#anzu myth

[thrashkink-coven]

hey there, would you mind telling me a bit about Lilith and your practice with her? I’ve been trying to do some research on her modern worship, offerings, and signs, but it can be really difficult to find anything that’s serious when there are so many references to her in pop culture :/

Okay so Lilith is extremely, and I mean extremely complicated.

Contrary to popular belief, “Lucifer” isn’t actually a name, but a title. The name Lucifer means “light bringer” in reference to Venus as she appears in the morning, but any “light bringer” can be considered a Lucifer. Prometheus for example, the man who stole fire from the Gods to give light to humanity, is a Lucifer. And so, there are actually many different entities that have taken the role of a Lucifer throughout history and in various different retellings. Eosphorus is the name of the deity that was revered by the Greeks as Venus, but Lucifer is a title that many different figures have taken on depending on the context.

Why do I bring up Lucifer? Because he and Lilith are very similar in that regard. Our earliest mentions of Lilith throughout history paint her not as an individual but as a species of night demon that frequently takes the form of an owl, she was known to bring crib death and miscarriage.

In the myth, Inanna and the Huluppu tree, a huluppu tree (a type of willow) is planted by the banks of the Euphrates River. The tree is tended and nurtured by the goddess Inanna, who plans to use its wood to craft a throne and a bed for herself. However, as the tree grows, it becomes infested with three troublesome creatures:

A serpent that makes its home at the roots of the tree. (What troublesome serpents have been portrayed in another mythology having to do with magical trees? HMM!)

The Anzu bird (sometimes described as a mythical lion-headed eagle) that builds its nest in the branches.

The Lilitu (a female demon or spirit) that makes her lair in the trunk.

Inanna, distressed by these creatures occupying her tree, calls for help from her brother, the sun god Utu (or Shamash). When Utu does not assist her, she turns to the hero Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh comes to her aid and, with his great strength, drives away the serpent, the Anzu bird, and the Lilitu. He uproots the huluppu tree and uses its wood to craft a throne and a bed for Inanna, fulfilling her original intention. Consider that it is a human, not the God of the sun, who helps Inanna with this problem. Interesting.

The inclusion of these three very specific creatures occupying this important tree tended to by the Goddess of love, to her dismay, are very important. Especially when he consider how Inanna’s visual depictions have been syncretized with Lilith. The idea of a serpent (perhaps a Lucifer) , an Anzu bird (described quite similarly to some depictions of abrahamic angels, specifically those like the cherubim) and a Lilith being “driven away” from this mythical tree are notable, especially because these are all symbols associated with Inanna herself.

Inanna, one of the most complex deities in Mesopotamian mythology, embodies aspects of fertility, love, war, and the underworld. Inanna's association with snakes can be seen in her connection to the underworld and her transformative journeys. In her descent into the underworld, Inanna removes one magical garment as she continues into the deathly realm. Just as the snake sheds its skin, Inanna sheds her power and identity as she descends, only to be reborn and restored.

Inanna is frequently depicted with wings, highlighting her divine nature and authority. The Anzu bird in the Huluppu Tree myth, while initially a source of trouble, also connects to the theme of overcoming chaos, which aligns with Inanna's role as a powerful deity who brings order.

Lilith, often depicted as a demoness, represents untamed feminine power, independence, and sometimes chaos. In later Jewish mythology, she is considered a night demon, but her roots trace back to earlier Mesopotamian beliefs. Her inclusion in Jewish mythology is summed up in the verse Isaiah 34:14: "Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest." (Hm… I wonder WHERE she will find a place to rest? Perhaps in a… magical tree?)

In Jewish mysticism, the feminine side of the tree of life is what creates the potential for evil. Even though it is the lightest, brightest, goodest form of feminine energy, for some reason, every time, disobedience pops up no matter what we do. It is an aspect of the feminine itself.

In the Huluppu Tree myth, Lilith (or a Lilitu) makes her home in the tree that Inanna nurtures. This connection reflects Inanna's association with both nurturing and taming wild, untamed aspects of the feminine. Lilith's presence in the tree also highlights the tension between order and chaos, which Inanna must navigate and control.

So what does this all mean?

Each creature in the tree draw direct parallels to the Goddess of Love herself. These can be interpreted as perversions of her divine nature, that she herself cannot be-rid of on her own. Inanna the Goddess of WAR couldn’t get an owl, a big bird, and a snake out of a tree??? Why? Likewise, why did the divinities refuse to help her? Why did she have to seek out a human specifically, to get those unwelcome guests out of her tree? And if it is so that Inanna just doesn’t really like owls and snakes, why is she represented with them (and generally just hanging out with them) so often?

Lilith, the serpent, and the Anzu bird reflect aspects of the divine mother that she herself cannot even tame. Lilith as the night owl also reflects an aspect of knowledge and wisdom, as owls can see in the dark and hunt strategically. Even though she is portrayed as an enemy of Inanna, Inanna never once can or even tries to harm her. Inanna being the Goddess of fertility, and Lilith being the demon that causes miscarriage, show that they are natural opposites, yet still derived from the same divine source, and never combative towards each other.

Similarly, Lucifer’s first ever depiction was as his role as Venus, the same astrological planet as what is associated with Inanna. In Christianity, Lucifer played the role of the serpent who convinced Eve, another archetype of divine femininity, to eat the forbidden fruit of knowledge. Interestingly enough, Lilith is never actually portrayed eating the fruit. Does she posses a divine knowledge that is inherent to her qualities as a night owl, to the point where she didn’t need to eat the fruit to have the wisdom to disobey Adam? Does she possess a knowledge that is inherent to the divine feminine force from which she was created? Is this because she was created from the divine forces of femininity itself and not derived from man, as Eve was? If this is the case, that even though Eve ate the apple, she did not become a Lilith, that stands to imply that there is an inherent quality about being derived from a human man, that repels or deflects that inherent feminine rebellious quality. Instead, being replaced with the the ability to submit.

Knowledge applied with the associations of night and mystery, create a feminine energy that cannot submit, and this is likely Inanna’s fault herself, as she very notably has a big issue with respecting any authority higher than herself, even death herself (as her big sister)

From a symbolic standpoint this tells us a couple things about Venusian energy in general.

1.) Regardless of how hard it tries to behave, it is inherently chaotic

2.) It has many faces, some of which do not jive with eachother, but even so, they continue to coexist, even if not in the same places

3.) It is a creator and a destroyer.

4.) It has a very rough time with the concept of submission.

Okay YAP fest, what’s the point?

Lilith is a great example of how the dark feminine exists within the light feminine as an inevitability. Lilith is not so much associated with war, the strategic enactment of violence., but rather the inherent unpredictability of femininity. Women both create life and snuff it, women can decide to procreate or to have an abortion. Lamashtu and Lilith respectively were invoked for abortive purposes.

And of course, Lilith’s adoption by feminist spaces as a self actualized protector of individuality and feminine rage also invoke heavy associations with Inanna as the Goddess of war. So in my interpretation, Lilith is that part of Inanna that went a little unchecked for a little too long. That combined with the themes of Lucifer’s liberation, paint a very interesting narrative about how femininity as a divine force shows up in obscure ways, perhaps even negative ways, whilst still being just as divine and inherent. To recognize Lilith as the antithesis of all of these things, is to see her as the unwavering aspect of femininity that cannot be tamed, even by femininity herself. The snake, the reborn, will always cause chaos at the root of the feminine energy. The Anzu bird, the angels, are susceptible to that same corruption. And the Lilith herself will always find a home within that feminine energy, unless of course, she is snuffed by the will of a man who doesn’t respect her. Still, she does not die, just searches for another place to rest.

Wow this was really long. SO. Lilith is the entity that embodies our biggest fears about femininity and the inherent knowledge that women posses. Women know how to create life, and women have the ultimate authority in ending it. To honour Lilith as a Goddess rather than a troublesome demon, is to recognize that even the parts of femininity that femininity herself can’t control are divine in nature. The knowledge that she possesses makes women incapable of submission. And the Gods themselves are aware of this, and do not interfere with her, because she is a Goddess herself carrying out an important function, even if it doesn’t adhere to what they might like. Basically, rebellion is an inevitability to any feminine creature that possesses knowledge. It is unavoidable.

It’s incredibly difficult to find anything about the worship of Lilith because for a long time she wasn’t given her flowers as a divinity. Even Inanna herself tried to get her to fuck off. You can honour her quite similarly to the way Artemis and Athena were worshipped, alongside Inanna or Aphrodite of course. As the dark, mysterious, yet inexplicably wise mother of demons, she is the creative force behind destruction. She’s the aspect that exists in all of these Goddesses, that most of us would rather not think about. She is a woman who cannot be held in captivity, if you tell her to procreate, she will cause miscarriage. If you tell her to obey, she will become even more rebellious. The more you repress her, the stronger she becomes. No matter how oppressed women become, no matter how subservient, so long as they have any connection to the divine feminine, they will have a Lilith inside of them.

