#specifically one god and his name is Scarab

[scarletlight-has-issues]

Cursed joke Scarab drawing request from my algebra teacher. (I love him)

[enddaysengine]

Yamaraj (Psychopomp, Paths Beyond)

Paizo loves to draw on real-world myth and religion to flesh out the Age of Lost Omens and these psychopomps are no exception. Yamaraj is one of the names of the Hindu God of Death, who also shows up in many, many other Asian religions and mythologies. While Yamarajes are largely created whole-cloth for Pathfinder as best as I can tell, they share their role as the afterlife's supreme judges with their namesake. 

When dealing with psychopomps in general, and yamarajes specifically, it’s critical to remember that, while they have hierarchies, these are not devils. The bureaucracy of the Boneyard is considerably more laissez-faire than that of Hell. Psychopomps follow their hierarchy because if they don’t someone further up, the chain of command might bury them under so much busy work they’d wish they could die. A psychopomp may all be the spirit of the law one day, then the letter of the law of the next, simply because it is convenient. If it gets them the results they believed to be correct, they may not have any qualms about breaking the law entirely.  

All this means the yamarajes get a high degree of latitude to deal with problems as they see fit. They are the penultimate step on the org chart, second only to the Ushers and the gods themselves. They are smart, cunning, corvid-dragons of death who heal from lightning and have the scarab swarms from The Mummy ‘99 as their breath attack. You try telling them they’re doing their job wrong. It can be tough to find inspiration for outsiders acting this way, but luckily one series does exist. Daily Bestiary recommended Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom to me a while back and while it’s not a perfect fit for psychopomps (he suggested it re: rilmani), the denizens of the House are a good starting point for getting in the mindset of neutral outsiders.  

Rajit the Wayward stubbornly insists that he is not, although the nickname has stuck amongst mortals and his erstwhile colleagues. The yamaraj hasn’t set foot in the Boneyard for nearly 3000 years, proclaiming to anyone who will listen that she has merely taken a short sabbatical and will return to his courtroom soon enough. Even his fellow immortals are skeptical, but Pharasma has made no move to censure him, so the other Yamarajes put up with his truancy. Meanwhile, Rajit serves as one of the few points of stability within the First World realm of Nighthold, dispensing legal advice to those in need. Rajit is just as curious about the fey as they are about the psychopomp, which helps him endure both their shenanigans and treachery. He is one of the easier psychopomps for mortals to approach — if they can make it through the remnants of Count Ranalc’s kingdom.  

Like any body of water in the Universe, the River of Souls has its own weather. Shah Jamshid rules over the largest of these storms, riding it up and down the River as he incinerates soul thieves with lightning bolts. The yamaraj's storm doesn't usually disturb the departed, but every few years he must recruit adventurous to track down souls who get blown stray. While irritating, Jamshid justifies these minor interruptions to the River's flow as the price for ensuring daemons and powerful undead don't do worse damage. 

Lucius Census-Taker has always been fascinated by swarms. He revels in his breath attack and spends his downtime as an amateur entomologist. Not that he has much downtime - Lucius has taken it upon himself to process the souls slain in the final battles with the closure of the Worldwound. His fascination with all things swarm extends to the dead demon lord Deskari. Lucius is an invaluable resource for parties seeking information on the fallen demigod, but between the bureaucracy of the Boneyard and his dangerous sojourns into the Outer Rifts, he is hard to track down.

[incorrectringsofpower]

Season 2 First 3 episodes thoughts (spoilers below the cut, DO NOT click the cut if you do not want to be spoiled!)

Episode 1

The dimples are a bit disarming ngl.

The chorals Bear added are interesting. Someone translate them please and thank you.

Ewwwww bug!Sauron nope nope nope.

Why hallo there handsome asshole :D

What's in the pouuuuch? (I don't think we're ever gonna find out tbh)

O shit are these the raft redshirts? Oh nooo.

I support horse girl rights and wrongs.

Mooom, Galadriel is a lying liar who lies.

Gil-galad looks so done lmfao. "Great-auntie whyyyy."

Elrond about to pull an Elwing.

I want to see my little boy (Isildur). (Where is heeeee?)

Hello Glüg, you SDCC photo gem.

Ah Waldreg you fucker. Guess you figured out between seasons that he ain't Sauron.

Lmao not Sauron pulling a Moses on Adar. Wtf are you doing buddy?

Nori my beloved

Wow The Stranger has so much vocabulary now. I still think he swallowed a Harfoot dictionary.

Ok additional Harfoot food note: Beetles (scarab beetles?)

Oh yeah some fic writers are reaaaaally gonna enjoy the scenes of Halron chained and collared. Here comes another fic deluge!

Sauron, don't you remember what happened with Huan in the FA?

BEN DANIELS TIME LET'S GOOOOO.

RIP to this random elf messenger bc I don't think he's gonna make it.

Ben Daniels has the raaaaange.

Eärendil mentionnnn. And Beleriand mention! I wonder why the Mariana Trench option wasn't considered in the TA. Update: Ok nvm Círdan will answer that for us.

Poppy! Hopefully the others can still travel without the maps she took.

The music is so prettyyyy.

"Your people have been set free." #doubt (show me the proof! also why did Sauron want that? He needed slaves to work the fields in Mordor, right?)

Ah Waldreg did die in the exact episode we predicted.

More elf nuns!

Elf costumes! I need an analysis post!

Lmao Elrond's face. "Grunkle Círdan, you betrayed meeee!"

Galadriel: How 'bout I do anyway?

Elrond: Thanks I hate it.

Galadriel: Please don't jump off waterfalls again.

Mirdania! Aw shit Halron got there before the nameless doomed Lindon elf.

Ominous ending music, Bear.

Episode 2

DWARVES MY BELOVED

I love the terrace farming so much.

Dwarf food note: Mole-tail stew, Large mushroom (chanterelle-like) that is very valuable, smaller mushrooms, gourds!

ilu Disa

This scene was exactly what I needed for dwarves and dwarvish food reasons.

Oh shit not my dwarves :(((

Alfirin seeds!

Ooh creepy!

New elf characters! Do they have names? Please give them names!

"Crush two spiders with one boot." Ooh I hate the foreshadowing of that metaphor. Hates it, hates it.

More foreshadowiiiing.

Mirror of Galadriel foreshadowing specifically!

Eregion is so beautiful and majestic (thanks, Season 2 budget!). Sure do hope nothing bad happens to it! (sobbing)

Yup, RIP Lindon messenger elves.

I looove this music.

Skeletor! (By the power of Grayskull!)

Ooh cultists.

The Dweller is back!

"curse upon our flesh" wut

I have a bad feeling about this. (Wait, wrong fandom)

Where is Narviiii.

Do Disa's friends have naaames? Wait x-ray actually was helpful for once. Rachel Payne as Brenna and Laura Jane Matthewson as Revna! I'm so happy she has named friends who even gossip!

Hi Narvi!

King Durin: But do I still have grandparent's rights?

"Stubborn as a root-bound parsnip!" Hah.

Oh my god he's working on ships. I love that so much.

Ooh shit a flashback to the woods scene from Udûn.

Why are you shaving, sir? Sir.

Ahhhh poetry mentions from the FA! How nerdy.

The bell seems bad.

Eye of Sauron?

Uh-oh. Is this how he learns how squishy hobbits are on adventures?

Ooh he's developing door ideas. Fun!

I get the feeling Mirdania ain't gonna last the season, either.

Fuuuck tower foreshadowing.

Ooh elf umbrella!

Oh you little weasel!

"I'm going to open a First Age bottle." Love that detail.

"Are you my friend?" Hoo boi.

Ominous thunderclap. Ooooh.

Is he gonna larp as an Istar? Lmao.

"Soon every realm will fall." Because of you, asshole!

Title drop!

Wow. Okay. Playing on his insecurities and also calling him the "Lord of the Rings". Overdoing it a bit much there, Ronnie?

"I am your partner." screech

Pope-galad says you need babysitter, Gal. I'm sure this will go splendidly!

Episode 3

Bronwyn ;_;

Berek best boi my beloved

Sad Elendil and Valandil :(((

YESSS OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING. EVERYONE STAY CALM. IT'S HAPPENING!

ISILDUR SAVE YOUR HORSE FOR THE LOVE OF ERU.

Pls don't kill Berek. I couldn't stand it 😭

ISILDUR BEST HORSE GIRL

THEY'D BOTH BETTER LIVE OR SO HELP ME

FUCKING RUN ISILDUR FFS

(GOD I HATE LARGE FANTASY SPIDERS AND THIS IS WHY)

Ooh the shells funerary detail!

Eärien girrrrl your evil phase alarms me.

This ship is so saddd :(

More ominous tower shit.

Pharazôn, you weasel 2.0.

Fucking foreshadowiiiing.

Valandil my beloved! Oooh tension with Kemen.

A baby orc! Fascinating!

Damrod has arrived!

More title dropping!

"--a friend." The emphasis was so funny.

Durin is suspicious. Love it.

Celebrimbor: Well if I start a Catholic schism then so be it.

It is your moment, Holly-boy, but also your doom. You're being Anakined into Vader by Palpannatar.

Isildur has discovered the DnD means of equipment acquisition.

Noooo more dead horsies :(

Estrid :D (please don't be evil)

Lmao at least he knows proper wound procedures lol.

DO NOT HURT BEREK

Potato food spotted!

ARONDIR YASSS

THEY STOLE BEREK NOOOOO

Arondir sir you are low on arrows.

Arondir ;_;

Bronwyn :(((( fuck I'm so sad about this

I will never recover from the Aronwyn ship, I fear :(

Theo, buddy, need someone to talk to?

Sad version of Aronwyn theme nooooo :(

Really not liking how much King Durin's crown sorta resembles Sauron's this season.

Theo taking over his mother's skills :(

Yup, poisoned orc arrow theory confirmed.

