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Nephthys - Blog Posts
Nephthys and Seth in those young lovely days
I have a thing for ancient civilizations ...yeah.. these AI generated characters look better than those from marvel movies ....I can tell.. even as game characters ....not saying about Assassins, Lara Croft or Diablo's.., but the best source of inspiration when creating them AI is moving fast...
"A problem for the theist"
I’m going to go somewhere a little risky in this one. This is just stuff to think about. Screenshot of episode 28.12 of The Atheist Experience, which aired on YouTube March 24, 2024. I was watching The Atheist Experience with my husband a few weeks ago. (Okay, I was tuning in and out because my interest waxed and waned.) And my brain caught on a phrase that, when I went back and watched that…
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Two anniversaries
I didn’t expect them to be back to back. My shrine as it would have looked on January 20, 2024, when I was celebrating the anniversary of my encounter with Sekhmet. My shrine as it would have looked on January 23, 2024, when I was celebrating the 18th anniversary of my conversion to Kemeticism. January is a big month for me. I had my long, dark night of the soul, which resulted in Aset, Hathor…
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Now this set up is very, very good as always.
The Princess of Poseidon is a good choice as some do said there should have been something for her in Valhalla and Old Kratos using her as doorstop.
Hera is curious, but makes sense he killed her just because she bad mouth Pandora when she was no danger to him.
Hercules, in Valhalla says he has no regret in killing him, saying Hercules wanted to be the God of War for all the wrong reasons, and not the right one. But I can also say Kratos at that point of time was willing to let Hercules live if he would step aside.
Hephaestus I can see from his downfall from grace, his savage beating from his father, failure to save Pandora, and Kratos respect towards Hephaestus doing what any father would do, protect their child.
Ares definitely needed to be in Valhalla and Kratos fighting Mars and the battle ending in a draw is pretty the same for Mars taking up both the legacy of Ares and Kratos as a God who fights to bring peace and who loves his people and followers. (Mars the Father and Mars the Avenger.)
I would also give a shot-out to Orkos, who was Kratos' last true friend for the longest time, being forced to kill him to free both from Ares.
It also would be great to see Atreus in his Anubis persona and the Guardian of the Dead.
Long time I know. I first offer a Merry Christmas for you and my family. But the Valhalla DLC for Ragnarök just dropped (Super wonderful), and I been thinking about how the old God of War in Egypt ideas would work with it. In Egyptian Mythology you have the 42 Negative Confessions and it 42 Judges of Maat. It's not about perfection, but to keep trying to outweight your bad deeds with good ones, to bring more balance than chaos to the world.
Alright so, in the God of War in Egypt AU, we've gotta trim the 42 down a bit, so we're grouping it into six groups of seven. Each group of seven represent a level to clear, with the final one at the end.
So the story is, after the final boss of the second game, Apophis, Osiris invites Kratos to the Underworld for "a great matter", and tells him someone wants to talk to him. Basically, Kratos has to traverse the 42 Confessors/Judges of Ma'at with Nephthys, facing one of his sins as a boss at the end of each level.
The 42, again, in groups of seven, you're not facing all of them at once, act as witnesses, watching him go through it, and talking to him at the end of it.
The bosses are all from the previous God of War games, particularly the ones Kratos feels kinda bad about.
Also, you get the Blade of Olympus at the beginning of the DLC, and it gains power with every boss you defeat.
First boss is Helios, good solid start to the story.
Second is the Princess of Posiedon, who sort of uses Posiedon's powers from GoW3. This ends with Kratos apologizing to her and her soul finding rest.
Third is Hera, who points out he could have shown her mercy but chose not to.
Fourth is Hercules, this one is lighter than the others, since Herc isn't really salty about losing, and Hercules passes on on good terms.
Fifth is Hephaestus, who is angry at the world more than Kratos himself.
The Sixth boss is Ares himself. the man who started it all. This is a knock down drag out fight... and it leads you into the REAL final boss.
See, once you've defeated Ares, you're led into the Heart Weighing Chamber where Anubis has begun his tenure as Guardian of the Dead, and under your son's gaze you fight the real Final Boss of the Ma'at DLC.
The final boss is Mars, the Roman God of War, the inheritor of both Kratos and Ares' legends. A more grim and noble God of War.
