"You must hunger muchly..."

DAY 2: GLUTTONY

Spiders? Two days in a row?? Yes please!

I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out. Lemme know your thoughts!

sozo!!!

✿ Deep within Silk Cradle. ✿

_(:з)∠)_

A storm is brewing.

Orange leaves in Darkwood.

Anura's fall harvest.

The Unknown Depths of Anchordeep.

The sinning of a traitor.

Arise, o' fallen brethren of mine.

The Blood Moon Ritual.

Halloween prompt list by @cult-of-a-buttercup and you can check the list here!

EDIT: Heads up, this is fake. I just really wanted to do a funny bit with my fanon character since I thought the edit had come out quite good-! So uhh I think I found a new character? I finally got some free time and since I missed playing CotL I started a new save file (too stressed to do the final boss on the other rip). All normal until I get to when I should see Helob open their uhhh- "shop". And- So uhh I think I found a new character? I finally got some free time and since I missed playing CotL I started a new save file (too stressed to do the final boss on the other rip). All normal until I get to when I should see Helob open their uhhh- "shop". And-

Excuse me who the hell are you?? Also damn they're tall-

Still! The shop is there, empty but there. I tried talking to them and apparently their (her? Might be a she but not sure) name is Crede. They offered to watch over my cult while I crusade- I mean I'm curious and this is a side file sooo- sure, knock yourself out sister mantis-! Also after I accepted I couldn't really interact with them anymore so I do be lowkey worried- maybe I should've saved before accepting.

i am so abnormal about him

he is the character ever

i drew these w my finger at 2-3am

If you want some art-ideas: How about non mushroom-ified Sozo? /nf

Also, which cotl character do you personally think is easiest to draw?

And for easiest, eh hhh h h, probably my Beloved Rat since I draw him a lot. Helob is easy too but I dont have a lot of interest in drawing him that often lol

COTL day 3: Silk

Helob my beloved

I have new shipping obsession :D

Yep. These are Sozo and Helob from Cult of the Lamb. Looking through the pictures related to the Cult of the Lamb, I found a few that make a pair from these two. At first I thought: yuck, it makes no sense. But then I started to wonder - and boom. The idea blossomed like a nettle flower in my head. The image above which is lined up will be coloured. And it will be in a moment!

And at the moment I'm seriously considering including this shipping in the canon of my AU.

A few words about my versions of Sozo and Helob. Be warned that there will be little spoilers about the storyline of my AU. You read at your own risk.

Following the description from the game, Sozo is a male ant. Helob is a male spider. The former is a junkie and the leader of a small, innocuous mushroom-person cult. The latter sells followers and is convinced that Lamb feeds on them.

In my AU I stick to it with a few minor changes… First, if someone doesn't know, ants are similar to bees - most of society are female, males (drones) are a rarity and only serve to fertilize the queen and then dying. So… let's take a look at Sozo now. If he is actually male, it means that he left his anthill for some reason (was he kick out of it?), which may be the reason for his condition and his urge to take drugs. Or, if he is female but considers himself male, he may have been removed from his anthill for this type of heresy. Anyway, for one reason or another he lost his place in the anthill (no matter if he left or was kick out). But ants are social creatures - he had to be unhappy. And then… and then he discovered the mushrooms that make you happy. And a race of wise mushroom-people. Ants like fungus (if you don't know, they breed them, and sometimes they symbioticize with them… in some species of ants, these insects use fungus to fill cavities in the bodies of their soldiers, etc.) So Sozo in my AU is not a pure ant - his body is partly a mushroom, and the mushroom on his head has consciousness of its own (a bit like the Red Crown of Lamb). Sozo has become addicted to narcotic substances - he not only uses mushrooms, but also drinks suspicious tinctures and generally poisons his body to be happy for a moment… However, when he isn't stoned, he has very unpleasant effects of withdrawal from intoxicating substances, such as anxiety, paranoia, manic periods, persecution mania, and above all: constant depression. His symbiosis with the mushroom, however, gave him what is both his blessing and his curse at the same time - complete immortality.

