Showing posts with label Cthulhu Mythos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cthulhu Mythos. Show all posts

Friday, October 13, 2023

The Demiurge Laughs

 

By Dominique Signoret (signodom.club.fr) - Dominique Signoret (signodom.club.fr), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1003233

What if I'm just the butt of a cosmic joke?

What if God is the cruelest bully of all,

Having a laugh as my dreams go up in smoke,

Loving to see me feeling two foot small?


Which is worse when everything is said and done;

A spiteful creator or oblivion?

A universe that's mean and arbitrary

Constructed by a deity uncaring.

notes

Here's the prompt for today's poem. I loosely interpreted the instructions. 

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/13/oct-13-prompts-stirring-the-ashes/

The form is a Rispetto.

http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/rispetto.html

The rhyme scheme for a Rispetto is abab ccdd. It's supposed to be written in iambic tetrameter, but I have no idea how well I did with that. Most lines in the examples I saw were eleven syllables, so I think of it as Elevensies, and that gets the job done.

Now for a little ornery philosophy. Or Cthulhu Mythos geekery. Or Lovecraftian fangirling. Whatever.

Azathoth really isn't a good example of a demiurge. He's primordial chaos. Nyarlathotep is closer to a demiurge, but  this poem isn't about him because he's not, in fact, a cosmic bully. He only messes with people who are asking for it, like megalomaniac wizards or power-hungry politicians.

I wrote a poem about Nyarlathotep that I'm pretty proud of. I really dig the image I included with it too.

https://poetryofthenetherworld.blogspot.com/2021/03/sympathy-for-nyarlathotep.html

I still have more to do today, so I think I'll leave it at that. If you'd like to go further down the Demiurge's rabbit hole, here's your entrance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demiurge

~Ornery Owl Has Philosophized, Geeked Out, and Fangirled~

Image by Vogue0987 from Pixabay

"Do not ask me to choose between Tales From the Dreamlands One and Two, Owl! I will not have one without the other! Then again, The Quest for Captain Sammy's Treasure is a treasure unto itself! Of course, the short and sweet tale of Nyarlathotep's star-crossed love with Queen Nathicana always brings a briny tear to my eye. 'Tis an impossible choice!"


Free use image from Pixabay

"You've still got tentacles to spare, Squid Mage. Why not take 'em all?"

Shameless Self-Promotion:

If you like weird Lovecraftian fantasy with a touch of comedy and that certain je ne sais quoi, be sure to check out all the stories in the Tales From the Dreamlands series. All except The Quest for Captain Sammy's Treasure are free with Kindle Unlimited.

Nyarlathotep's Journey


This 3000-word story reveals the origins of the ancient cosmic sorceress Yadira Root, daughter of the Outer God Nyarlathotep, and Queen Nathicana of the doomed world of Zaïs. It provides a unique interpretation of Nyarlathotep, the most nuanced and intelligent of H.P. Lovecraft's Outer Gods.

Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure in the Xura Dream House


In this fix-up novella, the fate of the Cosmos rests in the hands of an unlikely team of unusual friends. Will an exiled member of an ancient extraterrestrial race, a human ghost, and two ghouls be able to outfox an ancient evil and beat Nyarlathotep at his game before time runs out? This buddy story is the first in a series of New Cthulhu Mythos cliffhangers.

The Quest For the Wizard's Key


352 pages

The Wizard's Key is the second book in a series of New Cthulhu Mythos tales. This fix-up novel features a fascinating cast of outcasts on a quest to save the Cosmos from destruction by malevolent forces. Join them on their madcap journey.

This fix-up novel follows the events that transpired in Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House. The book can be read as a standalone, but for a better understanding of the characters and events, it is suggested that Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House should be read first. It is a fun, fast-paced buddy story with plenty of creepy, crazy twists and turns.

Once you have read Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure, you will be In the Know so you can be In with the In Crowd! Then you can join us at the Kewl Eldritch Horrors table.

The Quest for Captain Sammy's Treasure


This Lovecraftian fantasy adventure is one of the tales featured in the Pirate Gold anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Five centuries ago, Captain Sammy buried his treasure in an unlikely location before letting the sun burn his body to ash to avoid becoming a vampire. Now the spectral pirate is back in the Jungle of Kled to reclaim his treasure, accompanied by two unusual friends. 