Stepparenting with foreshadowing for Numenor, delightfulll.

Please don't be foreshadowing.

Who is his dad? Oh no hurtful, Theo. Buddy :(

My Garden Fam is broken and I'm deeply unwell about it.

Theo-Isildur friendship time?

BEREK HEIST BEREK HEIST

Isildur really is so relieved to be alive and not eaten by spiders that he's gone friend mode. How very like his Grunkle Elrond!

Oh no Isildur mom backstory :(

Don't cry Isildur and Theo bc then I'm gonna cry ;;_;;

Also now this is a narrative parallel!

Ah good gift discussion next to the word "precious" is throwing my brain. Oh lordy.

Please don't be evil, Estrid! I'm already suffering without Bronwyn and both Disa and Míriel are doomed af.

Theo wtf are you doing?

ENTS.

No don't lose the sword Galadriel gave you!

Míriel in white, Elendil in blue and gold, Pharazôn in red. Totally Kate Hawley doing some fascinating storytelling here.

Oh no my quote about Elendil and his daughter in a courtroom is suddenly very apt. Oh dear.

What did Elendil see?

Huh the unrest happened sooner than I thought.

EAGLE TIME LET'S GOOOO!

Eagle: Y'all are gonna die!

Elendil: Top 10 anime betrayals and by my own daughter. Wtf.

Annatar gets his own cute lil forging outfit :D

More symbolism!

Oh god what a way to end the first 3 episodes. Send help.

[story-weavr]

A Study in Astrology:

Arising from its ability to indicate the seasons and their respective natural activities, astrology has played a massive part in human cultures.

The importance of them even goes as far as to indicate what a person is like when they are born.

Rather than the stars being determinators of a person’s character, I believe astrology is a tool that God gave us to be more introspective of ourselves.

To honestly look inside ourselves and see who we truly are and what we need, whether it’s to enhance our strengths or address our flaws.

Below is how I interpret the planets and the stars. I highly encourage the reader to use this as a tool for their own interpretation of or investigation into astrology.

Planets:

I am only considering those planets that would have been visible to the naked eye as they would be the ones that would indicate events. I will also include which Babylonian god rules them.

The first three are what is considered the inner world of a human

Sun ☀️ _the ego, consciousness _ Shamash

Moon 🌙 _ Emotion, unconsciousness _ Sin or Selardi

Rising/ Ascendant/ 1st House ⭐️ _ expression _ as it the constellation that is rising from the horizon at one’s birth

The following are how one interacts with the world

Mercury ✍️ _ communication, logic _ Nabu

Venus ♥️_ expression of love _ Ishtar

Mars 🔥 _ passion, drive_ Nergal

The next two planets are both about growth as indicated by their brightness & must always be considered together.

Jupiter 💼_ ambition, “to reach” _ Marduk

Saturn 🧙‍♂️_ wisdom, experience_ Ninurta

Descendant/7th House/House of Balance_ the shadow self, the part of a person one doesn’t realize that they have_ the star sign which setting on the horizon at the time of one’s birth

Stars

Each constellation and their symbols are tired very closely with the mythology of different ancient cultures: Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek just to name a few.

They will be listed according the Babylonian New Year, which began in March-April

Aries ♈️ _ Babylon_ Agrarian worker -> ram due to association with Dumuzid, god shepherds & agriculture, 1st husband of Inanna, -> Canaanite = Adon -> Greek Adonis

Dumuzid spends half the year in the underworld and the other half above with his wife -> his yearly death brings hot dry summers

Egypt_ Amun-Ra = ram, fertility, creativity; Greek _ the ram who saved innocent children; Chinese _ cattle sacrifice, harvest

Bringer of plenty, self-sacrificing, adaptive to changing situations

Taurus ♉️ _ bull, related to “Seven Maidens”; spring equinox;

Heavenly Bull_ Sumerian-Inanna (divine wrath) & Egypt (sacrifice for sake of spring)

if provoked frightening

Gemini ♊️ _ the twins,

Babylon- minor gods guarding doorways or specifically Underworld or representations of major god Nergal, plague and pestilence & King of Underworld (warlike but necessary for protection of the peace)

opposing traits (peace & war, life & death) working in conjunction

Cancer ♋️ _ Greek-Hera’s crab, Egypt-Scarab (immortality/rebirth -Sirius), Babylon- snapping turtle (death, passage to underworld) + Enki,

initiate summer solstice

basically will justifiably bite a bitch; literally what turtle does to get rid of Nergal and summer; shell protects inner soft bits

Leo ♌️ _ lion, Egypt-Sekhmet or Sumer’s Inana

- protection, regality, Sun

- fierce hunter, passion, aggressive

Virgo ♍️ _ female (maiden or mother)

Demeter &numerous Greek maidens

Egypt = beginning of harvest

Babylon-Shala war of grain

Libra ♎️ _ Greek- Scales (Themis-justice); Babylon-claws of scorpion & the balance/ scales (Shamash- Sun, truth, justice)

Scorpio ♏️ _ Babylon = the Scorpion with Libra as its claws = scary guardians, serve higher beings

Sagittarius ♐️ _ centaur firing a bow & arrow

Babylon_ Nergal the chimera-centaur; Sumerian _ Pabilsag, elder/Chief & warrior/hunter; Greek _ centaur or satyr

The cunning intelligence of man and wild instinct of animal

Goal oriented, fierce

Capricorn ♑️ _ sea goat, Babylon- Enki = water+earth, fertility, hope

- stability, creativity

- high expectations, ambitions, standards

- sensitive and emotional;

- wary and kind(nurture in others/ survival)

Aquarius ♒️ _ water carrier, Babylon-Ea or Sumerian-Enki,

flood of water- positive or negative depending on region

Pisces ♓️ _ Greek - 2 fish, Babylon - 2 constellations: “the great swallow”(dove?) & “the lady of heaven” (Inanna?), Egypt - great fish who saved Isis

plentiful bounty _ the sun, wisdom, helpful

I hope this guides you on your journey of introspection, both of yourself and those around you. 🌌 🔮

If you want to find you’re birth chart, use the following site:

[the-stove-is-divorced]

listennnnn

I’ve seen Danny interacting with Batman/Bat-fam and some Danny interacting with young justice but y’all are SLEEPING on Danny and Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) interacting because guys they have the same weird experiences in the most specific way possible. And yes I will be breaking this down (below) because if I am cursed with realizations so will you.

For argument’s sake here, I’ll be using Young Justice version of origin story for Jaime and all the stuff, because it works.

1. FREAK ACCIDENT ORIGIN STORY

The reason, again via Young Justice canon only, Jaime Reyes becomes Blue Beetle is because of a freak accident in Kord labs. There’s an explosion, which means the scarab is free to pick the nearest guy to bond to, and quickly chooses Jaime.

And for Danny, it’s turning on the ghost portal, and having his molecules get all rearranged from the portal turning on with him inside. Already, both of them have been suddenly and forcibly changed physically by a sudden lab accident. Danny? Ghost boy. Jaime? Murderous Armor buddy. And for both, reversing is canonically possible, but very painful.

2. TIME TRAVEL STYLE INTERVENTION BECAUSE YOUR FUTURE SELF IS EVIL AND BASICALLY CAUSES THE APOCALYPSE

I could ramble about both their time travel style intervention for hours but for the sake of clarity I’ll dumb it down to this:

In one timeline Danny cheats on a test, which causes his entire family to die (batshit insane I know but stay with me here), which means he lives with his fellow half-ghost rich uncle, and then decides he doesn’t want to be half ghost anymore and lets the uncle rip out his ghost half. Said ghost half rips out the uncle’s ghost half, fuses, and causes terror, mayhem and destruction. A literal ghost god of time itself intervenes, to stop this from happening.

For Jaime, it’s having a sentient murderous piece of armor that will not be quiet about how much easier it is to blow up a building then work as a team, and then aliens called the Reach come and stay on Earth, said aliens recognize the armor Jaime has it actually the Reaches’, activate the armor so Jaime isn’t in control of his own body, helps the Reach brainwash the planet and cause terror, mayhem and destruction. And human enslavement, that too. A time traveller from said horrible future comes back to stop this from happening.

LITERAL TIME TRAVEL STYLE INTERVENTIONS. I AM NOT JOKING. THESE ARE BOTH CANON.

3. BEING MIND CONTROLLED AND HAVING TO FIGHT YOUR OWN FRIENDS AGAINST YOUR WILL

For Danny, clown named Freakshow uses him to commit crimes! He almost causes on of his friends to die. For Jaime, again, Reach using his body. Again, he could have killed his friends!

FEEL FREE TO ADD ON I’M STILL REELING FROM REALIZING THIS

[blueiscoool]

Mummies With Golden ‘Tongues’ Discovered in Egypt

Archeologists have discovered several ancient mummies in Egypt with gold chips in their mouths where the tongues should be. The new finding was made at a site named Quweisna (sometimes spelled Quesna) necropolis in the central Nile Delta.

The Qwaisana Archaeological Compound, an extension of the archeological compound, was originally discovered by archeologists in 1989. Their theory was that it had been occupied during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, which stretched from about 300 BCE to 640 CE.

Officials at the Egyptian ministry revealed the discoveries in a Facebook post. Mustafa Waziri, head of the country’s Supreme Council for Archaeology, said the mummies were in a poor state of preservation, meaning their secrets were disintegrating with them.

Mummies with golden tongues puzzling

Golden tongued mummies have been unearthed before. Yet, they are still a mystery.

At the Qwaisana Archaeological Compound, three different levels show differing burial rituals. In addition, numerous other bodies were interred across three different time periods in ancient Egypt, which likely explained the difference in the tombs.

Besides the mummies with the golden tongues, some were found that had their bones glazed in thin sheets of gold under the linen wrap. Others had simply been buried near gold-shaped scarabs and small gold lotus flowers.

