#real egyptian curses

[bijoumikhawal]

I'm not over someone telling me "real Egyptians don't care when cleopatra is played by a white person" buddy I'm one of the only Egyptians I know that didn't bitch publicly about Gal Gadot getting cast as Cleopatra.

[ectoplasmer]

tumblr cut off my tags of me questioning ryou's dad's parenting ethics so i think that's my sign not to bring it up lol

[sagaduwyrm]

DCxDP Idea - Tucker x Tim Soulmate AU:

Now on AO3

So the Justice League believes the Fentons and the GIW. Not completely, but enough. That’s the bad news. The worse news is that they have Danny, and are apparently planning to use him in some kind of spell to banish all the ghosts from the living plane. Which, okay, sure, not the worst idea, except that trying to banish a Liminal is a great way to kill them instead, and guess what everyone in Amity Park is? Not to mention what powering such a ritual could do to Danny.

Tucker is not having a panic attack. He might have one later, but right now he has a job to do.

So the thing about the Justice League is that they’re powerful and together they cover each other’s weaknesses, but individually they are, if not manageable, then at least survivable. They can’t take on the entire league, but Ghosts and their ilk have fangs for a reason, and every predator knows how to divide and conquer.

Technus and Skulker are using Lex Luthor’s tech to deal with the Supers. Jazz has got emotional manipulation and FrightKnight’s sword to take down the Flashes. Desiree agreed to start a mage’s duel with the Justice League Dark. Sam, Ember, Johnny, and Kitty hopefully have the watchtower in hand, with Walker playing backup to get Danny free.

Tucker has two jobs. One, work with Technus to take down the Justice League communications without making it look like anything is up. Two, for the love of the Ancients, do not let the Bats realize something is wrong.

And you know what? He’s got this. Duul Aman was the most feared sorcerer of his time. Tucker isn’t him, not really, but he’s no slouch in the magic department. Egyptian magic, the way Duul Aman knew it, was almost like code. Relearning it was as easy as breathing, but the real reason Tucker’s job is to deal with the bats is because he took it further than his last life ever could. Sure, he’s a dab hand at illusions, his curses are almost as nasty as Sam’s, and instant sandstorms are never not useful, but where he really thrives is with tech. Afterall, if ectoplasm can be combined with computers, why can’t magic?

Tucker is the world's first technomage and he’s goddamn proud of it.

It’s his saving grace now. Infiltrating Oracle’s system took weeks, and he still wasn’t able to look at or do anything important, but it was enough of an opening for his magic. He wormed his illusion through every single piece of bat-tech he could reach, whispering in their ear, Gotham needs you. The Justice League is fine. Gotham is where the problems are. 

Weeks of work and sleepless nights, and he still doubts he’ll be able to keep them from noticing anything for more than a few hours. Luckily, by that time Danny will be free and Tucker will be long gone from Gotham.

This confidence lasts until he brushes hands with another guy in the cafe. He can feel the bond snap into place, a soulmark crawling across his body. Tim Drake stares at him, eyes wide but sharp. 

Tim Drake.

Red Robin.

Shit.

Time to see whether fighting ghosts extends to fighting humans, because he is not letting this asshole mess up Danny’s rescue.

+++

The first thing Tim notices when he meets his soulmate is the rage in the man’s eyes.

They’re really pretty eyes. A bright, glowing gold, lined in kohl. Almost certainly a sign of magic. 

They look at him like the man wants to turn him inside out and burn the remains. Tim’s a little offended, beneath the shock and awe.

“Fuck,” the man hisses. Tim’s offense is starting to supersede his surprise. He’s a catch, thank you very much.

He says as much. The man laughs, and it’s almost friendly.  The cafe is empty. The people of Gotham have good instincts, and there’s something in the air around this man that puts Tim’s hackles up.

“You know, I think that’d be more believable if you hadn’t started this.”

Tim’s brow wrinkled. He felt like he’d remember starting something with his soulmate though? What was he supposed to have started, anyway? Saying ‘this’ wasn’t very specific. 

He rolled and dodged to avoid the sudden lash of golden sand. Ah. A fight. He could do that. Figure out why his soulmate was angry later, defeat him now.

He reached up to call for backup and only got static.

Shit.

He was on his own. Time to show this bastard why underestimating a bat was a bad idea.

[thefirstknife]

I'm gonna be 100% real with you in that this is an entirely earnest question and not meant to be me throwing shade or being obtuse in any way.

Osiris is Jewish? I missed this in lore somewhere probably?

Yep! In the opening cutscene to Curse of Osiris, Osiris briefly curses in a non-English language when trying to arrange the cubes. The language spoken is Hebrew! This is due to his voice actor, Oded Fehr, who is Jewish and from Israel and naturally speaks Hebrew. Here's my other post about it!

If it had been just his VA being Jewish, we could speculate about it, but Osiris speaking Hebrew is canon due to this cutscene; they let Oded say this and also kept the line in. This makes him Egyptian Jewish and canonically speaking at least three languages: English, Hebrew (cutscene) and Arabic (the word "sagira" is Arabic for "little one"). Here's also a link to the old Curse of Osiris reveal stream where the devs said that "really early on we made a commitment, we wanted to make sure he was Middle Eastern and he's actually even voiced by Oded Fehr." This shows that his heritage and little details surrounding him are very much relevant.

A lot of Destiny storytelling about heritage is told through names and languages as little details to pick up on. For example, Elsie Bray is very much heavily implied to be Muslim. Back with Beyond Light lore, we got a lot of details about the Bray family, including Sylvie Bray, the mother of Elsie, Willa and Alton. She was shown speaking English and French (+ a single Italian word), and Elsie was shown replying to her using French and the specifically Muslim term "inshallah" which is Arabic. This is repeated in Lightfall's Collector's Edition in Elsie's booklet, showing that Elsie followed the same faith as her mother, or at least honored it:

"Oh daughter," Mom squeezes me tight "You can't make them love you, inshallah. You have to let go."— The horror consumed her as easily as the Stasis. She felt like a frightened child cast loose in the wind. Alone. Every assertion of control met by a temper tantrum in the face of a hurricane…. "Inshallah." She half-remembered her mother's words, and let go.