The fight ends in a draw, and Mars leaves, having put the ghosts of old to rest and returns to the fledgling Rome, to tak eup his post as the God of War.
I love the idea of Calliope and Atreus putting his half-sister back together. Never mind learning more about Old Kratos and what exactly happened in Greece (IE: Kratos being tricked by Ares to kill his wife and child.) leading to a big fallout between father and son.
My ideas for the set up and more.
Opening.
Any story in my mind could start out with the first war against Apophis, Ra and the other first Gods looking out from the Benben before fighting in the waters, allowing the player to post at max level. (Think if you could play as Zeus fighting the Titans.)
It switch to Old Kratos in an isolated oasis with his family. Maybe near Kharga Oasis, or the Bahariya Oasis.
Some of Gods and where their stand in the Civil War.
Geb and Nut: Titan like beings and the parents of Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. They have no role in the Civil War itself.
Thoth: A close ally to Isis and the closest thing Horus had to a father after Osiris' death.
Bastet: Horus agasint her sister.
Sekhmet: Set due to her loyalty to Ra.
Ptah: Horus due to the murder of Osiris.
Montu: One of Set's best generals.
Sobek: At the moment a wild card god.
Hathor: Neutral and trying to break a peace.
A lot of gods and goddess are still either still attempts neutrality, or roles takes them beyond the war itself. Like Neith and others. Some like Amun...no one seen him in like forever. Some early allies of Kratos could be Amenhotep, son of Hapu, Ash, Imhotep.
Aten in my mind could be say a rogue god who fell from grace after his power play failed with Akhenaten and his followers as a secondly theart.
You can still tied in some stuff from Norse Era, like a lot of gods talked about Tyr, and how they gave him back his arm after losing it to Garm. Or even mentioned of the 'Hebrews and their one god' and no one likes talking about it. Or Kratos being called 'a Sea Man' as a reference to the Sea People.
Osiris and Set: Even with how he came to power, Osiris was a great king and Pharaoh, who tired to make peace with his brother, but between Isis' manipulations, and Set's bitterness failed. When war did break out, Osiris attempted again to make peace. No one knows what just happened, but Set did cut his brother down accidental. This drove many into Horus and Isis camp.
i was thinking about calliope
Of course not canon thing (i have not enough time for good research and im lazy)
I dont like some sweeet concepts of her, i wanna see her feral and insane cuz there's a lot of shit
there's a level of angst to being anubis i think. imagine you are born into a stable yet loveless family. your mother loves you, sure, but your father's love feels hollow. at a young age, you figure out your father doesn't really love your mother, and by extension, you, because you are your mother's son more than you are your father's. you have no idea why he doesn't, but you want his love—desperately. you've seen other families, see how they love one another; laugh with each other. why can't you get that love, too?
you spend all of your childhood trying to chase after his love, but it's just not good enough. sometimes, there are days where you have to go out as a family, and that's the only time your father places a hand on your head or shoulders and smiles at you. it's a fake smile, but you can pretend he means it.
you're a teenager now, and your father's gotten more distant; more angry. he tries his best not to show you—that's the only reason why you know he actually does loves you—but he's terrible at managing his emotions. your mother cries at night and prays to the other gods about why your father isn't so obedient to her anymore. you get a sinking feeling that this marriage, this family, is doomed. not just because of your father, but because of your mother, too. you wonder if you're the reason for this curse; for this unhappiness. it would make sense.
as an adult, the three of you hardly speak to one another. your father gets assigned to ra's baroque and is never seen around. you go with your mother to the duat to help with funerary rites. down there, there are whispers of your mother's infidelity, that your true father is actually osiris. she tells you that those are just that: rumors. on lonely nights, you entertain the idea of being osiris' son, of horus the younger's half-brother. would that change the situation you found yourself in? no. no it wouldn't. osiris is nice, and you come to him a lot for advice, but he doesn't particularly strike you as the type who seems fatherly—and neither does he.
