@akariamontgomery said: It’s the way that I was looking through the picture and was like “wow Montu is short” but then realized it was because he’s next to Sobek and Shezmu because Horus and Anubis are both around that height lol It looks so cool though to finally see all of them standing together
LMAODJFKSDFDS-- I laugh because I’m reminded of that one pic I drew when Montu looks smaller next to Shezmu (and where my proportions were more off) and now it’s coming back full circle. Victory bird can’t catch a break 😂
BUT YEH Montu is actually fairly tall at 5′ 10″, same height as Anubis! He just happens to be placed between two giants in the lineup (and Wep--).
Technically the shortest guy in that lineup is Horus, he’s “““only””” 5′9″ -- but his hair is fluffy and adds an inch or two.
On that note -- I realize some of the heights in the full lineup may appear off by an inch or so because I’m trying to measure from the top of their scalp, not the top of their hair; Osiris was the easiest for that reason. Their website profiles do list their heights under the physical traits sections, but I can share them here for ease and comparison:
Sobek -- 7′ 0″ (~213 cm; Tallest overall in lineup)
Yamm -- 6′ 9″ (lmao-- ahem, ~206 cm)
Shezmu -- 6′ 8″ (~203 cm)
Ra -- 6′ 2″ (~188 cm)
Sekhmet -- 6′ 1″ (~185 cm)
Osiris -- 6′ 0″ (~183 cm)
Set, Thoth, and Wepwawet -- 5′ 11″ (~180 cm)
Anubis and Montu -- 5′ 10″ (~178 cm)
Horus and Mafdet -- 5′ 9″ (~175 cm)
Isis -- 5′ 8″ (~173 cm)
Anuket -- 5′ 7″ (~170 cm)
Nephthys and Hathor -- 5′ 6″ (~168 cm)
Serqet and Pakhet -- 5′ 4″ (~163 cm)
Bastet -- 5′ 2″ (~157 cm; Shortest overall in lineup)
(Sorry if I asked too many questions you can answer them only if you want to 😅)
Could you tell us more about Thoth and Horus, what is their relationship like? ( I remember seeing Set's and Thoth's, it was quite interesting)
In reference to this ask: “how do Set and [Thoth] get along?”
I think that Thoth and Horus have a similar mentor/mentee role that, in some ways, mirrored what Set had with Ra. Though this could partially be because Thoth helped support Isis's cause from the beginning, at least outside of the council's initial's lack of judgment. [...]
Thoth initially helped heal Horus as an infant, after the latter was bitten by a viper that slithered its way into his crib -- adapted from one of the myths that describe Set's early attempt to take Horus's life. Afterward, Thoth encouraged Isis to take Horus and raise him away from Set's influence; he knew neither of them could go against either Ra or the new king Set just yet, but advised Isis that if she was serious about her campaign against Set, she needed to ensure her and Horus's safety, first.
It's not until Horus is a little older -- preteens, maybe -- that he's formally introduced to Thoth -- who had secured enough footing to break ties with Set's kingdom and ally himself with Isis's cause. I think it's mostly from Thoth where Horus learned the inner workings of the pantheon and most of who's who (observationally; Horus would only meet them personally later), as well as how to better wield and control his magic.
Over time, Thoth served as an advisor to both Horus and Isis regarding the best strategies against Set, as well as an advocate for Horus's right to the throne and an enforcer of rules to several of their contests -- much to Set's chagrin. Thoth didn't do any of this to spite Set, though -- he doesn’t actually dislike Set, even though he disapproves of his approach. But his main reasons to firmly side with Horus’s cause were twofold:
Thoth is deeply connected to Ma'at (the concept and the goddess), on a higher level than many other deities. So he sooner realized the rule under Set was not inline with Ma'at's will for divine order.
Thoth developed a firm belief that Horus had a solid case for reclaiming the crown as Osiris's rightful heir, and could see Horus’s potential as a fair king.
As for how they see each other now following The Contendings: while Thoth spends most of his time as Ra's royal vizier and as the head of the reformed Council of Ma'at, he still offers Horus his guidance whenever the other seeks him out. He also helps delegate some of Horus's higher education with other gods to help prepare for his eventual kingship.
Horus, for his part, respects Thoth as both his ally and teacher. While he sometimes feels that Thoth can be a bit too formal or rigid (and he doesn't enjoy being on the receiving end of Thoth's lectures), Horus ultimately trusts his judgment, and he sees the God of Wisdom as an invaluable source of support.