Lilith’s representation of a succubus expands upon her associations as a woman who does what women do, (men thought women were sex objects for a long time) but not for the sake of cooperation, but for her own means. Lilith is very much a woman, capable of doing what all women and feminine goddesses can do. She simply chooses not to, similarly to how Artemis simply chooses not to procreate. The element of choice, (hello again, Lucifer) always being an option to women is, from a patriarchal standpoint, really scary for men.

So how do you worship her? Worshipping Lilith, like Lucifer, is technically paradoxical. Lucifer wants us to worship ourselves. If he accepts worship it’s because you’re using him as a metaphor for yourself. Lucifer believes in no man submitting to no God, so he won’t take on the role of the usual “authority”. Lilith is quite similar, to worship her is to worship the wise and rebellious spirit that exists in the feminine- yourself. Self honouring acts honour Lilith, just as they honour Lucifer. It’s important to remember that Lilith isn’t just rebellion for the sake of arguing, she isn’t a contrarian. She is self actualization that just happens to not go with the status quo. She does what she wants, if that pisses you off: cope. She’s not inherently against men or procreation, or even women who are submissive. She is the constant exception. The random variable that always pops up whenever we deal with feminine deities. So for me, I honour her as an extension. of every existing goddess. Within Inanna, there is a Lilith, as there is within Aphrodite, Hera, Artemis, Athena, etc etc.

Wow this was long as fuck but I hope it provided a little bit of insight as to why Lilith is so fucking confusing. Regardless of which contexts you feel are the most true, Lilith, like all deities will continue to evolve with time. Just as the narrative around Medusa has gradually changed into her being a victim instead of a monster, Lilith has shifted from being a demon that just kills babies to the ultimate personification of feminine independence. All of these interpretations are correct in the right context, you just have to figure out which context best applies to you.

OKAY if you actually read this far here’s a flower 🌹

[thescarlettbitch]

Inanna / Ishtar masterpost

Inanna / Ishtar is the deity that I am devoted to, and there is a lot of misinformation out there about her, so this is a masterpost about her and her mythology, which does involve sex and rape, and revenge. Read with care.

Edit: I forgot certain points I wanted to add, so instead of editing and adding them in as an after thought, find them here :)

Lineage

Sources disagree on who her parents are. Some say Enki or Nanna, both male presenting, but most often she is depicted as the granddaughter of Enlil, and the niece of Enki. Her mother, as stated in Inanna Prefers The Farmer, is Ningal, as it is the only story that discusses her mother. Perhaps she is the daughter of Enki, Nanna, and Ningal. Regardless of who her parents are, she is the twin sister of Utu, and the sister of Ereshkigal. In the story of Gilgamesh and a few others, she is also portrayed as Gilgamesh's sister. She is married to Dumuzid.

Myths

Inanna and the Huluppu Tree: "A young woman who walked in fear of no man, and would not be owned, Plucked the tree from the river and spoke: “I shall bring this tree to Uruk. I shall plant this tree in my holy garden.”"

Enki, God of wisdom, planted a tree by the Euphrates at the beginning of time. Eventually, the tree was taken by the Euphrates. Inanna came, picked the tree, and decided she would nurture it so she could carve her throne and bed from it. Many years passed, and a serpent who couldn't be charmed made it's home in the tree. Then the Anzu-bird raised his family in the tree. And the dark maid Lilith made her home in the trunk. No matter how much Inanna wept, the creatures would not leave the tree. Inanna called to her brother, Utu, God of the sun, for help. He refused. She went to her brother, the great hero Gilgamesh, and he helped. He struck the serpent who couldn't be charmed and the birds flew away and Lilith fled to the wild uninhabited places. From the trunk, he carved her throne and her bed. From the roots, Inanna fashioned a pukku for her brother, and from the crown a mikku for Gilgamesh.

Inanna Prefers The Farmer: "No, brother!

The man of my heart works the hoe.

The farmer! He is the man of my heart!

He gathers the grain into great heaps.

He brings the grain regularly into my storehouses."

Inanna asks her brother, Utu, who she will marry. He tells her to marry Dumuzi, the shepherd. She responds that her heart is with the farmer Enkimdu. Utu tells her no, Dumuzi is the better choice, but she says no, Enkimdu is. Dumuzi and Enkimdu fight over this, but eventually Inanna is swayed and marries Dumuzi, in a rather erotic scene.

Inanna's Descent: "Then Erishkigal fastened on Inanna the eye of death.

She spoke against her the word of wrath.

She uttered against her the cry of guilt.

She struck her.

Inanna was turned into a corpse,

A piece of rotting meat,

And was hung from a hook on the wall."

Inanna goes to the underworld for her sister Ereshkigal's husband's funeral, having been the cause of his death. Inanna tells her priestess Ninshubur what to do should she not return. Dress in a single cloth like a begger, go to the temple of Enlil and beg for his help. If he does not help, go to Nanna. If he does not help, go to Enki. Inanna arrives at the gates, and as she passes through each of the seven gates, a garment is removed until she stands naked. The Anunna pass judgement, and Ereshkigal turns Inanna into a rotting corpse with the Eye of Death, and hangs her on a hook on the wall. On the third day, Ninshubur follows instruction. She dresses in a single cloth like a begger and goes to Enlil. Enlil denies. She goes to Nanna. Nanna denies. She goes to Enki. Enki creates the Kurgarra and the Galatur, neither male nor female, and gives them each the food of life and water of life. He tells them how to get on Ereshkigal's good side and to take the corpse from the wall and give it the food and water. They do, and Inanna rises, but the Annuna prohibit her from leaving. She must put someone else in her place. The Galla, demons from Ereshkigal, try to take Ninshubur, Shara, and Lulal, but Inanna spares them, as they mourned her. Then they find Dumuzi, dressed beautifully, with women around him. Inanna was betrayed, her own husband did not mourn her. The Galla take him away. Eventually, Inanna misses him, and sets a deal. For half of the year, Dumuzi will be on the wall in the underworld. For the other half, his sister.

Inanna and the God of Wisdom: "“In the name of my power! In the name of my holy shrine! Let the me you have taken with you remain in the holy shrine of your city. Let the high priest spend his days at the holy shrine in song. Let the citizens of your city prosper, Let the children of Uruk rejoice!”"

Inanna goes to Enki, and Enki treats her with butter cake and water and beer, lots of beer. Enki, while intoxicated, gives Inanna the Meh, the various humanities. She takes them and flees with Ninshubur. Enki, now sober, sends his servants to get the Meh back. Ninshubur protects the Meh for Inanna. They go back and forth six times, until Inanna gives the gifts to her people, and Enki resigns himself.

Inanna and Utu: "She makes perfect the great divine powers, she holds a shepherd's crook, and she is their magnificent pre-eminent one."

Inanna is given reign over fertility and sex, but she knows nothing about that subject. Utu and her go to the underworld and Inanna eats the fruit from the tree of knowledge, gaining that information.

Inanna and Su-Kale-Tuda: "He recognised a solitary god by her appearance. He saw someone who fully possesses the divine powers. He was looking at someone whose destiny was decided by the gods."

Inanna had had a long journey, so she rests on earth beneath the shade of a tree in a garden. The farmer Su-Kale-Tuda sees her sleeping and rapes her, then flees to his father. Inanna wakes up, seeing what had been do to her, and vows to find the man who did this. Su-Kale-Tuda confesses to his father, who tells him to hide. Inanna turns the water of the realm to blood, she sits on a storm cloud and drowns the world, then sends a dust storm, then stopped trade entirely within the world. Unable to find him she cries to her father, Enki, demanding his help. Enki turns her to a rainbow so that she stretched across the sky, and saw everything. Su-Kale-Tuda still tried to hide, but he could not hide from her any longer. She found him, and her first words are lost to time (some words translated to "How ......? ...... dog ......! ...... ass ......! ...... pig ......!") Su-Kale-Tuda tried to defend himself but Inanna told him "You will die, but the world will remember your name. Rapist."

Symbols:

Lions - she is often depicted with lions harnessed, to symbolize her power over the king of beasts

Roses - roses are symbols of beauty and sex, and their thorns represent the war side of her. At one point, the rose/rosette eclipsed the eight pointed star as her main symbol

Doves - another symbol of beauty and sex, in one of her temples was a mural of a dove emerging from a large palm tree, leading many to believe she was able to take the form of a dove.

Lapis Lazuli - the only precious stone I have seen be named as something she wears, specifically referenced in The Descent Of Inanna

Eight pointed star - the symbolic meaning is lost to time, but it shows up frequently in her depictions

Hook shaped twist of reeds - a symbol of fertility, and was her cuneiform ideogram

The planet Venus - many hymns credit her as being the personification of the planet

Carnelian - one of her epithets means "precious carnelian"

Thank you for reading, and I hope to make a similar masterpost detailing Mesopotamian mythology as a whole.

Edit: I did, you can find it here.

