#osiris scripting

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

quick question: do you by chance know if dame aylin's "child of the moonmaiden" feature is a combat only feature?

Quick answer: No, it's a passive ability and it's visible most of the time on her character sheet regardless of combat. Here's a couple of example screenshots.

Long answer below, because I had some fun digging into the implementation of her immortality a bit more.

So, Child of the Moonmaiden is visible as a passive when you examine Aylin whenever she has (a specific one of!) her resurrection statuses enabled - which is not all the time, but again isn't tied to combat. You can take a look at how it gets handled in various game scripts here, as well as search for other objects or statuses or absolutely anything of interest. Aylin's immortality stuff can get a bit convoluted to track, though. What you want to be on the lookout for are mainly these three things:

1. GLO_NIGHTSONG_RESURRECTION aka "Moonmaiden's Reconstitution" which is a Status that does nothing by itself, and instead works by giving Aylin a Passive ability, which then applies some effects to her,

2. SHA_NightsongResurrection aka "Child of the Moonmaiden" which is that Passive. It alters Aylin's reaction to being downed by replacing the "normal" DOWNED status everyone gets with GLO_NIGHTSONGRESURRECTION_DOWNED - this implements the downed behaviour you've probably seen her do, and that she might get stuck in if in Myrkul's anti-healing bone chill aura: she's auto-stabilised instead of killed if she hits 0 HP, and when her next turn starts she attempts to regain 1 HP and then has her move and bonus actions if she succeeds. The spell Death Ward is implemented in a very, very similar way to this, by changing a character's default downed status to a special DEATH_WARD_DOWNED status. For reference, this is what that spell is described to do: "Protect a creature from death. The next time damage would reduce it to 0 Hit Points, it remains conscious with 1 Hit Point left." Sounds familiar, no?

3. GLO_NIGHTSONGRESURRECTION aka "Nightsong Soars Eternal" which is a Status that doesn't give any permanent passives (so you won't see it just hanging around on her character sheet like you will CotM), but instead has a short duration, and immediately runs a "Resurrect()" call on Aylin when it expires.

Having done a bit of scripting for the game myself now, I'm finding it easier to make sense of all of these than when I made this post. Still, this is me reverse engineering stuff and if anyone has any corrections or additions, I'd welcome them!

So, about Child of the Moonmaiden/Moonmaiden's Reconstitution, because you don't have one without the other, and about Nightsong Soars Eternal, which resurrects Aylin in a slightly different way and gets applied to her only ever if she's "died".

Aylin doesn't have CotM before you free her, even though she will always resurrect here unless you specifically kill her in the cutscene with Shadowheart and the spear:

How so? Most of the time, if you see Aylin pop up even though she has no CotM passive visible, it means Nightsong Soars Eternal was applied to her. But first, how does the game even apply statuses to characters (or anything, really)? And when does Aylin get CotM?

To apply a Status to a character you execute this call somewhere within your code: ApplyStatus([target character], [status to apply], [duration of status], [force of status - this is an override for resistances and the like and is not super relevant here], [source of status]).

A note in advance, whenever you see this great big unwieldy string of characters: S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b -> [happy Isobel voice] This is Aylin!

Here's an example of a bit of code that handles Aylin's resurrection and which includes this call. This is a snippet included in the big script that handles the assault on Moonrise Towers at the end of Act 2, but something similar to this appears in several different places and, while there are a bunch of other bits and pieces and failsafes and helpers, this is in general how the game ensures Aylin doesn't stay dead:

IF DB_Dead((CHARACTER)S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b) AND DB_GlobalFlag(MOO_Assault_State_InProgress_0f3a8f5d-7402-4220-bebb-d4b21d3db08d) AND HasActiveStatus(S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b, "SHA_SHARSPEAR_MORTALWOUND", 0) AND GetFaction(S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b, _Faction) THEN PROC_SetRelationToPlayers(_Faction, 100); ApplyStatus(S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b, "GLO_NIGHTSONGRESURRECTION", 6.0, 0, S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b);

What this essentially translates to is the following:

IF Aylin is in the database of currently dead characters (nooooo) AND the Moonrise assault is in progress AND Aylin having been permakilled by Shar's spear in the Shadowfell is FALSE (aka zero) AND we were able to correctly fetch data about Aylin's faction/approval THEN set this approval so she is an ally to the player (shows up as green, affected by friendly spells etc.) and give her the "Nightsong Soars Eternal" status lasting for 6 seconds.

She is both the target and the source of this effect, as there isn't anyone else casting it on her. Once the 6 seconds (aka one standard D&D combat round) have passed, the status will expire, and whatever is in its "OnRemoveFunctors" part will happen - and that is a simple Resurrect(100, 10) call. The numbers there mean Aylin is immediately resurrected with a 100% chance and at 10% of her max HP (as opposed to CotM's 1 HP). This usually results in her being at 9HP if this happens.

So there you have it, a friendly Aylin will pop right back up. The Ketheric/Myrkul boss fight in the mindflayer colony has a very similar snippet, for instance. But an important thing to note is that IF Aylin has CotM active aka visible when you examine her, that one will always kick in first. As many people asking for help salvaging their Honour Mode runs after aggroing Aylin in camp will tell you, combat against Aylin if she has CotM literally cannot end. She will keep getting up with 1 HP (she does not state that she didn't hear any bell, but she does loudly exclaim HO! I HAVE RETURNED! and I love her for it). The variant using Nightsong Soars Eternal has her actually leave combat for a bit, so if she's your only enemy, this will usually make combat end and let you exit turn-based mode, plus it makes her non-hostile approval-wise. (And of course, all of these things can bug out in a bunch of different ways.)

This is what it looks like in camp without CotM (sorry, Aylin).

Moving on, there is another way of calling this same function, and that is ApplyStatus([status], [chance of applying status], [duration of status]). A nice example of this appears in a very relevant-to-our-interests code related to the Soul Cage - both in the Shadowfell and in the mindflayer colony. The bit, in particular, that goes like this:

OnRemoveFunctors ApplyStatus(GLO_NIGHTSONG_RESURRECTION, 100, -1);

Just like above, "OnRemoveFunctors" defines what happens when the Soul Cage is removed from Aylin (no matter how this was achieved). So as soon as Aylin's free of the Soul Cage, she's given her Moonmaiden's Reconstitution/Child of the Moonmaiden variant resurrection with a 100% chance and a duration of -1, which means it has no chance of failure and it lasts until it is explicitly removed by some other bit of code. Again, this happens both when you free her in her prison, and when you free her in the colony after she's been recaptured - from that moment on, she has CotM until something removes it.