Rilpu is a young sorceress born as a serpent but transformed into a humanoid female by a spell. The wizard Zkauba hails from the doomed world of Yaddith. They are soon joined by an impressive companion: Yadira, the daughter of Nyarlathotep. However, it is possible that even Nyarlathotep's daughter may not be able to defeat the abomination standing in the blighted clearing upon the pedestal where Captain Sammy's treasure is hidden. 

Do the ghostly pirate captain and his friends have a chance of reclaiming the treasure and continuing their mission to save the Cosmos from destruction or are they destined to fail?

🌠🌠🌠

If you've read this far, thank you! Remember, the best way to support independent and small press authors (including the delinquents at Naughty Netherworld Press) is to talk about independent and small press authors. Don't keep us a secret--spread the word!





Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Sympathy for Nyarlathotep

 

Image copyright Yuuki Morita
Click to enlarge

forever liminal
the pinnacle of greatness
he is not a person
although he could appear to be one

composed of many layers
there is no line he wouldn't cross
he will stop at nothing
to feed his needs

consider his tendency
to inspire madness 
unknown is the oracle
who can stomach his true appearance

he is that most powerful spirit
guarding the stairs to the stars
those believing themselves worthy to join his tribe
always tumble to their doom

Nyarlathotep's nature
is ultimately not his fault
he was spawned by primordial chaos
he plays by ever-changing rules

~cie~




Oracle

Liminal-

relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.
2.occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.

Stop

Tumble

Tribe

Greatness

Person

Layers

Line

Consider

Tendency

Stomach

Duly Noted

Nyarlathotep is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft, initially appearing in his 1920 story of the same name. He is my favorite of the Outer Gods because of his malleable nature. I feel that the chosen image represents Nyarlathotep perfectly. He is both beautiful and terrible and those foolish enough to attempt to command him will wind up descending into madness.

My vision of Nyarlathotep has developed over many years of admiring and working with the character. His function is to grant wishes. The epithet "be careful what you wish for because you may get it" applies in spades where Nyarlathotep is concerned. 

Nyarlathotep absolutely enjoys causing madness to those who deserve it. He generally does not have to work very hard to achieve this end. He gives his victims the rope and they hang themselves. My version of Nyarlathotep, however, can also be just and generous. He loves granting wishes for those who are genuine and sincere in their intent.

There is a gray area for supplicants who summon Nyarlathotep out of desperation rather than lust for power, money, or other obsession. There will always be a price, but it is never one's soul or sanity. Nyarlathotep will probably come to collect at an inconvenient time because that is what tricksters do. 

Nyarlathotep has many offspring. My version of Nyarlathotep has a daughter named Yadira to whom he is deeply devoted. This snarky sorceress is the result of Nyarlathotep's marriage to his one true love, Queen Nathicana of Zaïs, a character initially appearing in Lovecraft's 1927 poem Nathicana.

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


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Monday, November 2, 2020

An Unexpected Visitor

 

Free use image by Waldkunst on Pixabay

on a dismal night while making a casserole
one eldritch horror caused extramundane disturbance
on its arrival bursting from the earth like a mole
the clatter of bricks brought me great perturbance

never have I before heard such a deafening whistle
not like the hooning sound from its numerous orifices
nothing I could find would make an effective missile
not enough to damage its hardened protuberances 

even if I had a tome of arcane magic
eldritch horrors must be known to be dismissed
everything pointed to my ending being tragic
ensuing thoughts of doom made me turn agonist

very many possibilities did cross my mind
visions of my last moments grim and gory
visceral thoughts of murder most unkind
viciously the creature leaned in, ate the casserole, end of story

~cie~

Not the best poem ever written, but I had fun.



PAD Challenge Prompt:
Write an unexpected poem.

Poetry Style:
Trolaan, created by Valerie Peterson Brown, is a poem consisting of 4 quatrains. Each quatrain begins with the same letter. The rhyme scheme is abab.

Starting with the second stanza you use the second letter of the first line of the first stanza to write the second each line beginning with that letter.

On the third stanza you will use the second letter on the first line of the second stanza and write the third each line beginning with that letter.

On the fourth stanza you will use the second letter on the first line of the third stanza and write the fourth each line beginning with that letter.

Agonist- a person who is torn my inner conflict
Casserole
Dismal
Eldritch- spooky, eerie, weird
Whistle
Numerous
Extramundane- beyond our world or material universe
Find
Harden
Lean
Clatter
Brick

Want more silly eldritch poetry?
Get it here!


This poem was posted to these places:


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You can get a free LBRY account through this link. You can earn LBC for viewing content on LBRY as well as from selling your content.