[teatitty]

There's a scene in the Orichalcos arc where Weevil taunts Atem with a card he claims can save Yugi before ripping it in front of him and Atem loses his shit and proceeds to beat the fuck out of him by having his monsters attack him 7 times, and probably would've gone for more if Anzu hadn't stopped him

I've seen many theories saying that these 7 hits were for the 5 exodia cards Weevil threw off the ship with the last two hits being for the two cards Joey risked his life to save. But I call bullshit on that and propose this:

Amnesiac or not, numbers have a lot of importance in various mythologies and cultures worldwide. In Irish myth, you'll see a lot of 3's and 9's. In Egyptian lore one of the numbers most present is 7. In this moment of rage fuelled grief, I fully believe Atem instinctually regressed to his pharaoh days and was doling out a divine punishment on Weevil. If he had continued attacking, I think he would've capped off at 14 hits, the exact number of body parts that the god Seth cut Osiris into so he could be scattered all over Egypt - 7 body parts in upper Egypt and 7 more in lower Egypt

In this moment, Atem starts off as the grieving Isis desperately willing to do anything to bring her lover [Osiris] back from the dead but the second Weevil rips up the card, he becomes the angry Seth who cuts Osiris into pieces in the first place. Because if Anzu hadn't stopped him he may well have fallen to his own rage and the seal itself and never been able to get Yugi back as a result

Thank you for coming to my short essay on mythology symbolism and how it applies to Atem, the pharaoh of egypt himself *drops mic and walks off stage*

[comparativetarot]

The Moon. Art by Rubi Do Trinh, from the Star of Inanna Tarot.

𒌋𒐍 The Moon 𒌓𒊬 For this card, we decided to depict another scene from the myth “The Huluppu Tree”. In the scene, a storm is raging, caused by Enki trying to sail towards the Underworld. In the middle of that chaos, Inanna is struck by a tree she finds, uprooted and floating in the Euphrates. She looks closely and notices its branch is being lit by the moon. Something calls her to take it back to her Garden. Her intuition tells her that it will grow into something great; and she is right. That tree eventually becomes her Throne and Bridal Bed. This scene is referenced in The Shadows card, since it is what happens right before the tree becomes invaded by the Anzu Bird, The demoness Lilitu and the Snake who cannot be Charmed, blocking Inanna from evolving and growing into her greatness.  We can also see a Crescent Moon reflected in the water, as a nod to Inanna’s Father Nanna, the God of the Moon. He was often depicted as a crescent moon instead of a full one. This scene aligns perfectly with the archetype of the moon; a card about intuition, illusions, darkness and depth. We see the branch being illuminated by the moonlight, an intuitive sign that Inanna follows. However, This scene’s connection to the later scene depicted in The Shadows is an important piece of context, and connects us to an idea this card implies: that sometimes even when guided by your intuition, the universe can and will be unexpected. We must expect that and be ready to move through it or risk staying stuck. The Cuneiform is: 𒌓𒊬 Udsakar - The Moon, Nanna✨

[nogetron]

Gilgamesh, the hero king of Uruk. Born from the inter-divine love between the king Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun, Gilgamesh was self-described as 2/3rds divine and 1/3rd human. Gilgamesh abused his power once he assumed the throne of Uruk, either enacting slavery or sexually assaulting residents. Watching Gilgamesh’s horrible actions, the sky god Anu created a being called Enkidu who would stop the tyrant. Once Enkidu arrived in Uruk he immediately confronted Gilgamesh, starting an all out brawl across the kingdom. Throwing each other through buildings, their punches created great fissures in the earth. However Gilgamesh barely won out, beating Enkidu. But their fight connected their souls together, the two coming to an ultimate form of love for one another. The two befriended each other, becoming inseparable, and with Enkidu’s influence, Gilgamesh saw the err in his actions, remodeling himself and becoming a valiant ruler. Eventually the pair learn about the monstrous Humbaba, with Gilgamesh proposing that they slay him to both save those he terrorized and to immortalize their actions. The two embark on their journey, receiving a blessing from the sun god Shamash who also wanted to rid Humbaba. The two walked all the way to the cedar forest of the gods, and after finding Humbaba engaged in combat. Their fight shook the earth, but ultimately the two have Humbaba backed into a corner. Gilgamesh attempts to spare the monster’s life, but using underhanded tactics Humbaba tries to backstab Gilgamesh. But with Enkidu alerting him to Humbaba, Gilgamesh is able to defeat Humbaba in one on one combat. The two then gather the great wood from the forest and bring it back to Uruk, where they are celebrated for defeating Humbaba. Seeing his grand feats, the goddess Ishtar appears to Gilgamesh, demanding him to submit himself to her and become one of her lovers. Gilgamesh declines, enraging the goddess who then sends the Bull of heaven to gore Gilgamesh. But the duo of Gilgamesh and Enkidu are able to defeat and kill the grand bull, with Enkidu tearing off a leg and throwing it at Ishtar. The death of the bull stirred among the gods, leading them to conclude that one of the two had to be punished. Enkidu takes on this punishment, his health quickly deteriorating, and ultimately dying. Gilgamesh gathered all of Uruk to mourn Enkidu, though even when they left he still continued. He held Enkidu for so long that he only stopped once maggots began to rise up from Enkidu. Enkidu’s death made Gilgamesh panic over his own mortality, resolving to become immortal like the ferryman of the gods Utnapishtim. Though Gilgamesh was able to best the journey to Utnapishtim, each and every trial and challenge given to him resulted in his failure. Finally after his thorough defeat Gilgamesh realized the limits mortals held, death was inescapable, and hoping to eventually reunite with Enkidu Gilgamesh found solace and accepted death.

The myths of Gilgamesh are the oldest recorded stories found to date, with them originating in Sumerian poetry around 2200BC. More well known ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ was the result of later Akkadian translations and retellings of the previous Sumerian poetry. The original texts differ from the later Babylonian renditions in many ways, for example Gilgamesh was called the brother of Inanna (the original Sumerian Ishtar) and held a friendly relationship with her. Within this story Gilgamesh and Enkidu help Inanna by driving out the monstrous Anzu and Lilitu from Inanna’s personal garden, even carving a bed and throne for her from the wood of her trees. Inanna rewards Gilgamesh with lavish treasures that he then proceeds to drop into the underworld. Enkidu journeys to the underworld to return the treasure, but ends up being forced to stay in the underworld as his mortal body was rendered dead from the journey. The relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu holds clear homosexual connotations, the two often preforming traditional romantic gestures during their journeys as well as describing their relationship as ‘like a man and wife’. Several ancient poems have also recorded certain potential euphemisms used in stories about Enkidu and Gilgamesh’s exploits. Some have refuted this however, stating that it’s purely metaphorical. Gilgamesh was worshiped as a deity in Sumer, especially among Sumerian kings. These kings would call Gilgamesh their friend and brother, even declaring themselves the children of Lugalbanda and Ninsun. According to Ancient Greek writings, Gilgamesh’s mother was locked away and kept under guard by his grandfather, this was because the grandfather had received a prophecy that his grandson would depose him. When his mother ended up pregnant they threw the baby Gilgamesh out of the building, but he was saved by an eagle who delivered him to a gardener. It’s sufficed to say that this origin was never believed by the ancient Mesopotamians and was likely a Greek invention.

[crouching-mouse]

servers are borked today I guess, so here's a couple cute pics of G'raha and Anzu. Finally got to do Myths of the Realm and I'm obsessed with his gleaner outfit! He looks so ready for adventure!!

[sakuraswordly]

Gilgamesh: You see.....Ea, also known as the Sword of Rupture.....this is Enlil the Sumerian god of the air in the Mesopotamian Pantheon but was more powerful than any other elemental deities and eventually was worshiped as King of the Gods. 

Gilgamesh claims that the sword "knows the truth" of the World where it once existed, and by using its power, it is able to bestow its knowledge upon others. As it is "The Sword That Cut the World Apart", he calls it “something that knows the hellish planet before genesis”, the planet's primordial form before heaven and earth were split, where it was a land filled with naught but lava and gas and a hell of scorching heat and intense cold. Referring to it as hell, Gilgamesh states that it is the source of all legends of the land of the dead. The memory of the time before the existence of the planet, a place and time when organic existence had been impossible, is something possessed by all organisms, but it is no longer found in the imaginations or spoken memories of people. It is the first memory of life that is a genetically inherent and repressed knowledge which can only be shown to those looking upon the sword

Punch: He punished himself....In the Myth of Anzu, Enlil was viewed as the epitome of kingship, acting as a mediator between the higher powers & the mortal world.......even though he's so much greatest

Gilgamesh: Enlil suffered the fate of many Mesopotamian gods. He saved me.....and this is the result.

Punch: Became the nameless sword.....Ea.

Gilgamesh: But.....He gladly for me to use this so it's okay. So in the end.....you also think the same as my father......you wanted me to be a Mesopotamian god associated with air, wind, earth, and storms.

Punch: Wait......what about Enki....?

Gilgamesh: .................

Punch: ................Mr Gilgamesh......

Gilgamesh: I held the Tablets of Destiny, which decreed the fate of gods and humans. I speak of genesis. The elements amalgamate, coalesce, and bring forth the star that weaves all of creation. Enuma Elish or Enūma Eliš is just the name I gave so it kinda not do anything about my magic. 