What's one prominent place this status explicitly gets removed? Why, Ramazith's Tower, and it happens when combat starts regardless of allegiances, as seen here in the script that handles Sorcerous Sundries:

//Tracking final combat IF DB_Is_InCombat(S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b,_CombatGUID) AND DB_Is_InCombat(S_LOW_Lorroakan_a9d4b71d-b0ef-429e-8210-6dc8be986ee9,_CombatGUID) AND QRY_OnlyOnce("LOW_SorcerousSundries_StartFinalConfrontationCombat") THEN RemoveStatus(S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b,"GLO_NIGHTSONG_RESURRECTION");

Fairly simple, right? If Aylin is in combat, and if Lorroakan is in combat, and the final confrontation has begun, remove the resurrection status from Aylin. Why? As mentioned above, CotM means any combat against Aylin very literally never ends, so siding against her would be an unwinnable scenario. There is also a fail state in which she gets downed after you've sided with her and you flee from combat against Lorroakan - if you return, you'll see he's captured her. Why doesn't she resurrect using Nightsong Soars Eternal? That whole implementation of checking if she's dead is not present in the Sorcerous Sundries script at all. So if downed in the tower, Aylin will stay dead until one of two things happens: you've betrayed her and you leave and return, upon which she will be caged again and swearing her vengeance against you, OR you've sided with her and the combat ends. Then she'll pop back up for her backbreaker cutscene, and it will be via this custom bit of scripting:

IF DB_LOW_SorcerousSundries_FinalConfrontationCombatEnded(1) AND DB_Defeated(S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b) AND DB_GlobalFlag((FLAG)LOW_Lorroakan_State_IsPermadefeated_2c446081-2f24-49c4-84d9-b8f64a3d3098) AND NOT DB_GlobalFlag((FLAG)LOW_SorcerousSundries_State_PlayersSideWithLorroakan_24c45d86-9027-48cc-afdd-3e6bac7d5425) AND QRY_OnlyOnce("LOW_SorcerousSundries_NightsongGetsUpAfterCombat") THEN PROC_CharacterFullRestore((CHARACTER)S_GLO_Nightsong_6c55edb0-901b-4ba4-b9e8-3475a8392d9b);

If the combat is over, Aylin is down, Lorroakan is dead and the player didn't side with Lorroakan, get Aylin up and do a "full restore" of her.

This makes way for some of the most delightful of checks in a segment of code marked as "//REGION Nightsong going to WWE Lorroakan":

PROC PROC_LOW_SorcerousSundries_HandleNightsongVictory() AND QRY_SorcerousSundries_NightsongCanSmashLorro() QRY_SorcerousSundries_LorroakanBodySmashable() QRY_OnlyOnce("LOW_SorcerousSundries_NightsongSmash")

The many branching variants handled here were actually really interesting to see, from who is alive at the end of the fight and who the player sided with to whether Isobel is still alive and whether Lorroakan's corpse has a head.

There's also a Patch 3 fix for older savegames, addressing a bug that I remember being fairly common, where Aylin would just not ever resurrect after the wizard tower and sometimes wouldn't ever come back to camp. It basically looks at your save, just checks a couple flags and triggers Nightsong Soars Eternal on Aylin if she is for whatever reason still in the "dead characters database" even though you sided with her against the wizard (and didn't kill her in the Shadowfell, of course).

Just in case anyone missed me dying on my hill, by the way, none of this has anything to do with her "breaking her oath" or "losing her mother's favour" or anything of the sort, because none of that happens at all.

I also love the straightforwardness of some of her behaviour parameters and the comments:

Act2_GLO_Nightsong AI Archetype USING melee_smart //Focus harder on Keth MULTIPLIER_TARGET_PREFERRED 4.50 //Care less about killing the minions - MULTIPLIER_KILL_ENEMY -0.20 //To stop her from overvaluing shoves on the necromites - MULTIPLIER_FALL_DAMAGE_ENEMY 0.2

To wrap this all up, thank you for your attention, hope you enjoyed or found any of this at all interesting. Here's a very sad fact I discovered today:

Boooo. Let her rock out.

[comicaurora]

My bf told me he heard somewhere on your channel there was a version of Aphrodite who consorted with Typhon, and I'm trying to find info on that and am struggling. Do you know what that's about or where it came from?

So that doesn't sound familiar to me, and I scrubbed back through both my Aphrodite and Typhon videos and I can't find any reference to it in either one - although given the way my brain works and how small of a "fun fact" that is, it's entirely possible I ran into it somewhere, threw it into an older and less-diligently-researched video script as a one-frame wonder, and promptly forgot about it.

Attempting to reverse engineer the research process, I can't find any overt connection between Aphrodite and Typhon like that. Aphrodite is usually portrayed in the Typhon myth as fleeing for her life while shapeshifted into a fish, usually inspiring the Pisces constellation in the process. Hesiod's Theogony does indicate she was involved in his birth in some way, but it's entirely nonspecific as to how.

The closest I've been able to find to this idea is from Plutarch's "Isis and Osiris", where he's engaging in some very blatant syncretism and claims Nephthys is seen as the wife of Typhon, because he was conflating Typhon with the Egyptian god Set. Nephthys could conceivably have been syncretized with Aphrodite in this instance, especially since a lot of Egyptian deities got mashed together on the regular, but she'd be pretty low on the list of Egyptian goddesses that Aphrodite/Venus was notably syncretized with - Isis and Hathor were much more common, and I'm not sure Nephthys ever got that kind of billing. Still, I think this is the closest to a solid connection I can find.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

More Ancient Egyptian Art Vocabulary

for your next poem/story

Double crown - the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt worn together

Dynasty - a series of rulers descending within a family; following the Ptolemaic historian Manetho, ancient Egyptian history is divided into thirty dynasties

Faience - a powdered quartz paste, which is modeled or molded and fired; it is either self-glazed or made with applied glaze

False door - a panel in the form of a niched doorway through which the deceased could receive offerings

Gesso - a mixture of whiting and glue often used to prepare a surface for painting

Harakhty - “Horus of the horizon,” the god of the rising sun, depicted as a falcon or a falcon-headed human crowned by a sun disk

Hathor - a goddess sometimes depicted as a cow or with cow’s horns and ears; associated with joy, music, and love

Heh - god of millions of years, of eternity

Hieratic - handwritten counterpart to the hieroglyphic script, developed in the Old Kingdom mainly for writing on papyrus; written from right to left

Hieroglyph - a Greek word meaning “sacred symbol.” In Egypt, one of some seven hundred signs used in writing (considerably more if one counts signs used exclusively in the Old Kingdom and the periods after the New Kingdom). “Hieroglyphs” refers to the signs themselves; “hieroglyphic script” is Egyptian writing. (Calling the signs “hieroglyphics” is incorrect.)

Horus - ancient sky god in the form of a falcon, embodiment of the divine powers of the living king; son of Osiris and Isis

Ideogram - (sense sign) a hieroglyph signifying the actual object depicted or a closely connected notion

Isis - wife of Osiris, mother of Horus, the divine magician because of her extraordinary powers, divine mourner of the dead; her name is written with the hieroglyphic sign for “throne,” which she wears on her headdress

Ka - life force; the hieroglyphic sign is a pair of extended arms

Maat - right order and justice established by the gods, personified by the goddess Maat, who wears an ostrich feather on her head or is represented by the ostrich feather itself

Magic rod - a squared or rectangular object carved with symbols, such as felines, crocodiles, protective wedjat eyes, and baboons tending lamps, that Egyptians may have believed helped the sun reappear each day from the chaos of night. These rods were placed in tombs to guarantee a similar rebirth to the deceased.

Mastaba - a type of Egyptian tomb having a rectangular superstructure with exterior walls slightly slanting inward as they rise; contains chapels, chambers, and a shaft leading to an underground burial

Mortuary temple - a temple erected and endowed by a king where he could receive offerings in perpetuity after his death

Mut - “mother”: worshiped as the consort of Amun; shown as a vulture or as a woman wearing the double crown

Myrrh - a fragrant aromatic plant gum used in making perfume, unguents, and incense

Source ⚜ More: Word Lists

[kemetnefret]

| The god Osiris depicted on the sarcophagus lid of Teuris, surrounded by incorrect hieroglyphs (Most likely written by someone illiterate in the script) | { Greco-Roman, 2nd Century AD, Tuna el-Gebel, on display at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam }

[mhevarujta]

Twice now has Robert Eggers approached stories of women's repressed power and sexuality in puritan societies. It's something he very clearly contemplates about a lot and he tries to approach it and the misogyny of his movies' settings with well-researched historical accuracy.

