#but if you do it’ll take longer cuz I’ll have to do it Digital

[dzamie-oc]

9: Broken

“Alright guys, I’ve just scouted ahead under Stealth (Active). The dragon’s two rooms ahead, so we should be able to rest up and recover here.” The leather-clad man leaned back against a nearby wall, propping his foot against it; as his skill’s Passive kicked in, he faded into a nearby shadow, still visible but harder to see. “You all remember the plan, right?”

“Healing Zone! Yeah, yeah, Stabs, we’ve all got the guide. I won’t have my mana back in full for another five minutes, though, so something tells me you’re gonna insist we go over it anyway.” The pointy-hatted, unrealistically-busty woman left her crooked staff standing on end, emitting green, healing energy to the rest of the party in the room. She took a step back and drew her legs up, sitting criss-crossed in mid-air, floating up and down a few inches at a time. With her eyes closed, the mage was soon surrounded by the rising blue rings of her Meditation skill. “Stabs sneaks in and around the derg’s aggro range, Vinny takes a step forward to pull it, and I throw a Fireball at the big rock thing over its head. That’ll put it into a stagger, cut its attack, cut its defense, cut its health, all sorts of lovely things. Stabs jumps out for backstab city, and the rest of us throw as much DPS as we can at it. Easy-peasy.”

Stabs rolled his barely-visible eyes and shook his head before speaking up from behind his mask, “yep, that’s pretty much your end of the fight. Vinny, Weeb, you two remember its attack patterns? If we can avoid Sultra having to rez any of our asses, this goes over all the easier. Behind the dragon, I’ll have to watch out for its Tail Sweep, keeping a Dodge Roll off cooldown for that, and its Rear Crush attack should be easy enough to see coming.” He pointed at his heavily-armored companion clad in more metal than the average bomb shelter, then at the fourth member of their group, a swordswoman dressed in a high-cut, light purple kimono and dark purple thigh-highs and keeping a fighting-ready stance with her long, curved blade in front of her. “And this one goes for you two as well: its Seismic Wave activates in expanding waves, so back off and come in after the rocks start to disappear. It’ll start to kick in automatically once it’s down to thirty percent health, so eyes open for the red rings around then. Oh, and Sultra, you’ll be out of range for that one, but with the falling rock, it’ll hit half health pretty quick, and that’s when Icicle Rain starts. It’s a slow attack, but it’s constant and can hit anywhere in the room, so-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don’t get hit by the freezy bois, they’re just there because you martial suckers got buttmad cuz I could otherwise mash my big spells and not have to even look at the fight!” Her calm, relaxed pose was at odds with the smug, taunting tone of her voice. “Don’t worry, you lot. You’ll all go down way before I even take a hit. Look, this dragon’s a piece of cake when you’ve got Sultra the Enchantress on your side!”

Weeb sheathed her katana, bowed, and drew it again, returning to that same active stance. “Hai, Sultra-chan, we’ll beat this ryuu-kaiju faster than Tsukino Usagi late for school, and th-the... and then...” she stuttered as she shuffled towards the Meditating mage, her sword inches from the magic-user’s face, “and then we’ll be the most sugoi yuri couple around!”

The floating mage’s staff returned to her hand, and she put her legs down, opening her eyes and standing back up, then turning her body to face the other woman; her breasts continued bouncing for a couple seconds after she had stopped moving. “Weeb, I’m a guy. You seem to forget a lot, mostly cuz of these wonderful funbags on my chest, but us together isn’t you-ree.” She brought her free hand to her mouth and laughed a haughty laugh, the motion of which did absolutely nothing for her bouncing boobs. “In fact, it would be the opposite entirely! Now, to get out of this shitty conversation, I’m all topped up. C’mon you meat sponges, let’s get us some loot!”

