#I mean it's not like even the Nome King could help with this

[nintendoni-art]

"Hold on, this is Asbestos."

Bumblekast Thumbnail for January 8th. Didja know that in the book the poppy field issue wasn't resolved by snow? It was like a bajillion mice tied to a cart cause the Tin Man straight up killed a wildcat that was chasing the Queen of the Field Mice which earned them a favor.

[gayfrenchtoast]

Okay fine we're doing this. I havent read the books and I'm probably not going to I've only seen the movies so I'm sorry if anything I say is contradictory or has already been stated.

So! Descendants 3 was kinda shit and I dont like it but especially because of the ending because everybody was like "oh yeah island is open and we're all happy with no worries or implications about free villains or people being spiteful about being imprisoned for years!" In fact if anything they joked about those things.

The island is basically its own culture, I can't say how long it's been around, long enough for some almost adult kids to be about and to develop a kind of community.

The Isle is a place of poverty, people are dirty and on the street, eveyone steals from each other and most people don't put much effort into appearance upkeep (personal or of the sourounding area) not because of laziness or being "evil" but because they clearly don't have time or luxury to do such things or possibly even the clean water. Does the Isle have clean water?? How to they get electricity??? Someone tell me!

Another thing that I've noticed is easy to see but is not much explicitly said is the unique style of those on the Isle. As previously stated they don't have much but those who have the most "power" and such on the Isle are the best example of this As they have the most colourful outfits. However these outfits are often made out of patches and ripped things put together, even salvaged things like nets and chains as we can see on thing like Uma and Harry's outfits in D3 they make the best of what they've got and they do fantastic because their outfits are intricate and detailed and just tell you everything you need to know about them. Which is why it's a damn s h a m e when the original VK's ajust their style to be more like Auradon's. That's not an improvement! Be proud of where you came from!! It's like they forgot what it was like being on the Isle in D3!

Moving on, here's something that was touched on in D2 but not enough. Equality. On the Isle there is basically equal opportunity as in saying everything is shit and nome cares what gender and presumably what sexuality you are as long as you can work. Sexism is shown to be almost casual in aurodon from the looks of it, Chad makes sexist comments and litterally none else says anything or seems to see anything wrong with it except Jay who caves to pressure from peers and expectations. He does redeem himself because he's from the isle and he knows you shouldn't give a shit about anyone's gender or anything. If they can do something and ask to be included you give them that opportunity. The sexism is also implied in the way that the rule book has men written specifically in the first place and that it has taken until then for anyone but boys to be allowed on any kind of sports team. We never see it! It seems to be the hetronormative veiw where the boys do sport and girls do cheerleeding and other genders? What other genders? Never heard of that? BAD AURADON!! I bet there's so many trans folk on the island just living their lives, thinking Aurodon is the better place and not knowing that it's a cis het filled nightmare.

Okay no I'm headcannoning now, if their are now a bunch of Isle kids at auradon prep they find it fucking aweful the way all these preppy royals are treating them and make the first LGBT club in Auradon. There is lots of pushback and they get bullied a fuck ton for making themselves the most prominent queer folk in the school until a fight breaks out and the club demand that they should be treated better, taking all the evidence to fairy godmother who is very hesitant because COME ON she's never been that great she is biased to Auradon kids and if putting away those in the Isle is brought up she is all on it, she is jelly spined about doing anything against the royal kids. So the kids are like "Fine, if you won't help us we'll take this to the King himself!" Well mainly the queer mom's of the group (you know the ones I'm talking about) who lead the others and protect the anxious queers as they storm to Ben at his fucking locker and demand an audience because they are being harassed and bullied and none is doing anything. Ben had no idea there was even a LGBT club (too busy ig) and is gassed there is one for a moment before he's like "wait people are harassing you?" So Bisexual King Ben gets his lovely Bi wife and they start coming to club meetings and investing in the pins and stuff the club makes. Most club members are pleased but the queer mom's are apprehensive that this will help until some assholes come to the club to do their usual bullying only to find King and Queen Beast themselves siting there with rainbow bracelets and bi pins and all trying to have a nice old time eating their fucking cupcakes what the fuck are yall doing? The bullying dies down quick once they realise it ain't gonna fly, the other OG VK's that hear about this become members and very protective over their queer children. Did I mention Dizzy and Ceila are a part of the club? They're girlfriend's. Celia is one of the queer moms. Harry becomes one of the biggest protectors over the group as the pan dad. He's been going around snogging everyone and anyone wholl snog him everyone already knew he was queer they just didn't have the balls to try and bully him over it as much as they bullied the lil club members. But now Harry can often be seen in jackets and shit with pan and general queer patches and pins and running around with his gay children yelling "MOVE WE'RE GAY!!" He totally calls them his queer crew. Anyway as a result lots of queer royals start coming out of the woodwork, obvs Lonnie is one of them, and the club eventually serves to bring members of Auradon and the Isle close together.

Where was I? Yada yada auradon expects girls to be pretty princesses and boys to be brave knights or dashing princes. It's shit and should stop being portrayed as good. Moving on!

Food! One of the things we'll established in all movies is that the food of the Isle is shit compared to food of Auradon. The Isle has no fresh fruit which likely means its almost impossible for things to grow there which is fair because again there doesn't seem to be much fresh water and there are always clouds overhead so no sun. Maybe there is some people trying really hard to grow stuff but the general attitude of the Isle seems to be "there is no time for that" and fruits are forgotten so much that the VK's litterally don't knownwhat they are when they come across them. That and anything containing sugar. Actually it's mention by Dizzy and Celia that they enjoy the fact that the cake dosent have dirt or flies so basically food there is terrible. We don't see much food on the Isle but what we do see seems to be beans, eggs, chips and shellfish. Basically protine and carbs that can be easily stored and produced. To be fair beans are kidna good for you but they're likely a sign that if they get any imports from the mainland it is canned stuff. Prison food. There's probably some chef villain that is trying their best to make good food out of the shit but honestly the Isle dwellers should be angry that they've been deprived of good food for so long not happy they're finally been given decency.

Moving on, music! Auradon dosent have nearly as many musical numbers it seems, the Isle songs have a distinct style, to them, the villains that basically "founded" the place were masters of the dramatic songs (with backup or solo) so banging music is basically ingrained in the music's culture, even for battle as we see with the fight between Mal and Uma in D3. Meanwhile Auradon seems to have mainly romance and "I want" songs. Even Audrey's villain song is basically an I want song.

Okay let's talk about the Villains. We've established that the VK's are not inherently bad. However not all of them can be totally good and there are legit OG Villains just kinda chillin on the Isle. They've obviously lost quite a bit of their power, motivation and sanity (isolation will do that to ya as they lost everything and the VKs know no different) but deadass? They were bad guys. You can try to rehabilitate them sure but you've basically just let them free roam, they could make a runner and you wouldn't get the chance. They were also shitty patents which is brushed over/joked about in the interaction between Carlos and...man I feel bad I forgot her name deadass their relationship seemed to come out of nowhere in the second film she didn't seem interested in them at all and friendzoned them multiple times I'm pretty sure Disney did that becaue queer kids were relating to Carlos and headcanoning them as queer (which they deffinatly are) but deadass their mom is an attempted animal murderer and has hurt her child as we can see from how they're afraid of her and her rhetoric and yet it's "haha I'm afraid to meet your ma!" "Me too cus im a dog! Lol!" Fuuuuck offfffff

I think I'm running out of thoughts so here's a last one for now; with the magical barrier down a bunch of magical Villains kids should be coming out for the woodwork. We know Mal has magic basically stored in her so it's is possible, she technically doesn't need the spellbook to do magic it is just inherent to her. So with the diverse range of people from the isle there are deffinatly magic folk in there. Actually if we're following Disney movie law I saw something mentioning Jay being half Genie and yeah! He should be half Genie! Jafar got turned into a Genie he's probably only human because of the barrier! Oh also Ben should be able to go beast on command as long as he had a better beast form than he did in the movies. And give him back the beard and fangs like fuck you he looked so much better

Okay I'm done for now

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Ati: Inuit Naming Conventions, Beliefs in Reincarnation, and What That Could Mean in the Context of Legend of Korra

Woah, that's a hefty and important-sounding title. Hope this doesn't end up disappointing anyone

So naming one's children after dead loved ones is a pretty solid choice in a lot of cultures and for good reason. One gets to say that dead loved one's name every time they address a new loved one. It keeps their memory alive and gives the child a name with meaning and respect and affection behind it. Some cultures have a very specific reason for doing this, though. Take, for example, Eskimo names and the Inuit/Inupiaq concept of the ati.

My mother did her best to explain our culture to me as a small child. She said that we are Inupiaq, and that we come from King Island, a barren little rock off the coast of Nome, and that my Eskimo name was Mitikluq, after her mother who died before I was born. Though she didn't use the word "ati" she explained that it was an important relationship that I had with my grandmother. By bearing her name, I carried a bit of her soul in me. Nowadays, one's given name that would be written on a birth certificate and their Eskimo name are separate, but before assimilation, this was not the case. I bring this up because as far as I know, we're all well-aware that the Water Tribe is basically a fantasy counterpart to the Inuit, with a few other cultural influences here and there. Maybe, just maybe, the people of the Water Tribe have the concept of ati too.

If the Water Tribe naming conventions and beliefs mirror those of the real life Inuit and Inupiaq, that would mean not only are all Water Tribe characters raised in the traditional way named after dead loved ones/respected members of the community, but that they believe their ati lives on through them. It's a sort of reincarnation. One's ati might inform parts of their personality or talents. Also, perhaps most endearingly, even small children may be referred to by their elders as if they were their ati. (I don't know if this can be construed as creepy, but if you've ever seen your little brother happy as can be because your middle-aged cousins doting on him and calling him Dad, you'd know exactly how much love is in it. It's one of the sweetest traditions we have.)

In this case, Aang and Katara's first child may have been born shortly after King Bumi's death (honestly impressive if it took that long) and Katara might have told him about the tradition as a way to help him through it. Aang, being a reincarnation himself, might have seen it as a way to share one last thing with his old friend, and suggested they name their son Bumi. Katara, happy to share the customs she grew up with and see them live on, enthusiatically agreed. When their second child was born, Aang brought up the tradition and asked if she wanted to name their daughter after her mother, and she was touched that he remembered and intended to name a child Kya anyway. Tenzin was probably named after a monk.

I'm sure we all can agree that Sokka would go out of his way to not play favorites among Aang and Katara's kids, but I get the feeling most would think that if he did his favorite would be Bumi. I'm not so sure. I think if he had a secret favorite, it would be Kya. He'd braid her hair and recommend books to her and call her "Mom." He might be slightly disappointed she unironically liked the Secret Tunnel song, but he'd still absolutely adore this girl who is so much like the sister he grew up with and carries around his mother's soul in her. He'd probably call Bumi and Tenzin joke titles based on their ati, like "His/Your Royal Madness" for Bumi or "Airy Reverence" for Tenzin.

Maybe this tradition rubbed off on Zuko and he'd casually call his grandson Iroh "Uncle" every so often, and explain to him that it's an old Water Tribe tradition, and a very important one, because it means you have all the love they have for you and all the love they have for the one you were named after. And then he'd probably add that, at least, that's how he understood it.

[prisontoybox]

17, 19, 25 (shadow lord), 27, 29, 36, 37, 38, 39

//Oops that took a while phew, thank you <3

Munday Asks

17 "What was your first muse?"

I guess other than warrior cats and one other oc that werent necessarily mused, it'd be Dipper Pines (regular and most of his aus). I ended up really deep in the Gravity Falls Amino and I ended up in many of the rps defaulting to him for other friends and rpers til I became known for it to an extent gjfjdk. I did a couple other GF charcaters but mainly him in my friend groups.

19 "Do you have ship bias?"

I'll be honest I have no clue what this means. :v If its about writing a ship with someone and their muse, it mostly depends on chemestty and if I know the mun at least a little and if its fun to write. (Ex, I haven't written any real Monix even tho its cute despite having Fox talk to a few Monos here and discord, but have written thinlady with @/gecsha and already otp'd it. I also liked Sevix but wanted SK to want nothing to do with Six in even a friendly regard, but me and @/raincoatnightmare became friends when we were writing and it was funny and cute plus added further character into SK that I like (also now lordlady supremacy ty ty). Or in another fandom, the only character I've written with a canon relationship (or semi-canon? ig its vague?) was Hero from Omori and even then it seems weird to jump into a ship with someone I havent spoken to so it would probably be more prominent with an rper I've talked to before even if its still there with strangers)

25 "Do you play smut? Do you play it only with characters you’re shipping with, or are you open for “one night stands”?"

27 "Are you interested into poly relationships for your muse?"

Tbh Ive (embarrassedly and probably poorly) written it with one other person before in a certain circumstance I don't wanna get into here that ended not-so-well but I'm too nervous to write that kinda thing with others unless we were really comfortable writing that in private. It would always have to be shipping and he's only really shipped with one muse and you already admitted to asking this so I hope youre happy embarrassing me now hfksfkjfkd (also off like you said only adults like SL)

It never starts that way and yet so often ends up like that fhsksl. For SL he's already in a cute poly ship in a verse so I'll say yes to that. Lady Fox hasn't really been written into anything at all yet and I haven't even considered any ship even my beloved thinlady for her so we'll see gjjdls. For puppy ships with the kids again idk

29 "What are your thoughts on your muses' canon?"

Sweats in divergent characters Well Six is really cool and honestly a fun character to watch go through things, I really like her and her clever survival skills even if she's not the most kind in some situations cough cough. I could write a whole essay on why I love her little differences between the other characters in idle animations, cutscene reactions, and her ai actions in LN2. And seeing her in both comic series + those LN2 cutscenes/ai, I like how despite it all its obvious just still just a kid who also enjoys time with others.

RK is honestly my favorite of the protags, little dude is hard (to the) core. I still hate the canon ending 💔 /hj. His specific idle animations we get to see are also interesting in the fact thet theyre a little different from Six's (the only 2 kids at the time). Seeing his interactions with the Nomes (Hideaway), Six (cancelled comic), and reaction to the Flashlight Girl (Depths), it's also neat to see his little personality shine through. I got the feeling he was almost hesitant to escape but went through anyway, and saw it to the end (even if it was his own end) and with all the stepping on coal and glass, hitting every obstacle in the way and still standing up straight, and being resourceful of those around him, and I can respect him. Also he's the only one who's had a chapter I would be too scared to go through if I had the LN mindset so good on him 💔.

36. "Do you feel similar to your muse in any way?"

With Fox I really feel that casual but anxious at any time feeling, and already projected a lot of my anxieties about memory loss onto her. I also just like foxes. (Ive only spent money on game cosmetics 3 times and one was the LN1 fox mask, another was yesterday $10 on an almost useless fox plush on Sky: CotL fhdjsk but hey whats important is invisible to the eyes).

With SK I can feel the "listens to an echo chamber for emotions" sometimes, and holding onto things stubbornly. It's quite easy to write him as I don't like admitting certain things either and deny deny deny, but that makes SL a little harder to make him romance fbdksk.

With SL I do really feel that overprotectiveness and envy in some things, he might be waaay exaggerated ofc but it's there. Im also a big self blamer.

37 "Do you feel different from your muse in any way?"

With Fox I'm much more social, I do like hugs and physical touchs and talking even oversharing cough just look at this whole post whereas she'd very reserved and quiet about her feelings 99% of the time.

With SK I can't really find it in me to hold a grudge that well. I can think back and get annoyed that some teacher or other kid or family member did some bad thing to me in the past, or say "so-and-so hurt me yesterday", but I can't hold it as just hate for long and see it differently. There's very few people I'm having trouble forgiving and forgetting, and they'll never be allowed near my family if I can help it.

With SL I can't say I'm in a good position if I'm in charge. I can be a good right hand or lower ranking moniter/manager, but being the head is too much pressure and depressing. He seems to be doing just fine both on his own and with his wife and/or husband.

38 "What's the best inspiration for your muse?"

Mostly jokes and random ideas with my friends! Some of the best plots I've had personally were turning a romance/ship joke into angst for pain, or angst into romance as hurt/comfort. Ofc music also helps but this is the best!

39 "What's a song that reminds you of your muse?"

I have a whole playlist so let me think of some that only or mostly involve that character and their feelings.

Fox/Six- Again

SK- Cradles

SL- KING

[littlemisssquiggles]

Oh gosh, I love your theory of Oscar getting his own companion chicken Billina! My only worry is that the show won’t have the time to let Oscar find a farm and thus a chicken to travel with. /remembers that there were penguins in V7E5/ Maybe he finds a penguin chick somewhere on the outskirts of Mantle/Solitas? I think that could be a fun option! Add in the black and white color combo to match with Zwei, and we would have two cute RWBY animal mascots.