Words hadn't saved her, or her mother's faith.

Adding this mostly to show how details about names and languages are used to tell us information without having to spell it out directly, but rather to add to the storytelling. This means that these details about Osiris aren't just random, or at least their outcome isn't, now that it's been allowed to become canon through one of the most important cutscenes.

[blackhholes]

Teen Wolf's Canaan

Lenore by Gottfried August Bürger (trans. by Dante Gabriel Rossetti) / The Fate of the Canaanites and the Despoliation of the Egyptians by Menahem Kister / Who’s Afraid of Canaan’s Curse? by Jennifer Knust / The Faith of the Canaanite Woman (Mt. 15.21-28): Narrative, Theology, Ministry by Dorothy A. Lee

Written for @teenwolf-meta‘s Meta May Monday theme: place.

in the sixth episode of the sixth season scott, lydia and malia go to canaan, a place which has become a ghost town after the wild hunt came through in the 80s with only one inhabitant still there. there are two major references being made in this episode, the first being that to the both biblical and real bronze age location of canaan and the second being to the ballad lenore by bürger.

in genesis 9:25 noah curses canaan, the son of ham, that he and all of his descendants, the canaanites, will be servants for the rest of time. the conquest of canaan in the book of joshua as well as the curse of canaan are mirrored in the episode with the ghost riders' attack on the town and is further expanded on when, at the end of the episode lydia explains that the people taken by the wild hunt become ghost riders themselves, effectively making them servants of the hunt.

the only person left behind by the riders is a woman named lenore. her name draws the viewer back to the 1774 ballad of the same name, in which a ghostly rider comes to a woman in the disguise of her dead lover and takes her on a ride. the poem culminates when lenore realizes that the rider is indeed death himself come for her. teen wolf's lenore as all other banshees has a close connection to death and the dead, for her the spectral entity shown to her is not her deceased lover but instead it is her son who drowned as a child. bürger's lenore dies at the end of the poem, where teen wolf's lenore decided to stay in canaan with the apparition of her dead son, a kind of death in itself.

[marigold-hills]

Dunes & Waters, part 46

PART 1 • PREVIOUS PART • NEXT PART

Remus,

Congratulations, although of course I didn’t doubt you’d manage for a minute. (Remember how bitterly you complained about the Curse Breaker I got for you? Want to take that back now?)

I’m out of the country for the next two weeks, and would rather not have anyone else subjected to Black - the last person I entrusted the bastard with ended up shagging him, would you believe that?

I’ll come two days after the full, should give you time to recover. I’ll take Black’s tracking charm off and bring him the release paperwork from the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. Let him know won't you, I’d rather not have to write him directly if it can be avoided.

Oh, the Department of Magical Creatures can’t wait to get their hands on the potion, have it ready for me to take as well?

Kingsley

***

Kingsley,

I refuse to acknowledge any issues there may or may not have been regarding the Curse Breaker.

Sirius will be ready for you. How long until he’s allowed back in Egypt?

Shouldn’t the potion stay here? I have to keep in good standing with the Egyptian research facilities and I can’t imagine anyone here would be pleased about yet another artefact of theirs getting smuggled to Britain.

See you after the full,

Remus

***

Remus,

You are a harbinger of trouble for me. The moment your letter came through, the EMM sent me a representative to dispute the removal of your research from Egyptian soil. They don’t even know what it’s about and the moment they got the goods declaration portkey paperwork they were up in arms.

Leave it with the curator at Aswan Library and they’ll do as they need.

Also, Black is never allowed back, as per stipulation from EMM for his release. Didn’t he tell you that?

Kingsley

***

Never allowed back.

Remus can see the words, in Kingsley’s efficient, militant handwriting, in everything Sirius does. He picks out peaches at the market, and they flash before Remus like memories. Wakes up in the morning, and the stretch rearranges the lines of his tattoos. They’re spelled in the spill of dark hair on a white pillow.

Because Remus can’t leave. He worked his whole life to be allowed to be there, against prejudice and against academic rivalries. His speciality is Egypt. He can’t study Egypt from anywhere but there.

And Sirius can’t come back.

***

Remus doesn’t do things by halves. He’s not a man who can be casual. It’s why his first real interest became his lifelong career. Why he’s managed to stay with it, despite the obstacles.

Why, now, as he sees Sirius wake up by his side, when they only have days left together, he knows that this is it for him. This is the man his heart and his mind had chosen, for better or for worse. Even when he’s gone, and Remus is left behind, it will be him.

An image forms, of a time some months or years down the line. Searching for something fleeting and meaningless. Leaving beds at night, leaving behind limbs that aren’t Sirius’. Pointless endeavour because Remus doesn’t do casual and, after having Sirius, after losing Sirius, he won’t be able to do permanent either.

He’s had his permanent. He has it still, even if it’s only temporary.

It’s an oxymoron, but Sirius is so many of them. Brash and loud, then soft and careful. Caring and careless. A hurricane made flesh inside a body too human to contain it.

Remus presses his lips and his teeth into pulse points like he could taste the heartbeat.

The last line of the translation comes together.

If you do not return, my beloved, if the gods block your path, I will meet you again in the Afterlife. 

“She was willing for her love to die? Just to have control during the full moons?” Sirius says in shock, like his heart cannot contain such a thing. Like he, himself, would never, like the price is too steep.

“She was willing to give her love the option.”

“That’s not a good option.”

Remus smiles into the crook of Sirius’ neck. It’s endearing, how sure he is of his opinions. “That’s not for you to decide.”

Sirius pushes him away, looks him in the eye, all humour gone. “You promised me.”

“I did. And I’ll promise again. I won’t drink it.”

Relief, a pull, and they’re tangled up again.

“It’d be a waste of it anyway. The EMM will probably assign a Potions Master to work on it. Maybe they’ll figure out how it works, make it safe.”

