#ancient egyptian pun

[aimarskloset]

Ghostly Gazette #6

[monstrousliarstold]

[mrcompass]

The Cosmic Names of MFB Beys.

In MFB, Beys are named after constellations like Pegasus and Leone and sometimes celestial bodies such as Jade Jupiter. However, there are some cases that do not seem as straightforward, and even some Beys that can find multiple origins for their names. I decided to take a look at them.

Vulcan Horuseus

Horuseus represents Horus, the god of the sky, and as a result, he encompasses both the sun and the moon as his eyes. So, he has a connection to Earth's satellite, the moon and with the sun, our star.

There is also an asteroid named after Horus: 1924 Horus.

The Fusion Wheel also plays a role, as Vulcan references a hypothetical planet closer to the sun than even Mercury.

Hades Kerbecs

Kerbecs actually refers to a constellation, Cerberus, which is now an integral part of the Hercules constellation.

However, like Horuseus, there is also an asteroid named after the three-headed dog: 1865 Cerberus.

Similarly, a moon of Pluto is named after the god’s loyal companion as well—Kerberos.

Mercury Anubius

Anubius is the Bey of the Legendary Blader of Mercury, Yuki, and as such, he represents the planet with his Fusion Wheel of the same name.

Anubis is the god of mummification and guided souls to the afterlife, a task also taken by Hermes, with whom he was associated with. Hermes is considered the Greek equivalent of the Roman Mercury.

Anubis is depicted as a man with a jackal head. This canine form can create a link with constellations such as Canis Minor, and some scholars claim there was a connection between the two for the ancient Egyptians. Some also say that Anubis was connected with Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, which is part of Canis Major. However, some of these claims are more modern interpretations. Regardless, I can see MFB using that interpretation.

Anubis also gave its name to an asteroid (1912 Anubis).

Forbidden Ionis

Ionis is depicted as a heifer and, as such, can be associated with the bull constellation, much like Dark Bull—they even share a similar color scheme.

However, it can also and mainly be associated with Jupiter’s satellite Io, named after one of the god’s mistresses, who was changed into a cow.

Omega Dragonis

Omega Dragonis represents a dragon and, as such, can be associated with the Draco constellation, much like L-Drago.

In addition, the complete name Omega Dragonis can be seen as a pun, since one of the stars in the Draco constellation is named Omega Draconis.

Death Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl represents the Aztec god of the same name, who often took the appearance of a feathered snake, just like in the anime. As a result, it can be associated with the Serpens constellation.

There is also 1915 Quetzálcoatl, an asteroid named after the Aztec god.

But more importantly, in Aztec mythology, Quetzalcoatl is often associated with the morning star, aka Venus.

Diablo Nemesis

As many of you probably know, Nemesis was the name given to a hypothetical star (a red or brown dwarf) once speculated to orbit around the Sun, but it doesn't actually exist.

However, Nemesis does have an asteroid with the same name: 128 Nemesis.

Additional Beys

Here are some Beys that didn’t make it into the anime but seem to have names disconnected from the overall theme:

Divine Chimera

I couldn’t find anything concrete for Chimera, other than an asteroid named 623 Chimaera.

I think the reason why Kakeru’s Bey seems a little far from the classic constellation naming theme is because it was the result of the "CoroCoro Design a Beyblade Contest," with bladers creating their own designs.

Nightmare Rex

There are asteroids named after dinosaurs, notably 9951 Tyrannosaurus.

The name dinosaur ("terrible lizard") and Tyrannosaurus ("tyrant lizard") both derive from the greek word for lizard, meaning that they could represent Lacerta (the lizard constellation). It wouldn’t be the first time that a constellation ends up with a Bey having a different design—like Gill, which represents Carina Keel as the motif but has the spirit of a sea monster instead.

Bakuushin Susanow

Bakuushin Susanow was honestly more complicated. However, it is noteworthy that he is the god of the sea and storms and the brother of Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. One day, he went on such a rampage that it caused Amaterasu to hide in a cave until the other gods convinced her to come out. This myth is believed to be a representation of a solar eclipse, with Susanow being the cause. Some modern interpretations suggest that Susanoo represents solar eclipses (in this myth), though this is not a central aspect of his traditional Shinto mythology. Interestingly, Takara Tomy released an all-black version of this Bey called Lunar Eclipse.

There is also an asteroid named after him: 10604 Susanoo.

[ava-is-up-to-something]

LMAO

I like this theme in healing spells where every goddess in the Egyptian pantheon sees Horus as some type of son figure and they will absolutely stop what they're doing immediately if it negatively impacts him in any way.

[aimee-maroux]

February Newsletter: Hearts, Hearts Everywhere! 💕

Hello my lovelies,

I wrote in my goals for 2025 that I want to regularly post newsletters this year and lo and behold, this is the start!

Happy Valentine's Day and I hope you enjoy this curation of love-themed stories and articles. 🌹

Guide to your Athenian Wedding 💍

The ancient Greek "wedding season" was early in the year due to the anniversary of Zeus' and Hera's wedding on 27 Gamelion. In our calendar the month of Gamelion roughly lies between January and February due to following the moon phases rather than the sun. So it's the perfect time to learn how to throw a big, fat, ancient Greek wedding! Learn all about it here!