Aye, thanks anon-chan. I’m happy you like the Pinehead headcanon.Well, in my opinion anon-chan, I actually don’t think the likelihood of Oscar stumbling upon on a farm in the outskirts of Mantle that unlikely. After all, our heroes did manage to coincidentally stumble upon Brunswick Farms in the middle of Northern Anima on their way to Argus back in V6. So perhaps Oscar might get lucky.

Besides, for me, Oscar doesn’t necessarily need to find a farm per say, just a chicken coop or just a small location where he could take shelter for a bit while discovering an unlikely ally in the process.Y’see my main rationale for Oscar gaining his own animal companion in the formof Billina the Chicken was in reference to the Oz character of the same name.

In the third instalment of the Oz series—Ozma of Oz, an adolescent Dorothy Gale was on her way to Australia with her Uncle Henry before winding up separated from her family yet again, shipwrecked during a storm with only a chicken coop to take refuge in. It is in this chicken coop where Dorothy meets Bill, a lone chicken who was on the same boat as Dorothy before ending up stranded with her. Billina then becomes Dorothy’s animal companion for that book in place of her dog, Toto.

Since we already have Zwei as RWBY’s version of Toto, this is something I’d love to see the CRWBY Writers possibly play homage to for V8 now that Oscar is on his own with Oz. It’s a chance for them to introduce more Oz inspired characters as part of Oscar’s shared story with Ozpin. Currently, much like Dorothy was, Oscar is separated from his family—meaning his team and his allies in need to return up to Atlas to help save the kingdom from Salem.

Perhaps…at some point, while out alone in Mantle, Oscar might end up needing to rest for a bit from the cold, deciding to take up shelter somewhere he pegged he might be the only resident. Judging from the end of V7, it appears that the place Oscar landed in looks like some abandoned mine next to a railway. I glimpsed what looked like old trains in the background behind Oscar. I found this small detail to be interesting since, if I recall correctly, a railway switchman was one of the people that the Little Prince met on his journey while on Earth. So I wonder if it’s no coincidence that Oscar landed near a place with trains. But then again, that’s only my opinion since I could be very much wrong in my observation.

Going back to Billina—perhaps Oscar decides to rest for a while in the place where he landed or maybe the story will resume with Oscar already on the move back to Atlas. Perhaps…at some point Oscar will be forced to stop and rest given his current dishevelled state. So the little prince stops and takes refuge in what appeared to be an abandoned cabin near the mines that he landed in. At first Oscar expected that he was the only thing there only to be met with a surprise when he finds an animal—a lonely baby chick who was also wading out the cold weather. Or something like that.

In the Oz books, Billina was already a full-grown hen when Dorothy first met her. However for Oscar’s Return to Atlas story, I was more sold on the concept of his Billina being a baby chick.  Why? Because firstly, baby chicks are adorable so there’s that appeal and secondly, but most importantly, it creates an opportunity for an Oz reference.

In Ozma of Oz, Billina told Dorothy that her original alias was Bill because as a chick, her owners couldn’t tell if she’d become a rooster or a hen and because of this, Dorothy renames the chickens “Billina”.As a neat little parallel to that story, I dig the idea of Oscar meeting hisBillina as a chick; deciding to dub the little chicken as “Bill” because much like in her Oz counterpart’s story, Oscar couldn’t tell the correct sex of Bill since she was still a baby. So there’s that small joke.

To me, this squiggle meister fell in love with the idea of Oscar gaining an unlikely companion in a tiny golden feathered baby chick that kept following him all over Mantle on his return to Atlas. I notice that baby chicks have a small tendency tofollow their mother hens around where they go so I just love the thought ofthis tiny baby chick following Oscar because it low-key thinks he’s her parent that she imprinted on for warmth since I heard baby chicks bond to things that keep them warm or make them feel safe and protected.

Just picture it. Imagine a moment where an irritated Oscar is pacing on the spot; having a sort of mental discussion or argument with Oz regarding their next plan of action of reuniting with their friends—maybe that’s what the two souls were debating.

Let’s say…it’s a scenario where Oscar thinks the two should focus on finding a way back up to Atlas to stop Ironwood from condemning Mantle to death and making that their top priority while Oz thinks it’d be best that Oscar find their allies first despite not knowing where they might be since as far as Oscar is aware of, he knows that his friends probably made it out of Atlas but that doesn’t mean he knows their exact new location.It’s his best guess at that point versus Ozpin’s. So the entire time Oscar andOz are going back and forth which is reflected in Oscar pacing about, imagine little Baby Bill the Chick just following Oscar around with ever step he makes with Oscar almost stepping on his ‘surrogate child’ at some point.

I think that’s what I’ll call Oscar’s Billina from henceforth for future headcanons and musings—Baby Bill.

With that being said, I love the idea of Oscar being annoyed at Baby Bill following him at first until eventually the little prince’s heart softens when he soon realizes that, much like him, the little baby chick was all alone in the cold and just wanted someone to keep it safe and warm especially in a place like Solitas.

So eventually, Oscar goes from trying to avoid Baby Bill following diligently behind him to basically adopting the chick as his animalcompanion until he reunites with his friends. And this change isrepresented by Oscar carrying Baby Bill around as opposed to her chirping restlessly behind him in the snow. 

Since another beloved Pinehead headcanon of mine is that Oscar will get a nice red scarf as part of his little prince journey for V8 (never gonna give you up) —to complement my new Oscar’s Little Chicken Pinehead headcanon, just picture Oscar sporting a scarf that he rocks as a hood to cover his face from the cold and tucked nice and snuggly in the fabric of his jacket collar is Baby Bill. Like for me, I love the idea of Oscar carrying Baby Bill around in the hood of his scarf when it’s not covering his face and when she’s not riding along in his scarf, one of Baby Bill’s favourite spots to perch is curled up comfortably in the space between Oscar’s jacket collar right next to his bandaged neck; taking full advantage of the warmth radiating from the little prince’s skin.

I dig this idea just as much as I dig the thought of Oscar being hasty to reunite with his friends and protect Atlas but still mindful of the ‘baby’ in his custody; careful not to move too fast to disturb Baby Bill.

So yeah. As you can tell, this squiggle meister is MORE leaning towards Oscar’s Billina being a baby chicken.

Don’t get me wrong—Baby Bill being a penguin chick isn’t a bad idea. On the contrary, I like it. I find it just as adorable as Baby Bill being a regular chicken. However…unless a known fact of Solitas culture is that you are more likely to find penguins in Mantle than chickens, for now I’m going to stick with Baby Bill being just like her Oz counterpart—a regular chicken because of the strongerreference to the Oz books. I’ll keep her being a penguin chick as a secondchoice though since baby penguins as super cute too.

But for now, my interpretation of Oscar’s Billina—Baby Bill will remain as a baby chicken. And much like her Oz counterpart, I dig the idea of Baby Bill being just as spunky and talkative. 

I love the idea of Baby Bill being just like Zwei in the sense that she is surprisingly more resilient than she looks, proving herself to be ‘no ordinary chicken’ by bailing Oscar out of tricky scenarios when one wouldn’t expect a chicken of her stature and age to be helpful.

I also have this funny gag idea where, much like Zwei, Baby Bill is stronger than she appears too or rather, she’s very intimidating despite being only a baby. Y’know giving off that “Mega Ultra Chicken” vibes, if you catch the reference.

Basically I’m picturing Baby Bill as the token animal mascot of the OscarPine Protection Squad—none shall harm the precious freckled littleprince; not if this bite-sized golden chick has anything to say about it.

Besides, if I remember correctly, it was mentioned that in Ozma of Oz, Billina played a role in the defeat of the Nome king since it was said that chicken eggs were poisonous to nomes. 

Who knows? The Little Prince met a king on his journey, right? 

Perhaps…the King character Oscar might run into on his journey might be a RWBY version of the Nome King and its Baby Bill who ends up helping Oscar deal with the Nome King who has a fear of chickens. I dunno. Just gonna toss that one of the table XD

I’m not even sure if we’ll even get more Oz characters in RWBY, much less any more animal companions beyond Zwei. Nonetheless, if there is one animal character I can picture having the opportunity to come to RWBY, it’s definitely Billina. She was practically another Toto. We already have Zwei as RWBY’s version of Toto.

Where’s Billina CRWBY Writers? 

Seriously, I would absolutely love it if Billina gets added to RWBY somehow. Even better if she’s Oscar’s animal companion to mirror Zwei as Ruby’s. But alas, only time and the future of RWBY V8 will tell. 

But for now, I think I’ll stick  with my Baby Bill concept for Oscar’s Billina. There’s something about Oscar being paired with an adorable baby chick that’s just as little and golden as he is that really warms my Pinehead heart.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[mayuuunaise]

fic: the price we pay (01/??)

a/n: u v u king of caste au bc i’m a sucker for angst and gang wars LOL i had to cut the first chapter in half bc it was getting too long though :’D 

fandom: b-project: koudou ambitious read on: ao3 | under the cut

When Tsubasa’s mother breaks the news of her discontinued scholarship to her, the first thing she thinks about is Nome-san and how he’ll be burdened with even more work from now on, having to balance the athletics club, some unknown after school extra-curricular that they don’t like talking about, and now secretarial work on top of it all. The next thing that registers in her head is that oh, wait, she won’t be leaving just the student council but Houou Academy itself, isn’t she?

“Tsubasa-chan?” Her mother calls out her name and snaps her from all the worry her head seems insistent on clogging her brain. The older Sumisora looks close to tears, weary and tired from working two jobs just to let them scrape by. “This, I—I’ll work something out, Tsubasa-chan, don’t worry. There’s only half the school year left, ri, right? We can scrape together enough to pay for half of the tuition fee — somehow — and, I could borrow money from your aunt, okay?”

Tsubasa looks in horror at her mother slowly but surely coming undone. The older woman collapses into a seating position on the kitchen chair, burying her face with shaking hands. Her mother hates her aunt, how could she even think about borrowing money from a woman who has practically disowned them after her father died?

“Mother—”

Her mother continues rambling, most likely hasn’t heard Tsubasa call out to her in such a meek voice. “I might need to get a third job… or, or you could work part time for your allowance— oh, I’m sorry, dear. You should be focusing on your studies, what am I thinking—”

“Mother.”

Her voice is firmer and Sumisora Miho finally looks up to face her daughter. There’s a sharp jolt in Tsubasa’s chest when she finally sees how disheveled her mother looks even though today is supposedly the only day of the week she should be resting. The dark circles under her eyes look like they’ve stained her skin permanently, her cheek bones more pronounced than they usually are. It isn’t supposed to be this hard on her mother, nor on her. Life shouldn’t be this unfair.

So Tsubasa sucks it up, as always, and gives her a watery smile that doesn’t quite reach her wine coloured eyes.

“Mother, it’s okay. We don’t have to stay.” She tells her and it’s a miracle that her voice stays even. “I understand, I can drop out of school for the year, or enroll in a public school nearby. It’ll be okay.”

Fresh tears well up in her mother’s eyes before she buries her face in her hands again, choking back sobs as her shoulders shake. Tsubasa gathers her in her arms and rubs soothing circles on her back. Apologies spill from her mother’s croaking throat and Tsubasa wishes it doesn’t have to be this way.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, god, Tsubasa-chan—it, it isn’t— you’re not supposed to— I’m so, so sorry.”

Budget cuts, they say. The academy will be building another wing for extracurriculars and the board of directors have decided to cut the budget for their scholarship program for underprivileged students with high potential, like her. They’ve decided that her scholarship has been terminated for the school year, but she’ll be able to continue if they pay for half of the tuition fee. They list down options for her payment, should she wish to continue in the academy, and will be accepting installments with set deadlines if needed be. Considering she’s in the special course, there is also the matter of her extra classes to discuss—

Tsubasa doesn’t read the letter any further than that, the entirety of it making her sick to her stomach.

Her mother continues to weep in her arms and Tsubasa hugs her tighter through the night.

—

Tsubasa supposes ripping out the metaphorical bandaid should be better than delaying the inevitable.

“What’s this?” But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.

“My resignation letter, President.” The brunette tries her hardest not to let her voice crack. The way Kitakado stares at her — ice blue eyes unblinking, intense, right through her soul and completely ignoring the painstakingly handwritten piece of parchment in his hands — makes her waver. Tsubasa doesn’t wait for a response or a rebuttal, not from the student council president sitting calmly in a quiet cold, nor from his younger assistant standing by his side. Instead, she bows, deep and solemn at the waist, before asking to excuse herself and rushing out of the room she once called home.

—

Ryuuji asks her later on when he catches her hiding in one of the west wing’s stairwells, if she isn’t upset at all about it, if she doesn’t find it unfair for the school to suddenly just take away a gift they’ve already given. Tsubasa has grown numb with the topic, but the venom in Ryuuji’s pretty fuchsia eyes as he asks her, quietly, to be angry and to grow upset with how unfair her circumstances has come to be, leaves a stinging pain in her chest.

Instead she escapes with a response that doesn’t strictly answer his question, gives him a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes as she says, “I’ve been very lucky already, to be able to study here for as long as I have and meet all of you.”

The noncommittal hum that comes out of Ryuji’s mouth tell her it’s not the answer he has been looking for. He doesn’t say anything else, and leaves her cold and lonely with only the sound of receding footsteps stopping her from letting her tears fall.

—

Tsubasa breaks the news to Hikaru when she asks to walk with him all the way to his part time job that same afternoon, instead of just to the station as per usual. Hikaru is silent — for once — the entire time she talks, and Tsubasa thanks him for it with all her heart. She hasn’t been able to talk freely about it with anyone, knows that they won’t be able to understand as well as Hikaru would.

When Tsubasa is finally done, she sees an unfamiliar, angry expression crossing Hikaru’s handsome face.

“That’s messed up!” He exclaims, looking close to throwing the skateboard under his arm. “Can’t we tell them to stop the construction? The Prince is the student council president and the chairman’s nephew—!”

“I, I couldn’t ask Kitakado-san to do that. It’s already been decided.”

“Well— what if, what if I gave you my scholarship? Would they take it? It’s only a half, unlike yours, and you’d need to work part time but I—”

“Hikaru-kun, you know that’s not allowed.”

“But—“

“Your mother and your younger siblings are all counting on you.” Her frown wavers at the guilty look Hikaru gives her. Tsubasa’s expression softens and she sighs, letting out all the frustration with it. “And besides, I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Hikaru looks unconvinced and they walk along the streets in silence until Hikaru asks her in the quietest voice Tsubasa has ever heard from him, “Do you know when you’re leaving?”

“This is my last week,” she admits in an equally quiet voice, hands fidgeting with the hem of her school blazer. Briefly, she wonders if she’ll need to return the uniform along with her school sanctioned text books by the end of this week. “I’ve handed my resignation letter to Kitakado-san earlier as well. I’ll be telling Nome-san in person soon, please don’t say anything to him yet.”

“Ah… that means Tatsu will have to do actual student council work. I wonder if he can handle it all.”

Tsubasa lets out an unexpected laugh at his words. “Nome-san is very capable, he just doesn’t have time for it.”

“Whaaaat? Tatsu would totally be all frustrated and stuff with all the note takings and the meetings! You know that’s why we had to get you, right?” Hikaru pouts.

“Among other things,” Tsubasa hums with a small upward twitch of her lips. She’s grateful for Hikaru, even if she initially had zero interest in serving with the student council. She’s grown to become attached to the boys she’s been working with and her days always seemed more colourful alongside them. Tsubasa feels a little close to crying at the memories flashing through her head; she clears her throat instead and squares her shoulders like the way Nome would always remind her when she seems to be retreating in herself.

“But I know Nome-san will be fine; I’m certain.” Tsubasa looks up and gives him what she hopes is a reassuring smile. Hikaru’s pout gets bigger, his frown deepening and marring his handsome face. She wants to tease him, just a little. “You know I’m more worried about you, Hikaru-kun. I know they’ll be able to take care of you, but you…” she swallows. “You’re always running headlong towards somewhere I can’t reach.”

There’s a pause in their banter, as if Hikaru isn’t quite sure if he should continue where they’re going. When she glances over his way, his expression tells her that he’s still trying to find the right combination of words to say. He looks the same as he always does whenever he’s close to telling her something that she knows he shouldn’t. Hikaru takes a deep breath, “Tsubasa-chan, I—”

“Hikaru-kun,” she interrupts before he can say anymore. Hikaru looks a little guilty, catching himself. “It’s okay. I’ll understand why eventually.”

Hikaru looks down. If Tsubasa looks hard enough, she can see his shoulders are starting to shake. “I wish you didn’t have to go…”

Tsubasa stops in her tracks, chokes back a few tears before whispering, “Me too.”

