>fairies are always harmful regardless of the situation, and all those folk tales involving helpful house fairies or curmudgeon-punishing fairies are nonexistent
>angels are always eldritch abominations who rip apart mortal minds with their appearances, and absolutely never have lesser versions who look close enough to humans to be mistaken for them
>demons really are evil, except for succubi, the demons who dindu nuffin and are guaranteed to be redeemable with tender love
>elves are snooty arrogant pricks, but don't worry, because we made them Nazis/Aztecs/Venetians/Russians in this setting and that makes them so much more original!
>dwarves are fookin' awesome, and that's why they're basically the exact same thing in every setting except for the occasional Jewish dwarves
Why is /tg/'s "understanding" of mythological/fantasy creatures so horrible?
>>47053734
Its a sign you need to leave 4chan for a while and hang around people who don't conform to the terrible "culture" of a single website.
>>47053734
>not having everything be eldritch abominations in your setting
be a summoner is a bitch
>>47053734
Jewish dwarves are the only good dwarves, unless you count dwemer.
>>47053734
Memes.
What would a setting where all of this is true be like?
>>47053937
generic
Fuck off Tewi, this is why nobody likes you.
>>47053734
>>dwarves are fookin' awesome, and that's why they're basically the exact same thing in every setting except for the occasional Jewish dwarves
This is the only accurate thing you posted in the entire OP.
You could at least try, anon.
Everything on 4chan, regardless of the board, is contrarian. (I wouldn't be surprised if there was one board I don't browse that was so contrarian that they adopted mainstream viewpoints out of contrarianism to the site's generalized contrarian viewpoint). /tg/ is no different, in that the understanding is based on being against the mainstream viewpoint, not any actual understanding of myth. Hell, even my post in particular and this thread in general is based on being contrarian to a percieved board culture. It's
>>47053734
>demons really are evil, except for succubi
I've literally never seen this anywhere but on 4chan.
also
>bitches about dwarves being the same
>bitches about other supernatural shit not conforming to folklore
Get bent, you silly bastard.
>>47053809
>implying Mer aren't jews by default
>>47054032
>I've literally never seen this anywhere but on 4chan.
Pretty sure that was OP's point
>>47053937
Dominated by warring factions of humans hell-bent on ensuring that their chosen racist fantasy stereotype is and remains true.
>be dwarf
>walk into a bar, order some food and a small glass of red wine
>immediately swarmed by humans
>they're all trying to buy me ale and talk shop about beards and anvils
>nudging me with their elbows and winking and making racist elf jokes
>tell me that I'm "talking human" because I don't sound like Sean Connery
>get pissed off when I tell them that I just want to eat my dinner in peace
>dirty glares the rest of the night
>someone steals my horse
>>47054032
>I've literally never seen this anywhere but on 4chan.
The idea is that 4chan's understanding of folklore is just as shallow as mainstream understanding of folklore, just in the opposite direction. The Fair Folk weren't really always the benevolent fairy godmothers of pop culture any more than they are the Lovecraft-lite bastards of "accurate" fantasy. They were ambivalent, somewhere in the middle, just like angels etc.
>>47053734
Sounds like someone hasn't played a fookin' dwarf! That, or there's an unnatural amount of tree lovin' 'ere!
As fer why we use axes, IT'S TO CUT DOWN YER' GODDAMNED PANSY TREES YA' TREE HUGGER! Just cause it pisses yee off~
>>47054114
So, basically the same setting as Ella Enchanted?
>>47054165
Why did you choose this to copypasta, people don't even mention axes most of the time.
>>47054165
Except real dwarfs aren't scottish, they're Danish.
"Oh, Hâllò there"
Hence why nobody Real dwarfs.
>>47053734
>except for succubi, the deomons who dindu nuffin and are guaranteed to be redeemable with tender love.
Ask a hentais.
>>47053734
I almost forgot to post a redeemed succubus shitpost thread. Thanks.
>>47053734
>Succubi are redeemable with tender love
Now now, OP, we all know that succubi can be redeemed by methods other than dicking
>>47054203
Danish? I thought they were Norse. And about five foot, five-five on average, not short fuckers like Tolkien made them.
If they're Danish, though, my interest and respect for old dwarven tales just went up another 15%.
>>47053734
1) Blame folk lore that made fairies assholes 99% of the time.
2) Have you read what a seraph looks like? It's not a human with wings anon.
3) All demons are evil, the only time a succubus isn't evil is through the power of dicks.
4)&5) Blame Tolkien
>>47054403
On the contrary, Toldein made them bigger. Original Dwarves were tiny
>>47054451
It's not Tolkien's fault that people shallowly aped his elves until they were unrecognizable and turned Gimli into a race.