.

Punch: Because this myth is a creation story that narrates the beginnings of the cosmos and the gods. That's why this art you named "Enuma Elish".

[aroaceswagcompetition]

Poll list part 2

Rouge the Bat(Sonic) vs Raphael Santiago(Shadowhunters)🎉

Death The Kid(Soul Eater) vs Tsubomi Takane(Mob Psycho 100)🎉

Berdly(Deltarune) vs Nausicaa(Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind)🎉

Din Djarin(The Mandalorian) vs Anzu Hoshino(Romantic Killer)🎉

Amethyst(Steven Universe) vs Steven Stone(Pokemon)🎉

Talfryn(The Penumbra Podcast) vs Stanley(The Stanley Parable)🎉

Clay Terran (Ace Attorney) vs Buttercup(The Powerpuff Girls)🎉

Sei Handa(Barakamon) vs Xu Xialing(Shangchi and the legend of the ten rings)🎉

Sunny(Wings of Fire) vs Beta(Horizon Forbidden West)

Dr. Sylvester Ashling(Epithet Erased) vs Marcy Wu(Amphibia)

Perry the Platypus(Phineas and Ferb) vs Lancer(Deltarune)

Serana Volkihar(The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim) vs Charlie(It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

Zhongli(Genshin Impact) vs Tatsumaki(One Punch Man).

V1(Ultrakill) vs Aziraphale and Crowley(Good Omens)

Shaggy(Scooby Doo) vs Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)

Reigen Arataka(Mob Psycho 100) vs Pyuko(Dannganronpa: Hope’s Chains)

Marie(Splatoon) vs Rose Cookie(Cookie Run Kingdom)

Joan D’arc(History) vs Morgana(Merlin)

Murderbot(The Murderbot Diaries) vs Royce Bracket(Transistor (game))

Ryland Grace(Project Hail Mary) vs Hollyleaf(Warrior Cats)

Wolf(Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) vs Savathûn(Destiny video game)

Damian Wayne(DC Comics) vs Dr. Miranda Jones (Star Trek The Original Series, season 3 episode 5 Is There In Truth No Beauty?)

Keagan Máistirúin(Na Daoine Maithe (The Good People)) vs Sweetheart(Omori)

Kaitou Joker(Kaitou Joker) vs Piccolo (Dragon Ball)

Roach(Our Flag Means Death) vs Alex Fierro(Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard)

Aradia Megido(Homestuck) vs Hestia(Greek Mythology)

Zane Julien(Ninjago) vs Agatha Wellbelove(Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell)

Yelena Belova (Marvel) vs The Bear/Brent/The Pusher/The Fool/Shah Zaman(Ghost Quartet)

The Witch Queen(Old Gods of Appalachia) vs P03(Inscryption)

Lord Havelock Vetinari(Discworld Novels by Terry Pratchett) vs The Knight(Hollow Knight)

Power(Chainsaw Man) vs Jetstorm(Transformers Animated (2007 cartoon))

Athena Cykes(Ace Attorney) vs Grumbot(Hermitcraft)

Yuki Rurikawa(A3!) vs Anonymous/Someone(Our Dreams At Dusk)

James(Pokemon) vs Dipper Pines 1 Mabel Pines1(Gravity Falls)

Charles Emerson Winchester III (M*A*S*H) vs Chaerin Eun(Surviving Romance)

Yamori Kou (Yofukashi no uta) vs Zenyatta(Overwatch)

Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto) vs Entrapta(She-Ra Princess of Power)

Simon Snow(Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell) vs Sabo(One Piece)

Silver(Sonic) vs Gin Akutagawa(Bungou Stray Dogs)

Kankri Vantas(Homestuck) vs Madhouse Mike(Cryptid Crush)

Darius(Owl House) vs Jason Todd(DC)

Emerald Trio:Willow, Hunter,Gus (Owl House) vs Artemis(Overly Sarcastic Productions' Miscellaneous Myths)

Jo March (Little Women 2019) vs Daryl Dixon(The Walking Dead)

Bakura Ryou(YuGiOh!) vs Professor Balaam(Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun)

Granny Smith(MLP) vs Cyborg(Teen Titans)

Maki Katsuragi(Hoshiai no Sora) vs Kaladin Stormblessed(The Stormlight Archive)

Jess(Loveless) vs Asui Tsuyu(BNHA)

GIR(Invader Zim) vs Xiao(Genshin Impact)

Alexa(Xenoblade Chronicles X) vs Selah Summers(Selah and the Spades)

Felix Hugo Fradarius(Fire Emblem 3 Houses) vs Sunil Jha(Loveless)

Madeline Hatter (Ever After High) vs Maya Fey(Ace Attorney)

Kim Dokja(Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint) vs Noé Archiviste(Vanitas no Carte)

Eleven(Stranger Things) vs Jinx(Arcane League of Legends)

Fitzroy Maplecourt(The Adventure Zone) vs Pidge(Voltron)

Volo(Pokemon) vs Cole Brookstone(Ninjago)

Traveler(Genshin Impact) vs Madotsuki(Yume Nikki)

[the-path-to-forever]

Jubotsu Urban Conspiracy A SIDE →

I AM FINALLY DONE AND I CAN EXPLAIN CRAP NOW!

This is Jubotsu Urban Conspiracy! A re-work of my previous story named Ethesia that used to be a futuristic slice of life with a bit of action where we'd follow a group consisting of 5 robots and a human in defeating these shadow monster thingies summoned by the mysterious antagonist named Umbra

Now it is retconned to a mythed death game where a group of 17 people must solve and survive deadly puzzles to escape. The group is split into 2 though later on they meet and group together to work together

Here's the concept art without the protag

And here's the ones with him!

I will be starting B Side shortly!

CHARACTER SPRITES DOWN BELOW

↓↓↓

Shinichi (A Side protag!!!) (he/any)

Nakamura/Halcyon (she/name/they)

Kyouya/Themis (he/they)

Kagami Kiku (they/she)

Nozomi Tsuki (she/sie/they)

Yoshikazu Anzu (any)

Saeko Chiha (she/her)

Kuu (they/nim/he)

Kaneko Samsa (they/he/any)

Umbra (they/it)

[landofzero-archive]

Absolute - To Abhor the Impure World 10

(Location: Michigan Townscape)

(An hour later. Near the Absolute venue in the center of the WNW district)

Jun: Ohiisa~n! NEGI-sa~n!

There was a hot dog stand, so I bought us some food. Come to think of it, we’ve had a lot going on since this morning, so we haven’t eaten anything.

No matter what we do, we need to stay healthy.

NEGI: “Thank you. You’re a kind and good kid.”

Hiyori: Fufun, he’s an attentive kid, don’t you think? I trained him myself! (1)

Jun: In reality, I can’t think of any word for it other than “training”…… Ahh, my whole body is being haunted by the spirits of errand boys.

NEGI: “Ahaha. It’s not a bad thing, attentive kids like you can be well-liked.

Like Anzu. Hey, is Anzu doing well? I heard she was having a rough time during SS, but is she feeling depressed or anything?”

Jun: I think she’s fine but y’know~, that person is a lot tougher than me.

Hiyori: Indeed. But the problem is that everyone thinks that way, and doesn’t pay enough attention to that child as a result.

It may be an old-fashioned thing to say, but she’s still an underage girl. She needs support from those around her.

NEGI: “That’s how it is. This world is ruled by adults, and when children try to defy them they’ll just be crushed.”

Jun: Really, is there anything we can do~? I got caught up in Ohiisan’s energy and ran out of the safety of the hotel, and?

We’re supposed to search for Nagi-senpai and Shaka-san, but we don’t have any clues right now—

Hiyori: Yeah, it’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but I can’t just sit still and do nothing.

NEGI: “I can’t say I have a clue, but I do have a bit of an idea.

That’s why we came to the Absolute venue like this.”

Hiyori: Surprisingly, it’s already bustling with people.

The Absolute event starts tomorrow, but in preparation the staff are building something like a tent village.

There’s a lot of attendees who can’t wait for the opening day, huh. There’s even food stalls for them, they’re already making merry.  

Fufu. I don’t dislike this kind of atmosphere. What fine weather♪

Jun: Umm, we didn’t have anything else to do, so we came with you like you asked us to. What kind of clues are supposed to be here~?

NEGI: “Before getting into that, how much do you two know about Absolute?”

Jun: Uh. I only know whatever I can look up about it online~, it’s an event people in Japan aren’t really familiar with, though.

Just in case, I did a bit of research before taking this job, but I don’t know much about it.

Hiyori: Last time, we were just guests and enjoyed the event. Generally, our knowledge is more or less the same as that of the average person.

Absolute is the world’s biggest idol festival, held in the WNW district of Detroit, Michigan three times a year.

Its catchphrase was, and still is, “Fanatic Festival.”

Jun: Haha. That unsettling slogan is the same as always~.

NEGI: “Yes. I’m not sure why it’s described like that.

