The Art of Gilgamesh - 3

Read this mitchmen article about Gilgamesh800's art from Part 1

Gilgamesh800 - Prisoner's enema torment - 1

These two pictures depict a muscular prisoner being subjected to punishing torment. Positioned in a frame that holds his neck and ankles in the manner of the pillory and stocks, the victim is forced into an unnatural position, balanced on his knees with his wrists chained together and pulled up tight behind his back. It's a murderous distortion that will soon play havoc with his knees and back. 

But that is not the end of it, because dubious, brightly coloured liquids are being forced into him simultaneously through a gag-like mouthpiece and an enema tube up his ass.  

Gilgamesh800 - Prisoner's enema torment - 2

 A hooded, executioner-like figure directs and oversees his torment, he appears to be lecturing him, finger in the air, but we have no idea what the benighted captive has done to deserve this punishment. Since he cannot really move or speak, there is nothing he can do buy way of submission, confession or reparation to bring it to an end. He must endure it - as best he can - until his torturer decides he has had enough.

Gilgamesh used a similar punishment position for his captive 'sneaky' cop in Part 1. There it seemed to be a preparation for a humiliating penetration, which doesn't seem to be the immediate intention here. The elaborate design and finish of the restraint apparatus indicates that many other men will taste its capabilities in due course.

Gilgamesh800 - Prisoner's ordeal on the Cross

This muscular, hairy man strapped to a cross is just one of many who are destined to suffer in this dark realm. His crucifixion is bloodless, but for him too, the prolonged immobility produces increasing agony, both physical and mental. His anguished expression says it all, but he must be wondering if this is to be the full extent of his punishment or have his captors simply left him here in preparation for further pain.?

There's a great depiction of emotion in this picture, a man on the brink of breaking and making a desperate mute appeal for anyone to help him.

Gilgamesh800 - Muscular Prisoner taken to his Fate

Elsewhere in the depths of the prison another hairy muscle giant is dragged through a cold, stone tunnel. He's pulled along by a well-built guard at the end of a lead which is attached to the root of his cock. His hands are chained behind his back and he has been gagged, but nevertheless he tries to resist, fearing that terrible things await him at their destination. The guard is insistent and coaxes him along with false reassurances and implacable determination. He finds that persuasion is easier than using brute force and he likes to see the reaction when the prisoner finds out the truth.

The prisoner's reticence and dread come across really well here. It's futile of course.

Gilgamesh800 - Muscular Prisoner Cock-locked in Scaffold Frame

The fear is well placed. For some of these muscular giants the denouement is truly terrible. This tattooed man, probably a captured, mercenary fighter, has been taken to a room where there is a tall guillotine-like frame. Its purpose is obvious to him, there's even a bucket placed directly beneath the 'collar' restraining him. But it's not his neck that has been put into the opening formed by the two boards, it's his cock.

Gilgamesh800 - Muscular Prisoner Cock-locked in Guillotine Frame

From this direction we can see the prisoner has been chained to a post prior to his cock being snared, so he cannot retreat and thereby extract his tackle from the trap, even if the grip of the boards were loose enough to permit it. It isn't even worth struggling. Above him the prisoner can see the huge blade waiting to fall. The hooded guard places his hand upon the release handle laughing at the prisoner's efforts to control his horror. 

If he is a true hero, he will face even the loss of his manhood with stoic fortitude. They may release him if he survives this ordeal, knowing that his masculine life forces and urge to fight will have been lost forever. He and his kindred will no longer be a threat, those sons he wanted will never be.

I'm glad to say Gilgamesh does not illustrate the denouement of this terrible punishment so we can imagine alternative outcomes for ourselves. For me the threat here is certainly punishment enough. The prisoner can be released and returned to his cell after a suitable period of cbt. 

Gilgamesh800 - Asad Waylaid by a Thug

There always seems to be a sense of gathering doom in Gilgamesh's art but it usually seems to point to inescapable, indefinite incarceration with a spicing of periodic abuse. Extremes like the guillotine above are rare but one of his recent stories, 'Asad The Mighty' goes further in terms of mortal threat. 

The background to this cameo is not really explained but title character is portrayed as a giant, muscular, hairy man who goes around the seedy parts of a Middle Eastern town topless and showing off his muscles and bedecked with jewels (presumably the fruits of his mightiness). We don't know if he is a good or bad man, but not entirely surprisingly, in a quiet back-alley he is waylaid by an armed thug. This is a problem Asad is used to encountering and he is well-equipped to deal with it.

There's a clever use of close-up here, giving a good sense of Asad's physicality (and vanity perhaps). It also shows the predicament he faces, with an armed antagonist blocking the narrow passageway. 

Gilgamesh800 - Asad Overpowered by Thugs

Unfortunately, the thug is not alone. Asad is attacked from behind and overpowered. He is tied up and stripped of his jewels and his clothes. Tightly bound and dressed only in a loincloth he is lifted up by his strong captor and carried off. Thus are the mighty felled.

Their destination is not to a dark dungeon - as is often the fate of heroes in Gilgamesh's world - but a strange deserted, palace which has an arcaded central atrium containing a beautiful pool.

Gilgamesh800 - Asad is Chained to a Ball

There, on the edge of the pool, heavily roped and immobile, Asad is forced to stand while his guard attaches a heavy ball and chain to his ankles. The implications of this are obvious and dreadful. Is this to be his pathetic end? The reasons for such a cruel outcome are not revealed to us. Since he is gagged, he cannot even ask.

Gilgamesh800 - Asad's Captor Toys With Him 

Asad is a brave, strong man but nevertheless is forced to confront the end of life. 

His cruel captor has no pity and seems to be excited by his plight. He is excited by the muscular, rope-wrapped body of the man he has taken captive. He strips him of his loincloth and toys with his manhood salaciously. Despite the danger, or perhaps because of it, Asad finds he is aroused too.

Notice the interesting juxtaposition of cock-tip and bulge here.

Gilgamesh800 - Asad's Captor Carries Him To The Pool Edge

Asad's captor milks him into the water in a lengthy sequence of images,

 but even as the passion of the moment declines, he picks up from where he left off. 

Asad feels himself lifted bodily into the air and carried towards the edge of the pool.......

The strange, interlocking steps that we see in the background here seem to suggest that Asad has been brought to a place of ritualistic significance to confront his own mortality. This is not a tawdry robbery or assassination but part of something deeper. 

I won't reveal the outcome of this suspenseful tale, 

you can see for yourselves at Gilgamesh's pixiv site (free membership)

Asad the Mighty (part 1) and Asad the Mighty (part 2)

More Gilgamesh in Part 4 (pending)

Read this mitchmen article from Part 1