Zombie AU Part 2 

“you’re not alone anymore  Blake “

When you realize you’re graded as a team.

Commission info

Pazuzu in Castlevania...

Arguably the most mysterious character in the series.

Pazuzu is an oldie, first appearing in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse...as the final boss:

Pazuzu in Dracula's Curse, his design taking inspiration from 1st edition Advanced Dungeons of Dragons depiction of Pazuzu from 1983's Monster Manual II, most visible with both having beaks, as opposed to other depictions of the Mesopotamian demon king.

This either Dracula taking his form, Dracula merging his spirit with Pazuzu's petrified form, or Pazuzu taking over as the final boss after Dracula's defeat. The lore, even Japanese one is unclear, and this is from were we even get notion of Pazuzu being a separate character.

To be more specific, Pazuzu was meant to be "the Devil", also referred as "Evil God/God of Evil" (邪神／邪心 Jyashin) Dracula sold his soul to in old lore for his powers, vampirism and army, as well as selling Alucard's soul. This was overtime retconned, with Alucard being born a dhampire being established in Symphony of the Night, Alchemy and Chaos, as well to a degree Death (seemingly) taking Pazuzu's place in the lore. Only thing is...Pazuzu still reappeared, even in games after these retcons.

He first re-appears in Harmony of Dissonance, first there being shown as a damaged version of his petrified form/statue/idol,

and then as one of the bosses near the end of the game...coming out of what seems like a sealed portal, being in place usually were Dracula's throne is.

While many think Pazuzu here mostly (beyond his name)references the Demon/Leviathan boss from also Dracula's Curse and Baphomet, I think it's more than that. It's just in this depiction, design wise he is based on the unearthed more recently statue of Pazuzu (from Tell Sheikh Hamed, Syria), which make it clear he has horns on his head (the horns from earlier statues are misinterpreted as ridges on his head):

Pazuzu's attack patterns, are also meant to reference Dracula's classic Demon Final Form.

And that takes to Pazuzu's next appearance...in Curse of Darkness as Dracula's final form, even more similar to the statue I brought up, having now 4 feathered wings like it:

He also takes here cues from Ultimate Dracula forms from Legacy of Darkness and Circle of the Moon, but the similarity to Pazuzu is obvious, along the fact Curse of Darkness is a direct sequel to Curse of Dracula, probably referencing the final boss fight in it, if with new twists.

As in Harmony of Dissonance, Hector also encounters in Curse of Darkness the statue of Dracula's Curse Pazuzu:

Indeed, the statue's presence in games seems to be be a foreshadowing Pazuzu will appear in some form in the game.

Even more curiously, in the official Curse of Darkness manga (supervised by IGA/Koji Igarashi himself) Pazuzu is referenced (as 邪神／邪心 Jyashin/Jashin, as he was called in the Japanese version of Dracula's Curse, mistranslated as Evil Lords in the official English version):

What is his role after the retcons, or is he just a reference to retconned lore?

It doesn't seem he is just a reference, seeing the mention in the manga by IGA/Igarashi himself. Pazuzu exact role in current canon though, is left up to pure speculation. He might be mighty demon Dracula struck a bargain with, before he became (fully?) the Dark Lord/Demon King. He might a previous Dark Lord/Demon King/avatar of Chaos. He might be some manifestation of Chaos that Dracula merged with to become the Dark Lord. We can only speculate, as possibly we will never know, seeing Koji Igarashi left Konami.

And why chose Pazuzu over many other demons, including some like Satan who would fit? Well, I will discuss that...in a next post, (hopefully) tomorrow.

really long ask lmao

hello! I’m a newcomer to the shin megami tensei series, introduced through smtv at the start of this year (actually finished nocturne just last week along with starting soul hackers and iv lmao). i discovered your tumblr about a month ago and finally mustered the courage to submit something.

(apologies in advance for having a bunch of questions and if you’ve covered the answers to these elsewhere @_@)

1. what is some folklore/mythology you would personally like to see represented in the series, as a demon or otherwise?

2. not limited to smt, what is some of your favorite kaneko artwork overall?

3. what is your opinion on the success of persona compared to rest of the megaten series?

4. how would you describe your experiences with the megaten community in general?

5. last question what would you say your favorite demons are design wise? personally, among the designs i’ve seen, some that stick out a lot are dominion, chernobog, jersey devil, mother harlot and baal.

