#hi Dawn ilu and your son :)))

[mj2606k]

Jealousy, Jealousy…

Pairing: Neteyam Sully x fem!omaticaya!reader

Character: Neteyam, fem!reader, Aonung, Aonung’s unnamed friends

Warnings: jealousy obv, some arguing, a small amount of yelling, Neteyam’s a little possessive

Background Info: Months after the Battle of Three Brothers Rock, the oldest Sully son finds jealousy budding in him when he sees the chief's son and his friends getting a bit too close for his liking with Y/N, his lifelong best friend that came with him and his family when they left the forest.

Neteyam rode back to the village on the back of his ilu (large plesiosaurlike sea creature) with Lo'ak and Tsireya, the three of them had left earlier that day shortly after dawn to catch fish. They went over to where all hunters would drop off their catches and dropped them off before Neteyam waved his goodbyes to the pair and swam away from them with his ilu, headed toward the beach.

He had promised you the night before that he would meet you on the beach after he went hunting, pleased when he saw you sat in the sand a bit of a ways away from him, waiting. As Neteyam got closer on his ilu he noticed Aonung and two other Metkayina boys that he recognized but didn't know the names of, standing next to you and Aonung was speaking to you, his arms crossed across his chest and a smirk on his face. Neteyam dismounted his ilu and detached his queue, allowing it to swim off before he swam over to shore, walking out of the water and shaking the water out of his braids before walking towards you and the boys.

As he neared you, he heard the end of the conversation you and Aonung were having, "Don't hesitate to ask to accompany us on a swim, Forest Girl. You'll be welcomed with open arms, anytime." Neteyam's tail flicked angrily as he picked up on the implication of Aonung's words as the boys behind him smirked and snickered, though you just blinked innocently up at the three of them and smiled a bit, not used to Aonung's kindness. "Thanks, I guess." As you responded you heard footsteps and turned to look, smiling as your best friend came into view and accepting the hand he offered to help you up when he reached you.

He returned your smile and gently rested a hand on the small of your back, missing the blush that appeared on your face at his touch as you brushed off the bit of sand on your legs. When you stood back up straight Neteyam was staring Aonung down, his ears pressed back against the sides of his head while his tail lashed around behind him, "If you don't mind, I've got plans with Y/N. See ya later fish lips." Neteyam spit the words out with venom, you looked at him a bit surprised as he never said that to Aonung’s face, and exclaimed quietly, "Nete!" as he rudely walked off, though you willingly stayed by his side and walked with him, waving goodbye to the Metkayina boys behind you. The two of you walked in silence for a bit, his hand slowly slipping down from your back until he dropped it to his side completely, ears still pressed back against his head and tail still lashing around angrily behind him as he walked.

You picked up on his sour mood and frowned a bit, gently grabbing his hand and stopping in your tracks, forcing him to stop as well and he turned to face you. "What's wrong Nete? Why are you so upset all of a sudden?" You pressed him, sighing quietly when he didn't answer and instead moved his gaze from your eyes to beside your head to avoid eye contact. You almost immediately moved your head to the side to force eye contact, both of you knowing he couldn't lie to your face as you continued speaking, "Why were you so rude to them? They have done nothing!" He scoffed quietly and the noise made your brow furrow, your own tail starting to flick against your leg in annoyance.

Neteyam once again refused to speak, though his mood seemed to calm a bit as you stared at each other. Still pressing for an answer you began to speak again, voice coming out firmer now, "Neteyam—" he growled quietly and finally spoke, cutting you off, "I don't like how they looked at you!" You looked at him, slightly confused but remained quiet to let him continue, gently squeezing his hand in yours before he turned to face you completely, standing right in front of you and gently taking your other hand in his own. "I didn't.. I hate how they spoke to you. They were definitely not only talking about going for a swim with you, though yes I am aware that that's all they were actually talking about. You are my—” He paused, eyes focused on your conjoined hands before he gently squeezed yours, eyes flicking up to meet your own, “my best friend.." He finished, your eyebrows lifting slightly as you caught on to what he almost said, though from the look in his eye you knew it was not to be said aloud just yet.

You sighed quietly, dropping his hands from your own before gently cupping his face with both your hands, eyes closing as you leaned in and gently pressed your forehead to his. You did not need him to say the word in order to understand what he had wanted to say. After a moment, he also let out a deep sigh and brought his hands up to gently hold yours against his face, your tail wrapping loosely around his calf, then you smiled when you felt his tail wrap around your thigh in return.

"Ma Neteyam.. you do not need to worry about those boys. They may be nice, but I am yours. Friend or.. otherwise." You spoke, leaning back and opening your eyes to look into his own, smiling softly as his ears perked up, thumb rubbing lightly over your hand that still cupped his cheek before he turned his head slightly and pressed a soft kiss to your palm, eyes remaining locked on yours as he did so.