When Stabs moved, he faded back into focus, no longer a half-visible shadow. The four filed out of the room: Stabs, followed by Vinny, then Weeb and finally Sultra. When they neared the door to the dragon’s lair, Stabs drew two knives, dropped into a low stance, and vanished entirely from view. Vinny pulled out a massive tower shield almost as big as he was, as well as a similarly-large, gleaming broadsword. Weeb simply moved forward in her battle-ready pose, brandishing her long, curved blade at whatever she happened to be looking at at the time. Sultra held her crooked staff upright, rather than down at her side, and all four entered the final room, staying as close to the door as possible until absolutely necessary. What they saw, though, threw them for a loop, and Stabs even turned off Stealth (Active).

The dragon at the opposite end of the room wasn’t snarling as it jealously guarded a veritable mountain of glittering gold, trinkets, and baubles. It wasn’t lashing its tail as it waited for some unprepared bastard to step more than a few feet into its lair. In fact, it wasn’t even standing, toned leg muscles tensed to spring forward at its human prey. Instead, it laid on its belly, resting its head atop its scaly paws and gazing at the party dispassionately. Its wings drooped to the ground, and while its tail moved, it was only small, lethargic taps against the stone floor. “Oh, hello there,” it called to them in an emotionless voice, “are you here for the treasure, or for one of my ribs? I need to know if I should drag myself under that big rock up there.”

“Uh, this isn’t... that’s not what’s supposed to happen.”

“Hm?”

“N-nani?!”

“Lol, dragon’s bugged. Well, gee gee easy, go grab the jewel!”

Stabs smirked at the mage. “What, why not get it yourself? You’ve got a thing for getting first dibs on loot, right?”

Sultra crossed her arms, squishing up her bountiful breasts that probably only stayed in her robe by magic, and harrumphed. “As far as we know, it could go into attack mode once we’re in aggro range! And you need me to stay alive if you want to stay alive!”

The kimono-clad swordswoman nodded. “Sultra-chan is right! What if this is part of dragon-san’s keikaku?” She giggled, then stage whispered to the others, “translator’s note: keikaku means plan!”

The dragon spoke up again. “Send the armored one. He’s got a big enough sword, it should be able to Coup de Grace me alone.”

The party looked at each other, surprise growing into a slight sense of concern. They pushed Vinny forward, and he slowly walked a clanking gait up to the dragon, who did not move. When he was face-to-snout with the dragon, the two of them stared at each other for a minute. Finally, when one of them broke the silence, it was the dragon again. “Well? Let’s get this over with. People don’t challenge this place unless they can win handily, so why should I bother with theatrics?”

Vinny switched his sword to reverse grip, brought his closed hands up by his chest, put his thumbs together, and pushed his hands outward a few times, nodding for emphasis. The dragon was silent for a few seconds, then sighed. “Look, you think you’re the first ones to ever make it this far? Adventurers run this place all the time; there’s a ruby back there worth fifty gold twenty-seven silver by itself.” The great, scaly beast lifted its head to look back behind itself at the massive trove of valuables; when it swiveled back around and laid its head down once more, the armored human took a few, courteous steps back. “Sure, I put up a good fight the first couple hundred times or so, but... well... my victory rate dropped to around literally zero, and the whole process... look, have any of you ever died?”

The rest of the party, who had been slowly creeping forward, shook their heads. “No, death is rather permanent for us. Not the case for you?” Stabs stood next to Vinny, performing an exaggerated shrug to highlight his confusion.

“Ah. Well, I wouldn’t recommend it if you can avoid it. The sensation of your soul departing your body...” it shuddered, wings shuffling along the ground. “It’s utter misery, and you never get used to it. It’s permanent for you? Heh, enviable.”

Sword still out, Weeb shuffled towards the dragon’s side; if he cared about the live steel next to his scales, he didn’t show it. “Momentai, dragon-san. Do the other adventurers ever just go for the gold?”