Evidently, the flowers are said to have symbolized creation and rebirth in ancient Egypt, while the scarabs could probably ensure elements in a mummy were consumed to be then reborn.

Mythological tokens to the afterlife

In 2021, excavators uncovered a skull with a tongue-shaped ornament framed in its yawning mouth at a 2,000-year-old temple, Taposiris Magna, in western Alexandria, Egypt.

Three more mummies that were a man, woman, and child dating back more than 2,500 years were also found with golden tongues at the end of 2021.

The mouth of the deceased was opened in preparation for the afterlife during embalming, during which the tongue was removed and replaced with the gold object.

This was a common practice, and it is believed that the gold tongue was for the dead to ask Osiris to show mercy on their souls, and, therefore, no music or sound was made.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities suspected that the gold had been placed there long ago by embalmers to ensure the dead could navigate the afterlife.

In contrast, archeological researchers believe that the tongues, flowers, and scarabs meant the soul’s transformation after it successfully negotiated a stay in the afterlife with the lord and judge Osiris.

Gold ornaments meant eternity

Life in Ancient Egypt is clearly still a mystery and more research needs to be done related to rituals like this one. Otherwise, without more evidence, all we can do is speculate.

Gold, popular for making ornaments for funerary rites in Ancient Egypt, was believed to be the flesh of the gods, specifically the skin of the Sun god, Ra.

Ra himself was not only considered the creator of everything but was also the leader of all the ancient Egyptian gods.

He was also closely connected to Osiris. They represented the sunlit portion of the day whilst Osiris represented the hours of darkness.

For that reason, the golden tongue could have represented a line to the light even in the cold darkness of the underworld ruled by Osiris.

Osiris, god of the afterlife

Osiris was the god of the afterlife in Ancient Egypt and lived among the dead in the underworld known as Hades in Greek mythology, sometimes referred to as ‘the Silent Land.’

He is believed to have been killed and hacked into pieces that were spread across Egypt. Isis, who was his wife and sister, gathered all the pieces and resurrected him, however.

Osiris himself was called ‘the Lord of Silence,’ as he enforced speechlessness on those held there. This explains why silence was required during funerary arrangements, according to Egyptian mythology.

By Jacquie Namugerwa.

[templeofoccultpractices]

Atum

Other names:Atem, Tem

Major cult center:Heliopolis

Consort:Atumet, Iusaaset or Nebethetepet, IwsaAst

Children:Shu and Tefnut in some accounts became Nefertum. Depicted with the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt sometimes with a sore disk or the head of a ram.

Symbols:Evening sun,setting sun, Sun, Snake basking in the sun, Scarab, Lizards, Ished tree, Rams, Mer-Wer/mnevis black bull either he solar disk on it's head, Lions, Ichneumon mongoose, Eels

connection to the gods:Montu, Ra, Hapu

Hybrid gods:Khepri-Atum, Ra-Atum

Celebrations:Wpt-rnpt New years

Roles:Evening sun,solar deity. Closer of the day.Was considered to be the first god, having created himself on a mount of earth that rose from the water of Nun. He slit out Shu and Tefnut from his mouth. Symbolizes the setting suns journey into the underworld and its rising in the East.

Features:Was born from the waters of Nu from the blue lotus bud. When the petal opened it revealed the beetle Kheperi. Then he turned to a weeping boy

Atum sometimes referred to as Atem or Tem, is an important deity in Egyptian mythology.

In the Heliopolitan creation myth, Atum was considered to be the first god, having created himself, sitting on a mound (benben) (or identified with the mound itself), from the primordial waters (Nu).Early myths state that Atum created the god Shu and goddess Tefnut by spitting them out of his mouth. One text debates that Atum did not create Shu and Tefnut by spitting them out of his mouth by means of saliva and semen, but rather by Atum's lips. Another writing describes Shu and Tefnut being birthed by Atum's hand. That same writing states that Atum's hand is the title of the god's wife based on her Heliopolitan beginning. Other myths state Atum created by masturbation, with the hand he used in this act representing the female principle inherent within him. Yet other interpretations state that he has made union with his shadow.

Aspect of Ra

Khepri: newly created sun. Morning sun manifested.Was born format he waters of Nun from a blue lotus bud. When the petals open it revealed the beetle Kheperi.

Atum:Evening or setting sun manifested and travelled though the underworld every night.. was born from the water of Nu from a blue lotus bud.

Nefertum:was born from the water of Nu from a blue lotus bud.when the petals opened it revealed a scarab. Changed into a young boy who is crying he became Nefertum.

Khenmu:Sunset manifested

Ra/Re:Rising sun

Ra-Atum:Emerges from the eastern horizon and rest in the western horizon.Dies every night at dusk before resurrecting himself at dawn. He symbolizes the setting sun and journeying through the underworld to rise in the East.

Name

Atum's name is thought to be derived from the verb tm which means 'to complete' or 'to finish'. Thus, he has been interpreted as being the "complete one" and also the finisher of the world, which he returns to watery chaos at the end of the creative cycle. As creator, he was seen as the progenitor of the world, the deities and universe having received his vital force or ka.

Origins

Atum is one of the most important and frequently mentioned deities from earliest times, as evidenced by his prominence in the Pyramid Texts, where he is portrayed as both a creator and father to the king.Several writings contradict how Atum was brought into existence. Some state Atum was created by himself by saying his name, while others argue he came out from a blue lotus flower or an egg.

Roles

In the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians believed that Atum lifted the dead king's soul from his pyramid to the starry heavens.He was also a solar deity, associated with the primary sun god Ra. Atum was linked specifically with the evening sun, while Ra or the closely linked god Khepri were connected with the sun at morning and midday.

In the Book of the Dead, which was still current in the Graeco-Roman period, the sun god Atum is said to have ascended from chaos-waters with the appearance of a snake, the animal renewing itself every morning.

Atum is the god of pre-existence and post-existence. In the binary solar cycle, the serpentine Atum is contrasted with the scarab-headed god Khepri—the young sun god, whose name is derived from the Egyptian ḫpr "to come into existence". Khepri-Atum encompassed sunrise and sunset, thus reflecting the entire cycle of morning and evening

Worship

Atum's worship centered on the city of Heliopolis (Egyptian: Annu or Iunu).The only surviving remnant of Heliopolis is the Temple of Re-Atum obelisk located in Al-Masalla of Al-Matariyyah, Cairo. It was erected by Senusret I of the Twelfth Dynasty, and still stands in its original position.

Relationship To Other Gods

Atum was a self-created deity, the first being to emerge from the darkness and endless watery abyss that existed before creation. A product of the energy and matter contained in this chaos, he created his children—the first deities, out of loneliness. He produced from his own sneeze, or in some accounts, semen, Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture. The brother and sister, curious about the primeval waters that surrounded them, went to explore the waters and disappeared into the darkness. Unable to bear his loss, Atum sent a fiery messenger, the Eye of Ra, to find his children. The tears of joy he shed upon their return were the first human beings.

──────⊰In Workings⊱──────

*Please know basic protections and energy work before attempting any deity work.*

*It is important to note that everyone's experiences are different and will work with spirits for different reasons. Some people may like a spirit while others will not and that's okay. Ask these spirits what they will work with you on as well as ask them if they can help you with whatever it is you need.*

Ideas for honoring or working with/worshipping Atum

Altar

Create an altar/sacred space for your rituals and giving offerings for Atum. Items may include

⬩An altar cloth

⬩Blue or yellow candles (you can use any color))

⬩Cup or chalice

⬩Incense and an incense burner

⬩Offering bowl

⬩Statue of Atum

For more information on basic deity work and altar setups check out the deity work post.

Basic offerings:Bread, Frankincense, , Lizard Amulet, Myrrh, Water

Rituals

Ideas for rituals may include

⬩Honoring the sunset

⬩Summer solstice

⬩Purification rituals

⬩Protection

𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓𖤓

For more content relating to other practices/religions or pantheons follow my main blog for updates or ask me anything

If you have any more questions or wish to join a community feel free to join my 18+ discord server

Ask me anything on my blog

[starsweepers]

i have been ( slowly ) trying to wrap my head around basic e.gyptian mythology just so that way when cleo references things, i'm hopefully at least partially right. so here's some notes i've made for myself. disclaimer: don't use my notes here as solid references, these are just some quick jots and thoughts.

the eye tattoo thing she has ( or amulet, as she's seen with a necklace of it in the first movie, as well ) is known as the eye of ra. it's a symbol of power and protection. ironically it was used by pharaohs to protect them against betrayal... which happens to cleo and her family...

ra is the ultimate god. the sun god. and with whom pharaohs often associate themselves with. the name ramses - cleo's dad - even means "son of ra" or "son of sun."

ra was also betrayed/usurped. seems to be parallels created between cleo's family and the gods. though ra's betrayal was from his great-grandchildren ( osiris, nep, seth, and isis ).

osiris becomes god of the underworld after his brother seth then betrays him, and anubis is the one who ferries souls and oversees the weighing of them to determine their fate. he is also the god of mummification, and most likely why he's associated as the servants to cleo's family in the original show.

other little name notes:

bastet ( one of cleo's scarabs ) is the goddess of protection.

isis ( hc of one of cleo's other scarabs ) isn't a specific goddess, just a goddess from what i've found so far but was osiris' wife ( ....and sister rip ) and was able to basically resurrect osiris with anubis' help. she's basically just super powerful.

hathor ( hc of one of cleo's other scarabs ) is the goddess of love.

neferiti ( whose name i bet nefera is based off of ) was a pharaoh's wife. seems to have been beautiful, pretty powerful when ruling with her husband, and wealth loving? then some people believe she even ruled as pharaoh for a time, which could have inspired the power-seeking version that is nefera.

cleopatra fun facts.