Greek Mythology's Sweetest Love Stories 🥰

I only published it two days ago but in case you missed it: I made a list of sweet, happy love stories from Greek mythology including happy gay couples. Did I include your fave? These are mine but what is your favourite love story in Greek myth?

Pre-order Punderworld 💸

@sigeel's pun-filled retelling of the story of Hades and Persephone goes into round 2 in September 2025. You can follow the comic's regular updates on webtoons and Tapas but it's well worth to own in "dead tree form" for the beautiful cover art alone. Pre-order Punderworld Volume 2 in print or e-book format at a discount and support an absolutely amazing indie creator!

Anthesteria 🌷

According to Hellenion's calendar, the Athenian Anthesteria festival in honour of Dionysos was this week. In antiquity it lasted three days, from the 11th to the 13th of the month of Anthesterion. A revival has been celebrated in Athens last weekend. The Anthesteria festival celebrates the beginning of Spring and in particular the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vintage, whose pithoi (storage-jars) were now ceremoniously opened. If you want a fun and entertaining introduction to the Anthesteria (with some brief strap-on action no less!), I highly recommend the comic Anthesteria by @a-gnosis. Follow her for regular updates of her most recent comic Queen of the Dead.

Girl On The Net Valentine's Dates 💏

If you have a special someone (lucky you!) and are looking for romantic date ideas to show them your love and celebrate your hots for one another, Girl On The Net has a dozen cute and sexy date ideas for you! Most of her ideas don't even cost a penny and focus on having fun and getting to know your partner even better. My personal favourites are the "taste test" and the "little joys bucket list". Seriously a whole list of great ideas! Check them out here.

Egyptian mythology Valentine's card 💌

My brilliant Egyptian mythology-loving illustrator @sinistersinita created a beautiful Valentine's card of the Egyptian god Seth last year for you to enjoy and download. Find it here!

Wanton Weekly Erotica Newsletter 📝

I have submitted two of my stories to the Wanton Weekly newsletter to see if I get any interest. The numbers are still out but I like the idea of a weekly newsletter with sexy stories, comics, and podcasts published in the past week. The format could be more reader-friendly in my opinion but check it out for yourself.

Latest Erotic Mythology Posts 🔥

The Sweetest Love Stories in Greek Mythology

Fiction: A Little Luxury (F / F)

Fiction: Glorious and Terrible (Penthesileia / Erinyes)

My Goals for 2025 and my 2024 in Review

Fiction: Energized (Amphitrite / Hera)

Fiction: Nuts for the Cindermaid

Migrated Posts: These are not new but now available on the website too instead of just Patreon.

Non-Fiction: Apollon and Branchos Introducing the real life myth of how Apollon and Branchos kissed in the woods and then they were boyfriends.

Non-Fiction: Apollon's Prophetic Children and Lovers The most famous and renowned seers in Greek mythology are either Apollon's children or lovers.

Upcoming: Even more lesfic in form of a sapphic Klytaimnestra / Erinyes foursome and a bit of fairytale magic with the second part of Nuts for the Cindermaid. Latest prompt ahead in the polls is Loki masturbating with Thor's hammer (not a euphemism), so look out for that too!

May Queen Hera smile upon your relationship and Golden Aphrodite add the needed spice. 💖

Love, Aimée

[sleepyfan-blog]

I VERY DESPERATELY NEED/Want Baby Primarch Mers. So Badly. PLEASE!

Ok! I"ll go down the list

1 - Lion - So, the temptation to make him part lionfish is incredible here. There's also the fact that IRL Lionfish are a huge problem in certain parts of the world because they are an invasive species in those areas, as well as incredibly deadly because of their poisonous spines. And considering how deadly Lion and his sons can be... Yeah, I think he's part lionfish. Specifically he has a deep green tail with silver stripes. His spines are black and gold and hold incredibly potent poisons.

2- ??? [REDACTED BY THE ORDER OF THE EMPEROR]]

3- Fulgrim - He is part Coral Beauty Angelfish, and has a beautiful purple tail that fades into a vibrant yellow color. Coral beauties (at least according to the quick google search I did about them) are an incredibly hardy salt water fish, and known for their vibrant colorations.

4 - Perturabo - is part Cabezon - which are known for being Stubborn Bastard Fish who Refuse To Move until they get their next meal, willing to wait days and even weeks before they get their next meal. Which is often other fish, which I feel fits Peter turbo pretty well. He has a pleated tail and fins that are a mottled steel and black color, with the occasional yellow stripe.

5 - Jaghatai - is part Sailfish - which are allegedly one of the fastest fish in the world IRL. He has a bright white tail with red stripes. His fins are also white with red stripes.

6 - Leman - is part Piranha. Not only are Piranhas highly predatory, they also are species of fish that school together. Like how Space Wolves almost always stick together in packs. Also, he still has fangs in this AU. His tail and fins are a lovely slate grey color with an iridescent shine to them.

7 - Rogal - part greenland shark! Cold adapted predator of the sea. Doesn't look like much but is an apex predator in the seas it lives in. He has gorgeous golden fins and tails with black spots.

