#people who include chernobog in their submissions >>>>>

[wakai-dracula]

I saw you reblog some people's lists of favorite SMT demons and would love to see your own list. Not sure if you've already been asked this so sorry if you've already made a list. I would love to see what sticks out most for you personally, you seem like a really cool person.

I must apologize that I’ve been busy most of today, so I wasn’t able to respond in any meaningful capacity before now. And also, you’re the first person to ask this! 

I’ve never done this before but without further ado, let’s begin!

My Top 10 favorite Shin Megami Tensei Demons.

Number 1: Dwarf

Who doesn’t love Dwarves? The design for the Dwarf is very simple yet easily recognizable, the hammer is also showing off some fine craftsmanship too. But most importantly, that symbol! What is that, a Norse rune? Well actually I don’t know, I’d like to know if anybody has an answer to that question, so while I do like him one of the most “important” details about him still remains unknown to me. I don’t know if this was intentionally, but the Dwarf’s hammer slightly resembles Thor’s Hammer in design, and since his hammer was forged by the Dwarves (Brokkr and Eitri), perhaps it’s just the way Dwarves forge things.

Number 2: Thor (The most recent design)

Speak of the devil, Thor’s design is very creative from the Nordic looking pattern tattoos on his thighs to his interesting helmet and mask, there are some descriptions of Thor that claim he has red hair, but I feel like the darker color hair goes along very nicely with the overall look of the design. Thor’s hammer feels very close to the Dwarf’s hammer which makes sense, though in truth–

Soul Hackers Thor has more accurate depictions of Thor’s equipment, giving that one a slight edge over the newer one. The newer Thor doesn’t even have a visible belt “megingjörð” which I feel is an important detail and not only that but “Járngreipr” his gloves are described as Iron gloves, and we can clearly see his gloves are not metallic. These however are only minor hiccups and an overall very stylish design. 

Number 2: Baal

I think a certain Tumblr user made a post about all the fashion and design philosophy that went into Baal including his headdress which was inspired by his relation to Dagon. I think that Tumblr is called poltergeist0002 and you should definitely check them out because that blog is super awesome. And can probably explain designs better than I can. But I mean, just look at him, he’s cool. 

Number 3: Fenrir

It’s hard to go wrong with something that’s just a giant wolf really, but sometimes people really over do Fenrir, and that’s just kinda lame but whatever. It would’ve been easy to just make a Wolf though, so he’s got those spooky eyes, but hey wait a minuet! What’s that around his body?! Yes, an actual reference to the chain created to bind Fenrir?

Bravo Kaneko! Bravo! Hardly have I seen this detail given to Fenrir in other games and stuff. 

Number 4:  Amakusa Shirō

Take notes everyone, this depiction of a historical figure is TOP NOTCH! Kaneko got everything down, though I do wish Kaneko could’ve took a little bit of artistic liberty with his clothes, as they have no wear and tear or patterns, but rather solid colors that aren’t that interesting to see. Regardless, his clothes closely match the actual real statue of him, and his flag banner… Well…

Kaneko nailed it. An interesting choice is how he’s holding his head, a reference to how he died, and the ghosts that are floating around his flag is a nice touch. I would say that detail is open to interpretation, I always took them as his fallen comrades but I could be wrong.

Number 5: Siegfried

Everything about this depiction is awesome. The armor has rugged yet stylish look that Kaneko does so well, his sword Balmung I can’t help but think it’s design is very similar to it’s design in the 1924 film “Die Nibelungen: Siegfried“

Siegfried’s also got his shield on his back, which makes sense, considering it’s the one place where his weak spot is. You can also see a leaf mark which references how he got the weak spot in the first place. His skin is a deep crimson color possibly because it’s meant to show that he bathed in Fafnir’s blood.

Number 6: Adramelech

Yeah… I know, you’re probably thinking “What! This isn’t Kaneko!” Or “Really!? A Doi design!?” and while I have been extremely disappointed with Doi’s extremely stupid designs, this fortunately is not one of them. This adapts the most recognizable features and forms of the demon and puts a stylish new sheen on them, though I’m not a huge fan of the “feathers”, I still don’t think that bonks the design down too much, I mean it’s an extremely solid adaptation of a demon, what all demons should aspire for. Just look at it

I’m proud of you Doi! 