—

“It really is quite a shame. Are you sure there’s nothing more we can do to persuade you to stay, Sumisora-kun? You’ve been a wonderful student.” Daikoku-sensei definitely means well, she’s sure of it, but she can’t help the gloomy thoughts from appearing in her head. If the school is so set on keeping their students, why cut the budget for scholarships?

“I’m sorry,” it’s the only thing Tsubasa can reply to that. She hands over the collected notebooks with a polite smile. “Thank you for teaching me and guiding me all this time, Daikoku-sensei.”

The older man gives her a soft, gentle smile. “It has been a pleasure teaching you, Sumisora-kun. It’ll be hard to adjust in the middle of the school year, but a student as bright as you can only go forward. Where do you go from here?”

“The nearest high school from my house would be Shishidou High School.” It’s only a few minutes walk from their rented apartment, which means she’ll be cutting on transportation expenses. Tsubasa wonders, very briefly, if she should be taking the time to ask Hikaru for skateboard lessons to also cut back on travel time before dismissing the thought entirely and deciding it’s already far too ridiculous for her to consider. “My mother has already informed their principal of the transfer and we’re glad they were willing to accept on such short notice.”

Daikoku-sensei doesn’t appear too thrilled at the information, his mouth forming a thin line and twitching downward ever so slightly. He crosses his arms over his chest, giving her a somewhat incredulous look from his seat. “Are you sure about that? There must be other schools in the area that are a better choice for you, academically speaking.”

Tsubasa has thought about it, she isn’t going to lie. But she’s also planning on taking up a part time job now that her extracurriculars have been freed up to at least lessen her mother’s financial load the slightest bit. Entering a lower level school where she doesn’t need to spend the waking hours of the morning to study as hard would be better for her in the long run, especially when she’s seen Hikaru sleep like the dead after double pay graveyard shifts when he used to work in a convenience store.

Honestly, she’s also a little embarrassed to tell the truth and remains silent, politely smiling at her (soon to be former) homeroom teacher. Daikoku probably knows this as well because he sighs and massages the back of his neck with a little shrug. “Well, it’s your choice. But, actually…” the blonde drifts off before smiling to himself, seemingly amused by whatever he’s thought of now. “My younger brother works there. If you ever meet him, send him my regards, would you?”

Tsubasa smiles back and gives him an affirmative before she excuses herself. As soon as she steps out of the faculty room however, she almost collides with a taller figure and squeaks out from instinct.

Long fingers wrap around her forearms to keep her from falling, and she looks up to find a set of familiar heterochromatic eyes staring at her in worry. She gasps in surprise, stepping back and out of Momotarou’s reach.

“Momo-kun, how long have you been standing there? I’m sorry, I should have been watching where I was going—”

“Is it true, Tsubasa-san?” The red head’s voice is level and cool, but Tsubasa has always feared the calm before the raging storm. “You’re going to Shishidou, of all places?” Involuntarily, she swallows nervously, wine coloured eyes darting around in order to find a way out. It isn’t as if she’s keeping it a secret, not from the student council anyway. Add to the fact that Momo is also her classmate, she would never stand a chance at hiding it from him.

“Momo-kun, I—”

“It’s dangerous, there, and you know it.” The way he says it sounds like there’s no room for argument. There’s an uncharacteristic layer of simmering anger underneath his cold gaze. Tsubasa understands his irritation, or at the very least she tries to. She’s heard of the rumours; of how it’s a school for drop outs and delinquents in westside Shibuya. That it’s a miracle the school is still standing at all considering how many crimes have been linked to both students and teachers alike, though never really proven. There have been talks, especially, about a gang of high school students threatening to take Shibuya for itself.

But what choice does she have?

“It’s okay, I’ll be fine, Momo-kun,” she figures her smile is unconvincing because Momotarou continues looking extremely disappointed at her. She almost withers at his expression, but attempts to sound firm. “Nothing bad is going to happen, I’ll just go to school and go home and be extra careful if you want me to.” The red haired young man hesitates the slightest bit and Tsubasa uses the opportunity to side step out of his direct contact. She smiles and bows politely, “If you’ll excuse me, I still need to get to class.”

[i-moonla]

After all this time

Vocal: B-Project Kitakore Tomohisa Kitakado (Daisuke Ono) Ryuji Korekuni (Daisuke Kishio) MooNs Hikaru Osari (Shotaro Morikubo) Tatsuhiro Nome (Genki Okawa) Kazuna Masunaga (Yuuto Uemura) Momotaro Onzai (Tetsuya Kakihara) Mikado Sekimura (Toshiki Masuda) THRIVE Goshi Kaneshiro (Toshiyuki Toyonaga) Kento Aizome (Kazuki Kato) Yuta Ashu (Natsuki Hanae) KiLLER KiNG Yuduki Teramitsu (Koutarou Nishiyama) Haruhi Teramitsu (Taku Yashiro) Akane Fudo (Shouya Chiba) Miroku Shingari (Takuya Eguchi) Music, lyrics, arrangement: Shikura Chiyomaru Translation: (Japanese-English) MoonLa (English-Russian) MoonLa

I just could not help but translate this miracle (≧◡≦) ♡ It’s soooo beautiful and sensual song. Solo parts of each seiyuu are great. In my opinion, their voices are very well combined with each other.  ヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ

Notes:

THRIVE & KiLLER KiNG Kitakore & MooNs Ryuji & Kazuna Goshi & Tatsuhiro

English

Too young feelings don’t allow to be selfish A long silence like a deep ocean Spiral which cannot end I like your voice, and I’m still looking through the streets I don’t want to forget that I cannot forget I go there and back, and I’m dancing in the air

The first kiss lasted only 1 second A deceptive embarrassment and embrace The meaning of a movement and a happiness I learned this for the first time in that day

After all this time? Always~

No matter how I want to meet, I still cannot meet Two people are ready to make a decision on this day You go to the right and I go left Each path was selected

Memories shine throughout the city here and there Too many memories in the mind of only two people But now I can say it with all my heart “Keep smiling forever”

I’m sleeping with my face in your arms quietly To not get up at the moment, I’m just watching your sleeping face We interpret films together until the morning A small episode, a natural Everyday Now it is indispensable

The place where we met, it was a fortuity I fell in love too much to think now Feel the “love” of each other in a game for comparison You are always worried

After all this time? Always~

I love you so much, but the time won’t come back Dazzling landscapes go away You go to the right and I go left Each path was selected

I even cannot stop overflowing tears From that moment on I became an adult That’s what I want to tell you “Keep smiling forever”

After all this time? Always~

Who will be reflected in my invisible eyes now? The “memories” will someday change to the “memory” There is a manual which says how to treat you right However, it isn’t finished

Memories shine throughout the city here and there Too many memories in the mind of only two people But now I can say it with all my heart “Once, again with this smile”

Wow Wow Yeah~

Russian (Русский)

Слишком молодые чувства не позволяют быть эгоистичным Долгое молчание, как глубокий океан Spiral, которая не может закончиться Мне нравится твой голос, и я все еще смотрю по улицам Я не хочу забывать то, что я не могу забыть Я иду туда и обратно, и танцую в воздухе

Первый Kiss длился всего 1 секунду Вводящие в заблуждение смущение и объятие Смысл передвижения и счастья Я узнал это в первый раз в тот день

After all this time? Always~

Независимо от того, как я хочу встретиться, я все еще не могу встретиться Двое людей готовы принять решение в этот день Ты идешь направо, и я иду налево Каждый путь выбра��

Воспоминания светятся по всему городу здесь и там Но теперь я могу сказать это от всего сердца «Продолжай улыбаться вечно»

Я тихо сплю с моим лицом в объятиях Чтобы не вставать в данный момент, Просто наблюдаю за твоим спящим лицом Интерпретируем фильмы вместе до утра Небольшой эпизод, натуральный Everyday Теперь он незаменим

Место, где мы встретились, эта была случайность Я слишком сильно влюбился, чтобы думать сейчас Почувствуйте «любовь» друг друга в Game для сравнения Ты всегда волновалась

After all this time? Always~

Я так тебя люблю, но время не вернется Ослепительные пейзажи уходят Ты идешь направо, и я иду налево Каждый путь выбран

Я не могу остановить даже переполняющие слезы С этого момента я стал взрослым Вот что я хочу тебе сказать «Продолжай улыбаться вечно»

After all this time? Always~

Кто будет теперь отражен в моих невидимых глазах? «Воспоминание» когда-нибудь изменится на «память» Есть Manual, в котором написано, как обращаться с тобой правильно Хотя оно не закончено

Воспоминания светятся по всему городу здесь и там Слишком много воспоминаний в сознании только двух человек Но теперь я могу сказать это от всего сердца «Однажды, снова с этой улыбкой»

Wow Wow Yeah~

[derrick-universe]

TikTok Vs TikTok Lite

Chapter 9: “Ruggedo’s Rage is Rash and Reckless” The adventurers cross the Rubber Country and continue on to the caverns while Ruggedo, his Chief Magician, and his minions plan his technique. She tells the group that she is going to help them discover Ruggedo’s (the Nome Prince’s) underground caverns. Chapter 13: “The Jinjin’s Just Judgment” The subsequent morning, The Citizen sends the adventurers on their manner together with the Instrument of Vengeance (which is able to take away Ruggedo’s powers and make him a homeless wanderer on earth). He chosen Quox, a younger dragon, because the Instrument. Chapter 1: “Ann’s Army” Queen Ann was the ruler of Oogaboo, the smallest and poorest within the land of Oz (apart from the peaceful Emerald City ruled by the young Ozma).

Chapter 2: “Out of Oogaboo” Ann and the unlikely army prepare and march to the Emerald City. He's additionally the guard on the gate of the Emerald City. Chapter 3: “Magic Mystifies the Marchers” Upon seeing (in her magic e-book) Ann’s plan to attack the Emerald City, Glinda casts a spell sending Ann and the Oogaboo military to a different village. Chapter 14: “The Long-Eared Hearer Learns by Listening” Ruggedo and the Royal Chamberlain look through the magic spyglass and see the adventurers and the dragon coming up the tube. They place the entrance to the Hollow Tube in their path and make it invisible.

Chapter 10: “A Terrible Tumble Through a Tube” After continuing a long way, the adventurers found themselves sliding down an enormous tube toward the opposite side of the world. Chapter 6: “Shaggy Seeks His Stray Brother” Betsy, Hank and the Roses meet the Shaggy Man. Queen Ann tries to conquer Betsy and her friends, however as soon as the Shaggy Man eliminated the Love Magnet from his pocket, all speak of conquering was forgotten. Chapter 12: “The Lovely Lady of Light” After leaving the castle, Betsy and the rainbow fairy went to the palace of Queen Erma, Queen of Light. Chapter 8: “Tik-Tok Tackles a troublesome Task” Betsy and her friends meet Queen Ann and her army.

Chapter 7: “Polychrome’s Pitiful Plight” Betsy, Hank, Shaggy and Princess Ozga meet Polychrome (a fairy daughter of the rainbow). Chapter 4: “Betsy Braves the Billows” Betsy Bobbin and her buddy Hank, a donkey, are shipwrecked and floating on a raft within the ocean when they spot a phenomenal country that regarded deserted. Chapter 11: “The Famous Fellowship of Fairies” The adventurers enter the castle stuffed with kings and queens. Chapter 5: “The Roses Repulse the Refugees” Betsy and Hank wander around the nation and meet the enchanted Roses who explain that intruders are usually not welcome in the Rose Kingdom. Once there they meet a gardner named Tubekins and he commands they observe him to the castle.

TikTok Revenue And Usage Statistics (2019)

All you'll want to do just isn't miss the chance of studying the art of drawing cartoons by it in any respect. Besides, you should also pay a detailed consideration to online drawing yourself as it is not going to only provide help to to produce sizzling cartoon drawings by way of your individual creativity but in addition mesmerize to the other individuals to an excellent extent. Fifthly if you want to essentially stun the other individuals by your artistic knacks and versatile masterpiece without delay, then you need to draw funny cartoons yourself without taking a assist from anywhere else. Meanwhile, TikTok is offering a inventive outlet that has individuals laughing and some reminiscing about Vine.

Get Free Likes: https://freetiktok.com/buy-tiktok-likes

Unfortunately, the makers have stripped most of these aforementioned settings from the TikTok Lite app. I have had some weeks that if it was not for somewhat bit of humor I do not understand how I would have gotten by way of. Of course, most things in my life and about my person are marvelous targets of humor. That mentioned, let me shortly point out that some things usually are not funny. Okay, that wasnt funny Rev. James L. Snyder, D.Litt Let me make it very clear proper up front that I'm in favor of as many “ha ha moments” as attainable.

Let me make it very clear right up entrance that I'm in favor of as many “ha ha moments” as possible. Get enhanced your studying power as shortly as possible. So many customers making an attempt to make limitless Tik Tok followers but they can’t get success. I could not get by means of a week with out my each day dose. Generally it places into action probably the most practical and artistic drawing tools and strategies for drawing your funny cartoons on-line. In brief, those drawing suggestions are profiting ideas for you by any means. Thirdly if you want to create distinctive cartoons online, then you will have to take help from drawing books as they're your best property by any means.

For a video script, use the storyboard, in case you have one, to information the development of the script. Tik Tok is a global video community powered by music. For each contest, participants are given themes to create videos after which the highest video creators are awarded. That is the second of two teaser videos released by the “We Are Who We Are” singer. On second place we've Motorola Xoom, a tablet that makes use of the Android as an working system. You probably have a bigger viewers, then you may sell totally different affiliate gadgets or even your individual products. I can take a joke in addition to the following person and that i can provide it back as well as the following individual.

[myselfinserts]

❝Look, I know I’m unbelievably sexy, but you don’t have to stare so hard.❞

Delicate lacing, a light bodice, off the shoulder straps, and a long, flowing skirt that faded into hundreds of colors. A simple black choker with silver chains and light blue gemstones. Gloves that went up to the elbows. 

Bee was a radiant monarch preparing to ascend her throne.

“Look,” she snickered. “I know I’m unbelievably sexy, but you don’t have to stare so hard.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes, burying his face in his scarf as his face burned. “You’ll stand out too much in that.”

“Kinda the point? I’m to be the center of attention this Friday.” Beast gave a twirl, giggling as the skirt shimmered in the light of the dressing rooms. “Étienne isn’t exactly known for making subtle gowns, remember?”

“He’s not making your gown.”

“Well, the person he recommended is almost as goo-HA, I can’t even finish that line.” She went to the changing booth to swap dresses. “You know, maybe you can find a nice tux?”

“Yeah, no. I’m just gonna borrow something from Amaryllis-”

“You know that can’t happen, asshat. Now go pick something.”

As much as he wanted to argue, she had a point. This heist wasn’t exactly part of their typical mission fare. Renegade had been hired to do the security for this event, meaning he and Amaryllis couldn’t be directly involved. Luci would help as much as he could, but otherwise? They were on their own. 

The goal was simple enough; steal a priceless set of inventions from this week’s Support Designer’s Conference and Gala, where they’d be shown off before being released to Heroes in their respective inventor’s home countries. 

To be honest, they had to steal five actually. One from Renegade, one from Étienne (who may or may not already know about this from Lady L), and another three designers who are under suspicion of stealing support items and selling them on the black market. 

Needless to say, two of them are most likely innocent. But they wouldn’t know for sure until they pulled off this heist and stop the thieves from stealing by stealing the items before they could be stolen.

Damn, was this already more problems than it was worth.

Bee came out, strutting as she approached him. “So? How does it look?”

Aizawa looked up, and had to fight the urge to leap to his feet and kiss her. She was dressed in a simpler version of the last dress, with only hues of navy fading to silver on the skirt instead of the aurora that had been captured on the last number. The shades of blue brought out the shine in her eyes in a way he’d never seen. 

“Do I look like the Queen of the Party?” Bee asked. 

“More like the Wicked Witch of the Weirdos,” he mumbled, glancing away. 

“Well, at least I already have the Nome King as my date, now don’t I?”

“Hah?”

“The Nomes are-”

“I know what they are!” 

Beast burst into laughter. “What’s got you all in a tizzy? You jealous of all the attention I’ll be getting at the party?”

“...So what if I am?”

The silence thickened, threatening to choke them both. Aizawa silently cursed himself for letting himself even agree to come. This wasn’t the time. This wasn’t the place. He didn’t need to distract her from the goal.

“Well,” she huffed. “I’d say if that’s the case, you need to wait until after the job to speak up.” She turned to change again. “I think I’ll get the yellow one.”

“You should get this one. It...brings out your eyes.”