...one of her titles was "father-loving goddess." wonder if inspired cleo's need to please her father.

she was actually greek. and died by snake bite. staring at deuce.

her refusal to do things the way those demanded of her is then also interesting tidbit to cleo's character growth to learning to stand against her father and sister's desires and expectations of her.

[thatrandomfanartist]

So I made a college/highschool Fionna and Cake au.

Aka hear me talk of my au--and ART :D

There's some design stuff I've made Prismo, Gary, Fiona, etc. the idea is they live in a semi-magical world run by gods and everyone goes to school to either study the world like on real school or to learn how to do a magical job for all.im calling it wishcollege au bc I called it that when I was working on prismo's idea he is going to this college to learn to become a wishmaster

he's just an intern/ wish trainee rn. The Valerian wish college is run by Principle Scarab or- Principle Devon Nolan is their first name but it's all fake. Valerian Is a plant w flower that treats ocd symptoms, migraines, hyperactivity,, and. But also bears pin/white/magenta flowers that attract insects. I thought it's be fitting. He's a pic from Prismo's PG in my sketchbook:

Now the highschool, Valerian highschool is run by Gary Schmitt-bubblegum whose been around practically forever. Prismo goes here too bc they're still in HS and just duel enrolling, they're in HS bc they show no ambition but in college bc they seem extremely excited and ahead of your wisher peers when it comes to wishmaster training specifically. There's still over 17,650 yrs, an adult I suppose although still sorta teen. Studies a few thingsHe also has an interest in band and plant biology but wishmaster is their career. Here's a pic of Fionna and Simon doodles just bc:

And here's one of Principle of college, Scarab/Nolan Earl m.p. Devon: he just hates his job being stuck as a college professors full time. When he was taught he showed interest in what he was learning but was forced into being someone that taught the same exact thing instead doing it himself. He feels betrayed but too lawful (bc in the human realm he does have follow citizenship standards and laws) to do anything heinous about it. He's mostly demon part pure light but not in story sense in a biological sense made of light instead of other actual matter particles. Of course Prismo is part Demon too so they somewhat find common ground but Prismo got too invested in career and doesn't care about that phase. The scarabs a bit of an ol' grump. The only class he teaches himself is the materialization of wishes through light formation class (long name obviously not what they call the class fr xd) which is what they majored in and excelled. He was too authoritative to be a wishgranter so a prof and principal is great. They get into run-ins with Prismo or Raj lots bc it cares about her studies but not her school's rules. Nolan doesn't place much concern on this, views Prismo as a headache and silly but not a threat. Fun, they are buds though as time moves on and his grades improve too (iykwim -jk im jk) .

Professors for highschool I know are: -Bubblegum, not Gary but we have a few repeats from AT as well FAC universes bc they're combined on this one alternate world based upon a more modern Ooo. So Bubblegum teaches bioscience and in college as well as HS the botany club/class! :D -Marcy is a band instructor but also substitutes for botany class in high, Bonnie and Marcy are dating still.cx bc it's a good ship -Ellis P. Is band instructor as well he does brass since Marceline does woodwind and string

-Simon teaches wizardry and magical objects bc it's a mix of what they did as ice king, what they used to do, and what makes more sense in the universe am dplanet they're on. He'd obvi be a prof + when he was ice king I feel like he'd teach smthn as well such as like science behind temperature and stuffs. -Betty is also a teacher there and is partially still combined with Golb. She teaches mythology at first, then, science and magic behind love, then both but ends up taking up religious studies a lot when they get old. Simon and them are happily married but they both gets harassed at work alot

I say band but they have orchestra not band, that's for both college and HS that it's orchestra.

[daydreamerdrew]

I’m very intrigued by this one specific way the origins of Kent Nelson and the Post-Crisis Billy Batson diverge: how the respective higher power manipulates the parents and what their intentions with the parents were.

I find Kent Nelson and Billy Batson such interesting characters to compare because there are these obviously similar elements between them, but they’re taken in such different directions, which culminates in Kent’s life being a horror story and Billy’s life being a superhero adventure story.

In Kent Nelson’s origin as Doctor Fate, he’s brought along with his archeologist father to a dig where he discovers the preserved prior host of Fate, Nabu. In opening Nabu’s tomb, Kent inadvertently releases a gas that immediately kills his father, as shown here in DC Special Series (1977) #10, and Inza Nelson frames this as “Leaving Kent alone with Nabu in the tomb. Miles from human help. Which is exactly as the Lords of Order wished it.”

And then Doctor Fate (1987) #2 suggests that Kent’s father was manipulated into bringing him there in the first place, with Kent realizing “It was so out of character for him. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lords of Order planted the idea in his head.”

It’s all this that allows Fate to take over Kent’s life, transforming him into an adult and then influencing his mind so that he won’t question or resist him.

Whereas neither Billy or Mary are at the archeological excavation in The Power of Shazam! (1994) original graphic novel when C.C. and Marilyn Batson and Theo Adam discover the tomb of Teth Adam. When Theo Adam attacks to Batsons in order to take a scarab from the tomb, C.C. tells Marilyn to go get help from someone outside while he fends off Theo. After doing so Marilyn runs to their hotel room, thinking “Why in God’s name am I here anyway? I should be at the local police!” And she realizes that she actually took the scarab with her and asks “What compelled me to-?”

Marilyn was mentally manipulated by the Wizard Shazam into taking the scarab, which contained Teth Adam’s spirit and therefore his powers from when he was the Wizard’s champion, and hiding it from Theo. But the Batsons were not manipulated into going to the dig in the first place. In fact, The Power of Shazam! (1995) #12 established that the Wizard didn’t know that they were going there until it was too late to prevent it.

The Power of Shazam! #12 also established that the Wizard had actually originally chosen C.C. Batson as his champion, not Billy, and C.C. would have become Captain Marvel had he not been murdered in circumstances outside of the Wizard’s control. 

After C.C. and Marilyn are killed, the Wizard spends several months watching Billy as he’s given into the care of his Uncle Ebenezer and then is abandoned and lives on the streets of Fawcett City before finally deciding to make Billy his champion.

Some adults do automatically see something dark in the story of a mysterious shadowed figure guiding young Billy Batson to the Rock of Eternity where an ancient wizard gives him superpowers, and I think it was ingenious choice on Jerry Ordway’s part to add this new element to the mythos when modernizing the character in the 90s. Because when the Wizard Shazam himself was manipulated by how Billy is truly destined to become Captain Marvel, it limits how much you can judge the Wizard for choosing Billy and maintains the character as someone you can tell fun superhero adventures stories with.

But while I don’t see anything dark in the premise behind Billy Batson, I think you always have to acknowledge the elephant in the room regarding his publishing history. The darkening of the Doctor Fate mythos occurred over time and so comes across as a natural development that’s still in line with the spirit of the original character, whereas Billy inherently couldn’t receive a natural development that changed much about him at all.

The character was forcibly removed from comic books in 1953, right before the Silver Age began, and then missed the entirety of it. When DC revived the character in the 70s, the decision was to publish them as they were before, effectively making them Golden Age characters being published in the Bronze Age. Since then we’ve seen quite a few different reboots of the character.

It’s not so much that there’s anything inherent about the premise behind him that makes him incompatible with changing, but that his complex publishing history has prevented him from being changed in the process of being continuously published across comic book eras, so he’s forever less malleable in the eyes of fans. I’m certainly not immune to this- I balk at the idea of criticizing the Wizard for choosing Billy!

But, at the same time, many of those aforementioned fans were drawn to Billy because they found his Golden Age styling appealing. And I have felt that it’s better to maintain that styling that makes him unique, and to write those darker comics about characters- like Doctor Fate- who already have the groundwork for it laid in their history.

[poptod]

THATS SO COOL THAT YOURE A DEVOTEE OF KHONSU OMG! Do you have any resources for me to learn about it because I’ve recently become one myself and I only know about that myth where Khonsu plays Senet but I wanna learn everything about him, how ppl used to worship him, any actual prayers people used to use to him yet it’s so difficult to find it all online and also finding ppl who worship him as well

hey!! yeah, i worship khonsu and thoth mainly, but i also worship nefertem, Min, hathor, and nuit :) learning how to play senet was a big part of worshipping khonsu for me. i use a pendulum to communicate with khonsu and move his pieces for him, so I can let him play his favorite game with someone. i also make moon pendants and I made an image of him to more easily worship.

hold on because i’m about to ramble a shit ton.

i like to be very traditional with my kemeticism because there’s the tendency to morph it into something more modern. i have an egyptian calendar, i believe it’s the one recovered in cairo, that allows me to track holy days to the best of our modern ability. on days of great favorability i go out on walks and bring flowers or stones or shells back as offerings, and then i make food offerings. it’s usually some sort of fruit, a bread or cracker, honey, figs, dates, and sometimes red wine or beer. i gift them dried blue lotus flowers. i play music and sing to the gods as well. this is all really up to the individual however.

in history there is little difference in the worship of different gods. sometimes the offerings are a little different, but in the case of khonsu, he is not specific enough of a God to have specialty offerings (i.e. specifically gold, specifically blue lotus, given to Ra and Nefertem consecutively) so you can generalize down to food, beer, incense, and crystals, as Egyptians did often offer things like lapis lazuli, gold, jasper, carnelian, obsidian––you can read more about egyptian crystals here. crystals would be your best bet at a really nice offering, as it would’ve been something precious to the egyptians and thus worthy to present. ancient egyptians essentially practiced their religion in every part of their day because thats simply how their society worked. the gods were real and could walk the earth at any time. so to worship, you carry amulets of a God or Goddesses’ protection––scarabs are common, but so are amulets of thoth, tawaret, amun, and more. so carrying around an amulet of khonsu––or at least his symbol of the moon crown––would be a good way to incorporate kemeticism and khonsu into your life. 

prayers—like really original, egyptian prayers—can be hard to come by. a lot of people like to make up prayers but it’s anyone’s guess if they’re accurate. fortunately for you, i have a shit ton of books about egypt and i’m sure i could find something; at least a devotional passage in the Cannibal Hymn or the Book of the Dead (by the way, I suggest reading the Cannibal Hymn, it shows Khonsu as he was first conceived by the egyptians). if you can’t find it on the internet i’m happy to take pics of the book i have and send the pages to you. i can also keep an eye out for information regarding khonsu while i go through my stores of texts.

the fic im working on right now deals HEAVILY in the lore of Khonsu, including his different aspects and how they interacted with each other, their demeanors and their powers. i think you might enjoy that. otherwise, feel absolutely free to talk to me, i love discussing this kind of thing! i’ve done a fair amount of research into khonsu, especially khonsu pa-khered and khonsu pa-ir-sekher.

some basic stuff: khonsu is part of the theban triad in later New Kingdom era beliefs, as he is the son of Amun and Mut. Their collective cult center was in Thebes, hence the name. Represented mainly as a young man with a sidelock, wrapped in white linen and often bearing green skin. there are about four different aspects of Khonsu, I believe. 