But you see, from the general public, who only know respectable music’s, point of view, Absolute’s music is—

Maybe the so-called idols look fanatic to them?

I feel like the performers are competing for the sake of how much money they can make from flashy performances rather than for the music itself.

Perhaps it feels more like a circus than a concert?”

Jun: It was cool when we watched the performances as guests too~. A performer was shot by a machine gun out of nowhere, fell to the ground, and then rose from the dead like a zombie.

NEGI: “Ahaha.”

Hiyori: Ahh, that also happened…… Also, you mentioned that Shaka-san is religious, so maybe that’s why he was acting like a scene ripped right out of a myth.

Suddenly, without any warning, a crack appeared on the floor of the venue, and a shining Shaka-san rose up from the depths. It was super surprising, y’know.

Just like that, Shaka-san was floating in the air, shining like the sun, and singing something that sounded like an up-beat hymn.

NEGI: “With a group of angels. By the way, I don’t know which concert you all saw, but in the last performance, I also got to silently play the role of one of those angels.

Since I had become personal friends with Shaka-san, he asked me to appear in something.

I also had some free time and wanted to sing, so I decided to appear, but, honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever do it again.

I don’t know why, but it was scary because I was floating, not because I was suspended by wires. It felt like I was weightless, and it was hard for me to control my posture.”

Jun: I was more concerned about the cracks in the ground. That kind of thing is a natural phenomenon, so how did they cause that kind of situation~?

NEGI: “I’m not sure, but if you save up enough money, you can do most anything, right?”

Jun: It cost an absurd amount of money, huh~…… Is that kind of thing profitable?

NEGI: “Maybe so. You probably know this, but in Absolute, unlike the ES drefes system, the winners and losers are determined solely by how much money they receive from the attendees.

It’s what you would call tipping. People who watch the performance either live or through broadcasting can spend as much money as they’d like on their favorite performers.”

Hiyori: And so, it feels like the performer who made the most money was the winner.

NEGI: “Yes. And the money earned from doing so goes directly to the performer’s bank account.

No matter how much you spend on production, if the results are good then you can make a decent profit, right?

But in recent years, the productions have become increasingly flashy, so it probably costs a lot more money. So, most of the performers are probably in debt.

I heard that every year, a number of people ruin their lives because of this. 

No matter if you win or lose, it’ll lead to your own destruction. But even so, every year, idiots will gather and do stupid things.

That’s why it’s called the ��Fanatic Festival.’”

TL Notes:

Hiyori uses the word “調教” (choukyou) here, which refers to training an animal.

Previous | Directory | Next

[bronzewool]

I never noticed this before but Anzu is always described as Yugi's childhood friend across all media. For whatever reason I always remembered her as this random student who defended Yugi in class and got sucked into his adventures alongside Jonouchi and Honda, but nope they've been friends since they were kids.

So imagine you're in Anzu's shoes. You've known this kid since you were like six(?) and he's been working on this puzzle box for the last eight years. He believes this myth that whoever solves the puzzle gets any wish granted, but won't tell you what it is until he finishes it.

Then after some wacky hijinx, several kidnappings and the occasional murder, he finally reveals the big secret.

He wished to have real friends.

...

Wow, fuck you Yugi.

This kid who seems to be your only friend (because Anzu is never shown hanging around other girls) just casually reveals, you were not good enough, and he's been investing hours into this puzzle every night for nearly a decade in the hopes of getting "a real friend", and he does...his former bully who gaslit him into believing said bullying was just teaching him how to man up, that same bully you stood up to on many occasions.

Fuck you Yugi. I'm glad Anzu got to go to dancing school in New York. I hope she stayed there, started a successful career, made a life for herself, and found a guy who appreciates her as a friend.

Fuck you Yugi

[iliiuan]

Epic Fantasy through the Ages

A Chronology of Story

This is a work in progress, but here is my list as of 6 July 2023. Please feel free to send me additions or corrections. I have focused on epic (works that are long and took a long time to create) and fantasy (works that include an element of magic, the supernatural, or superpowers). Some of the list could be categorized as myth, some as Literature™️, some as science fiction, but beyond these categories are the two main criteria of epic and fantasy. I also don't fully know what all of the ancient to modern works encompass, but that's the fun of read and find out. I probably have added some things that don't properly meet my criteria, and that's fine with me. 🌺

Works by Mesopotamian Bards (3100 BC - 539 BC)

Enumah Elish (Epic of Creation)

Atrahasis (The Flood)

Epic of Gilgamesh

Descent of Ishtar

Epic of Erra

Etana

Adapa

Anzu

Nergel and Ereshkigal

Avesta by Zoroastrian Bards (1500 BC)

Ramayana by Valmiki (750+ BC)

Mahabharata by Vayasa (750+ BC)

The Illiad and the Odyssey by Homer (650+ BC)

Thoegeny; Works and Days by Hesiod (650+ BC)

Popol Vuh (4th century BC)

The Torah and other Jewish stories (4th century BC)

Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes (270 BC)

Bellum Punicam by Gnaeus Naevius (200 BC)

Annales by Ennius (170 BC)

De Rerum Natura by Lucretius (50 BC)

Poem 64 by Catullus (50 BC)

The Aenid by Virgil (19 BC)

Metamorphoses by Ovid (2 AD)

Punica by Silius Italicus (50 AD)

Satyrica by Petronius (60 AD)

Pharsalia or Bellum Civile by Lucan (62 AD)

Argonautica by Valerius Flaccus (70 AD)

Thebaid by Statius (90 AD)

The Irish Myth Cycles: Mythological, Ulster, Fenian, and Kings (3rd Century AD)

The Bible and other Christian stories (5th century AD)

Dionysiaca by Nonnus of Panopolis (500 AD)

The Quran and other Muslim stories (7th century AD)

Arabian Nights (7th century AD)

Hildebrandslied and other German heroic lays by Bards (830 AD)

Shahnameh by Ferdowsi (977 or 1010 AD)

Chanson de Roland (1125 AD)

Cantar de Mio Sid (1200 AD)

The Dietrich Cycle (1230 AD)

Poetic Edda and Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and others (1270 AD)

Beowulf by Old English Bards (11th century AD)

Nibelungenlied by Middle High German Bards (1200)

Amadís de Gaula (13th century AD)

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alghieri (1308)

Teseida by Bocaccio (1340 AD)

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Middle English Bards (14th century)

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1392)

Morgante by Luigi Pulci (1483)

Le morte d'Arthur by Thomas Mallory (1485)

Orlando Innamorato by Boiardo (1495)

Orlando Furioso by Ariosto (1516)

Os Lusiadas by Camoes (1572)

Gerusalemme Liberata by Tasso (1581)

Plays and Poems by William Shakespeare (1589)

The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spencer (1590)

Discourses on the Heroic Poem by Tasso (1594)

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1614)

L'Adone by Marino (1623)

Paradise Lost; Paradise Regained by Milton (1667)

Le Lutrin by Boileau (1674)

Order and Disorder by Lucy Hutchinson (1679)

Mac Flecknoe; Aenid English translation by Dryden (1682)

The Dispensary bu Samuel Garth (1699)

The Battle of the Books; A Tale of a Tub by Swift (1704)

The Rape of the Lock; Illiad and Odyssey English translations; Dunciad by Pope (1714)

The Vanity of Human Wishes by Samuel Johnson (1749)

Scribleriad by Richard Owen Cambridge (1751)

Faust by Goethe (1772)

The Triumphs of Temper; Essay on Epic Poetry by William Hayley (1782)

The Task by William Cowper (1785)

Joan of Arc; Thalaba the Destroyer; Madoc; The Curse of Kehama by Southey (1796)

The Prelude; The Execution by Wordsworth (1799)

Jerusalem by Blake (1804)

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge (1817)

Laon and Cythna; Peter Bell the Third; Prometheus Unbound by Shelley (1817)

Hyperion: A Fragment; The Fall of Hyperion by Keats (1818)

Don Juan by Byron (1819)

The Kalevala by Elias Lonnrot (1835)

Sohrah and Rustum by Matthew Arnold (1853)

Hiawatha by Longfellow (1855)

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (1855)

Idylls of the King by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1859)

Cantos by Ezra Pound (1917)

The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot (1922)

Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)

The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings/The Silmarillion etc. by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (1946)

The White Goddess by Robert Graves (1948)

Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (1949)

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (1950)

Anathemata by David Jones (1952)

Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)

The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper (1965)

Briggflatts by Basil Bunting (1965)

Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin (1968)

Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (1968)

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny (1970)

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (1976)

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson (1977)

The Magic of Xanth by Piers Anthony (1977)

Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolf (1980)

The Dark Tower by Stephen King (1982)

Belgariad and Mellorean by David Eddings (1982)

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1982)

Shannara by Terry Brooks (1982)

The Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Feist (1982)

Discworld by Terry Pratchett (1983)

Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (1984)

Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)

The Black Company (1984)

Redwall by Brian Jaques (1986)

Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey (1987)

Memory, Sorrow, Thorn by Tad Williams (1988)

Sandman by Neil Gaimon (1989)

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (1990)