She stopped, and he kicked himself for letting himself get swept up in this moment.

But Bee simply shrugged and continued on. “Alright. I’ll get the blue one then.”

Aizawa couldn’t see it, but he was sure she was smiling.

[pamphletstoinspire]

THE FIRST BOOK OF MACHABEES. - From The Latin Vulgate Bible

Chapter 10

INTRODUCTION.

These Books are so called, because they contain the history of the people of God under the command of Judas Machabeus and his brethren; and he, as some will have it, was surnamed Machabeus from carrying on his ensigns, or standards, those words of Exodus xv. 11., "Who is like to thee among the strong, O Lord;" in which the initial letters, in the Hebrew, are M. C. B. E. I. It is not known who was the author of these books. But as to their authority, though they are not received by the Jews, saith St. Augustine, (liber[book] xviii., City of God, chap. xxxvi.) they are received by the Church; who, in settling her canon of the Scriptures, chose rather to be directed by the tradition she had received from the apostles of Christ, than by that of the Scribes and Pharisees. And as the Church has declared these two books canonical, even in two general councils, viz., Florence and Trent, there can be no doubt of their authenticity. (Challoner)

Chapter 10

Alexander Bales sets himself up for king: both he and Demetrius seek to make Jonathan their friend. Alexander kills Demetrius in battle, and honours Jonathan. His victory over Apollonius.

1 Now *(Year of the World 3851, Year before Christ 153) in the hundred and sixtieth year, Alexander, the son of Antiochus, surnamed the Illustrious, came up and took Ptolemais, and they received him, and he reigned there.

Notes & Commentary:

Ver. 1. Illustrious. He falsely asserted that he was the son of Epiphanes, being of very mean birth. (Just. xxxv.) (Worthington) --- Others say that he was illegitimate, and styled Ballas after his mother Bala, though the name in Syriac may denote "a worthless person." In his medals he styles himself Deopator Eúergetes, as if "God were his father," and himself "beneficent." (Calmet) (Usher, the year [of the world] 3851.) --- At any rate the Romans and Egyptians acknowledged him, being glad to find a rival for Demetrius, who was become odious likewise to the Jews and Syrians. Heraclides had been deprived of his government (Calmet) by the king, (chap. vii. 8.) and in revenge (Haydock) took Alexander, and Laodicea, daughter of Epiphanes, to Rome, where he gained over many of the senators, who agreed to help them to recover the kingdom. Heraclides then levied forces at Ephesus, and Ptolemais was delivered up to Alexander, whence he wrote to Jonathan. Nothing contributed more than these divisions to secure the liberty of the Jews.

2 And king Demetrius heard of it, and gathered together an exceeding great army, and went forth against him to fight.

Ver. 2. No explanation given.

3 And Demetrius sent a letter to Jonathan, with peaceable words, to magnify him.

Ver. 3. Magnify, "extol," or grant him fresh dignities. Soter wished to gain over Janathas, to prevent his rival from receiving supplies from Egypt. (Calmet)

4 For he said: Let us first make a peace with him, before he make one with Alexander against us.

Ver. 4. No explanation given.

5 For he will remember all the evils that we have done against him, and against his brother, and against his nation.

Ver. 5. No explanation given.

6 And he gave him authority to gather together an army, and to make arms, and that he should be his confederate: and the hostages that were in the castle, he commanded to be delivered to him.

Ver. 6. No explanation given.

7 And Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and read the letters in the hearing of all the people, and of them that were in the castle.

Ver. 7. No explanation given.

8 And they were struck with great fear, because they heard that the king had given him authority to gather together an army.

Ver. 8. Fear. The Syrians in the castle would fear, while the Jews would rejoice, and particularly the hostages, chap. ix. 53. (Haydock)

9 And the hostages were delivered to Jonathan, and he restored them to their parents.

Ver. 9. No explanation given.

10 And Jonathan dwelt in Jerusalem, and began to build, and to repair the city.

Ver. 10. No explanation given.

11 And he ordered workmen to build the walls, and Mount Sion round about with square stones for fortification: and so they did.

Ver. 11. Did. The wall built by Judas had been demolished, chap. iv. 60., and vi. 62.

12 And the strangers that were in the strong holds, which Bacchides had built, fled away.

Ver. 12. No explanation given.

13 And every man left his place, and departed into his own country:

Ver. 13. No explanation given.

14 Only in Bethsura there remained some of them, that had forsaken the law, and the commandments of God: for this was a place of refuge for them.

Ver. 14. No explanation given.

15 And king Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius had made Jonathan: and they told him of the battles, and the worthy acts that he and his brethren had done, and the labours that they had endured.

Ver. 15. No explanation given.

16 And he said: Shall we find such another man? now, therefore, we will make him our friend and our confederate.

Ver. 16. No explanation given.

17 So he wrote a letter, and sent it to him according to these words, saying:

Ver. 17. No explanation given.

18 King Alexander to his brother, Jonathan, greeting.

Ver. 18. Brother; the style used between kings, (3 Kings ix. 13.) governors, (2 Machabees xi. 1.) and friends. (Calmet)

19 We have heard of thee, that thou art a man of great power, and fit to be our friend:

Ver. 19. No explanation given.

20 Now, therefore, we make thee this day high priest of thy nation, and that thou be called the king's friend, (and he sent him a purple robe, and a crown of gold) and that thou be of one mind with us in our affairs, and keep friendship with us.

Ver. 20. Make. The king could not make him high priest, as he was that already: but he acknowledges the title. (Worthington) --- Crown: both the badges of kings, or granted by them, ver. 62., and Daniel v. 29.

21 Then Jonathan put on the holy vestment in the seventh month, in the year one hundred and threescore, at the feast day of the tabernacles: and he gathered together an army, and made a great number of arms.

Ver. 21. Vestment, at the feast of tabernacles, the year [of the world] 3852, seven years after the death of Alcimus, and nine since Judas fell. It is not clear from Josephus, ([Antiquities?] xiii. 5., and xx. 7.) whether the people chose him high priest, or they rather pressed him to accept the king's offer. (Calmet)

22 And Demetrius heard these words, and was exceeding sorry, and said:

Ver. 22. No explanation given.

23 What is this that we have done, that Alexander hath prevented us to gain the friendship of the Jews, to strengthen himself?

Ver. 23. Prevented, by sending presents. Demetrius had sent a letter and liberated the hostages, whom Jonathas might justly receive without declaring for the king. (Menochius)

24 I also will write to them words of request, and offer dignities, and gifts: that they may be with me to aid me.

Ver. 24. No explanation given.

25 And he wrote to them in these words: King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greeting.

Ver. 25. Jews. He perhaps wished to set them at variance with Jonathan, to whom alone Alexander had addressed his letter. (Haydock)

26 Whereas you have kept covenant with us, and have continued in our friendship, and have not joined with our enemies, we have heard of it, and are glad.

Ver. 26. Heard. He scruples not to tell a lie, for he had been informed of the contrary, ver. 22. (Worthington) --- "He prudently chose rather to appear to find them innocent, than to make them so," (Grotius) by granting them pardon.

27 Wherefore now continue still to keep fidelity towards us, and we will reward you with good things, for what you have done in our behalf.

Ver. 27. No explanation given.

28 And we will remit to you many charges, and will give you gifts.

Ver. 28. No explanation given.

29 And now I free you, and all the Jews, from tributes, and I release you from the customs of salt, and remit the crowns, and the thirds of the seed:

Ver. 29. Salt, of which there were pits in the country, chap. xi. 35. --- Crowns. Antiochus the great had before granted this exemption to the ministers of the temple. (Josephus, Antiquities xii. 3.) (Calmet) --- The Jews, after its ruin, used to present such to their patriarchs. But the Roman emperors claimed them. (Grotius)

30 And the half of the fruit of trees, which is my share, I leave to you from this day forward, so that it shall not be taken of the land of Juda, and of the three cities that are added thereto out of Samaria and Galilee, from this day forth, and for ever:

Ver. 30. Cities, or cantons. Greek, "nomes," specified [in] chap. xi. 34.

31 And let Jerusalem be holy and free, with the borders thereof: and let the tenths, and tributes be for itself.

Ver. 31. Free; "an asylum" (Josephus) without any foreign troops, like Delphi. (Grotius) --- Tyre was also "a sacred asylum." (Vaillant, the year [of the kingdom of the Greeks] 174.)

32 I yield up also the power of the castle that is in Jerusalem, and I give it to the high priest, to place therein such men as he shall choose, to keep it.

Ver. 32. Castle. Yet Jonathas was afterwards forced to besiege it. (Calmet)

33 And every soul of the Jews that hath been carried captive from the land of Juda in all my kingdom, I set at liberty freely, that all be discharged from tributes, even of their cattle.

Ver. 33. Cattle, so that they shall not be forced to work for the public. (Josephus)

34 And I will that all the feasts, and the sabbaths, and the new moons, and the days appointed, and three days before the solemn day, and three days after the solemn day, be all days of immunity and freedom, for all the Jews that are in my kingdom:

Ver. 34. Appointed "of lots," Judith, the dedication, &c. These days were privileged, that the people might go to the temple without being molested, and carry what they would free of all taxes.

35 And no man shall have power to do any thing against them, or to molest any of them, in any cause.

Ver. 35. No explanation given.

36 And let there be enrolled in the king's army to the number of thirty thousand of the Jews: and allowance shall be made them, as is due to all the king's forces, and certain of them shall be appointed to be in the fortresses of the great king:

Ver. 36. Let. This is not required, but a proof of confidence. (Calmet) --- Great king. He assumes the titles of the Persian monarchs. (Haydock)

37 And some of them shall be set over the affairs of the kingdom, that are of trust, and let the governors be taken from among themselves, and let them walk in their own laws, as the king hath commanded in the land of Juda.

Ver. 37. Trust, to guard the king, (Josephus) or be in the treasury. (Tirinus) --- Laws. He revokes the impious edicts of Epiphanes.

38 And the three cities that are added to Judea, out of the country of Samaria, let them be accounted with Judea: that they may be under one, and obey no other authority but that of the high priest:

Ver. 38. No explanation given.

39 Ptolemais, and the confines thereof, I give as a free gift to the holy places, that are in Jerusalem, for the necessary charges of the holy things.

Ver. 39. Ptolemais. This was not a great present, as it was in the hands of his rival. But he wished the Jews to retake it.

40 And I give every year fifteen thousand sickles of silver out of the king's accounts, of what belongs to me:

Ver. 40. No explanation given.

41 And all that is above, which they that were over the affairs the years before, had not paid, from this time they shall give it to the works of the house.

Ver. 41. Above. He was not in a condition to force the payment of these arrears, and is liberal of what he does not possess. (Calmet)

42 Moreover, the five thousand sickles of silver, which they received from the account of the holy places, every year, shall also belong to the priests that execute the ministry.

Ver. 42. They: former kings. (Haydock) --- Bagoses exacted fifty drachmas for every lamb, before the daily sacrifice could be offered. (Josephus, Antiquities xi. 7.)

43 And whosoever shall flee into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and in all the borders thereof, being indebted to the king for any matter, let them be set at liberty, and all that they have in my kingdom, let them have it free.

Ver. 43. Free. Their persons and goods are protected in this asylum. Even the king's debtors are not excluded. (Calmet)

44 For the building also, or repairing the works of the holy places, the charges shall be given out of the king's revenues:

Ver. 44. No explanation given.

45 For the building also of the walls of Jerusalem, and the fortifying thereof round about, the charges shall be given out of the king's account, as also for the building of the walls in Judea.

Ver. 45. No explanation given.

46 Now when Jonathan and the people heard these words, they gave no credit to them, nor received them: because they remembered the great evil that he had done in Israel, for he had afflicted them exceedingly.

Ver. 46. No credit. Thus would all prudent people judge. (Worthington) --- Alexander had moreover made the first offers, and was supported by the Romans. The Jews had not to examine his title, which was admitted by many in Syria.

47 And their inclinations were towards Alexander, because he had been the chief promoter of peace in their regard, and him they always helped.

Ver. 47. No explanation given.

48 *(Year of the World 3854, Year before Christ 150) And king Alexander gathered together a great army, and moved his camp near to Demetrius.

Ver. 48. No explanation given.

49 And the two kings joined battle, and the army of Demetrius fled away, and Alexander pursued after him, and pressed them close.

Ver. 49. No explanation given.

50 And the battle was hard fought, till the sun went down: and Demetrius was slain that day.

Ver. 50. Day. The year [of the world] 3853. (Calmet) --- The left wing proved stronger. But the right, where Demetrius fought in person, was forced to yield; and the king plunging with horse into a bog, was pierced with arrows, fighting bravely. He had reigned twelve years, and fell a victim to the surrounding kings, whom he had not conciliated. (Josephus, Antiquities xxxv., &c.)

51 And Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemee, king of Egypt, with words to this effect, saying:

Ver. 51. Ptolemee, surnamed Philometor, (Challoner) by whose aid Alexander had obtained the victory. (Calmet) --- This Philometor decided in favour of the Jews against the Samaritans, because the succession of priests was preserved among the former. (Josephus, Antiquities xiii. 6.) --- Our Saviour also judged their cause preferable, John iv. 22. (Worthington)

52 Forasmuch as I am returned into my kingdom, and am set in the throne of my ancestors, and have gotten the dominion, and have overthrown Demetrius, and possessed our country,

Ver. 52. No explanation given.

53 And have joined battle with him, and both he and his army have been destroyed by us, and we are placed in the throne of his kingdom:

Ver. 53. No explanation given.

54 Now, therefore, let us make friendship one with another: and give me now thy daughter to wife, and I will be thy son-in-law, and I will give both thee and her gifts worthy of thee.

Ver. 54. No explanation given.

55 And king Ptolemee answered, saying: Happy is the day wherein thou didst return to the land of thy fathers, and sattest in the throne of their kingdom.

Ver. 55. No explanation given.

56 And now I will do to thee as thou hast written: but meet me at Ptolemais, that we may see one another, and I may give her to thee as thou hast said.

Ver. 56. No explanation given.

57 So Ptolemee went out of Egypt, with Cleopatra, his daughter, and he came to Ptolemais, in the hundred and sixty-second year.*(Year of the World 3854, Year before Christ 150)

Ver. 57. No explanation given.

58 And king Alexander met him, and he gave him his daughter, Cleopatra: and he celebrated her marriage at Ptolemais with great glory, after the manner of kings.

Ver. 58. No explanation given.

59 And king Alexander wrote to Jonathan, that he should come and meet him.

Ver. 59. No explanation given.

60 And he went honourably to Ptolemais, and he met there the two kings, and he gave them much silver, and gold, and presents: and he found favour in their sight.

Ver. 60. No explanation given.

61 And some pestilent men of Israel, men of a wicked life, assembled themselves against him, to accuse him: and the king gave no heed to them.

Ver. 61. Pestilent. So the impious are styled, Psalm i. 1., &c. (Calmet)

62 And he commanded that Jonathan's garments should be taken off, and that he should be clothed with purple: and they did so. And the king made him sit by himself.

Ver. 62. No explanation given.

63 And he said to his princes: Go out with him into the midst of the city, and make proclamation, that no man complain against him of any matter, and that no man trouble him for any manner of cause.

Ver. 63. No explanation given.

64 So when his accusers saw his glory proclaimed, and him clothed with purple, they all fled away.

Ver. 64. Away. When calumniators see the innocent honoured, they are afraid to persecute them. (Worthington)

65 And the king magnified him, and enrolled him amongst his chief friends, and made him governor, and partaker of his dominion.

Ver. 65. Dominion. General of his armies, (Vatable) or in Judea. (Sacy.) (Menochius)

66 And Jonathan returned into Jerusalem with peace and joy.

Ver. 66. No explanation given.

67 In the year one hundred and sixty-five, *(Year of the World 3856, Year before Christ 148) Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, came from Crete into the land of his fathers.

Ver. 67. Son. The king had sent his two sons, this Nicator and Sidetes, to Cnidus, that they might be out of danger. The eldest being informed that Alexander had given himself up to debauchery, put himself at the head of an army which Lasthenes of Crete had raised.

68 And king Alexander heard of it, and was much troubled, and returned to Antioch.

Ver. 68. No explanation given.

69 And king Demetrius made Apollonius his general, who was governor of Cœlosyria: and he gathered together a great army, and came to Jamnia: and he sent to Jonathan, the high priest,

Ver. 69. Apollonius, who had deserted Alexander, the year [of the world] 3856, though appointed governor of Cœlosyria by him.

70 Saying: Thou alone standest against us, and I am laughed at and reproached, because thou shewest thy power against us in the mountains.

Ver. 70. Mountains. I seem to be fighting with them. Come out, and shew your valour.