"There's my Nete." You nearly whispered as he smiled down at you, the two of you just watching each other until you both noticed it had begun to get darker as eclipse set in, both of you looking up to see the sun disappearing before you looked to Neteyam again, his smile wider now "I just remembered what I wanted to show you!" With that he gently took your hands off his face but kept hold of one as he turned and started running towards where you both and the rest of his family had left their ikran (banshee) to rest, you easily kept up with him as you two went.

You reached the ikran and he let go of your hand to put on his eye guard before handing you yours, you put yours on with a smile before you both mounted your ikran and flew off together. As Neteyam flew up towards the mountain of the island, you followed him, smiling as the stars began to come out around you. It only took a few short minutes for the two of you to reach the mountain, flying into a large cave after Neteyam before you both landed your ikran, hopping off and lifting your eye guard before storing it in the small satchel that you had connected to your ikran's saddle.

Looking over to see Neteyam already watching you with a small smile on his face, you returned the smile before walking over to him, ears flicking happily as he gently took one of your hands before beginning to lead you deeper into the cave. He lead you into a tunnel and you both walked for a few minutes in the darkness, your eyes tracing over the bioluminescent dots littered across his back as he walked partially ahead of you. Eventually you made it into a different, much bigger cave and you had to momentarily cover your eyes as you had adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel.

Once your eyes adjusted to the unexpected brightness, you opened them and gasped quietly at the sight of all the large, bioluminescent plants littering every corner of the cave. Neteyam let go of your hand and smiled down at you when you looked up at him, "Found this place and thought of you immediately. Go look around, pretty girl." You smiled brightly at his words and slowly walked forward, smiling wide as you noticed that the moss on the ground of the cave glowed with every step you took, then you looked up at the ceiling and sighed happily at the sight of tons of atokirina (seeds of the great tree) flying around.

You looked behind you to see Neteyam following you with a soft smile on his face, so you walked back to him and leaned in to whisper in his ear, gently tapping his shoulder as you did so, "Tag, you're it." With that you turned and took off before he could fully process what you said, then the two of you were running through the cave, your hands brushing against the glowing leaves as you went. It didn't take long before Neteyam caught up and tackled you, turning the two of you as you fell so he would be the one to hit the ground, making a quiet "oof!" noise as he did. The two of you were laughing quietly, you rolled over to face him and curled up against his side, the dry mossy floor of the cave reminding you a lot of the forest.

Eventually you both calmed down, one of his hands playing with your hair while you traced the glowing dots across Neteyam's torso, his breath hitching quietly and hand momentarily stopping in your hair whenever your hand brushed over his abdomen though you never went further, both of you silently agreeing that it was much too early for anything of that sort between the two of you. You sighed quietly in content as you lifted your head to look at him, blushing slightly to find he was once again already watching you, a soft look in his eyes. "Thank you for bringing me here, it is beautiful." You spoke softly, noting how the dots on your own skin reflected in his eyes.

Neteyam smiled softly down at you, leaning down slightly to press a light kiss to your forehead, "Not as beautiful as you, ma yawne (my beloved)."

[undercoverpan]

Fish for breakfast

Spider wondered which deity he upset.

No, really, which god or goddess got so mad at him; they put him in this position?

This position being trapped beneath his dad as he hisses and snarls at his other dad, Jake. The enraged Na'vi had his ears pinned down as he bore his teeth at the other, the aforementioned Na'vi doing the exact same. It's normal for these 2 to be at eachothers throats, but it doesn't mean that Spider likes being held. By either of them. Jake lost his holding privileges when he had taken him to ride a tsurak, and promptly allowed him to be swept away by the waves. Quaritch lost his when he accidentally cracked a rib from how tightly he was holding.

"He's my son and I am taking him for the holidays!" Roared Quaritch, murder flashing in his eyes. "We agreed that Spider stays with me during Na'vi holidays!" Jake argued, his voice as sharp as his blade. "He's had enough Na'vi holidays, asshole! You're not depriving my son of christmas!" Spider didn't even know what Christmas was, but Quaritch wanted to take him on the RDA trip to the northern mountains, so he could experience a real christmas. He's not sure what that means, but he admits that it did sound fun.

And Neytiri didn't like having him around, especially on special days. He thinks it'd be nice to be welcomed on a holiday. It's a win-win situation, he gets to enthusiastically participate with one side of his culture and Neytiri gets to enjoy the festivities with her family without spider around.

Fair trade, right?

Wrong.

His dads were on the verge of instigating another war between them and Spider, as always, was caught in the middle. And this time, he hasn't even had breakfast yet! 

"Oh who cares about christmas! It's a shitty holiday anyways!" 

"Sully, I swear to God, I'm going to knock your teeth out!"

He managed to wriggle free while the 2 fought. He crept away to the beach, where no one was because it was the ass-crack of dawn. Strangely, he spotted a small cookfire with 4 people.

