#quote that smote

[smote-by-this-quote]

I'm not a people.

Nimona

[ifishouldvanish]

"A god should know, where all her dragons are."

I've seen plenty of discussion about how it's shitty of Erzsebet and Drolta to refer to Olrox as a dragon, because Quetzalcoatl isn't really a dragon, but it's like... Extra shitty on other levels?

I mean, this quote is already somethin' because dragon or not, she's referring to him as hers and just making it clear that she does not intend to afford him any agency in this """partnership""".

But I keep Having Thoughts ™ about the role and symbolism of dragons in European folklore.

In the most general sense, they represent power. In a lot of these stories, the dragon is an obstacle between the heroic protagonist and some kind of secret treasure or knowledge (Wealth! Land!). Or the dragon is terrorizing a nearby village (Never mind if the 'dragon' was there first!!). Or the dragon is unfairly hoarding riches it has no use for (don't worry, the colonizers will show the 'primitive savages' how to make the most of their land!! Isn't that nice of them??)

In these stories, it's up to the hero to eliminate this obstacle that's separating them from some resource they feel entitled to, or to 'tame' it and exploit its power for their own purposes. As such, they're pretty on-the-nose colonialist propaganda when viewed under the right lens.

So I wanna talk about The Golden Legend of Saint George and The Dragon, which is one of the most famous of these stories.

Story goes: There's a dragon who's been terrorizing a nearby village. The people start offering the dragon livestock to appease it, and when they run out of livestock, they start holding a regular lotteries to sacrifice one unlucky person to the dragon.

St George shows up before the next person (king's daughter) is about to be eaten, and he doesn't kill the dragon, no. He dominates it:

S. George was upon his horse, and drew out his sword and garnished him with the sign of the cross, and rode hardily against the dragon which came towards him, and smote him with his spear and hurt him sore and threw him to the ground. And after said to the maid: Deliver to me your girdle, and bind it about the neck of the dragon and be not afeard. When she had done so the dragon followed her as it had been a meek beast and debonair.

*(debonair in the archaic sense = gentle)

Erzsebet makes it clear that if she can't be worshipped, being feared is the next best thing. She can't get Olrox to ally with her willingly, so she resorts to force. In the end, she's getting what she really wants: obedience and subservience. For him to follow her like a meek beast.

The Golden Legend doesn't stop there though:

Then she led [the dragon] into the city, and the people fled by mountains and valleys, and said: Alas! alas! we shall be all dead. Then S. George said to them: Ne doubt ye no thing, without more, believe ye in God, Jesu Christ, and do ye to be baptized and I shall slay the dragon. Then the king was baptized and all his people, and S. George slew the dragon and smote off his head, and commanded that he should be thrown in the fields, and they took four carts with oxen that drew him out of the city.

A couple things here that slot right into the themes of colonialism in the show:

The dragon is used used as a way to coerce people into converting to Christianity. Just as Olrox would have watched the Spanish settlers do to his people: under threat of force.

The dragon is feared by the villagers despite no longer being an actual threat, but St George does nothing to dispel those fears—he exploits them. Just as prejudices of all kinds are used to justify settler colonialism as necessary or inevitable.

The dragon is slain and discarded once St George is done with it. Just as Olrox would have watched the Americans betray and displace the Mohican people who allied with them during the revolution.

Erzsebet and Drolta calling Olrox a "Dragon" isn't just ignorant or disrespectful because he's not a dragon. It's downright degrading. They're not just refusing to address him properly—they're telling a man who has survived settler colonization twice over that they intend to use him as a tool with which to do it again.

Olrox spends the season carefully stepping around every appeal Drolta makes for him to pledge loyalty to Erzsebet. And he's damned good at it: never giving up his true intentions by saying no outright, but wiggling out of ever having to say yes by instead asking pointed questions and making cutting observations that always land the ball back in their side of the court.

But then this scene happens, and he can't wiggle out of it this time. They've got their dragon where they want him. He's pinned and 'meek'—and I can think of nothing more infuriating and degrading for a character like Olrox than to be paraded about in his own land to help Erzsebet build her empire across it.

Olrox isn't a dragon, but she's going to make him one.