But despite my fascination with Nosferatu (2024) the more I'm sitting with it the more it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I haven't managed to articulate why in a cohesive manner. I guess that the decisive factor to me is Ellen's death, which is a preexisting issue that Eggers carries from the 1922 movie. Her consummation with count Orlok serves three purposes: 1)Ellen embraces sexual freedom, 2)it leads to her sense of reckoning and victory when Orlok dies (which is a non-verbal moment in the movie, when she grabs his head and stares at him right before they climax, but is explicit in the shooting draft of the script), 3)Ellen redeems the city. In death Ellen is 'beatific'. She has found peace.

While I'm aware of the genre and of the motif of death and the maiden, I can't help having trouble with this idea: That women are following their nature by uniting with death to find fulfillment and escape oppression. Especially when her death is partly meant to redeem a society that has not 'earned' this sacrifice in any way. Some viewers have interpreted Ellen as a christ-like figure. Some put more emphasis on the occultist elements of her story, for example the allusion to the story of Isis (and Osiris). Yet, no matter which approach one follows, Eggers does not assert the idea of immortality or resurrection for her. Ellen's canonical ending remains a vague notion of 'peace' which is underdeveloped and (to me) reduces the horror of the movie's own conclusion. Under the pretext that Ellen is meant for more, Eggers' final thesis is that Ellen(female power, freedom and sexuality) can only find tranquility outside of society and this exile is not presented through the lense of dread and horror that the genre allows. Ellen supposedly has to reach that state through her own choice and yet she is under duress by a male monstrous lover who is steeped in patriarchal elements.

I might not have been as critical if I thought that Eggers lost scope of certain aspects of his ending because he was too immersed in the motifs and the stylistic aspects of gothic horror. Once is a coincidence. Twice is a pattern and he HAS come to a similar conclusion before. In The Witch (2015) too, Thomasin 's own big choice is to finally 'live deliciously', but of course this has to happen by setting herself outside of society it can only be achieved under coercion through Black Philip who (surprise, surprise) transforms into a male figure.

Ultimately, the fact that this female exile does not only go unchallenged, but is embraced and glorified by the movies themselves is almost as horrifying to me as the puritanism and the oppression that Eggers presents with such awareness.

[alexsgrimoire]

Samhain Ritual 2024 Excerpt - The Story & History of Samhain

While I'm not leading the Samhain ritual, my coven/circle is leading, I am helping with some sections of it! Notably, I wrote the section about the history of Samhain and how we celebrate it today. I thought I'd share it here like I've done with my other scripts, so I hope y'all enjoy it! (Note: I am not a Celtic pagan, so please excuse me if any information is wrong! I've included the bibliography at the end.)

DO NOT INTERACT: TE/RFS, TE/HMS, SW/ERFS, TRAN/SMEDS, TRUS/CUM, TRANSPHOBIC, HOMOPHOBIC, EXCLUSIONISTS, CONSERVATIVE, NAZI, TRADWIVES, ANTI-BLM, ANTI-ASIAN, XENOPHOBIC, ABLEIST, ANTI-POP CULTURE PAGANISM

Samhain is the final harvest before winter when the veil between the physical and spirit worlds is thinnest. Celebrated alongside Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, and All Saint’s Day, Samhain marks the end and beginning of the Wheel of the Year as we enter the darkest half of the year.

Samhain, as we know it to be currently, originates from ancient Celtic traditions. It was celebrated in the British Isles as the “night between years,” when the dead walked among mortals. The most important of the four Celtic festivals was a time to take stock of crops before the frost and honor the ancestors. 

Many of our modern Halloween traditions come from old Celtic traditions. The aos sí (ace SHE), fairy-like spirits, were left food and drink outside to avoid their mischief, such as killing livestock during the winter. People went door-to-door in costumes to blend in with the aos sí and collected offerings, a predecessor to trick-or-treating. Rather than pumpkins, turnips were carved with faces to symbolize the spirits crossing over and ward off malevolent ones.

There were several Celtic deities and entities who were and still are associated with Samhain. The Pooka, a shapeshifting Irish figure often depicted as a dark horse with fiery eyes, roamed the countryside, causing mayhem, and was a bringer of both good and bad fortune. Cerridwen, the cauldron-keeper Welsh triple goddess of the underworld, and The Morrigan, the Irish triple goddess of war, death, and fate, were both commonly associated with Samhain due to their associations with the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

Samhain has become a tradition among modern pagans and is included in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. The most important of the four greater Sabbats it’s a time to reconnect with ancestors, such as decorating altars with candles and mementos of loved ones who have passed. Divination, a typical ancient Celtic Samhain practice, is also a modern activity. Samhain is also an excellent time for shadow work and exploring your unconscious self.

In modern Wiccan practices, Samhain is associated with the Crone, the final of the Triple Goddesses. She’s one to go to for advice and teaches us that sometimes we need to let go to move on. The God of Samhain, The Horned One, is the animal that dies so we may eat and survive the winter. Gods and Goddesses not from Celtic lore but still associated with Samhain include Persephone, Hades, and Hecate from Hellenic tradition, Anubis and Osiris from Kemetic mythology, and Freya, Hel, and Odin from the Norse path.

Take this time to connect with the past, present, and future as the Wheel of the Year turns once more.

Bibliography

Gavin, Sophie. “Samhain - Celtic Festival of Spirits and Transformation.” Celtic Fusion ~ Folklore Clothing, Celtic Fusion ~ Folklore Clothing, 6 Mar. 2024, celticfusiondesign.com/blog/samhain-celebrating-the-celtic-festival-of-spirits-and-transformation.

Kiernan, Anjou, and Leslie Olson. The Ultimate Guide to the Witch’s Wheel of the Year: Rituals, Spells & Practices for Magical Sabbats, Holidays & Celebrations. Fair Winds, 2021.

“Origins in Samhain.” 13 Things, www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7448.html. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024.

“Samhain (Samain) - The Celtic Roots of Halloween.” Newgrange.Com, www.newgrange.com/samhain.htm#:~:text=In%20Celtic%20Ireland%20about%202%2C000,allowing%20spirits%20to%20pass%20through. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024.

“Samhain.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Oct. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain.

“Samhain: 13 Facts about Halloween’s Celtic Roots.” OghamArt, 31 Oct. 2022, oghamart.com/blogs/news/samhain-halloween-celtic-roots.

Wigington, Patti. “Ritual to Honor the God and Goddess at Samhain.” Learn Religions, Learn Religions, 8 Mar. 2018, www.learnreligions.com/celebrate-the-god-goddess-at-samhain-2562703#:~:text=In%20some%20Wiccan%20traditions%2C%20by,in%20order%20to%20move%20on. 

[deinemuddalutscht]

Why Marvel spelled it "Khonshu"

First of all, there is not one correct spelling of this name as Egyptian hieroglyphics cannot be directly translated into the alphabet, and the pronunciation and spelling of the name have changed over the millennia.

