#obey me routes

[acaribeau]

Ch 16 wasn’t the first time we traveled back in time

And I'm not talking about NB

Theory time! (And a little rant)

Too much text incoming

What if I tell you that the timeline that we see in cannon (specifically S1) wasn't the first time we lived that year? What if we repeated that year over and over until it came right, not for us (and definitely not for the neckless MC that died in Mammon's arms) but for Diavolo?

You don't believe me? Well, I have a theory...

In multiple times, the brothers had told us that "they wouldn't do something like that for a random human".

But they had, indeed, showed too much attention and attraction to a random human. (Yes, MC isn't completely human but if Angel!Lucifer couldn't see what they were, they just saw a random human with a nice soul). Some of them didn't do pacts at all.

Even Lucifer was flirting with MC (in the form of dead threats like a good demon 😈)

What if that was the remanant of the feelings that they built in the previous time-lines?

But Barbatos vowed to never use his powers... Wrong!

Yes, he vowed to never see the future again... For himself. Diavolo can have totally control over them, over Barbatos. He's his butler and he has vowed to serve him. If assuring the succes of the exchange program (the first step to Diavolo's dream of interdimensional peace) wasn't important enough to use his power, when could they use it?

Barbatos already used his powers in front of everyone in ch16. But... Wasn't too ideal that he knew that MC only needed 5 pacts? As if... He already saw them open the attic before? How did he knew he needed to warp time? Because I'm not going to buy that he leaded MC to Mammon's room by accident. How did they knew (or even suspect) that MC were descendant of Lilith? (And that we could revive magically by her).

Barbatos, ordered by Diavolo, rewinded time and time again that year for assure that neither of the exchange students died in that year (any dead could mean war, depending of how good is the relationship with the Celestial Real. We already saw the threats that Michael send to Diavolo through Simeon in S2).

And like a cerise in a cake, end that annoying and dangerous 'hate for humans' of Belphegor. (And assure again the loyalty of all the brothers for Diavolo at letting them know the reason behind Lucifer's pact was to save their sister)

All ended too good for Diavolo. But for achive that, MC had to gain the affection of the brothers, little by little, or one by one. By the time the cannon is happening, Barbatos already knows what to do without seeing the future...

Of course I'm not saying that all the pacts were for his direct intervention. Mammon's and Satan's were for prophecies (arguably Levi's. When have you seen Barbatos left something dirty for more than 5 seconds? But he wasn't in Levi's competition, so Mammon slipped... but that could be thinking too much) but he helped planning the retire for doing Asmo's pact (remember that they are very close friends, how could he not know how to push his buttons? He could even ask Solomon to lend MC his magic if he wasn't planning it).

And of course, probably that's how they knew about the prophecies of TSL (and why Diavolo avoided the final act, and made Simeon rewrite it), seeing things that no matter what he did, there were thing that always happened. Not in the same way, but inevitable and unavoidable things.

Now! For finishing this :

We all know how OM like to insert the media (normally Levi's animes and games) with long and uncannily titles that adjust too perfectly to the situation they are living.

Poor MC with so many prophecies in their life, I don't know how they aren't paranoid in all their elections.

So... Diavolo said this in a chat.

The actual theory

There were routes. Bad ending routes. We died many times, and in at least one we survived thanks to friendship Lilith's magic and freed Belphegor (in the same or separate timelines). We said what she told us, but something was incomplete, something was wrong and we died again.

Then Barbatos did the little things that could done to be sure that we made the pacts. The moment MC had the 5 pacts, an MC from another timeline came, opened the attic and returned to their timeline (because this Barbatos wasn't an asshole and made the portal door close to the attic).

Belphie, Beel and MC go to PH.

Belph is a prisoner.

MC didn't die.

Lilith doesn't tell them their message (No good Belphie here 😔 only hate).

Then, as things weren't as good as they could be, Barbatos decide to... Expand his options, bending time. How? Well... Being an asshole Making MC to change the past.

He knows MC has to die to "speak" with Lilith and a Belphie filled with blame of killing 'a part of' Lilith again is a good Belphie. A Belphie that won't start a masacre or war in the human world. So, he sends MC to Mammon's room, directly to the past brothers (why risk that MC could be sneaky enough to avoid them in the Hall? Throw them directly to them!) And the rest is history...

So... The questions that we all are thinking (or at least me)...

Will OM! Music Nightbringer give us that bad ending routes?

Will they connect that past-timeline with the present OM, doing this theory semi-accurate or completely wrong?