“Do you think you’ll be allowed to work on it with them?”

“Maybe. Hopefully,” Remus has been thinking about this, about what comes next, in all aspects of his life. “I wonder if they’ll let me publish the findings. I think there are some journals that would be interested. If not… I had other things I was working on before the Box. None as exciting, but it’s something.”

Remus turns onto his stomach, pulls Sirius underneath him. “I think, most importantly, we deserve a holiday,” he’s aware of why he says it, why he takes time off work to spend it with Sirius but he won’t voice it. “Anything you want to see before you leave Egypt? Tell me. I’ll take you anywhere.”

Sirius touches him softly and gently and like he’s precious, but there is something closed off in his face, like already he’s half gone.

NEXT PART

@tealeavesandtrash

@moon-girl88

@hoje--aqui

@cocoabutterandbooks

@onion-sliced-apples

@prancingpony42

@digital-kam

@remoonysiriusly

@sweetstarryskies

@a-sunset-outside-my-window

@procrastinatingstuff

@annaliza999

@arasael

@a-pine-cone

@goldenprophetwrites

(let me know if you do/don’t want to be tagged!)

[astroboots]

Hamster Days: Chapter Two

Pairing: Steven Grant x female reader

Summary: You come to an understanding about the real identity of your cute little Hamsteven.

Series Masterlist | Astroboot’s Masterlist | Thirstworldproblemss’ Masterlist

You read and reread the text on your screen. You cannot make sense of it.

Even though you perfectly comprehend the meaning of each individual word, strung together, your brain is refusing to make the connection and and spell out the implication of those three words:

'help im steven'

You don't understand. No, that makes zero sense at all.

You eye the hamster sat on the keyboard. Observing you, in complete stillness as if it's holding its breath in anticipation of your reaction.

You return your eyes to the text, then the hamster, the back again. You try to process this situation piece by piece like it's a puzzle that doesn't seem to fit no matter how you rearrange the pieces. Except in this scenario the puzzle is your brain, and if it's broken there is no customer service you can contact to return it for a functioning one.

Taking a deep breath, you start from the beginning.

There are words on your laptop you haven't written. There's no one else in the room. Except for this hamster.

... 'im steven', the text says.

But Steven is not in the room. In fact, you haven't heard from Steven all day. Not since this hamster appeared this afternoon in the flat. You and this hamster are the only ones here.

"Ste-Steven?"

The hamster perks up at your voice, straightening his stance and standing more upright than before. Its head dips in a downward angle before rising up and then down again... like it's nodding.

The hamster is fucking nodding at your question.

No. That's not possible-- this is mad... crazy... bonkers... the sort of thing that would get you sectioned...

You've completely lost your marbles.

No this can't be real. The text doesn't have to mean anything. You've overthinking it. Maybe your computer is glitching out. Maybe it's a malware from all the sketchy sites you keep visiting for streaming HBO shows for free, and now some hacker is typing this out remotely.

The hamster is sitting on the keyboard because the laptop is warm and the screen is shiny that's all it is. Did it even really nod? or are you just seeing things that aren't there? It just moved its head, that's all it did isn't it? It's normal for hamsters to move their heads when someone is speaking. Don't puppies do that all the time in youtube videos?

“Steven… are you really…?” you stop yourself from finishing the sentence, because this is absurd. You're overthinking it, this hamster is not Steven. All you're doing is speaking to a hamster.

The hamster gets down on all fours over the keyboard, slowly and deliberating observing the lettering before it chooses one and pushes it down with his paw. Then its head darts up over the screen as if reading it, before it does it all over again...

You weren't imagining it before.

Hamsteven is typing.

Approaching the screen, you read the sole word waiting for you there: 'yes'

"Steven?" you ask again, and just like before the hamster dips its head at you, and you're not mistake this time. It's nodding.

Is it that unbelievable after all?

Between the three of them fighting invisible monsters in the name of the moon for an ancient Egyptian god like some anime magical girl... to the various curses they (and you) have succumbed to in the time you've been together-- is it that unbelievable that Steven through some supernatural ordeal has been turned into a hamster?

A hard lump swells up in your throat and as you swallow, your saliva tastes bitter and acidic like it could burn up the insides of your mouth.

The hamster in front of you is looking up at you with wide obsidian eyes, trusting and sweet in a way that is all too familiar to you and in that second you know you believe it.

A hamster... your boyfriend has turned into a hamster.

"Steven, what happened?!! Are you all right!? Are Marc and Jake alright!?!?!?"

Panic is pushing in every direction in you. Tour voice comes out harsh and loud. So loud that poor Steven jumps on the desk, eyes wide with alarm, his arms clutched close to his body in alarm.

It takes a moment for Hamsteven Steven to regain his bearings, and he starts scurrying across the keyboard to find the letters he's looking for.

The first letter is "i" then he walks some distance and types out "d" then "k" and stops.

'idk'

Steven doesn't know.

Problem is you're not entirely sure which one of your questions he is answering. Does he not know what happened? Is he not alright? Is Marc and Jake not alright? Is it all of the above?!

oh god oh god oh god.

“You don’t know what happened? Or you don’t know if you’re okay? Or Marc/Jake?” You blurt out Before realizing your mistake.

Panic is eating away at your nerves. You need to calm down. You're not making any progress like this. You need to think. With Steven's size, he has limited range. He's obviously not going to be able to write you any dissertation-length answers. You need to keep your answer short and succinct, where you can get the most information out of him through a simple yes or no answer.

“No, wait, wait. Sorry. Do you know what happened?”

He types out a no.

Disappointment sets in. If he doesn't know what happened then how on earth do you have any hope in being able to fix it.

What follows in the next hour is a bizarre rendition of 20 questions that gives you very little by way of information.

Is it permanent (idk)

Do you know how we can fix this? (No)

What was the last thing you remembered?

You regret this question almost as soon as you say it. Because open-ended questions requiring Steven to type a long explanation is not ideal. It sends Steven scuttering around the keyboard. One slow letter after another.