[aracaranelentari]

Please read this Morgoth's Ring quote with me cuz this is PEAK Fëanor and Fingolfin angst potential: [[This is Finwë talking to the Valar about Indis]] "But Indis parted from me without death. I had not seen her for many years, and when the Marrer smote me I was alone. She hath dear children to comfort her, and her love, I deem, is now most for Ingoldo. His father she may miss; but not the father of Fëanáro!"

Those familiar with only the Shibboleth's list of quenya names might assume that this is referencing Finarfin, but no. At this point in the story, Ingoldo was Fingolfin's mother-name. This quote implies that, according to Finwë's observations, Fingolfin was Indis's favorite child.

SO IMAGINE; Fëanor, who loves his mother so dearly and so desperately, but never knew her, and therefore never felt her love in return, looking at Fingolfin, who gets the favoritism and motherly love that he craves yet never got. Imagine how jealous and furious that might make him, especially since he hates Indis so much. I can't help but wonder if Fingolfin's being his mother's pride and joy was one of the reasons why Fëanor seemed to hate him the most of his half-siblings.

[damartist]

There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.

Lord of the rings - The return of the king

My favorite bit from Lord of the rings. Couldn't fit the whole quote unfortunately.

[cosmicretreat]

January 3 is JRR Tolkien Day, in honor of Tolkien's birthday (January 3, 1892). The Tolkien Society toasts John Ronald Reuel Tolkien today and shares their favorite quotes from the man and his works.

My personal favorite, from The Return of the King: “There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

[dailydemonspotlight]

Illuyanka - Day 91

Race: Dragon

Arcana: World

Alignment: Light-Chaos

August 12th, 2024

This one is for me, dammit. Illuyanka carried me through SMT IV.

Dragons and mythology go hand-in-hand (or maybe hand-in-wing) in many different cultures. I'm not sure what made the idea of a giant serpent so common across so many cultures throughout the world, but they were everywhere, once upon a time, in many different shapes and forms. Unfortunately, much like in Dark Souls, this phenomenon ended up dying out, but we have some fascinating stories connected to it throughout history due to this odd fascination ancient humans had with snakes. Of course, there are many examples of this throughout the world, but for today's Demon Spotlight, I want to focus on Hittite mythology's odd, half-alive dragon, Illuyanka. Trust me, it'll make sense when we get to it.

I am, admittedly, not very knowledgeable on this subject, but Hittite mythology is mostly adapted from a group they conquered, the Hurrians, with several deities throughout being separate incarnations of said Hurrian gods. Due to this, some of the cuneiform tablets referenced in the ultimate collection of said tablets, Catalogue des textes hittites, have different incarnations and stories to tell despite having similar figures in said stories. This leads to an odd branching timeline effect, sort of like different canons, where stories may have separate outcomes depending on the tablet selected. I'm not sure if this was as a result of the adaptation of the Hurrian stories not translating well to the Hittite's pre-established mythos or if they basically went "Nah, I'd win" with their own characters, but it makes for a very strange read with Illuyanka in specific.

This snake experiences a severe case of this in the fable of its battle with the Hittite god of storms, Tarḫunna, (Though it might've also been Tarḫunz? I'm genuinely not sure, as the Wikipedia article refers to Tarḫunz, who appears to have been a god of the Luwians. Another case of Wikipedia being unreliable, I guess) in which, depending on the tablet, it faces two punishments. Each one describes differing variations of the same general tale, though, that of the storm god and Illuyanka, an immensely powerful monster that matched with the god in strength. At least from what I can tell, the battle's beginning has not been given any explanation- they just began duking it out, I guess. Their first duel ended when, in the first tablet, the dragon simply defeats him. To quote,

When the Stonn-god and the serpent came to grips in (the town of) KiskiluMa, the serpent smote the Stonn-god.

In the second tablet, though, it's said that the Storm God was beaten so badly he had an eye torn out, as well as his heart, and both were taken as trophies by Illuyanka. In both tales, though, they end up consorting with other gods for assistance. In the first, he ends up striking a deal with the goddess Inaras, who ends up getting the dragon extremely drunk and filled with food before summoning the rest of the gods to kill him. In the second, the now-dead god ends up possessing a mortal and marrying the daughter of a poor man. After the two got married and had children, he ensured a gift of prophecy on his son to go retrieve his eye and heart from Illuyanka, to which the kid did it without much fuss.