As he got closer, he immediately recognized them as his friends.

"Monkey boy! Come, come!" Kiri cheered as he ran over, crashing down into her waiting arms. They seemed to be roasting some fish over an open fire.

"Finally got away from dad?" Lo'ak asked as he chewed his food. Neteyam flicked his forehead, muttering something about swallowing first. 

"Yeah, finally! They're both so overdramatic, they both give me a massive migraine every time they start talking about visits and holidays and who's my favourite. Eywa, I wish they would stop."

They all nodded in agreement. They suffered from having to live with the world's prettiest man who got into catfights with Quaritch every other day. 

So they all sat there, talking about everything and anything to distract each other. What weaving pattern should Lo'ak use for the necklace he's making for Tsireya, Kiri found an ilu with a heart shaped mark on its forehead, Neteyam is getting better with a spear, Tuk ate a salty rock recently. They talk and laugh as they eat cooked fish all morning.

The group slowly goes silent. He followed their gaze as they all looked behind him. He felt his heart drop as he saw Neytiri approaching. Her face was blank, expression unreadable. The sand crunched beneath her feet as she approached.

She sat down between him and Lo'ak. They all watched her with bated breath.

With a click of her tongue, she spoke; "What's for breakfast?"

And they all started the morning with roasted fish.

______

Everyone is fed up w Quaritch and jake, 100%

[akiiyamashun]

headcanon: Akiyama and Daigo’s relationship

Akiyama and Daigo do not interact frequently in the canon material - the first time they cross paths is arguably during the Y4 finale, where they first see each other at the top of the Millennium Tower (although they do not fight each other); nevertheless, Daigo is directly responsible for stealing Akiyama’s fortune from his safe at Sky Finance, and causes a great deal of trouble for him.

Further, while they do not interact face to face during Y5, the dialogue between Akiyama and Shinada reveals interesting bits - and the way our favorite loan shark speaks about Daigo (using his first name even, as opposed to ‘Dojima’ all the time as he does with Kiryu and probably everyone else) suggests a degree of familiarity or at the very least the absence of any hostility given the stint Daigo pulled with his money in Y4.

And finally, in Y6 - the Tojo guy that Kiryu saves upon arriving at Kamurocho and searching for Akiyama mentions the the only reason he went into hiding was because of his connection to Daigo himself (which is an interesting claim, because, again, they have never really interacted much on-screen - Akiyama has stronger in-game connections to Saejima out of all Tojo officers, as well as Kiryu as former Tojo). So the reason a civilian like Akiyama ends up being targeted is due to his relationship to the yakuza surrounding him, most notably their chairman.

While for the purposes of my portrayal of Akiyama I acknowledge all these bits above, I wanted to also say that I take a step further and also incorporate a lot of what I have previously discussed with @dojimakaichou - I love the way Dawn writes her Daigo so much that he’s essentially the canon version to me at this point, and all the plotting we had behind the scenes came to influence my headcanons and perceptions of Akiyama too.

So, in short, my Akiyama has a debt of gratitude to Dawn’s Daigo that was originated during his homeless years, which overlapped with Daigo’s punk/brawler era as King of Kamurocho. Essentially, Daigo saved Akiyama’s life from an ugly beating from Tojo thugs - the severity of the wounds and how much Daigo was involved in the recovery changes depending on the verse, as well as whether or not Akiyama was even aware of Daigo’s real identity at the time, but the event in itself always happens.

Realistically, this should change next to nothing for most of the other interactions I have going on - but there is so much plotting and care behind the scenes that feels wrong to leave Dawn and her son out of my writing where Akiyama is concerned. After all, if I’m here writing this insufferable loan shark to begin with, it’s all thanks to her, really.

[ficsandpieces]

Ranmaru x fem!reader ♦: Slow dancing please💕

YEESSSSHHHHH THANK YOU ANON ILU SO MUCH.

To tell the truth, I’ve been wanting to write something like this for a long time now. The original piece had an extremely N*FW ending but that probably won’t do for this lol

(If anyone is thirsty enough let me know and I’ll see if I can put it up hohoho)

You had to control your face from twitching in surprise when you saw Ranmaru making his way towards you through the crowd, his footsteps clattering across the marble floor of the ballroom.

“I didn’t know you were back,” That look in his eyes that showed when he was pushing himself and hadn’t gotten enough sleep didn’t escape your notice. Your tone softened. “Weren’t you supposed to be flying in tomorrow? You didn’t have to rush back, you know.”

“Took an earlier flight,” Ranmaru mumbled, his grip firm on your arm. “Swapped with Ai.” His eyes refocused. Your face burned with a flush as red as your dress when you literally felt his gaze travel hungrily down your form, taking in the fact that you were adorned from head to toe in nothing but silver and carmine, from the accessories in your hair all the way down to your shoes which had cost more than they were worth but were the only pair that matched both of his eyes.