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The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)



Creative Commons License

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

Toys in the Attic: The Magician



Free Use Image copyright Willgard on Pixabay

In dreams of magic in worlds beyond
While you run free through colorful lands
Have a care not to fall for the deception
Of the Dark Pharaoh’s sleight of hand
For all your willpower and self-reliance
May be but a contrivance
When the Dark Pharaoh pretends to be your friend
And he fills your ears with what you want to hear
Your imagination will be your undoing if you succumb to his wooing
And you are dragged down in the darkness
Magician, beware the deception
Of the Dark Pharaoh’s shriveled black heart
Magician, beware the deception
Of the weavings of the Dark Pharaoh’s art.

Greetings, fellow poetic types. This poem is excerpted from one of Team Netherworld's current WIPs, "Toys in the Attic." It is attributed to the fictional band Blue Mondays. The Dark Pharaoh is an allusion to Nyarlathotep, the trickster god of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.

An excerpt from this latest chapter of Toys in the Attic appears here, as well as information on how to purchase the full chapter.



Copyright Information

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Copyright 2020 by Naughty Netherworld Press

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

This poem was published on 26 July 2020 on these platforms:

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Thursday, April 9, 2020

NaPoWriMo 2020 Day 8 + Words for Wednesday + April PAD Challenge 2020 Day 8 + April PAD Challenge 2020 Countdown Catch-Up Day 2: Mr. Lovecraft's Dream Zoo

Here are some Moonbeasts flying through Dreamlands space in a black galleon. I am not sure who the artist is but will be happy to credit them. Sadly, it isn't me.

You must practice each night
If you hope to take flight
And visit Mr. Lovecraft's dream zoo

Image from Chaosium's Dreamlands supplement

You may find a buopoth bent over the water
You may even find an otter
Or what seems to be a fairy too


On closer look, the fairy is furry
It has a tentacled nose and may scurry
For you have chanced on a Zoog


Abhoth is made of liquid
And Cthulhu is a big squid
Who hangs about in R'lyeh

Image from the Call of Cthulhu Dreamlands supplement

The fireworm should never be teased
Or even be provoked to sneeze
Or you'll be out of the frying pan and into the fire

This is a book cover from one of the versions of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

If you find yourself filled with fear
At all the horrors found here
The Cats of Ulthar are near
For Mr. Lovecraft loves cats too

Written with much respect for my longtime literary hero


I can't help but think that this classic deep cut from Iron Maiden is the perfect Dreamlands theme song.



Sparked by these prompts:



The prompt: Peruse Twitter bots that tweet the works of famous poets. While Lovecraft was better known for his prose than his poetry, my latest fictional foray addresses his 1927 poem, Nathicana. Also, I don't know if there is a Lovecraft Twitter bot. Lovecraft was simply my poet of choice.


April PAD Challenge Day 8: Write a future poem. The Dreamlands can be accessed from any point in time, and many people consider Lovecraft to be a science fiction author. We from his future are still inspired by his steampunk visions.

April PAD Challenge Countdown Catch-Up Day 2: Write a hope poem.
I've always felt that the Dreamlands were, despite the myriads of lurking horrors, a place of hope.


notes
With Cancel Culture being what it is, I suppose that I should explain that yes, I am aware that H.P. Lovecraft held xenophobic views. This is rather an oversimplification, neglecting to take into account his peculiar upbringing and strange life circumstances. Lovecraft was an introverted and depressive personality who feared further disruption in a life that had been filled with disruption for as long as he could remember. At the time of his death in 1937, those who knew him said that his xenophobic viewpoints had softened. 

Lovecraft was married for two years to Sonia Greene, a writer herself and a patron of the arts. In her biography, she stated that he would write her long, romantic letters, but he never told her that he loved her. His mother was a deeply disturbed individual who imbued in him the idea that he was more monster than human (he is the protagonist in the story "The Outsider"), and his aunts were unaffectionate personalities as well. He expressed himself best through writing, which is a quality that I can relate to.

Those who corresponded with Lovecraft knew him to be a gracious and kind man with a dry sense of humor as well as a unique imagination. I first read his writing at fourteen years old, and I feel it would be a pity if future generations were deprived of his masterpieces due to the overly zealous thought policing so prevalent in modern times.

Try some Lovecraft on for size. If you purchase the book through the link, I will receive a small commission from Amazon.






HPL's twisted imagination continues to wreak havoc 83 years after his death. T 'was he and Stephen King who inspired the writing of this tale.