Now back at his full power, the Storm God has a long-awaited rematch with the big ole' snake, and ends up defeating it. However, just as he was to land the killing blow, his son appeared, upset about being used by his father, and the kid demanded that the god take his own life. Teshub, the Hurrian storm god who is the one described in this tale, (likely insinuating that this was the older version of said tale,) didn't really care, and ended up killing both the dragon and his son. All in a day's work, I guess. Teshub was a prick, who knew? Either way, though, the fearsome power of the dragon in both of these stories cannot go understated- Illuyanka was a powerful enough serpent to match up with, and even kill, a deity!

This myth also plays into an odd theme that I've noticed throughout a lot of mythology- what is it with storm gods fighting dragons? Thor vs Jormungandr, Zeus vs Typhon, Susanoo vs Orochi, and now this. It's an oddly recurring theme, and I don't really have much of an answer past 'I'unno.' Still, this is one of the oldest versions of said story we have on hand at this point, and a rather interesting and unique one at that. It may have been the metaphorical progenitor of all of those other stories of storm gods killing giant snakes.

Not much to comment on with the design, as it's, well, a giant serpent, but I do like the water theming with it, especially with the gradient and the waves making its body. I'll be back home by the time I'm writing the next few DDS's, so look forward to that, and until then!

[lakesbian]

sosososo mad wildbow never wrote the interlude abt imp killing him. i need as many details abt what went on there as possible 4 my psychological wellbeing. also hm. imp and the heartbroken are handshaking on “children with terrible childhoods who were big on TV Time”

@lakesbian there was a quote earlier i didn't post but i've been thinking about wrt your heartbroken trauma posting: at one point the heartbroken complain that after their father was killed in front of them they went straight into the living room to watch cartoons, but they couldn't hear any of it over the screaming of the women :)

[outofangband]

@imakemywings I really love the collection of Narn quotes you made here and your awesome responses to them and obviously because I am very biased My favorite one was the one about Morwen

"But when they bade Turin turn and look back upon the house of his father, then the anguish of parting smote him like a sword, and he cried: 'Morwen, Morwen, when shall I see you again?' But Morwen standing on her threshold heard the echo of that cry in the wooded hills, and she clutched the post of the door so that her fingers were torn."

It’s such a vivid quote; I have always thought about how it’s impossible to tell if Morwen is intentionally replacing her grief for the physical pain of her fingers being cut open or if she is unaware of the pain because of her grief and/or her suppression of it. Both of those seem in character for her. I really loved @imakemywings ‘s analysis of it; Morwen is cold and blunt but she is absolutely not unaffected by her child’s grief, we see it again and again, like in this quote yoo. She is acutely aware of it, perhaps even more so than her own, but she is determined for her son to survive and for her son to survive not as a thrall to the occupying men. And it’s not just that he is her son, he is also among the last Bëorians left alive. There is a cultural legacy as much as a family one and even by sending him away she knows at least some of this legacy may well be lost

but I just keep thinking about Morwen having to send Túrin away and how in my opinion this cannot be separated from the implicit separation between Morwen and her parents some sixteen years before.

Morwen’s past is within the lines of The Children of Húrin, not directly stated beyond “the sorrows of the house of Bëor saddened her heart she came as an exile to Dor-lómin from Dorthonion after the ruin of the Bragollach”. We know her father is Baragund who remained in Dorthonion with Barahir until he and the other outlaws were murdered, several years later. We are not given names or fates of either Morwen or Rían’s mothers but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to infer that Morwen was effectively orphaned in the Bragollach. We know she was a child when this happened (None of this is new information or anything, I’ve rambled about it a million times before in my houseless for exiles tag)

She sends Túrin away knowing that when her parents sent her away for safety, she never saw them again and that her safety was temporarily and fragile and has now been broken. It’s such a devastating decision for her and I love her so much.

I also think about this passage, which comes two pages before, and is probably the most emotionally honest that Morwen is in the entire book, and I am sure you know I do not mean this at all as an insult to her 

“I am sending you away so that you did not learn it. Morwen answered, and she set him before her and looked into his eyes as if she were trying to read some riddle there. “It is hard, Túrin, my son,” she said, at length “not hard for you only. It is heavy on me in evil days to judge what is best to do. But I do as I think right for why else should I part with a thing most dear that is left to me.”