71 Now, therefore, if thou trustest in thy forces, come down to us into the plain, and there let us try one another: for with me is the strength of war.

Ver. 71. No explanation given.

72 Ask, and learn who I am, and the rest that help me, who also say that your foot cannot stand before our face, for thy fathers have twice been put to flight in their own land:

Ver. 72. Twice. He alludes perhaps to the defeat of Azarias, and to that where Judas was slain. (Calmet) --- This captain had also twice thought proper to retreat, chap. vi. 47., and vii. 32. (Haydock)

73 And now how wilt thou be able to abide the horsemen, and so great an army in the plain, where there is no stone, nor rock, nor place to flee to?

Ver. 73. No explanation given.

74 Now when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was moved in his mind: and he chose ten thousand men, and went out of Jerusalem, and Simon, his brother, met him to help him.

Ver. 74. No explanation given.

75 And they pitched their tents near Joppe, but they shut him out of the city: because a garrison of Apollonius was in Joppe, and he laid siege to it.

Ver. 75. No explanation given.

76 And they that were in the city being affrighted, opened the gates to him: so Jonathan took Joppe.

Ver. 76. No explanation given.

77 And Apollonius heard of it, and he took three thousand horsemen, and a great army.

Ver. 77. Army. Josephus says eight thousand foot, &c.

78 And he went to Azotus, as one that was making a journey, and immediately he went forth into the plain: because he had a great number of horsemen, and he trusted in them. And Jonathan followed after him to Azotus, and they joined battle.

Ver. 78. No explanation given.

79 And Apollonius left privately in the camp a thousand horsemen behind them.

Ver. 79. No explanation given.

80 And Jonathan knew that there was an ambush behind him, and they surrounded his army, and cast darts at the people from morning till evening.

Ver. 80. Army. Literally, "camp," which the Vulgate puts for an army chiefly of foot. Josephus intimates that Jonathas drew up his forces in the shape "of a tile," or phalanx, and ordered them to face about on every side. (Calmet) the enemy could only throw darts, but could not penetrate. (Worthington)

81 But the people stood still, as Jonathan had commanded them: and so their horses were fatigued.

Ver. 81. Fatigued. In the evening, Simon seeing the enemy's cavalry tired, fell upon the infantry.

82 Then Simon drew forth his army, and attacked the legion: for the horsemen were wearied: and they were discomfited by him, and fled.

Ver. 82. No explanation given.

83 And they that were scattered about the plain, fled into Azotus, and went into Bethdagon, their idol's temple, there to save themselves.

Ver. 83. And. Et qui seems to be mistaken for equi, "the horsemen," as the Greek, Syriac, and Josephus read. --- Bethdagon, "the house of Dagon." --- Temple. This is the sense of the Greek. (Calmet) --- Vulgate has literally, "their idols." See Judges xvi. 23. (Haydock)

84 But Jonathan set fire to Azotus, and the cities that were around it, and took the spoils of them, and the temple of Dagon: and all them that were fled into it, he burnt with fire.

Ver. 84. No explanation given.

85 So they that were slain by the sword, with them that were burnt, were almost eight thousand men.

Ver. 85. No explanation given.

86 And Jonathan removed his army from thence, and camped against Ascalon: and they went out of the city to meet him with great honour.

Ver. 86. No explanation given.

87 And Jonathan returned into Jerusalem with his people, having many spoils.

Ver. 87. No explanation given.

88 And it came to pass, when Alexander, the king, heard these words, that he honoured Jonathan yet more.

Ver. 88. No explanation given.

89 And he sent him a buckle of gold, as the custom is, to be given to such as are of the royal blood. And he gave him Accaron, and all the borders thereof, in possession.

Ver. 89. Buckle, to be worn on the shoulder. (St. Isidore) --- This honour was very extraordinary, 2 Machabees xi. 35. (Alex. Genial. ii. 29.) --- Blood. Literally, "relations of kings." (Haydock) --- The highest officers of the court of Persia bore this title, chap. xi. 31., Esther xvi. 11. (Xenophon, Cyr. viii.)

[didanawisgi]

Set (Seth)

Set (Seth, Setekh, Sut, Sutekh, Sety) was one of the most ancient of the Egyptian gods and the focus of worship since the Predynastic Period. As part of the Ennead of Heliopolis he was the son of Nut and Geb and the brother of Osiris, Horus the elder, Isis and Nephthys. He was a storm god associated with strange and frightening events such as eclipses, thunderstorms and earthquakes. He also represented the desert and, by extension, the foreign lands beyond the desert. His glyph appears in the Egyptian words for "turmoil", "confusion", "illness", "storm" and "rage". He was considered to be very strong but dangerous, and strange. However, he was not always considered to be an evil being. Set was a friend of the dead, helping them to ascend to heaven on his ladder, and he protected the life giving oases of the desert, and was at times a powerful ally to the pharaoh and even the sun god Ra.

The earliest representation of Set can be found on a carved ivory comb from the Amratian period (Naqada I, 4500BC - 35BC, orthodox dates) and he also appears on the famous Scorpion mace head. His worship seems to have originated in one of the most ancient settlements in the town of Nubt (Kom Ombo), in upper (southern) Egypt. Nubt (near modern Tukh) lies near the entrance to the Wadi Hammammat, the doorway to the eastern desert and its gold deposits, and the city took its name from the word for gold, Nbt (which also means ruler or lord). As a result Set was sometimes called "He of gold town". Nubt was the most important of the ancient settlements, and was located close to the site of the Naqqada settlement from which this early culture takes it name. Pre-dynastic worship of Set was also evident in the 19th and 19th Nomes of Upper Egypt.

The standard for the 11th Nome is topped by a Set animal, and the name of the main town, Sha-shtp, means "The pig (Set) is pacified", and Set was worshipped in his form as a fish in the capital of the 19th Nome.

At this point in history, Set was clearly associated with Upper Egypt and was a popular and esteemed god. However, by the Second Intermediate Period he was associated with the Hyksos (who probably saw a similarity between Set and Baal) and so he became seen as a force for evil. He was then "rehabilitated" during the Nineteenth Dynasty pharaohs (notably Seti I whose name means "man of Set") only to be recast as an evil deity by Greek, Roman and Christian theologists.

Set was the black boar who swallowed the moon each month, obscuring its light. He was also identified with the hippopotamus, crocodiles, scorpions, turtles, pigs and donkeys - all animals which were considered to be unclean or dangerous. Some fish were considered to be sacred to Set (most notably the Nile carp and the Oxyrynchus) as they had apparently eaten the penis of Osiris after Set had dismembered the dead king. However, he was most often depicted as a "Set animal" or a man with the head of a "Set animal". The Set animal (sometimes known as a"Typhonian animal" because of the Greek identification with Typhon) is a dog or jackal like creature, but it is not clear whether it exactly represented an extinct species, or was a mythological beast uniquely associated with Set himself.

In the Osirian mythology he was married to Nephthys, but their marriage was not a happy one. However, Set had many other wives/concubines. According to one myth he lived in the Great Bear, a constellation in the northern sky - an area which symbolized darkness, and death. He was restrained with chains and guarded by his wife Taweret, the hippo goddess of childbirth. He was given the two foreign goddesses Anat and Astarte (war goddesses from the Syria-Palestine area and daughters of Ra) as wives in compensation for Ma´at's (or Neith's) ruling that Horus should rule Egypt.

However, he had no children, despite being married to the goddess of childbirth and a Cannanite fertility goddess as well as Nephthys and Neith. This was considered to be very unconventional by the Egyptians. Not only was he infertile, but one of his testicles had been torn off by Horus when Set tore out Horus' eye. He only ate lettuce, which was sacred to the fertility god Min because it secreted a white, milky substance that the Egyptians linked to semen and he was considered to have odd sexual habits. He was bisexual, and tried (and failed) to rape both Horus and Isis.

Set's battle with Horus (the elder and the child) and Osiris

During the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom Horus the elder and Set represented Upper and Lower Egypt. They were often depicted together symbolising the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. He was equal to the hawk god (Horus the Elder, not Horus son of Isis), if not always his ally. Horus represented the sky during the daytime, while Set represented the night time sky. When these two gods were linked, the two were said to be Horus-Set, a man with two heads - one of the hawk of Horus, the other of the Set animal.

Although they fought, neither party could win and it was believed that they would continue to fight until the end of time when Ma'at was destroyed and the waters of Nun (chaos) engulfed the world. However, once Set had been recast as an evil entity, the story changed to record that Horus had won their battle, and thus good had triumphed over evil. Some historians have argued that the battle between Set and Horus was a mythological representation of the struggle to unite Egypt under one ruler. According to this theory, the followers of Horus were successful and so Set was pushed into the background.

It is interesting to note that the pharaoh Sekhemhib displayed his name in a serekh topped by a Set animal, not a falcon (representing Horus), while Khasekhemwy's serekh included both a Set animal and a falcon. This has been taken as evidence that the battle between Upper and Lower Egypt had been won and the ruler wished to appease both factions.

Even as an infant he was dangerous and unpredictable. According to the pyramid texts he ripped himself violently from his mother's womb instead of being born normally like his siblings. Set was jealous of his brother Osiris. Two reasons are given for this jealousy. The first is that Osiris was made Pharaoh of Egypt after Geb resigned the throne. Set felt that he should have been given this accolade, and wished to usurp the throne. The second reason is that, according to one myth, his wife Nephthys tricked Osiris into having sex with her (by disguising herself as her sister Isis, the wife of Osiris), and bore him a son - Anubis. Set was understandably unhappy about the situation but seems to have held his grudge against his (more handsome) brother Osiris rather than his unfaithful wife. Whatever the reason, Set decided that his brother had to die.

He made a great feast, supposedly in honour of Osiris, and offered a beautifully carved chest to whichever guest would fit into it. Of course, the chest was built to fit Osisris, and when he lay down inside it, Set's followers nailed the lid shut and threw the chest into the Nile. Isis managed to find the chest and bring it back to Egypt. However, Set discovered the chest and dismembered the corpse of his brother, spreading the parts all over the country. Isis and Nepthys began their search for the pieces of Osiris, but his penis could not be found (because it was swallowed by a fish in the Nile). Undaunted, Isis reassembled the pieces and magically conceived her child, Horus. When he grew up he fought with Set, essentially adopting the position of Horus the Elder as the enemy of Set. This of course, added to the confusion between Horus the Elder and Horus the son of Isis and Set's role changed from being an equal to his brother Horus the Elder, to the evil uncle of his nephew Horus the child.

Set the protector

Despite the role he was given in the death of Osiris, Set was considered to be the defender of the sun god Ra. he protected the solar barque on its journey through the underworld (or the night sky) and fought the serpent Apep. Yet even when he was acting to protect Ra, the negative side of his personality was apparent. He often boasted that he was the only one of the gods brave enough to stand against Apep and demanded that he be treated with great respect. He even threatened Ra that if he was not treated well enough he would bring storms against him. Ra eventually tired of his taunting and expelled Set from his barque, relying on the help of the other gods to complete his nightly journey.

He was thought to have white skin and red hair, and people with red hair were thought to be his followers. He was associated with the desert (which takes its name from the Egyptian word "dshrt" - the red place). He represented the fierce dry heat of the sun as it parched the land, and was infertile like the desert. Initially he probably represented the desert near Nubt, but soon he represented all deserts and foreign lands, becoming a god of overseas trade. Set had been associated with the desert and foreigners for some time before the Hyksos took over parts of lower Egypt. However, when they took him as their main god, this broke Set's association withLower Egypt. His name was erased from monuments and his statues destroyed. All of his negative attributes were emphasised and his positive side was ignored.

But Set's fortunes soon changed. The Pharaohs of the Nineteenth Dynasty were from the Delta area where worship of Set was still popular. It is also interesting that both Seti I (who even named himself after Set) and Ramesses II seem to have had red hair. Although Amun was the state god, Set was more highly venerated in the Delta. Ramesses II's divided his army into four divisions, and named one after Set. When he fought the Hittities he was described as being "like Set in the moment of his power" and "like Set, great-of-strength". He even named his daughter Bint-Anat (Daughter of Anath, Set's wife).

The Greeks associated Set with Typhon, the largest monster ever born. Typhon was the son of the Earth and Tartarus (the place of torture in Hades), and thoroughly evil. Both were storm gods associated with the colour red and with pigs (whose meat was considered to be unclean by many cultures including the Egyptians). However, unlike Typhon Set had a protective role and even in his negative aspects the Egyptians understood his place in the world. He was dangerous and unpredictable, but could be a powerful friend. During the Ptolemaic period a temple to both Horus and Sobek (who was often associated with Set as both took the form of a crocodile) was built south of Nubt and named Ombos (now known as Kom Ombos) after the god of the ancient city - Set.

Bibliography

Bard, Kathryn (2008) An introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt

Goodenough, Simon (1997) Egyptian Mythology

Kemp, Barry J (1991) Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation

Pinch, Geraldine (2002) Handbook Egyptian Mythology

Watterson, Barbara (1996) Gods of Ancient Egypt

Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003) The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

[phynxrizng]

HAEKA, THE MAGICK OF ANCIENT EGYPT, ACQUIRING MAGICKAL POWERS

Heka: The magic ofancient Egypt Acquiring magical powers— Thepractitioners of magic—Practical purposes—The practiceof magic

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Heka: The magic of ancient Egypt

.....to me belonged the universe before you gods had come into being. You have come afterwards because I am Heka. Coffin texts, spell 261 [2] First Intermediate Period to Middle Kingdom

All religions have a magical aspect [1] , ancient religions like the Egyptian, according to which all of creation was animated to some extent, perhaps more so than many others. Through magic the creation had come into being and was sustained by it. Thus, magic was more ancient, and consequently more powerful, than the gods themselves

I am one with Atum when he still floated alone in Nun, the waters of chaos, before any of his strength had gone into creating the cosmos. I am Atum at his most inexhaustible - the potence and potential of all that is to be. This is my magic protection and it's older and greater than all the gods together! Bookof the Dead, New Kingdom

It was also the extraordinary means for acquiring knowledge about one's surroundings - above all the hidden parts of them - and gaining control over them. Gods, demons and the dead could be implored, cajoled or threatened. Their help could be enlisted to avert evil or achieve one's desires. Magic was accepted by all ancient peoples as a real force. The Hebrew tradition which was strongly opposed to it, did not deny its efficacy, but rather extolled the even greater magical power of its own god:

8 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying, 9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. 10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 The Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Exodus 7 [29] about 6th or 5th centuryBCE

Egyptian magical thinking continued to influence Europe. Thoth, god of wisdom and learning, was identified with the Greek Hermes Trismegistus. He was thought by the Hermetists to have originated the Hermetica, 42 books of magic [12] .

Isis lactans 26th dynasty

The worship of Isis, of whom the Metternich Stela (4th century BCE) says "I am Isis the goddess, the possessor of magic, who performs magic, effective of speech, excellent of words," became widespread throughout the Roman empire. She was the original mother of god, Isis lactans feeding her son Horus, which Christianity adopted as the Madonna. Her role as protectress is reflected in the Marian cult.

Acquiring magical powers

While its efficiency in the hands of mortal practitioners was perhaps often less than had been hoped for, magic attracted people because it was practical and made sense. Everything had a reason, often hidden to the ordinary person, but revealed to the knowledgeable.

Magical spell written in Coptic Picture source: Duke Papyrus Archive

Magic explained the relationships between causes and effects using ideas people could relate to. Analogies and symbolisms were widely used, the sympathetic principle of like affecting like was invoked, associations, be they pure coincidence, were imbued with meaning, and historic occurrences became predictors for the future. There were even prescribed ways for explaining why expected results had not materialized.

It appears that, originally, the Egyptians, like some other peoples who practiced ritual cannibalism, thought that spiritual powers resided in the body and could be acquired by ingestion. There is no evidence, though, that such a view was more than speculative and ever acted upon.

The king orders sacrifices, he alone controls them, the king eats humans, feeds on gods, he has them presented on an altar to himself, he has agents to do his will. He fires off the orders! ............ The king eats their magic, he gulps down their souls, the adults he has for breakfast, the young are lunch, the babies he has for supper, the old ones are too tough to eat, he just burns them on the altar as an offering to himself. Pyramid Texts 273-4, Old Kingdom translated byJacob Rabinowitz [5]

Magic was tightly bound up with writing, although there must have been an extensive purely oral tradition which was never recorded and is therefore lost to us. Most practitioners gained magical knowledge by studying ancient scriptures [20] . Chief among them were the lector-priests, the only clerics who were fully professional since the beginning of recorded history. They were the keepers of the sacred books.