When the deities turn into animals, since for example, if Horus turns into a Falcon and has the eye of Horus, would he be more recognizable as Horus? Or would people just think he’s a Falcon flying by?
My initial answer would lean towards the latter, based on what I shared in the world-building notes for Animal forms:
Deities in their animal forms often display unusual colors, markings, and eyes, and they often wear additional accessories or jewelry. While this can differentiate deities from mortal animals and demons, deities can also hide or adjust these features to avoid being easily noticed by mortals.
That said, I think it may also depend on whether the deity wants to be noticed or perceived as “divine.” To expand on this using the example with Horus — like all deities, he has access to different forms. Usually when gods want to walk among mortals unnoticed, they will use their Mortal form to do so and hide their unusual or divine traits (for Horus, it’s turning his hair fully black and masking his other divine glamors).
The same can be done with using Animal forms to go unnoticed — or at least, to go without being perceived as an actual god. But that doesn’t mean their presence won’t turn heads or remind mortals of the gods they are associated with, either. [...]
In Horus’s case and with his falcon form, most mortals who see him would have an odd feeling due to his divine aura, but most wouldn’t think much past that. They might think “Oh my, a falcon out here? Is that one of Lord Horus’s messengers, or a sign of his blessings?” due to the strong associations. But unless Horus purposely gives them a reason to think it’s him in the feathery-flesh, they may not realize that the falcon flying overhead is the very god they’re invoking (to Horus’s amusement, I’m sure).
Also, I’ve played with the Idea of some divine traits not being sensed by mortals normally. So while Horus’s Eye is present on his falcon form, mortals might not notice it unless Horus used magic to make it visible, etc. Plus I’m sure he’d blow his cover the moment he reveals himself as a falcon capable of human speech, much like when Montu did similarly in this comic lmao—
Overall, I just find it entertaining that a deity’s animal forms might visually stick out more than others of their species -- not unlike the trope “Flashy Protagonists, Bland Extras” where the major characters have bright hair colors and designs (and that’s not a dig at the trope, I clearly use this in DEITIES too lmao).
But canonly, deities who are in their animal form usually have no intention of being recognized as divine by mortals. If they really want the recognition as a god, they have plenty of ways to reveal their divine nature and make themselves known -- animal form or not.
UPDATE: The Askbox is now closed! Thanks for the last question everyone, I have them in the inbox and will answer them once I have a lull this week 👍
----------
PREVIOUS UPDATE: Took a while to get the formal announcement published, but to reiterate from the recent blog update, the DEITIES Askbox is now OPEN!
This will be completed in tandem with the OC_tober run for DEITIES this month. As mentioned, I’ll be answering any questions gradually, most likely to publish them over the weekends and in between sharing the individual DEITIES Profiles.
Please be sure to review the updated FAQs and Guidelines from the website before submitting your questions and messages. I’ll likely be motivated to answer general questions about the project or cast this month -- nothing written in-character, and prompts/suggestions may be saved for a later date.
Meanwhile, I’ll plan to keep the Askbox open until at least the end of the month, so you’ll have until October 31st to submit any messages. Once it closes, I’ll revisit when and how often to reopen the askbox after I have time to review progress from the month. With that said, let’s have fun this October!
Who in the main cast do you find it the hardest to write for (characterization wise)?
Ohhhh, this is a good one! I hadn't giving it much thought, but now that you mention it, there are definitely some characters that are more difficult to write than others, for different reasons.
Ironically, I kinda answered this question before in this ask from a few years ago -- and my answer remains the same today.
Which is to say, I still think the most difficult to write would be Ra -- because even though he's a major character and essential to the plotline, he isn't at the front and center, nor do I intend for him to be. For this reason, I have less practice with him and when I do try to develop him offline with friends, it feels a bit... “clunky” -- he isn’t as easy to drop into character like, say, Set. I have written in-character for Ra in the past that you can find in his tag, but even those took me ages to draft until I was satisfied with his dialogue [...]
There's also the difficulty of writing as a king -- or anyone with a high-profile role -- who maintains a powerful presence and sense of responsibility, but who can naturally interact with the rest of the cast during different scenarios. For example:
Ra being more relaxed and doting when he's around his daughters. They still respect each other's ranks in public, but he's still their father, and he’s comfortable acting as such around them.
Ra choosing to be either formal or casual among his closest advisors, such as Thoth, depending on the environment and details of what they're discussing.