Will they finally explain the limits of Barbatos' powers? Or is he an ancient god without limits?

Were Mammon's instantly crush in MC product of a past timeline that neither of them remember?

Were Diavolo and Barbatos assholes? Yes

Will Simeon fall?

Will I ever overcome my ADHD and procrastination and write a fic about this theory?

Did I overthink too much an Otome game?

[andminnequin]

I haven’t gotten to lesson 16 yet is this how it goes

[knockknockitsnickels]

I think this is one of my favorite lines from the Wraith route because of (imo) how much the meaning changes depending on if you got there via Spectre or Nightmare. For Spectre, it honestly strikes me as a genuine question. Why are you doing this to her? If you're on the Spectre route, you presumably already know the Narrator can't really be trusted, since you had to reject his reward to get here. What are you hoping to gain from continuing to hurt her? For Nightmare, it honestly just makes me sad. As the Shifting Mound describes her, "She desires only companionship, but the only thing she knows is how to hurt." This line feels like a plea from someone who genuinely doesn't understand why you keep rejecting her. She wants to be with you, but she just can't understand how to do that in a way which doesn't hurt you.

[celestialrealms]

Fun fact: In Barbatos's intimacy storyline in Nightbringer he ends up living with Solomon and MC at Cocytus Hall temporarily. Here's a highlight from his 40 intimacy call:

The way he makes Solomon sit in the corner. 😭 You cannot convince me he didn't raise this man.

[ernestoednrec]

[crystallizsch]

really weird ramble but uhhh i’m really tempted to go somewhat multifandom with this blog ;;;

idk why i’m so hesitant since the other fandoms i wanna yell about seem to have some overlap with twst fans here and there 😭

i COULD do another side blog but that is too much work 😔

“post whatever you want it’s your blog” but >:[ …

anyways. posting this just a heads up in case i do randomly post anything other than twst one day

[ragefilledseaurchin]

Glad to know that MC is still a wild mf

[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.

[gifti3]

asmo always makes me wanna draw lol

[radarchives]

[shrublike]

don't talk to him he's got chatrooms to read

[notsobeautifuldisaester]

No one expects 100% accuracy but I want people to know

No, there aren't any bad end event for a villainess and there's no bullying call-out event

No, Otome having dark themes isn't an exception. Otomes are stories after all

No, Otome doesn't equal reverse harem (they can overlap but they're not the same)

No, Otomes aren't a matriarchy where every man save for the bishies are oppressed

No, Otomes isn't giving women unrealistic standards for men

No, Otomes aren't games to find a perfect prince on a white horse

No, dating sims and romance vns aren't interchangeable. They do have difference

No, All Yumejins aren't evil rabid bitches that want to off anyone who gets in the way in their husbandos

No, making the heroine evil for no reason isn't a refreshing twist

No, "For an otome" isn't a compliment

[1dontc4re]

Nightbringer! Solomon is living out this domestic fantasy with MC it’s actually kind of cute, my little housewife lmaoo. I just got his level 5 intimacy call. Too bad that I’ll be doing Mammon’s route for now, I feel kind of bad for him

[featherdusterbelphie]

Pinterest got me remembering Arcana and can I just say

I MISS LUCIO MY BABYYYY（；´д｀）ゞ

I remember I was halfway through his route when I left but I don't know why I stopped (I think I just got stressed w school work and I couldn't enjoy it anymore) but I wanna go back and finish it real baaaaaadddddd

I miss him :(

I miss my wet sopping childish moron loser divorced dead cat :(

also also i just realized

I have a soft spot for Obey Me Mams and I just connected the dots why rn- I forgive him more (translation: I like him despite how annoying and ridiculous he is) because of Lucio, like:

those two are the same self-serving assholes who fuck up the lives of the people around them that care about them

like they're loyal to people they care about but their motivations sometimes fuck with them so much that it affects their relationships with others

like how Lucio fucked up his marriage and Mammon fucked up his brothers' respect for him.

I might be reaching but this is the conclusion I have :| otherwise, I guess I just like sopping wet cat Mams ( ﹁ ﹁ )

[ernestoednrec]

Consecration Sunday

[bbnibini]

Me: I'm quitting Obey Me after I finish my fic series

Solomon Jedidiah Smith maxing out his Rizz stats in Nightbringer:

Me at Day 2 of downloading the game:

He already lives in my head rent free. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME OLD MAN 😭 I was supposed to write outlines for Barbatos' route this week-