(Note The parallel here to Túrin, noticing “that his father often looked steadfastly out him as a man might look at something dear that he must part from”.)

Morwen has no allusions about what might await Túrin when he leaves and it speaks a lot to the horror of post Nírnaeth Hithlum that she will risk this to spare him death or captivity at the hands of the incomers. She’s survived invasion before, after all.

[yowlthinks]

Crowley cares so much

I know everyone is loving "smited, smote, smitten" quote, but it's this moment just before it that lives rent-free in my head:

.

.

So Crowley leaves Aziraphale for the night, and at best he sleeps in his car somewhere in the City (judging by St Paul's at the back of the footage). Only now he can't even do that, poor soul, because he worries about his only friend and love of his life.

"I spent last night worrying if he's going to wake up"

I just can't, I can't!

[nightskylonging]

My reactions from reading Wind and Truth

Spoilers for the whole book under here! Also for The Sunlit Man!

Post-reading notes added in red.

Day one: Prologue through chapter 61

Kaladin has come so far. I’m so proud of him.

Kaladin Renarin and Adolin brothers? Official? Please?

'He had not given up his right to take Moash to task.' Kaladin really said ‘it wasn’t my fault, and I’m going to kick his rear’ I think he can still do this? Because the Windrunners didn't get him. So when we get down to brass tacks in the back half, I think Kaladin still has a shot at facing him down.

Oh my goshhhhhh Szeth needs so much therapy. His spren needs so much therapy. Can Knights Radiant do like. A relationship break? I think they need it? This is not healthy? Well. Didn't expect it to shake out like that, but I was still right!

Gavinor is having nightmares… Branderson this had better just be the trauma, if you go the child champion route, I swear… Ha. Hahaha. This poor boy.

Wait. Kaladin has a rock in his pack. Szeth’s oathstone??? Maybe?

Aladar does make me wonder. Stakes can’t really get higher for the back half… is the second half of Stormlight societal revolution? Never mind! Stakes can get higher!

Szeth’s flashback. It kinda makes my heart hurt. Already you can see the seeds of the older version, the beginnings of that obsessiveness. But I also think it’s interesting how Szeth is living a classic fantasy story: farmboy, cast out, caught up in strange affairs in alien lands…

Ba-Ado-Mishram… the 17th Shard forum (chaos specifically) must be having a field week with this

I love that Lopen is the one to lay it all out practically. And that he’s picking up on Lift’s intensifiers

‘Dai-Gonarthis! The Black Fisher holds my pain, and consumes it!’ That’s the quote in TWOK’s death rattles, I think. Is that what happened to El I wonder? Did she consume his rhythms? I don’t know how that would work, but it might be something.

Day three’s only Adolin, Szeth, and Kaladin’s POVs… aghhh

Kaladin: the murder was bad. You can get better Szeth: ah, of course. I should feel nothing when I kill. Kaladin: *sighing*

The Well of Control? Shroud of the fragments of the dead moon??? That goes hard, but what does it mean?

Wait. What do the Shin think about sand? Is that sacred? I don’t think so, based on an earlier pebble comment.

Szeth. Nooooooo. Suicide is not the way. Bad for you. Bad for Kaladin.

OH MY GOSH I JUST REALIZED THE CHAPTER ARCHES ARE COLLAPSING

Ashyn. Something that shook even Hoid. More and more we wonder at his story…

New chapter header! A pen and a spear… interesting. Maybe Syl? She mentioned wanting to learn to scribe. Oh, Sigzil!

Oh no. I just had a horrid thought. Is this battle why Nomad is so wrecked in The Sunlit Man? Yes and no, I guess.

Okay, new thought. It’s been 460 pages and nary hide nor hair of Moash. Where is he? Is he out for this book? He did finish the last one in… spectacular fashion.

Adolin has some very deeply buried resentment to deal with methinks. Either that or he’s going to burn out. Maybe both.

Oh, Kaladin… ‘Tonight, he wrote a different story for himself. Of a man who loved music.’ This genuinely brought a tear to my eye, this and his kata dance with Syl. He made it. I made it. We made it. It’s still hard, but there is music.

… well, there’s Moash.