1. Khonsu Heseb-ahau, the decider of Life span

2. Khonsu pa-Khered, the child

3. Khensu pa-khart, the personification of a crescent moon’s light, highly associated with fertility, i.e. helping women to conceive and livestock to breed. he is also representative of fresh air.

4. Khonsu pa-ir-Sekher, the provider

I think it’s important to note that all these aspects of khonsu could interact with each other. Overall, however, his powers included the ability to heal and to bring fertility. Khonsu also holds power over all evil spirits, and in Egyptian beliefs, evil spirits are the perpetrator of earth-borne sickness, thus in order to heal one might call upon Khonsu to reign in his spirits. His symbols included the crescent moon (often seen worn on his head like a headdress), the full moon, the falcon, and the crook, flail, and scepter (probably the Was scepter but I don’t remember right now). Like all people in ancient Egypt, his name is somewhat up to interpretation due to the absence of vowels in the Egyptian ‘alphabet’, so there are a variety of ways to pronounce his name, including Khons, Chons, and Khensu. 

This is his name in hieroglyphs! You can technically leave out the man at the end because that sign is just a denominative, but people usually leave it in. 

His association with Thoth is, I think, what mainly brings him to light when people study ancient Egyptian mythology. Both Khonsu and Thoth are considered Gods of moon, time, and magic, and this is because Thoth absorbed many of the traits previously ascribed to Khonsu. Originally, Thoth was only the inventor of language, and during this time I liken Thoth to the vizier Imhotep. Sharing traits happens a lot in ancient mythology because of how societies move on and through time, forgetting certain gods as others step into the limelight and take over characteristics previously owned by the forgotten god. Still, khonsu and thoth are considered close companions, and play senet a fair amount together. They both have power over the moon and over the progress of time. fortunately for Khonsu he was still a prominent God, which can be rare when traits are suddenly shared between two similar Gods. he was worshipped from at least the old kingdom up until the roman occupation.

Getting back to the topic of worship; it’s hard to tell what’s accurate and what’s entirely bullshit because it’s not hard to slap a bunch of fancy-sounding words together and post them on the internet, pretending you translated some document or happen to know a prayer. despite that, it’s not sin to use these prayers. they are still words, and words are what the ancient egyptians used as well. it’s not for me, personally, but it’s not bad. it’s almost impossible to get prayers transliterated into what it would sound like for the ancient Egyptians due to the issues with their alphabet and the missing vowels.

Alright. Here’s some reliable sources that go more into depth on Khonsu and Egypt than what I feel comfortable reciting from mostly memory.

https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/khonsu/

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/godkhonsu.htm 

For general information concerning history and Egypt, as well as festivals (which I encourage you to learn about, they’re very fun) this website is fantastic: https://www.worldhistory.org/ 

Starting page 7 of this will show you some of the constellations of ancient Egypt if you’re interested in other sky Gods and symbols: http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp253_ancient_egyptian_constellations.pdf

This dictionary of Egyptian words is both incredibly useful, easy to use, and one of the more accurate recordings of the language: https://seshkemet.weebly.com/dictionary.html you can maybe use this to build your own prayers as it holds the translation and transliteration.

If you want to recite poetry in your ceremonies or dedications I have a SHIT TON of egyptian poetry. this here isn’t the best example of poetry but it is accurate and easy to find: http://jewishchristianlit.com/Texts/ANEmrg/pBeatty.html otherwise ask me, I can send you my favorites or a topic you’re looking specifically for

Part of worshipping gods in Egypt is knowing how they were worshipped and how magic was seen by the people of Egypt. magic wasn’t a myth; it was a guaranteed thing, it was the explanation for their science, and this article goes over it well: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1019/magic-in-ancient-egypt/

Again I suggest reading the Cannibal Hymn and again, if you can’t find it, I can totally send it to you if you DM me. I also have lots of translated texts that you might find interesting.

If you haven’t read some of the more basic religious texts, or looked at the images in the Book of the Dead, this pdf has a lot of good info, especially regarding the different sects of dead souls

For online sources regarding hieroglyphic translations of texts concerning Khonsu, this is your best bet. I like to use these to inscribe my images of Khonsu with ‘prayers’. i’m pretty sure you can access it for free, the only issue you might have is you have to create a free account to access it but that’s all

Page 113 of this text deals specifically with Khonsu pa-Khered if you want to be specific in your worship and study.

If you want to learn about the temple of Khonsu, this paper describes it pretty well.

This website gives some good excerpts from the Pyramid Texts.

That’s pretty much all I can offer you in terms of easy-access, free information that you don’t have to buy a buttload of books for.

Edit: I looked through some of my books and found a prayer you might like. it’s an incense prayer so it’s a good place to start with ceremonies and offerings. it’s from the pyramid utterance 269

The fire is laid, the fire shines;

The incense is laid on the fire, the incense shines.

Your perfume comes to me, O Incense,

May my perfume come to you, O Incense,

Your perfume comes to me, you gods;

May my perfume come to you, you gods.

May I be with you, you gods;

May you be with me, you gods.

May I live with you, you gods;

May you live with me, you gods.

I love you, you gods;

May you love me, you gods.

This prayer generally goes along with burning incense and an offering of milk.

A common aspect of ancient literature in the east and in africa is the repetition of phrases, so that’s why this prayer is structured the way it is. I was, however, unable to find an accurate transliteration of this excerpt. Otherwise I had little luck trying to find transliterated passages relating to Khonsu.

[sporadically-writing]

Enter Layla El-Faouly

If only Penny could have known how strange her evening would get when she waved her friend goodbye earlier that afternoon.

She waited about an hour before making her way over to Steven's place. If you had told her that when she got there she would find Steven in said flat with a woman she didn't recognize who was very angry with her being there, she would have told you that was a very specific lie and that you were probably crazy but here she was.

"And who's she?"

"Penny. Penny Morris... It feels like I might be interrupting something important..."

"Yeah" the woman seethes.

"No! Uh, not, not really... I-" Steven says at the exact same time.

"So, that's it then?" the woman rounds on Steven.

"Okay, I'm unsure of what's going on here, but I'm-" Penny looks at the helpless Steven- "A... friend of his. I was just coming over to check up, it's been a bit of a rough day for everyone."

"You're telling me" the still angry woman agrees.

"Look," Steven struggles, "I don't know how to explain what's been happening. I don't expect either of you to believe me. I honestly don't really believe myself. All I can do is try to... try to show you what I found. Yeah?"

He shuffles over to the black bag on the table and rifles through it. "I found this bag in the storage locker. And inside of it is all sorts... of things. Most interestingly..."

Steven pauses, and unbeknownst to the two women in the room, a voice inside Steven's head says, You're going to get them killed, you hear me?

Penny stares at Steven as the curly haired woman beside her prompts, "Most interestingly is what?"

You show them that scarab, you're responsible when they come after them.

"Nothing," Steven says.

"Doesn't sound like nothing" Penny responds.

"Nothing. Nevermind."

The woman pushes past Steven, "What's in there?"

"Nothing... Wait, wait..."

She shoves Steven to the side, who is caught by Penny.

"Bloody hell."

Penny lets go of him and stomps over to where the other woman pulled out a small golden oval, the detailing on it designed after a beetle. Her eyes also catch on the papers just beside the bag. Quickly skimming, her eyes pick up the names Spector and Layla El-Faouly.

"The scarab pointing to Ammit's ushabti? What we fought side by side for?" Layla asks Steven, hurt poorly concealed.

"No..."

"This whole one-man show is just what? So that you can keep it for yourself?"

"No. I swear..."

"After all we've been... Just stop! Stop! I'm supposed to believe anything you say with thisshoved in what, a gym bag?"

"Take it," Steven says, "Take it, you can have it. Take it. I don't want it. I don't want it. I swear. Have it. I am not Marc Spector. I'm Steven Grant."

Name to a face, is what Penny thinks first. Now she knows who she spoke to that other night. But how? Something about the juxtaposition of the two names, she's right on the edge of figuring it out.

Steven pleads with Layla alone, "I work in a gift shop. Well, I used to work in a gift shop. And I think I'm in real danger, and I think maybe that you might be the only person that can help me."

All of Penny's thoughts stop. You could hear a pin drop inside her head. Something aches.

"Good to know Steven" Penny says, voice strained.

"What? No. I-"

Penny takes a step away from him, dropping her head.

"You really don't remember why we've been looking for this? Our adventures. Or our life together?" Layla tentatively interrupts.

"Oh, God, I wish I could."

Penny taps her foot once lightly on the floor, eyes cast down, jaw clenched.

Steven tries again to go to her, "Penny I-"

There's a knock at the door.