To understand where this spelling comes from, one must first look at the history of the name: The spelling in the Old and Middle Kingdoms suggests that the name was pronounced something like χansVw. The V stands for a short unknown vowel that could not be recreated because ancient Egyptian script has no vowels. That's why direct transcriptions of hieroglyphics just write the name as "hnsw". The spellings Khonsu, Chensu, Chonsu, Khonsou, Chonsou, Khesnu, and Khensou are all derived from hnsw/χansVw, .

However, "Khonsu" is not the "authenthic" pronunciation of the name, because a) the English Khonsu is pronounced xɛnsu and not χansVw, and b) the original name for Khonsu contains the unknown vowel. It is even quite possible that Egyptians of the Old Kingdom used a different vowel for the name than the ones of the Middle Kingdom. In the Amarna period, the name was pronounced ˈχansə, and around 800 BCA, it was χans. Interestingly, the pronunciation ˈχansə seems to have survived in the Meroitic language in words like uṣiḫaanša. From χans, the spellings Chons, Khens, Khons, Hons, etc., are derived. In Coptic, χans became Ϣⲟⲛⲥ, from which the spellings Shons and Schons are derived. Additionally, there is a Hellenized version of the name: Chespisichis/Khespisíkhis, from which, for example, the Portuguese name for Khonsu, Quespisiquis, is derived. The Greek version did not become the dominant form however, unlike for other gods such as Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, Horus and Anubis (Ausar, Aset, Sutekh Nebet-het, Heru and Anpu are the actual Egyptian versions of their names)

For reasons that will be important later, I first need to explain Khonsus role in the Theban pantheon. Every ancient Egyptian city had its own hierarchy and local versions of gods and myths. Different attributes and tasks were assigned to different gods in different citys. Amun, Khonsu, and Mut were the patron gods of Thebes, though they were relatively unknown until Thebes became the capital city of Egypt. This led to the cults of these gods becoming extremely popular. It is hard to comprehend just how incredibly powerful the priesthood of Amun was.: the priests of Amun were rulers in their own rights during the 21st Dynasty, and in the Greco-Roman period people used the Temple of Khonsu in Karnak to make temple oaths that governed civil matters like debts, compensations, inheritance, and divorce. Thus, the priesthoods in Karnak held significant power within Ancient Egyptian society.

I believe Marvel had difficulty understanding that Egyptian mythology did not have THE ONE pantheon that stood above the rest of the gods, like the 12 Olympians or the gods of Asgard. The Ennead of Heliopolis, was very important in the city of Heliopolis as it had two primary functions: 1) It served as a divine council for resolving disputes among the gods, and 2) as a generation of creation gods. Cosmogonies (creation myths) were different in every city, with each city placing its local gods at the top of the creation chain. In Thebes, the Ennead also existed, but it played a significantly smaller role in the Theban pantheon since they were not considered to be the gods who actually created the world. Additionally, it partially consisted of different gods than the "classic" Ennead. Thus, the Theban Ennead primarily served as the court and council of the god-king Amun-Ra. While Osiris and Horus were still considered to be quite important compared to the rest of the Ennead, they were very much merged with the Theban versions of Amun and Khonsu. Tasks that were typically attributed to Isis in other cities, for example, were assigned to "Hathor chief of Thebes" (a local Theban version of Hathor, not to be confused with "Hathor within the Benenet": another local Theban version of Hathor who was revered as the consort of Khonsu-Neferhotep).

There are several Theban cosmogonies, but they generally follow this pattern: At the beginning, there was a creator god who was a form of Amun. This creator god had a son(s) who were sometimes deities like Khonsu and Tatennen, but also could be other aspects of Amun (for example, in some inscriptions, the creator god Amun Kematef creates his "son" Amun Irita, but Amun Irita is just another version of Amun. This differentiation is sometimes made in Theban inscriptions to distinguish Amun as the dead creator god from Amun the king of the gods and Amun as part of the Ogdoad). The creator god then creates the eight gods of the Ogdoad with this son. The ogdoad is a group of four male-female twin pairs that in other cities is the very first generation of gods. The Ogdoad then together creates some form of the sun god, who then creates the Ennead.

The new Kingdom period made Khonsu into A creator god and sometimes even THE creator god The depiction of Khonsu as THE creator god is much rarer and is due to a fusion with Amun-Ra. He was known as “Khonsu, the great one, who comes forth from the primordial water” (as seen on the statue of Harwa from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty in the Egyptian Museum, the magical healing statue of Hor in the Turin Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of a priest of the goddess Bastet in the Louvre Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of Psammetikseneb in the Florence Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, and in the inscription of Mentuemhat in the temple of the goddess Mut at Karnak from the end of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and the beginning of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty respectively). In his form as the creator god who emerged from the primordial water, he was sometimes represented as a double hawk-headed man with four wings standing on two crocodiles as a symbol of his triumph over chaos. Alternatively, he was rarely represented as a creator god in the form of a crocodile with the head of a hawk, lying on a pedestal. According to the historian Armour, the two heads of the hawk represent the sun and moon. They also probably symbolize Khonsu as a divine lunar equivalent of the creator sun god. In this form, he combines the sun and the moon in a single creature, thus, he could be conceived as a mythical complex personification of death and rebirth simultaneously.

Khonsu-Re was known since the late New Kingdom, but he lost significance during the Greco-Roman period. We often imagine the triad consisting of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu as a father, mother, and child dynamik, but like everything in Egyptian Mythology, the family tree is more of a cycle: Mut could be the mother, daughter, and wife of Amun(-Ra), Amun was the father of Khonsu, but at the same time, Khonsu was also seen as a form that Amun takes at night or at the beginning of the new day, and Mut was the mother of Khonsu, but she was occasionally also referred to as his daughter. ("Khonsu who arrives as an infant after old age, made by his daughter, fashioned by his J-serpent, through her [Mut], he is greatest of gods and goddesses. That she gave birth to him in Thebes was in the form of an august child, the rn/i-scarab, in his manifestation of Khepri"). The reason for this is that the births of the sun and moon were not understood as one-time events but as events that repeated every day, month, or year (daily birth of the moon symbolizing the rising of the moon, monthly births symbolized the beginning of a new moon cycle, and yearly birth symbolized the beginning of a new year and the start of spring). As the sun and moon, Amun and Khonsu are children who grow old, die, and are then reborn in an ever-renewing cycle.

Khonsu as A creator god is the more commonly attributed role to him in Thebes and is more associated with his role as the son of Amun rather than as a moon and sun god. The khonsu cosmogony makes him into the second god to emerge from the primodial water after Amun-Ra Kematef. Basically Amun ejaculates the into the waters, Khonsu then swallows the seed, becomes pregnant by it and travels to earth to give birth to the Ogdoad on the so called island of flames. In a way all gods can be considered the sons of Amun(-Ra) but Khonsu fills the role of THE son of Amun: the firstborn, the heir, the most important, and the most revered. This position naturally aligns him with Shu, who in the Heliopolitan cosmogony is the firstborn son of Re. In fact, Khonsu adopts many aspects of Shu: like how he is regarded as a wind god and the holder of the sky. Early Egyptologists even thought that Shu and Khonsu were the same deity. I still have an annotated version of Herodotus' work from the 18th century, where the footnotes claim that Shu in Thebes was called "Khonsu Neferhotep." The confusion arose from some Ancient Egyptian inscriptions that used "Shu" as an epithet after the Khonsus name, which literally gives the name Khons-shu or Khonshu (as I have already explained, Khons/Chons was the spelling usally used during the late New Kingdom). But the Shu in Khonshu was not just an epithet but this merged form also had its own cult.