you have a couple of other co-workers on the job. ma'at, thoth, ammit... then there's the four sons of horus. they work with you to guard the organs. secretive as they are, they are well-liked, no doubt because they are that: the sons of horus the elder. sometimes, hte comes into work and greets them, and you get a burning jealousy watching how lovingly he interacts with them. for some reason, it really bothers you more than usual. you can feel it—some sort of connection that intertwines you all together outside of just being related job-wise.
then, hte gathers the ennead and proclaims who's the other father to his four sons. it's seth. everyone freezes and looks at the other god—who vehemently denies it. he's been married to nephthys ever since then, and he's never slept with anyone else. this is also when you learn about your father's past—his role in being the former king's right hand, his second-in-command, other half. suddenly, it all makes sense. you want to laugh and cry at the same time. no wonder! your father must resent you for being your mother's son, for having nephthys steal him away when they split. he's never gotten over horus, never had wanted to.
hte asks seth to reconsider their relationship together. the way he looks at your father is sickening—but what is more sickening is how soft your father looks back at him. you've never seen him make that face towards you or your mother, and it's enough to make you want to throw up. most of the ennead supports your father and the elder horus' relationship more than they did his and nephthys', and it looks like in the near future, the latter will formerly dissolve because of this. while you might pretend to be happy that this unstable marriage will come to a close, what will happen to you then? will the elder horus accept you as his son as well, or will he see you as your mother's son instead?
perhaps this is karma for being born the way that you were.
¿por que te vas? / por que te vas...
Making shrinky dinks:)
Saw a post dissing Nephthys and this was my last straw. Got very mad so I had to draw this
Can't stand Nephthys slander in this house....
I want to do an Egyptian illustration but I feel the need to have some designs first, here are some sketches from the past couple weeks:) it’s kind of a hot mess right know lol, I’m really trying to emphasize shapes and create genuine outfits/accessories.
Hey do you ever think there was an extremely awkward moment where Set realized that at least* two of his wives (Nephthys and Taweret) were helping to raise baby Horus behind his back?
Like, imagine it. Isis has decided her son is finally prepared to face Set. She has presented him to the Ennead. The court case to decide which one should hold the kingship has begun.
And as Set is watching Horus, trying to calculate what to do (he's not good with words so. best bet is probably just to punch him in the face really hard when no one is looking. oh no, the annoying child is dead! of completely unidentifiable causes! we can all go home now!), he notices that Taweret is, like, always slipping Horus honey candies whenever Isis isn't looking? And she keeps ruffling his hair affectionately with her hands?
And, also, Nephthys is correcting Horus's posture on how he holds his weapons? Like, he'll be holding a spear or a khopesh (wrong! cause he's stupid!), but then Nephthys will make eye contact with him while miming how to do it properly, and he corrects himself? And when his belt sash comes undone she'll point at her own so he fixes it? And she thinks she's being sly about it but SET CAN SEE HER DOING THIS???
Why is this happening? What does it mean? Because to be honest Set hasn't been speaking with his wives a lot recently. There were really long periods of time where they didn’t see each other, since he was busy stalking through the marshes of the Nile Delta trying to hunt down and kill this kid. And, now that he thinks about it, he doesn't really know exactly where they were when that was happening. And-- Oh. OH GOD.
*I say "at least" because there are a lot of goddesses who you could speculate are Set's consorts based on various evidence, and the amount of goddesses in the Egyptian pantheon who are said to have helped/watched over Horus at some point is basically all of them. So the number of women this happened with is potentially infinite.
Also if you're wondering about Set and Taweret, Plutarch says that they had a relationship at some point, and it kind of makes sense if you consider that Taweret is supposed to be a very fearsome guardian, hence her association with female hippos (who are very violent when they protect their young), and Set also is very fearsome, hence his association with male hippos (who are also violent but minus the protecting their young part).
i'd like to imagine nephthys as being quite jealous. you can't really tell she is because she hides her feelings quite well, but if you ever bring up seth to her, nephthys' lips twitch. she has loved him ever since the day they were born—it was this pull towards him that made her heart flutter, as though they were soulmates. she's not as forward as isis is, and she gets flustered quite easily, so she has never had the strength to tell seth her true feelings. seth has always seen her as his little sister, one that needs protection, but he knows she's just as capable of taking care of herself. sometimes nephthys acts pathetic because she wants seth's attention, even if it makes a fool out of herself.
