#lesser of two evils everyone!!!!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Balor - Day 66

Race: Tyrant

Alignment: Dark-Chaos

July 8th, 2024

For how relatively obscure Irish myth can tend to be, it has a surprising amount of influence over contemporary fantasy. If you walked up to someone on the street and asked them who Dagda was, they'd likely never be able to answer, but if you showed them a picture of a Banshee or a Changeling, they'd... probably still not know what you were, and ask you to leave, but whatever. If you went into a D&D party and asked that same question, you'd get many recognized looks and nods of understanding, at least, for what it's worth. As gone over far earlier in this series, during the Dad- ahem. Dagda analysis, Irish mythology is wide and has surprising roots in a lot, especially relating to the main antagonistic force throughout, the Fomorians. And who else leads this roving band of pillagers but today's Demon of the Day, the single-eyed giant, Balor!

While the Fomorians are a demon in their own right within the SMT series (and a personal favorite of mine at that,) the topic of them is unavoidable when it comes to Balor- after all, being the leader of the bunch, the most fearsome of them, and being a star player in the Tuatha Dé Danann as a whole, it's impossible to divorce their leader from, well, them. Balor's name roughly translates to 'The Flashing One,' as purported in Myth, Legend & Romance, a book that goes in-depth into general stories throughout Irish mythology- things such as the Ulster Cycle where Cu Cuchulain originates, or, in the case of Balor, the Mythological Cycle, the book going over the eternal war between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians. In the Mythological Cycle (and thankfully looping back to Balor after such a detour), Balor is one of two major leaders of the Fomorians, and one who leads the charge into a battle with the Tuatha Dé Danann.

In the story, Balor is described as a giant monster with a single eye. To quote,

The first was Balor, of the Mighty Blows, balc-beimnech. A remarkable thing about him was that one of his eyes, which he generally kept covered, brought instant death to everyone on whom its gaze fell.

I think that 'of the Mighty Blows' is meant to establish a great stature, especially given the amount of chaos he wreaks later on in the battle itself. As the champion of the Fomorians, and the greatest warrior who led the charge, he played an incredibly important role in getting the Fomorians an advantage, in that he killed Nuada Airgetlám during the first major battle of the war, granting an upset, given that Nuada was the leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Later on in the battle, however, Balor was betrayed by his own grandson just as he went to open his eye, intending to bring a swift stop to the fighting- a Tuatha Dé Danann named Lugh, his own grandchild, went to battle with the one-eyed giant, and after some teamwork to forcibly close the destruction the giant's eye was wreaking, Lugh ended up firing a boulder through it, killing Balor. After his defeat, Balor fell backwards, ending up crushing several of his own men.

Hilariously, as the Wikipedia article about Balor says regarding the source of Balor's eyes' power, "O'Curry tantalizingly stated he was in possession of a manuscript with an alternate explanation on how Balor got his power, but does not elaborate due to lack of space." Honestly, kinda tragic. It's commonly believed that Balor's eye's power, mainly depicted in the Cath Maige Tuired (a collective title for two saga texts in the mythological cycle,) originates from an exposure to magic fumes his druidic father, Buarainech, the collective father of all Fomorians as well.

There's also an entire folkloric side to Balor, but I'll leave you to read into that yourself. What I find most interesting about Balor is his apparent role as a representation of the 'Scorching Sun;' Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, a scholar in the field of Irish mythology, purports that the already existing depictions of Balor as the 'scorching sun that would bring crop failure and drought,' to quote the Wikipedia article, likely comes from the physical resemblance between Balor and a Cyclops, giving light to a hitherto unnamed Celtic sun god from the Bronze age. As he speculates, the deity mentioned could be Balor, and his appearance had been conflated with that of the Cyclops, giving way to the strange similarities between Balor, Cyclopses, and a relatively obscure Welsh giant named Ysbaddaden, which is its own can of worms.

