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Crestfallen kings and queens, comforting in their faith...
Unbeknownst to them is the presence of the wraith...
Since fate of man is equal to the fate of lice
As new dawn rises you shalt recognize, now behold the Lord Of Flies!
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Fur Affinity ◈ Weasyl ◈ DeviantArt (Inactive)
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Just noticed, a day later, I commented on this post instead of replying to you directly, oops.
Here you go!
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I'm surprised anybody noticed this one at all, to be honest! I was tinkering around a bit with the design of one of my Lucifer and I realized, he could probably hide his horns under one of those big Pope hats, and that would sort of work with the idea that I want him to be a villain pulling the strings behind the scenes...
Yes, there was a Lucifer before Dominicus--this one just sorta fell by the wayside since the Chaotic Neutral that is Dominicus, out there creating the Geoterrans and being my universe's equivalent of Zeus (or at least the "sleeping around" part) and just generally being this weird manifestation of my somewhat chaotic-yet-structured way of creating was just more fun to me than a calculating Lawful Evil type like Lucifer Apollyon, which I decided was his name after finding out that it's a name that became associated with Abbadon, angel of the abyss, so that plays into the whole "portray himself as some holy divine being while actually being Space Satan" thing... There is some lore to my universe, but it's a bit of a mess and constantly being revised behind the scenes.
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"a bit of a mess and constantly being revised" Its all Greek to me. I have always liked the way they treated their religion with gods as fallible and chaotic as people, an attitude of life's like that put up with it what else you going to do. That aside this is one of your pieces I like the most, it's quite uncomfortable looking into his eyes. I was trying to work out how you achieved that, the eyes are not that different from some of your other non round eye characters. I thought it might be in the mouth / nostrils combination but why is he so much more of a presence than Satanas? Maybe the third eye / gem and the text certainly sets the mood. Blake put it better than I can - did he who made the lamb make thee.
I'm going away to look at Angelo till I feel better.
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My worldbuilding is rather chaotic, which should come as no surprise, really. A lot of my older character designs have had their backstory and biographies revised several times over the years, which probably isn't all that obvious since I rarely put anything into writing aside from random little snippets of lore and character-building and world-building and backstory tucked away in descriptions and comments every now and again.
Greek and Roman mythology has always appealed to me in that way too, their various deities were flawed and limited and overall seemed very "neutral", just like humans. I think that may be the biggest flaw with the Abrahamic faiths, really, there's one god that's omniscient and omnipotent and supposedly completely good, yet a lot of what happens in the Bible calls various aspects of that into doubt. I'm not a religious person myself, but I think the existence of religion and the ideas that seem to occur in many of them do speak to something universally "human", a desire for there to be some order to the universe and for us to have some place of importance in it. Anyways, that probably explains why I'm casually borrowing from one aspect of western religion the same way many others borrow from Greek and Roman and Norse and eastern religions--it's all mythology to me, ideas to think about.
(That's as deep into religious subjects as I'll ever really go, don't worry--like politics I find that it's something many people take far too seriously and make a central aspect of their personal identity to the point where any dissenting viewpoint comes across as a personal attack to them.)Anyways, the quickest way I can explain the Lucifer is, they fill that "Old Ones" trope common in science fiction, of an advanced race of aliens that sorta set the stage for events throughout the rest of the galaxy in the distant past. I use them to explain a few things that might otherwise come into question, like why so many of my "alien" creatures seem to resemble Earthly creatures to some degree.
(For the record, the Lucifer had zero influence on the biological evolution of humans in-universe, although they did have a hand in the creation of a couple other races directly, and the Starfarer and Dakromai races both descended from the Lucifer, if that counts as "creation"--yet I designed both the Starfarer and Dakromai races before I designed the Lucifer.)I'm honestly glad I'm not the only one that finds his eyes unsettling! I legit struggle to draw this guy sometimes for that very reason, from the first time I ever drew him he's had a sinister presence to him that I just can't place. That shouldn't be too surprising, though, as he was and still is meant to be Satan, he should be a tad unsettling.
You mentioned the "Satanas" thing, which means you're paying attention! That's some possible world-building I haven't 100% committed to yet, but one thing I am considering is that Dominic Wolff would, at some point, adopt that moniker, either as a "threat display" of sorts or because despite being an action hero sort he seems to often come into conflict with corrupt authority figures who may try to vilify him so he just owns it, as "Satan" means "adversary" after all, or simply because I, as the artist, just want to be edgy sometimes and titles are required and it's not canon in any way, shape or form.
