was a way of ensuring Lucifer couldn’t leave - not a way of keeping control. He wanted Lucifer to be his friend, has been enamoured with him even since Lucifer was an angel, and took the opportunity to secure that friendship in the only way he knew how. 

Because Diavolo is pitifully lonely. Because Diavolo was raised in a way that left him incapable of making friends. Because Diavolo likely never would have been able to make a friend if he hadn’t tethered them to him. 

Does this make the Oath any better? No. He took advantage of a broken, freshly fallen angel, terrified of the fates of his siblings, and vowed him to silence and servitude in return for their lives. 

But does this mean that the Oath was inherently evil? No. At its core, the Oath was the act of a very lonely man realising he had a chance to secure the one thing he wanted more than anything. It was selfish, but not evil.

It does, however, show us the sort of extent Diavolo will go to get what he wants. He will leverage something over others if he thinks that’s what it takes. This is even reinforced by the truth of Barbatos’ servitude; that he treatened to refuse ascension to the throne if Barbatos didn’t stay. 

At the same time, it shows that what he wants, more often than not, is something harmless, if desperate. It’s often a desire for companionship that spurs him into dubious action. 

He’s very unlikely to abuse his power to genuinely hurt someone, but he may use his power in a way that has hurtful side effects.

Diavolo is aware that his actions had consequences, and feels guilt. He still isn’t confident that Lucifer and Barbatos genuinely want to stay with him or in his service, and he’s openly aware of the fact that Lucifer, at the very least, doesn’t see them being as close as he does. 

He doesn’t want to remove either of them from his service for fear that they really will leave him, but he’s aware that keeping them there potentially against their will isn’t conducive to healthy friendships. 

Diavolo has done dubious things for selfish reasons. This is undeniable. But those reasons are genuine and understandable, and something players can easily sympathise with. 

That’s the sort of thing you want for a well fleshed-out character; the ability to say “there was something inherently wrong in this action taken,” but also say “I can understand why he took the action, even if it was wrong”. 

I focused on Diavolo for this, but here’s another two points I can think of to further illustrate the point:

- Lucifer’s genuine love and care for his family constrasting against his prideful brutality and absolute loyalty to Diavolo above all else (e.g. how he can justify locking Belphie up in the attic. This was an act of love. The alternative was to hand Belphie over to Diavolo and let him face an unknown fate. By locking him up for the duration of the Exchange Programme, Lucifer was working to avoid being disloyal to Diavolo and being disloyal to his family. It was absolutely an imperfect solution. It absolutely had its flaws. It absolutely made things worse. But it was his way of keeping his youngest brother alive and allowing Diavolo’s dream to come to fruition. A dubious act founded in good intentions.)

- Satan’s kind thoughtfulness and amicable nature contrasting against his Wrath and how it affects his brothers (e.g., how he can switch between fretting over Beel’s mental health in one chat, to being so furious with him over his Gluttony that Beel actively goes into hiding in another. Satan is a character rife with stark dualities and his own frantic attempts to try and stitch together something whole. He’s not overly good at it. His Wrath often gets in the way. But he has spent his entire life trying to improve, to find himself, to come to terms with his creation; he is trying every day not to be the Satan that lashes out at the drop of a hat.)

The game isn’t always perfect at showing these characteristics in equal measure, but sometimes that’s the point. 

It’s why, for instance, some people write Satan to be a heartless, Wrath-filled asshole, and others write him as a harmless bookworm with a knack for academia; the truth is that he’s both, and a key part of his characterisation is finding balance between the contrasting sides. 

On the other hand, it’s why some people completely look over Beel as very two dimensional when he truthfully isn’t. He’s a naturally quiet demon, content for others to see him as a jock with a love of food and nothing more. But in that quiet, he hides a demon struggling with survivor’s guilt who is secretly hurt by how simple people think he really is, and has such a strong love for his family that he puts them before anything else. His characterisation isn’t finding a balance in his contrast, but finding the contrast to begin with.

That’s the point of a three dimensional character. You’re meant to be able to debate about them, and understand them while disagreeing with them. You’re meant to be able to view them from different angles and see something new each time. That’s half the fun of them - that’s what makes them interesting.

I won’t lie and say the game’s great at this all the time, because sometimes it is really, genuinely not, and sometimes even Solmare have a tendency to forget some of the deeper aspects of their characters for the surface-level stuff. 

But for what is there? There’s so much interesting craft at work in the characters, and it makes taking a closer look at each of them - and how different players view them - so, so enjoyable. 