8 - Konrad - part goblin shark. I didn't pick it just because of the name, but because it is a deep water shark (lives in darkness, just like a certain edgy primarch) that is rarely seen by humans. And. Well. Most humans who saw Konrad didn't exactly live to tell about it, did they? He has a deep blue tail and fins that are surprisingly slender. But powerful and he has a hell of a bite and many, many pointy teeth.

9 - Sanguinius - He has a beautiful silver tail and fin-like wings, as his mer-half is flying fish! Although I was super tempted to make him part-lamprey because of the blood-sucking aspect of him.

10 -  Ferrus - as per the suggestions of @angronsjewelbeetle @c-u-c-koo-4-40k and @i-am-a-dragon34 Ferrus is now part Dunkleostous, with dark grey fins and tail on his dorsal side and a silvery ventral side.

11 - ?? [REDACTED BY THE ORDER OF THE EMPEROR]

12 - Angron - part betta fish. He has striking red and gold fins and tail and will square the fuck up if the mood strikes.

13 - Roboute - there is a big temptation to go for the Ultramarlin pun, but I won't give in. What I am going with is part Ribbon Eel, as they have this really lovely blue body with bright yellow dorsal and ventral stripes that go all the way down their bodies. That and G-Man having a long tail to thwap his brothers with makes me giggle.

14 - Mortarion - part pufferfish. Prickly, defensive and poisonous. Can and will puff up. Has grey fins and tail with dark green spots. Spiny.

15 - Magnus: I am torn between making him part carp - because of the Japanese (I think?) myth about a carp jumping up a waterfall in order to become a dragon - which hints at Magnus' incredibly powerful warp abilities or an Abtu, which is a mythical ancient Egyptian fish, because Space Egypt. Thoughts? Opinions?

16 - Horus: Is part dolphin. Known for being very charismatic and charming, but can and will bully other kinds of sea life. Baby-Horus has a deep green tail with gold markings.

17 - Lorgar - I love the Parrot Fish pun suggestion by @c-u-c-koo-4-40k so that is what I am going with. His fins and tail are a deep red color with a silver shimmer to them.

18 - Vulcan - another excellent suggestion by @c-u-c-koo-4-40k for making one of the primarchs part barracuda! I have decided on Vulcan, rather than Magnus. Vulcan’s dorsal fins and tail are a deep green color, the ventral side is black. Along the middle where the two colors meet, he had gold spots.

19 - Corvus: Part of me wants to make Corvus either some kind of shark, or angler fish bc of his whole "sworn vengeance and eternally hunting after Lorgar post-heresy" thing but. Big E is also a being who loves himself some aesthetics and I don't think a part-angler fish boy would fit that. Perhaps part black-tipped shark bc of their stealthiness. Thoughts?

20 - Alpharius and Omegon: are color-pallet changed blue-ring octopi. Instead of a yellow body with bright blue rings, they have vibrant teal tentacles with bright silver ring-patterns across their tentacles and up the fishy parts of their bodies.

@egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

hey zarya !! I was wondering if you know anything about the symbolism of the ankh. was it ever worn as an amulet by ancient Egyptians ? if so, what would their reasons for doing so be ? I thrifted a beautiful ankh pendant and I'm having trouble finding reliable sources on its history. I hope you are doing well 💕💕

Hi Freak, it’s been a while!

From what I understand ankh was a very popular symbol but not necessarily the most popular choice as standalone jewelry pattern. You see it a lot in paintings, you see it appear on seals and cowroids, on the bottoms of scarabs, on amulets as part of a bigger composition accompanied by other symbols (for example as superimposed ankh-djed-was, or surrounded by two was scepters). It seems like rings with an ankh symbol were reasonably popular since there’s a lot of remains of them in the museums.

One ancient Egyptian amulet still popular today is the ankh. The word ankh meant both "life" and "hand mirror." Tutankhamen had a mirror in the shape of an ankh, a pun any Egyptian would have gotten. There are two curious aspects to the ankh. First, although it was a symbol frequently used in painting and sculpture, the objective evidence is that it was used as an amulet only rarely. Comparatively few have been found in excava­tions. Certainly scores of other amulets were far more popular. The second curiosity about the ankh is that, while it is often depicted, Egyptologists are not certain just what object it represented. Some believe that it represented sandal straps, but this is far from certain. The fact that there was no particular material from which ankhs were to be made indicates that the origins may have been lost even to the Egyptians. - Ancient Egyptian Magic by Bob Brier

As an amulet it seems to serve the purpose of bestowing and legthening life. At the same time, to quote Richard Wilkinson it „provided a wide choice of symbolic expression centered on the basic concept of "life" - from life-sustaining water, air, and food, to the life-force in verdant plant growth and sexual fecundity”.

For example in paintings it could serve as visual equivalent of a stream of water. Wilkinson also points out that „ceremonial libation jars and vessels used to pour offerings of water before the gods were often made in the shape of the ankh”. For example the libation dish below contains the symbols for ka and ankh, and the composition of the dish is meant to be read like a message „spirit embraces life”.

In the same way ankh could symbolize air, a breath of life - and you can find depictions of gods holding an ankh to the nose of a king or ankh signs with arms holding fans and supplying the king with fresh air.

