I made a post about this on my Obey Me! side blog but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on why Asmo has 2 nail polish colours as opposed to the other 6 brothers, who have one? I theorise that he painted his nails teal in honour of Lilith but I have no idea
Ooh, I like that theory!
Asmo's nails are definitely intriguing - not only does he have two colours, but one colour is very close to that of his youngest brother, Belphegor.
Arguably pink could also then said to be similar to a combination of Lucifer and Mammon, but there are only so many colours after all.
Pink is very much used as the main colour for Asmodeus, with the Little D's of Lust all sporting pink. It's a colour associated with both romance and femininity in the modern age, though obviously those are qualities that change greatly over time.
One interesting thing to note about the traditional Asmodeus is how popular he remained, long after many other demons were forgotten. In France, Asmodeus was revitalised in the early 18th century (adapted from a Spanish satirical novel some 60 years before) as a witty critic of human foibles, a sharp new cupid, and the prince of dandies.
Many a novel and periodical appearance followed, all featuring a demon who gradually became more handsome as he laid bare the truth of human behaviour after dark. He was dressed in the most magnificent finery, and was very, very heterosexual 👀
(This is before men wearing ruffles and -gasp- fancy clothes was seen as an indicator of sexuality btw.)
That's something that was consistent with the Asmodeus of old too, that his sole focus was upon women, and he looked upon men only to destroy them in his jealousy.
More modern interpretations have changed this, as the Avatar of Lust would surely not restrict himself in such a way. As an example, the Asmodeus from Seven Mortal Sins is pansexual, female, and boobtastic.
Angels, and thus demons, don't really do the whole gender thing and I like that Obey Me acknowledges this at least somewhat by keeping the MC character as gender neutral, thus allowing all genders and sexualities (or lack thereof) to be immersed in the gameplay.
~
Teal is a fairly classic pairing with pink, and on its own reflects many of the same properties as blue - calming and serene - while avoiding the icier blue traits of loneliness and sadness.
Blue is the colour most preferred by men, which is obviously mostly down to societal conditioning of it being a Manly Colour for Manly Mens bruh, but teal is a nice subversion of those narrow restrictions.
Pink and a very teal-like blue were the fashion of choice in 18th century France, popularised by Madame de Pompadour. Coincidentally, this is at the same time Asmodeus was winning hearts and fluttering pulses across French literature.
Pink and teal are also reminiscent of the trans flag, embodying the traditionally masculine and feminine and more importantly, the reclamation and subversion of such.
(Required historical note - few things illustrate the nonsensical nature of gendered colours as the fact that only a few decades ago, pink was the colour of boys, and blue the colour of girls 🙄)
~
So, what does it mean for Asmo.
I'd theorise that it's partly to express a somewhat androgynous nature, a flirtation with the feminine and masculine both within and outwith himself. (And that in between and outside the binary!!)
It's a fitting look for the Avatar of Lust who seeks to charm all he sees, and perhaps expresses his solidarity with the breaking of stereotypical tropes that most likely seem preposterous to an ancient demon.
While the demons refer to each other using he/him pronouns, they are demons (and once were angels), not humans. Even if they've chosen to look like humans of a particular gender, that doesn't mean they place the same importance upon it as humans have to in a far more unkind society.
Wait, hell is kinder than the human realm?
... that sounds about right actually 😬
~
As for the theory of it representing Lilith, there's a good chance that could be correct. Few demons are associated with Lilith as often historically as Asmodeus, and in the middle ages, the famed Asmodeus of Solomon's legends was connected with that of Lilith, Adam's first wife.
At this time in history, Asmodeus was regarded as the King of demons, and thus Lilith became the Queen, parents to many, many demons.
(The other legend of Lilith came slightly later, this time having her leave Eden as she refuses to bend to Adam's will, and she beds Samael, the angel of death who carries out god's destruction. Christianity went with Satan instead, who has much of the same role yet is punished.)
Obviously, the relationship in Obey Me is different. But we know all the brothers were deeply affected by Lilith's death, including Asmo. A pledge to carry on her commitment to love - something Asmo greatly sympathised with - would not be surprising.