God splitting happens when an epithet becomes so interwoven with a particular epithet that it forms its own subaspect of the "main" deity. Like how "Hathor in Benenet", "Hathor, chief of Thebes" and "Hathor, chief of Dendra" are all aspects of Hathor with the epitheth stating which role they take on in the pantheon. Distinguishing between different forms of the same god can be quite important since there can be significant differences when it comes to their priesthood, temple attributes and their place in the Egyptian family tree. God splitting was very common fo Khonsu in Thebes: "Khonsu-Neferhotep," "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," "Khonsu-pa-chered," "Khonsu-wen-nekhu," "Khonsu-Shu," and "Khonsu-Thoth" all had their own small priesthoods in the Karnak Temple Complex. The priesthood of Khonshu did not have its own temple, unlike "Khonsu-pa-chered" or "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," but was housed in the main temple of Khonsu in Thebes, the so-called Benenet.

Essentially, all offshoots of Khonsu are differnet aspects for Khonsu-Neferhotep, who had by far the largest and most important priesthood. And Khonsu-Neferhotep is the aspect of Khonsu that gained the most importance. Therefore Khonshu is a part of Khonsu-Neferhotep and Khonsu-Neferhotep is a part of Khonsu. That is why Khonsu during the Old Kingdom was so different from the Khonsu of the New Kingdom period: The theban version of him eclipsed basically all of the bloodthirsty, cannibal versions of him that might have existed in other city during the Middle Kingdom Other Khonsus in other cities. That is essentially why it is so difficult to understand Khonsus's original role in the Old and Milde kingdoms aside from the bloodthirsty underworld deity. It even debatable to which extent the Khonsu in the pyramid texts and coffin texts was a moon god to begin with and when he first became associated with the falcon. It is difficult to say who Khonsu was before became Khonsu-Neferhotep, the patron god of Thebes. Therefore it might be more accurate to say that Khonsu-Neferhotep isn't just a partial aspect of Khonsu, he straight up became THE Khonsu. We do not even know what the cult of Theban Khonsu was like before Ramesses III built the Benenet and Hatshepsut grouped him together with Amun and Mut to triad, because nothing of the Pre-Benenet temple survived, just the knowledge that there existed one.

In any case, Khonshu primarily embodied Khonsu's aspect as a sun and creator god, which is why I have focused so much on these aspects. Therefore, he is referred to in inscriptions in various ways, such as: "He who sails to Western Thebes daily, who leaves offerings for the Great Ba of Kematef, who is there as Amun, in the Underworld chamber with the Bas of the Ogdoad." or "He who enters Manu bearing offerings for the Father of fathers of the Ogdoad, so that his face lights up and his heart rejoices upon seeing him, as the august child when he enters the Eye-of-Re (Thebes)." Or "He who returns pregnant from the Grotto of Nun with the prestige of his father in his body." Basically some priests of Khonsu-Neferhotep thought that the myth in which Khonsu becomes pregnant by drinking his fathers semen, and then fucks the universe into existence with Hathor is a linguistic masterpiece that deserved its own cult.

Presumably, the cult around Khonshu had something to do with ancestor worship, as it describes how Khonshu leaves offerings for Amun Kematef and the Ogdoad. In the Theban tradition, the first creator god and the Ogdoad are often described as being dead gods, which contrasts sharply with the idea that Amun should be the king of the gods. This is why there is a differentiation between Amun Kematef, the dead first creator god, and Amun Irita, the living creator god and king of the gods. Simultaneously, the epithet "Father of the Fathers of the Ogdoad" is used to distinguish Kematef and Irita from Amun of the Ogdoad. Some cosmogonies, like the Khonsu cosmogony, avoid this confusion altogether by simply replacing the last pair of the Ogdoad (Amun and Amunet) with the twin pair Nia and Niat. Technically, there is also a fourth generation of Amun, because the sun god that the Ogdoad collectively conceives (don't ask me how they managed that. The gene pool of the Ancient Egyptian Gods is just a puddle at this point) is often another aspect of Amun, like Amenope.

[jadeshifting]

hi jade!! my drself name is megara (meg for short) and shes half egyptian, but theres some VERY mystical but ancient blood running through her veins. and her moms half a vampire. but idk if its too op or not 😭 anywho, i was wondering if you could give me tips on how to make it realistic?? your drself self seems wayy detailed and i can tell alot of thought was put into it.

(can i be known as the 💿 anon?? also deepest apologies if this was a long read. theres not alot of spn shifters)

hi there !! thank you sm for the msg, i love asks like this because the entire reason i post about my drs that i didn’t think many other people had, is so the few who DO shift there have content they can read about it. like i couldn’t find it so i wanted to make it LOL

for starters, your drself sounds so fucking cool 😭 every day i wake up and somebody else has some awesome shit scripted. so far all the spn shifters i’ve talked to have been soooo so creative and out of the box and i’m SO obsessed with it

i really appreciate that, i truly do spend obnoxious amounts of time thinking about it and i’m glad it shows a LITTLE, anyways i kind of got carried away and rambled off some ideas under the cut !! i totally understand trying to tamp down cool ideas to be reasonable within the canon—like yes we can script anything we want but i’m also guilty of wanting it to make perfect sense anyway 💔

obviously i don’t have all the cool details about your drself, but here we go with what i know :

　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　

the fact that your drself possesses a unique blend of mystical and ancient blood alongside your partial-vampire lineage offers a really cool opportunity to maintain your power level without veering into the realm of being “too overpowered.” a multi-faceted approach involving limitations, unique weaknesses, and narrative-driven challenges are all really cool tools to, at the end of the day, ground you in your drself, make you feel more “human,” and avoid spoiling any huge plot points by being able to fix things and defeat anyone with the snap of your fingers

HERITAGE/MYSTICISM

— MYSTICAL BLOODLINE. the mystical, ancient blood you’ve got could tie you to a specific and powerful lineage, perhaps connected to Egyptian mythology in some way. the gods are such prominent figures in the later seasons, so having associations with or abilities tied to themes of death, protection, or resurrection, akin to Anubis or Osiris, would be really understandable. these things could always come with strict rules or costs, though—instead of being all-powerful, using your powers drains her life force, or they require rare and ancient rituals to activate or recharge ( like a zappy mystical battery mhm mhm )

— PARTIAL VAMPIRIC NATURE. your vampiric side could provide enhanced physical abilities like strength, speed, and heightened senses. but, of course, depending on how integral your vampire genetics are, this could still come with traditional vampire weaknesses—probably not sunlight, but fire and stakes, and a pervasive need for blood, though maybe only occasionally since you aren’t a full vampire. integrating some of the classic vampire traits could help to ensure you aren’t canonically invincible, you know?