The sole sentence: 'i was doing a shift at the museum and' takes him a full three minutes (180 seconds) to write... Your fingers are itching with impatience as you watch him painstakingly type out each letter. His round body padding back and forth across the keyboard, when his front paws slips and missteps and he trips. The whole of his body landing with a splat across the keyboard resulting in: 'fjhgvnulrxv' spelled out across your screen.

Oh god....

Steven, pushes himself back up, front paws first as he's standing on all fours again. His head turns to the screen with an expression of pure despair. Then you see him wadding over to the right corner of the keyboard, body slumped in dejection and you watch with confusion until you see him step on the 'delete button'.

"Steven, Steven, it's okay." You reach out your hand and scoop him up and hold him up close to your chest.

His eyes are blinking slowly, as if he's having a hard time keeping them open and you realize that he must be exhausted with the events of the day.

You check the time, and it's twenty minutes past midnight. Going at it like this, without any plan or a better and more efficient communication system is not doing Steven or you any favours. Especially with the lack of sleep that you're both running on.

You run a fingertip over his head, petting the soft fur and his head nuzzles into your touch, his body sinking down into your hand until he's flat against it.

"You don't have to worry Steven, we'll fix this together. One way or the other."

He nods, eyes closing shut, as he curls up into a round ball in your hand. He's so tiny and small like this, and it strikes you just how vulnerable of a position he is in.

A warm weight settles in your chest, a determination to protect him the best you can while he's in this state until you can return him back to normal.

Yeah, you'll fix this together. Somehow...

Author's note: This is just a very short thing to tide things over, as I'm going to go on holiday next weekend and I'm not sure I'll be able to post anything (I'll do my best tho'). It's very silly, and I hope you enjoyed it, because this whole series is gonna be silly shenanigans. Not Beta-read yet. I will give this a second look and edit it properly when life gives me a bit of a breather!!

Dedication and Credits: To my @thirstworldproblemss who helped me with the Hamster communication logic. I love you! Also this absolutely HILARIOUS concept of Steven slipping on the keyboard is all her genius!

[brokehorrorfan]

The Universal Classic Monsters Collection will be released on 4K Ultra HD (with Digital) in digibook packaging on October 3 via Universal. Designed by Tristan Eaton, the eight-disc set is limited to 5,500.

It includes 1931's Dracula, 1931’s Frankenstein, 1932’s The Mummy, 1933’s The Invisible Man, 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein, 1941’s The Wolf Man, 1943’s Phantom of the Opera, and 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon.

All eight films are presented in 4K with HDR10. The Spanish version of Dracula is also included. Special features are listed below, where you can also see more of the packaging.

Dracula is directed by Tod Browning (Freaks) and written by Garrett Fort (Frankenstein), based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye, and Edward Van Sloan star.

Dracula special features:

Alternate score version by Philip Glass

Dracula (1931) Spanish version directed by George Melford

The Road to Dracula

Lugosi: The Dark Prince

Dracula: The Restoration

Dracula Archives

Monster Tracks

Trailer gallery

Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.

Frankenstein is directed by James Whale (The Indivisible Man) and written by Garrett Fort (Dracula) and Francis Edward Faragoh (Little Caesar), based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, and Boris Karloff star.

Frankenstein special features:

Audio commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer

Audio commentary by historian Sir Christopher Frayling

The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made A Monster

Karloff: The Gentle Monster

Universal Horror

Frankenstein Archives

Boo!: A Short Film

100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics

Monster Tracks

Trailer gallery

Dr. Frankenstein dares to tamper with life and death by creating a human monster out of lifeless body parts.

The Mummy is directed by Karl Freund (Dracula) and written by John L. Balderston (Dracula). Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, and Arthur Byron star.

The Mummy special features:

Audio commentary by film historian Paul M. Jensen

Audio commentary by Rick Baker, Scott Essman, Steve Haberman, Bob Burns, and Brent Armstrong

Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed

He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce

Unraveling the Legacy of The Mummy

The Mummy Archives

100 Years of Universal: The Carl Laemmle Era

Trailer gallery

An Egyptian mummy searches Cairo for the girl he believes is his long-lost princess.

The Invisible Man is directed by James Whale (Frankenstein) and written by R.C. Sherriff (Goodbye, Mr. Chips), based on H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel. Gloria Stuart, Claude Rains, William Harrigan, Dudley Digges, and Una O'Connor star.

The Invisible Man special features:

Audio commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer

Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed

Production Photographs

100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters

Trailer gallery

A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.

The Bride of Frankenstein is directed by James Whale (Frankenstein) and written by William Hurlbut. Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, and Elsa Lanchester star.

The Bride of Frankenstein special features: 

Audio commentary by film historian Scott MacQueen

She’s Alive! Creating The Bride of Frankenstein

The Bride Of Frankenstein Archive

100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics

Trailer gallery

Dr. Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.

The Wolf Man is directed by George Waggner (Operation Pacific) and written by Curt Siodmak (I Walked with a Zombie). Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney Jr. star.

The Wolf Man special features:

Audio commentary by film historian Tom Weaver

Monster by Moonlight

The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth

Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney Jr.

He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce

The Wolf Man Archives

100 Years of Universal: The Lot

Trailer gallery

Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.

Phantom of the Opera is directed by Arthur Lubin and written by Eric Taylor (The Ghost of Frankenstein) and Samuel Hoffenstein (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). Claude Rains, Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, and Edgar Barrier star.

Phantom of the Opera special features:

Audio commentary by film historian Scott MacQueen

The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked

Production Photographs

100 Years of Universal: The Lot

Theatrical trailer

An acid-scarred composer rises from the Paris sewers to boost his favorite opera understudy’s career.

Creature from the Black Lagoon is directed by Jack Arnold (The Incredible Shrinking Man) and written by Harry Essex and Arthur A. Ross. Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Nestor Paiva, and Whit Bissell star.