The practitioners of magic

Magical knowledge and power emanated from the gods and was bestowed upon their servants, the kings ...

Utterance of all the gods, [to] Amon-Re: "This thy daughter [Hatshepsut], who liveth, we are satisfied with her in life and peace. She is now thy daughter of thy form, whom thou hast begotten, prepared. Thou hast given to her thy soul, thy [...], thy [bounty], the magic powers of the diadem...... The coronation of Hatshepsut 18th dynasty Breasted Ancient Records ofEgypt Part 2, § 220 Come glorious one; I have placed (thee) before me; that thou mayest see thy administration in the palace, and the excellent deeds of thy ka's that thou mayest assume thy royal dignity, glorious in thy magic, mighty in thy strength. Thutmose I,summoning his daughter to be crowned 18th dynasty Breasted Ancient Records ofEgypt Part 2, § 235

... and their substitutes in the service of the gods, the priesthood. But there were also less exalted magicians who did not deal with life and death, but with more mundane issues like good luck charms, pest control or love potions.

Aydressed as High Priest performing the Opening ofthe Mouth ceremony Tomb KV 62, 18th dynasty Picture source: Lionel Casson AncientEgypt

Sometimes spells fell into the wrong hands. Anybody capable of reading could use them [17] , and, at times, some did so with evil intentions.

Now, when Penhuibin, formerly overseer of herds, said to him: "Give to me a roll for enduing me with strength and might," he gave to him a magic roll of Usermare-Meriamon (Ramses III), L.P.H., the Great God, his lord, L.P.H., and he began to employ the magic powers of a god upon people. Recordsof the Harem Conspiracy againstRamses III20th dynasty

To the ordinary mortal magic could be dangerous, and coming into physical contact with the divine deadly. The accidental touching of the royal sceptre even by a sem priest had to be counteracted by the king's spell, and the incident was serious enough to be recorded:

The king of Upper and Lower Egypt Neferikare appeared as King of Lower Egypt on the day of the seizing of the anterior rope of the God's barque. There was the sem priest Rewer before his majesty in his office of sem priest, responsible for the clothing. The ames sceptre which was in the hand of his majesty, touched the foot of the sem priest Rewer. His majesty said to him: "May you be well!" - thus spoke his majesty. Behold, his majesty said: "It is desirable to my majesty that he may be well, without a blow for him." Behold, he is more esteemed by his majesty than any other man. His majesty ordered to have (it) put in writing on his tomb which is in the necropolis. His majesty caused a record to be made about it, written in the presence of the king himself in the district of the palace, in order to write down according to what had been said in his tomb which is in the necropolis. From thetomb ofRewer (5th dynasty) [24]

Practical purposes

Magic had important pragmatic aspects, which were exploited to achieve the aims of humans, dead or alive, spirits, and gods:

Creation of the world by Ptah, the self-fertilization of Amen or Khnum's shaping of man from clay were all deeds unachievable by ordinary means.

He (Ptah) gave birth to the gods, He made the towns, He established the nomes, He placed the gods in their shrines, He settled their offerings, He established their shrines, He made their bodies according to their wishes. From theShabaka Stone, 25th dynasty

The giving of birth was not just miraculous, but also dangerous, and the newly born was especially vulnerable.

Birth brick Picture source: University of Pennsylvania Museum website [2]

Birth bricks [2] on which the woman in labour crouched, were decorated with depictions of Hathor and other goddesses and were believed to bestow protection on the mother and above all her baby, and charms were used to guard children from evil demons [18] . Boys appear to have been favoured by their parents and given better protection, e.g. only boy's names are mentioned on apotropaic wands carved of ivory and decorated with pictures of protective deities. [25]

The dead and their resting place needed protecting too and, as history has proven, ancient curses turned out to be most ineffective

The elder of the house of Meni, he says: A Crocodile against him in the water. A snake against him on land. He will do something against that same one. At no time did I do anything against him. It is God who will judge. Inscription in the tomb of Meni, 6th Dynasty, at Giza

Amulets were worn by the living and given to the dead to empower and ward off evil [21] . Some mummies had dozens of scarabs packed into their bandages.

He (the sun god) created for them magic as a weapon, to fend off the blows of the happenings. The teachingsof Merikare,Middle Kingdom After Jan Assmann Ägypten - Theologie und Frömmigkeit einer frühen Hochkultur, p.72

As diseases were thought to be caused by spirits, healing was a magical science: the giving of medicines and the nursing care were accompanied by spells designed to expel these pathogenic agents.

Get thee back, thou enemy, thou dead man or woman ... Thou dost not enter into his phallus, so that it grows limp. Thou dost not cast seed into his anus (?) ... Gardiner,Theban Ostraca, C 1,p.13-15

According to the Bentresh Stela, describing an apparently fictitious medical case in the strange far-off country of Bekhten, when the daughter of the chief fell ill, the statue of Khonsu-the-Plan-Maker, Great God, Smiter of evil Spirits was sent from Egypt:

Then this god went to the place where Bentresh was. Then he wrought the protection of the daughter of the chief of Bekhten. She became well immediately. Then said the spirit which was in her before Khonsu-the-Plan-Maker-in-Thebes: "Thou comest in peace, thou great god, smiting the barbarians......... I am thy servant. I will go to the place whence I came, to satisfy thy heart concerning that, on account of which thou comest .........." Bentresh Stela possibly27th dynasty or later James Henry Breasted AncientRecords of Egypt Part Three, §443 f.

Physicians, priests and magicians - no clear demarcation line appears to have separated these, to our eyes very different, callings -seemingly worked according to quite strict guidelines as to how the body was to be examined, how the results were to be interpreted and which treatments were to be performed and which were not.

There are vessels in every limb of the body. When some physician, some sakhmet priest, some magician lays his finger on the head, on the back of the head, on the hands, on the place of the heart, on both arms and both legs, then he will feel the heart, as there are vessels in every limb of the body and it (i.e. the heart) 'speaks' at the beginning of the vessels of all body parts. EbersPapyrus, col. 99,Middle Kingdom

The more radical cures, like Isis restoring Osiris to life or Khufu's magician Djedi re-attaching cut-off heads belonged strictly to the realms of mythology or fancy.

The acquisition of knowledge concerning spiritual beings or the future enhanced a person's control over his destiny. One path to such knowledge was the interpretation of dreams, which was also used for justifying one's actions or legitimizing one's power:

In year 1, of his coronation as king ...... his majesty saw a dream by night: two serpents, one upon his right, the other upon his left. Then his majesty awoke, and he found them not. His majesty said: "Wherefore [has] this [come] to me?" Then they answered him, saying: "Thine is the Southland; take for thyself (also) the Northland. The two goddesses shine upon thy brow, the land is given to thee, in its length and its breadth. [No] other divides it with thee." Stela ofTanutamen 25th dynasty JamesHenryBreasted Ancient Recordsof Egypt Part Four § 922

The power attained through magic could serve many purposes, good or evil. It could be used to manipulate people's behaviour or feelings as the many love-spells prove [23] . According to the writings of Pseudo-Callisthenes Nectanebo II used magic to defend his country from outside enemies.

Magical stela, middle of 4th century BCE => Picture source: Metropolitan Museum [7]

Whenever he was threatened with invasion by sea or by land he succeeded in destroying the power of his enemies, and in driving them from his coasts or frontiers; and this he did by the following means. If the enemy came against him by sea, instead of sending out his sailors to fight them, he retired into a certain chamber, and having brought forth a bowl which he kept for the purpose, he filled it with water, and then, having made wax figures of the ships and men of the enemy, and also of his own men and ships, he set them upon the water in the bowl, his men on one side, and those of the enemy on the other. He then came out, and having put on the cloak of an Egyptian prophet and taken an ebony rod in his hand, he returned into the chamber, and uttering words of power he invoked the gods who help men to work magic, and the winds, and the subterranean demons, which straightway came to his aid. By their means the figures of the men in wax sprang into life and began to fight, and the ships of wax began to move about likewise; but the figures which represented his own men vanquished those which represented the enemy, and as the figures of the ships and men of the hostile fleet sank through the water to the bottom of the bowl, even so did the real ships and men sink through the waters to the bottom of the sea. In this way he succeeded in maintaining his power, and he continued to occupy his kingdom in peace for a considerable period. E. A. WallisBudgeEgyptian Magic [4]

Through death a person lost his power over his body. In order for him to pass safely through the underworld his mummy's sensual functions had to be restored. This was done in the ceremony of the opening of the mouth. Statues were similarly empowered.

There was no tradition of magic that was evil in itself, what we would refer to as Black Magic, but magic could be abused and was in these instances treated as criminal behaviour, though possibly especially abhorrent. Both in the Rollin and the Lee Papyrus the deeds of magicians who had supported a conspiracy against Ramses III were called "great crimes of death", "the abominations of the land" or the like, probably because the victim had been the king himself.

The practice of magic

The [magician Horus-son-of] Paneshe returned [quickly]; he brought his books and his amulets to [where Pharaoh] was. He recited a spell to him and bound an amulet on him, to prevent the sorceries of the Nubians from gaining power over him. He [went] out from Pharaoh's presence, took his offerings and libations, went on board a boat, and hastened to Khmun. He went to the temple of Khmun, [made his] offerings and his libations before Thoth, the eight-times great, the lord of Khmun, the great god. He made a prayer before him saying: "Turn your face to me, my lord Thoth! Let not the Nubians take the shame of Egypt to the land of Nubia! It is you who [created] magic [spells]. It is you who suspended the sky, who founded the earth and the netherworld, who placed the gods with ....... Let me know how to save Pharaoh [from the sorceries of the] Nubians!" From the story Prince Khamwasand Si-Osire [3]

Preparations

In order for magic spells to succeed elaborate preparations had to be made at times: It was generally wise not to choose an unlucky day, the time (dusk and dawn were especially auspicious) and place (often a dark chamber, a dark recess, a clean dark cell or a secret dark place) had to be appropriate, and, as is only proper for such spiritual endeavours, the ingredients, the medium and the magician had to be suitable, which generally meant that they had to be ritually pure: If it be that you do not apply (?) purity to it, it does not succeed; its chief matter is purity [9] . Thus in one divination spell a boy who has not been with a woman as medium was required, in another one could address the moon after being pure for three days. Implements and ingredients too needed to be acceptable, either new or carefully cleansed:

You go to a dark chamber with its [face] open to the South or East in a clean place: you sprinkle it with clean sand brought from the great river; you take a clean bronze cup or a new vessel of pottery and put a lok-measure of water that has settled (?) or of pure water into the [cup] and a lok-measure of real oil pure .... TheDemotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden Roman Period

One's own semen, a new brick or even milk of a black cow were relatively easy to come by, a two-tailed lizard on the other hand needed some searching, and Alexandrian weasels or hawks were becoming quite rare in the late first millennium BCE: in a temple which specialized in mummifying hawks there was a major scandal when it was discovered that the mummies contained anything but hawks.

Spells

The word, spoken or, perhaps even more potent, written down and read out aloud, was the means to influence other beings and bend them to one's will. Speech was often accompanied by actions, precisely prescribed rituals for which there were no obvious reasons and which were frequently repeated:

...... you take a vine-shoot before it has ripened grapes, you take it with your left hand, you put it into your right hand - when it has grown seven digits (in length) you carry it [into your] house, and you take the [fish] out of the oil, you tie it by its tail with a strip (?) of flax,you hang it up to . ..of(?) the vine-wood...... TheDemotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden

Execration rituals included piercing of a figurine with needles or knives, spitting, or burning. Some pharaohs asserted their dominance over their enemies by symbolically trampling on them: they had their foes' pictures painted on the soles of their sandals.

Talisman facilitating the process ofchildbirth Ptolemaic Period Source: © GeorgesPoncet / Muséedu Louvre [16]

Many spells required the use of special foodstuffs [18] , magical implements, figurines, talismans and the like. During the Middle Kingdom magic knives [15] , sometimes also called apotropaic [14] wands, were made of carved hippo tusks and often decorated with animal depictions. One of them carried the words Cut off the head of the enemy when he enters the chamber of the children and the spells were hoped to afford protection from snakes, scorpions [28] and other dangers. Animal figurines were among the equipment of tombs. Very popular were hippo talismans. Hippos are fiercely protective of their young and dangerous to man, the dead were therefore frequently endowed with figurines which had a leg purposely broken off to prevent them from hurting the tomb owners. Vessels, lamps, knives and other utensils were used. Blood (of smun-geese, hoopoes, nightjars, worms, puppies, humans etc), semen, oil and water were mixed with other animal or plant matter (shavings from the head of a dead man, hawk, ibis or crocodile eggs, gall of a gazelle, ankh-amu plant, [senepe plant], 'Great-of-Amen' plant, qes-ankh stone, genuine lapis-lazuli, 'footprint-of-Isis' plant). Myrrh and frankincense were burned as was the Anubis-plant. Turpentine and styrax (storax), a fragrant gum, were added to the incense [9] .

In execration rituals figurines were made of wax which could then easily be destroyed by force or by fire

Magic figurine Ancient Egypt Magazine, Issue Nine - November/December 2001 [10]

This spell is to be recited over (an image of) Apophis drawn on a new sheet of papyrus in green ink, and (over a figure of) Apophis in red wax. See, his name is inscribed on it in green ink ... I have overthrown all the enemies of Pharaoh from all their seats in every place where they are. See, their names written on their breasts, having been made of wax, and also bound with bonds of black rope. Spit upon them! To be trampled with the left foot, to be fallen with the spear (and) knife; to be placed on the fire in the melting-furnace of the copper-smiths ... It is a burning in a fire of bryony. Its ashes are placed in a pot of urine, which is pressed firmly into a unique fire. Nine Measuresof Magic; Part3: 'Overthrowing Apophis': Egyptian ritual in practice Ancient Egypt Magazine Issue Nine- November/December 2001 [10]

Things were often chosen for their colour. Black, mentioned twenty times in the Demotic Magical Papyrus, and white, twelve instances, dominated: milk from a black cow, blood of a black dog, a new white lamp etc. Great importance was attached to the names of the invoked gods or spirits, names which were hidden from the uninitiated. The very knowledge of their true names as opposed to those more widely known (Sarpot Mui-Sro is my name, Light-scarab-noble (?) is my true name) [9] , gave one considerable power over them. These appellations had to be pronounced properly, in the right sequence and in their entirety:

'........ Io, Tabao, Soukhamamon, Akhakhanbou, Sanauani, Ethie, Komto, Kethos, Basaethori, Thmila, Akhkhou, give me answer as to everything about which I ask here to-day.' Seven times. TheDemotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden

This invocation was to be repeated seven times. Often a simple two-fold repetition seemed to suffice, but three-, four- and even nine-fold reiterations were also frequent. In Ani's Book of the Dead, the deceased reaffirms his innocence four times:

I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. I am pure. BudgeThe Book ofthe Dead,Chapter 125 [8]

These magical numbers were also important in other contexts. A certain love spell required nine apple-pips together with your urine, another a Kesh...-fish of nine digits and black. For a vessel divination three new bricks were needed; and one was supposed to pour an unsavory concoction of semen, blood and other ingredients into a cup of wine and add three uteh to it of the first-fruits of the vintage. Other numbers like five, six or eight were rarely used [9] .

When the life of a patient was in danger because of a snake bite, a sekhmet priest might threaten to cause the solar barque to run aground on a sandbank, describing the dire consequences that would ensue to the very fabric of the world:

The sun barque is at rest and does not proceed, The sun is still in the same spot as yesterday. The nourishment is without ship, the temple is barred, There the disease will turn back the disturbance To yesterday's location. The daemon of darkness is about, the times are not separated. The shadow's shapes cannot be observed anymore. The springs are blocked, the plants wither, Life is taken from the living Until Horus recovers for his mother Isis, And until the patient's health is restored as well. After Jan Assmann Ägypten - Theologie und Frömmigkeit einer frühen Hochkultur, p.85

The need of the deceased for magic was perhaps even greater than that of the living. After dying they were completely helpless until their faculties had been restored by the ritual of the Opening of the Mouth and they had been equipped with the knowledge needed to address gods and daemons by their hidden, true names and the spells necessary to ward off the dangers they would encounter.