You can check out the King of Horror's contribution in this fabulous collection of Lovecraft-inspired spine-tinglers.

 

Must-have Maiden for your Dreamland listening pleasure.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Friday Flashback + Fat Friday: Dreaming of a Mythos Xmahanukwanzyule



This post was originally published on 20 December 2011 on the Miskatonic University Netherworld Annex blog, which is currently in use as one of my private cataloging blogs. I am updating the post to include reactions to this lovely Xmahanukwanzyule tree, which is currently set up in President Cthulhu's office at the Miskatonic University Netherworld Annex main branch in Nightmare Heights, Netherworld.


Beavis: Hey, Butthead, that tree touched my butt!

Butthead: Beavis, that tree would kick your butt, you bumhug.


Cactus Clem: Grover, I feel a kinship with this here tree. It speaks to me!




Ghost Town Grover: When Cactus Clem says this here tree speaks to him, I'm purty sure he means that literal-like. It ain't said nary a word to me, but I kinda feel like it's watching me.

Sketch of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft

So, why are we making this a Fat Friday post?

Because EVERY BODY deserves to have a Happy Xmahanukwanzyule free of body-shaming bullshit. That includes everyone from the mighty Cthulhu to YOU!

Happy Xmahanukwanzyule to All
And to all a good XHAGRALLLGHHHNZZZZ!

IÄ, IÄ!





Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Tidbit Tuesday: November PAD Chapbook Challenge 2019: Day 13: A Fetch Story Poem: The Ballad of Gerry Clifford: One So Small

Targeted version 7
Pixlr manipulation by The Real Cie

how can one so small
make a difference at all?
I fear all is lost

Gerry Clifford



Notes:
Fair warning that the explanation for the tidbit is longer than the tidbit. If you are the sort of nerd who enjoys reading about creative processes and what was going on in the author's fucked-up brain, you may enjoy this. If you prefer it when authors shut up and just tell the story, you'll probably want to give this mess a miss.


It may seem a massive--nay, an outlandish and well-nigh unforgivable exercise in utter laziness for me to repackage this poem which I published just yesterday and publish it again for Tidbit Tuesday. However, I have my reasons beyond laziness for duplicating and re-routing this little gem. You see, my muse has returned and I am inspired! The many wild, free-roaming chapters of Fetch are finally being corralled and structured into novelettes or novellas. I don't rightly know which yet. That will be determined when the manuscript is complete.

Each novelette or novella begins with a poem, and this is the poem that kicks off Book One. The artwork, which may or may not end up serving as the cover for the book, was created by Yours Truly using Pixlr. No credit is due to Photoshop, which I used to use exclusively, but Adobe is scummy and is making it so people like me, who have older versions of Photoshop, are not able to access those versions because they want to strong-arm everyone into paying monthly blood money for Creative Cloud. As our hero, Gerry Clifford would say, "fuck that shit." Although it would sound more like "fook that shite."

The November PAD Chapbook Challenge prompt for the day requested a Persona poem, and I was stuck. Then I thought of Team Netherworld's beloved protagonist, Gerry Clifford, and decided to let him take over and write a poem that sums up his personality and motivation in just a few words.

Fetch is an Irish term for an apparition of a person who is still living. Gerry's body is alive, but his brain is severely compromised, and so his spirit is starting to make more frequent astral excursions.

Fetch is the flagship story in Team Netherworld's Yadira Chronicles, and Gerry Clifford is its male protagonist. When Gerry's cognitive abilities became too deteriorated for him to remain at home, his wife, Anne, had him placed in London's Candlelight Ridge Care Center for Memory Loss. On his first day in the center, Gerry encountered Yadira Root, who presented herself as a kindly older woman volunteering her heartfelt help but who was, in fact, a daughter and high priestess of Nyarlathotep.

To Gerry's horror, he discovered that the residents of Candlelight Ridge were being targeted by a malevolent hive entity which appears as flashes of brilliant multicolored light. It quickly became apparent that the entity had a particular interest in Gerry and was biding its time for reasons he couldn't understand. 

Upon fleeing the entity, Gerry found himself in the presence of Pepper Baiij, a troubled caregiver working with memory-impaired patients in an assisted living facility thousands of miles from England in Ransom, Kansas. Pepper had strong psychic abilities. She had been devastated to hear of Gerry Clifford’s diagnosis. His band, Mainline, was a longstanding favorite act of hers.

We have enough Fetchy material for several books. We doubt anyone else is excited as we are, or, in fact, gives one single fuck. We don't care, we give a fuck and are going to unleash our words on the world regardless.