Did they hemalurgy him??? Because in my cosmere experience, spikes = hemalurgy

Okay. I’ve got to say, we are coming back to the roots with this book. This feels like a proper fantasy novel. Which may sound weird, but Stormlight, especially Rhythm of War, was feeling a lot more sciencey. Not a bad thing, but we’re fully back in fantasy now.

Ima be honest, I completely forgot about Venli.

A fourth moon??? That… that has to be a metaphor, right? Current theory: someone tried a satellite, and Honor smote it. Tower of Babel esque. Well, wrong about that. I still don't get this fourth moon stuff. Time to go visit the 17th Shard?

Day two: chapter 62 through epilogue

He still has the stuffed sheep…

The chapter arches are still crumbling. And now the faces are getting mixed up, usually they’re symmetrical, but 70 just has one of Wit’s faces. Opposite him is… maybe Chanarach? I went and checked the Coppermind Wiki: definitely Chana. Didn't spare time to try and figure out if the mismatched faces meant anything, though. Though this is also how I accidentally spoiled what would happen to Kaladin, which fair. Coppermind updates fast. And we all had a feeling about that, no?

Shallan doesn’t want to look at Chanarach. Are the theories right? Chana was her mother? Wait. In Gavilar’s prologue the Stormfather says a Herald died. Does the timeline match up? It might… Shallan was… twelve or so then? I’d have to go check her flashbacks.

And the Iriali are leaving. Interesting… there’s another story. A lot of stories in these interludes. Are they off to Tress's planet?

I am developing a theory. Adolin is becoming what I call a deadeye knight – a partnership with a deadeye, maybe the armor too. Doesn’t come with powers. Bang on, past me.

TALNNNNN!

The highspren names are numbers. Huh. Okay. Immediate instinct is That’s Bad, but spren are like that. Thought about it. Still don't like it.

Lift is growing! And she found Zahel!

Ah, we were all right. Shallan is Chana’s daughter. She was the Herald the Stormfather felt die the night of Gavilar’s assassination. And she was the one who broke, not Taln. Taln never broke.

Oh. We knew Ashyn was bad, that they essentially nuked the place. But. Oh.

Szeth is figuring it out! Good on him!

Full circle. The Wandersail.

I’m on chapter 116, and folks? I am stressed.

I should have known it was Ishar, with those tortured spren.

Oh, so that fourth moon stuff was pre-Honor weirdness? Seriously, what is up with this fourth moon?

Dawn of the final day. 24 hours remain. I think my timing is technically off on putting this here, but it felt wrong to put it on the beginning of day nine.

They say it’s always darkest before the dawn, but this does feel pretty hopeless.

Wit’s story! At last!

That wasn’t much of a story, Hoid.

The Wind keeps telling Kaladin ‘I’m sorry’, and that is freakin’ ominous

Sebarial and Palona got married! ¡Finalmente!

Ooh, Branderson. You went and did it. Curses. Poor Gavinor.

Heck. It’s the trolley problem

Adolin gets a Shardleg? I was right! Deadeye Knight!

Unoathed? Now that’s a name!

Ten people with Shardblades alight. The suckling child. The burdens of nine (become mine… oh Almighty release me). These are all from the TWOK death rattles.

It’s all the death rattles. Gosh, rereading those will be a punch in the gut.

From 144 on, my commentary is only screaming.

Kaladin has a herald stone. I. *screams*

Okay, some more thoughts! Not at all cohesive. I. Need to reread some stuff. The Lost Metal, for Hoid. The Way of Kings, at least the death rattles, for the gut punch. The Sunlit Man, to see what clues were there.

I love the reveal that the in-world book was written by Szeth's wife. He really does get to heal. (Way to meet your future wife though. 'hello. can you help me bury a body.')

All the pieces will come into play now. This book just expands like crazy. The back half is definitely going to require High Cosmere Knowledge, and we're moving steadily into the more sciencey side.

I uphold my mid-read statement that W&T does feel more like a fantasy novel than ROW.

My two quibbles: The writing feels a bit modern. I'm willing to excuse that as we move into the more tech-magic fusion stage of the Cosmere. Plus, that modernity will fade a bit with time, I would assume. In the future it won't read the same. I wouldn't have written it that way, but there were only a few places where my mental editor's pen came out where I really wanted to change what was written. I know a lot of other people feel this way too, and a lot more strongly than I do. The second is the overall length of the book. And this is something that I think happens to a lot of bigger authors as they go on, so it's definitely not just Sanderson. Some of this could have been trimmed down. But that's pretty common, you can see it with a lot of authors once they get big and can go back and forth with their editors more.