~
Further reading:
Lilith and the Great Flood
OM! Theories Masterpost
~
the slow burn of this series TwT
I read a translation of the light novel and it mentioned there that it's been awhile since Twiyor had a date by themselves after the chin kick incident. Do you think this means that Loid really thinks Yor rejected him and is not interested in him at all so he's been keeping his distance dates-wise? I mean, he was right in reading Yor, she just didn't react the way he expected her to.
*MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD*
Yes. And actually, Twilight and Yor do not properly interact until the Cruise Arc after the Very Disastrous Date. Twilight kept his distance.
Which is why it’s cute when he admits to Anya he finds it lonesome when Yor is not around. And why it’s cute when he tells Anya maybe they can search for Yor on the deck while they watched the fireworks. And why it’s cute when he got all flushed when Yor noticed him skipping. And that cryptic, intense look he gave her when Anya was playing with the sheep and it’s just the two of them standing together. And the little smile he gave when she collapsed onto him…
He thinks she’s rejected him and respects that choice. But it would seem he probably wishes for another outcome.
That ol’ chart of mine makes the rounds online periodically and it drives me crazy because it’s frankly not very good. So, I finally got around to remaking it.
I doubt this will get anywhere near as popular, but I wanted to make it.
Good reference for animation, comics, and for visualizing phonetics!
Thank you for sharing the tdb affinity lines! I know I won't be naturally getting any of these for ten years (if the games even still around by then) lol.
I was wondering if you could share any interesting lines of Taiga's? No pressure tho! It's just after seeing some of his lines from other people, he seems to have a bigger role in the story and I'm curious if any of his lines give any more clues to the situation on hand. Also would be interesting to see if he genuinely starts caring for mc besides wanting to like. Eat her for lunch lol.
It's no problem! And yeah that's part of why I wanna share them--getting the units to high enough affinity is a pain and to even see any of the home screen dialogues you need an SR or SSR, which means good luck with the gacha buckaroo.
YES TAIGA MY BELOVED. he's my favorite behind maybe Towa. Chances are if you've seen the one line you've seen the only one referring to that, although there is one more that may be related? But it might be general. As for caring for the PC, this is a joseimuke so. The characters will always love you more and more with time. And Taiga most certainly does haha doesn't prevent the hunger from rising up though. friendly reminder to feed your Taiga!
No affinity required:
"...Who're you? Don't pop up out of nowhere like that. Wouldn't want me to shoot you by mistake, would you?"
"What are you again? A middle school student? A transfer student? Got it, an honor student! Gyahaha! I'm never gonna remember that!"
"Playing with these morons is exhausting... Lulu gets all mad if I win too much..."
"That smells amazing... Shit, where's it coming from?"
please feed your taiga.
if you have messages:
"Huh? You got a letter. If it's for me just reply for me, yeah?"
Affinity 1:
"It's too early for your bleating. Shut your trap unless you wanna get abducted."
once again, welcome to sinostra's house of human trafficking--
Affinity 2:
"That dealer sucks. He's been here the longest? Why should I give a shit? Fire him."
Affinity 3:
"You wanna know what kinda meat this is? Anomaly meat. What else would it be? ...Who the fuck're you again?"
he recognizes you enough to ask 'again'! progress! also I guess he almost exclusively eats anomaly meat.
Affinity 4:
"Oops. I lost all the money Lulu gave me. Better make a run for it before he notices."
Affinity 5:
"I'm bored... Hey, you over there. Come play five finger filet with me. Gimme your left hand."
five finger fillet also called the knife game is when you put your hand on a table and stab the gaps between your fingers with a knife in a sequence! Obviously stabbing the hand being played with means you lose. Taiga's chibi plays it when he's idle!
Affinity 6:
"They nabbed one of ours? You guys aren't toddlers. Deal with it yourselves."
it's fascinating that there's such a faction divide within Sinostra that members of Taiga's side get abducted by Romeo's, and probably vice versa. And I bet Taiga doesn't care about any of this. Or at the very least it's not that serious to him.