“Didn’t know I was coming but look at you,” His mouth quirked into a grin and he pulled you closer. “You trying to say something?”

“We’re in public,” you replied archly, your arm twisting out of his grasp. “Why did you even come anyway? I told you my cousin would be my partner for this.”

“Reiji sent me a photo. I’ve seen your cousin and that wasn’t him.” His eyes narrowed. “Where is he?”

You resisted the twin urges to both find Reiji and strangle him and to knock some sense into Ranmaru with the closest object at hand, preferably something harder than his thick, boneheaded skull.

“I’ll have you know that I happen to have more than one cousin. It’s not like you’ve met my whole family.”

“Tch,” He clicked his tongue but you could see his shoulders visibly relax, as if some great tension had drained from him the second he heard that it really was your cousin whose arm you had been holding on to in the photo. “Prove it.”

“Oh for– Fine, I will!”

You spun on your heel, determined to drag your cousin out of wherever he had fled to after abandoning you the second Ranmaru appeared, and just narrowly avoided colliding with someone who happened to be right behind you. Amid the flurry of apologies from the both of you, the man who barely managed to save his flute of champagne after you almost ran head first into him looked at you curiously.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you before…” He held out a hand. “If you would do me the pleasure of your name and a dance–”

“She’s taken.”

Before you could process his words Ranmaru’s hand was around your waist, his other hand catching hold of one of yours. Your feet barely touched the ground as he forcefully led you away and towards the dance area. Smoothly maneuvering both of you between the waltzing couples already there, he came to a stop somewhere near the other end of the ballroom.

Straightening up, he let go of your waist and held out his hands in a proper hold. You stared at him in surprise, quite sure that the bright light from the chandeliers above must be playing tricks on your eyes.

“I thought you hated this sort of thing?”

He raised a brow at you, the beginnings of a scowl forming on his face.

“Look, do you want to do this or not?”

You laughed softly. A single step brought you towards him, your hand sliding naturally into his while his arm went around and up to support your back. His fingers closed firmly around yours as your other hand slipped down his shoulder on to his arm.

“I shouldn’t be surprised but it’s still a bit of a shock to know that you can dance ballroom as well,” you teased, your movements following his easily as he swayed and turned. “Idols sure have it tough.”

“Had to go for a ballroom boot camp for a show once. Never thought I’d wear one of these damn stiff pieces of cardboard that they call collars again.”

“Well, thank you very much for your noble sacrifice,” You followed his lead, your steps matching his effortlessly. “If it’s any consolation, it looks very good on you. You even took the time to do your hair! I’m touched.”

“Cut the crap,” Ranmaru grunted, the light reflecting off the floor hiding the blush tinting his cheeks. You laughed lightly, spinning and returning to his arms.

“Besides,” he continued, drawing you closer to him protectively. “Like hell I’d let some snobby son of a bitch lay his shitty hands on you.” His eyes were fierce as he directed his glare at the man who had asked you for a dance earlier and was currently heading towards the two of you with every intention of trying again when he spotted Ranmaru sending him a clear message.

Back off. SHE’S MINE.

Unaware of the poor sap who had been terrified by the sheer force of Ranmaru’s murderous gaze into beating a hasty retreat, you took the time to drink in and greatly appreciate the rare sight of Ranmaru in a ballroom suit with his hair slicked back.

The waltz ended, the piano transiting into the next number smoothly. The soft notes accompanied by the violins thinned out the crowd around the two of you as couples left. You looked up at Ranmaru who seemed to have no intention of letting you go.

“The surprises never stop tonight, do they? Still up for another dance?”

“You looking down on me?” His hands traveled down to your waist, your arms moving up to drape over his shoulders as the two of you came closer together, as easily as breathing. “I can keep this up as long as you want.”

Your steps floated as lightly as the music around you. Your fingers rested on the back of his neck, lightly brushing the short hairs there stiff with gel.

“You really didn’t have to go through all this effort for me,” you mumbled, smiling softly. “Where did you even get this suit from?”

“Reiji had a spare in his trunk,” His shoulders rolled and shifted under your touch. “No idea how he normally changes in his car, the backseat’s damn narrow.” He didn’t mention that Reiji had screeched when Ranmaru had almost kicked out one of his windows while pulling his trousers on.

“Ran,” Your voice was trembling from the pressure of suppressing your laughter. “You and Reiji are nowhere near the same size. How on earth would his spare suit fit you, and so perfectly too?”

You almost lost it at the dumbfounded look on Ranmaru’s face, the meaning of your words slowly sinking in.

“Let me guess, he was waiting for you outside when you arrived?” you continued, your eyes dancing with merriment as you watched the light of realization dawn on him. “And he just happened to have a spare suit in your size in his car? With shoes to match? All this right after sending you that photo?”