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Hello! 👋 Congratulations on taking that first step and welcome aboard! Sounds like you’ve been busy chipping away at what’s available! I’d be happy to answer your questions.

1. Hmm. This is one of those good common questions I have answered many times but at this juncture, knowing how new SMT games add a couple dozen random demons each time, I would go for my tried and true picks from the Goetia. Buer is one such low-hanging piece of fruit.

2. I’m still overwhelmingly interested in Kaneko’s SMT work. My favorites are the pieces “Advancing Army” and “Advent” illustrated for the covers of Kaneko Works I and II respectively:

3. There’s a very obvious difference in appeal. It is what it is.

4. Well… I’ve been around long enough that I’ve had pretty much every experience possible, good and bad. But I have to say that my ask inbox has been overstuffed for years at this point and I would consider that part of a healthy relationship!

5. Nice choices, esp. Jersey Devil! Honestly I wonder if people would be able to guess my top 5 or so demons at this point? Maybe. There’s always some flux but they would have to be Soul Hackers Odin, Zaou Gongen, Adam, Eve, and probably… Baldur.

And a final word: since you seem to be reading my blog, don’t let my (many) criticisms of the series let you down too much. They’ve really only come about after massive amounts of time with the series and having experienced practically everything it has to offer.

Naturally, when you’re in such a position you want to see NEW things and I think SMT is more than capable of delivering them. Most criticisms come from this perspective and how it is not in my opinion living up to that potential, instead recycling past ideas and broad genre tropes. It bums me out and I’d guess you’d say I’m fairly outspoken, lol.

Thanks for submitting and enjoy SMT!

Not so long ago, a friend brought to my attention a passage from Deadly Fortune that really sheds some light on how Nero sees the world.

He believes that there's no inherent morality to the universe, except for the morality imposed upon it by those in power. It's essentially Vergil's "might controls everything" slogan, but as a real ideology instead of a mere reaction to trauma.

The same friend shed some light on Nero's feelings toward Kyrie. As much as he admires her selflessness and compassion, he acknowledges that as a human civilian, she has no strength to act on her ideals. This is precisely why he believes he has to be strong, to stand up for what Kyrie believes in.

This makes me wonder what would happen if Kyrie's ideals changed.

In my "Kyrie gains demonic minions like V's" plot (all details in my pinned post), Kyrie allows many Fortunians to be subjugated and tormented by demons she has chosen not to form pacts with, due to their cruelty toward her and her family, and for taking her kindness for granted. Would Nero stand by her as he always has?

With the above in mind, I'm inclined to say no. He would relate to Kyrie's bitterness, and might take a little too long to admit that she's crossing a line, but ultimately he loves Kyrie for her goodness, not the other way around.

At the same time, I'm not sure he believes in those ideals strongly enough to stand against Kyrie. She's his role model, his reason for fighting. If she no longer fit into that role, I think Nero would just walk away.

In that passage mentioned above, Nero remarks on a scene in Devil May Cry 4, where Kyrie shields a child from an attacking Scarecrow with her own body. Nero remarks on the futility of the gesture, that they'd both get torn apart anyway. This sheds some light on another scene from Devil May Cry 5, after Dante loses to Urizen, when Nero callously walks away from the Qliphoth as a civilian is impaled by a root. He believes in himself less than ever in this moment, and he isn't one to throw his life away for a good cause if he knows it's hopeless.

Nero fights for Kyrie and her ideals, and if he could no longer believe in that, I don't even think he'd continue being a devil hunter. He might even lose his powers, Spider-Man 2 style, as it is implied that he gets his powers back at the end of Devil May Cry 5 because he found a new reason to fight. He might get some menial job to make ends meet, but he really has nothing to live for at that point.

And what I like about this outcome is that it finally presents an opportunity to tie the Kyrie plot into the Machiavelli Duology (also explained in my pinned post). If the Kyrie plot and her falling out with Nero happened before the Trish/Lucia/Lady side of events really kick off, it could explain why he doesn't get involved. Maybe Nico alludes to what went down in Fortuna, mentions trying to get in touch with Nero, but to no avail.

As for what solves this whole mess...

I think I've said before that I like the idea of Dante being the one to get through to Kyrie. He helps her understand that fighting for the good of humanity doesn't have to mean being nice to them, as he consistently does the right thing while also being an unpleasant jerk very frequently. Kyrie finds a way to be true to herself without totally giving in to hate.