Affinity 7:
"Gambling and shoot-outs are pretty much the same thing. Morons who panic mess up and get dead. Gyahaha!"
Affinity 8:
"None of you morons have any flair for the table. Lulu needs to raise the minimum bet already."
isn't it your casino too. . .can't
Affinity 9:
"You're a real smooth talker, huh? Don't remember anything you said though. Ciao!"
your seduction attempt didn't fail because of a bad roll, it failed because taiga failed a perception check lmao. . . .
Affinity 10:
"Can't sleep? Sit over there. I'll deal the cards."
He'll play with you until you fall asleep. . .or maybe he'll sit around making ASMR card shuffling noises until you doze off.
Affinity 11:
"...I'm not gonna play today. I'm sleeping. I don't care if the place is burning down— don't wake me up."
fun fact, he's making this face when he says this lol
Affinity 12:
"What's that guy's name again? You know, the one who's gonna become a judge or a cop or something. ...Whatever, I'll just forget it again."
at least he was interested in knowing for a second! maybe he'll give him a nickname.
Affinity 13:
"I spy, with my little eye, a tasty-looking kitty-cat.... Come over here so I can pat you. ...Nah, changed my mind. Scram."
maybe it's just my interpretation but I like to think he's hungry and he saw you and he mindlessly tried to lure you closer because he wanted to eat you, then came to his senses and told you to go away so he wouldn't do something stupid like trying to eat a human. . . .
Affinity 14:
"I'm starving... You, get my usual. It's breakfast time."
i wonder what his usual is.
Affinity 15:
"How does Lulu always have so much energy this early in the morning? It it 'cause of all that expensive water he drinks?"
Affinity 16:
"Stop talking. I don't care."
Affinity 17:
"You going to bed already? Aren't you a good little kitty-cat. Whatever, do what you want."
he'd rather you stay up with him but he's not attached enough to try and make you stay up. . .yet.
Affinity 18:
"You want a surefire way to win at the table? Doesn't exist. You just gotta keep playing."
Affinity 19:
"Hey, go warm up my bed for me. What do you mean how? Get in there, dumbass."
either you're gonna get fucked or you're gonna get disappointed when he really just wanted a warm spot that smells nice to lie in and he makes you leave after he gets in bed. Or maybe he'll let you sleep in the bed with him and use you as a little body pillow!
I'd also like to add that the expression he's using is called "using the "adult" face "adult" so uh. leaning more towards you're gonna get fucked here.
Affinity 20:
"Where you going, kitty-cat? Class? You don't need to go there. I got something more fun in mind for us."
the expression used here is once again simply labelled "adult" so. . . . No going to class and no going to sleep.
Affinity 21:
"That's it, kitty-cat. I feel like my luck'll change if you're around."
Affinity 22:
"I'm starving... This isn't enough... I want more... More..."
they've gotta stop letting him go so long without eating because he clearly loses his mind if he doesn't eat enough meat.
Affinity 23:
"I'm the only one who sees how fucked we are. But he won't believe me. So just let it all burn down—I don't give a shit anymore."
if Taiga sees the future or knows the future because of timeline/loop shit, then that Taiga doesn't seem to actively care much about being Captain or doing his job makes sense. He knows that if nothing changes everything's going to fall apart anyway so there's no point in trying. We don't really know what his stigma does either--in fact, his "good luck" could be that he can see and react to future events, so he knows things like what cards will be drawn and such. But he's getting tired of everything always going so bad no mater what he does in response to what he sees. And Romeo(? it doesn't say who he's telling about how bad things are getting) isn't helping to make changes. . .so he's just giving up. But now you're here, maybe you're different somehow. Maybe somehow you're an outlier in this timeline. Maybe injuring you was on purpose to change something in the future he saw. Maybe that's why he's telling you about the spy. . . .of course this is all speculation. Until we learn what his stigma does or what he means by 'ditch this future' then. . .all speculation. But there is a wickhive post that someone can see the future. And the more I think about it the more I wonder if it's Taiga. (also because i'm sure someone will point this out, the wording 'let it all burn down' is specific to the English dialogue, so it's not a callback to the pre-prequel sequence where the school is on fire.)