His grip on your waist tightened. “Fuckin’ hell Reiji,” he snarled under his breath when he realized how neatly he had been played into attending this ball. “Just wait til I get to you…”

You hummed in reply. “Just do it outside, the people here would faint at anything.”

The music, the slow swaying of the dance, Ranmaru’s cologne, the tender closeness between your bodies, all this was making you feel so very soft and mellow. Ranmaru’s hold on you relaxed gradually, the look in his eyes unusually gentle as he gazed down at you. Other than when he had spied his rival for your company heading towards you earlier, his eyes had never left you since he first saw you through the crowd, resplendent in his colors, taking his breath away.

“I’m glad you came though,” Your eyes were half-closed in contentment. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to dance with you like this.”

“You should’ve just asked.”

“Mhm, but it’s not just that,” His heartbeat was steady, comforting under your ear as your head rested against his chest. “I’d much rather be with you than my cousin.” You sighed softly. “Thank you for being here with me tonight.”

“Idiot,” His hand left your waist, his fingers firm under your chin as he lifted your face towards him. “I said I’d be there for you whenever you needed me, didn’t I? You know that I always mean what I say, especially when it comes to you.”

“I know.”

His forehead rested lightly against yours, your noses bumping. You smiled, your steps not stopping.

“I thought you were going to kiss me.”

Then you noticed that you were no longer in the ballroom, the ceiling lights far away and winking at you through the large french windows of the balcony Ranmaru had been gradually and cleverly maneuvering you to throughout the two dances.

The night air was chilly against the thin fabric of your dress but your face was pleasantly warm as he bent over you, his hand cupping your cheek, his broad back shielding the two of you from any curious eyes who happened to be looking outside.

“Who says I’m not?”

*

Ranmaru almost broke his phone when he collected it, together with his luggage, from the concierge and saw that Reiji had texted him a photo of the two of you out on the balcony along with the message: ”You can thank me later (>ω

(He never showed it to you, and it was much later and purely by accident that you saw it as his phone background.)

[mostlydeadlanguages]

KTU 1.23 (Dawn and Dusk/The Gentle Gods)

It’s been a while since my last translation, but I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.  It’s an odd Ugaritic text: the first half is a fragmented mish-mash of ritual instructions and mythic imagery, while the second half is a ribald tale about Ilu, the Father-God, and the consequences of his libido.  I have included several notes to outline my own read of the text, but I want to emphasize that many of its elements are still debated by scholars, so you should take my observations with several grains of salt.  Notably, I argue that in the “bawdy comedy” section, the text includes a fairly explicit depiction of two women having sex with each other.

I welcome the Gentle Gods — [1]        the graceful sons of the Sun-Go[ddess], those granted honor from the heights, [2]        in the wilderness and the barren plateaus.

… upon their heads, and …

Feast abundantly upon the feast!        Drink abundantly of the bubbly wine! Grant peace to the king!        Grant peace to the queen,        to the guests and the guards!

The Death-Lord is seated:        in his hand, a staff of sterility;        in his hand, a staff of widowhood. The vine-pruner prunes it;        the vine-tier ties it;        like a vine, he drops it on his death-field. [3]

Seven times, he says it over the platform,        and the guests reply.

And the field is the field of Ilu,        the field of Athirat and Lady Mercy. Over the fire, seven times, the youth(s), a great shout:        coriander in milk, mint in butter. Then over the cauldron, seven times again:        incen[se, in]cense.

Lady Mercy goes out to hunt […] She clothes the gent[le] youth […] And the name of the guests […]

The gods’ dwellings are eight, eight […] […] seven times […]

Lapis lazuli, red carnelian […] […] the two lords […] [4]

Yes, I welcome the Gentle Gods,        the ravenous pair, born the [same] day, they who suckle the nipple of Athirat [5]        […] the Sun-Goddess, who tends to their vulnerability. […] and grapes.

Grant peace to the guests and the guards,        walking with the sacrifice of gentleness.

In the field of Ilu,        the field of Athirat and Lady Mercy,        the gods dwell.

[Ilu walks along] the sea shore;        he strides the shore of the Great Deep. Ilu [sees] two women mounting each other —        two women mounting each other, head to “cauldron.” [6] Watch!  One sinks down.        Watch!  One rises up. Watch!  One shouts, “daddy, daddy!”        Watch!  One shouts “mommy, mommy!”

Ilu’s member lengthens like the sea —        yes, Ilu’s member [rises] like the tide. Ilu’s member lengthened like the sea —        yes, Ilu’s member [rose] like the tide.

Ilu seizes the two women mounting each other,        the two women mounting each other, head to “cauldron.” He seizes [them] and puts them in his house.

Ilu has pulled out his “staff”;        Ilu has palmed the rod with his hand. Raising it, he shoots skyward:        he has shot a bird from the sky! Plucking it, he puts it on the embers:        in this way, Ilu ravishes the women.