Creature from the Black Lagoon special features:

Audio commentary by film historian Tom Weaver

Back to the Black Lagoon

Production Photographs

100 Years of Universal: The Lot

Trailer gallery

A group of scientists try to capture a prehistoric creature luring in the depths of the Amazonian jungle and bring it back to civilization for study.

Pre-order Universal Classic Monsters Collection.

[venturethighs]

Curse tentacles? Yeah?

Sometimes they have no control over it. A smoky tendril accidentally snakes up your leg while you two are busy cuddling. It surprises you every time because it feels cold– almost snake like, but no scales, and they can most certainly feel every inch it touches.

Your eyes flutter open. They're flushed.

"Sorry–"

You let out a light laugh. They are most definitely not sorry. Another tentacle snakes up your opposite leg. Even if you move, they don't disconnect.

"Just making sure your stitches are holding up." They joke.

"Mhm." You lean in and place kisses to their scarred lips.

Their arms wrap around your midsection. Sometimes their hands stray and grab your hips. They can never get enough of that.

They softly nudge against your shorts, desperately wanting access to what lays underneath. With your permission, their fingers pull the fabric to the side and let their curse slide further into you.

They are wrapped around every sensitive area they can reach. More tentacles form and glide across your back and disappear underneath the fabric of your shirt.

Every hole you possess is stuffed full of their curse– pulsating with a cold heartbeat, only slightly warmed by the sensation of your electric current. They love feeling you squirm and writhe above them.

They whisper soft praises in ancient Egyptian. "That's it– surrender to it fully, my little lotus."

Moans– whimpers– sighs– whines meshing with harsh kisses complete with tongue slithering deep inside your mouth.

Your fingers dig into their bandages, messing up the carefully wrapped pattern on their undead skin. Their tattoos are slightly glowing– their eyes dark, the pupil bright white, the iris a deep crimson red.

"I feel you gripping down on me. Are you close?" They ask, knowing fully well you could not answer.

Their tendrils increase their onslaught with rugged intensity. They are as deep inside of you as they could possibly go– nudging up against everywhere and anywhere that brought you blissfully close to your end.

After a few minutes you feel yourself fall over the edge so fast that it nearly gives you whiplash. Every tentacle entangled around your body disappears into a thin smoke.

You're left breathless. Their eyes slowly return to normal. They reach up to pet your hair as you come back down from your high.

"Mm– I need to clean up real quick." They blush.

Ah. So that was the warmth you felt against your stomach. Of course it was.

They delicately shift you next to them on the bed and rush off to rewrap themself– but not before tucking you in to the cotton blanket, planting a kiss to your tired face.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Three of the newest demons came from African folklores but those three aren’t who I want requested, but an older and neglected one, Holawaka, could you do this one?

Holawaka - Day 39 (Request)

Race: Flight

Alignment: Neutral-Law

May 15th, 2024

African mythologies are painfully underrepresented in the SMT series, as they are in many other circles despite how fascinating they can be. I'm unsure as to if this has anything to do with just how relatively obscure they are compared to the most popular of their group, ancient Egyptian, or unconscious racism, but regardless they're never really given the spotlight like so many other mythologies are. In spite of this, though, the few bits of representation the other African mythologies get throughout the series paint wonderful and enticing pictures to inspire further research, and one of the most standout and interesting demons in this light is the messenger bird of the Oromo people, Holawaka.

The stories of the Oromo people of Ethiopia and Kenya are incredibly varied and also incredibly fragmented, as they were, at first, a nomadic group. Later on, they would go on to conquer the Gibe regions and create sprawling kingdoms, but a good amount of their mythology originates from their nomadic origins, leading to a wild goose chase to even find several of their stories. What we're focused on now, though, is not a history lesson about the Oromo- no, we're zooming in on one specific myth with a lot of influence. The myth of Holawaka. This tale starts simply with a description of a simple bird, but soon expands into a study on human mortality, snakes, and some other stuff too.

Holawaka was once a simple bird given a divine rite as a messenger for the gods- they gave it a message to deliver, one giving humanity the potential of immortality, through the shedding of skins to achieve rejuvenation. Taking this information to the Oromo people, Holawaka was dedicated to its cause in spite of its growing hunger... until it came across a snake devouring a carcass. Swooping down, Holawaka began to wish to partake in that snack, and eventually asked the snake to have a piece, who decided to do a bit of trolling and proposed a trade to the clueless, hungry bird. It had to tell it about what it was carrying. Seeing no real issue with this trade in return for some much needed food, it offered the idea given about humanity, that they could achieve eternal life through shedding their skin... inadvertently giving the snake that same idea and letting him effectively retcon it into only applying to snakes.

As punishment for this and for dooming humanity to a forever mortal existence, the gods were furious and decided to take drastic action against Holawaka, cursing it to an eternal life of torment by inflicting a terrible disease upon it. It's not really described what this disease was, though, but it apparently caused the poor bird to cry out in pain for all eternity, so it was probably a bit drastic. This is, unfortunately, where the tale of Holawaka ends, left as a diseased and dying bird, but his legacy still continues on in the form of slight influencing throughout history and other mythologies.

As unfortunate as this story is, it helps give us a greater insight both into the mythology and lives of the Oromo people as well as into YET! ANOTHER! MYTHOLOGY BIRD!!! Now, how is it portrayed in the series? Interestingly. Holawaka has no real portrayals or depictions in physical appearance- the closest we truly have is simply depictions of a rainbow-feathered bird, but given the relative obscurity of this myth (and Ethiopian mythology as a whole) it's hard to find much to go off of regarding this bird. Hilariously, this leads to most retellings of this story actually referencing the SMT art of the bird, taking it as a typical artistic depiction of it instead of being an SMT demon. I think that goes to show just how fantastic the design is, though- while a bit on the more orientalist side, I find the uniqueness of the design more than enough to make up for that, especially given how early in the series it first appeared. Besides, it's also nice to see an SMT character who has realistically black features that don't fall into caricature. Of course, as a white girl myself, I can't really comment much on its depiction, but needless to say I enjoy the design quite a bit and wish it'd return in one form or another.

