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thebladeblaster · 4 months

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In case anyone ever needs information on the Demon Gene here

Warning: Spoilers for Shin Megami Tensei IV, Apocalypse, Demonic Gene, and Prayers

Things to know:

-The pandemic variant seems to be completely different than if it was triggered individually

Pandemic variant (As seen in the dlc)

-Causes a demonic transformation

-Very significant power boost

-Everyone becomes a hive mind mindlessly serving YHVH

-It’s contagious and you can catch it even if you don’t have the DG because it’s implied that Nanashi can catch it

-Their souls can’t be messed with by anyone who isn’t YHVH. Dagda tried but he couldn’t affect them with his powers.

-Someone has to agree to start it for everyone

-If the one who agreed to trigger it dies or as Hugo calls himself “the voice of God” dies everyone infected dies

-Everyone’s souls are linked together

Normal variant (As seen in IV, the Demonic Gene, and Prayers manga)

-Causes a demonic transformation

-Triggers within an individual if they feel very extreme negative emotions which is usually triggered by literature

-Very significant power boost

-Not contagious

-No forced obedience or linkage if anything it is the complete opposite wherein they become extremely rebellious and radical

-In the mangas only it seems that those with the DG become stronger from consuming/absorbing demons (This is shown in both Demonic Gene and Prayers)

Very significant power boost

For comparison a Walter (probably level 1-5) who was regularly using a demon as weak as Centaur was able to defeat Yaso Magushi effortlessly. Issachar who has never fought any demon was able to fight four prentice Samurai at once but he did ultimately lose.

Minotaur is a level 14 demon and he got oneshot. So considering how much stronger Issachar got that isn’t too ridiculous.

However Yaso Magatsuhu is level 46 and was defeated in an instant. That implies a much more significant boost similar to the one Hope and Hugo got. They got boosted from being practical fodder to being able to fight Anarchy Nanashi and at least hurt him. Hugo was implied to formerly be a Samurai so he would have some strength at least.

Not confirmed (but probably true AKA headcanon)

It seems like the power boost is either some sort of multiplier since depending on the base the person seems to become more powerful the stronger they are.

For example

Note: This is not the multiplier this is just an example to illustrate my point.

Assume Issachar is a 1, Walter is a 5, and Hope and Hugo are 10s. If the multiplier was 5 then it would be like this.

Issachar: 5

Level 1-5 Walter: 25

Hope: 50

Hugo: 50

Or it could be completely different depending on the person. Who knows.

-Likely the reason they can use magic

-Can easily learn skills from demons

-Become stronger or weaker depending on their emotional states

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rustyvanburace · 1 year

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Analysis on SMTIV’s Issachar

I wrote up a long analysis on Issachar from Shin Megami Tensei IV, covering his aspirations for wanting to become a Samurai, his myriad struggles, and even a bit of how he’d compare with Walter.

Spoiler warnings for the beginning of SMT IV up to Kiccigiorgi Forest. This is all my own interpretation, of course!

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My personal belief is that if Issachar did become a Samurai, I don’t actually see him as becoming "Another Walter". In some ways I actually even think that Walter would clash with him somewhat. And I say this in respect to Issachar's own beliefs and ambitions. As a Samurai, I can see Issachar clinging onto his new role with overwhelming pride and maybe even turning a blind eye of denial to the discrimination within. I can imagine him turn excessively determined to prove himself and even more so in defiance of his growing disillusion. And maybe that would still culminate in him losing himself and becoming vulnerable to demonic influence all the same.

For both good and bad, Issachar has raw emotion. And it's those same emotions that kept both his ambition alive against impossible odds, as well as what ultimately consumed him. Issachar isn't just at odds with the Luxurors' stifling oppression, though that is a large part of it, but also what he idealizes the Samurai to be and his complicated relationships.

So let's analyze Issachar's reason to become a Samurai. At quick glance, it is a means to escape his Casualry status and become a Luxuror. And that is true and something he expresses, but that also doesn't cover all his values nor his complicated anger at his rejection. What’s important is to first consider the value he holds the Samurai to and their perceived role in society.

If you go to the Obelisk before taking the Rite, Issachar comments on each section. And there's a comment there that really stands out. In retelling the founding of the Samurai, the epigraph relates Aquila's heroic deeds and ends by describing today's Samurai as the "cornerstone of our defenses". And it's right afterwards that Issachar starts to daydream in that role. "When I am made a Samurai, then I, too, shall be..."