Now let's take a look at my Helob. I have already shared an AU's fragment with him, you can read it here. In general, Helob in my version is a bit like Igors from those old movies about Dracula or mad scientists. In fact, he is a very optimistic, joyful being for whom the whole world is a table full of food. In his species (as in many true species of spiders) males are quite wasted - namely, after the female is fertilized, they are killed and eaten by her. Helob had escaped this fate for the simple reason that no female had wanted him before. But he doesn't lose hope… In a way, his meaning of life is to have his mating season and then disappear in the jaws of his beloved, ha ha. Helob is weird. For him, the world is divided into eaters and eaten ones, and he doesn't consider himself to be at the top of the food ladder. His whole consciousness is shaped by hunger and stomach, he considers himself a servant of other beings, he enjoys his job very much, loves to hunt and then trade what he hunts and what he doesn't eat himself. Although he lives in Anura now, he was born and raised in Silk Cradle, where, quite naturally, he worshiped Shamura. He was even very high in the church hierarchy and at one point even became Shamura's vessel - but that was a long, long time ago, even before Shamura was crippled by Narinder. But thanks to this period of his life, Helob gained immortality.

As for the shipping itself… I don't want to reveal too much, but overall Helob is fascinated by Sozo. First, as a food object - an ant and a fungus in one, what a delicious combo! In addition, Helob finds Sozo also physically attractive (he calls him "beautiful mister"). Over time, however, his obsession takes on a slightly more lustful character. Sozo doesn't give a shit at first - when he's stuned, he doesn't have full contact, when he's not - constant depression makes him indifferent to what's happening to him. So he basically lets Helob do as he pleases. But he quickly comes to appreciate that Helob is a good listener and the fact that he doesn't judge him. Plus at some point he'll probably start using his venom as another stimulant and he'll probably get addicted to it, lol XD

Omg.... shamura enjoyer /pos

i just got into cotl lately and my friend (who might see this ask) has been the subject of my yelling about shamura. i love that spider beast . see also: sozo and helob my beloveds :)

anyways i love ur art . are shamura and spamton about to kill the lamb and fail

HIII TYSM !!

I don't think shamura and spamton's main focus would be to kill the lamb.

Shamura probably is really intrigued by spamton so they just listen to his rambling.

“Aren’t you just a snack~”

Helob my beloved!

Sand drawings :)

First I was trying something easy... then...

...it was time for my beloved Helob.

It was hard, but I'm proud of effect.

Tomorrow will be Heket :)

Helob and Sozo what is your favorite food?

King Sozo.

Well, not so long ago Sozo would have said "mushrooms" without hesitation.

...But now, after staying with Helob in his lair for a week, and having Sozo's friend cooking various delicacies for him, he can't say otherwise than: what Helob will cook for his king! Spider cooks great, yes, so everything he's cooking is my favourite!

King Sozo! He's better than anything Helob could ever cook!

Oh, my! I can see that you're really hungry for your king! Would you like to taste Sozo's limb?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes, yes, please!

If you wanna know, Sozo feels really honored to be a beloved friend's favourite delicacy. Too bad I only have four arms and they grow back so slowly…

Helob likes to eat many, many different things. He likes meat, yes, meat (but not fish, no, nasty fish). He also likes mushrooms. Even some plants, yes, good herbs, give a good taste to meat and mushrooms. But nothing, NOTHING compares to the taste of his beautiful mister, the good and generous king Sozo!

Sozo is on drugs. Helob is on Sozo X"D

Wait. It makes sense O_o

Ok, this is an unusual question, 'cause it was asked by my proofreader Titatotrix via SMS - in Polish, of course. Nevertheless, I have permission to publish, and the answer is very interesting - and very long. It took me a few days to draw this X"D

My (very) bad translate (XD): Now it popped into my head, 'cause I don't know if it's anywhere, but what does the mating of large spiders look like? You know, step by step There was something about his parents' courtship, but I don't remember exactly what

So let's give the floor to Helob.

---------------

The mating customs of large spiders? Helob doesn't know fully, he was not in the world then… but can tell a little about what the habits of spiders are now, yes, he knows… They have changed a bit during my lifetime, but not as much as between the time when all spiders was big and similar male and female - and the time when male spiders are small and like other animals…

Let's start with the fact that there is a large sexual dimorphism in current spiders. This is the work of the Great General Shamura, who wanted to make it easier for spiders to assimilate into the Old Faith. As a result, the females remained the same - but the males became similar to all other animals: on two legs, small, able to reproduce with them… although most prefer their own kind, yes, yes… but spiders can breed with others animals…. Only from such a union females always similar to the mother, only males can birth as spiders.

Mating customs used to be simple in the old times. Males would fight over females, and then after begetting new generation of spiders with her, they were mostly eaten. But then there was the Great War Between Spiders and Birds, and these practices had to be abandoned - when the females went to fight, the spared males have to take care of the hatchilings. They were eaten, yes, but later, yes, later… Sometimes after several mating seasons later.