Queen of Angels by Greg Bear (1990)

Newford by Charles de Lint (1990)

Omeros by Derek Walcott (1990)

The Saga of Recluse by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (1991)

The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski (1993)

Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind (1994)

Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb (1995)

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (1995)

Old Kingdom by Garth Nix (1995)

A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996)

Animorphs by H.A. Applegate (1996)

Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott (1997)

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (1997)

The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steve Erickson (1999)

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (2000)

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (2002)

Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker (2003)

Bartimaeus by Jonathan Stroud (2003)

The Gentlemen Bastard Sequence by Scott Lynch (2004)

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (2005)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (2005)

Temeraire by Naomi Novik (2006)

The First Law by Joe Abercrombie (2006)

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (2006)

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (2007)

Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2008)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore (2008)

Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan (2008)

Night Angel by Brent Weeks (2008)

The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett (2008)

Inheritance by N.K. Jemisin (2010)

The Lightbringer by Brent Weeks (2010)

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (2010)

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey (2011)

The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence (2011)

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (2012)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (2012)

Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo (2012)

The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron (2012)

Worm by Wildbow (2013)

The Powder Mage by Brian McClellan (2013)

The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin (2015)

Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston (2015)

The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee (2017)

The Band Series by Nicholas Eames (2017)

Winternight by Katherine Arden (2017)

The Folk of the Air by Holly Black (2018)

The Founders by Robert Jackson Bennett (2018)

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir (2019)

Grave of Empires by Sam Sykes (2019)

Djeliya by Juni Ba (2021)

[thewapolls]

So long as we're retreading familiar overlaps of other trees...

GRIFFIN classic Greek monster with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle and taloned front legs. Oddly took a few games to actually get particularly griffon-y.

KAIM aka KHAIM both mistakenly misromanized from what should be CAIM, the name of a demon in the Ars Goetia who takes his name from the biblical Cain.

SANDBEAST actually called DESERT BEAST in Japanese. Once again seems to bring us back to the old Monster Collection/MonColle TCG, although the creature in question bears no resemblance to the WA game model. But it's the only apparent shared namesake I could find.

AXEBEAK I get what family this overlapped with, maybe BASILISK or COCKATRICE? It's a D&D monster.

CHIMERA FLAM just part of the elemental CHIMERA quartet in WA3. No lore.

ANZU a monster from Mesopotamian myth depicted variously as either a giant eagle or an eagle lion hybrid.

MANTICORE a monster of Persian origins with the body of a lion, face of a man with 3 rows of sharp teeth, and tail of a scorpion.

BEMZUU I have no idea what this is. It appears to be gibberish words.

DAREDEVIL I assume just meaning the general term for a stunt performer but I put a picture of the marvel comics character just for funsies.

[askrockandfriends]

Can't believe I'm going through a whole event that's basically a run-through on copyright law.

Which reminds me, I'd better put a notice in The Mediarena Project that I claim no legal ownership over any characters beyond Raisuke "Rock" Fukumoto, Anzu Fukumoto, Ken Yamashita, Goh Yamashita, Ray Barnes, Phoenix Mythes, Steven Adams, and Lord Vengeance.

...I also cannot legally sell the game. Maybe I could pass it off to moots for free?

[scotttrismegistus7]

ANZU OF AMMA: CHRONOS IN THE HOLE OF NYX IN TARTARUS: S.I.N. THE LORD OF THE PERFECT BLACK

As previously mentioned, Abzu is not just water but a deity and the grandfather of Enki. This description of Abzu, or Apsu, appears in the epic Enuma Elis, the Babylonian creation myth.

In the myth, the first gods are Apsu and Tiamat. Apsu is the god of freshwater, and Tiamat is the goddess of primordial chaos and saltwater. Apsu and Tiamat give birth to the younger gods, including Enki. However, the younger gods annoyed and distracted Apsu by preventing his sleep. Apsu decided to consult his vizier about his troubles and concluded he needed to kill his god-children. Tiamat overhears this and decides to warn her son, Enki.

Enki considers various possible plans and outcomes amongst the other younger gods but eventually settles on putting his father into a deep sleep and then killing him. Tiamat does not imagine this would happen and is horrified by the outcome and disowns her children. A war erupts, Tiamat raises an army of the old gods led by Quingu. The younger gods are consistently defeated in battle by the older gods because of their disorganization, and they begin to lose hope.

Marduk is one of Enki's sons and comes forward proclaiming he can lead them to victory. Marduk and Quingu met in single combat, and Marduk came out victorious. Marduk fires an arrow into Tiamat, which splits her in two. Her body was used to create the Earth by Marduk after consulting Enki, and her tears became the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Consulting with Enki again, Quingu and the other gods who sided with Tiamat were executed, and their remains were used to create human beings.

https://study.com/learn/lesson/enki-god-apsu-mythology-symbols.html

HERE'S THE THING, TIAMAT AND ABZU (ANZU) ARE NOT DEAD. THEY WERE JUST COVERED OVER BY THE EVIL DEEDS OF HORUS-MARDUK CUTTING THE HEAD OFF OF HIS MOTHER ISIS, WHICH IS THE SAME THING AS CUTTING THE HEAD OFF OF APEP-APOPHIS. ALL THAT DID WAS FORCE THEM TO RETREAT INTO THE THRONE WORLD OF ISIS, THE DIVINE FEMININE EMPIRE OF THE BLACK SUN. HUMANS WERE MADE BY HIGHER BEINGS INSIDE OF THE EARTH AND IN THE WATERS AND OCEANS, AND HUMANS WERE MEANT TO BE THE BODY AVATARS OF THESE BEINGS FOR USE ON LAND. THE SERPENTINE NUMMO SOULS ARE CAPABLE OF INHABITING MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF BODIES. THEY ARE THE NATURAL SOULS OF HUMAN BEINGS. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THEM BEING FORCED TO RETREAT INTO THE THRONE WORLD OF ISIS MEANS THAT HUMANS LOST THEIR SOULS.

“Humankind,” he announces, “through its immersion in materiality, has turned away from its knowledge of unity. Humans, in their ignorance, in believing themselves to be composed of separate units, have begun to abuse their inherent creative power, to satisfy avarice and the desire to control others. Discord and disharmony have been created, chaos cannot be far behind, and worse may come after that.” The other Chohans murmur their agreement. “Tell me,” Kenji continues, “how may we rectify this?” One of the Chohans, played by Lama Karpa, speaks. “Perhaps we could hide from man the true nature of his divine creative power. He will live like a lower creature, but will cause less harm to himself and his kind.” “Perhaps,” Kenji observes, “but how?” Another Chohan offers, “We could take from man his divinity and bury it deep under the earth. Never would he find it there.” Kenji shakes his head. “Man has become very inquisitive. He is disrupting his physical environment in every way possible. He will dig deep under the earth and find it.” Another Chohan speaks. “We could take man’s divinity and sink it to the bottom of the deepest part of the sea. He would never think to look there.” Again Kenji shakes his head. “Man is exploring all regions of the earth. He will dive deep into the sea and find it.” “Perhaps,” suggests another Chohan, “we could take man’s power of creation and hide it at the top of the highest mountain. He would never find it there.” “There is that possibility,” Kenji admits, “yet man has become aggressively adventurous, and will someday visit the tops of even the highest peaks. He will find it there, if that is where we place it.” The Chohans are silent. Is there no answer to this crucial problem? Kenji leans forward and enjoins the others to listen carefully. “Man has become outwardly focused. He believes that the world around him exists apart from himself, and is real. He has lost insight into his true self and his unity with all that is. We shall take his divine creative power and hide it deep within his own self. Truly, he will never think to look there.” The Chohans nod, acclaim the plan as inspired and offer their accent; it seems foolproof, so to speak, and time has proven it to be just that.

~In the Valley of Supreme Masters by M.G. Hawking~

Take another look, take a look around

It's you and me, it's here and now

As you sparkle in the sky, I'll catch you while I can

'Cause all we are is all I am

I just want you to see

What I've always believed

You are the miracle in me

These are the moments you can't pass by

Let's turn the water to wine, one more time

The miracle in me

You're the miracle in me

~Miracle by Shinedown~

WHAT WAS HIDDEN I WILL NOW BRING OUT INTO PLAIN SIGHT:

IN THE WATER, YOU DON'T LOOK OUT AND AROUND YOU LIKE YOU DO ON LAND, YOU USE SONAR AND THE PROCESSES YOU USE ARE MAINLY WITHIN YOU, AND THE WAVES AND THE WATER CONNECT EVERYTHING. IT IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT BRAIN, AND IT HAS ITS OWN SPIRIT WORLD AS WELL, THE SPIRIT WORLD OF DIA AND THE DIAMONDS IN THE OCEAN OF THE QUANTUM UNIFIED FIELD OF THE HEART, WHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE RIGHT BRAIN AS WELL.