seth has never really harbored feelings for anyone. he's like the desert sand, as free to come and go as he pleases. nephthys wants to grab ahold of that sand and anchor him, tether herself to him, but seth slips easily through her fingertips. he isn't actively looking to slight nephthys or her feelings, no—it's just how he is. for a long time, nephthys has accepted that. if nobody can have seth, then that means he's free for the taking indefinitely.
then horus (the elder) comes onto the scene. he feels the same way about seth—this tug towards the god that makes nephthys feel uneasy. she banks on seth's ability to not give a damn; his freedom means her success. but just like she is forever interwined with isis, horus is with seth. from the shadows she watches in horror as horus easily wins him over, feeling nauseated. so many thoughts run in her mind: if only she had confessed to him first, if only she had made her move, if only she had been what seth had needed and wanted, if, if, if... she wants to scream in frustration—horus is the one who grounds him, not her. why him?! she's the goddess of peace, the one meant to quell seth! not the king, his supposed nemesis!
it's only when horus and seth fall out she seizes her chance. she's grown smarter over the years of seth's absence; more cunning, though not as flashy as her sister. watching horus and seth interact with each other makes her have a good idea of what he likes and dislikes, and she's ready to be the perfect spouse for seth. she will take care of him, lavish him, and show him the depths of her feelings. then, maybe then, seth can fall head over heels for her too.
obviously, seth is hesitant. his heart has been broken and shattered into a million pieces, but here nephthys is picking up the peaces methodically. she shows him how he's supposed to be loved, how much she loves him. it's a slow, tedious process, and given enough time seth slowly warms up to her. nephthys can pretend to be happy—after all, he's her husband now. nobody can take him away from her. they even have a cute little baby together! but despite it all, she senses his apprehension. nephthys is second to that damn horus, and always will be. it will only take her brother appearing back into seth's life for his resolve to waver, and he'll crawl back to him in an instant. the worst part is that horus will accept seth back with opens arms, as if their separation was just a little lover's quarrel.
nephthys will make sure that won't ever happen, not under her watch. seth is hers—forever.
(word count: 1,548)
From a lonesome, hidden balcony located somewhere on the outskirts of the palace, one could see a familiar sight: Seth, being heckled by his adoring wife into visiting the servants, trailed by their hesitant son. For many of Egypt’s regulars, this was a normal sight to behold—the fearsome desert god, He Who Has Caused Destruction, the murderer, transformed into something better. Greater.
It made the elder Horus scowl deeply.
If Seth felt his presence—he surely did, he must have—he did not react. Instead, his attention was solely focused on rebuking Nephthys, his tail swishing furiously. Horus knew all too well that it was nothing more than playful deceit, and he could only narrow his eyes as his gaze drifted over to the goddess. His sister had always been the simpler out of the two, but to see her laugh so casually with him was…
“Uncle,” a quiet voice startles him, causing the older god to whip around. Horus bristled; not a single soul on this earth knew of this place, unless of course you were—
“Nephew,” Horus the Elder nods simply, turning his back on the younger and adjusting his gaze. By now the trio had long since moved on, but he kept his eyes glued upon the spot where they once were—where he once was.
The younger Horus moved silently to stand beside him, a mutual understanding blossoming between the two. If Elder Horus could, he’d laugh at the absurdity of the situation: Isis, giving birth to Osiris’ son, and naming the poor, weak babe after him. It was as though the universe had taken his Ba and stuffed it into the young god before him. He was practically a walking, living, breathing carbon copy of his uncle—a great offense, seeing as how he was very much alive and well.
Horus the Younger let his own eyes meet the spot the Elder was staring at, and although he had arrived at the scene of the crime far too late, he seemed to have grasped what had occurred. Leaning onto the railing, he kept the tense yet peaceful silence for a moment before speaking.
“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”
Again, if Elder Horus could, he’d start cackling.
“... Yes,” the older god acknowledges slowly, his fingers flexing against his palm. If he had been much younger, much more arrogant, he would’ve punched the younger square in his jaw for even mentioning him. Uttering Seth’s visage upon one’s tongue was a heinous crime and deserving of a fate worse than death. Now though, he no longer had any right to think so. Thus, he kept his mouth rightfully shut. “He had always been.”