Many females liked this way and continued to use it after the war. The males were happy too and didn't complain. And new customs were formed, yes, completely other customs… That much Helob remembers from history lessons when was little spider, yes. And now, what customs prevail now. Helob will tell what he knows, although he took part in mating customs only once, yes, he helped a friend get his lady, yes… And they had many, many children, before friend was eaten…

Because the first custom remained unchanged. When a female expresses her desire to get a spouse, all the males interested in her line up to fight for her. In the old days, fights were very bloody, now it's more common to wrestle, although when the opponents don't like each other, one may bite the other's head off just to have safe win, yes… In general, however, fights for show, to show the female that they care… at most ripped limbs, not the heads…

Once mister spider wins and his lady decides to give him a chance, she usually agrees to a date. This is very important custom, because there is usually only one chance. During the date, the male has to show that he is not just strong, which he has already demonstrated during fights, but that he has other qualities. Since females don't always eat males after they lay eggs, they value not only qualities that are good for future kids, but also qualities that are good for them... For example, how a male can cook well or hold interesting conversations… Spiders value intelligence and knowledge, so showing off is appropriate… All tricks allowed. Some spiders, as they have talent, even brag about singing or playing instruments, write poems for their beloved or sew her some clothes. Female spiders do not wear many clothes, but they like head and neck ornaments, necklaces or bracelets are in good taste. Necessarily made by yourself. For a date, one brings these gifts, shows his talent.

The place is also important. Dating used to be in the lairs of females, yes, Helob's dad had his date at Helob mom's lair. But nowadays it's in good taste to take a female even to another domain. Females rarely leave Silk Cradle, so this impresses them and increases the chances of a potential groom…

Further, if the male did his job well, the female invites him into her lair. Now is her time. She has to prepare everything for a large number of eggs, then babies, and if she doesn't intend to eat the male - also provide him with a place to live, because once paired with a female, the male stays with her for the rest of the life. Usually his life, it's rare that the female dies before the male - and even if it happens, usually the male also dies shortly after her. Few choose to look for another love of their lives or live alone…

When female is ready, she invites the male to mating - in the past, when males looked like females and was almost always eaten, they would bring the females prey wrapped densely in web. This was able to make the female spare their lives. Nowadays, this is always practiced - it's an engagement gift to the chosen lady, meant to say "I want you to be able to lay a lot of eggs and keep our hatchlings strong and never hungry", although in fact the females are generally engaged in hunting. A big plus if the prey brought is still alive. This shows the male's skill in spinning the web - he didn't strangle the prey by making the weaves too tight.

Sometimes, however, the female doesn't like to live with the male she was mating. Then she bites his head off anyway after the act of procreation is over. Sometimes this is an expression of respect for him. Such a death for a male spider is a pride, is honorable. Sometimes, however, she is simply bored by the male and agrees to mate with him only for the sake of good genes. Or the prey was too small and she is hungry. The reasons vary. Helob isn't sure, but it seems to him that still in many parts of Silk Cradle the odds of male survival are one to one.

However, if the female doesn't eat the male, they become officially married and live together. The female then generally takes care of getting food for the kids, herself and her husband, while the male takes care of the hatchlings and the house. In more modernized pairs, the male often has additional job as well - Helob has more than once seen spiders helping to unload at the port or building something in other domains. But they tend to be employed seasonally. They have many, many responsibilities and works in their home.

Helob's parents, for example, lived their entire lives together. From mom's first mating season, when Helob's dad won the right to her and was chosen by her - until the last one, after which mom ate him, and then, after the little spiders hatched, let them eat herself. Helob envies them how successful their relationship was and how wonderful their lives were. Dad taught Helob and his brothers and sisters many wise things, he was a wise and clever spider. Mom was strong and an excellent hunter. Neither Helob nor any of his siblings had to eat any of other siblings - never hungry, no, never…

Yes, Helob's mom and dad were a perfect couple and he sadly thinks that he will never find anyone for himself… no, no, the spider ladies are afraid that Helob is so big… because he is all big, yes, they are afraid that he might hurt them. He lost his chance when he became a vessel of Great Shamura and he started to grow, yes, he started to grow beyond the size of common male spiders. But on the other hand, Helob always says that he is a romantic and believes in true love. He wouldn't want to lose his head for the first female with a huge abdomen and be quickly eaten by her…