"Steven Grant, can we have a word?"

Steven looks at Layla, "See? Oh, God, they've come for me."

"Why?" Layla asks.

"They think he vandalized the toilets" Penny says, bitterness hard to keep out of her answer.

They knock again, harder this time.

"Yeah, just a minute." He slowly shuffles his way towards the door as Layla and Penny inch their way back.

Penny, quelling the expanding flame in her mind momentarily, nudges her head towards the back of the flat, mouthing a 'follow me' to Layla.

"Steven Grant?"

"Yeah?"

"DC Fitzgerald and DC Kennedy here."

"Yeah, one second."

Penny climbs carefully out the window and holds her arm out. Layla takes it and the two of them carefully perch themselves with their backs to the wall where the window juts out from the roof of the building. What they hear from inside the flat is muffled at times but they can hear it all.

Two phrases strike chords with Penny however, Steven's "I have a sleeping disorder," and the male officer's "Funny that. Fella looks just like you."

Layla and Penny watch Steven brought out of the building in handcuffs and loaded into the back of a car.

"Those aren't police officers," Penny states.

"Got that did you?" Layla quips.

"Look. I'm pissed but that doesn't mean I want him to die. How'd you get here? We can catch them if we hurry."

"We?"

"Yes, we. I'm going whether you join me or not. It only makes sense that we go together."

They make it to Layla's bike, Penny hopping on and wearing the extra helmet.

As they drive, Penny finally spots the car and whispers out directions, that way the drivers don't necessarily know that Layla is following them, she doesn't have to watch the car.

"You're weirdly good at this."

"Thanks."

"Alright, sorry, but what is your relationship with Marc?"

"Layla? Have you ever heard of DID?"

"DID?"

"Dissociative Identity Disorder. It's a mental health condition where one person has multiple identities. Think of it like multiple people sharing one body. I think that's what Marc and Steven have."

Layla is quiet for a moment before asking, "So what is your relationship with Steven then?"

"Right now, I imagine about as complicated as yours with Marc from what I saw."

That gets a laugh and they continue on like that for a little while longer, swapping information about the identities they know.

[magickforbohemians]

Cartouche

Information taken from "The Way of Cartouche" by Murry Hope

Cartouche encapsulates those archetypal energies which were known and understood by the ancient Egyptians and embodies them in identities easily recognizable in today's world. Cartouche acts as a bridge between day-to-day things and the transpersonal or Higher Self, which makes it very much a part of the Aquarian Age - the age of individual responsibility. Cartouche is based on ancient Egyptian (or older) knowledge and should not be confused with tarot cards. It consists of 25 cards: Cards 1 to 9 (Osiris, Isis, Horus, Bast, Thoth, Hathor, Nepthys, Ptah and Anubis) represent the major archetypes; cards 11, 12, 13 and 14 the Elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth; and cards 15 to 25 (Sirius, Lotus, Crook & Flail, Uraeus, Winged Disc, The Twins, Sphinx, Scarab, Pyramid, Ankh and Buckle of Isis) relate to more general or mundane energies. Card No 10 is Set, representing all forms of opposition, delays, hindrances and unforeseen problems. Set can indicate one's personal opposition to an idea, to change or to a proposed project.

The ancient Egyptian symbols depicted on the cards capture the essence of the forces or energies that govern the universe. Many believe the Egyptians gained their knowledge of these forces from an even earlier advanced race who, in turn, were instructed by extraterrestrials from the Sirius star system. The symbols, colors and meanings of the cards accord both with the designs found on Egyptian temples, pyramids, tombs and old papyri, and with a secret arcane tradition that has been handed down from century to century.

Each card can be used for meditation, divination, healing or magical or talismanic purposes and, when arrayed in the various layouts, can provide insight and answers to dreams, family or emotional problems, financial or business matters, healing and health, crafts and skills, protection, spiritual seeking, or any of life's many enigmas.

Vibrations are passed subconsciously to the cards when you handle them, so the order in which they fall in a reading is directed by the promptings of your subconscious mind. Normally in life we tend to create a barrier between our conscious and subconscious minds through the overuse of logic. Cartouche will help you to achieve a subtle balance by creating a bridge of contact between your everyday persona and the needs of your inner self.

Egyptian Cartouche Initiations The Initiations into Egyptian symbols brings about a state of heightened awareness and clarity. There are 24 Initiations into the ancient archetypal universal symbols from Egypt and Atlantis which can enhance healing powers and psychic development. Cartouche is the oval in which the hieroglyphs are drawn. The book and cards called "The Way of Cartouche" by Murry Hope does an excellent job of explaining the fundamental symbols.

Origin and Uses of the Cartouche Cards Cartouche is a French word that means oblong box and refers to the shape found around the images of important priests discovered in some ancient Egyptian temples. Murry Hope, an English lady and practitioner of Egyptian magic, using the ancient Egyptian writing system of cartouche and hieroglyphics for self-understanding and awareness invented the Cartouche system in 1983. Hope chose the name Cartouche for the card set because after 30 years of study she felt that "it encapsulates the archetypal and powerful energies known and understood by the ancients and embodies them in identities recognisable in today's world." She and Jed Collard formed Ostaris Publications and published the first 3,000 decks that same year. In 1984, Collard sent some sample cards to St. Martin's Press and they immediately responded with an offer for the worldwide rights to print and distribute them, but wanted Hope to expand the small instruction booklet into a large book which she did. St. Martin's Press then doubled the size of the cards and produced the expanded booklet in a hardback format as "The Way of Cartouche."

The Cartouche deck comprises twenty-five cards each having a number and an image. Ironically 25 is the number of Rune cards in a Runes deck, one might, therefore, liken this to an Egyptian version of a Rune deck. Those cards that portray a god, goddess or element have in addition a set of hieroglyphics, which describe that image and encapsulate its power. The image on each card may have a fixed or mobile nature. For example, Nephthys is a goddess shown on card number seven. She is represented by an image of a cup or container and the ka hieroglyphic (representing the personal life force) appears in the top right hand corner of the card. As Nephthys means psychic receptivity and that which is slightly obscure and fluid she consequently has a mobile nature.

The cards are numbered sequentially from 1 through 25 and each card has either a fixed or a mutable quality corresponding with universal astrology. Each card is presented with a blue border against an almost completely white card, with the exception of two cards, Set and Air. There are scenes or symbols floated in the centre of the card against the white. The title appears underneath in a graphic form that looks like a stone carving. The number is in the upper left corner in a matching format, and in the upper right corner, the hieroglyph for that particular deity/element/symbol.

The first ten cards are representative of various gods and goddesses within the Egyptian pantheon. Each of these cards has several meanings and levels of nuance described in the book as they relate to the Spiritual, Psychological and Material levels of the reading. The god/goddess cards are: 1 - Osiris 2 - Isis 3 - Horus 4 - Bast 5 - Thoth 6 - Hathor 7 - Nephthys 8 - Ptah 9 - Anubis 10 - Set

The next four cards represent the basic elements Fire, Air, Water and Earth and have more scenery drawn on them than the rest of the deck, and are evocative of the elements' affect on the surroundings of both the ancient Egyptians and modern-day man.

The rest of the cards are a mix of various experiences and symbols that the Egyptians might have encountered in their day-to-day life.

15 - Sirius 16 - Lotus 17 - Crook and Flail 18 - Uraeus 19 - Winged Disk 20 - The Twins 21 - Sphinx 22 - Scarab 23 - Pyramid 24 - Ankh 25 - Buckle of Isis

The cards themselves are larger than standard size and printed on a thin, flexible cardstock with smooth edges and rounded corners. They do shuffle and handle easily because of the small number of cards in the deck. The design on the back of the cards is a soft; clay coloured orange with turquoise coloured cartouche markings on it. This design is reversible. In Australia, the set comes with a hardbound book of 208 pages and lists many references, spreads and layouts with divinatory meanings, explanations and keywords for each card, and much more information. Each card is further accompanied by an explanation of the particular hieroglyph that goes with it and the story or legend that it represents.

Uses of Cartouche Cartouche cards may be used for meditation, healing, divination and magical work.

Meditation Meditation on the Cartouche symbols can be rewarding if the type of meditation practised is contemplative meditation. Once the meanings of the symbols are internalised and the myths belonging to the various gods and goddesses are known there will arise in the meditator's mind many images, intuitions and feelings, all of which will convey new insights into the nature of the Cartouche cards.

Healing Cartouche may be used to send healing to others in need or to effect self-healing. Several Cartouche cards carry healing rays, but the three main ones are Horus, which deals specifically with physical complaints such as accidents, fever, viruses and naturally with conditions affecting the eyes; Bast, whose energies are oriented toward mental problems or psychological conditions; and Thoth, which covers the imbalances that cause disease in the first place.

For sending healing to another, select the card that will best fit your friends' needs, place it with an object, photograph or letter that carries his or her vibrations and let the energies do their work. Or, if you feel it would carry more reality for you, meditate upon both the card and your friend and visualise the energies transferring from one to the other.

Some of the other cards also carry energies that are conducive to physical healing: Isis the Comforter; Anubis the Patron of Anesthetics; Ankh the Conveyor of the Life Force; and Sirius the Giver of Strength. It all depends on what produced the sickness in the first place. The answer may not lie in the actual disease, but in an attitude of mind that is causing it to manifest. One of the secrets of good and successful self-healing is to know which cosmic energies you need and how to tune into them. Or, if you prefer the psychological approach, contact those areas of your own brain that can program in good health and help fight disease in a natural way. If you are recovering from an operation, trying to speed up the mending of a broken limb, or fighting off the depressing effects of a bad bout of influenza, Horus is the card to meditate upon.