Issachar doesn't state it outright, but given what the epigraph just described, I take this to mean that he values the Samurai as heroes of justice. Maybe even reveres Aquila. And this reverence would've come to him at an early, impressionable age, when he and Flynn had first gone to the castle on an errand as children and vowed then to become Samurai. Seeing as Issachar is a Casualry from a remote village, I can see him believing the Samurai to be noble heroes who equally come to everyone's aid. This belief would certainly give a lot of hope to a young Casualry and something to aspire to be, especially for one struggling with his own village's expectations.

During the Kiccigiorgi mission, there are a pair of NPCs who are implied to be Issachar's parents (or at least close acquaintances). Yet instead of expressing concern for their son's safety during a crisis, they speak of his absence with contempt -- in sharp contrast to their lauding of Flynn's bravery. Mind, they haven't seen Issachar at all since he left for the Rite. They have no knowledge that he led the Sabbath and embraced the demonic. Their assumption and source of ire is that he has cowardly run off. Maybe even abandoned his duties before all of this even happened. While Flynn is busting his ass to save everyone, where the hell is that lousy Issachar?

If that's their reception towards him during a major crisis, then I don't think they were supportive of his ambitions and efforts either. They may have seen his training as goofing-off from work. Casualries becoming Samurai are almost unheard of, so why waste all his time doing that? It's a fact that a lot of Casualry NPCs early on have simply accepted their lot in life and it's this conformance that creates a divide between the elders and youths. The elders have no interest in the Sabbaths. There are Casualry elders who give God their thanks for their role, who let the Luxurors think for them, and who are too concerned with work than bigger issues.

All that, of course, is rooted with the Luxurors for creating a controlled, oppressive society. Nonetheless, to a Casualry youth who may not have realized that yet and wants more out of life yet is shown no support by their own peers, that is incredibly frustrating. The exchange from Issachar's implied parents is very short, but it paints the picture that Issachar was among those struggling with his own peers on top of the Luxurors. Maybe even at odds with his village at large. And I believe that to be one aspect that encouraged his aspiration to become a heroic Samurai. So that he could bring hope to his village and become someone they could look up to instead of down upon.

At the Gauntlet Ritie, Issachar reassures himself by repeatedly saying "I will become a Samurai... I'm definitely going to be a Samurai... A Samurai and Luxuror at that..." He chants becoming a Samurai three times and a Luxuror last. It's not that he doesn't want to escape his trade, but that he holds greater value in becoming a Samurai first and what that role signifies. Conversely, there is a NPC during the Rite who, having just been rejected, waves off the whole thing as a dog and pony show. And this is a crucial exchange as it directly counters the heavy significance that Issachar is placing in the Rite. What that NPC is saying is that the Rite and by extension the Samurai aren't actually as grandeur as the early narrative is suggesting.

Then, to be rejected and shortly afterwards discover books that open to new ways of thinking, it's likely that Issachar would've been confronted by the reality that the Samurai are not actually defenders of the people but soldiers who enforce the Luxurors' rule. And if he truly believed the Samurai to be just, noble heroes and aspired to become that, then this revelation would've been a painful one.

So Issachar is struggling with society, his unsupportive family/community, and his beliefs shattered. But there is also a fourth thing going on: his complicated relationship with Flynn. It needs to be said that Issachar, even before being rejected, is not without flaw. He didn't actually have confidence in Flynn’s success despite together vowing to become Samurai. While at the same time that Issachar is reassuring himself, he doesn't extend that same hope to Flynn. He never mentions "we will become Samurai" but consistently "I". He states this could be farewell and thus indirectly hints that Flynn would be the one leaving. And instead of feeling proud that his best friend and fellow Kiccigiorgi Casualry was chosen, his reaction is of appalled shock.

And this all culminates at Kiccigiorgi Forest. Issachar isn't happy to see Flynn to the rescue and responds back sarcastically. He tells him his revelations, but only "I'm telling you this because you're you." He is treating Flynn as stupid, incompetent, and undeserving of becoming a Samurai. At most Flynn is now just another Luxuror dog upholding authority, in contrast to the survivors who laud Flynn's arrival or knew him positively. It's very possible that Issachar is also jealous of that, especially if he was like an older brother to Flynn and helped him out with most things. Like baiting hooks.