Overall, the recent revelations of SMT V:engeance having African demons again has let me reminisce on one of the earlier depictions of African mythology in the series that doesn't just originate from the ancient Egyptians. Like, come on, there are other African mythologies to pull from! Have a little creativity! Where's my Anansi demon?! I know he originates from Akan folktales, but dammit, lemme see my spider boy! Joking aside, this demon is incredibly unique and I love how they're leaning right back into African myth for Vengeance.

[optimisticlucio]

Growing up Jewish means that, among other things, you get used to a passive but everpresent dread that the rest of the world will eventually want to see you dead. Passover is about that one time the Egyptians enslaved all of the Jews, and despite trying to kill us, we survived. Purim is about that one time a Persian minister tried to have us all killed, but we survived. Hannukah is about the time the Greeks destroyed our holy sites and tried to have us all killed, but we survived. Tisha Be'Av. Holocaust Remembrance Day. Tzom Gedalia. It's gotten to a point where we commonly joke about how 90% of our holidays are just "they tried to kill us, they didn't, let's eat."

If it was merely historical, that'd be one thing, but this sort of fear is far from merely being a story passed down by your elders. My great grandma's entire family was burned alive in the Pogroms. My uncles were beat up for speaking up about antisemitism. My brother was bullied relentlessly in school for being circumcised. "Generational Trauma" is the correct term to define this, but I do think it's important to highlight how every generation re-experienced this trauma. Luckily, I haven't experienced this sort of violence yet beyond some dickheads online, but I don't believe this'll stay the case for much longer.

I want to be clear that despite this all, I'm not pessimistic about my future as a Jew or of the Jewish People as a whole; I'm a hopeless idealist, whether it's about individual life choices or about broader political change in general. We've made it this far, I don't think we'll be taken out that easily, and we can certainly build a better world without having to hide in a gilded cage of our own making. But holy shit, have I heard some concerning things from people recently.

Antisemitism is no longer the Cain's Mark it used to be. Saying this I now realize that it never was this sort of mark it was made out to be, but atleast while I was growing up, it felt like it was atleast socially unacceptable to be openly against the Jews. In the past few years I've had to come to terms with the fact that even if this was the case, it very much no longer is, and the past few months had this process exacerbate significantly.

You guys have heard about the Houthis, right? Paramilitary organization in Yemen, not the official government but controls enough of the country that they function as the government, been blocking trade through the Red Sea as of the time of posting? Those guys. Their logo has "A Curse Upon the Jews" written in big red letters. There is no other way to read that sentence, it is very explicit. Seeing people cheering for this group openly on social media made me somewhat uneasy, both for the... well, the antisemitism, and also that this group is infamous for its blatant human rights violations, including but not limited to bringing back chattel slavery. So, I brought this up to people.

I was expecting some sort of shock, right? Even if they fundamentally believe blocking the red sea is good, that they'd readjust their position on the group itself. "I think it's a cool thing to do, but wow what assholes." I shouldn't have to explain why antisemitic slave owners are bad guys, right?

Right??

The sheer amount of people who responded with one justification or another for why it's actually totally fine blew my fucking mind. "Oh, it's not actually slavery, they're treated very well." "Well, they don't really mean they hate the Jews." "It's just a different cultural form of labor!" "Well, when you have a country like Israel oppressing your people-"

Yeah I think I should probably address the elephant in the room real quick. Israel, and its fascist-adjacent government, has nothing of relevance when someone brings up the issue of worldwide antisemitism. Antisemitism has been thriving for years now. If you open a map Yemen is nowhere near Israel. There's certainly a conversation to have about Israel's abhorrent treatment of palestineans in the west bank and gaza, no doubt, but, frankly speaking, that's not the goddamn conversation we're having right now, and I feel the need to specify this because I've had multiple people derail such conversations consistently. If your first response to someone talking about antisemitism is to bring up Israel, for the love of god reexamine your biases.

Antisemitism has been growing, a lot, and we're scared. According to polls, 7% of the US thinks that the holocaust did not happen, with these numbers increasing to 20% if you sort the results to only the 18-29 age group and 9% of Americans think it's acceptable to hold neo-nazi views. Trust me, I wish these numbers were flukes, but I have seen these same numbers in multiple polls by numerous sources in the past 5 years.

7% of the US is about 23.2 million people.

There are only 16.2 million Jews in the entire world.

You, do not, have to justify antisemitism, I fucking promise you.

[kemetic-dreams]

Conner has done a great job of explaining how and why Jesus apeared to be a sorcerer or magician, as well as shedding light on one of the major reasons the Pharisees were perecuting him. Having spent time in Egypt, land of Egyptian Magick, where he also met Mary Magdalene, a Temple Priestess in the huge Alexandrian church (run by John the Baptist no less), he returned to his homeland (after spending 20 years in Egypt) where he had learned some basic tricks of the Magicians there. Jesus was not a sorcerer per se, it is just that the way he did his miracles looked like the way the Egyptian Magicians did it -- spitting (twice according to Mark) to give the blind man sight -- would not The God just speak the healing, or touch the man's forehead... why spit in the dirt? This is all better explored and exapanded on in Hegland's book Anunnakki Endgame III which goes into the backstpry of Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, Paul and the creation of the New Testament (NT). Hegland also shares that he had the advantage of a Jewish Rabbi to explain scenarios in the NT and the Wedding at Cana is a real surprise. Key to the whole overall backstory is what the Piso Family in Rome was up to, and unfortunately Conner is not (yet) aware of that side of the story, but Hegland exposes it and connects the dots. You really need both Connor's and Hegland's books to get the whole picture... one expands the other.

‘Jesus the Sorcerer’ gets a ‘5’ just for putting ‘Jesus’ and ‘Sorcerer’ in the same sentence and title while being one of the very, very few to step into the huge footprints of Morton Smith (‘Jesus the Magician’). Conner doesn’t just repeat Morton’s focus on the pagan and Jewish witness of Jesus but rather does a better job on all the contemporary historical-critical issues of the New Testament ( a la Bart Ehrman) as well as a more complete comparison with the Greek magical papayri. Conner even extends his analysis to Paul who he dismisses as “concerned only with convincing”, Clement of Alexandria and Origen who admitted to keeping secrets, and early church theologians who were busy cursing their opponents (in good Egyptian magical tradition).

