gremlinstookmyjournals

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

Every time this happens I tell myself to download a fic before reading it. And every time the site goes back up I tell myself 'Eh, it'll be fine.'

The Archive is currently down and we are looking into it! We'll update you when we know more.

Posted: 02:05 UTC December 27, 2024

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

Hieroglyphs in The Mummy

I may have mentioned this before, but The Mummy (yes, the cheesy 1999 Brendan Fraser vehicle) was one of the main reasons I got serious about learning Ancient Egyptian. To be more precise…

I can’t even explain the immensity of the crush I had on this man as a confused 12-year-old (yeah, so maybe the constant eye candy also had something to do with my enthusiasm for the movie), but anyway, that word on his forehead just kept GNAWING at me. I wanted to be able to read it and know what it means.

Turns out it’s pretty simple.

As you can see, I flipped the characters so they can be read from left to right, which is what you’ll find in most (all?) dictionaries and Egyptology books. Hieroglyphs can be written in any direction, though. To know how you’re supposed to read them, check the human figures, animals, and other asymmetrical symbols such as that reed on the far left. They’ll always face the beginning of the text.

The vertical bars on either side of the tattoo, by the way, are just decorative.

So, this mysterious word is imH.t. In a lot of Egyptology stuff I’ve been reading, this is transliterated to Imhet, but… remember how I told you that determinants aren’t pronounced? As far as I know, there’s no reason to pronounce the location determinative (loaf of bread + house) in this word, but I guess it’s either a) rendered as Imhet for clarity, or b) I’m talking out my ass.

In any case, Imhet is the Ancient Egyptian netherworld. It… kinda-sorta makes sense for the character to have it tattooed on his forehead, I suppose, since he’s the leader of the Medjay, a group that are acting as the guardians of the underworld, preventing the baddie Imhotep from coming back to life.

… Annnd I just got a reply from the Egyptologist who was consulted for The Mummy right as I was writing this post, so let’s back up a little. Although this precise spelling of imH.t is right there in my dictionary, Dr. Smith tells me that the hieroglyphs on Ardeth Bay’s forehead are in fact a misspelling of the name “Imhotep”. That was a popular fan theory, and it’s true that the house at the end of the word is pronounced “p” when it’s not in a determinative, which would make this imHtp. I can’t find any instance of the loaf of bread + house combination being transliterated to anything other than just “t”, though. So I’m going to talk out my ass again and guess that whoever designed the tattoo probably thought it was a nifty coincidence for the AE word “netherworld” to be so close to being pronounced “Imhotep”, and went with that particular spelling.

So now that I’ve written an entire novel about this man’s forehead, let’s move on to the tattoos on his cheeks. At first glance, they look like Arabic writing, but they’re just highly stylized hieroglyphs.

Don’t feel ashamed, kind readers; not everyone can wield Paint with this much dazzling skill. Anyway, the word is mAat (m+maa+a+t) and means “truth” or “justice”. This has also been confirmed by Dr. Smith, who has enough patience to reply to gushing e-mails from linguist nerds about a movie made 14 years ago (<3). If you look carefully at the picture of Ardeth Bay, you can make out the fingers and thumb on the arm symbol.

(You may remember that I talked about redundant symbols being added to a word to clarify pronounciation, such as nfr, “beautiful”,  being written nfr+f+r. You can put these extra symbols not only after but also before the hieroglyph in question, which is why that little trapeze up there, mAa, is flanked by both an extra m and an extra a.)

Lastly, you may think that Ardeth Bay’s underworld-guardian nomadic tribe thing, the Medjay, was made up for the movie, but nope! It’s another kinda-sorta sensible reference to Ancient Egypt.

Keep reading

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

i will always be confused by people who hate artagan for choking out vax like that wasnt the funniest sequence in the entirety of c1. an archfey walks up to you and says he'll bend reality for you if he can kill you so he can learn if he has a choking kink and he kills you and goes "damn i dont actually. anyway"

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

I feel confident enough to post these now. A collection of all the existing posters after some edits from the other post that got 13k notes! These are full size/quality. Go nuts.