If the two women shout, “Oh husband, husband,        pulling out your staff,                palming the rod with your hand!        Watch out!  You’re roasting the bird on the fire,                but you’ve burned it on the coals.” Then they are wives indeed, wives of Ilu,        wives of Ilu forever.

But if the two women shout, “Oh daddy, daddy,        pulling out your staff,                palming the rod with your hand!        Watch out!  You’re roasting the bird on the fire,                but you’ve burned it on the coals.” Then they are daughters indeed, daughters of Ilu,        daughters of Ilu forever. [7]

And then the two women shout, “Oh husband, husband,        pulling out your staff,                palming the rod with your hand!        Watch out!  You’re roasting the bird on the fire,                but you’ve burned it on the coals.” They are wives of Husband Ilu,        wives of Ilu forever.

He leans down and kisses their lips.        Oh, oh!  Their lips are sweet,               sweet as pomegranates. With kissing comes conception;        with lovemaking comes climax. The two squat down and give birth        to Dawn and Dusk.

A message arrives for Ilu:        “The wives of Ilu gave birth!” “To what did they give birth?”        “To the two boys, Dawn and Dusk!” “Raise a gift to the Great Sun-Goddess,        and to the unchanging stars.”

He leans down and kisses their lips.        Oh, oh!  Their lips are sweet,               sweet as pomegranates. With kissing comes conception;        with lovemaking comes climax. [8] [Ilu] sits down […]        he counts to five […]        […] ten, the pair is complete. The two squat down and give birth        to the Gentle Gods: Devourers of the day, sons of one day,        they who suckle the nipple of the breast.

A message arrives for Ilu:        “The wives of Ilu gave birth!” “To what did they give birth?”        “To the Gentle Gods: “Devourers of the day, sons of one day,        they who suckle the nipple of the breast of the lady. “One lip on the earth,        one lip in the sky. “Everything goes into their mouths:        the birds of the sky,        and the fish of the sea. “And they stand from one edge to the other,        devouring to the right and to the left. “Nothing in their mouths can sate them.” [9]

“Wives that I married,        sons that I fathered: “Raise a gift        from within the holy wilderness. “You will be refugees there —        refugees among the stones        and among the trees, “for a total of seven years,        eight circuits of time.”

The Gentle Gods journey to the field;        they hunt at the edge of the wilderness. Then they approach the Guardian of Farmland [10]        and call out to the Guardian of Farmland:        “Oi, guardian!  Guardian!  Open up!” So he opens up a passage near them,        and they enter. “If you’ve got bread,        give it over, so we can eat! “If you’ve got wine,        give it over, so we can drink!”

The Guardian of Farmland answers them,        “There’s wine that comes from Th[…] …” … appears. He serves a measure of his wine … And his friend fills up with wine …

[1] “Gentle Gods” — or perhaps “Kindly Gods.”  Basically, some scholars argue that the name is a euphemism, like the British “Fair Folk” (fae) or the Greek “Kindly Ones” (Furies).  The polite name for them attempts to flatter and appease.

[2] “Those granted honor from the heights” — a very difficult line.  For instance, another possible translation is, “Those who give a city from above.”

[3] Most of the terms in this evocative section are clear, but their (presumably metaphorical?) meaning is far from apparent.  With great uncertainty, I read this as a metonymic description of the activities of winter: a season of sterility, when grapevines are pruned and fields cleared.  Only by destroying the vines (i.e. welcoming the activity of Motu/Death) can the gardeners ensure a fertile spring and summer.

[4] This section is very broken, but I am personally intrigued by the mention of lapis lazuli and carnelian.  Most scholars interpret these as colors (blue and red) rather than the stones themselves, but this section comes shortly after the discussion of two food-substances and a cauldron.  In Gilgamesh, a pair of lapis and carnelian bowls are part of the funeral rites for Enkidu.  The mineral pair also appears in other Mesopotamian contexts, e.g. a birth charm to predict a child’s sex, in which lapis symbolizes a boy and carnelian symbolizes a girl.  So while red and blue clothing is certainly a possible reading, I take the gems literally.  This also affects the following word — šr can mean a singer or a prince, and I view it as a return to the twin Gentle Gods.

[5] Athirat is of course the equivalent of Hebrew “Asherah,” the mother-goddess and wife of Ilu.

[6] “Two women mounting each other, head to ‘cauldron.’” This is certainly my most radical divergence from standard translations, but it’s also a translation of a section that has been a difficult crux for scholars.  “Two-women-mounting-each-other” is a single word in Ugaritic, appearing nowhere outside this passage, so my breakdown of its etymology is speculative, but it’s along very similar lines to the standard interpretation (“two-women-bobbing-up-and-down”).  (Technical explanation: I agree that it’s a Št participle, but I connect it to the Šp in KTU 1.5.v.21, which clearly refers to sexual mounting.  So if the Š passive means “to be mounted,” I speculate that the Š reflexive means “to mount each other.”)  “Cauldron” appeared earlier in the text as a ritual implement, but it’s the same root word that appears in Song of Songs 7:2 as a metaphor for the navel/vulva/loins, overflowing with “spiced wine.”  In short, I believe that this describes two women engaging in oral sex with each other.