Nyarlathotep is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft. Everything else in this post can be blamed on Team Netherworld.

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Five Line Fetchy Fragment: Hunger


I'm so hungry for something I haven't a recipe for
I want to believe in magic
I want to believe in dreams
I want gentle ghosts to haunt my graveyard
And my house and my carousel

Cie for Gem
Ondina for Serab
Pepper for Gerry

Prompt Used:


You can stop right there and just read the poem, or you can continue on and read the long and rambling notes.

Notes:
This story poem was created for Team Netherworld's longest-running WIP, Fetch, which is a Lovecraftian paranormal romance.
Fetch's protagonist is Gerry Clifford, a Scottish musician raised in London's seedy Crouch End borough from the time he was twelve years old. (As inspired by Stephen King's Lovecraftian short story, Crouch End, which can be found in the 1980 anthology, New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos.) As Gerry's cognitive and physical abilities deteriorate, he is placed in London's Candlelight Ridge Care Home. Gerry's spirit begins to go AWOL from a body which no longer works properly, and he discovers that the unfortunate residents at Candlelight Ridge are not simply succumbing to the ravages of age and infirmity, their souls are being harvested by Yadira Root, an ancient high priestess of the notorious Cthulhu Cult and the daughter of Nyarlathotep himself. Pursued by a hostile hive entity, Gerry turns to troubled American medium Pepper Baiij for help.
Many millennia previously in another star system and possibly another dimension, Gerry was a thief named Serab. Serab was a member of a race persecuted by West Zecor's tyrannical King Qweh, who captured the hapless thief one day and presented him to his sister Princess Ondina, an empath whose primary function was attempting to ameliorate the destruction and chaos caused by Qweh.
Qweh hoped for Ondina to be irritated when he gave her the tiny, elfin Serab as a replacement for her slain bodyguard, but Ondina did not react as Qweh hoped. She treated Serab respectfully. There was an immediate attraction between Ondina and Serab, although Ondina was statuesque, stately, and a member of the ruling class while Serab was small, rough, and a member of an oppressed race.
When Serab was brutally murdered by Qweh at the end of the doomed planet Zecor's existence, Ondina sent his soul to "the realm of the yellow sun" with the admonition that the pair must never meet again. Ondina hoped to protect her beloved from Qweh's threat that he would destroy Serab in any lifetime where he and Ondina reunited.
Serab eventually reincarnated as Gerry Clifford while Ondina reincarnated as Pepper Baiij. The star-crossed lovers were finally reunited when Gerry's spirit or Fetch began leaving his body in search of help.
It's doubtful that Fetch will ever be published in any kind of cohesive form. It remains Team Netherworld's favorite WIP.

Disclosure: If you purchase the book through this link, I earn a small commission.

Friday, July 5, 2019

Carpe Diem Summer Love 2019: Day 5: Beach Love

Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay

Walking on the beach
Lonely ghost of a lost world
Remembers a day
He walked with his princess
Beside the now toxic sea

For Serab, the Thief of Hearts


Notes:
This poem is part of the Fetch universe, which is part of the Yadira Chronicles.
Serab was a thief who was a member of a persecuted race in the totalitarian kingdom of West Holpry on the planet Zecor (Zetar) 6. The diminutive Serab was brought to the long-suffering Princess Ondina to replace her slain bodyguard as a joke by Ondina's churlish and cruel brother, King Qweh. Ondina, however, did not treat Serab as a joke. In truth, she fell in love with him from the moment of their first meeting. Their story ended tragically as Qweh's ill-advised magic prompted the small sun of the binary Zetar star system to begin consuming energy from its larger companion, eventually causing itself to go nova and flooding the entire system with deadly gamma radiation.
Serab later reincarnated as Gerry Clifford, the primary male protagonist in the Fetch stories, and Ondina reincarnated as Pepper Baiij, a troubled medium and Gerry's love interest. Star-crossed as always, Pepper and Gerry don't meet until the point when Gerry's body is failing and Pepper encounters him astrally.
The story was inspired by several factors, one of them being my decades-long desire to create a back-story for the unfortunately almost universally panned Star Trek episode, The Lights of Zetar, which fascinated and, frankly, scared the living hell out of me. Like the majority of my works, Fetch is primarily a Cthulhu Mythos-based story.
Like the Legend of Seacliffe, Fetch is one of those stories which doesn't get nearly the amount of attention that I'd like to devote to it.