Worries of a psychological nature, which in themselves frequently give rise to very real physical symptoms, come under Bast. Psychosomatic illnesses are all too frequent these days, so a good meditation on the sistrum, as shown on the Bast card, will help restore mental balance and so ease the physical symptoms caused by stress. People who are attracted to the cat or lion family will also benefit from the feeling of relaxed strength gained from the healing rays of this card. It may be used in conjunction with the Horus card, for it was with good reason that Horus and Bast were considered to be twins by the healer-priests of ancient Egypt; Sound mental and physical health go hand in hand.

Thoth covers all forms of medical help. If you find you have distressing symptoms that your doctor cannot diagnose, concentrate on the symbol on this card. It is the caduceus and it represents balance and harmony that are essential for good health. This is the symbol of the medical profession, and its enlightening rays will fall upon those who are qualified to help you. In other words, the right diagnosis will be made and the right treatment given to you through its help. Of course you can use the Thoth card for self-healing as well but, since it is also the card of karma (which all ties in with the saying "As you sow, so shall yea reap"), Thoth's aid may come as a form of enlightenment as to what you are doing wrong to cause the illness, eg bad habits, incorrect diet, or negative or unkind thoughts that are rebounding on you. By adjusting these you may effect your own healing.

Of course Cartouche does not presume to make a clinical diagnosis, as this is strictly and legally the role of a qualified medical person and rightly so. Cartouche is more concerned with the mind and those mental attitudes that cause the disease initially. Many ailments are actually induced by wrong thinking, so if our negative thoughts are culprits in the first place, positive thoughts can be used to help put matters right. The cards of Thoth, Horus and particularly Bast, if utilised in the meditation and self-healing context can, therefore, aid your doctor in his or her task by helping your mind to play its part in keeping you fit and well.

Divination Divination is the art and science of predicting a course of events. In her book "The Way of Cartouche" Murry Hope outlines two basic methods to use in Cartouche divination: The Horoscope Method and The Star Spread. The former method is also used by Tarot readers and entails asking the enquirer to shuffle the cards and cut them into three piles which are then picked up by the reader and laid out in an anti-clockwise fashion so that twelve consecutive cards form a circle. In the centre of this circle, a thirteenth card is placed. The first twelve cards each correspond with a house of the Zodiac while the thirteenth card gives the tone or atmosphere of the reading. The latter method involves shuffling and cutting the cards as before but this time they are laid out in the form of a five-pointed star or pentagram. The first card represents the situation at hand, the second, considerations for the enquirer, the third, "on the other hand" considerations, the fourth, what the enquirer should do and the fifth, the final outcome.

Magic A popular definition of magic is "The art and science of making changes in conformity with the will". Magical uses of the cards might include protection, attracting the right partner or making more money. Murry Hope suggests in "The Way of Cartouche" that the cards may be used as talismans and that, for example, by simply carrying one of the cards of protection such as Anubis you will be protected from dangers both seen and unseen (one of the meanings of this card is protection at all levels.)

[fakeyellow]

Anya and Kamilah finally meet. 

Summary: Kamilah and co. win the war against Gaius but at great personal cost. Fifty years have passed since their pyrrhic victory when a stranger, looking exactly like the woman they lost, enters their lives.  Part 1. Part 2. Part 4.

“Kamilah’s expecting you. Don’t worry. She liked you enough to offer you a job without so much as an interview and she’s a woman of her word. She’ll just want to make sure you’re as impressive as your resume says you are,” Gabriel said reassuringly before he left and Anya took a moment to compose herself before she pushed the door and stepped into the office.

Normally, Anya would have been drawn to the myriad of seemingly authentic Egyptian artefacts and weapons decorating the room: the curved khopesh of the New Kingdom sitting innocently on a shelf next to a golden mask of Bast, the ornate fan-axe mounted on the wall… It was a collection that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in a museum.

But she took one step into the office, making eye contact with the woman sitting at the head of the desk, and Anya was simultaneously lost and found in a single, breathless moment.

When she’d landed in New York, she had been consumed with a sense of complete rightness that had quieted the restlessness she’d carried with her for the past five years. 

Her chest thrummed with that feeling now amplified, as if things had finally fallen into their right place, as if at long last, she was finally where she was supposed to be. 

And then the moment passed and Anya was left to make her way to the desk, still shaken by the intensity of her emotions. There was no mistaking it: this was the woman she’d seen on the streets of London a week ago but why had she evoked such a visceral response?

“Ms. Sayeed,” Anya said with a smile, holding her hand out with a confidence she didn’t feel, “I wanted to thank you for giving me this opportunity to work for you. 

The woman stared at her offered hand and after a second during which Anya feared she had been too forward, she shook it.

“Ms. Altomare,” she spoke, her voice elegant and husky.  

“Please, call me Anya,” Anya quickly said, causing Kamilah’s eyes to flicker up to hers and then all Anya could see and hear was Kamilah, Kamilah, Kamilah. 

She snapped out of her brief reverie, dropping the woman’s hand and Anya tried to ignore how her heart clenched at the loss of their contact, the warm, velvety feel of her skin. She settled into the chair and tried to regain her composure, appreciating the vast window across her that let her feel the familiar warmth of the sun’s rays on her face.

It surely had only been a few seconds but it felt like an eternity before Kamilah finally broke the silence, each word spoken with precision.

“Anya, I am a private woman,” she said and Anya nodded (she hadn’t been able to find a single picture of the CEO online), “And my collection is of great personal value to me. I was very impressed by your resume and references but I want to be sure of your skills before I give you access to my collection.”

“Of course,” Anya said emphatically and she leaned forward with excitement as Kamilah displayed three artefacts on her desk: a jewel-encrusted scarab, a golden ankh, and a wooden horse.

“I’ve brought some items from my collection and I’d like to hear your ideas if you were to create an exhibit centred on these,” Kamilah said, her eyes focused intensely on Anya. 

But Anya was blind to the attention, overwhelmed with awe as she took in the sight of the precious items in front of her, her head moving around to see all of their angles. She was visibly bubbling with excitement as she restrained her hands from reaching out to touch them

“Oh wow. Ptolemaic Dynasty... and they’re all in such exquisite condition,” she breathed and then as if a switch had been turned off in her, Anya straightened in her seat, “Well, it depends on your purpose. What are you trying to convey, who is your target audience?”

“Let’s say it’s only for me. What would an exhibit catered solely to me look like?” 

Anya furrowed her brows in thought before answering. 

“Well, I would center the exhibit around this ankh. As the symbol of life and the natural force that interconnects all living things, it would serve as the centrepiece and multi-faceted theme of the exhibit. And the scarab would be one of the focal points of the exhibit. It’s beautiful, it’s opulent, it’s dripping in jewels. While it was used primarily as a fashion statement, it’s also a symbol of rebirth and I’d surround it with other such objects. Now, this horse would serve as the counterpoint to the scarab, not a symbol of rebirth but of life as it is in the moment, moments that become precious memories later on. It’s wooden, much simpler than the jewelled scarab, but it’s been extremely well preserved and it’s no less precious. This horse is filled with the joy of the children who played with it, their love, their happiness…” Anya’s eyes turned starry as she envisioned the exhibit, “The displays could be in rooms that are connected via intertwining hallways to embody the nature Ankh, and there could be warm-toned lights…”

“Of course, I just came up with this and if you were to give me more time and information, I’d be able to come up with a more well-developed plan,” Anya finished, trying not to be nervous at the strange look on Kamilah’s face.

“No, I liked it,” Kamilah reassured Anya but there remained something off about her, as if she was shaken and unable to recover.

“Yes, that’ll be fine. I’ll set up your access to my collection soon,” Kamilah dismissed her distractedly and Anya made her way to the door when Kamilah suddenly called out again.

“Anya?”

She turned around, trying to quell her uneasiness- surely she wouldn’t be fired. Not when she hadn’t even had a proper first day of work. But Kamilah only scanned over her with those intense, brown eyes of hers.

“Never mind.”

—-

Anya closed the door behind her, letting out a sigh as if she was trying to expel all of her tension and anxiety. She hadn’t known what to expect from her first meeting with her new boss in New York but she certainly hadn’t expected the maelstrom of emotions that currently swirled inside her. 

Kamilah Sayeed…

She wanted to know so much more about her.

Still deep in thought, Anya continued on her way to the elevators when suddenly, she bumped into a solid wall of muscle. She stepped back, more alarmed than anything.

“Sorry-” “I- Laia?!”

“Excuse me?” Anya asked at the man’s exclamation. He was dressed professionally in a well-tailored suit but he stared at her with unabashed shock. He seemed to notice her growing discomfort when he shook his head and offered her a lopsided smile.

“I’m sorry. You reminded me of someone I knew,” he said and Anya smiled back at him.

“I get that a lot. I guess I just have one of those faces,” she joked and he laughed, even as he didn’t take his eyes off of her.

“Adrian Raines,” he offered his hand and Anya shook it.

“Anya Altomare.”

“Well, it was nice bumping into you Anya,” he said and Anya politely nodded before hurrying away into the elevator as he stared after her. 

—-

Could she truly not be Laia?

Kamilah had watched the woman closely, had picked the three items specifically because of Laia’s connection to them. But there hadn’t been a single sign of recognition in Anya’s face, only a reverential awe at the old artefacts. 

And yet if she weren’t Laia, how could she have so keenly discerned the value of the items, their meanings to her? How could she have reached so deeply to Kamilah’s core?

Kamilah sighed deeply, rubbing her temples in frustration when Adrian burst into the room.

“Who is she?” he exclaimed but Kamilah merely gestured at him to sit across her.  

“I-she said her name was Anya but she looked and sounded exactly like Laia,” he said agitatedly, running a hand through his hair. 

“Did Laia somehow Turn?” Adrian asked before he finally seemed to see Kamilah’s face, see how she was only barely keeping herself together, “I’m sorry. I know this must be difficult for you.”