This sure was a conclusion, but it definitely isn't the end.

[smote-by-this-quote]

You were the sun, and I was crashing into you. I'd wake up every morning and think, 'This will end in flames.'

Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell

[cambion-companion]

For anyone struggling.

You're not alone.

You matter.

It will get better, I promise.

The last few years have held no shortage of tribulation that seemingly have kept pushing you down like waves in a storm.

Here is a quote that has gotten me through the hardest times.

"There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach." -J.R.R Tolkien

We've got this.

[foedhrass]

It’s been a while since I’ve drawn a character from Middle-earth, and it took me a while to finish this one, but finally I tackled something I wanted to draw for quite some time: my favourite character, Fingolfin before his fateful decision to challenge Morgoth to a duel - which is my favourite scene from the Silmarillion with one of my favourite quotes.

“Thus he came alone to Angband’s gates, and he sounded his horn, and smote once more upon the brazen doors, and challenged Morgoth to come forth to single combat. And Morgoth came.”

That “And Morgoth came” is so simple yet so powerful because it just emanates the doom that follows.

I originally wanted to draw that scene but then I found a reference image of a kneeling knight so it turned out the silent moment of contemplation before the doom: “Then Fingolfin beheld (as it seemed to him) the utter ruin of the Noldor, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses…”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion

🎨: Foe Rodens

[secretsofthestorymakers]

The Saga of Aren

I absolutely love Arendelle History, so when I read Forest of Shadows and learned about the Saga of Aren, I was so excited. The only thing that disappointed me was that we didn’t get the entire thing. So, being the obsessive overachiever that I am, I wrote my own idea of the rest of it. I worked super hard on this for like a month and a half, and I am so proud of how it turned out! I had never really written any poetry before, but I had more fun with it than I expected, and have even written a little more since (not Frozen related, sorry). I might post an in depth analysis later, but for now I’ll just say that I wrote this to be intentionally vague, and to represent Anna and Elsa’s story as well as Aren’s.

The parts in italics and quotes are from FoS, so were written by Kamila Benko. I wrote the rest. (With a few exceptions that are quotes from something else, noted at the end)

The Saga of Aren

By: Kamila Benko & SecretsOfTheStoryMakers

“A long time ago in a time before time, a great darkness swept over the land”

A dark fright came, the people fought, but could not make their stand

They fled their shores and took to the seas, their homeland all but lost

To Dark and Cold and Past and Fear, the silence and the frost

As ages passed and people still were trapped upon their ships

The storm roared on, there was no end to the sun’s total eclipse

They begged the earth, the wind, the flame, the oceans heard their cries

And from their unknown, watery depths a spirit did arise

The water spirit too, had felt the chill of endless night

It told the people, for a price, it could help bring back the light

The people were so fearful, urgently they did agree

In return they promised someday that the spirits would be free

As the earth’s ancient spirits have foretold, there will come a fearful age

All that live upon the earth will be trapped within dark’s cage

The sky will be shadow, fade away, as the spirits lose their song

The world needs a leader and protector, someone to right this wrong

To scale fear’s greatest precipice, as the mountain’s facade comes crashing

To face the fear with light’s greatest strength, upon past and present’s clashing

It comes on the world’s great eve of change, as the north wind’s song is turning

Beware what you may think you know, for “the past has a way of returning.*”

The mythic Nokk came to the end of the spirits’ prophecy

It bowed its head and flashed its eyes, returning to the sea

The people knew it spoke the truth, the world would be free again

They only needed a bridge, a bond, to let the light back in

They needed someone fearless, with love enough to light the dark

Only one of their number was brave enough to bear the spirits’ mark

“Young as the morning, as fierce as a twig, Aren stepped out onto the land”