Homage to thee, O great God, Lord of Maati! I have come unto thee, O my Lord, and I have brought myself hither that I may behold thy beauties. I know thee, I know thy name, I know the names of the Forty-two Gods who live with thee in this Hall of Maati, who live by keeping ward over sinners, and who feed upon their blood on the day when the consciences of men are reckoned up in the presence of the god Un-Nefer. In truth thy name is "Rehti-Merti-Nebti-Maati." ThePapyrus of Ani, translated by E.A.W. Budge

But not all was gloom in the Netherworld. The duties a person had to perform by himself in this world, could be attended to by a stand-in, an ushabti (also called shawabti at times) in the next, if you knew how to make him do it [19] :

Spell for causing a shawabti to work for its owner in the underworld. To be recited over the shawabti, which will be made either of tamarisk or thorn wood. This shall be carved to resemble its owner as he appeared in life, and placed in the tomb. Look upon this man, ye gods, transfigured souls and spirits of the dead, for he has acquired force, seized his moment, taken on royal authority, he's a pharaoh, ruling mankind, controlling them like cattle. They were created to serve him. The gods themselves ordained it. Now, shawabti: If, in the world of the dead, X is ordered to perform the yearly stint of public work all Egyptians owe their pharaoh, be it to move bricks, level off a plot of ground, re-survey land when the Nile-flood recedes or till new-planted fields, you will say; "Here I am!" to any functionary who comes looking for X while he is trying to enjoy his meal of funerary offerings. Take up your hoe, shawabti, your pick, your demarcation pegs, your basket, just as any slave would for his master. O shawabti made for X, if X is called for his obligations to the state you will pipe up: "Here I am!" whether X is summoned to oversee workers in the new-planted fields, tend to irrigation, move sand from East to West or vice versa "Here I am!" you will say and take his place. Coffin Text 472, translated byJacob Rabinowitz [6]

Addressing supernatural powers

Prayers and offerings

In dealing with the gods care was required. They were powerful and, consequently, highly respected: Mut carried the epithet Great in Magic, the vulture-headed Heknet [26] , the Praiser, was Mistress of Spirits, [27] the hippo goddess Taweret was called Great of Sorcery and Sekhmet was the Powerful One. Their nature was often dual: Taweret was a protectress against Typhonic powers, carrying an ankh or a burning torch, but she had the form of an extremely dangerous animal [13] ; Sekhmet, a ferocious lion goddess, brought death and destruction when she accompanied the pharaoh on his campaigns of war, but was the main support of the healers in their fight against disease. It was best to treat them with reverence. Many people today may see practices such as prayers and offerings to gods as distinct from magic, it was not to the Egyptians. Both the living and the dead went to great lengths to receive the blessing of the gods. Hymns of praise were composed and recited, written down on papyrus and put in the tombs. Offerings of food, real or carved on walls, were supposed to satiate the god's hunger and thirst. Just as the statue of the god Amen for instance was the god himself, a magician, by identifying himself with a god, was transformed into him

'I will say: "Come to me Montu, lord of the day! Come, that you may put N born of N into my hand like an insect in the mouth of a bird". I am Montu whom the gods adore. I will sever your bones and eat your flesh.' Ostracon found at Deir el Medine 19th dynasty Ancient EgyptMagazine: Nine measures of magic [11]

Invoking and dismissing

Lesser magical beings like demons, spirits or the deceased did not quite warrant the same amount of respect. But they were the main agents of magic and could be invoked by simple means:

Prescription to make them speak: you put a frog's head on the brazier, then they speak.

or

Prescription for bringing the gods in by force: you put the bile of a crocodile with pounded frankincense on the brazier. If you wish to make them come in quickly again, you put stalks (?) of anise (?) on the brazier together with the egg-shell as above, then the charm works at once. TheDemotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden

If they did not obey they (even lamps) could be threatened:

I will not give thee oil, I will not give thee fat. O lamp; verily I will give thee the body of the female cow and put blood of the male bull into (?) thee and put thy band to the testicles (?) of the enemy of Horus. TheDemotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden

Once one had received their services it was best to send them away as they could be unpredictable

His dismissal formula: 'Farewell (bis) Anubis, the good ox-herd, Anubis (bis), the son of a (?) jackal (and ?) a dog . . . another volume saith: the child of . . . Isis (?) (and ) a dog, Nabrishoth, the Cherub (?) of Amenti, king of those of.....' Say seven times.

or

The charm which you pronounce when you dismiss them to their place: 'Good dispatch, joyful dispatch!' TheDemotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden

Picture sources: [ ] Coptic spell papyrus: Duke Papyrus Archive [ ] Ay dressed as High Priest: Casson Ancient Egypt [ ] Birth brick: University of Pennsylvania Museum website [2] [ ] Magical stela: Metropolitan Museum, 360-343 B.C.E.; Dynasty 30, reign of Nectanebo II; Greywacke; H. 32 7/8 in. (83.5 cm), Fletcher Fund, 1950 [7] [ ] Talisman facilitating the process of childbirth: © Georges Poncet / Musée du Louvre [16] [ ] Magic figurine: Ancient Egypt Magazine, Issue Nine - November/December 2001 [10] [ ] Late Period faience udjat: University College, London [ ] Love charm: Étienne Drioton, Un charme d'amour égyptien d'époque gréco-romaine, BIFAO 41 (1942), p.75

Footnotes: [1] Theologians belonging to the three monotheistic religions tend to deny this, drawing a clear line between their 'pure' doctrines devoid of superstition and paganism. But there is no real difference in attitude between Christians, Jews and Muslims and followers of other traditions. They all use rituals which only to a believer are not classified as magical. Thus, Jews kiss the mezuzah, a small case attached to the doorpost containing religious texts, Christians cross themselves, and Muslims circle around a stone when performing the hadj. People will claim that it is the thought behind the ritual which counts - which of course is exactly what magic is all about. [14] apotropaic: averting evil, from Greek apotrepein, turn away [17] The magic itself was the essence, not the magician. In the Pyramid Texts king Pepi threatened the gods with the withholding of all offerings if they did not assist him in rising to the heavens

It is not this king Pepi who says this against you, it is the charm which says this against you, ye gods. J.H. Breasted Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt, p. 111

[19] If the eagerness of the ushabtis to do their duty was indicative of the work ethics of Egyptian workers we may begin to sympathize with their employers: the tombs ended up by being filled with statuettes, as each was expected to be active for just one day in the year, and there were overseer ushabtis carrying flails. [20] At least in tales hard study could be avoided, possibly at the price of upsetting one's stomach: Prince Naneferptah

... called for a new piece of papyrus, and wrote on it all that was in the book before him. He dipped it in beer, and washed it off in the liquid; for he knew that if it were washed off, and he drank it, he would know all that there was in the writing. Princess Ahura: The Magic Book

[21] In his 1914 monograph on amulets Petrie distinguished five classes of amulets [22] : 1. Similars, or Homopoeic, which are for influencing similar parts, or functions, or occurrences, for the wearer 2. Powers or Dynatic, for conferring powers and capacities, especially upon the dead; 3. Property or Ktematic, which are entirely derived from the funeral offerings, and are thus peculiar to Egypt; 4. Protection or Phylactic, such as charms and curative amulets; 5. Gods or Theophoric, connected with the worship of the gods and their functions [23] The little statuette on the right is about 8 centimetres tall, dates to the Graeco-Roman period, and bears an inscription invoking the powers the deceased depicted by the statuette was thought to have:

Rise and bind him whom I look at, to be my lover, (for) I adore his face. After EtienneDrioton, Un charmed'amour égyptien d'époque gréco-romaine,BIFAO 41 (1942), p.79

It appears that the constraint of being magically bound to do someone's will could be broken by an encounter with a magician or hearing some auspicious noise like the braying of an ass or the bark of a dog. [24]Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae website => Altägyptisches Wörterbuch, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften => Grabinschriften => Gisa => Grabkomplex des Kaiemankh (G 4561) => Grabkomplex des Rawer (PM III 265-269) => Relief- und Stelenfragmente => Biographische Inschriftenstele [25] Meskell, op.cit., p.65 [26] W. Max Muller, Egyptian Mythology, Kessinger Publishing, 2004, p.133 [27] Francis Llewellyn Griffith, Herbert Thompson. The Leyden papyrus: an Egyptian magical book, Courier Dover Publications, 1974, p.159 [29] The stories in Exodus should not be considered to be historical facts. They reflect the Hebrew traditions which appear to be based on intimated knowledge of the ancient Egyptian society.

Bibliography: Jan Assmann Ägypten - Theologie und Frömmigkeit einer frühen Hochkultur Jan Assmann, Schöpfungsmythen und Kreativitätskonzepte im alten Ägypten James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, Chicago 1906 James Henry Breasted, Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt E.A.W. Budge, The Book of the Dead E.A.W. Budge, Egyptian Magic Étienne Drioton, "Un charme d'amour égyptien d'époque gréco-romaine," BIFAO 41 (1942), p.79 Adolf Erman, A Handbook of Egyptian Religion A.Gardiner, Theban Ostraca F.Ll. Griffith, The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden F.Ll. Griffith, Stories of the High Priests of Memphis; The Sethon of Herodotus and The Demotic Tales of Khamuas Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature Lynn Meskell, Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt, Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 069100448X, 9780691004488 Geraldine Pinch, Magic in Ancient Egypt Jacob Rabinowitz, Isle of Fire Kurt Sethe, Von Zahlen und Zahlworten bei den alten Ägyptern, 1916 Aloisia de Trafford, The Pyramid Texts: some thoughts on their medium and message Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt The British and Foreign Bible Society The Holy Bible Ancient Egypt Magazine Nine Measures of Magic; Part 3: 'Overthrowing Apophis': Egyptian ritual in practice , Issue Nine - November/December 2001 Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums, sechste Abteilung, Heft 1, 1929

[9] The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden

[18] Charm for the protection of a child

[28] Ta-bitjet: Charm against scorpions

Incantations against reptiles and noxious creatures in general

Index of topics

Main index and search page

Offsite links (Opening in a new window) Theseare justsuggestions forfurther reading. I do not assume any responsibilityfor the contentofthesesites

Magic in Greco-Roman Egypt by I.M.P. Kousoulis

[2] Birth brick, page 35

[3] Prince Khamwas and Si-Osire

[4] E. A. Wallis Budge Egyptian Magic, Chapter III

[5] Pyramid Texts Utterances 273-274: "The Cannibal Hymn"

[6] Book of the Dead: Coffin Texts number 472

[7] The Metropolitan Museum

[8] The Coming into Day, Chapter 125

[12] Hermes Trismegistus - The Archaic Underground Tradition

Nine Measures of Magic, part 1

[11] Nine Measures of Magic, part 2

[10] Nine Measures of Magic, part 3

[13] Taweret, Goddess-Demoness of Birth, Rebirth and the Northern Sky

[15] Magic ivory wand

[16] Gemme magique grecque (Louvre Museum)

[22] Amulets of Ancient Egypt (Introduction to the book by Carol Andrews)

Heka at the Louvre

Witchcraft at the Louvre

Udjat: The sacred eye

Tales of Magic in Ancient Egypt

Dreaming like an Egyptian By Robert Moss

Tales of Ancient Egypt: Princess Ahura: The Magic Book, c. 1100 BCE

Witchcraft at the Louvre: Heka, Magic and Bewitchment in Ancient Egypt

Egyptian Magic by E. A. Wallis Budge

Medical Magic

Khaemwaset

Wax amulets

Papyrus amulet

Khaemwaset

Magical bowl, 3rd-4th century CE

Vorläufige Bibliographie Magie

Repelling Demons - Protecting Newborns

Isis and the Name of Ra

Amulets of Ancient Egypt: Introduction by Carol Andrews

Feedback: please report broken links, mistakes - factual or otherwise,etc. to me. thanks.

© May2003 Minor updates: August 2008 December 2006 June 2004 June 2003

Alternative and mistaken spellings: ushabti ushabty shabti shabty heqa magick

[mostly-mundane-atla]

And they double down with "outpaced by the rest of the world." Come the fuck off of it, you guys don't even have running water yet.

The ammount of things that came with "modernizing" circumpolar peoples that actually had an uncomplicatedly good effect are a lot fewer than you think. The biggest ones were shelf stable food items (like pilot bread/hard tack and dry milk and canned vegetables) and advancements in medicine. (Tangent: Did you know that not even ten years after the Spanish influenza pandemic killed about 50% of the Native population in Nome and about 8% of the Alaska Native population over all, a diphtheria outbreak is estimated to have killed about 100 Native children outside of Nome's city limits? You do now! My great grandma was born in 1914, and King Islanders regularly traveled to Nome, so she lived through both events. Point is advancements in medicine and access to them were incredibly important and should not be downplayed just because other people were colonizing dipshits.)

The atlaverse doesn't seem to have these until Korra's time.

Jianzhu is being so paternalistic, i'm wondering if he was planning to set up schools in the Earth Kingdom where Water Tribesmen could send their children so they could be civilized, oops, i mean, assimilated, i mean [checks notes] prepared to keep up with the changing modern world (possibly with the help of wooden rulers and leather straps). And as the only Water Tribesmen/descendents we've seen so far have been dangerous criminals who didn't actually live in the Water Tribes, I'm not too hopeful this will actually be addressed.

Please tell me the Southern Water Tribe being "undeveloped" for what I assume is the typical "their buildings and food and clothes are different" reason is just Jianzhu being biased and not something the narration wants us to uncritically agree with.

But then, the narration also seems to think the ability to eat maktak is a skill you have to practice and not just a thing normal people do and enjoy so really, who's to say?

[liggytheauthoress]

sign that i need sleep: i literally forgot there was a new episode of emerald city tonight

if the promo was anything to go by i am so not fucking ready for this episode

oh no they're being cute and i can't even enjoy it properly bc all i can think of is that clip goddammit

okay langwidere is autistic and i will fight people on that

"leave me to feel sorry for myself" oh god it's me

"oh great, the screaming forest, thanks!"

okay, hi, random pack of wolves

sylvie is so their kid and i love it

oh god am i going to get domestic!dorothy/lucas now

"i don't want you to get hurt" help

"you're going to have to give her up" NO SHE IS YOUR KID AND DOROTHY'S KID LUCAS

wow okay dude i instantly hate you

"i'm not that kind of girl" i see what you did there

"they're all cheaters and liars" well you would know pal

"i give you my word" yeah and that's worth what exactly

GODDAMMIT THEY ARE GIVING ME DOMESTIC!DOROTHY/LUCAS

also i love lucas staring meaningfully at the scarecrow very subtle there writers

"what if we decide to keep her from glinda?" yeah lucas what if we decide to adopt her and just stay here in this farmhouse and be all cute and domestic together could we do that instead?

"are we?" no please don't argue at least give me a few cute moments before you destroy me later

....i think we found a witch

oh my god is jack going to meet the lion here bc i'm still not sure if we've met him yet

"rust" okay they're using more of the original book than i thought

"there's only one person i fight for" DO NOT GO THERE

"since the moment we met" THEY WENT THERE

NO DON'T CUT AWAY FROM THE SMOOCHING I WANNA WATCH THAT

okay not really sure how tossing the kid into a bottomless pit is gonna protect her but you do you, west

(unless she just sent the kid to the nome king who we have yet to meet in which case i am all for this)

can someone give west a hug please

lion? maybe possibly?

...orrrr langwidere on a horse

.....okay did what i think just happened just happen bc if it did then....ew

well someone got laid

OH NO THEY'RE CUTE OH NO

"so what do we do now?" *kisses* "more of that"

"we could if we stayed" YES THIS IS THE PLAN I HAD EARLIER I LIKE THIS PLAN

why do i have a feeling this scene is about to be ruined by dorothy doing the whole "but i want to go home??" thing

"i'm going home" GODDAMMIT YOU LITERALLY JUST SAID YOU'VE NEVER BEEN THIS HAPPY WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE

"how could you let sylvie love you if you knew you were leaving? how could you let me?" okay if i'm not mistaken that was an "i love you" and it could not have been delivered in a worse way why show why

"you're afraid of what this is. us. me." CAN WE NOT DO THIS RIGHT NOW

OR, LIKE, EVER

well that scene was a bit of a rollercoaster

oh my god sylvie heard her parents fighting and literally started flipping the house over i'm

okay dorothy this is where you tell lucas and sylvie to come back to kansas WITH YOU and live happily ever after

"it's not running away if you come too"

can we just end everything there and let me pretend that's the end of it so i don't have to suffer what i know is coming

i mean i'm fairy confident they'll still be endgame but god knows what i'll have to endure between now and then

okay unless they're about to be interrupted i think i've gotten the gist of this scene we can cut away THANK YOU

"the princess. ozma." SHE SAID THE THING

all right they're at glinda's, here we go, time for emotional upheaval

if this episode literally ends with him kissing glinda i am going to murder the entire writing team

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

GLINDA WHAT DID YOU DO

"i'm sorry, dorothy - they came first" FUCK. EVERYTHING.