Affinity 24:
"If you don't like pain then quit flailing around. I'm getting a taste of you, so close your eyes and shut up."
welcome back to the torture chair! You're probably getting cut like a piece of good meat before he just sinks his teeth into you! Your hands and legs are bound and he's not going to let you get away without eating at least a little of your flesh, so suck it up. That or scream and hope somebody comes to rescue you. . .but the desire to eat the pc never goes away. Most likely because he just wants to eat fresh meat in general and the more he likes someone and the more they hang around him the more he wants to eat them. . .although I assume he unlearned it and now you're here and he just can't help himself. . .if they did consume demons to become ghouls, I bet you're the only thing short of maybe Romeo that'll taste anywhere near as good as that demon did.
Affinity 25(max):
"You're not getting away from me, kitten. You're here till death do us part, whether you like it or not."
oh and also you're married. y'know in case you wanted to do that. or even if you didn't. you don't have a choice in the matter.
Spring:
"(Yawn) Man, why am I so tired today... Someone spike my food?"
"What? Cherry blossoms? Is it that time of year already? Man, that snuck up on me."
"Fuck it, I'm taking a nap. Come over here and be my pillow."
"What's with that vacant look on your face? You need more excitement in your life? Come over here, I'll play with you."
Summer:
"Too hot... Hey, I want my breakfast on ice. They got tons of it over on Jin's turf, go nab some."
hey uh why do you remember Jin by name. like i know Jin's short enough of a name to not need a nickname but also you remember not only Jin but where he lives and how cold it is? Then again you started in the same year, maybe Taiga remembers all the third years since he's known them for two years?
"Why don't we make a giant pool in Sinostra? It's so hot here. I'll put up the cash... Wait no, I used it all yesterday."
YOU COULD HAVE A NICE POOL IF YOU WERE MORE RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR MONEY.
"Quiz time—where's Lulu going all dolled up on a stinking hot day like this? Answer— he's cheating on me! Gyahaha!"
THEY ARE FEEDING MY SHIP WHAT DO YOU MEAN TAIGA JOKES THAT THEY'RE DATING. they have such awful married couple who hate each other but also love each other energy.
"Shower? I don't wanna... Shut up and strip me already then."
man he has no fucks to give that you'd be taking his clothes off and seeing him naked huh. . . .
Autumn:
"Good weather for sports? You get a lot more exercise fighting to the death. Gyahaha!"
how frequently do you think he fights to the death. . .probably a lot less than he used to. poor baby needs his deadly enrichment. Also the fact that he finds the idea of fighting to the death fun explains why he smiles when he takes damage in combat lol
"That looks tasty. Gimme a bite."
so given one of the most common autumn foods in japan is like sweet potatoes(and also the pc probably doesn't eat raw anomaly meat) I assume this means he does eat normal food, just prefers to eat raw meat especially from anomalies? Either way, i am once again remind you to feed your Taiga.
"We're going out. I've been eating more lately and these guys are too slow. Gonna go stock up."
you've been eating more lately? because it's autumn? what are you, a bear about to go into hibernation?? also he's taking you grocery shopping i guess. or anomaly hunting. . . .
"Watch your back. Way easier to jump people when it gets dark so early. Gyahaha!"
i'd like to think he stuck his gun under your chin and snuck up behind you from in the dark here lol
Winter:
"You trying to pull my covers off? Wanna die?"
my boy does NOT like being cold. Or getting up in the morning. So winter mornings? just leave him in bed.
"I wanna go nab some food from Harry's place, but it's too cold for that shit..."
"Oh, I got an idea. I just gotta use someone as a punching bag to warm up. Hey you guys, stand over there."
Taiga beating the shit out of his own men because the exercise will keep him warm. . .why do people side with you again?
"I don't like the cold... Come on, come be my hot water bottle! Let me cuddle up to you!"