Ra being more authoritative and in command with his guards while voyaging in the Solar Barque. He’s normally quite relaxed and lenient with Set due to their mentor/mentee relationship, for instance -- but when they are facing demons that threaten the barque, he trusts Set to guard his back; and when he tells Set when to stand down or fall back, he also trusts Set to take his command seriously.
Ra displaying his kingly presence among his other citizens and devotees, while still maintaining an approachable aura, so they’ll have confidence in his leadership and reign.
...Those were a lot of scenarios aha -- but all that is to say is, I'm still trying to figure out a way for Ra to flex those different roles seamlessly, while still making sure his character feels consistent. At least, as consistent as I can make him, given how varied the source mythology is. It's still quite the challenge, but I do enjoy portraying Ra’s character, and hopefully I'll find more opportunities to show those different facets of him over time.
Something caught my eye on the site. On Pakhet's profile says Sekhmet is her mentor. What is she learning from her? How to hunt or to fight in general?
(btw. Thank you for answering my previous questions and I apologize if there were too many but I really enjoy your project and I couldn't wait to finally be able to ask more about it)
Sure thing, and no worries, I appreciate all your interest and engagement with the project so far ; 0 ; )! This does work well as a "final question" for this askbox round though, but they gave me a lot to chew on this month for sure.
Anyways, I've been sitting here trying to remember the reason why I put that term there for Pakhet's relationship with Sekhmet. But if you're thinking "mentor" like Sekhmet teaching Pakhet directly / Pakhet learning from Sekhmet, that was not the impression I meant to convey 😂 at least, not to the same level as Ra mentoring Set, or Thoth mentoring Horus.
To help clarify, when I added the Relationship sections for everyone's profiles, I tried to use the most general terms possible -- some that have different meanings for different gods. If I'm honest, I'd like to revisit the relationship section for everyone to make it cleaner; there are some technical site-building reasons behind why they aren't in collapsible content nor have pretty visual heart charts (yet), but that's another can of worms. For now, you can view the relationship sections as having some unspoken nuance, at least until I make time to address them directly. [...]
Regarding your questions tho, I should preface this by saying Pakhet is a fairly independent deity. While I'm sure she had some basic teaching, I think much of her early combat and hunting skills were mostly self-taught, or she learned from observation and lots of trial and error. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have other veteran gods who she looks up to and/or sees as her senior or "mentor"; She has the same label for Neith, for example (actually, I could more easily see Pakhet learning hunting from Neith instead, if anyone 🤔 I wonder if that’s why I put the label there...).
As for Sekhmet, her character in DEITIES isn't a very personable or approachable goddess, even among others with whom she has no qualms. She's distant with most of her divine peers -- either because they fear or respect her too much to approach her, or because she doesn't go out of her way to approach them. Also, I characterize Sekhmet as having some inner reservations with teaching or advising others, especially anyone who looks up to her, given her violent past.
However, I think Sekhmet and Pakhet have enough overlap (both feline warriors and hunters associated with the desert heat), and have come across each other enough times to at least be acquainted outside of any required formality. Perhaps they have even trained lightly together the few times that they shared the training grounds, but have left it at that. They respect and are cordial each other, but they are not exceptionally close, and neither of them seem to mind.
So for lack of a better word, I suppose I could designate Sekhmet as being an "idol" to Pakhet -- but I use that term very loosely cuz of the strong connotation it has that I do not want to place on Pakhet's character. If there's another word that means "a veteran of Pakhet's field who she greatly looks up to and aspires to be like through improving her skills and divine duties," then that would be how Pakhet sees Sekhmet. "Mentor" felt succinct, but maybe I should nix it and keep to “acquaintances” at most. Either way, I'll revisit that and the other labels another day.
Was there any deities that were on Set’s side/liked his rule when he was king? Or was everyone on Isis’s side? (You don’t have to give names ofc Cz I know this is probably in the realm of spoilers but you made a comment about Thoth during Set’s rule in an earlier ask and I got curious)
Oh, it’s no worries! It’s a good question -- FWIW I was willing to mention as much about Thoth in the previous ask, because I had found several mentions of Thoth supporting Horus in the myths, and I haven’t seen any reason to deviate from it for DEITIES.
As for your main question, I had partially addressed it in this old post for Horus’s and Serqet’s relationship, here:
“It should be worth mentioning that not every deity had supported Horus’s cause, and that some initially sided with Set. Serqet, like several other deities at the time, felt convinced that Egypt was better left under Set’s [then current] reign, than in the hands of a young, inexperienced deity prince. [...] ”
I haven’t had much chance to expand the answer till now, but it’s more or less similar: The mythology emphasizes that The Contendings resulted in several years of war. [...]