He would have at least some understanding of the Lucifer and their role in the galaxy, and he is descended from Dominicus, hence his appearance. I have yet to decide if he just happens to own a Lucifer gorget and one of those "third eye" things, or if he at some point defeats Apollyon and just takes his as some sort of trophy.-
Total change of subject. You may already know this artist as I found his work following a trail stemming from comments on your own but if not I thought you might like this
https://www.weasyl.com/~mithmeoi/submissions/1942530/gryphon-sploot-
Not a bad find! I'm not sure how they came up in my comments, but that's just how it goes sometimes.
If you find any other interesting stuff like this, you should send me a note/private message/whatever they call it here--I tend to hold off on replying to comments until I have some free time, but I rarely get notes on any site I'm on so if I see one I'm usually reading it as soon as I can! I'm not as active with my own browsing/faving/commenting here as I should be, sadly, so getting some recommendations might be helpful!
As for the current subject I was discussing... it's fine if you don't reply right away, or at all. I know I tend to ramble a lot and dump random lore and world-building in comments when I should be adding that stuff to descriptions or even writing some actual lore down in a more "literature" type format--but I find that chatting in comments sometimes helps me think more fluidly yet with more direction than just sitting down to type up a description or something.
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Yes excuse the long pause - sometimes when I have nothing of interest to say I manage not to say it, not often.
His cross has me slightly puzzled, I take it to be the cross of Lorraine although if you will forgive the crudity (I cannot find another way to describe it) having grown a pair. Is this a reference to the anti pope?
You talk about races both created by and descended from the Lucifer, would the races concerned be aware of this, it could make for an interesting dynamic along the lines of "We are his real children" yes but "We are what he actually wanted". Apologies in advance I have a feeling you will not like this happy families scenario. Could get a bit dark, I think I will leave it there.
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No, it's fine, I tend to leave things unanswered for long periods as well.
The cross is called a "Leviathan Cross", it's a Satanic symbol, I'm probably oversimplifying that (and admittedly I haven't bothered to research this too in-depth) and were this a busier site I'd probably get a ton of angry comments about this gross oversimplification!
I love how you describe it as the cross "growing a pair" by the way, that gave me a chuckle. I had the same thought when I first saw the symbol years ago.But to put it very simply, Apollyon is an evil "anti-Pope" that sits at the head of the Church, having presented himself as divinity and taken control of what was the main form of authority over the world centuries ago when he arrived. He's my way of exploring ideas of people using religion and the structure of the church to manipulate people and commit evil deeds and hold back progress to preserve its own position of power and whatnot, the negative aspects that can be found in any major religion. He's meant to be a villain, and is very much the typical concept of "Satan", a fallen angel, deceiver, and so on.
As for whether the races concerned would be aware, that's a tough question. The Lucifer fill that "Old Ones" trope in science fiction, so some races may have religions based entirely around their experiences with the quasi-magical space antelope without even realizing it, while the vast majority of the galaxy's populace may have no idea they ever existed in the first place. Some probably remember them as light-bearers from the heavens that uplifted their society from a more primitive state, while others remember the terror wrought by monsters that fell from the sky. Part of the issue is, there are only two "True Lucifer" extant at this point, Apollyon and Dominicus, and they are both very powerful examples of their kind, the average Lucifer citizen was probably not all that much different in appearance and mannerisms than the average citizen of the Lightbearer Dominion in the present, but larger and physically stronger and with some innate abilities that might be considered "magical" or "psychic" by a modern observer. I should actually do some sort of "WTF are the Lucifer?" post at some point and try to explain them better, the first point on such a lore post would be that their own name for themselves translates as "Lucifer", "light-bearer", or "enlightened one" and just sorta happens to have an unfortunate (though somewhat accurate) connotation to human English-speakers on a planet called Earth.
(Even referring to the race as "Lucifer" may be inaccurate, as Dominicus and Apollyon are both clearly bearing that as some sort of title or honorific, sort of like how the Sith in Star Wars would bear the title of "Darth" when they reached a certain level. Gotta love it when even the creator of a lore doesn't fully understand their creation yet! This is all still work-in-progress stuff that is probably way too deep to be coming from the same guy who spends half his time drawing fat animals in underwear showing their butts.)The dynamic you described probably does come into play with at least some factions of the races descended from them--the Starfarers inherited the Lucifers' drive for enlightenment, exploration, curiosity and so on (mostly positive traits), while the Dakromai value power, dominance, cunning, and everything that makes you an effective and ruthless warrior race (or the Devil). The Dakromai reverence for the Lucifer might be akin to worshiping them as gods, whereas the Starfarers would typically understand them as their wise ancestors and forefathers, treating them with reverence and respect, but with no concept of them as deities or supernatural in any way.