He’d made his choice, to protect his people, against the dark he’d stand

And so Aren set off, alone as the sun, armed only with his love

His plan was simple; persuade the moon to make peace with the sun above

Night’s dark creatures of memories corrupted, tried to stop him on his quest

But Aren persevered, held on to love, despite fear’s every test

He scaled the greatest, northern mountain, and when he reached the top,

He called to the moon, showed her their pain, told her this night needed to stop

The moon felt remorseful, her tears fell to earth as she realized what she’d done

She crossed the sky, returning home, to find her sister sun

The moon and sun were reunited, together at long last

The sisters agreed they’d rule together, “the past was in the past**”

Their strengths combined would bring peace to the world, as the spirits had foretold

With a “yellow diamond, bright as an eye”, they made Aren a blade of gold

“Revolving moon and spinning sun forged a crescent blade

From light and dark within the heart, the burnished sword was made.

He raised it high above his head and smote the edge of land”

The curve of his blade struck the earth and carved the kingdom’s span

As he cracked the ancient, unbroken rock, Revolute began to glow

The earth’s core tremored, shaking, shifting, disrupting the water’s flow

“The sea rushed in as hidden power flowed from the gleaming sword

And shaped the rock and forest crown of the first majestic fjord!”

The people rejoiced as they came to the land and deemed it “Arendelle”

At last they’d returned, to summer’s embrace, where they’d forever dwell

“As revolving moon and spinning sun, once forged a crescent blade,***”

Forever may true love endure, “may the flags of Arendelle ever wave”

*This is a quote, but it is not stated to be in the Saga. It is the tagline of Forest of Shadows.

**This is a quote from Frozen (Let it Go to be specific), but it is not stated to be in the Saga.

***I slightly adjusted this line from what is said in the book. The direct quote is: “Revolving moon and spinning sun, forged a crescent blade.” Normally, I wouldn’t adjust the line that was directly stated, but this was only said once, by Anna, who also said “something something something something” for the first part of the next line. I’m just assuming that maybe she made a mistake with the first part she said too, since the line that she actually said is definitely in the Saga elsewhere.

[memoriaedamnatio]

Aliakai

TW: Antisemitism

Aliakai#0945

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The pagan YouTuber Aliakai (she/they) attempts to present herself as a community figure, but is rife with problems ranging from toxic debatebro rhetoric and misinformation to antisemitism.

She is a hypocrite, constantly railing on Christianity and the Bible, including the Old Testament, which Christians barely use, and treating the Odyssey as a Bible. This is neither historically accurate nor the intended purpose of ancient Greek myths.

Her anti-”monotheism” runs constantly throughout her platforms, and one could say this is their most consistent issue.

Tweet archived here.

As for Aliakai’s antisemitism, it requires a deeper look. In this video, we find multiple instances of their antisemitism. Referencing the Old Testament to try to defeat the Christians just ends up being antisemitic almost every time. They repeatedly bring up Elohim and specifically Jewish stories in their attempt to “debunk” or “out-logic” Christianity. The Old Testament isn’t meant to be a strict rulebook - it’s also a collection of stories, a fact which Aliakai seems to purposefully ignore.

They talk about Sodom and Gomorrah and the sins committed therein as if the two cities were not specifically written to be bad examples. Additionally, ancient Greeks famously abducted women as the spoils of war. It is incredibly hypocritcal to judge mythical Sodom and Gomorrah without even a mention of the known, historical practices in ancient Greece. She then ties homophobia to the fact that God smote people with hemorrhoids, once again, in a Jewish tale. She is aware that the infamous Leviticus quote is likely about pederasty, but continues to use it to try to posture Judaism and Christianity as inferior anyway.

Aliakai criticizes the God of the Old Testament for smiting Job when Apollo also smites Cassandra in an equally cruel manner.

She then claims that Exodus is actually about punishing Egyptian gods and that the pharaoh is somehow the true victim in the story, not the enslaved Jews.

She also implies everyone takes the Bible literally, committing the common fallacy of equating all Christians with dangerous evangelicals. There is no “common Christian theology” as she claims. They are also condescending to trinitarians, while simultaneously assuming all christians are trinitarians. The text of the Bible does explicitly refer to the Trinity, contrary to their statement.

Any attempt to try to find plotholes in the Bible is pointless, and the amount of time and energy Aliakai wastes is akin to an atheist in 2016.

Here are some furtner examples of Aliakai’s antisemitism:

(Archived first link)(Archived second link)

Here she implies Christianity and Judaism are the same faith, which anyone knowledgeable in either should be able to tell you is both incorrect and a dangerous statement.