The shape of an ankh could also be hidden in a floral composition or in depictions of altars piled with edible offerings - things that live and grow as well as things that nourish.

Finally when it comes to the sexual undertones Wilkinson claims it can represent a female figure with highlighted pubic triangle and Geraldine Pinch points out it may represent a phallus - sooo pick your fighter I guess? Below a picture that Wilkinson uses to explain his take, pardon the quality, and another picture.

So, as you see it can be used as an ideogram that should be directly read as „life” or „to live”, or as a symbolic representation of life force and the many things necessary for continuation and nourishment of human life.

Love,

Zarya

[littleeyesofpallas]

RAIGER[ライガー] is actually how the Japanese would write LIGER, but also could be leaning into a kind of pun with RAI[雷]: "lightning/thunder" given some of its elemental lightning affinities (although they can't seem to decide if its main element lightning or ice from game to game.) and GA[牙]: "tusk/fang,"(although obvious in the context of the design it probably would refer to the horns) so the name reads like "Lightning Horn."

DAYTONA-REX[デトナレックス] from DAYTONA like the iconic American racecar track? Because of Tiger's general emphasis on speed? But you'd think that would be written DE-I-TO-NA[デイトナ] otherwise it seems to just read DETNA-REX, and I don't know that that means anything.

TOUTETSU[トウテツ] the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese Tāo Tiè[饕餮]: "greedy+voracious" one of the mythic Four Perils.

DAYTONA-CHRIS[デトナクリス] I don't understand.... The DE-TO-NA bit is consistent with the way it's used with tiger/dino but I have no idea how that applies here to "chris/kris/cris". So maybe I just got it totally wrong that first time??? but i don't know how else to parse this...

JAGD-HOUND[ヤクトハウンド] from the German JAGD: "Hunt," so "Hunt Hound." Weirdly it is pretty specifically "hound" and not the German "hund".

AQUA-STRIKE[アクアストライク] straight forward enough

MONO-EYE[モノアイ] again, just what it sounds like

HAM-RAIGER[ハムライガー] from HAM and LIGER

BARON[バロン] as in the rank of minor nobility

TERROR-DOG[テラー��ッグ]

KERBEROS[ケルベロス] from the greek [Κέρβερος] guard dog to the underworld

ECO-NO-KICKS[エコノキックス] I assume ECO-NO like "of Ecology" and not ECONO as in "economy"?? So "Kicks of Ecology" or I guess like "Kicks of the Ecosystem"? It's a weird one...

GINGIRAIGER[ギンギライガー] from GINGIRA[ギンギラ]: "glitzy/shiny/gaudy" and LIGER with the RA syllable shared. scans something like "Sparkleiger"

KAMUY[カムイ] from the Ainu word for spirits/gods loosely equitable to the Japanese word Kami[神]. The Ainu faith holds reverence for most wild animals but the wolf was a notably prominent one before they were wiped out.

SHIRO[シロ] from SHIRO[白]: "White"

KURO[クロ] from KURO[黒]:"black"

GARMR[ガルム]from the wolf GARMR from Norse myth. Possibly meant as a pun on Garum, a popular condiment in ancient Rome and Greece made of fish?

ANUBIS[アヌビス] Egyptian god over funerary rites with the head of a jackal

RYUON[リュオン] LYON?? Can't find a clear reference in this one, but there must be one, right? it's the only one in this set that would be random otherwise...

REMUS[レムス] brother of Romulus, mythic founder of Rome. The two twins were abandoned as children and raised by a she-wolf.

RUBY[ルビィ] because it's red...

FENRIR[フェンリル] from the legendary wolf of Norse myth

DOBER-I.T.[ドーベルIT] from DOBERMAN the dog breed and InformationTechnology.

NYAIGER[ニャイガー] NYAA + RAIGER

SPRINGS[スプリングス] like Spring time and sakura blossoms

FLARE-STAR[フレアスター] just what it says

VOLG[ヴォルグ] ???? no idea what this is supposed to mean. ( It's a character, Alexander Volg Zangief, in Hajime no Ippo??) But the data blurbs mention it appearing like a ship and defeating enemies in oneblow, and gives it the epithet Akaikaze[��風]: "autumn wind" (a homonym with [赤風]:"red wind") so i looked it up and that was the name of a Japanese destroyer in WWII. It's most noted for war crimes commit aboard it while docked at Wewak in Papua New Guinea. but none of that really leads back to the VO-RU-GE thing?????

BANDERSNATCH[バンダースナッチ] from Lewis Carrol's Through the Looking-Glass, and The Hunting of the Snark.

OCTO-STEP[オクトステップ] a kind of obtuse synonym for "Eight Legs" like an octopus

EMERALD[エメラルド] ironically didn't really take must of the distinctive green tone of the gemstone

SYLVIE[シルヴィー] but maybe meant as SILVY as a diminutive of SILVER or SILVERY, since the name SYLVIE actually comes from the Latin for "Forrest" which doesn't really make sense with the Dullahan subtype here.

HAZEL[ヘイゼル] The color or the nut? probably both considering Momo's net shells

MISTRAL[ミストラル] probably in reference to the "Mistral wind" that blows thru france and teh mediterranean

VOLTY[ボルティー] or BOLTY? Both evoke electricity, but the VOLTY spelled this same way is a model of Suzuki motorcycle.