The book also gets a ‘5’ for its comprehensive and insightful Greek scholarship. The Jewish trial accusations against Jesus of “deceiver” and “imposter” are easily decoded as “sorcerer” as well as the accusation in Luke of “perverting our people”. The Spirit descending “on” Jesus like a dove is re-written in Matthew and Luke as “upon” so as to not give the impression Jesus is channeling or being ‘adopted’ at that point. Conner explains insightfully that the ‘Beloved Disciple’ who is “lying against Jesus” often translated in his “bosom” actually can refer to being in his “lap”.

Conner also gets a ‘5’ for his superb scholarship. His footnotes are as long as his chapters, however his chapters are mercifully short. He easily makes the overall point that there is virtually no difference between magic (which he succinctly defines as ‘religion that works’) and Christian prayer, exorcism, miracles, casting lots for the replacement of Judas, and using ‘black magic’ against their opponents. He notes that Luke screwed up using the “finger of God” phrase since it goes back to magical papyri and sorcerer opponents of Moses. Magical techniques Jesus used most often referenced in Mark are using spit, groaning, looking up to the sky, using special words of power, and dramatics. He insightfully recognizes that the power of Jesus was magical in that it had no moral or personal quality to it since it adhered to his very clothing—and, later the same idea transferred into the veneration of relics. He also perceives that Paul really had an adoptionist theology. Jesus was “appointed” son of God at the Resurrection using several quotes from Romans and Acts.

Conner even ventures into the area of Secret Mark and makes a great case that its depiction of Lazarus being roused out of the tomb and spending the next six days with Jesus in the home of Lazarus before a secret initiation was the original Mark with the current versions in Mark and the Gospel of John being the cover-up. Conner also makes a decent argument that Lazarus is the ‘Beloved Disciple’ of John but does not convince me since the same circumstantial argument could be made for Mary Magdalene who he unfairly consigns to the second century rumor bin.

The book is a worthy companion to ‘Jesus the Magician’ but its biggest failing is taking modern scholarship too seriously in portraying Jesus as a failed end times prophet and keeping Gnosticism at arms-length in the second century. Paul was actually the end-times prophet and his Herodian family and friends who penned the four Roman gospels followed his lead. Jesus was actually a mystery school teacher who taught soul travel as one can see clearly from the Dialogue of the Savior that scholars agree is first century material. The Gospel of Thomas is obviously a crypto-gnostic work of the first century as well since the Gospel of John was so clearly written to counteract it by embarrassing Thomas, saying that you can’t follow Jesus in soul travel, and that all one has to do is believe in the new Logos theology. A 2014 book called ‘The Lost Gospel’ also does a scholarly job of fixing the allegory of ‘Joseph and Asenath’ in the first century as a Jewish-Christian gnostic work about Jesus and Mary Magdalene. All these issues are covered in my book of 2013 on Amazon called ‘The Samaritan Jesus’.

[clockworkprism]

Random headcanon: Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo are gods in human form that forgot they're gods due to a curse. Think about it, they're supernaturally lucky. It's commented on by other characters multiple times. They're also just ridiculously badass fighters, taking on 4 to 1 or 6 to 1 fights like it's nothing. The only time they lose? In Egypt far from where their power lies. Vorenus refers to the gods of Egypt as old and powerful, implying gods have geographical limitations and in Egypt it's the Egyptian gods that hold sway. Granted they do maintain much of their strength, but they are weakened just enough that Lucius suffers a mortal wound.

Question is, which gods? I go back and forth on this. Jupiter and Mercury feature together in many stories posing as mortals, and I could see that working. So one possibility, Titus is Jupiter because he's bigger, more prone to womanizing, and not that clever. Kind of how I picture a human form Jupiter. Also, Gaia in this case could be Juno, more on that later. Lucius as Mercury doesn't work as well though. So my thinking, he's Pluto. He calls himself a son of Hades (which does sound way better than son of Pluto so I'll give the writers a pass on that one), and he's very stern which fits more with Pluto than anyone else. I don't think Niobe is Persephone though, I think she's just a mortal woman. He also curses his children to Hades and the curse works, implying he can actually summon the underworld. I think Jupiter decided to take his brother out of the underworld for a quick holiday, which then got side tracked.

This is why Titus's back story is just some random legionary with no father, while Vorenus has a full back story. Jupiter thought it was a month or two and done, so he didn't prep. But Pluto always prepares. Vorenus was probably a real legionary who died. In fact, Niobe is told that Verenus died, and that they don't make mistakes. Pluto probably met Vorenus in the underworld and asked him about his life to fill in his cover story. Vorenus either agreed because he is a devout believer or because Pluto granted some boon in return.

On to why they don't know they're human. Because Juno thought that this was yet another cheating spree by Jupiter, she decides to place a curse that Jupiter and anyone who joined him next time would forget they're gods until their natural deaths. But then Titus happens to fall in love with a mortal, again, so Juno goes down to mess with him as Gaia. Then Jupiter is about to father another bastard who will probably cause all kinds of problems. So Gaia tries to kill the child in the womb, but killing a demi god accidentally kills the mortal bearing the child, something that Juno feels very guilty about. She allows herself to die and go back to Olympus, but first she makes sure that Jupiter doesn't feel guilty because she thinks that's going too far (they have a .... complicated marriage).