Number 7: Israfel

This design is just really cool to look at, a really interesting and captivating design. But it’s all there, Israfel has his trumpet which will end the world basically, his four wings, and the lips covering his body the speak in thousands of different languages. Upon examining his depictions in Islamic pictures, we can see his red wings and clothes are definitely inspired by the source material adapting it into an interesting way.

Aren’t Kaneko’s angels just the best? Tastefully weird, not just whatever that nonsense is in Evangelion. (PS I love Evangelion, don’t hurt me)    

Number 8: Chernobog

This design is just cool. Not much is known about Chernobog, or at least, I don’t. But I do know that he’s evil and he’s known as the black god as opposed to the benevolent white god, once they were friends and helped to create the mud at the bottom of sea. Aside from his obvious evilness, the mushrooms are actually a smart way of invoking the Slavic origins of the deity, as Mushrooms are significant in that culture. When you don’t have much to work on, you make do. 

Number 9: Dionysius

It’s not hard to mess up a God like this, but Kaneko went above and beyond with this wine party god! One simple extremely smart and clever detail takes this design to a whole new level. See the pattern on his skin? Now take a look at Alcohol under a microscope

Eh!? Ehh!? That’s so flipping cool! Bravo Kaneko! Bravo! 

Number 10: Maria

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Okay okay, seriously though, this… This beautiful. It’s so beautiful I’m not even exactly sure what it all means. The pose is very much like the face that the Virgin Mary has in most pictures, the chain could be a reference to one of her names in Islamic faith, Qānitah, which means submission to God. The white marble is said to influenced by the cathedral of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona because the architect was a firm devotee of Mary.  The animals are extremely symbolic, the lion, the hawk and the bull being a reference to Cherubim. The fish is thought to be a symbol of Christianity while the Dino could be Satan. She’s also surrounded by mandorla which often surrounded Jesus and Mary in many paintings.

We see similar designs with this, showing lion, bull and hawk as well as an angel.

Islamic depictions of Mary with black clothes with the golden lines, like Mary on the left.

Just absolutely amazing, one of the best depictions by Kaneko ever, not much will ever top this. 

Well that’s my top ten… I’ll admit, there are some demons like Longinus, and Saladin so, perhaps I’ll make another top ten in future, but whew… that took a little more effort than I thought.     

#shin megami tensei #demons #dwarf #thor #baal #fenrir #amakusa shirou #seigfried #adramelech #israfel #chernobog #dionysus #maria #mary #top ten #it's shit

[godsofhumanity]

genuine question, because I am confused: how did you and others decide to regularly include czernobog in their pantheon posts? Like, I agree that he is an interesting concept and all (and your posts, not only those including him, are really good!), but like... There are zero reliable sources that he was a thing at all?? The only first hand source is in Latin and from some missionary who likely didn't even understand the people he visited?

There is zero evidence of any cult of a god of this name apart from that, and I am so very confused about how he became so popular recently.

asjdasdh to be totally honest with you, i discovered Chernobog when i had just gotten into slavic mythology. i often use wikipedia as a way to get a general understanding of a deity or a myth etc., and when i wsa exploring different slavic gods, i came across Chernobog and i was extremely intrigued by the idea of a "black" god, i.e. a god who embodies everything bad, as opposed to his opposite- Belobog, a "white" god who represented everything good.

i am aware that sources surrounding Chernobog are extremely rare, and often unreliable, but even so, i was just enamoured by the concept. Chernobog, in my reimagining, is just a god who is completely self-serving. and his lack of myth is actually great for me because it means he doesn't have a back story. he was just born with the desire to watch the world burn, and that's great. not every villain-type character needs to have an actual reason for why they're like that.

i think around that time, i had also started doing lots of incorrect quotes with "clubs"- so Fite Club, Guy Scouts, and of course, the Tricksters. and Chernobog just struck me as the natural-born leader of the Tricksters, so i started doing lots of quotes with him, and i guess, he's grown on me. i noticed that people would often include him in their submissions, especially when other mischievous deities like Set and Eris were involved, and it seemed to me that no one had any complaints about it, so i just kept including him in my posts!

i'm not really sure why he's so popular. perhaps other people just enjoy the dichotomy of bad and good that is represented through Chernobog and Belobog's duality. i know i do ^-^

#oh also thank u for the compliment!! that's very sweet of u to say <3 #good question! #hope this answers it! #anon #anonymous #asks #chernobog