WAKAKUSAMARU[ワカクサマル] WAKAKUSA[若草]: "Fresh grass" and MARU[丸] a common namifying suffix for boys and ships.

SCARLET[スカーレット]

RAI-BOT[ライボット] the RAI[雷]: "lightning/thunder" in RAIGER and ROBOT.

SLEIPNIR[スレイプニル] named after Odin's 8 legged horse in Norse mythology?? Legendary for it's speed, sure... but it's a horse. Also why not the octopee subtype? They did already name it basically the equivalent of "eight legs" anyway

HELL-HOUND[ヘルハウンド]

YUKI-KAZE[ユキカゼ] from YUKIKAZE[雪風]: "Snow Wind"

KIRIN[キリン] from the KIRIN[麒麟] aka QILIN mythic golden horse or deer like dragon from Chinese and subsequently Japanese myth

And two special variant sprites from GBA2...

IFRIT[イフリート] ifrit[عفريت] from pre-muslim arabic lore. A spirit, often evil, of smoke and fire in the jahannam. I believe that classically they're actually more associated with smoke than anything, where the presence of fire as a source of smoke is incidental, but popculture appearances like Final Fantasy have erroneously aligned their image with fire elementals.

CU-SITH[カーシー] the fairydog of scottish lore

BARGHEST[バーゲスト] a ghoulish monster canine from North English folklore, generally considered to be the same as the Black Dog of more general English lore

NIGHT-FANG[ナイトファング]

POD-DOG[ポットドッグ]

JAEGER-BEET[ジャガービート] from the German JAEGER: "hunter" (same root as the jagd:"hunt" on the old tiger/worm mixbreed.) and BEETLE

HELM-HOUND[ヘルムハウンド]

FRASER[フレイザー] i have no idea who or what this is supposed to be referencing, but it's pretty specific to how Japanese approximates the names FRASER, FRAZER, and FRAIZER. Not that any of those really make much sense...

BASKERVILLE[バスカビル] from the Sherlock Holmes story The Hound of The Baskervilles.

CLOCK-DOG[クロックドッグ]

DANDELION[ダンデライオン] namewise straight forward, because it's yellow like the flower, although the flower is named "Lion tooth" after the shapes of its leaves. But the design is a neat cameo of the MMO's Tiger redesign.

POCHI[ポチ] a kind of cliche dog name in Japanese, apparently it doesn't have a clear etymology

just throwing in two variants of the MMO's Raiger redesign,

X-RAIGER[エクスライガー]

KAZE-NO-RAIGER[カゼノライガー] "LIGER of (the) Wind" a throwback to the anime using the original RAIGER design

YASHAGAMI[ヤシャガミ] from the Japanese Yasha[夜叉] itself borrowed from Yaksha[यक्ष] carried along from hinduism to buddhism and from india to china and then Japan. And the GAMI from either Kami[神]: "god/spirit/divine" or possibly Ookami[狼]: "wolf." It's subtype is KIJIN, one of the new breeds added to the LINE Monster Farm app

Also I totally neglected it last time because I thought it was a cross promotional character from some other franchise, but actually there's...

MECHA Otou-san[メカお父さん] "Mecha Dad"?

[thequeer07puss]

Puns

The fact that the Egyptians liked puns and that they were used in a religious context is so funny to me, and I think we should reinstate it.

"What's lost in translation, though, are the puns in this unusual story. 'Shu' sounds similar to the Egyptian word for "sneeze", yshysh, (which resembles the noise most of us make when we sneeze) and may also be an ancient Egyptian euphemism for ejaculating. Likewise, 'Tefnut' is similar to their word for spitting. Today, we groan whenever we hear a pun of this caliber, but to the ancients such similar-sounding words were never coincidence. Instead, they often suggested a hidden meaning" - Sharon LaBorde, Following the Sun**

It's so funny that the people who say things like "words are magic, that's why it's called spelling" and people who make puns are closer to the Egyptians than those who don't. Embrace puns. Be with the gods.

*In a modern context the story could be written like that

Nun: we need a name for this brand new deity concept, what are we going to call it?

Atum: We'll call it - wait a minute- ACHOO!!

Shu: *appears**

[breezeinmonochromenight]

Some questions about Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2, if you have time and don’t mind. 1: Why do you think Debra Wilson’s doctor character has two right hands, and do you think she’ll have a prominent role in the story? 2: How is Kojima not getting sued by Konami for the Solid Fake in the last DS2 trailer? 3: Where is Die Hardman and do you think he’ll be in the sequel? 4: What if anything do you think Kojima will predict this time? 😂

Why do you think Debra Wilson’s doctor character has two right hands, and do you think she’ll have a prominent role in the story?

If I had to take an educated guess, and given how Kojima’s wordplay and puns frequently makes me feel like I’m having a fucking stroke, I wouldn’t be shocked if this is just a play on the phrase “having two left feet”. If having two left feet means you’re clumsy and awkward (typically when dancing) then literally having two right hands could mean you’re very graceful and talented (at medicine/surgery). Or something.