In SMT, I find the depiction to be really interesting, and frankly pretty cool- the hairy body may be drawing a connection between Balor and the Fomorians design in SMT, given that Fomorian is depicted as a giant ram. The single eye up above in a cage is a unique design element, and while I'm not sure where the cage came from, I really do enjoy how unique it is- besides, the writhing mass of worms surrounding the single eye makes Balor resemble a Beholder, which gets HUGE ups from me. I LOVE BEHOLDERS!!!! RAHHH!!!!!! In gameplay, from my experience, Balor tends to be a mid-game physical attacker, which fits very well. I kinda wish he would get a signature skill based around his eye, maybe one that's sorta like Mudo? But I digress.

Overall, the Fomorians are a rabbit hole I find utterly fascinating, and Balor is just one example of why that is. Trust me when I say there is a lot more to this- I'm only really scratching the surface- and I'd highly recommend reading more about the Mythological Cycle if you're interested!

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Iran is bombing Israel apparently, FAFO moment truly.

Both Biden and Trump are vowing to defend Israel with harsh military force against Iran.

If they follow through with it and the US moves against Iran, this will actually become a war.

Do not stop pressuring politicians to support Palestine. Do not stop advocating for Palestine. Do not stop protesting Israel. Do not stop protesting genocide.

From the river to the sea.

[thekenobee]

I'm fulfilled. Now I can DIE

[casa-delle-galline]

So Max made the weird decision to cancel OFMD, the show that was one of the most in-demand shows on the platform, of the highest score, that was basically its cash cow, worth hundreds if not thousands of subscribers, and thought that was a good idea?

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[fishyartist]

Think maybe a lot of cruel and stupid people just Actually want to hurt others, and are using the excuse of self preservation to justify it

[polyamoryprincess]

I always think it’s worth mentioning that Biden has spent his ENTIRE PRESIDENCY trying desperately to do something to distract from how the US completely lost the war in Afghanistan that they’ve been using as their go to for patriotism for the last 20 years and then left our allies and translators to die at the hands of the Taliban. And he’s failed over and over again.

he’s such a fucking disgrace and expecting us to vote for him after being a major force behind a horrific genocide is disgusting. Fuck the GOP but how can you possibly argue that he’s the lesser of two evils?

At least if Trump had been president while this was happening, liberals would have been a lot quicker to realize what was happening instead of falling straight into the propaganda machine.

[vampyrluver]

At first when i watched the movie i was like ok miguel is hot but hes so angry nd mean to my boy miles hes not babygirl like ppl led me to believe but now im stuck on miguel tiktok nd honestly i want him carnally

[six-eared-gremlin-ao3]

I hate politics, but my life literally hangs on this; we can't do better if Trump gets back in office. If he gets back in it's Game Over for anyone who isn't a straight white cisgendered Christian man. Women, Queer People, POC, Non-Christian- we won't stand a chance-

I have to vote for Biden not because I like him or what he's doing, but because the alternative will either kill me or make me wish I was dead, along with so many people I know.

We can't fix anything if he wins. Go and vote.

Okay in the midst of this I do wanna say that this absolutely WILL get Trump even MORE support.

So, here's what you're gonna do, okay:

GO. FUCKING. VOTE.

[10-59]

godddd i just know the world is making fun of this country for electing a felon who wants to take away the rights of everyone except white men

[mostlyvoid-partiallyflowers]

WHY CANT THIS MOTHERFUCKING REPUBLICAN LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE it’s literally the same four ads on loop every six posts good fucking god

[m4lfeasance]

i think i'm finally at my limit for reading hate-posts that appear on my dash about the upcoming presidential election before my brain actually explodes and given me a canon event. i am deadass having an aggretsuko moment on the daily at this point.

[dragonqueenbizawagi]

Yeah, that fits! Especially since I said my favorite trope is Danny confusing/annoying everyone (John Constantine in particular 😈), and freaking them out by being an eldritch abomination or at least a little bit spooky is also included in that!

What DPXDC Trope are You? Uquiz

I'm back at it again boys.

Take a gander at what trope you are so i can inspect you like a bug.