>>47054451
>1) Blame folk lore that made fairies assholes 99% of the time.
Uh huh.
Yeah, friendly house spirits never existed.
And those assholes fairies definitely weren't assholes mainly to strawman "immoral human assholes" in stories.
It's not like fairy tales weren't mostly cautionary tales against being a total dick or anything.
>>47054530
True.
>>47054535
You've never read a story about the fey creatures have you?
>>47053734
Misread OP's first line as "females" instead of fairies
>females are always harmful regardless of the situation, and all those folk tales involving helpful house females are nonexistent
Was about to agree.
>>47054535
Usually, if you appease a good natured fey, at most they'd do a few silly things once in a while.
>>47054557
Have you? Just because most depictions of fairies showed them as alien and capricious, doesn't meant that there weren't depictions of them being helpful.
>>47054616
A lot of those helpful ones quickly stopped being helpful and started being malicious and dangerous if you failed to do a certain thing, like leaving milk out or whatever.
Even the ones that are just being playful don't always understand that their idea of playing and your idea of horrible trauma are very similar because you're a squishy mortal and they aren't.
>>47054616
That's not the point, fairies are assholes because they can do whatever hey want to whom ever they want. They think it's one big game, and since it's really hard to punish a fairy they just keep on playing "games" with everyone they see
>>47054451
>2) Have you read what a seraph looks like? It's not a human with wings anon.
And then there were those two angels who showed up to Sodom and who only drew special comment from the general public because they looked like foreigners well-suited for raping.
>>47054403
They're "Norse", which is an awkward blanket term because there never actually was a uniform Norse culture and folklore varied markedly.
As currently accepted folklore goes, though, Norse dwarfs are the result of Odin, Vili and Vé giving sapience and human form to the maggots feasting on Ymir's corpse.
And "dwarves" is a word Tolkien heavily popularized and has become synonym with the fantasy race.
>>47054574
I still agree with this statement. Haven't met a single female who wasn't harmful to her environment in the long run.
>>47053809
>not Swiss dwarves
Fucking dropped.
>>47054706
Imma repost what I wrote here >>47053862
>In Judaism (specifically, in the Kabbalah), there are two kinds of angels: Angels and "angels"
>Angels are supernatural beings that serve the will of god and usually look freaky looking (not all of them, though).
>"angles," on the other hand, are literally anything that acts as a messenger from god, even if this "angel" is not aware that it's a messenger.
>You know the three angels who were invited in Abraham's tent and told him Sarah would conceive a son? Those weren't Angels, but "angles;" they were just normal dudes who told Abraham what god wanted Abraham to hear.
>>47054706
And the one that has to specifically cover every inch of his body with otherwise pointless wings, except for his face, because it will literally make you go blind and/or kill you for looking upon it.
Cherubim are three faced flying heads, where one face is a goat and another is a lion.
Thrones are wheels within wheels, all of the wheels being covered with eyes facing outward in all directions.
>>47054777
>where one face is a goat
Or an eagle.
>>47054777
>>47054821
bull, eagle, lion, man.
get your shit straight
>>47054706
thanks for the read (didn't know what you were talking about, so I looked it up) But those weren't seraphs
>>47054879
Well yeah but we were talking about angels in general and whether they are or aren't all freaky monsters all the time.
>>47054921
Yeah, angels are weird. All stories today depict them as humans to make people feel a connection with God, but the further back you go, the more they look like what >>47054777
said, And it was because humans weren't supposed to look upon them, or else they would go blind, or mad.
>>47054777
and also the other two-thirds of the heirarchy, like the principalities, the archangels, the regular angels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_angelic_hierarchy
>>47054835
>>47055019
Pretty much this.
It's funny that we now think of cherubs (or anything 'cherubic') as being little babies with wings.
Fun fact: said image of cute little flying babies was actually lifted from Roman Pagan depictions of Cupid and Psyche. (Then again, most Christian art at the time was repurposed Roman images - see Sol Invictus, the
unconquered sun', whose depiction would later be the basis of the halo behind the head of the 'unconquered son')
You can tell the little winged babies are not actual biblical angels because they don't have flaming swords, or multiple heads, or a tendency to fall upon human women and beget a race of giants, who were of old, and men of renown.
It's an academic distinction, really, but one I find interesting.
>>47054760
...
Even so, I still like the interpretation I had that angels are bizarre terrifying entities by nature, but are capable of disguising themselves with less jarring forms when it's preferable for mortals to be not afraid. So I'm still going to use that concept for fantasy shit and you can't stop me.
>>47055253
Don't worry, regular Angels could do that too, it's just that most of the time that job was filled by "angels" instead.