Since the following sections involve overt ribald humor, and since whatever Ilu sees causes immediate arousal, this meaning is hardly out of place in the passage.  However, if I’m correct, this would still be a remarkable precedent, since I’m unaware of any other ancient Near Eastern text that describes details of sexual acts between women (as we do see in Greek texts, for instance).  If any fellow Ugaritic scholars are reading this, I would welcome your thoughts on the topic.

[7] “Daughters of Ilu for all time” — this designation does not preclude a sexual relationship.  (After all, Ilu has already “ravished” the pair!)  Ba’al had three “daughters” who were also his wives/consorts, and adoption may have been an ancient legal option for betrothing a woman too young to marry yet.  Perhaps — but this is a guess — the distinction is whether the two women are post-pubescent, i.e. able to conceive Ilu’s children.

[8] One of the fundamental debates around this passage concerns this repetition.  Did the wives bear two sets of twins (Dawn and Dusk, and then the Gentle Gods)?  Or is this an example of ancient narrative repetition, where the text describes the same event in subsequent passages?  I personally lean toward the latter — I see the text as equating Dawn and Dusk with the Gentle Gods, rather than depicting them as the older siblings of the pair.

[9] What’s going on with these terrifyingly ravenous gods?  Analyses differ, but here’s my theory (predicated on the assumption that they are equated with Dawn and Dusk).  Dawn and Dusk are literally the two bookends on each day; they “consume” the sun, then regurgitate it each morning, and nothing can escape the fall of night.  As long as each dusk brings another dawn, equilibrium is maintained.  But during the winter, the days are growing shorter — which means that Dawn and Dusk are moving closer to each other, gobbling up more of each successive day.  Therefore, a midwinter ritual might seek to reverse that pattern, so that Dawn and Dusk don’t continue until the whole world is enveloped in darkness.  Up until this point, the sources of light included the Sun-Goddess and the stars, but the introduction of Dawn and Dusk destabilizes the sun’s reign, creating a crisis that must be addressed by Ilu.

[10] “The Guardian of Farmland”: “farmland” is simply the term for soil that has been tilled and sown, i.e. not wilderness.  The Gentle Gods have reached the border between wilderness and civilization, and are met by a guard.  Although their interaction is broken, I believe that this is the mythic interaction underlying the ritual at the beginning: in order to placate the ravenous Gentle Gods, a feast of food and wine is offered to them — but not free access to the civilized world.

[oguzhanahmetkara]