FLAWED POWERS: IMPERFECTIONS/COSTS

— CONFLICT OF DUAL NATURE. a stark contrast between your mystical heritage and vampiric blood could lead to internal conflicts—like literally internal. inside your body. perhaps your ancient blood rejects the vampiric curse, which causes physical or psychological strife. this could impact you biologically, the type of thing that could manifest as a unique weakness or challenge you have to address the same way someone would address a sickness or an injury

— UNSTABLE ABILITIES. your powers might not be fully under your control control all the time, such as in moments of emotional turmoil. for instance, your mystical abilities could manifest unpredictably, leading to unintended consequences. this instability is absurdly common when it comes to extreme power like that, and creates situations where your power could be seen as just as much a liability as it is a strength

LIMITATION/GROWTH

— LEARNING CURVE. you could experience a gradual mastery of your abilities—or the more intense ones, at least. initially, you could struggle with controlling or even understanding your own powers and their nature. as you grow, you learn to harness them, perhaps through lots and lots of practice or a little bit of guidance from others who may be familiar with ancient magic or vampires (Bobby, Ellen, someone smarter than the Winchesters LMAO.) this kind of progression leaves a journey for you to go on, so that you can even be eased into the enormity of your own powers. no doubt they can be a lot to deal with, right?

— MORAL DILEMMAS/COST. your powers could certainly come with moral quandaries. if you have the ability to resurrect the dead (just an example, this would work for any really powerful ability) it could come at a terrible cost—perhaps it requires sacrificing something precious, or it disrupts the natural order, leading to unforeseen consequences. these moral challenges would keep you grounded, at least

WEAKNESSES: VULNERABILITY/FEAR

— ANCIENT CURSES. your abilities could be tied to ancient Egyptian curses a lá Cleo de Nile. perhaps using your powers is tied to an ancient curse that slowly consumes the soul or vitality of yourself or others, or draws the attention of vengeful spirits or deities. this adds a layer of conflict or trouble within your power bracket that even your immense power can’t easily counter (trying to create problems that can’t be fixed in the snap of a finger, y’know?)

— BLOODLINE BOUNDARIES. your genetic nature, split between two or more species, could mean that you find yourself rejected by both your vampire kin and mystical ancestors, due to the stark contrast between them. this ostracization could lead to isolation and a lack of allies, forcing your to rely on yourself and the alliances you’ve formed with the Winchesters or other hunters and people in their circle

EMOTIONAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPTH

— INNER TURMOIL. narratively speaking, you could struggle with your identity—caught between two worlds and all that, you know? your vampiric genetics could tempt you towards darkness or coven activities, while your mystical heritage could pull you towards a higher purpose. this type of inner conflict can definitely manifest in your relationships, choices, and how you view yourself and your purpose

— FEAR OF YOUR OWN POWER. despite your abilities, you may find yourself frightened by the idea of what you can become, or what you’re capable of. perhaps you’ve witnessed or heard stories of what happens when someone as powerful as you loses control or falls to the darkness. this fear could lead to moments of hesitation or self-doubt

INTERACTIONS WITHIN THE UNIVERSE

— ALLIES/MENTORS. you could make sure you have mentors or allies who guide you—a rogue angel or a reclusive witch with knowledge of ancient Egyptian magic could provide you with the necessary tools and knowledge to control your powers and understand your lore while keeping you grounded in the show’s established universe and rules

— ENEMIES/CHALLENGES. preventing you from being too all-powerful, you could script adversaries specifically tailored to your weaknesses—ancient hunters, gods, or creatures who have a history with your bloodline. the existence of these enemies would force you to rely on help from others and finding more complex solutions, rather than just relying on sheer power

scripting challenges that test your abilities, morality, and identity (if you want to, of course), and by grounding your extraordinary nature in personal struggle, ancient lore, and narrative consequences, you’re a compelling and balanced addition to the already existing storyline !!

sorry if this is kinda long, but i hope this helped a little, ofc you can be 💿 anon and my inbox is always open :^) happy shifting !!

[ketrin1607]

I'm already pretty tired of the character Geb😅 Now I'm happy with his physique and his look, but here's the jaw… It should be heavy to emphasize his severity, but because of the beard and such a jaw shape, instead of an Egyptian, he looks more like a Chechen😬 Is not what I wanted. If I can't find another jaw shape that suits me, then I think this will be the final version. I need to come up with at least some concept that suits me, given the added influence of Geb on Seth in the script.

Geb will need more for some episodes and scenes than I originally planned, for example, for flashbacks to reveal the past Seth. So his previous design was no good at all. Outwardly, he should be a match for a powerful opponent Set. However, according to the original myth, the less powerful Horus was somehow able to win against Seth, but this will be at the expense of his other qualities, which Seth will not have.

According to the idea, Seth will take away by force, or rather in a fair fight, from Geb the power over the main city of Egypt, which will explain how the ambitious Geb voluntarily gave up power and how Seth ended up there. However, this fight is more likely to be needed to complete Seth's psychological confrontation with his father, Geb, than really to explain who and how came to power.

In the case of Geb, a small concept with ambrosia was invented. It is Geb, as the first of the gods of the "flora" (Osiris will be next), who will grow a plant whose fruits will cancel aging. This will work for both gods and humans-it will explain how Lilith was able to live with demons for so many centuries. By the way, it is because of these fruits that demons will penetrate into Eden after being exiled. No one wants to grow old, and the creator of the exiles certainly did not take care that they owned the seeds of these fruits. In the original Egyptian myth, there is no ambrosia, the gods aged, for a very long time, but they still aged. At the oldest of the gods, Ra, with old age, the skin began to turn into silver, bones into gold, and hair into lapis lazuli.

In my concept of history, it is problematic to implement this. I still can't decide whether to come up with a scientific or at least some evolutionary explanation for the powers of gods/angels and their longevity, or leave it as an assumption without explanation - a myth. But then one of the additions to the plot - the pairing of the divine - disappears, because in fact the gods will be omnipotent. In addition, due to the omnipotence of the characters, there will be no framework for their abilities, without these boundaries, although they will be more consistent with the myth, it will be very difficult to explain why they did so and not otherwise. If you start asking logical questions in the myth itself, the conditions of the world and the set characters of the characters will already collapse.

I'll take Milton's "Paradise Lost" as an example. According to his setting, angels, like Lucifer, could take on any shape. After his exile, Lucifer somehow inexplicably changed in appearance and his light darkened. Despite the poetic description of Lucifer's train of thought after his exile by the author, I will sum up the essence of his words - he whined that no one would recognize him as a glorified seraphim, since he was disfigured in appearance. Reading it, I wanted to say: "Man, you can take on your former appearance whenever you want!"🤦‍♀️ That's why I made angels in my setting almost like people, the only difference is in longevity, artificial "creation" and the presence of elemental force. The rest of the needs are the same.

[popecreature]

1,12 and 21 for Freddy? :)

@scribesofcalamity

I’m glad you asked !! 😈

This is Freddy :))

1. What clan is your OC?

Freddy is a part of clan Ventrue!

12. What happened that lead up to their embrace?

Freddy was schmoozing it up at a party meant for networking, he went to these parties often! That’s when he met Alan Sovereign… The rest is history ;)

21. What is their predator type?

He’s an Osiris! Due to acting in a movie adapted from a cheesy vampire romance book, he gained a bit of fame… the film “Hot Blooded” was considered a flop though, with the awful script writing being the main issue… But a niche audience of.. Middle aged women still greatly enjoy his role.

I hope you enjoyed :)) it’s so fun to yap about him!!

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

Pictures taken seconds before disaster.

You might have received alerts about this mod updating a bunch over the past few days, after me saying I was done with it, in true aylin_origin_final_final(2)final.pak spirit. Well, now I am done with it, unless someone finds some glaring issues.