I imagine, following his rejection, Issachar must've felt abandoned by Flynn and his future stolen by him. Now Flynn gets to be that heroic Samurai that everyone can look up to. Worse, he may even betray his Casualry roots and forget all about Kiccigiorgi. Issachar essentially expresses that belief during his battle depending on how Flynn responds and it's why he reacts with surprised torment and regret for his actions if Flynn affirms that he is still a Casualry.

Now of course, none of this is actually Flynn's fault nor his intention. Issachar is running on high emotion. Regardless of the Rite though, it still doesn't change the fact that Issachar initially doubted Flynn. Issachar has a selfish side, and that's a good thing actually, as that gives him more nuance and his reaction is honestly a natural one. But he also comes around to overcoming that jealousy at the end and, in his final words, pleads that Flynn becomes that "magnificent Samurai" that he dreamed the Samurai to be.

So having gone through all that -- the oppression, the shattered moral value he placed in the Samurai, his lack of community support and pressure to prove himself, and his future seemingly stolen by his best friend and then abandoned -- it's infuriating. It's soul crushing. Where do you go from there when you have placed your entire worth into one moment that has never guaranteed you a future? Back to the village, alone, that's already disappointed in you? It's little wonder then why he became easy prey to the Black Samurai looking to stoke that anger and why he'd throw everything away. And it's because of those complex emotions and beliefs that I believe Issachar would struggle even as a Samurai.

I believe Issachar's idealization is where he and Walter differ greatly. Walter doesn't revere the Samurai nor does he place his entire worth in being one or upholding their image. He doesn't adopt a heroic or Luxuror identity. Walter also wanted to escape his family trade, but the way he treats the Samurai is much less of a life's goal and more as a pleasantly surprising turn of events. If he were denied, he would've likely sought his own way of escape. I earnestly don't believe that Walter actually aspired or even hoped to become a Samurai. Walter also runs high emotions, but he is still able to reign those in. He is able to hone his anger into a strength as opposed to a vulnerability. And he tends to be a lot more realistic or grounded.

And it's those differences where I think that the idealistic Issachar and realistic Walter would honestly clash. Maybe not necessarily as a heated argument (at least not right away), but as an annoyed or awkward discomfort. In some ways, Issachar actually has more in common with Jonathan insofar as their views of the Samurai.

Now obviously, who knows what would've happened if Issachar did become a Samurai. I do think he would at least be able to cope much better, having finally made it. But I also still believe that his idealized view of the Samurai would begin to crack while still clinging onto those same values. Maybe he would still fall to demonic influence out of despair. Maybe become a resigned, insipid shell of himself. Maybe emboldened to become that noble hero at all costs. Maybe his jealousy of Flynn would even carry on with him. Who really knows?

But if he did become a Samurai, I cannot see him as "Another Walter" nor would I want him to be.

#Shin Megami Tensei #Shin Megami Tensei IV #SMT #SMT4 #SMTIV #Issachar #Megaten #character analysis #rusty's analyses

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squishywolfay · 11 months

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Flynn before becoming a samurai

#shin megami tensei iv #smtiv #smt4 #flynn #Issachar #honestly wished we could’ve known issachar a little longer :^(

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 1 year

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Issachar’s Descendants

1 Issachar’s four sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. 2 Tola’s sons were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. These men were heads of the families of Tola. They were soldiers grouped according to their ancestry. In David’s day there were 22,600 of them. 3 The five descendants of Uzzi were Izrahiah and Izrahiah’s sons Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. All of them were heads of families. 4 They had many wives and children. So in addition to these men grouped according to their ancestry and families, there were 36,000 soldiers. 5 Their relatives (that is, all of Issachar’s families) were fighting men. A total of 87,000 of them was recorded in the genealogy.

Benjamin’s Descendants

6 Benjamin had three sons: Bela, Becher, and Jediael. 7 Bela’s five sons were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. They were heads of families and fighting men. In the genealogy 22,034 of them were recorded. 8 Becher’s sons were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. These were all of Becher’s sons. 9 In the genealogy 22,200 of them were recorded according to their ancestry (the heads of their families and fighting men). 10 Jediael’s son was Bilhan. Bilhan’s sons were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All of these men were Jediael’s descendants. They headed families that produced 17,200 fighting men who could go to war. 12 The Shuppites and Huppites were Ir’s descendants. The Hushites were descendants of someone else.