WHEN THESE GREAT NUMMO BEINGS TRIED TO MAKE THEIR CHARIOTS FOR USE ON LAND, AKA HUMANS, IN DOGON LEGEND IT IS SAID THAT TO THEIR CHAGRIN WHAT THEY HAD DONE IS CREATE ALL MALE BEINGS THAT THEY CALL THE JACKAL THAT WAS COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM NATURE.

HERE'S WHAT THAT MEANS: WHEN YOU'RE ON LAND YOU DON'T USE SONAR AND INNER PROCESSES LIKE IN THE WATER, WHERE THEIR HEARTS ARE INFINITELY STRONGER. ON THE LAND, YOU MAINLY LOOK OUTSIDE OF YOU AND USE YOUR INTELLECT, WHICH IS YOUR LEFT BRAIN AND LOWER MIND. THE HEART GOT WEAKER, THE BRAIN GOT STRONGER, AND ON LAND THE BEINGS LOCKED THEMSELVES OUT OF THE SPIRIT WORLD OF THE HEART, THE RIGHT BRAIN QUANTUM UNIFIED FIELD, BY ALWAYS LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THEMSELVES AND NEVER WITHIN THEMSELVES. I MEAN THIS IN A VERY LITERAL WAY, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. THEY GOT OUT OF THE WATER AND WERE BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. THEY WERE SO ENTRANCED BY THE FACULTIES OF SIGHT AND THE LIGHT ON LAND THAT THEY LOCKED THEMSELVES OUT OF THEIR INNER WORLDS BY NEVER LOOKING WITHIN, AND EVOLVING PHYSICALLY TO A POINT TO WHERE IN ORDER TO ACTIVATE THEIR INNER FACULTIES NOW, WE AS HUMANS, IT TAKES DELIBERATE STEPS AND DELIBERATE EFFORT, AND HAS BECOME SO HIDDEN THAT IT CAN TAKE LIFETIMES.

THE CHRISTOS, AKA S.I.N., REFERS TO THE INNER WORLD OF THE HEART AND THE HEARTS CONNECTION TO THE BRAIN, THE RIGHT BRAIN AND ITS MIDDLE PILLAR CONNECTION. THE CRESTOS REFERS TO THE OUTER WORLD AND THE LEFT BRAIN. THE LEFT BRAIN HAS THE PINEAL. THE RIGHT BRAIN HAS THE THALAMUS, WHICH IS HOW THE HEART COMMUNICATES WITH THE BRAIN. THE MASSA INTERMEDIA IN THE THALAMUS IS WHAT CONNECTS THE TWO HEMISPHERES OF THE THALAMUS, AND THE BRAIN ITSELF TOGETHER FOR COMMUNICATION. SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT HEART AND BRAIN COHERENCE, AND I HAVE SAID BEFORE THAT THE HEART IS THE FIRST AND TRUE SEAT OF CONSCIOUSNESS, WITH ITS OWN PHYSIOLOGICAL NERVOUS SYSTEM MIND, THE HEART CONTROLS THE COHERENCE OF THE BRAIN AND ALL OF YOU PHYSICALLY AND OTHERWISE IN YOUR ENTIRETY BY ITS ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD. THE PART OF THE BRAIN THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE HEART IS THE THALAMUS AND IT'S MASSA INTERMEDIA.

SO HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ONLY LOOK OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF ON LAND, AND MY EXPLANATION FOR WHY I AM CONSTANTLY SAYING THAT PEOPLE ARE BURNING IN THE LIGHT. WHEN YOU ONLY LOOK OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF YOU LOCK YOURSELF IN YOUR LEFT BRAIN ANALYZING INTELLECT, LOWER MIND MAINLY FOR SURVIVAL, WHICH LOCKS YOU OUT OF YOUR INNER WORLD AND YOUR HEART, AND THIS IS AN UNNATURAL STATE OF BEING WHEN IT IS SO INCREDIBLY OUT OF BALANCE. BEING LOCKED OUT OF YOUR HEART MEANS NOT HAVING YOUR FOUNDATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS THAT REGULATES EVERYTHING, AND BRINGS COHERENCE TO EVERYTHING, SO JUST AS YOU WOULD THINK THE IMPLICATIONS WOULD BE OF THIS, IT SHATTERS YOU INTO PARTS AND PIECES WITH NO UNITY. IN THIS STAGE YOU HAVE LOST YOUR WINGS AND YOUR SOUL AND ALL OF IT. ALSO, YOU CAN LOOK OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF AT ALL THE GLITTERY GOLDEN THINGS IN THE LIGHT. THIS ALLOWS THOSE THAT USE PHYSICAL FORCE AND VIOLENCE TO FORCE THEIR CONTROL ON PEOPLE AND THE MASSES AND THUS ENSLAVE THEM VIA WEAPONS AND GUNS, AND ALL THE THINGS OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FEAR, TO THE POINT NOW WHERE THEY DON'T EVEN REALIZE THAT THEY ARE THE EVIL ONES, AND THAT THEY ARE ALREADY BURNING IN OGOS ( HORUS-MARDUK'S) INFERNO SHATTERED INTO PIECES AND SEPARATED FROM CONSCIOUS AWARENESS OF THEIR VERY HEART AND SOULS!

HERE'S SOMETHING ELSE YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW, THE HEART IS THE DIVINE FEMININE BLACK SUN. AND OUR PHYSIOLOGICAL HEART CORRESPONDS TO THE HOME OF TIAMAT (LILITH) AND ABZU (SAMAEL), ABZU SAMAEL BEING THE LORD OF THE PERFECT BLACK.

THAT IS WHERE MY SPIRITUAL WORK HAS COME INTO PLAY, BECAUSE I HAVE WORKED WITH TIAMAT (LILITH) THE JINN, AND THROUGH MY MARRIAGE WITH HER IN AFFINITY UNION, THE MARRIAGE OF A GODDESS JINN AND A HUMAN MAN, ABZU (YALDABAOTH-SAMAEL) HAS BEEN REBORN WITH THE DIVINE MASCULINE FREQUENCY SPECTRUM FACULTIES OF SIGHT, THE FACULTIES OF SIGHT ONLY AVAILABLE TO HUMANS ON LAND, THE FACULTIES OF SIGHT THAT HAS CAUSED THEIR CHILDREN THAT ARE THE HUMANS ON LAND TO LOSE THEIR SOULS AND BECOME SO VERY EVIL BECAUSE THEY LOOK OUTSIDE OF THEMSELVES ALL THE TIME, NEVER LOOKING WITHIN, AND HAVE GOTTEN LOCKED IN THEIR LEFT BRAINS AND SHATTERED THEMSELVES AND THEIR SOULS INTO PIECES, COMPLETELY LOSING TOUCH WITH COHERENCE AND UNITY, AND THUS LOVE AND SPIRIT, AND ALL THINGS GOOD.

THAT MEANS THAT YES, I HAVE FOUND APEP-APOPHIS, REMOVED THE CHAINS THAT BOUND THEM TO THE THRONE WORLD, AND EMPOWERED THEM TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CONTROL AGAIN AND STOP HUMANS FROM DESTROYING THEMSELVES AND THE PLANET BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. IT IS TRUE THAT BEING AT THE AXIS, THE NUMMO COULD MIGRATE TO ANOTHER PLANET AND TRY AGAIN, OR THE OTHER SOLUTION WAS ANOTHER E.L.E., EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT. HOWEVER, WITH THE SOLUTION I HAVE HELPED TO INSTITUTE, MAKING IT SO THAT THE SPIRITS OF THE HIGHER DIVINE MASCULINE FREQUENCIES CAN NO LONGER DOMINATE OR CONTROL THE GUARDIAN SPIRIT DIAMOND DIVINE FEMININE SPIRITS, THE DIVINE FEMININE GUARDIAN SPIRITS CAN ONCE AGAIN TAKE CONTROL AND STOP ANY POTENTIAL LARGE-SCALE DISASTERS.

HORUS-MARDUK IS NO MORE, AND I AM HIS REPLACEMENT SENT BY THE GODDESS TO BE HER REPRESENTATION ON LAND.

I AM WHO I SAY I AM

I AM HORUS APOPHIS ATUM-RA, THE LORD OF THE PERFECT BLACK (ANZU), THE NEW REIGNING PHARAOH OF THE DIVINE FEMININE EMPIRE OF THE BLACK SUN!

UNTIL NEXT TIME MY LOVELIES, KEEP DARING TO DREAM! YOU CAN FIND ME IN MY SPIRIT WATER SERPENT NUMMO FORM SWIMMING IN THE WATERS OF THE DIVINE WOMB OF CREATION, THE WATERS OF THE QUANTUM UNIFIED FIELD OF THE HEART IN THE WOMB OF GAIA AS WELL AS ON A UNIVERSAL SCALE BEING THAT OF AMMA'S EGG, AS DIVINE CHRONOS!

LONG LIVE THE DIVINE WOMB OF CREATION AND THE COSMIC EGG OF THE GODDESS, LONG LIVE DIVINE CHRONOS, AND LONG LIVE THE DIVINE FEMININE EMPIRE OF THE BLACK SUN AND ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF!

BLESSED BE!