It’s also worth remembering that Kojima is not a stranger to using a weird but relatively minor abnormality/medical condition as a massive plot point. Fortune’s dextrocardia is literally just extraneous information until it lets her survive being shot and save the main characters at the 11th hour because surprise! She was an X-man all along. Or Vamp having literal vampire powers bec — oh wait that’s because he’s bisexual nvm.

If you’re wanting a deeper/more tinfoil hat answer from me: Some hadiths in Islamic tradition depict Allah as having two right hands. Also, a number of religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, to name a few) all have some kind of thing about the right hand being more pure/used for worship/representing order and the left hand being less pure/used for impure tasks/representing chaos/demonic. The first game used ancient Egyptian beliefs like Ba/Ha and Ka — it’s not a stretch for a sequel to expand on that established lore by bringing in bits and pieces of other religious concepts into the mix.

How is Kojima not getting sued by Konami for the Solid Fake in the last DS2 trailer?

Honest Answer: He is literally river dancing on the copyright infringement/transformative works line lol. I would imagine having a real actor, who probably has some form(s) of protection for his likeness, but just so happens to be wearing a bandana and looking a lot like your fully fictional character in an acting role probably makes copyright claims a lot harder.

Even More Honest Answer: Kojima has Sony money and Sony lawyers backing him. He’s fine lol.

Where is Die Hardman and do you think he’ll be in the sequel?

Tommie Earl Jenkins has done interviews within the last ~6 or so months and has been very vague if he’s in DS2 or not. So idk. Could be keeping silent because he has to, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a reduced and/or very minor role since the plot is expanding outside of the UCA into Mexico (at the very least) and seems a lot bigger in scale. He’s literally the acting president of (what’s left of) the US at the end of the last game, I’m sure we’ll at the very least find out if he’s still active or dead or whatever.

Also not out of the question for Kojima to do something significant with a secondary/background character at a later time. George Sears is a disgraced president in MGS1 and comes back as Solidus Snake in MGS2. The real DARPA chief in MGS1 died before the start of the game, but retroactively comes back as Sigint with expanded lore in MGS3.

What if anything do you think Kojima will predict this time? 😂

I mean he basically nailed a global event that killed countless people and generally increased our tendency to isolate from others, our reliance on contactless delivery, and our reliance on digital communication in the last one. Expansion of the plot into Mexico seems to be a huge deal in the sequel, and in current events something something 51st state Canada something something Acquire Greenland. So. Mildly terrified of what he’s going to accidentally predict this time.

[thereal-moonknight]

Steven tell us some egyptology jokes/puns!

what do you call an ancient Egyptian chef?

Gordon Ramses

[sherbertilluminated]

Of all the titles in Songs for Pierre Chuvin, "Their Gods Do Not Have Surgeons" is the most strikingly melancholy. It's not just that Darnielle's voice sounds muted and plaintive, that the chorus is one request, over and over again:

Restore the temple of Isis at Memphis

It's not even that the singer wants something so simple. It's that he wants something that the listeners believe is good.

The title of this one is a reference to Chapter 8 of A Chronicle of the Last Pagans, where a Christian mob destroys a number of statues honoring Egyptian deities, breaking off their limbs and shouting "their gods do not have surgeons." Which is conspicuously wrong in the song, because one of the most famous stories to survive from Egyptian religion is one where a deity performs a reconstructive operation.

I doubt my USAmerican upbringing offered me a nuanced look at ancient Egyptian religious belief, but even as a child I was familiar with the story of how the god Set dismembered his brother Osiris, and how his sister/wife Isis (almost) put him back together to conceive a son. This myth is present in the lyrics of Their Gods Do Not Have Surgeons—the Christians are compared to "beasts" with "pawprints" in a way that matches Set's quasi-canine depictions and I'm pretty sure the line "return the peace you took from me" is a homophone/pun on the missing "piece" of Osiris' body which prevented his complete resurrection—and relevant to its rhetorical situation.

The "they" and the "you" of the song are Christians of the (reunited?) Roman Empire in Egypt, people familiar with Jesus' comparison of his own body to the temple in Jerusalem and his assertion that it will be destroyed and reconstructed. When Darnielle sings "you who come demanding proof/let your God rebuild this roof," it's especially poignant because's he's arguing that if only the singer were offered a chance, ie if only he were allowed to worship the surgeon-goddess Isis in her temple, he could demonstrate that Christianity is not the only religious tradition to believe in a resurrection.

The reason for the pathos of the chorus becomes clear at the end of the second verse, with the request "show us the goodwill you were shown/or leave us alone." The poignancy of that plea comes from the recognition that if the people oppressing you would only listen to you, they would realize you love similar stories, that they won't listen to you, that religion will not prevent people with imperial support from acting imperialistically, and that you're desperate enough to ask anyway.

The other tracks on Songs for Pierre Chuvin showcase a range of reactions to the Christianization of the Roman Empire, from violent resistance in "Aulon Raid" to syncretism and covert hope in "Exegetic Chains." But "Their Gods Do Not Have Surgeons" is special to me for the raw pain it depicts and the way it frames that pain as a product of hypocrisy and religious myopia.