Kamilah pulled out a decanter of gin and two glasses, pouring him a generous amount of liquor and herself an even more generous amount. She took a slow sip of the liquid, half-wishing that vampires weren’t so immune to the effects of alcohol.

“She’s not a vampire,” she declared definitively and Adrian made to interrupt her when she continued, “I turned off the window shade so she sat with the sun directly on her for fifteen minutes. She wasn’t affected at all. Even Gaius would have shown some sign of irritation after that much exposure.” 

Adrian slumped down in his chair, “I just don’t understand. Is it possible that a random woman could look so much like her?”

Perhaps, if they had still been close like they’d been 50 years ago, Kamilah might have mentioned the empty casket, the doubts and suspicions and questions that incessantly plagued her mind. She might have mentioned how it was killing her to be so close to a woman who looked, talked, smelled like Laia, how her heart couldn’t help but hope against hope that the gods had somehow brought Laia back to her, how she couldn’t bear to entertain these thoughts because if she ended up not being Laia, she’d fall apart...

But they had grown distant from each other after her desperate ploy with Gaius and so Kamilah merely said, 

“I don’t know.”

—-

A/N: Thanks for all of the support! I hope you’ll continue to read although this was a bit of a slow chapter. There’ll be 2 more parts and I’m excited for the upcoming revelations. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a short Kamilah x MC drabble that takes place during the 50 years to tide you over.

I ended up doing a lot of unnecessary research for the weapons in Kamilah’s office. If you’re interested: the khopesh was out of use by Kamilah’s time period but I don’t know what else the curved sword in her office could be. The fan axe has only been seen in hieroglyphics, and they’ve never unearthed an actual axe, but PB decided to put it in her office so whatever. And I wasn’t sure what the golden mask was so I just said it was a mask of Bast. For the exhibit, I had no idea what I was doing so lol my bad.

I’m saying Kamilah has high tech shade thingies on her window that she can control so they either block the sun or let the sun in. She turned it off for Anya, got distracted, had Anya turn around so she could confirm Anya wasn’t affected by the sun, and then turned it on so Adrian wouldn’t be affected when he came in.

[a-safe-and-quiet-place]

Khepri

Khepri (Kheper, Khepera, Chepri, Khephir) was associated with the scarab or dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), making him one of the most famous insect gods. The Egyptians watched the scarab beetle rolling dung into a ball and pushing it along the ground to its burrow. The Egyptians made a connection between the movement of the sun across the sky and the movement of the ball of dung pushed by the beetle. The solar connection was enhanced by the fact that the scarab has antenna on its head and when the scarab pushed a ball of dung along the ground, the ball would sit between the antenna in a way that was reminiscent of the solar disc flanked by a pair of horns which was worn by many deities.

One myth suggested that Khepri pushed the sun across the sky (rather than the sun travelling on the back of a bovine goddess like Nut or Hathor or travelling on a boat). Khepri was often depicted pushing the sun ahead of him and it was thought that this movement was constant. Every night, Khepri would push the sun down into the underworld, and every morning the sun would again emerge and travel across the sky. The word “kheper” means “to emerge” or “to come into being”.

The female scarab would lay her eggs in the burrow with the dung and her young would feed on the dung until they were ready to emerge. The Egyptians, however, believed that the young scarab emerged spontaneously from the burrow as if created from nothing. Thus, like Atum, he was a self-created god. The scarab beetle also lays its eggs in carrion, leading the ancient Egyptians to speculate that those scarab beetles were created from dead matter. As a result, Khepri was strongly associated with rebirth, renewal, and resurrection.

He was given a central role in the “book of the dead” (“the book of coming forth by day”) and the “amduat” (“the book of that which is in the underworld” or “the book of the secret chamber”) and scarab amulets were placed over the heart of the deceased during the mummification ritual. These “heart scarabs” were meant to be weighed against the feather of Ma´at (truth) during the final judgement. Scarabs were often inscribed with a spell from the Book of the Dead which instructed their heart .. “do not stand as a witness against me.”

Khepri was soon seen as an aspect of the sun itself, in particular the sun at day break – when it “emerged” from the underworld. He was closely associated with Atum (the creator god), Nefertum (literally “young Atum” or “beautiful Atum”) and Ra (who absorbed many of Atum’s attributes). Khepri was the emerging sun, Nefertum was the new born sun, Ra was the sun during the day, and Atum was the setting sun. in later funerary texts, Atum and Khepri merged into a ram-headed beetle who was the ultimate expression of the power of life over death.

He is first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts but may well have been well known for some time before that because crude scarabs have been recovered which date from the Neolithic period (7000-5000 BC). Khepri’s popularity was at its height during the New Kingdom.

No temple or cult has been discovered which was specifically dedicated to Khepri, but it is thought that the majority of Egyptian temples (possibly all temples) had a statue of Khepri inside them. The scarab amulet was one of the most popular symbols and scarabs were inscribed for all occasions, not just for use in mummification, confirming that he was popular with the common people. He was also popular with royalty, and many pharaohs incorporated his name into their own.

Khepri was usually depicted as a scarab beetle but occasionally appears as a man with the head of a scarab. There are numerous depictions of Khepri pushing the sun before him and he also appears regularly in a funerary setting riding on a sun barque as he travels through the underworld. Because of his connection with rebirth and the underworld, he occasionally wears the atef crown of Osiris.

[tessatechaitea]

Scarab #3

Every time I see a Glenn Fabry cover, I assume I'm about to read about Jesse Custer.

I also know the term "misdirection"! Look at all the titties!

I wanted to say I knew the word "legerdemain" because it's way fancier but it wasn't as specific as I wanted to be. But I still wrote the previous sentence where I say wanted to write a different sentence so that you know the thing I wanted you to be impressed by in the first place. Meanwhile, Eleanor is still flying around in the Net having profound Vertigo thoughts. If you're speculating, "I bet she thinks about her first kiss and the first time she got her period and her father's funeral and the rain on her wedding day," I'm aghast. How'd you know?! Fucking clever of you, mate. Two new characters are introduced: Sidney Sometimes and his sidekick (not named! I'm not even sure "Sidney Sometimes" is the other guy's name). They're Fortean dudes publishing a Fortean magazine. But this one is heavy on the sex and mutilation and probably drugs. Sidney's upset that his alien rape story has fallen through and now has to decide if he should run the Manson interview this month or next month alongside the DIY surgery issue. I'm sure these characters will fit into the story later but for now they just seem like a one page dumping ground of John Smith's story ideas.

Sure, every teeaboo knows what a Clanger is now. But back in 1993, American audiences wouldn't know what the fuck this was about.

Speaking of teeaboos, I've got a new idea for a streaming service: I'm the only customer and I'm paying a single British person to upload all the shows I want to watch on a private YouTube channel. Come on, somebody! I need a reliable source for full episodes of Taskmaster! Marty is the guy watching some Clangers. He's still bitter that all the men drowned themselves without him. Imagine having self-esteem that low that you're hurt and angry that nobody invited you to the mass suicide? I guess he could also be affected by magic but I'd rather think he's got the same kinds of problems that I do. I mean that we all have.

See? He's Everyman!

Scarab arrives in Whitehaven, the town without any men (except for me. I mean Marty). He realizes something bad is happening in Whitehaven because, um, women are running things, I guess? Maybe his subconscious is reacting to an article he forgot he read about how hundreds of dead and bloated men washed up on the shores of nearby towns for weeks. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd forget too readily but remember Scarab was a super old guy for the first two issues. Or maybe Louis is just a Comicsgater at heart. He walks into a town full of women and thinks, "What the fuck is wrong with this comic book I'm in?! Where are all the men? Fucking pandering bullshit!" It's also possible he senses the magic monster at the center of this mystery. But that's not as much fun to speculate about. Louis meets Marty who tells him how every woman in town is now four months pregnant and how the matriarch of the town is living with a monster. He's going to take his shotgun and put things right. I don't know how a shotgun does that but then I'm not a fucking cuckoo nutso whackjob who thinks every problem can be solved with physical violence. Scarab probably thinks there's a better answer too. I don't mean to suggest he doesn't also think physical violence will be the answer. This is still a comic book, for fucks sake! He'll probably just concentrate the violence on the monster while I assume Marty is just planning on going around shooting pregnant women. It turns out the god Pan is fucking everybody in town. He also drove all the men into the sea. But for some reason, he couldn't figure out how to deal with Marty because how do you get a guy with a broken leg to kill himself? It's impossible! The only flaw in an otherwise perfect plan! Unless Marty wasn't driven to suicide because Marty is trans. It's possible because later that night when Marty goes to shoot Pan in the face, something entirely different happens instead.

Marty was definitely fucked by Pan (raped? Probably! But who knows what happens when you get a whiff of a lustful goat god?!). But what is he trying to show Louis? That he's suddenly pregnant? Or, with his pants open like that, has he lost his cock?

Scarab #3 Rating: C. I'm super confused by this ending. Is the art just not sufficient to portray what Marty is upset about? Is he simply upset that he's all beaten and bloody due to being raped by Pan? Is he holding his pants that way because they were torn off during the violence or because he's trying to show Louis his genital region? Or is he holding his pants that way to show that he's suddenly pregnant? It's possible because the art could be suggesting a swollen stomach. Rarely do I find the art failing me in a comic book to this degree. I suppose the writing is also failing but I only think that's because this final image was supposed to portray whatever the dialogue was leaving out. The good thing is that I don't have to be confused for a full month because I've got the next issue waiting for me in my stack! Corrections: It was brought to my attention that The Phantom Stranger has more than ten fans. Although no proof was provided other than that The Phantom Stranger has gotten published in more than its initial series. I'm not sure that's enough proof though because I've purchased a lot of comic books about characters I didn't give a shit about and by writers I actively hated. But I will grant that the person providing me with this information was also a fan of The Phantom Stranger. So in my previous commentary, I should have said The Phantom Stranger had eleven fans.