You might also notice the little icon pop up that says the mod uses Osiris scripting - that's because I now run a little start-of-game script to handle Aylin's tags and some general setup, so she gets tagged as an aasimar in dialogues no matter what race you pick to play as stat-wise, and also to remove the "Baldurian" tag from her, because it just didn't make sense for her to have it. She also, like all origins, now has her own unique "Aylin"/"Really Aylin" tag. This doesn't do much. For now.

Note, since I've seen some confusion about this: there is no new dialogue or reactivity added to the game with this mod. It's all stuff that was already there. Aasimar are simply considered to fall under the "rare races" tag group, which means you'll get a bunch of these "oh, we don't see your kind around here much!" reactions and responses. You'd get the same ones if you were, say, a dragonborn or githyanki. I also don't have the power to change the game's fundamental storyline - this is mostly a cosmetic mod. I say this primarily because of the lovely person who commented to ask me what would happen when they arrived in Act 2 and if playing as Aylin meant the "real one" wasn't imprisoned anymore, which genuinely made my day but also made me vaguely sad.

Alas, no, it will all happen as it always has, no matter my personal willingness to fistfight Balthazar and Ketheric in a parking lot for that face up there. You'll just have two Aylins on screen during some segments which, yeah, is kind of immersion-breaking, but is also honestly a win in my books.

Also redone: her starting equipment! Again, since other origin characters have their own personalised sets, I thought it fitting to have Aylin start with the Vengeance Paladin equipment, except the warhammer is replaced with a greatsword. She also gets a bag with her iconic armour safely stowed away (primarily so that the helmet doesn't interfere with customising her hair in the character creator). It's got the stats of basic plate and no special abilities - it's mostly there for cosmetic purposes.

I also thought she should have a little souvenir.

Wings Unlocked over on mod.io is a nice and simple and noninvasive way I've found to have wings you can turn on and off, aasimar style. This is accomplished by making them an item and equipping them in the underwear slot. You know, truly putting the ass in aasimar.

As a final little starting inventory tidbit, I decided there wasn't enough gay yearning in the game, so I made sure to sprinkle some more in there - while also figuring out the letters/books system. This is something that's probably way too wordy to actually be an in-game text, but I saw a chance to have a bit of fun and I took it.

Full text under the cut.

[Worn Letter]

[A carefully creased and pressed bit of fine stationery, yellowed with age. It appears to have survived much, with parts of it stained and worn beyond legibility despite its owner's clear efforts to preserve it.]

My dearest angel, The days and nights without you at my side have been long, though I try to fill them as best as I can. While I shudder to think what dangers you wade through and what sinister plots you leave crushed in your wake, the thought of you taking the time to write in the midst of it all fills me with warmth beyond compare. We are all as well as can be. Father is as he always is, and I admit to an increasing desire to inform him of our plans to leave for our pilgrimage. But I'm getting ahead of myself; those are words best spoken in person. You asked for tidings - I cannot hope to match your poetic turn of phrase, but I'll relay what sleepy little Reithwin has been up to in your absence. There was an accident with a snapped pulley while some of old master Morfred's men were lifting marble blocks for carving. Miraculously, though I was called to assist at the House of Healing immediately, there were no injuries save for scuffs and bruises. The masons are back on their feet, fretting over ruined scaffolding and delayed statuary work. I took the liberty of trying to reassure them that the Moonmaiden won't mind too badly. In more pleasant news, we found a loving home for the last pup from Squire's litter, so both of you can rest easy at last. She and the potter's children took a shine to each other so quickly, it was a true joy to behold. I'd wager you'll spot them frolicking around when you fly over the riverside fields on your way back. I picture the looks on your beloved, handsome face as I regale you - always so wonderfully expressive! - as we sit huddled together before my fireplace at day's end. Selûne willing, I will have you back in my arms soon. I gaze up at her every night as I await your return, knowing you must be looking upon her yourself, and I pray she keeps you safe in her light. Though your duties to Our Lady send you questing far and wide, I know, as surely as the tides turn and the moon cycles through her path in the sky, she will always guide you back to me, and me to you. Until then, I do the one thing I can, and pour onto this paper whatever feeling these poor words can hold. I love you. I lov--

[blackbird5154]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Thank you @lilspacewolfie, @van-goghs-smoking-skull and @osiris-iii-bc for asking me!

'The Third Advent'. I call it optimistic because in it the Good Guys are rewarded and the Bad Guys are punished. It's a story where all evil is righted, cruelty is stopped, and Terzo is alive again, surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. It's also a thrilling Kill Bill style adventure.

'Pleasures of Hell'. This is my most sprawling pwp fic. I love writing smut because they always have a good ending 😁 I don't know what else to say about it. It's porn 🙂

'Missionary Men'. It's a story based on a roleplaying game, and the fact that it was written by multiple people gave it multi-dimensionality. I absolutely adore Cardi played by my friend @mrratcardici! He was able to portray him as awkward yet cocky, loyal yet selfish. It was very talented! And I'm also proud of the way I portrayed Terzo: lots of optimism, fortitude, bitterness, and a sense of humor. Also the poignant script allowed us to reveal the characters maximally: when you put them in extreme situations, you can see what they really are and what they feel. And it makes the story very emotional.

'In the Heart of Thunder'. This is a variation on the 'Cirice' theme, where I decided to abandon the negative connotation of the song and leave only the positive one, describing a picture of absolute happiness in my understanding. Although it's smut, it's very mystical and in it I combined everything I love. It's a story about achieving happiness in a slightly over-complicated way.

I'm tired. Praising yourself is hard work 😁

[thenightling]

In defense of the Interview with The Vampire movie

Lately I've discovered there's a narrative that the Interview with the vampire movie was "Straight washed." Really? Are you sure about that? Because... Until Anne Rice cracked down on it, you should have seen the fan fics that were around in the 90s. Hot damn! First, in the novels Anne Rice's vampires cannot have sex. The male organ is stiff but does not move and does not produce sperm. They don't crave sex. For them the intimacy comes in the blood exchange. "But I could have sworn they had sex in the books." Nope. It's the whole reason Lestat compared them to Osiris in The Vampire Lestat, because when Isis restored her husband in the Egyptian story, there was one piece missing. The prospect of making love again is part of what tempted Lestat in the novel Tale of the Body thief. The biggest change from the Interview with the vampire novel and movie (besides Armand's appearance) is Louis is grieving a wife and child instead of a brother. This is the only part I can arguably consider possible straight washing however Anne Rice is credited with writing the script and to me this felt like a way of streamlining Louis grieving a loss, his infatuation with Babette from the novel (the neighboring plantation owner) and also streamlining it to show Anne Rice's vampires innate pan-romanticism (Note: We called it bisexuality in the 90s because pan-romantic was pretty much unheard of back then). The new Interview with the vampire TV series does something similar in changing Antoine into Antoinette (and adding that weird thing where Lestat cut off her finger to fake her death even though this is pre-DNA evidence and he literally could have used the finger of any female victim who was already dead...) In the movie we see Lestat ask Louis if he's come back to him, they lived like a married couple. Louis and Armand are less than an inch from kissing when they break up. You even see Lestat seduce a very feminine male victim at one point. This isn't straight washed. David Geffen (the film's producer) is gay. Want to know what actually was straight-washed? The movie Queen of the damned. The only implied gay character is Marius and it's done with stereotypes. Lestat is so straight-washed in that, that Nicolas is replaced with a gypsy girl, Louis is not mentioned at all, and Lestat ends up with Jessica Reeves at the end like they're Bella and Edward at the end of the Twilight Saga. Just because the Interview with The Vampire show lets them have human-style sex and adds obnoxious gay stereotyping such as the constant smoking, promiscuity, and physical abuse, doesn't make it "more gay." It just makes it more negative-stereotypy. If you think "More gay" = "More gratuitous human-style sex scenes" check yourself that you aren't fetishizing gay men.