[plutoswrath]

ooo! i loved your mini taurus rising analysis for lucas. i do agree with that anon tho, i still think he’s leo. i love how you said it’s good to analyze taurus for fun anyway and that you do give celebs the benefit of the doubt when it comes to analyzing some of their behavior. completely ignore this if you wish! i know you probably have a shit ton of other asks to get to but i was wondering if you could indulge me and give a little thought into lucas being a leo rising just for fun? i’d love your perspective on it. it’d be fun to compare it to your taurus analysis as well. i find it so interesting that people seem to question his confirmed rising the most. i want to know why people really see leo, no matter what, even to the point of doubting the taurus. a true mystery, i guess. ♥️😘

Ohh, thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the mini analysis! <33 And of course I can make an analysis on a potential Leo rising! And I agree wth you on the last one here, it's really funny how Lucas seesm to be the only member (and quiet frankly the only kpop idol i've witnessed so far) showing somehow genuine interest in spirituality, even freely giving us his Ascendant sign (not just saying his birth time, no he even said his Ascendant is Taurus and birth time!!), and still the whole astro community was just like REEEEE as they heard he was apparently a Taurus Rising haha 😂 and this is also not to shame anyone here, becuase I think as long as no one thinks they know Lucas better than he does all is fine with being suspic about the birth time and theorizing about other possibilities 💪

Lucas and his potential Leo Ascendant:

✧ So, first of, if his Rising signs would be in the 2nd/3rd decane, he'd have a 6th house stellium, including Sun (in Aquarius), Uranus and Neptune (both in Capricorn) which I personally don't see as fitting as if he having an Aquarius Sun in the 7th(cinunct his DC, which would give him a Leo rising in the first decan.

✧ Not to be that person but Lucas seems to get his life force out of people, as an artist one is dependent on the audience/fans to begin with, but I remember Lucas actually crying during the beyond live as he finally got to see the fans again and he is very, very vocal about his love for the fans either on weibo/bubble or any livestreams, he never misses a chance to be very 'giving' to his fans and imo very generiously interact with them.

✧ Venus, Sun (potentially) in Aquarius in the 7th, as well as Leo Ascendant + his Taurus Moon in the 10th (just imagine what the pandemic did to his routine, familarity and emotional continuity addicted Moon...) make also sense to me because the minute the members were like 'ohhh Lucas nooo <'3' and I think Kun wanted to directly comfort him and tried wiping away a tear (not exactly sure if it was that, I just know he touched his face somehow), but Lucas was immediately like aCK NO (which..actually really surprised me, and I need to digress here a little bit, because I think that reaction of him was very honest. It would have been expected from him, based on his usual behavior, to smile, laugh it off and move on, but he showed that he really didn't want people to focus even further on him and just leave him be so he can regather himself and the camerateam would also possibly stop filming him crying. Just....my two cents here ASDFG) and didn't like the sympathy/comfort due to him possibly appearing 'weak/too vulnerable' for himself in that situation/not appropriate, because this is something very fire rising: they like to hold a very strong image of their character and they get disappointed when they notice their flame gets smaller/is weakened. Especially Leo Ascendant and the combination of his Aqua stellium make for a very prideful person. Another possibility is him being disappointed he 'broke character'.

✧ BUT, because I really want to set this specific scenario into comparison with his potential Taurus Ascendant, with a Taurus Ascendant he'd have his Moon in the 12th conjunct his rising, so being very protective over ones feelings and overwhelmed/disappointed when they still come to the surface and are readable for others.

✧ Another think I want to point out regarding his Leo Ascendant and Sun conjunct DC (possibly even 7th house) and Aquarius Venus in the 7th would be his immense popularity. Lucas is naturally extremly charismatic and funny, he's very focused on having a good time and enjoying himself and entertaining others. The world is simply his stage, and as he would have his Leo North Node in the 1st house as well with this rising sign it would make sense that having fun and joy by participatig in this giant 'stage' the world is, is something he not only is good at, but what feels almost meant to be.

✧ And the last point I want to bring up: I really think about Lucas reasoning for joining SM a lot, aka 'I knew I looked good and wasn't particular good in school anyway, so I decided to become a model' and you know, just because you have the luck of falling into conventional beauty standards, doesn't mean you automatically want to be in the entertaining industry/known for your looks, but with a Leo Ascendant (and the right environment to cultivate specific believes and characteristics) it would be the perfect origin story for someone knowing that they were meant to be in the spotlight and could actually bring it. I know often times Lucas do only see him for his looks (which is such a shame, because that man has a heart out of pure gold), plus his Neptune would be in the 6th house (pointing to a possible career in the arts), and if his Leo Ascendant would in a later decan (close to 3rd/3rd decan) his Uranus would be in the 6th as well, so talk about suddenly deciding to become famous and choos a rather 'unconventional' career path, something potentially unstable.