Ēl (deity), c. 1435–1420 BCE) An eternal bond has been established for us. Ashshur has established (it) for us, and all the divine beings and the majority of the group of all the holy ones, through the bond of heaven and earth for ever, ...[13] However, Cross (1973, p. 17) translated the text as follows: The Eternal One (‘Olam) has made a covenant oath with us, Asherah has made (a pact) with us. And all the sons of El, And the great council of all the Holy Ones. With oaths of Heaven and Ancient Earth .......................................................................................... In some inscriptions, the name ’Ēl qōne ’arṣ meaning "ʼĒl creator of Earth" appears, even including a late inscription at Leptis Magna in Tripolitania dating to the second century.[15] In Hittite texts, the expression becomes the single name Ilkunirsa, this Ilkunirsa appearing as the husband of Asherdu (Asherah) and father of 77 or 88 sons.[16] In a Hurrian hymn to ʼĒl (published in Ugaritica V, text RS 24.278), he is called ’il brt and ’il dn which Cross (p. 39) takes as 'ʼĒl of the covenant' and 'ʼĒl the judge' respectively Linguistic forms and meanings ’Ēl (or ’Il, written aleph-lamed, e.g. Ugaritic: 𐎛𐎍, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤋,[1] Hebrew: אל‎‎, Syriac: ܐܠ‎, Arabic: إل‎‎ or إله, cognate to Akkadian: ilu) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "god" or "deity", or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major Ancient Near East deities. A rarer spelling, "'ila", represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite.[2] The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic archaic biliteral ʔ‑L, meaning "god". Specific deities known as El or Il include the supreme god of the Canaanite religion[3] and the supreme god of the Mesopotamian Semites in the pre-Sargonic period. Amorites Amorite inscriptions from Zincirli refer to numerous gods, sometimes by name, sometimes by title, especially by such titles as Ilabrat 'God of the people'(?), Il abīka 'God of your father', Il abīni 'God of our father' and so forth. Various family gods are recorded, divine names listed as belong to a particular family or clan, sometimes by title and sometimes by name, including the name Il 'God'. In Amorite personal names, the most common divine elements are Il ('God'), Hadad/Adad, and Dagan. It is likely that Il is also very often the god called in Akkadian texts Amurru or Il Amurru.[citation needed] Ugarit and the Levant[edit] For the Canaanites and the ancient Levantine region as a whole, Ēl or Il was the supreme god, the father of mankind and all creatures.[18] He also fathered many gods, most importantly Hadad, Yam, and Mot, each sharing similar attributes to the Greco-Roman gods: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades respectively. As recorded on the clay tablets of Ugarit, El is the husband of the goddess Asherah. Three pantheon lists found at Ugarit (modern Ra′s Shamrā—Arabic: رأس شمرا‎‎, Syria) begin with the four gods ’il-’ib (which according to Cross (1973; p. 14) is the name of a generic kind of deity, perhaps the divine ancestor of the people), Ēl, Dagnu (that is Dagon), and Ba’l Ṣapān (that is the god Haddu or Hadad).[19] Though Ugarit had a large temple dedicated to Dagon and another to Hadad, there was no temple dedicated to Ēl. Ēl is called again and again Tôru ‘Ēl ("Bull Ēl" or "the bull god"). He is bātnyu binwāti ("Creator of creatures"), ’abū banī ’ili ("father of the gods"), and ‘abū ‘adami ("father of man"). He is qāniyunu ‘ôlam ("creator eternal"), the epithet ‘ôlam appearing in Hebrew form in the Hebrew name of God ’ēl ‘ôlam "God Eternal" in Genesis 21.33. He is ḥātikuka ("your patriarch"). Ēl is the grey-bearded ancient one, full of wisdom, malku ("King"), ’abū šamīma ("Father of years"), ’El gibbōr ("Ēl the warrior"). He is also named lṭpn of unknown meaning, variously rendered as Latpan, Latipan, or Lutpani ("shroud-face" by Strong's Hebrew Concordance). "El" (Father of Heaven / Saturn) and his major son: "Hadad" (Father of Earth / Jupiter), are symbolized both by the bull, and both wear bull horns on their headdresses.[20][21][22][23] In Canaanite mythology, El builds a desert sanctuary with his children and his two wives, leading to speculation[by whom?] that at one point El was a desert god. The mysterious Ugaritic text Shachar and Shalim tells how (perhaps near the beginning of all things) Ēl came to shores of the sea and saw two women who bobbed up and down. Ēl was sexually aroused and took the two with him, killed a bird by throwing a staff at it, and roasted it over a fire. He asked the women to tell him when the bird was fully cooked, and to then address him either as husband or as father, for he would thenceforward behave to them as they called him. They saluted him as husband. He then lay with them, and they gave birth to Shachar ("Dawn") and Shalim ("Dusk"). Again Ēl lay with his wives and the wives gave birth to "the gracious gods", "cleavers of the sea", "children of the sea". The names of these wives are not explicitly provided, but some confusing rubrics at the beginning of the account mention the goddess Athirat, who is otherwise Ēl's chief wife, and the goddess Raḥmayyu ("the one of the womb"), otherwise unknown. In the Ugaritic Ba‘al cycle, Ēl is introduced dwelling on (or in) Mount Lel (Lel possibly meaning "Night") at the fountains of the two rivers at the spring of the two deeps. He dwells in a tent according to some interpretations of the text which may explain why he had no temple in Ugarit. As to the rivers and the spring of the two deeps, these might refer to real streams, or to the mythological sources of the salt water ocean and the fresh water sources under the earth, or to the waters above the heavens and the waters beneath the earth. In the episode of the "Palace of Ba‘al", the god Ba‘al Hadad invites the "seventy sons of Athirat" to a feast in his new palace. Presumably these sons have been fathered on Athirat by Ēl; in following passages they seem be the gods (’ilm) in general or at least a large portion of them. The only sons of Ēl named individually in the Ugaritic texts are Yamm ("Sea"), Mot ("Death"), and Ashtar, who may be the chief and leader of most of the sons of Ēl. Ba‘al Hadad is a few times called Ēl's son rather than the son of Dagan as he is normally called, possibly because Ēl is in the position of a clan-father to all the gods. The fragmentary text R.S. 24.258 describes a banquet to which Ēl invites the other gods and then disgraces himself by becoming outrageously drunk and passing out after confronting an otherwise unknown Hubbay, "he with the horns and tail". The text ends with an incantation for the cure of some disease, possibly hang-over https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_(deity) #Ēl #EL-deity #Yahweh #Adonis #Anat #Asherah #Ashima #Astarte #Atargatis #Attar #Baal #Berith #Chemosh #Dagon #El-Elyon #Eshmun #Gad #Hadad #Kothar-wa-Khasis #Melqart #Moloch #Mot #Nikkal #Qetesh #Resheph #Shadrafa #Shahar #Shalim #Shapash #Yam #Yarikh