This causes the younger Horus to tilt his head slightly—inquisitively. Curiously. Hungrily.
He decides to indulge him.
“He hasn’t changed in thousands of years,” elder Horus mutters, searching for the sandy red hair amongst the crowd. “He couldn’t have changed in thousands of years. I know him like I know the back of my hand, little one. Seth’s a stubborn mule, you’ve come to find out. Not many things worm his way into his heart.”
Horus thought for a moment. “Do you think that…?”
“God’s no,” the older exclaims in disbelief, “Not a chance. Nephthys—gods bless her—she’s not exactly… his type. Too boring, too plain. Words taken out of the horse’s mouth.” Horus frowns, clenching his hand into a tight fist. “That’s why I don’t understand. He’s not… He’s really not…” He falls silent, turbulent memories swirling within his heart.
It’s true, the younger had to admit—the god before him knew his uncle far too well; even on a scope that not even he, himself, could ever achieve in his lifetime. The thought makes him feel uneasy; a pang of unwarranted jealousy flooding his body. Horus wishes he could take his uncle’s place—perhaps then things might’ve been better, no matter how irrational he thinks otherwise. To hold him, to worship him… it should’ve been him doing that. The feeling makes his guts squeeze and mash together in a hot mix of adoration and lust that he struggles to hold down. Horus the Elder’s chuckle is the only thing that snaps him out of his reverie, his face one that of understanding.
“I loved him,” he continues. “No, I still do. Even after all these years, I wish I could go back in time and not have thought so rationally.” Elder Horus shakes his head sorrowfully. “Many around me praised it; told me it was a necessary sacrifice. Without your father as king, they said, Seth would’ve ran Egypt into the ground, bathing Egypt in a sea of innocent red. But no, I don’t believe that, not even for a second.”
He turns to the younger, placing a hand gently upon his shoulder. “Do you know how long the events of that period in time keep replaying in my head? For eons now, it feels like. Once upon a time, it used to be a nightmare I’d struggle to wake up from. Now, though, it is nothing more than the comfortable blanket of grief I wrap willingly around my body. I’ve always dreamt of a time where I let him rule—sometimes we co-rule, other times he does so alone. But all in all, I am still there, still pacifying him.”
“In the end, he would’ve made for a fantastic ruler, believe me. It is because I would’ve been there, guiding him; coaching him. As impulsive as he is, he would’ve still come to me, even if I had ascended into the heavens; asking me questions well into the night, even if the candle had long since burned out.”
Closing his eyes, the elder shakily inhales. “I always picture what happens next: Seth, curled up into my arms. It’s the only haven he’s known for so long. He had always looked up at me so softly, so sweetly, you see. So lovingly; so unlike him to most. Did you know he could smile, that brute? His lips always curled upwards in a subtle way when he did, and his nose would crinkle slightly, along with his eyes. That smile had always been reserved for me.”
The air is deathly silent.
He hadn’t realized until the tears had begun to wet his cheeks that he had been crying, out of all things. It shocks even the younger Horus to see, who recoils slightly. To see the older war god, the pillar of Ennead after Ra, crying so easily… A weak-hearted man would’ve fallen to his very knees at the sight. Horus the Elder cherishes these tears, though; a weak, strangled laugh twisting out of his tight throat. He’s no stranger to crying—he doesn’t believe such things dictate masculinity—but to be so vulnerable in front of his descendant is… humbling, in a sense. For both of them.
It takes him a while to wipe those tears, his heart bleeding out and oozing for Horus to see. The younger acknowledges it, although hesitantly, reaching up and placing his hand on the opposite shoulder. His palm is warm, lacking the calluses of a true war god. The Horus before him is youthful; vibrant—nothing like the broken older god he had now become. It makes him feel even more bitter, but that bitterness quickly ebbs away into nothingness. He doesn’t let himself succumb to such things anymore—he cannot afford to.
“Little one,” he manages to rasp, lowering his head in defeat. “Let me warn you of the path you will inexorably take. It will not be easy—no, far from it. Too much time has passed for him to open up his heart again. Whatever vestiges of love he feels for Nephthys are nothing more than the little lies he tells himself. You are my shadow; my half. He will be haunted by me—by you—for as long as you both live. It’ll be hard for either one of you to become close; it is the lesson he has learned: never again.”