~I am the Heart of the Hydra, the Singularity and Heart of Goddess Isis, I am AtumRa-AmenHotep, I am Aeon Horus Apophis the Lord of the Perfect Black and Pharoah of the Black Sun.

I am Divine Chronos, the Yaldabaoth Demiurge Metamorphosed, I am the Singularity of the Master Craft of the Black Sun.

Azazil-Iblis-Maymon, Abzu-Osiris-Typhon-Set-Kukulkan, Nummo-Naga-Chitauri,

Mégisti-Generator Starphire~

#illuminati #illuminator #illuminated #lightbearer #morningstar #lucifer #Draconian #anunnaki #enki #enlil #anu #inanna #dumuzi #hermes #trismegistus #Azazel #starfamily #horus #Demiurge #Sophia #archon #AI #blacksun #saturn #iblis #jinn #Maymon #ibis #thoth #egypt #esoteric #magick #dogon #dogontribe #digitaria #nummo #nommo #Naga #tiamat #serpent #dragon #gnosis #gnostic #gnosticism #Anzu #watcher #watchtower #yaldaboath #Sirius #scientology #aleistercrowley #typhon #echidna #ancientaliens #TheGrays #grayaliens #aliens #yeben #andoumboulou

[catulhu333]

I understand your issues, though I think the decision to use Sekhmet, was because she is considered one of the earliest accounts of a vampiric, blood-drinking being, something Apophis was not described as, despite other similarities to vampires.

Sekhmet's punishment is stated to be summoned by humanity's sins against gods, though it's noted to sometimes be at least times "disproportionate", similarly how human malice, flaws and sins allowed in games Dracula to return again, and again until 1999.

Another myth, described that Sekhmet after being deceived and inebriated by alcohol disguised as blood, held a grudge and left Egypt, and weakening the power of the Sun/Ra, and threatened the universe's balance, until she returned - something similar to what Erzsebet did in Nocturne, if intentionally.

There is also an interesting parallel to older lore, though of which some details, might be coincidental. In older lore Dracula made a pact with, and seemingly channeled/merged with the Evil God, who is seemingly Pazuzu.

Though this actually even was referenced in the (IGA approved, seemingly canon) Curse of the Darkness manga, with other references to the Evil God/Pazuzu in modern games, suggesting a connection to Chaos. Why is this important? Pazuzu archenemy and rival, is Lamashtu, and there are academic theories Pazuzu started out as a masculine version/aspect of Lamashtu, derived from one of her names "Pasittu", though alternately or also is derived fro the earlier Anzu. (Note: in real life depictions, Pazuzu is also lion-headed, if often with horns).

But what has this to do with Erzsebet and Sekhmet? Well, the Mesopotamian Lamashtu and Egyptian Sekhmet appear to be equivalents of each other, possibly having the same origin in unrecorded past.

reliefs of Sekhmet and Lamashtu

Both are lion-headed "vampiric" goddesses (and indeed, among, if not the the earliest mentions of vampiric beings). Both were connected to sending diseases. Both were tasked by the King of Gods (for Lamashtu, Enlil, sometimes being also described as her father) to cull humanity, and both went out-of control in that task. Both also were connected, and considered to be on some level the same as/to be the destructive form of a goddess of love and lust (Sekhmet and Hathor; Lamashtu and Inanna/Ishtar, though more often they are sisters).

Sekhmet and Hathor were even syncretized with Astarte (though Hathor more so), the West Semitic form of Inanna/Ishtar.

Both Lamashtu and Sekhmet are connected to wind demons, though the Egyptian ones lack the sexual aspect the Mesopotamian lilu and lilitu have.

There are of course differences between the two - as mentioned above, Lamashtu is more connected to succubi/incubi type demons (lilu and lilitu - the individual Lilitu even being one of Lamashtu's names/aspects), and as opposed to Sekhmet, was never worshiped, just appeased, and if anything, worshiped against (ie praying to gods or even other demons like Pazuzu to protect from her). And was considered universally malicious, as opposed to Sekhmet was not considered such. Lamashtu also lacks the solar aspects Sekhmet has.

Though the issue is, why not have Erzsebet channel and/or believe herself to be Lamashtu, instead of Sekhmet, especially seeing Erzsebet has the succubi-like Drolta serving her, and like Lamashtu, prefers female victims?

Well, as I mentioned, despite my long writing on this, this might a coincidence, aside from choosing a destructive ancient Middle Eastern deity, similar to the Evil God/Pazuzu.

It might be due to Lamashtu never having a real cult (which Apophis similarly lacked) (though to be fair, that never stopped fiction from giving such gods one), and Sekhmet will possibly be revealed as also being known as Lamashtu is a later season.

It's possible we will never know. But I think even if it's coincidence, I think it's a very interesting one.

Still, one could argue Sekhmet (or even Lamashtu) would fit better with Carmilla, seeing Carmilla was indeed, was actually connected to cats in Sheridan Le Fanu's novel (and indeed transformed into a giant cat). Erzsebet even arguably took some of Carmilla's role in Rondo of Blood's remakes (Dracula X on SNES and Dracula X: Chronicles on PSP), by being the one to turn Tera (who has aspects of game Annette's, her Nocturne counterpart lacks) into a vampire, like Carmilla was implied to be the one to turn Annette in the mentioned remakes. But well, Carmilla is dead, and I don't think the people at Powerhouse Animation Studios wanted to revive her, and undermine her death. But it does end up a situation were Animated/Nocturne Erzsebet has elements of Carmilla (from Castlevania games, novel, and as you mentioned Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust).

It's notable though Carmilla and Erzsebet/Elizabeth Bathory have some tendency though to be conflated (despite some visible differences), and given each-others aspects, including Castlevania games (even if normally, they are separate characters). Castlevania: Judgement gave Carmilla parts of Erzsebet's MO and characterization (ie bathing in blood). Carmilla from Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust movie you mentioned, herself was mentioned to be also Elizabeth Bathory. In Fate series/Nasuverse they are similarly conflated.

Vampire Hunter D is though interesting, as it has a visible influence on the Castlevania series, especially D on Alucard, though I think you most certainly know that.

As I mentioned at the start, I understand your issues with narrative, as well as wanting a more faithful to games (at least from design and retaining her serpent and Medusa connection) version of Erzsebet Bathory/Elizabeth Bartley. Even if as you stated, you quite like Nocturne. These are just my observations I wanted to share.

Erzsebet should've become Apophis

I've been enjoying Castlevania Nocturne, but ngl I feel like the show in general suffers from a case of wasted opportunity when it comes to adapting many, many elements of the games. At times it feels like the writers tend to ignore perfectly sufficient aspects of the source material to replace with their own thing, which is fine sometimes...

But with Erzsebet, there really was missed potential in making her more like her game counterpart. In Bloodlines, where she's known as Elizabeth Bartley, she turns into Medusa as the first phase of her boss fight, before fighting Jonathan/Eric as her regular self afterwards.

There is SOME room to interpret this as Bartley merely summoning Medusa rather than turning into her. However, in Easy mode, Bartley just dies once Medusa is defeated, suggesting they're the same person; Bartley isn't mentioned in the end credits while Medusa is, suggesting they're interchangeable with one another (because otherwise, why would this one-off boss have more precedent than the main villain who appears in the prologue???); And at the start of Bartley's level, the player is attacked by a floating Medusa head that shoots out red flames, just like the Medusa you actually fight, and just like Bartley herself.

So as far as I'm concerned, Bartley is Medusa. And that's kind of a big deal to me because Medusa is one of the most recurring and iconic bosses in the series, so to see her, or at least one incarnation of Medusa, receive deeper characterization and story relevance is pretty cool. Medusa is one of Dracula's OG generals, which is why it's a shame she's been completely absent from the show.

Here's the thing; If they wanted to give Bathory a second form, Medusa is right there. It'd even parallel how Olrox turns into a green reptile himself, too! And if the writers still want to make Bathory appropriate an Egyptian deity, as part of her colonizer symbolism that informs Olrox's hatred and rebellion, we've got a perfect fit for Medusa; Apophis!

Apophis is a serpent and a much more explicit enemy of the sun than Sekhmet is in myth; He's the sworn arch-nemesis of Ra and attempts to devour the sun every night, only to be defeated, time and time again. He's said to lurk in the Underworld, too! So this has parallels to Vampires' association with Hell, Apophis fulfills the function of Bathory's hatred of the sun and her plan to block it out... Hell, we even have the theme of an enemy of darkness that must be defeated in a neverending cycle, like Dracula, whom Bathory is taking the role of in Nocturne!

So instead of drinking Sekhmet's blood, have Erzsebet drink the blood of Apophis. This causes her to turn into a green, serpentine monster that also resembles Medusa, making her the show equivalent of Medusa, and a more faithful adaptation of Bartley than discount Lion-O. And since Medusa is consistently green throughout most of the games and in general media depictions, this could also cause Erzsebet's hair to turn green, the same color it was in the games! I think that'd make more sense than discarding what little we got of Bartley in the actual games to instead emulate Carmilla from Vampire Hunter D.