And conversely, perhaps Vergil is the one who gets through to Nero. He's the furthest thing from Kyrie's ideals of kindness, and yet Nero stepped in between him and Dante to save him anyway, which began Vergil's own path to healing and growing. Nero did this primarily because he remembers the pain of losing Credo, even after the awful things he participated in. Nero realizes that if saving someone like Vergil can be worthwhile, then it'd be foolish to give up on Kyrie.

I could imagine Vergil encountering a depowered Nero, and provoking him to fight, announcing his intent to make good on his promise not to lose this time. Mocking him about his lost power, until Nero becomes motivated (hehe) enough to trigger and kick Vergil's ass again.

RWBY Zombie Apocalypse Part 5 : A glimpse of the past

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | part 5 | Part 6

Keep reading

Masterlist for Other Works of Mine

Because I’m realizing how disorganized/bad at tags I am. One Shot Works: https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/610893687539564544/an-odd-day-for-a-normal-girl (Description: Marinette is a normal girl. No Miraculous, nothing unusual in her life…except she’s in love with the Ladybug holder and is best friends with Chat Noir. Oh, and she’s being thrown into some dumb fake dating situation. Great.)

https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/190458693897/a-ladys-scout-and-the-salt-within-her-soul (Description: Marinette is assumed to be a hero scout for Ladybug, and shows her salt by…making gifts?)

https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/189729234197/what-do-you-think-of-this-marinette-is-with-both (Description: Marinette just wanted a break, and so she created an illusion. A fake fight, fake Akuma, to get everyone off of her back. She didn’t expect it to lead to Hawkmoth’s defeat.) (An Ask)

https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/189536099637/not-too-much-salt-alya-and-nino-get-lila-to (Description: Alya gets Lila to babysit so she and Nino can go on a date. However, an angry ex-babysitter gets Akumatized and decides to create an army of children…and Lila values herself over Alya’s siblings.) (An Ask)

https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/189336564692/from-white-to-purple-she-leans-into-him-eyes (From White to Purple…a ‘what if’, where Chat Blanc!Adrien didn’t get left in his own world, but came to Marinette’s. Spoilers for Chat Blanc!) (Based on a prompt I saw) Stupid and in Love:

Part One: https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/188416406372/stupid-and-in-love-origins 

Part Two: https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/188544944147/stupid-and-in-love-origins-part-two

Part Three: https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/188616423957/stupid-and-in-love-origins-part-three 

Part Four: https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/189108091812/stupid-and-in-love-p4

Part Five: https://salthaven.tumblr.com/post/189779609402/stupid-and-in-love-p5

“ The idea of death doesn’t  faze me anymore, in fact I would welcome it with open arms, still turning into one of them isn’t how I want my life to end … I despise everything about them, their ugly faces,  their irritating sounds and their stinky smells and I can’t imagine myself being one of them, but at that  moment it seemed that there was no running away from that fate…. till she came”   -Weiss 

Zombie AU 1st part 

And this is how they met 

If you have some advises i’d really appreciate letting me know 

Part 2 |part 3 |Part 4 |Part 5 |Part 6

#LuciaIsTheBest

Lucia is my favourite character in Devil May Cry.

Unpopular Character Meme: Favorite Character Even Canon Seems To Have Forgotten

I love this.

And of course, Shear has the best one. She is my favourite. Seth is second-in-line.

“The Spectral Space Pirates”

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About time I post these guys on here finally!! I’ve been waiting to post this on here just because I needed to get all of them done LOL. Anyways tho…the spectral space pirates!! And with this marks an end to this particular series of DK art I’ve done. I’m still gonna make DK art tho, but now hopefully it’ll be more than just “character standing with the dino they’re associated with”.

To try and keep the post brief: I don’t have much to say on the space pirates as a whole, nor individually besides Sheer and Seth. To talk about those two tho: Yeah so I was gay af for both of them as a kid but I thought I just wanted to be best friends with them instead😭I had and still have bad taste I’m sorry💔I just think they’re both pretty😔

Also ngl I’m not too proud of Gabbro’s piece but eh, what can ya do ig

Have to say tho: GOOD LORD THE ARMOR WAS DIFFICULT😭 Seth what did you have to make the armor so complex for wtf. Bro is so EXTRA !!