For DEITIES, I interpret this as meaning that some of the gods (and by extension, their mortal devotees) supported different sides at varying degrees. This included lending their strength in battle, or sharing their information and resources, with the expectation of mutual protection and aid. But I also don’t think every god had to choose a side; if they had the means and desire, they could choose to remain neutral or independent to the results.
Basically, not everyone in the pantheon automatically sided with Horus at first, or even with his mother, the former queen. Their royalty and "right” for the throne wouldn’t sway everyone out of obligation — especially when Isis went into hiding for years, and her son was considered a young and very inexperienced deity. Meanwhile, Set was already a powerful and experienced god from the same royal family, and he had time to built his own rapport while Isis was MIA. Even for those who didn’t like Set as king (or a person), some did respect and/or fear him enough to not dare side against him.
For that reason, the odds were stacked against Isis and Horus at the beginning of The Contendings, until they had time to garner more support for their cause. It’s only after some the trials between Set and Horus, and Set’s gradual corruption from his own power (and the increasing stigma and fear about his chaos magic), that more of his support would dwindle and/or shift to supporting Horus. That would also include a bunch of politics and strategic maneuvers for each side that I need time to flesh out lmao;;
(Also, IDK if I mentioned it before, but in DEITIES for a good part of The Contending, not everyone believed Isis’s accusation that Set was Osiris’s killer. There’s some lore / potential spoiler reasons for how Set was able to conceal this, but it’s only later during The Contendings that the truth is revealed -- which could factor into Set losing some additional support and respect).
As for “who sided with who” — I haven’t decided on everyone, and the ones I have decided I haven’t made the call on how firm their support is. I’d like to think that even in war, the deities can be nuanced about who they support at a given time, and due to their own circumstances and personal biases.
For example, Nephthys assisted with Isis’s and Horus’s cause and aided where she could, but she remained by Set’s side as another pillar of support, constantly conflicted about leaving her husband for most of the war. Sobek, in contrast, would have been Set’s ally due to their past camaraderie as guards, and probably supported Set’s continued reign; but he didn’t go out of his way to antagonize or threaten Isis (who he respects), nor Horus (who was only a child at first, and then eventually earns his respect over time).
For everyone else, I’d be open to address or explore the details at a later time when it’s feels relevant, and provided that I pace myself with figuring out more relationship dynamics. Otherwise, we can leave the rest of the cast up for some speculation~
will you be opening the CuriousCat for anonymous asks again?
This is a fair question, and I thought about this on and off while creating the project’s website. But I think the short answer is going to be no — I’m not planning to reopen Curious Cat for DEITIES, at least not for now.
Don’t misunderstand, I enjoyed Curious Cat and it was my intention to reopen it (as uh, evidenced by my 4-year old update hahaha sorry ya’ll--). But after shifting my scope for the project, it’ll be more feasible to keep all my accounts lean -- several of which I already juggle for DEITIES Project alone, nevermind all my other personal accounts 😂
Curious Cat is great for what it is, but it ended up splitting the areas where I can share answers with my audience — like during the DEITIES Boop game a while back, it was a lot of work to crosspost the answers between CC and tumblr. I also think CC is most useful for redirecting to and from twitter, but the majority of the DEITIES audience is on tumblr... which already has an askbox feature that I can better control haha;;; Now I may create a website-version of an askbox in the future, but even that one may not be necessary just yet.
That said, I do want to go back to CC and try preserving some answers I had there that I never shared on tumblr -- some of the responses are actually solid lore that I’d like to record and tag. Perhaps during a quiet period I will collect and post them here for posterity? As long as everyone understands the context for when I was open to past character asks, etc.
In the meantime, anyone is free to browse thru the previous replies I managed to answer from 2018 --> https://curiouscat.live/deitiesofduat/
And regarding “anonymous” asks, I think I’ll continue keeping that off on Tumblr, just to avoid some of the, uh... inappropriate and/or straight-up spam that I got on CC 😂 I just don’t have the patience for any of that lmao--
Thankfully, everyone asks plenty of good questions for the askbox sessions even with anon off, and I’m comfortable with that amount of queries and mutual accountability. As mentioned in the guidelines though, anyone can ask me to manually anon them if they’re nervous or shy, I won’t mind!