Getting all tangled up with Taiga under his blankets while he shivers because Sinostra is in a desert and deserts in the winter can be FUCKING COLD especially at night. It gets cold and he's just the whiniest little meow-meow. Until he gets hungry.
His birthday:
"Huh? Whose birthday? Mine? Gyahaha! Totally forgot about it! Grazie!"
it's okay Taiga, I forget my birthday too most of the time.
Your birthday:
"Is it your birthday today? That little twerp told me. Okay, you can take one thing from my room."
Ritsu fuckin doxed you? is that legal? Doesn't Taiga's room have like a pile of coins in it. . .is one coin 'one thing' or is 'the pile of coins' one thing. . .then again the background is AI generated so. not really sensible and doesn't say much about him sadly. considering taiga's described as spending his money wastefully I assume he buys a lot of random things he doesn't need or use--then again he probably spends most of it on gambling. But considering he's offering you anything out of his room, I assume there's a lot of nice stuff in there.
New Years:
"You gonna go skipping off to a shrine together just to get your fortune told? That's dumb. Here, let me guess what it'll say—you'll have an okay year."
Valentine's Day:
"Is that for me? Sure I'll take it, but it better be edible."
i was gonna say 'has he never gotten valentine's day chocolates before?' but i remembered that he probably doesn't really remember if he has so. this is probably his general reaction to gifts lol 'is it money and if not can i eat it'
White Day:
"What's that expectant look on your face? Lulu was harping on about mimosas or something before. That what you want?"
of course he doesn't know what white day is lol but he does remember that Romeo had something tasty!
April Fool's Day:
"I'm gonna die soon, you know? And I'm taking Lulu with me. ...Gotcha! Gyahaha!"
wait you didn't remember white day but you remembered april fool's day? maybe someone tried to prank him first lol remember guys, suicide is not an appropriate april fool's prank!
Halloween:
"Trick or treat. Where you gonna put your chips, kitty-cat?"
I think if you're trick or treating then they're supposed to decide if you get the trick or the treat. . .but it seems more like Taiga to give you something that could be a trick or a treat lolol russian roulette is a totally acceptable halloween party game right? of course!
Christmas:
"Come on Santa kitty, tie a ribbon 'round yourself and get over here. Gyahaha!"
at least he knows what gift he wants! unfortunately you don't know what for but based on his expression you may not get eaten. . .depending on your definition--
Idle:
"...This is boring. I'm outta here."
"Are you done yet? I'm hungry over here."
Absent:
"Long time no see! You decide to ditch this future too? Sorry I'm not dead yet."
AND HERE"S THE LINE THAT'S CAUSING SO MUCH SPECULATION. . .what does that even mean Taiga. . .what do you know, what have you seen. . .and can we fix this future instead of leaving it to rot--
UH. YEAH. I THINK I'VE SAID ENOUGH HAHA. . .everything Taiga says is so. . . ./gestures weakly) IT REALLY DOES SEEM LIKE MORE IS HAPPENING THAN YOU REALIZE RIGHT??? The game's still so early on we probably won't learn for a very long time lol. . . . But, yeah. Taiga definitely loves you--and lusts after you. As his affinity goes up, he asks "who are you" a lot less, did you notice? He starts to remember and just say "kitty cat" and "kitten", because that's who you are and he can remember that. So far the only people he remembers are Romeo, Hyde, and Jin it seems. And you.
Are we not going to talk about this
Post superbowl, but my personal favorites <33
man this superbowl boring af. everybody post slimecicle
the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again
yes
Yor’s colleagues: Loid is hot 🥵
Forger’s neighbours: Loid is hot 🥵
Everyone at the Berlint General Hospital: Loid is hot 🥵
Random bartender: Loid is hot 🥵
Becky: Loid is hot 🥵
Yuri: Loid is hot 🥵
Yor: Loid understands why I kill people 🥵
Y/n: In my defense, I was left unsupervised Pomni: Wasn’t Jax with you? Jax: In my defense, I was also left unsupervised