[allieebobo]

While I am salty abt Rayyan’s lack of faith in our MC, I am also absolutely endeared by their consistent dedication to tennis and being the best ❤️ Their passion for the sport is definitely one of the reasons I’m attracted to them, and same goes for my MC. Their reaction to the doubles pairing is upsetting, but if you were aiming to make these characters feel real and authentic, then you nailed it! I’m happy Rayyan doesn’t change or give up their passion for the sport just because they’re starting to gain feelings for the new freshie. Tennis is their first love, not anyone else 😆 Rest assured though that my MC will still try to make them eat their words 😉

Ahh I'm glad Rayyan's response is something folks are thinking about and enjoying(?) To summarise, I think Rayyan has this almost obsessive fixation on tennis because they know how good they can be, and a lot of their self-worth is derived from that, for better or for worse. To the second anon, you're absolutely right in that this gives them a "standing at the edge of a cliff" feel to their frenetic, almost all-consuming passion/ambition.

Very long answer below hahaha :p do I psychanalyse all of my characters? Unfortunately... yes 🤣🤣 it's a blessing and a curse 😂

Tldr; Tobin and Rayyan have grown up with different family backgrounds and different experiences of being "othered", and this informs the way they react to big events.

Rayyan's family, as one of the only Egyptian (and Muslim) families in their neighbourhoods, are inevitably more isolated and insular--their family does their best to cling on to their traditions and religious beliefs and history, but this doesn't always help with assimilating to a new country. Rayyan has always felt alone, different, and have grown up learning to be independent, often with the mindset of taking on adversity alone. Hence their instinctive response to MC, and their dislike for doubles.

Being born into an immigrant family, Rayyan has also always felt as though they've had to prove themselves twice over: first to the outside world, then to their family--especially their father and grandmother who want nothing more than to see their child/grandchild succeed. Rayyan, as the oldest of the youngest generation, bears the responsibility of being the family's 'proof' of successful assimilation into America in some ways.

Rayyan is consumed by the need to do well at tennis and at school because it is tied not just to their own self-worth, but also their family's, by extension. So, they've always found it hard to accept anything less than perfect from themselves--there's just too much riding on them for them to "fail".

Tobin, in this IF, is a foil to Rayyan in that they deal with similar, but very different pressures of being a black athlete, but they respond in a very different way. Rayyan tends to focus on one thing and one thing alone: winning - the classic "I let my tennis do the talking". Tobin, on the other hand, has always prioritized people, over anything else.

Tobin's parents have always been very active and plugged into the African-American community where they live, and so Tobin has always felt like they belong squarely in the world they inhabit, unlike Rayyan. Tobin's parents are also big proponents of solidarity and kindness, so Tobin's stance has always been: the world's fucked up, but we're all in this fucked up world together.

Then there's also the dimension of their personality. Rayyan is hot-headed, almost brash, and they're also proud, fiercely independent, and distrustful of anyone not in their inner circle. On the other hand, by virtue of their charisma and more lighthearted demeanor, Tobin has always commanded/attracted/built their own "tribe". They're also far calmer and more laid-back than Rayyan, and their responses are always measured, thoughtful, and almost slow to act/anger--there's a con here too though, they often end up losing their own gut reaction in the midst of all that careful deliberation, not just of their own feelings, but everyone else's.

So in conclusion, CT:OS will always have its characters at the heart of it, and I've tried my best to give these characters rich and unique experiences and histories and ways of relating to the world.

That's not to say these characters aren't contradictory at times, and they will evolve through the course of the IF--MC will even have a big part to play in that, through their actions and words and the way they choose to interact with the characters.

As another ask mentioned, now that the characters are more fleshed out, I'm hoping a lot more of these dynamics can come into play! :) (oh dear, that got very long!)

[fallindomino]

read some posts abt the new pjo book which ofc got me thinking abt smth completely different ahshdjdj

say what u want abt uncle rick but he’s never written the same romance twice. like think abt it:

slow burn rivals to friends to lovers who kinda go crazy when the other is taken / goes missing and it develops to the point where the boy would rather fall into the deepest pit of hell (and do quests to ask gods for rec letters for college) than be without her (iconic, showstopping, never the same, absolutely one of a kind)

guy falls in love with girl only to find out he fell in love with an enchanted pottery version of her, which promptly is destroyed. upon finding the real her, she hates him before she begrudgingly begins to like him and then they get tgt at the end of the series.

girl likes guy, except due to his bloodline he’s cursed to die within a few months but she kinda wants to be tgt anyways. but wait! at the same time she also has a crush on this 4000 year old egyptian god bc his human form is cute (a form only she can see btw). she’s torn between them until in the last book they merge into one person??? and she starts dating him/them/idek???

amnesiac boy wakes up on a bus next to his girlfriend, only to find out later that a goddess implanted memories of them dating into both of their heads and they actually don’t know each other at all. over the course of a quest they develop some real feelings and decide to keep their relationship going. i think they break up later but i stopped reading the books before then so

boy and genderfluid person meet in the afterlife and trade snarky banter until eventually he accidentally confesses by using the power of his crush to shrink a god to the size of a perfume bottle

boy develops crush on girl who everyone else is wary of / doesn’t like bc she is the daughter of the god of the underworld. eventually he finds out that she died like 80 years ago and her brother brought her back to life bc the god of death was chained but he accepts her past and likes her no matter what.

boy is magically transported to the cursed island of a millennia old titaness who was promised freedom and is bitter that she never received it (although it’s theorized that she was granted it but all the gods forgot to tell her) and while he’s trying to get off the island they fall in love and he gets back to her by faking his death and using a magic compass to get him back to the island and gets her off of it. i think they also break up at one point but i again i stopped reading the books by then so

sunshine healer boy encounters emo death boy being all emo and pushing people away and goes fuck that and gets close to him and all the while the emo boy is like “a person likes me ??? for who i am??? sounds fake” and then they eventually start dating

[juniorcaptain]

I’m kind of surprised there hasn’t been a prequel to The Mummy based on the Carnahan parents?

Evelyn said that her father was a “very, very famous explorer” and that her Egyptian mother was “quite an adventurer herself”? The Carnahans were the biggest contributors to the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. They would’ve had to recover a lot of artifacts to earn that distinction.

A prequel could focus on just the archeological side of things since Evy and Jonathan didn’t grow up believing in curses being real. Just pure history and adventure.