Naphtali’s Descendants

13 Naphtali’s sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum. They were Bilhah’s grandsons.

Manasseh’s Descendants Who Lived West of the Jordan River

14 Manasseh’s sons were Asriel and Machir. Their mother was Manasseh’s Aramean concubine. Machir was the first to settle Gilead. 15 He married a wife from the Huppites and Shuppites. His wife’s name was Maacah. The name of his second son was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had only daughters. 16 Maacah, Machir’s wife, had a son, and she named him Peresh. His brother’s name was Sheresh, whose sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 Ulam’s son was Bedan. These were the people of Gilead, descendants of Machir (son of Manasseh). 18 Bedan’s sister Hammolecheth gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 Shemida’s sons were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Ephraim’s Descendants

20 Ephraim’s son was Shuthelah. Shuthelah’s son was Bered. Bered’s son was Tahath. Tahath’s son was Eleadah. Eleadah’s son was Tahath. 21 Tahath’s son was Zabad. Zabad’s son was Shuthelah.

Ephraim’s sons Ezer and Elead were killed by the men of Gath when they came to take their livestock. 22 Their father Ephraim mourned a long time, even though his brothers tried to comfort him. 23 Then he slept with his wife, and she became pregnant. She gave birth to a son, and Ephraim named him Beriah [Tragedy], because tragedy had come to his home. 24 Beriah’s daughter was Sheerah, who built Upper and Lower Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah. 25 Beriah’s son was Rephah. Rephah’s son was Resheph. Resheph’s son was Telah. Telah’s son was Tahan. 26 Tahan’s son was Ladan. Ladan’s son was Ammihud. Ammihud’s son was Elishama. 27 Elishama’s son was Nun. Nun’s son was Joshua.

28 The land and homes of Ephraim’s descendants were in Bethel and its villages, Naaran to the east, Gezer with its villages to the west, Shechem and its villages, and as far as Gaza and its villages. 29 Next to Manasseh were Beth Shean and its villages, Taanach and its villages, Megiddo and its villages, and Dor and its villages. The descendants of Joseph, son of Israel, live in these cities.

Asher’s Descendants

30 Asher’s sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. 31 Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel, who first settled Birzaith. 32 Heber was the father of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 Japhlet’s sons were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet’s sons. 34 The sons of his brother Shomer were Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 His brother Helem’s sons were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 Zophah’s sons were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilsha, Ithran, and Beera. 38 Jether’s sons were Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. 39 Ulla’s sons were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All of these men were Asher’s descendants—heads of their families, outstanding men, soldiers, and distinguished leaders. Their military roster had 26,000 recorded in it. — 1 Chronicles 7 | Names of God Bible (NOG) The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group. Cross References: Genesis 22:24; Genesis 25:20; Genesis 46:13; Genesis 46:17; Genesis 46:21; Genesis 46:24; Genesis 50:23; Exodus 17:9; Exodus 24:13; Numbers 1:10; Numbers 26:35-36; Numbers 26:48-49; Numbers 31:38; Joshua 16:2-3; Joshua 16:5; Judges 1:22; Judges 20:15; 2 Samuel 24:1; 1 Kings 22:11; 1 Chronicles 5:24; 1 Chronicles 8:1; John 11:19

#Issachar #Benjamin #Naphtali #Manasseh #Ephraim #Asher #descendants #genealogy #1 Chronicles 7 #Book of First Chronicles #Old Testament #NOG #Names of God Bible #Baker Publishing Group

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ameowart · 2 years

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#Issachar #SMTIV #Shin Megami Tensei 4 #atlusfaithful #commission #AMeowART

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ifellinlovewithpersona · 5 months

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I know I'm only 12 hrs into this game but uhm... I had an Incident™ and accidentally wrote something hahaha

So... Feel free to check it out I guess?

#and yeah i already know what happened to him but it did stop me from shipping them and writing this? nope #anyways yeah enjoy my accidental smt iv fic #my writing #smt iv #flynn #issachar #flynn x issachar #smt fic #smt tag #in conclusion: flynn is gay thanks for coming to my ted talk

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1five1two · 23 days

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#vintage photography #teotihuacan #mexico #art #issachar

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lordgodjehovahsway · 11 months

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Genesis 49: Jacob Blesses His Sons

1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. 4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. 6 Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. 7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. 15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.

16 “Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.

18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord.

19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.

20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. 23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. 26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.

32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

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