The dragon shook its head, then cast its eyes around the group. Weeb was by its foreleg, still in that battle stance, while the others stayed a few meters in front of it, Stabs by Vinny’s side and Sultra behind the big, armored tank. “Just about never, aside from the four-Rogues groups who just Stealth behind me. I’m a big chunk of experience, I suppose, just-”

Several things happened at once, all courtesy of the dragon. Its forepaw grabbed the swordswoman, making her Pinned under its scaly digits. It cast Seismic Wave, forcing the other three to step back away from the imminent rock spikes. And it blew a fireball at the very same rock designed to injure it when it moved too far forward. The rock fell, as designed; but instead of falling on the dragon, it fell on the trio instead, crushing them instantly. Batting Weeb between its paws soon sent her sword out of her grip, leaving her Disarmed as well. With renewed life and a smug smirk, the dragon picked her up, dangling her by the leg over his head.

“Th-that wasn’t very sugoi of you, you baka dragon!” she shouted, waving her fists at the large reptile, “and all those attacks at once? How were we supposed to defend against them?!”

“Oh, I know,” the dragon said with a grin, “the mechanic is quite broken, don’t you think?” And with that, he dropped her into his awaiting jaws.

[deitiesofduat]

I was wondering if u can do a bunch of random facts/headcannons for the main cast?

Oh man, I mean, I’m happy to try, but I’m not sure where to start for the entire cast of 10… well, now 11 gods. I know have some that are scattered around the blog’s tags, and also in places other than tumblr, but It’ll take me a bit to find them or think of new ones without revealing spoilers, hmm…

So here’s what I’ll try that’s similar to the 1 Like 1 Fact meme I did on twitter a while ago: for every note this post receives, I’ll add a DEITIES-related headcanon or fact about the main cast. The main cast includes Set, Horus, Anubis, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Bastet, Sekhmet, Thoth, Ra, and nowwwww Sobek – and maybe the Set Spawn and the big bad serpent too, if relevant. You can add a note by +liking this post, and if you’re interested in learning about a particular deity, you can mention their name in a comment (and it’s not necessary to reblog this, unless you want to!).

This should help give me a bit more focus and time to think of some decent non-spoiler headcanons/facts to share. I’ll come back to this post in a few hours and add any many as I can, depending on the amount of notes it receives, and I’ll bump and place them under the cut for easy access. So yeah, go for it /o/!!

[1] Been playing with a headcanon where Horus’s Eye can see an object’s or person’s weak spots – though only for like, a moment once it’s activated, cuz I’ve wanted to avoid him being OP (but then again… he’s a literal god… so >>)

Also a related-headcanon where he can see a person’s past injuries thru his Eye too, including the hidden ones that have long-ago healed and left no visible scar. I’d like to draw the ones he “sees” on others one day if I keep it…

[2] Set is the only one of his siblings that doesn’t have an avian sacred animal, and for a while I wanted to keep it that way and literally keep him “grounded” compared to his family (sans Anubis). But I found that he’s sometimes also associated with crows (and falcons??? interestingly enough), and even though I haven’t found solid evidence of this yet, I also like the idea of him being associated with bats even before I read about it in Kane Chronicles I swear– So those 2-3 animals are probably some alternate animal form that he has but just rarely takes.

[3] Actually while I’m at it– aside from the Sha Animal, here’s a list of 30-ish animals that I keep as Set’s canon forms in DEITIES verse (based on a combination of historical speculation, recorded myths, and personal headcanons), and would love to eventually draw him as one day:

Aardvark, African Wild Ass (and Donkey), Giant Anteater, Baboon, Bat, Boar/Pig, Bull, Camel, Crocodile, Crow/Raven, Dog (some sort of sighthound?), Fennec Fox, Fish (Eel?), Gazelle/Antelope, Giraffe, Goat, Goose, Hare/Rabbit, Hippopotamus, [Spotted] Hyena, Jackal, Jerboa, Okapi, Oryx, Panther, Rat, Scorpion, Shark, Snake (Viper), and Zebra/Quagga.