[mythologyandancienthistory]

List of Turin Kings: The Gods Who Ruled Egypt for 36,000 Years

The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon

 is an ancient hieratic papyrus believed to have been created during the rule of Ramesses II, the third monarch of ancient Egypt's 19th Dynasty.

 The list, which resides in the Museo Egizio in Turin, is believed to be the most comprehensive catalogue of Egyptian rulers and is the foundation of most chronologies predating Ramesses II. 

The Importance of the Turin King List in Egyptology

Despite enduring substantial damage, the Turin King List remains of critical importance among Egyptologists, as it closely aligns with Manetho’s historical assembly of ancient Egypt.

 The list, however, offers more than just a dry chronicle of rulers.

 According to the document, before the era of mortal Pharaohs, deities from the heavens ruled ancient Egypt for thousands of years. 

The Turin King List differs from other king lists, which were traditionally inscribed on temple walls and served more of a religious function than a historical one. The Turin Canon, on the other hand, was written on papyrus using the hieratic script, and is much more complete and historically accurate. It includes transient monarchs and their reign durations, which were typically omitted from other lists.

Challenges in Discovering and Reassembling the Turin Papyrus

The process of discovering and assembling the Turin King List was complex and painstaking. Originally procured by Italian diplomat and explorer Bernardino Drovetti in 1822, the papyrus was substantially intact upon acquisition, only to subsequently crumble into fragments during transport to Italy. It was then reconstructed with great difficulty. French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion played a key role in piecing together about 48 fragments. Later, more fragments were joined by German and American archaeologist Gustavus Seyffarth. The task of unearthing and fitting together the fragments remains ongoing.

Divine Rule and Celestial Entities in Ancient Egypt: Pre-Menes Eras

Among the more controversial claims within the Turin King List is the rule of Gods, Demigods, and Spirits of the Dead for thousands of years. As per Manetho, the first human king of Egypt, Mena or Menes, assumed power around 4,400 BC. Prior to that, Egypt was ruled by divine entities. Despite skepticism within the scientific community, this record of extensive divine rule is echoed in other credible historical sources, including various Egyptian King Lists.

The Influence of Manetho’s Writings and the Armenian Texts

When considering the words of Manetho, the chief priest of the Egyptian temples, we must examine the texts where his work's fragments are preserved. A crucial text is the Armenian version of the Chronica of Eusebius, which states that it is derived from Manetho's Egyptian History, written in three books. These texts cover the Gods, Demigods, Spirits of the Dead, and mortal kings who ruled Egypt.

The Eras of Gods and Kings According to Manetho’s Timeline

Eusebius quotes Manetho, listing the gods of the Ennead of Heliopolis, such as Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Set, and others. They were the first to govern Egypt, followed by an unbroken succession of rulers spanning 13,900 years. After the Gods, Demigods reigned for 1,255 years, followed by another line of kings for 1,817 years, then 30 more kings for 1,790 years, and ten more kings for 350 years. Lastly, the Spirits of the Dead ruled for 5,813 years, totaling 24,925 years. Manetho is often credited with the enormous figure of 36,525 years for the entire period of Egyptian civilization, from the times of the Gods to the end of the 30th dynasty of mortal kings.

Many classical writers support Manetho's description, including Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who visited Egypt in the first century BC. Diodorus relied on Egyptian priests as his sources and was informed that gods and heroes ruled Egypt for just under 18,000 years, with mortal kings ruling for nearly 5,000 years.

Classical Writers’ Support for Manetho’s Accounts of Egyptian Civilization

Herodotus, another famous Greek historian, also visited Egypt and spoke with priests. He references these traditions of a vast prehistoric period of Egyptian civilization in Book II of his History, noting that during this time, there were four instances of the sun rising and setting in different locations. 

Intermediate Entities Between Gods and Humans: The Neteru and Urshu in Egyptian Belief

The priests mentioned the Urshu, intermediate beings between gods and men known as Watchers, and the Neteru, powerful divine beings who lived on earth with humans and ruled from Heliopolis and sanctuaries along the Nile. Some Neteru were male, others female, and they all had various supernatural powers. They could appear as men, women, or even animals, birds, reptiles, trees, or plants. Despite their extraordinary abilities, the Neteru were portrayed with human emotions and concerns, as well as being susceptible to sickness, death, or murder. Under certain circumstances.

In summary, the writings of Manetho and the interpretations by classical historians reveal a complex timeline that blends divine and mortal rulers over thousands of years in Egyptian history. These texts not only outline a vast succession of gods, demigods, and kings but also illustrate the unique Egyptian worldview, where divine entities like the Neteru coexisted with humans. Together, these accounts provide a fascinating glimpse into Egypt’s conception of time, power, and the enduring influence of its rulers across both mythological and historical ages.

Read the full article here: [List of Turin Kings]

[tamsiblings]

also. i think SO much about how scared and unsure simon probably was even before everything blew up. he Just got river out, they haven’t had a real chance to talk (i know the movie retcons this a bit but), he doesn’t REALLY know what they did to river or how she’ll be when wakes up. i know people joke (and it is funny) about how simon seeming so suspicious in the pilot is actually just him silently freaking out but also!! he literally is! he has to get river somewhere safe (if such a place exists; the shooting script notes that when simon insists to river at the end they’ll find somewhere safe, he doesn’t even seem convinced himself and is saying it for her benefit), he doesn’t know how much he can trust this crew (who at best are working with the alliance based on that “dropping off medical supplies” lie and at worst, simon can tell something else might be going on that could lead to trouble based on how many questions he’s asking), he’s likely never even been off osiris before breaking out river and certainly not anywhere beyond the central planets, and his parents abandoned river and disowned him. he has steeled himself to the idea that he is the only person looking out for him and, more importantly, river, and at this point in time that is!!! honestly true! once you understand his story a lot of his actions in this episode come across less callous and more desperate and panicked and just. ugh. </3

[stuckintime3938]

The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom was the last known hieroglyphics to be written. Made in 394 AD, it was written in the Philae temple complex by a priest named Nesmeterakhem. Nesmeterakhem was descended by a line of priests of Mandulis, a Nubian God imported to Egypt by the Ptolemies. The inscription in itself was written in hieroglyphics and Egyptian demotic, a script developed between 650 and 400 BC.

The hieroglyphic text reads as follows:

"Before Mandulis, son of Horus, by the hand of Nesmeterakhem, son of Nesmeter, the Second Priest of Isis, for all time and eternity. Words spoken by Mandulis, lord of the Abaton, great god."

The demotic script reads as follows:

"I, Nesmeterakhem, the Scribe of the House of Writings(?) of Isis, son of Nesmeterpanakhet the Second Priest of Isis, and his mother Eseweret, I performed work on this figure of Mandulis for all time, because he is fair of face towards me. Today, the Birthday of Osiris, his dedication feast, year 110."