[ava-is-up-to-something]

Egyptian pharaoh names but I’ve turned them into ancient cat names

1. Tutankhbastet (Tutankhamun)

This is the most obvious name on this list because literally all I’ve done is change out the name of one god for another god. I’m not doing that for any of the others I promise.

King Tutankhamun is the one pharaoh everybody knows about, which is ironic since his birth name literally means “the living (ankh) image (tut) of the Hidden One (Amun).” (“Tut” can also be translated as “likeness” or “statue.”)

Amun was the Egyptian god of, uh… stuff (he’s hidden. His whole deal is that he’s hidden). Bastet was the Egyptian cat goddess. Sometimes she was portrayed as a lady with a cat head, but sometimes she was just a cat. If you switch Amun’s name out for Bastet’s, it becomes “the living (ankh) image (tut) of the Cat Goddess (Bastet).” Truly, a name that only the most dignified and elegant cats deserve.

Transliteration: twt-anx-bAstt

You could also say it “Tutankhbast” if you prefer.

2. Hatmiushepsyu (Hatshepsut)

Hatshepsut’s name means “the foremost (hat) of noblewomen (shepsut),” and it turned out to be really good name for her, since she became pharaoh and all. If you want to change it to “foremost of noble cats” it becomes Hat-miu-shepsyu, “miu” meaning “cats” and shepsyu meaning “noble.”

Transliteration: HAt-miww-Spsyw

3. Nedjestiti (Nefertiti)

I am aware that calling Nefertiti a pharaoh is controversial since there’s a chance that Neferneferuaten might have been her daughter and not her. But finding names of pharaohs that you can do this to and are also popular enough to be recognized is hard so shush.

Nefertiti was supposedly the most beautiful woman in the ancient world (although we can’t confirm that because Nefertiti and all the other ancient women are now dead). Her name fits this, because it means “the beautiful one (nefert) has come (iti).”

“Nedjes” is a word meaning “small,” so changing the name to Nedjest-iti makes it mean “the small one has come.”

This is a good name, because if your cat is bad then you can use it in a derogatory sense to call them a penniless little beggar. Unfortunately, it only really works for girl cats, because the masculine version is “Nedjesiu,” which loses the pun quite a bit.

Transliteration: nDst-ii.ti

4. Miumer (Narmer)

Narmer was the first pharaoh to rule over all of Egypt, and like other early pharaohs the only name used for himself was his Horus name instead of his throne name or birth name. (You know that TS Elliot poem about how cats have a bunch of different types of names? Pharaohs are like that too). Because Narmer was his Horus name, it was written inside an enclosure called a serekh instead of a cartouche.

The name itself means something like “striking (mer) catfish (nar)” or “fierce (mer) catfish (nar).” To change it to “striking cat” or “fierce cat,” you need to change nar to miu: Miu-mer. (Yeah the English translations of this one are stronger wordplay than the Egyptian versions, sorry.)

If your cat is a girl then the name should be Miutmer instead.

Transliteration: miw-mr

5. Bitokris (Netiqerti/“Nitokris”)

Queen Nitokris was either a cunning murderess, whose name lurks in the shadows of history… or she was a 3,000 year old transcription error. The only potential record we have of her name in hieroglyphs is the name of a pharaoh called “Netiqerti” on the Turin kings list. This could be Nitokris, or it could be a mistake made by a scribe while trying to copy the name of the name of another, completely different pharaoh.

If Netiqerti is Nitokris, then her name means “Neith (Net, a goddess) is excellent (iqerti).” Bit-iqerti/Bitokris would mean “honey (bit) is excellent (iqerti).”

Transliteration: bit-iqr.ti

[brookstolemybrand]

On the "Alabasta" vs "Arabasta" thing:

I just wanted to point out that even if the name is supposed to be "Alabasta" from "alabaster" (which I think it is, altho in Japanese it could also be a pun on "Arab" at the same time) that doesn't make it any less MENA related because alabaster is a material that's strongly associated with MENA and particularly Egypt and Mesopotamia

I also tried to look up the etymology of the word, which is unfortunately a bit unclear; it can be traced back to Ancient Greek but it seems to be of foreign (likely Middle Eastern) origin. But altho it isn't a confirmed etymology, the only suggestions for the sources for the word that I could find were Ancient Egyptian:

1: ꜥj-r-bꜣstjt (“vessel of the goddess Bast”)

May or may not be accurate but it would be very fitting considering the holy sea cats in Alabasta

See this alabaster jar depicting Bast in the form of a lioness doing a little blep, from Tutankhamun's tomb:

2: an Ancient Egyptian city called Alabastron (possibly modern Amarna?) — I assume "Alabastron" was the Greek name but this would support the idea that the word is of Ancient Egyptian origin

See also this Wikipedia article about the type of perfume vase that the word is supposed to come from, also originating from Ancient Egypt:

This also reminds me of the perfumes of Nanohana

It seems that in antiquity alabaster referred to Egyptian alabaster specifically, but by analogy it was then later used to mean other similar materials, like a specific type of alabaster-like gypsum or marble, but gypsum is softer than alabaster while marble is harder and more opaque. Gypsum alabaster was particularly used in Europe I believe, while some marble objects from India were also apparently labeled as "alabaster" by Europeans

I'm definitely not an expert in any of this though, I'm not a geologist or a historian and I haven't studied Ancient Greek or Ancient Egyptian, so take everything I say with a grain of salt (and feel free to correct me if you know better)

But the point is: both names point to the MENA region, "Alabasta" just has stronger Ancient Egyptian associations while "Arabasta" would obviously have stronger Arabian associations

Neither of them have anything to do with India

[svbmachine]

I&'ve been replaying Submachine Universe by the way, the game that initially made me& realize that wait, this is really good actually. I& was planning to go through all the theories in the game and see if any of them held up at all now that I& have a better understanding of the lore, although even then back when I& first played the game and have only finished games up to S4, I& still could tell that half of these were straight up fanfiction with a hefty load of pseudo-scientific bullcrap.