[4] RELATEDLY… I REALLY REALLY like the idea of Set somehow acquiring a Thylacine form even tho it’s in no realistic way in the current timeline because thylacines weren’t native to Africa let alone Egypt. BUT… I JUST… THEY REMIND ME OF SHA ANIMALS SO MUCH o)——–

[5] When I was considering the color schemes for the main cast, I once briefly envisioned a purple/violet scheme for Nephthys, but decided to scrap it because (1) I wanted her colors to contrast with her sister’s and match a bit more with her husband’s and son’s and (2) I found that purple was nigh impossible to find in AE wall art and admittedly worried “maybe it won’t look authentic if I use those colors;;;”

Even though I’m happy with her orange/black/red scheme now, I’ve recently found that purple is a common association / kemetic UPG (or doxa?) with her?? SO THAT WAS INTERESTING… I don’t think I’ll change her color scheme for DEITIES, but maybe I’ll draw her in an alternate purple outfit one day to see how it looks on her >>

[6] One of the reasons why I like Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as their own casual friend group in DEITIES verse is that, because they’re all relatively young gods, they all share the experience/pressure of being measured up against their older royal relatives – Horus being seen as both his father and mother’s legacy and feeling the pressure to restore his family’s throne; Anubis being know for his infamous father, and even having his paternity questioned (via rumors and “myths”); and Bastet being the youngest of Ra’s daughter, sometimes being compared to her sister’s roles and achievements.

They’re all really good at masking any pressure they feel, but they also probably confide in each other about it more than with others, cuz they’ve all “been there.”

[7] Relatedly, one of the earliest version of DEITIES Project, before it was known as “Deities Project,” had Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as the main trio. That’s been changed “for reasons” since then, and their characters were quite different back then, but it might be fun to explore a story that focused on the 3 of them someday.

[8] Okay ya’ll know the part during The Contendings where Horus and Set are racing in stone boats and Horus “wins” by painting his wooden boat to look like stone? I have ideas for how that entire race happens in DEITIES verse that would be fun to explore as a side story, but in order for me to give Horus a “legit” way to win without outright cheating, he covers his boat with stone casing/accents, and after he wins and is confronted about it… well…

HORUS: “The rules we agreed on were to sail a boat made with stone. They said nothing about it needing to be made entirely out of stone.”SET: “…”HORUS: “ :)c ”SET: “…” *Internally raging*

[9] I’ve headcanon’d that Nephthys has her own set of ~7 Shabti who act as her personal assistants while she’s conducting her nightly duties, or working around her home, but I haven’t decided much more past that (still debating on how she acquired them, and if she more-than-likely named them…).

The concept and number were loosely based on how many of the other goddesses had their own sets of 7 as extensions of their power and/or control (7 Ribbons of Hathor, 7 Arrows of Sekhmet, Isis’s 7 Scorpions), and I thought it’d be neat if the Goddess of Service had her own Shabti that exemplified that part of her domain.

[10] Thoth is an avid lover of puzzles, trivia, and strategy games, and he’s also exceptionally skilled at games of chance. He doesn’t gamble or make bets often because he understands the risks, but when he does he tries to be calculative about it… and also has a natural knack for luck going his way (EX: That one game of senet that he won to help assist Nut with having her children… which is another story for another day)

[11] Ummmmm Isis is the only one of the main cast who I haven’t drawn a ref of her sacred animal form yet… or at least, not digitally. Her animal is the kite, but I’ve been debating on a while for what species to base her design on. I like the idea of her kite form looking like the Black-winged Kite, although those species aren’t native to Egypt… but some are native to Africa… and they’re so fricken pretty and they fit her colors so well so I might cave on this ffffffffffff–

[12] While we’re on the subject of sacred animals (and to help me get somewhat closer to the note count lmao I’m trying guys–), Horus’s falcon form is based on both the Peregrine falcon and the Lanner falcon, with more simplified markings for my own sanity when I draw him in dozens of panels.

At one point, I considered making his falcon form leucistic to contrast more with Anubis and Set, buuuuuut I also liked the brown colors on the falcons’ normal coloration, so I kept it. (That and more leucistic birds of prey are hawks, so… maybe for Khonsu tho if I don’t change him to an owl, hmmmm…)

[13] Okay continuing thoughts on animal forms, Bastet is able to shift her cat form into nearly any coloration or breed she desires (aside from her eyes, which remain green), but for the purposes of DEITIES I draw her as a brown cat with light gradation markings. I knew of the Egyptian Mau but also realized the spots would take a lot of effort to redraw in the panels where she appears as a cat (much like the spots on falcons for Horus). I also personally really like solid-colored coats on cats, and in particular I liked the coloration of the Havana Brown, so it may be a little less authentic but it did factor into her colors as well.