>>47053734
Whoa. For once my setting managed to avoid every single complaint in a /tg/ rant.
But I don't really believe any of those things are all that bad.
In my setting, angels look like sexy women in cheap halloween costumes, because that's the only way mortal minds can comprehend their appearance without breaking
>>47055435
forgot pic
>>47054777
>>47055101
This is exactly what the OP is complaining about. In actual Biblical literature, angels vary between being unspeakable abominations and holy pseudo-humans. Because pop culture has favored the beautiful humans, /tg/ assumes all angels were really exclusively the unspeakable abominations as opposed to the ambivalent figures they actually were.
>>47055452
You got any citations for that?
Because all I remember where messengers who were actually humans, angels that weren't described in any way, and unspeakable "be not afraid" things that you can't look upon safely.
>>47055466
Sodom and Gomorrah.
>>47054312
>best cherecter ever
>>47055452
Do you even have any citations on all of /tg/ using the former over the latter? Also
>/tg/ is one person
>>47055466
For example, look at the angels of Sodom and Gomorrah. They appeared as humans to the extent that Lot argued with them when they refused hospitality, instead of simply submitting to them out of fear immediately. The idea that one must treat guests well "because you have entertained angels unaware" also only works when angels appear as humans. Of course, at this point you are likely thinking that the S&G angels simply disguised themselves until the sinners threatened to rape them at which point they revealed their true forms, but if you actually read scripture it mentions nothing about transforming and simply described them blinding the citizens.
>>47055502
>>47055506
Nothing about those angels negates the fact that everything above Archangel (And even some archangels) are consistently described as weird things that may or may not resemble any sort of living being.
>>47055527
wrong person I'm >>47055019
>>47055527
And nothing about your specific fanfiction idea of what angels are "actually" like overrides what is actually in scripture. If you choose to decide that Lovecraftian abominations describe your angels more accurately in your homebrew setting than regular pop culture angels, God Bless, but do not for a second assume your assumptions in one direction are better than equal assumptions in the other direction, especially if you pride yourself on "realism".
>>47055577
Cherubim (Kerubim)-in name as well as in
concept, the cherubim are Assyrian or Akkadian
in origin. The word, in AkkacLan, is karibu and
means "one who prays" or "one who intercedes,"
although Dionysius declared the word to mean
knowledge. In ancient Assyrian art, the cherubim
were pictured as huge, winged creatures with
leonine or human faces, bodies of bulls or sphinxes,
eagles, etc. They were usually placed at entrances
to palaces or temples as guardian spirits. In early
Canaanitish lore, the cherubim were not conceived
of as angels. [Cf:vi ew of Theodorus, Bishop of
Heracleba, who declared "these cherubims not to
be any Angelicall powers, but rather some horrible
visions of Beasts, which might terrifie Adam from
the entrance of paradises'-from Salkeld, A
Treatise of Angels.] It was only later that the
cherubim began to be regarded as heavenly
spirits. To Philo ("On the Cherubim") they
symbolized God's highest and chiefest potencies,
sovereignty, and goodness. They are the 1st angels
to be mentioned (and to be construed as angels) in
the Old Testament (Genesis 3: 22). They guarded
with flaming sword the Tree of Life and Eden,
hence their designation as the "flame of whirling
swords." In Exodus 25:18 we find 2 cherubim
"of gold," one on either side of the Ark (see
picturization in SchafT, A Dictionary of the Bible).
[C.' "cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy
seat" in Hebrews 9:5.] In Ezekiel (10: 14) 4 cherubim,
each with 4 faces and 4 wings, appear at the
river Chebar where the Hebrew prophet glimpses
them. In I Kings 6:23, the 2 cherubim in Solomon's
temple are carved out of olive wood. In
rabbinic and occult lore, the cherubim are prevailingly
thought of as charioteers of God, bearers
of His throne, and personifications of the winds.
In Revelation (4:8) they are living creatures who
render unceasing praise to their Maker. Here St.
John refers to them as beasts (holy, divine beasts),
&winged and "full of eyes within." John of Damascus
>>47055527
This.
Yes, the very lowest choir of angels that act as messengers can appear human but beyond that things get weird.
OP can bitch about it but unless the angel is just dropping off a letter from God its going to be alien in appearance.
>>47055598
in his Exposition of the Orthodox Faith also
speaks of the cherubim as "many-eyed." In
Talmud the cherubim are equated with the order
ophanim (wheels or chariots) or the order hayyoth
(holy beasts) and are said to reside in the 6th
or 7th Heaven. In the Dionysian scheme, the cherubim
rank 2nd in the Pchoir hierarchy and are
guardians of the fixed stars. Chief rulers, as listed
in most occult works, include Ophaniel, Rikbiel,
Cherubiel, Raphael, Gabriel, Zophiel, and-before
his fall-Satan, who was, as Parente says in The
11 Angels, the supreme angel in the choir of cherubim."
In the early traditions of Muslim lore it is
claimed that the cherubim were formed from the
tears Michael shed over the sins of the faithful.