I KNEW IT WAS COMING BUT IT WAS EVEN WORSE THAN I EXPECTED WHY

[suupernaturalgrace]

Meu Nome

Printed on my birth certificate you’ll find several names: Erica Chaves Barreto born to Anaracy Oliveira Chaves and Helder Manuel Vieira Barreto. My parents’ Brazilian and Portuguese names sound like music when pronounced with fluent passion, stemming from the romance language they both inherited and forgot to pass on. For those of you who don’t speak Portuguese, like me, you can easily refer to my parents as Ana and Manny. I know I did. In the early years of my life, I didn’t even know my parents had names beyond their Americanized identities. I assume it was easier for them, or for the people who had trouble mastering a foreign tongue. Several of my friends thought my father’s name was Elder because the “h” in Portuguese is silent. (Having been born in 1949 and being frequently mistaken for my grandfather didn’t help him very much either, but that’s another story.)

This story begins in preschool where I would tease one of the boys saying My middle name is Travis! because it sounded similar enough to Chaves. I couldn’t really tell the difference, but developing my language skills and learning how to read surely corrected that hiccup soon enough. Chaves is my mother’s maiden name, and I’m quite happy to carry a piece of her when naming is a patrimonial act. In both Brazil and Portugal, it is custom to give your daughter the mother’s maiden name as her middle, but once she is married, the daughter must replace the mother’s name with her father’s, and add her husband’s. My older sisters decided to hyphen their last names, and boy is that a mouthful. I don’t think about marriage often enough to know whether or not I could part with Chaves, but knowing I can keep Barreto must make my father of five daughters pleased to know his name will pass on.

I used to dislike my last name because children would poke fun at me, mispronouncing it as “burrito.” I remember when I moved to a new elementary school, one of my teachers was taking attendance and called me Erica Burrito, asking if I would like cheese and salsa. That sense of humor didn’t help me make many friends, but I find it funny now, especially when Siri on my iPhone makes the same mistake. In Portuguese, two “r”s make an “h”, so in actuality, Barreto is pronounced “Ba-het-o”, which is the farthest thing from delicious Mexican cuisine. My father tells me the name Barreto goes back to the beginning of Portugal, and the Internet assures me this is true. There are hundred of Barretos in history, one of the earliest being Francisco Barreto, a Portuguese soldier, explorer and Viceroy of Portuguese India.

Then there’s me, the first Chaves to be born on American soil with perhaps the most American name within my immediate family, which is ironic because my name was decided for me before either of my parents immigrated to the States. I was named after my mother’s favorite doll. She took care of the doll as if it were real, giving it her pillows and blankets, which my grandmother would return to her after she’d fallen asleep. At sixteen years old, my mother’s family lost everything, including the doll, and although my mother was old enough to let go of the toy, she swore she’d name her first daughter Erica. Had I been a boy, however, I would have been named after my father’s father, Enrique. (I think it’s safe to say I lucked out with Erica.)

My father thinks my name is strong, and maybe that’s why he was rough with me growing up, treating me like the son he never had. Turns out he was right. In Norse, it does mean forever strong; in German, it means noble; in Latin, it means plant; and in Scandinavian, it means “ever kingly.” Can you picture me a king? It’s an interesting image. From the looks of it, coupled with the reputable list of Barretos in history, I have a lot to live up to if I truly want to embrace my name. Or perhaps I could create my own meaning. (That’s what writers do, right?) But I’d make sure to stray away from the vulgar definitions on Urban Dictionary that substitute my name as a sex position and lean towards definitions that accentuate my identity--whatever that may be.

The latter half of my name represents my place in history as a first-generation immigrant, as a cultural figure in a society that wants to whitewash eccentric names like Anaracy and Helder. My middle name carries on a tradition that seeks to include women (or at least until I’m married). And what is there to make of my first name? I cannot count on one hand how many times I’ve been told male writers are more likely to get published. Hearing this was discouraging, but then provoked me to create a pseudonym: eb. But what does that say if I’m willing to drop my name for the sake of success? It’s hard to say. Though I do know what I love about my name, and for these reasons, I’ll hold on to it a little bit longer.

I enjoy the way “Erica” writes in cursive. I admire hearing it pronounced with an accent, even if my parents are upset with me. I find it hilarious how sometimes I think people are calling my name when they say “America.” I’m infatuated with the way it sounds whispered from my lover’s lips, and I swell with joy when toddlers attempt and butcher it beautifully. I love that there are 44 ways to spell Erica (and that mine is surely the best way to spell it). I am proud that “Erica” or “Eh-ka” was my younger sister’s first word. I get excited when there are songs and stories written about me because they are rare. I savor the taste of my name every time I introduce myself because it’s the beginning of a connection.

[anamuseinglife]

Iditapod: Zirkle first to halfway. Plus: injuries, wildlife, and litter names.

Ed Hopkins: He thought he did a lot of rough and rowdy things in his day, and I was thinking about it as I was bouncing through the burn, thinking, well, Richie ain’t seen nothing yet

[theme music plays]

Casey Grove: Welcome to the Iditapod, it’s a podcast about laughing in the face of danger all the way down the Iditarod trail. We cover the race as well. The Iditapod is a production of Alaska Public Media and KNOM radio in Nome. I’m your host, Casey Grove, and before we have too much fun here, how about a word from our sponsor.

[ad plays]

CG: Yes, that was Ed Hopkins from Canada’s Yukon Territory off the top there, he has a great laugh. And, a great mustache. We’re gonna hear more from him later about temperatures warmer than he’s used to, and animal encounters on the trail, which he is familiar. But first, this race is shaping up. It’s Thursday, and Aliy Zirkle has taken the lead after pushing past other mushers who are resting in Takotna and Ophir, onto the old mining town checkpoint of Iditarod. It’s actually a ghost town, nobody lives there. Aliy says she’s never spent her 24 hour layover there, and she wins the Dorothy G. Page award, $3,000 in gold nuggets for being the first to Iditarod. I think they offered her a gold iPhone, the newest one,  either that or the $3,000 in gold nuggets, I’m guessing she took the nuggets but I guess we will find out later. Anyways, Aliy’s SP Kennel team, all 14 dogs, pulled into the checkpoint around 1:15 am Thursday morning, starting their 24 hour rest in the lead. That’s going to change some time today though, I would expect, Zirkle’s competition started to come off of their mandatory 24 hour rests already. In Takotna, where our trail reporter Zachariah Hughes was at the time, defending champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom pulled out a couple minutes before 8pm Wednesday night, with 13 dogs.

Unidentified Woman: You can leave anytime.

Joar Leifseth Ulsom: Alright. Thank you guys for all the help

CG: And a wave of front pack mushers followed Ulsom in the hours after. Not far ahead, a group of another group that had pushed onto the Ophir checkpoint, that includes Girdwoods’ Nicolas Petit, they also began making that 80 mile leg to Iditarod. That run has appeared to be a slog. Zirkle and Martin Buser spent much of the day pushing to get there before declaring their 24s. Zirkle’s average moving pace was a little slow, as was Buser’s, and that suggests that the trail was challenging and slow. I saw a video of Buser going through Takotna and there was light snow falling, and that can lead to a little slower going on the trail. What’s more, it’s been warm around the three Yukon River communities that mushers will hit after Iditarod. Race judge and past Iditarod finisher Karin Hendrickson says that caused some drop bags in Shageluk to thaw.

Karin Hendrickson: So, that can affect the meat. Um, and we just let the know in case they want to change up their plans a bit, or maybe haul some extra meat out of Iditarod, just trying to adapt and have the information that they need.

CG: The trail between Iditarod and Shageluk is slow and hilly, meaning any extra supplies that the mushers pack under their sleds will weigh them down even more. It’s not uncommon for drop bags to thaw, but it increases the risk that a team could get spoiled meat. Nobody wants that. Mushers who plan to take their mandatory 8 hour rest in Shageluk, might push 20 miles upriver to the checkpoint in Anvik to avoid that. Back up the trail, a lot of Iditarod mushers opted to take their 24 in Takotna, known for its pies. That pause, for a full 24 hours, it allows some of the stories from the trail to trickle out. Whether, as we’re going to hear from Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes, their stories about animal encounters, sled malfunctions, or late night injuries.

Zachariah Hughes: Between here and the run from Nikolai, Richie Diehl got… walloped.

Richie Diehl: I was looking off the side of the trail, like a 45 to the trail, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a little reflection off the side of my eye, I turned my head there was a tree with a reflector on it. It hit me. I flew off the sled, and um, next thing I knew I was on a desperate chasing the sled down, and I dove and caught the sled, and then suddenly I was standing the middle of the dogs and they were all staring at me, and there was blood everywhere. I initially thought I had knocked out all my front teeth.

ZH: Once back on his sled runners, he could tell it was a serious wound, and he cleaned it with toilet paper and wet wipes as he continued on. In Nikolai that morning, folks brought him to the clinic for butterfly stitches. But it’s not throwing much of a kink into Diehl’s race. He can see fine, is taking care of the wound, and plans to continue on as normal at a competitive pace. Not far from his team, is Ed Hopkins, technically an Iditarod rookie, but a seasoned veteran of the Yukon Quest.

Ed Hopkins: I underestimated, I thought I had it figured out, but obviously I didn’t do enough homework.

ZH: Hopkins says it’s the midday heat, timing runs to avoid it, that’s the biggest curveball for his team and race strategy.

EH: I mean, I know how to run in really cold weather and things like that, and I’m doing it for a long time you know, but this is new to me.

ZH: The other major hiccup was the state of the Buffalo Tunnels, a rough ride over tussocks and frozen soil, with barely any snow to cover the bumps. Hopkins didn’t see the bison in the area, just massive signs that they’d been around. Moose, however, he did see. And, so did Jeff King.

Jeff King: You know, I’ve lived in Alaska 40 years, and I still get that close to a moose, and some of them, you just can’t help but be like oh my god, it’s just like a dinosaur, it’s so huge! And these both were just enormous! I mean, good LORD they’re huge. Like a clydesdale horse!

ZH: King had two separate encounters, but made it out of both unscathed. Not without excitement though.

JK: He thought we were chasing them and we ran, I saw his hackles go up, and he’s like okay I’m in for a fight. And I, I encouraged the dogs to go fast, because it was clear he thought we were chasing him, and so the moose is thinking ‘you’re chasing me’ and I really wanted to outrun him. And it wasn’t until we kind of got in front of him, we were winning the sprint.

ZH: As King is talking, he’s swapping out the runner plastic on his sled. He’s mounting wide, white strips, about the width of a palm, that will hopefully help him stay floating on top of the new, fresh snow during the upcoming sections of trail. A bit like replacing normal cross-country skis with wide, backcountry ones. Though, the trail was hard and fast for early stretches of the race heading up into the Alaska Range, it’s slowed down in the last day on the way into the interior. It’s not clear how much of a role the good trail conditions are playing in one novel element of this years race. As of Wednesday afternoon, only one musher had scratched: Shaynee Traska, in Nikolai. Bruce Lee works for the Iditarod Insider, and is a race veteran, and he says he doesn’t recall a single race with just a single scratch this far into competition.

Bruce Lee: Which speaks pretty highly to the caliber of dogs people are raising now, and the knowledge that previous mushers have passed on to rookies about feeding, and equipment. That’s a pretty successful race to get here and not have a scratch.

ZH: Competitors this year are also more closely bunched together than in prior years, but after front of the pack mushers come off their 24 hour rests, the race starts to speed up. In Takotna, I’m Zachariah Hughes.

Casey Grove: Well, we’ve heard from Ed Hopkins a couple times now, and we will have head thrice now to answer today’s listener question. That comes to us from Ed’s homeland, that’s Canada, but a little further south than his and Michelle Phillips Taggish Lake kennel is located.

Lisa Hale: Hi Iditapod crew, this is Lisa Hale in Vancouver. Like many people, I’ve been brought into the mushing world by Blair Braverman and her Ugly Dogs. My question is this: I’ve heard that moose are really dangerous and can even attack sled dogs. What strategies do mushers use if they run into a moose on the trail? Thanks a lot!

CG: Thanks for the great question Lisa, and for the shoutout to all the fans of the Ugly Dogs and Blair Braverman listening to the Iditapod, we appreciate y’all coming along with us. We posted an interview with Quince Mountain from Skwentna, recorded on Wednesday. He is out there, on the trail, struggling with a snow machine but it sounds like they got some things sorted out. So, this question about animal encounters along the trail - it’s something that comes up not only just when the mushers are training, but also during the Iditarod, pretty regularly. Last year, there was a story about Marcelle Fressineau chasing a bison off the trail with her axe, or at least wielding an axe to protect herself as needed. And, you know, they see moose out there and other animals, and this is where Ed is going to come back in. Zach asked Ed about this very question.

Zachariah Hughes: I mean, out where you guys are, in Taggish, do you see moose on the trail ever?

Ed Hopkins: Yeah, moose and lots of caribou.

ZH: For a moose or a caribou, with a team like yours, do you just let them pass and hope that the dogs quiet down? Or do you try and get out in front of it and scare it off?

EH: Well, the caribou are different because they can just run through the trees and they’ll run out on the trail in front of you or behind you, and your dogs just kind of look but they’ll keep on going straight. But the moose on this side of the border, they seem to be a little bit more aggressive. I’ve had a couple of moose that just cross the trail, but they just stop right there. And I would just, okay, what are you gonna do. Because I’m not stopping. And I would just yell and scream and the dogs would start barking, they all start barking like crazy. And I think that’s what scared them off. You know, if one or two bark, maybe they would come at em, but they all just bellowed at him and he just took right off, both of em.

ZH: That was on this trail? Or was that earlier? EH: That was on this trail, this was going between, after… after the burn, going into Nikolai.

ZH: Big bull moose, or cows?

EH: Eh, like a three year old bull, couple of three year old bulls.

ZH: You seem unfazed by it.

EH: No, I mean, I have bigger bulls that run around my place, I mean, I got some air horns and other kinds of gadgets in here I could have used if I wanted.

Casey Grove: But I guess Ed didn’t need that air horn, thankfully. It’s always an interesting thing to hear about the animal encounters. Something I’ve always been interested in and something you ask the mushers about as a reporter, is sort of this quirky thing about the dog mushing world. That’s when a new litter of puppies is born, often times there will be a theme to the name their given. For example, Nic Petit has dogs from a litter named after champion Iditarod mushers. Libby, for example, is short for Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the race. This is a topic, the naming of different litters and using different themes, that Zach is really delighted by as well. And in Takotna, he recently found his new, favorite examples.

ZH: I like littera names because they’re usually funny and sometimes, kind of self referential and creative. A friend of mine in Nome had a litter named after cuts of beef - so, Ribeye, Flank, and Brisket. Another set of his dogs had weather themed names, like Rainy, Windy, and Flood. It’s a lot more elemental. Rookie Blair Braverman, who’s a writer, has a set of dogs named after famous authors. So, Hunter S. Thompson, Gay Talese, and James Baldwin, those are some of the. Another litter she has is named after characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a beloved movie and TV series from the 90s. But I have to say, so far, my favorite theme is Matt Failor’s heavy metal litter.

Matt Failor: This is Iron Maiden, this is Pink Floyd, Panterra, Led Zeppelin, and Ronnie James Dio. And, um, those are the heavy metal bands. And then my buddy, Michael Baker, who’s running our two year old/B-team, he has the hair metal, the glam rock. David Bowie, Billy Idol, um -

ZH: Twisted Sister?

MF: Twisted Sister, did you meet them already?

ZH: No, I’m just guessing. Is Whitesnake in there?

MF: We had a Whitesnake, we turned her into a pet dog, she wasn’t really enjoying the thousand mile perspective so she’s a pet dog in Michigan. And then, I can’t think of the other names - oh, Van Halen, Motley Crue. And Bon Jovi. Yeah. Gotta love the 80s.

ZH: The hair metal theme’s cute, kind of kitschy, but I think the idea of naming a bunch of sled dogs after heavy metal bands, like Panterra, is funny.

[“Raining Blood” by Slayer begins playing]

ZH: Because, the style of music, that heavy, sludgy, doomy whole genre, is like the complete opposite of mushing in the middle of wilderness. But, if that’s the excuse you need to yell out things like “GEE Iron Maiden”, or “HAW Twisted Sister”, then I’m for it.

[“Raining Blood” shifts into a banjo cover by Rob Scallon]

Casey Grove: Whooooaaaa! Slayer! That is the song “Raining Blood” off of Slayer’s album “Reign in Blood”, released in 1986. Zach is going out on. I’m going out on the same song, by Rob Scallon, that’s a banjo cover of “Raining Blood”. Our usual theme music is by the band Sassafrass, they were off the top. But that’s not what’s happening today, this is happening today.

[banjo gets louder]

CG: Well, folks, that’s all the time we have today. We will be back tomorrow with another episode of the Iditipod. Until then, happy trails.

[banjo increases in volume]