Horus the Younger nods solemnly, sincerely. “Uncle, I understand,” he replies, squeezing his shoulder. “I would be stupid to think I ever had a chance with him. But still, in my heart… you know it well, too: he’s the only one for me. I might not have had the same opportunities as you, but it’s still there—that fire, that passion. Even so, I want to understand. I want to be there for him—I know I can be.”
This time, his laugh is louder; a deep, boisterous sound that echoes throughout the air. It matches that of a powerful being who had once ruled the land with an iron fist and a strong heart; one whose Ba is full of timeless sorrow and a sense of inescapable acceptance. Horus feels the chills run down his spine, momentarily awed by the power the elder had once wielded—power that is now his.
“Ah, gods bless you, Horus,” Horus the Elder muses as he wipes away the remaining tears. He turns away from the balcony, giving the younger a firm pat on the shoulder. “You have my blessings, little one.”
Before he can even utter a question, the elder god is gone within a blink of an eye; the only evidence of his visit being the light wind that causes the linen curtains to sway gently in the breeze.
Tried to make this look as much like a middle school power point presentation slide as possible (featuring: my statues of Sekhmet and Bast)
What toons I think Egyptian gods would main. Sorry gun to my head had to make this.....
It's the end of the year, with Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Did you know that the ancient Egyptians already had the notion of 12 months in the year and the celebration of the New Year? This makes me wonder what the gods were doing at these times. After all, regardless of the Christian meaning they forced on this date (since it was a pagan date before), it's a time for gatherings
It's Horus' birthday, so he clearly spends the whole day talking about it and wanting to receive gifts. Unfortunately for him, he's the typical case of people who only get one gift for Christmas and their birthday
Hathor is definitely organizing a huge family dinner and setting up a shiny Christmas tree in the middle of the palace. She lets Ihy put up the Christmas star
Imseti and Hapi definitely still think Santa Claus exists
Seth didn't want to go, but since he was forced, he's going to make it everyone's problem and bring the silliest arguments to the table. Unfortunately, no one is immune to Seth's annoyance, so they end up arguing a lot all night long
Isis just wanted an excuse to get the family together and celebrate, but half of the family hates each other and the other half is so distant that it's hard to find them. She spent most of the year getting them together for this party, so Isis definitely brought a lot of good food and several gifts for the ones she really loves
Thoth and Ma'at show up for two minutes to wish Horus a happy Christmas/birthday and then disappear back to their work
Anubis didn't want to be there and he really isn't. He stayed for the first half hour, saw the first fight and then sneaked out. He won't be seen again until January
Nephthys loves family gatherings and is the one who brings albums and takes lots of pictures
Sekhmet and Sobek keep betting on who can set off the most fireworks and have already burned a few things in the process
Osiris is wearing his beloved custom sweaters for Christmas. He makes Isis and Horus wear them too. And he is definitely the uncle who makes the stupid jokes at Christmas dinner, sorry but I don't make the rules
Gebe is the one who makes the silly Christmas jokes
Serket keeps changing the song every five seconds because nothing pleases her, ignoring the others' complaints by skipping songs they like
Wadjet and Tawaret are trying to keep the children busy so they don't turn the palace upside down, but they keep getting distracted by talking and the cute decorations in the house
Ptah and Khnum are just in the corner, enjoying the few snippets of music they can hear while they talk about life. There might be a lot of crying in a few minutes
Kebechet really wanted to stay awake and see in the New Year with her parents, but she fell asleep in a few minutes and didn't wake up even with the noisy family
Anput gives the best gifts for Secret Santa and New Year's Eve, but she always ends up getting things like socks and picture frames
On New Year's, it must be a different kind of gathering. Everyone gathers at the Pharaoh's (Horus) palace and there are drinking competitions, lots of beautiful fireworks and dancing. Everyone looks forward to the flooding of the Nile as the main attraction of the night and it is generally a very good time of year. I wonder if there would be as much chaos, but I can definitely imagine Ra making all the silly "I'll do it next year" jokes.
I really love the end of the year, I hope everyone is having a great holiday!
Slightly Christmas something