[14] I'm still debating on Sekhmet's main hairstyle and want to play with it a bit more -- not the arrangement per se but whether to keep it as locks or to make them more obvious twists -- or perhaps a combination -- since I can see her with both style at certain points in time. Either way, at full length Sekhmet's hair is very long: if she were to loosen her tie and let it fall, her longest locks would reach past her hips.

[15] I initially gave Set yellow eyes because even though he's often depicted with red eyes, I didn't want to over saturate his design with just... well, red -- especially in his animal form where his entire body is covered in red fur (red eyes + red sclera would have been, a lot). I like how his yellow eyes provide some contrast, and I've since found some story-related reasons where his eyes might play some role in the plot… but anything further might be spoilery 8')c

[16] It took me a while to settle on Osiris's "resurrected" skin tone because there were a lot of sources that describe his skin as being green, or blue, or black in coloration. I even tried them out in an earlier color test that I shared on patreon, but I eventually went with black since the color has had various meanings in Ancient Egypt that include both life and death. (It also gave me some opportunity to give green skin to Ptah and blue skin to Hapi to help vary the designs for each of those gods).

[17] Relatedly, Osiris's mortal form is a naturally dark skin tone, but following this death he can no longer appear in that form. He is also unable to travel to the overworld / realm of the living, though I'm still debating on how restrictive this is (if it's limited to his physical body or if he can split his soul under special circumstances, or with assistance). Regardless, most of his correspondence with other deities have to be arranged within Duat for this reason.

[18] I haven't made any plans to designate a spouse or romantic partner for Ra. I understand that there were a number of goddesses that were associated with him in the myths and often said to be his wife, but for that reason it was hard to settle on choosing one -- or multiple, and I realized that for the purpose of the main story it might not be necessary. I also kinda like exploring the idea of this high king and powerful creator deity who's also a happily single father, and where it's not for tragic reasons like the separation from or death of his spouse (not to knock that trope at all tho sdjfdsf). I'm not opposed to him being shipped with anyone though, I just don't think I've been inclined to do it myself lmAO;;

[19] RELATEDLY, while Ra's daughters (Sekhmet, Mafdet, Hathor, Serqet, Bastet) don't have a biological mother, I like to think that they were raised in an environment with a lot of parental figures and mentors to go around, aside from just their father. I haven't quite settled on how it was organized though, but I know that the daughters regard Thoth as something of an uncle/secondary dad (tho their dynamic with Thoth is can vary a lot from the one the have with Ra), as well as their teacher and mentor. I can also see where other gods like Khnum, Khepri, and Bes, and goddesses like Neith, Seshat, Taweret, Ma'at, and Mut, might also have played some direct mentor role in the daughters' upbringing and sense of self.

[20] (squick + implied nsfw) I uh… have this minor gag headcanon where Horus, Isis, and Osiris just don't eat fish. They just… don't. And it's entirely based on that one part of the myths after Osiris's death, where a certain part of Osiris's desecrated body ended up in the river and was swallowed by a fish 8')c (should be noted that I'm not saying that event did happened in DEITIES canon, but I'm also not disputing it either >>).

Apparently that was considered a bad omen, and I still find conflicting information on whether consumption of fish was taboo for some or all in Ancient Egypt (I think "for some" makes better sense, cuz why would an entire society that resides near the Nile river pass up on a perfectly available food source?? But I digress, I might need to review this again so take my thoughts with a grain of salt--). I also admit that I've seen it mentioned that fish are not ideal food offerings for Isis and Osiris?? and I can imagine that maybe Horus adopts the distaste for them as well. Either way, I go with the DEITIES canon that while most people and deities happily consume fish, Horus and his parents will not, and they don't enjoy it as offerings either.

I’MMMMMM gonna end it here for now cuz my headcanons have run dry for the time being, thank you guys!!