(Archived here)

This shows an incredibly poor understanding of how religious oppression is currently functioning in society, and again demonstrates their anti-monotheism. Do we need to discuss Myanmar’s militant Buddhist genocide of Rohingya Muslims, for example? Or Hindu lynchings of Muslims? The list goes on.

Aliakai’s archived talk for the Hindutva org Indica here. To her credit, she did sever her relationship with Indica (archived). However, for a politically inclined youtuber who can research, this is a dangerous lack of vetting. Same can be said of the others who partook, of course.

Despite disavowing Indica, they never disavowed Butler, who is undeniably a fascist. In fact, Aliakai continues to recommend Edward Butler a year after the community-wide revelation of his fascism.

Here is her only acknowledgement of Butler's fascism (archived), without explicitly agreeing or disagreeing with the blogger's criticism of him.

In this Tweet (archived), they are making a lot of assumptions about Butler here and being too generous.

They give Butler a lot of leniency despite his years-long, public love affair with fascism. This is an extremely weak willed response to finding out an associate is fascist. This is not antifascism. This is not accountability.

In this video, Aliakai tries to present a case for making an SPG more official of Ares and mental health. In this video, around 8:03, she hints that Ares is the god of police officers who brutalize protesters. Considering police brutality and the unjust use of police violence, this is incredibly insensitive and quite racist. Police do not have anything to do with justice, and claiming as much for a shared community experience is bold.

Performing a Hellenic ritual for Ukraine with a Heathen without involving any Slavic pagans is morally questionable, as is claiming Ukraine is dedicated to Demeter’s arts. This is an act of further colonialism against a country currently being invaded by imperialist forces.

Asking viewers not to invoke Eris simply because of personal beef for a supposedly aid based ritual is infantile.

[themoonlily]

got tagged by @mithrandirl :)

How old were you when you were first introduced to LOTR?

Around 12-13, I think.

Favorite LOTR character?

Éomer, as if that were not clear by now! And Lothíriel too, even if she is only a footnote. But I'm also very fond of many others, including Aragorn, Arwen, Éowyn, Galadriel, Imrahil and sons (the whole Dol Amroth gang really), Sam Gamgee, Théoden... I occasionally get emotional over Boromir and Faramir and Finduilas.

Books or movies?

A difficult choice, but I think I'll go with the books. I just love how Tolkien shifts between tones, from the light and amusing hobbit talk to some of the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful lines you've ever read. The spirit of the books is so bright and clear, and of course has much more Éomer content than the films.

Which location in Middle Earth would you want to visit?

Rohan obviously, and Dol Amroth. Also, I would not say no to a long holiday in Rivendell. :')

Favorite movie?

D: Don't make me choose!

Favorite scene?

Are we talking about the books or the films? Well, I guess I'll go with both.

From the books: Éomer's first scene with the Three Hunters, the Hall of Fire, scenes in Lothlórien, Gandalf's confrontation of Théoden, the Ride of the Rohirrim and the moment when Éomer prepares to fight to death but instead sees Aragorn coming, Faramir and Éowyn's romance, that moment in ROTK when Rosie is amazed that Sam would abandon Frodo when things get rough and Sam thinks that it would take a week to answer or no answer at all, also the parting at the Grey Haven's and Sam's return to home.

From the films: Again, Éomer's first scene, the Battle of Pelennor fields, Bilbo's birthday party, the Houses of Healing scenes, Arwen and Aragorn's meeting in Rivendell, the Fellowship chilling in Eregion, "Never thought I would die side by side with an Elf", really just the whole last half an hour of ROTK but especially "Well, I'm back."

Favorite quote?

It's hard to pick just a few, but here's my current top 3:

The entire Battle of Pelennor fields (it's really some of Tolkien's best writing).

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."

"There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

What Middle Earth race would you want to be?

A hobbit mostly, they seem to have their priorities in order, or maybe one of the Sea-elves (either in Alqualondë or one of Círdan's folk).

Favorite LOTR ship?

Éothiriel, always. But I also lowkey enjoy Arawen and Farawyn.

I'm going to tag @konartiste and @thestateofardadreaming, and anyone else who wants to do this!