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I did a bit of "research" by which I mean about an hour wandering about on the internet, I found the following
(Leviathan appears in The Satanic Bible several times. He’s mentioned as one of the Princes of Hell:
Turning counter-clockwise, the priest points with the sword to each cardinal point of the compass and calls forth the respective Princes of Hell: Satan from the south, Lucifer from the east, Belial from the north, and Leviathan from the west.
(From 13 Steps of Satanic Ritual, The Satanic Bible).
Book of Leviathan, the 4th part of The Satanic Bible, contains Invocations and The Enochian Keys (it’s basically a prayer-book after all the theory was absorbed).
The Leviathan Cross appears in one place in The Satanic Bible.)
Apparently alchemists also used this cross as a symbol for sulphur not just as an element in the modern sense but also as a humor in the balance of humors within the body sense.
I also found some evangelical Christians getting very upset, this is obviously a good topic to uncover some very unpleasant ideas and some very disturbed people, not really what I'm looking for when I come to art sites plus I was beset by hungry felines and decided to end my search here and stick with your use of the name as light-bearer. I think we are probably well aligned on the subject of religion although I have to say some of the most decent and intelligent people I have met have been very committed Christians a fact that ways heavy on my agnostic soul.
A quote from Douglas Adams just came to me "one day two thousand years after a man was nailed to a tree for saying why don't we just be nice to each other".
On a totally different tack and understanding that your prodigious art output may not leave much time for other hobbies may I ask what sort of books you read?
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I must say, I'm a bit embarrassed I didn't bother to research it a bit better myself, I was vaguely aware of the ritual of turning the sword and evoking the four Princes of Hell, and I did know of the Leviathan Cross's use as a symbol for sulfur, but I honestly haven't put much effort into researching the rituals and rites--that might be something to do sometime, and see if any of it is worth adapting into my lore.
Let's be honest, I'm doing the same thing with Christianity that people do with Norse, Greek, Roman and various Pagan and Eastern religions, taking some elements I find interesting and working them into my own fictional work, often with only a basic understanding of said elements, or ignoring some of the deeper lore behind them because in-universe, the Lucifer are aliens, not demons or fallen angels (although more primitive races without an understanding of extraterrestrial life would probably interpret them as supernatural).
As for the evangelicals, that's exactly the sort of "negative aspects" of the church I was talking about. Myself, I consider myself an agnostic atheist as well, my beliefs/philosophies are actually very much in line with Luciferianism (a philosophy I discovered a few years back when I did bother to do a bit of research for a change). There are positives to be found in religion as well, and you do encounter a lot of kind and very intelligent people who are also very devout, it just seems to come down to how they interpret the scripture and the sort of people in their community.
I think I'll stop my ramblings about religion here, though. Much like politics, it's a subject that many take too seriously and often leads to arguments.
As for reading... I actually don't read much anymore, adult life and other hobbies have really taken time away from that, but when I was younger I was quite the bookworm. I was practically raised by my grandparents for a good portion of my childhood and didn't have many friends or access to a computer or other electronic entertainment (although, in the 1990s, the internet wasn't that great anyways), so I read. And, being curious about how the world worked, I was more interested in nonfiction, not to mention that I was sort of limited to whatever books were on hand for me, so I spent a lot of time just browsing old encyclopedias that were lying around, I remember being fascinated by this book on basic home repairs that my grandpa had in his tool cabinet, and my mom did have a subscription to Reader's Digest so I'd read from those when she was done with them.
As for fiction, honestly, I was that kid that read every story in the English textbook in high school, just because I'd be bored in study hall or in English class and it was with me. I found myself mostly interested in the science fiction, historical fiction, and adventure stories. You know, the ones we never looked at in class because we had to dedicate a whole semester to one Shakespeare play for some reason!That, uhh, probably explains some things... I do honestly think that how much nonfiction stuff I read when I was younger, combined with just how curious I was in general (I was also that kid that liked to dissect old small appliances and stuff) probably led to some of the deeper workings of my Cartoon Animal in Underwear universe that I don't often go into.