You may use them for wallpapers, tabletop campaigns, whatever. Consider tipping me or buying a print or sticker on ko-fi here! If you do use them, let me know what for, or send pictures!

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

Anybody ever wonder if the buried coin hoards they keep finding in Europe are just some immortal's emergency stash?

Like, "Come on guys! I only have two stashes left, how else am I gonna live in this economy?!"

Or, "I knew I left it around there! Damn it, Susan! How was I supposed to know they were gonna use those boulders for a wall?"

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

The funniest thing about all the speculation regarding the origins of the Bigfoot myth is that we know where it came from. It was a prank carried out by a guy named Ray Wallace who vandalised a couple of logging camps in California in 1958 while wearing fake feet to conceal his identity. They literally found his collection of giant wooden feet in his basement after he died in 2002, his involvement has been corroborated by multiple accomplices, and the timing of the incidents precisely lines up with when interest in Bigfoot exploded in American popular culture. We've known all this for twenty years, and everybody just quietly ignores it because it's no fun, I guess.

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

~who is she~ I love the flatwoods monster, such a cute and fashionable cryptid/alien visitor! Also supposedly flanked by some smelly vapors, hm.... My shop

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

Ghost legends in England: The "Grey Lady" of Weltham Manor has been sighted for six centuries. She's a lady wearing grey. Though Weltham Manor burnt down in 1904, she haunts the ruins, and is said to wail over her fate.

Ghost legends in Japan: The "Nails-Hand Lady" haunts schools in Japan. If you are in a bathroom and hear nails running along the other stall - stay still. The Nails-Hand Lady is coming for you. If you tell her she's beautiful, she'll make you a Nails Hand Lady. If you say she's ugly, she'll kill you, with her nails in her hands. If you say you think all women are beautiful, she'll thank you for respecting women, before killing you, with her nails in her hands.

Ghost legends in America: The old bar in Icetown, Michigan gets cold sometimes, even when it's only -13F outside. This is theorized to be the previous owner, or perhaps the tragic victims of the incident in the early 1900s where the bar exploded and killed like fifty people, whose fates were not reported in any newspaper. Sometimes they lament their fate by tossing over ashtrays

[gremlinstookmyjournals]

Legends and Lore - 22 {Monster}

Gnomes

In the murky realms of folklore, gnomes dwell as enigmatic, subterranean creatures with a penchant for both industriousness and secrecy. Unlike their ethereal relatives, the fairies, gnomes are more grounded, inhabiting the shadowy recesses of our world—inside walls, beneath the earth, and within the forgotten corners of our homes.

Gnomes are often depicted as small, wizened beings with a fondness for craftsmanship and domestic labour. Their lives revolve around the hidden workings of the world: they are the unseen repairmen of the human realm, meticulously tending to the intricate mechanisms of daily life from the safety of their underground abodes. Traditionally portrayed with pointy hats and stout figures, these creatures are known for their remarkable skill in tasks involving metal, wood, and stone. 

One of the most intriguing legends about gnomes comes from Cologne, where the Heinzelmännchen were said to be nocturnal helpers that laboured tirelessly during the night. According to the tale, these house gnomes would perform all manner of tasks—everything from cleaning and cooking to repairing and building—so that the townspeople could live in idleness by day. Their existence was a well-kept secret, a quiet magic that allowed the town to thrive while its inhabitants enjoyed a life of ease.

The gnomes' harmonious existence, however, was disrupted by the curiosity of a tailor's wife. In a bid to uncover the gnomes' secret, she scattered peas around her home. The peas caused the gnomes to slip and stumble, revealing their presence to the townsfolk. Outraged by this betrayal, the gnomes vanished from Cologne, leaving the citizens to fend for themselves and losing the enchantment of effortless living.

This tale of the Heinzelmännchen reflects the dual nature of gnomes in folklore: while they are industrious and benevolent, they also possess a deep sense of pride and secrecy. Their departure from Cologne serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating that tampering with the hidden, magical aspects of our world can lead to unintended consequences. In many ways, gnomes remain as elusive and mysterious as their underground homes, their true nature forever shrouded in the shadows they inhabit.