My& replay resurfaced those memories proving that impression to be mostly true, but just as before, Jatsko's wonderful and in-character contributions stood out. The Light Theory might be one of if not THE favourite one of mine& in the entire game. The dialogue just has a ton of personality to it, and all of the "oh boy, you have no idea" moments are delightful. Probably the moment I& have the most memories of from the entire game. The Subnet Editing Theory is another example of an absolutely brilliant moment that I& gushed about a lot during my& liveblog to my& friends - it's very clever and neat how the theory itself gets edited, making you suspect that maybe it really is true.

I& haven't finished the game yet, as it's far less straightforward than the other games are. I& have pretty much memorized Shattered Quadrant by now, but the real challenge of Universe has nothing to do with item collecting and everything to do with decyphering location numbers. This very different gameplay loop from the other games always made me& truly feel like an actual researcher trying to estimate safe spots for jumping. I& think this game is the most resistant one of them all to memorization, because you cannot memorize hundreds of 3-digit numbers unless you're some prodigy. All of the note-keeping is another big part of the fun. So satisfying to look at your giant notepad in your inventory after finishing exploring the main parts and just seeing how many places you've visited.

The fanart you see is also absolutely delightful <3 The favourite section of them all for me& has got to be the maps room, because even if they aren't all that legible for an actual walkthrough, artistically speaking these maps are exactly how I& imagine the Subnet in my& head and show really well the proximity of each space to another. They're gorgeous, very fun to examine. Including two of these that I& screenshotted for context.

But, of course, the theories.... The main star of the game.... None really provided any super clever insight into the game's actual real lore. Granted, most of these are very old and didn’t have the foresight and knowledge of future lore additions we would get, but. Some of these are especially funny to me&. Here's a few shout outs:

Tim Roth.

I& couldn’t stop laughing at this whole theory like YOU JUST MADE UP AN OC THERE. TIM ROTH???? The incredible assumption that a scientist from modern day would have the most American name you can think of, and the whole attempt at explaining ancient Egyptian theme in the game with downright conspiracy-reminiscent fanfiction is great. I& found this so funny that I& named the whole location after Tim Roth, my& new favourite Submachine character.

Submurchine Theory:

A+ goated theory purely for the pun. That's it guys, we've solved Submachine. Sorry I& mean Submurchine.

Ok this next one had me& in actual tears because:

PAYPAL ME& ONE ANCIENT RUSTING COIN.

Me& and my& friend cannot stop making jokes about that "Paypal me one ancient rusting coin" tumblr shitpost, so when I& reached that sentence I& SCREAAAAMEDDDDD. HIS SAVINGS.... OF ONE COIN...... THAT'S HIS LIFE SAVINGS GUYS. We solved why the coin is there it's Murtaugh's hidden stash that he's withholding from his scientists THIS IS JUST SO FUCKING FUNNY YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP.

There were some other funny or downright wrong moments in the theories such as people saying the bullet holes are from Murtaugh trying to kill us (??? IT'S LITERALLY ELIZABETH'S SHIP IT'S HER GUNS... she tried to kill Mur what are you even on), people getting the very concept of the 4th dimension downright wrong (and I&'m not even talking about the "is it space or is it time" debacle, I& mean implying that 4th dimension was... a... a klein bottle esque surface?? Itself?? Like the whole dimension??), implying colonialism is most obvious motivation, sanism, and whatever... this fanfiction is. I& don't understand what in the world is going on here.

All of this is lighthearted joking, I& think for what the people had to work with back in the day these are all pretty okay as theories. It was interesting to me& how I& instantly accepted that yeah, this is just a world that works differently to ours, and the questions that interested me& were all related to the actual narrative presented in the game - which order the events happened in, things like that. But a lot of other people seem to be far more interested in figuring out the backstory of things, the technology itself, and its connections to the real world.

To be entirely fair to these people, we didn't know until very recently that the events of the games are supposed to be happening entirely outside of our regular Earth and layer that we're used to. That Kent is apparently not even the real life British place of Kent, but its own made-up location. It goes against what one's intuition would say, and it's frankly kind of a retcon considering that not all of the lore of the games was written with that implication in mind. I& think initially, these theories would have been pretty reasonable for what we knew. The real world imagery excites the imagination and encourages one to draw the logical connections.

I& have a lot more thoughts on this game, the lore featured in it, the mechanics of the puzzles and more. Maybe I&'ll make other posts on this topic later, but these were the things I& wanted to talk about from my& yesterday's replay.