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wow. That was a school day, for which I thank you. I had always thought of Lucifer and Satan as one and the same and so would have lumped Luciferians and Satanists together and viewed both from a Christian standpoint, I've been wrong before I should be used to it. I can see what attracts you to Luciferianisum I must do some proper research, if we were not in lock-down I would go to the Luciferian Temple (that is how I will be referring to Waterstones from now on, our local book shop, which has a cafe - they cook there own blueberry muffins, they let you sit in the cafe and read - if I die there and go to heaven it will be just another day) so far I am basing all my opinion on this article https://www.learnreligions.com/luciferian-principles-95784 but if this is what they mean I could end up thinking of my self as a Luciferian socialist (I'm going to have fun with that term).
I was also the kid who read everything, dissected appliances, bikes and cars, and was at times raised by my mothers parents and my father, mum spent a lot of time in hospital. I now have a library full of science and historical fiction mixed with a lot of factual and engineering books spotting a few parallels here although I am no artist I was a draftsman back in the day when draftsmen used pencils (I just caught the last of that CAD was just taking over) I used to get much the same satisfaction from drafting as it seems to me artists get from their creations. Enough already!
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The best way to look at it is, "Satan" is a title (meaning "adversary" or "enemy"), and can be applied to a variety of entities--including Lucifer. From what I recall, in some translations of the Old Testament, the title "satan" (not capitalized) is applied to the angels that Yahweh sends to test people as well. That was a good article that does a better job of explaining things concisely and clearly than I ever could, and from there I was also able to read up a bit on what the major differences between Satanism and Luciferianism are, which might be useful in the future should I actually have to explain this to someone.
I really do need to actually explain just what the Lucifer in my universe are at some point, but honestly, I'm still working it out, and I do want to leave it rather vague for a number of reasons, not to mention there are a few things I haven't quite decided on, like just what aspects of the galaxy I want them to have had a hand in getting to the present state. For example, for a year or two, I was really liking the idea that the involvement of Dominicus would explain some of the magical attributes of the Geoterrans, as well as why wolves and skunks and raccoons just exist on two different planets in different forms--but doing so would make the timeline really hard to figure out without making Dominicus several million years old at the youngest, and messing up the timelines of races related to the Lucifer such as the Starfarers and the Dakromai, and give him credit for my first created world, so it might be for the best that I just label the whole "similar animals" thing as a coincidence, and hand-wave the magic aspects of Geoterra as something that evolved naturally. If the Lucifer could evolve naturally, I don't see why magic husky puppies that magically transform into magic feral huskies once they hit a certain age and then magically metamorphose into saber-fanged wolfdogs at age 35 like they're some sort of knockoff Pokemon couldn't either! My universe is more like Star Wars than Star Trek anyways, more "science fantasy" than "science fiction", but with less people in makeup with bumpy foreheads and more anthropomorphic canines.
(Those "magic fighting monster" games like Pokemon and Digimon were a major influence in my art early on, hence why I included those aspects, and I just sort of explain them away as magic phenomenon unique to the Geoterrans.)
On the other hand, some sort of intent in the creation would make some of the more obvious things like "why do both of these worlds have raccoons?" and "why can the Lucifer and the Geoterrans both conjure the same dark crystalline substance from thin air to form weapons?" make a lot more sense, but that all unravels if and when the Geoterrans figure out "fossils" and "carbon dating". I think my best course of action would be to just not go into such things too much going forward, and leave it ambiguous until I decide what to do, or just never decide and leave it one of the great mysteries of the universe.That book shop sounds lovely. Maybe I need to include a setting like that in one of the many worlds within the galaxy. It sounds like something the aforementioned Geoterrans would love, and the lure of food might get some of the fat dopey characters in the door, only for them to pick up a book while they're eating and do a bit of learning.
I see no reason why drafting couldn't be considered something of an art form, honestly. You were designing things, just from a more technical standpoint than an aesthetic one. A more "grounded" understanding of things could come in handy for designing things from said "aesthetic standpoint", whether it's buildings or machines or vehicles.
And, of course, if you ever wanted to pick up a pencil again it's probably not too late, hell, for a while I was talking to someone on DeviantArt who was just trying his hand at drawing in his mid-60s! It's never too late to try your hand at drawing your own chubby cartoon dogs in underwear.Also I am very glad you'll put up with my rambling about world-building, because I do appreciate having people to bounce ideas around with, and an excuse to have some of these weird rambles about my universe available publicly should any of it matter for any reason years down the line!
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Ozimankieknees
1, 2, ..5 and deploy the holly hand grenade.