[shortsweetespresso]

okay, but on a serious note, as someone with a degree in history, this is a terrifying event. not only is this showing that our leaders and former leaders are not safe from an attack, but this attempt also happened against a former president that may will use this to his advantage. this man, a former REALITY TV STAR, knows how to play a crowd. he knows how to put on a show and manipulate people to be on his side. he already has an insane fan base who has ALREADY incited an insurrection attempt on the very government they CLAIM TO LOVE.

history loves a martyr, and a living martyr can make things worse. whether this was real or staged, it will be treated as real by every single news source that matters unless proven otherwise -- which could end up being proven years down the line. the right are already using this as a reason to vote for trump. I can't scroll through my facebook without people in every single group I'm in discussing this. all press is good press, especially to the right wing where they can spread their propaganda.

this night is going to be in history books. unless the American people come together, and EVERYONE who can vote against trump, votes for Biden (god help us), this night may very well be listed in the reasons fascism came to take hold of the United States.

you can read the reasons why World War I and II happened, and you can see the clear picture as all of those reasons are laid out in front of you.

Not to fear monger, but World War III's causes are already being laid out in front of us clearly, unless we can work together to stop it. Ukraine, Palestine, and many other places are already the places of first conflict. take a look around. read the news from all angles.

Vote. VOTE. V O T E. FUCKING VOTE. Biden is the much lesser of two evils, and it literally hurts to say that the president currently funding a Palestinian genocide is the better option, and the fact that I HAVE to vote for him in order to keep trump out of power is breaking me and everything I am inside. biden is funding it -- yet trump said he would help israel "finish the job"

donate to Palestinians. donate to the people of Ukraine. vote democrat in the 2024 election.

I'm sorry that this is not the most eloquently written tumblr essay, but I am terrified.

[chaossmagic]

the lagos explosion wasn't wanda's fault and i will go to my grave insisting on it

[hussyknee]

People seem to think this is fake because it's written in English. Apart from the racism in believing that Arab doctors and nurses aren't fluent in English (a second or official language for half of Asia), Palestinians have deliberately been addressing their audience in English on every social media, from journalists to children, because they know speaking English to Westerners immediately makes people more human in their eyes. Because language is one of the ways the imperial cultural hegemony conditions us (yes, everyone in the world) to see who qualifies as "people" and who are simply a mass of bodies who were always made to suffer and die. Gazans know this deeply, which is why they have been using English to beg and plead through social media, "We're not numbers! We're not numbers! We're people like you, we speak your language, we deserve to live!" all the while they're systematically slaughtered.

Israeli forces also encircled Al Shifa Hospital yesterday and bombed it for several hours while shooting dead anyone trying to flee including medical staff moving between buildings. Not sure whether it's still continuing because WHO lost all communications with its staff there a few hours after. The last new report said that thirty-nine babies had been removed from the incubators before the power went out. It's extremely unlikely they will survive.

Please understand that these atrocities depend on the war of attrition between governments and public attention. The momentum of public outcry is difficult to sustain through repeated stonewalling and bureaucratic intractability. When we're flooded with these reports and a sense of futility and despair replaces the anger, it allows compassion fatigue to set in and the violence to become normalized. Massacring hospitals, killing sick children and openly targeting humanitarian aid workers (Netanyahu just declared the UNRWA is in league with Hamas) will become simply more news articles that fade into the background, and open genocides will soon become part of the "lesser evil".

Take care of yourselves how you can, take distance where needed, but please never tune out and give up on the two million people for whom we are the only witness and hope. Never stop boosting and sharing the news and posts you find, never stop getting out there and joining every protest you can, however small. Anger burns out, which is why activism must depend on an immovable sense of justice and uncompromising value for human life. It's not just about Gaza, it's about the kind of evil our generation will be coerced into accepting as unchangeable and inevitable hereafter.

[nothorses]

Olayemi Olurin really said it best when she said voting is first & foremost about choosing your opponent. When she said the government isn't what makes change; it's what the people fight against to make change. When she said it's dumb as hell not to take your chance to pick the weaker opponent.

don't vote because electoralism works (it doesn't). don't vote because it's the "lesser of two evils". don't vote because the Democrats are gonna do fucking anything for you (they're not).

vote so the people actually trying to get shit done for you and everyone else don't have to put all their time & energy into fighting stupid bullshit for 4 years again instead of actually getting some fucking work done.