[RJ Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics
IV, 616, "Demons and Spirits (~uslim)."] In
secular lore the cherubim have been called "black
cherubim" (Dante), "young-eyed cherubim*'
(Shakespeare), "helmed cherubim" (Milton). Blake
describes Satan as the "covering cherub" and turns
the Ezekiel vision of the 4 creatures into his own
Four Zoas. The latter sound the 4 trumpets
heralding the apocalypse. As angels of light, glory,
and keepers of the celestial records, the cherubim
excel in knowledge. [Rf. Lindsay, Kerubini irr
Semitic Religion and Art.] The notion of winged,
multiple-headed beasts serving as guardians of
temples and palaces must have been general in
many near-Eastern countries, for in adhtion to
appearing in Assyrian-Chaldean-Babylonian art
and writings (where the authors of Isaiah and Ezekiel
doubtlessly first came upon them), they a p
pear, as already noted, in Canaanitish lore (with
which the Israelites were, of course, familiar,
and which influenced or colored the accounts in
Genesis and other Old Testament books). An
ivory from the collection of a king of Megiddo,
circa 1200 B.c.E., reproduced on p. 45 of the
>>47055611
Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bibk, shows a
Canaanite ruler seated on a throne, "supported by
winged lions with human heads." These, say the
editors of the Atlas, "are the imaginary, composite
beings which the Israelites called cherubim." As
winged beasts with human heads, 2 cherubim are
shown supporting the throne of Hiram, king of
ancient Byblos (see reproduction, p. 132, vol
A-D of Irrterpreter's Dictiorrary ofthe Bible). Among
works of more modern times, Rubens' "Apotheosis
of James I" (hanging in the banqueting hall
of Whitehall in London and filling the long side
panels) shows a procession of cherubs.
>dwarves
Part of a larger colonial fungi. Basically, they live in giant mushroom networks and exist mostly to expand the fungus. Always digging to open up new ground for the roots. They have personality, but their will is subject to the fungus' demands. The result of a powerful demon fucking a mushroom.
>elves
plant people. They grow tall, and continue growing indefinitely, until they get too tall for their humanoid forms to sustain them, at which point they become a tree. The result of a powerful fae fucking a plant.
>angels
A culture of extradimensional beings. They don't make people go mad (unless they want to, but they never want to), but you know, mortal minds can't really see, or even comprehend their true form. They're paternalistic, and seek to protect the mortals from the other two extra dimensional beings.
>fey
Tricky extradimensional culture. Same deal as the angels: people don't go insane near them (unless they want them to), but mortals can't really comprehend their true forms. They are the weakest extradimensional culture militarily, so they seek to play the other two cultures off of one another using trickery and the mortal plane.
>Demons
the third extradimensional culture, they seek to exploit the mortal plane's resources, namely mortals. They're not really evil, they just generally don't like the angels interfering with all the deals they can make with mortals. The angels think the deals are generally unconscionable, just like any sort of contract with a child would be.
Then there are the GOOs and gods, which are to the fey, angels, and demons as the fey, angels and demons are to us.
Angels vs. Demons is paternalistic market protections vs. laissez faire capitalism. Both sides have merits, and from a mortal perspective, both sides might be a bit over zealous. The fey are involved: they make deals with mortals to exacerbate the conflicts between the demons and the angels. The only side that doesn't "deal" with mortals are the angels
>>47055598
If you are applying the original concept, then the god that empowers the angels ought to be also be single figures from polytheistic pantheons, and be the messagers of those deities (which happened to be divine and possess wings such as in Babylonian and Greek mythology.)
>>47055527
>everything above archangels
You mean god? Archangels were the highest choir.
>>47055655
Archangels-the term archangel applies genetically
to all angels above the grade of (the order
of) angels; it also serves to designate a specific
rank of angels in the celestial hierarchy. In the
pseudo-Dionysian scheme of 9 orders or choirs,
the order of archangel is placed 8th-that is, next
to the last in rank, immediately above the order
of angels. This is a bit confusing, since the
greatest angels are referred to as archangels, as in the
Old Testament, where Daniel calls Michael "one
of the chief princes," which is taken to mean one
of the archangels. In the New Testament the term
archangels occurs only twice: in I Thessalonians
and in Jude. In the latter only, however, is Michael
specifically designated an archangel. In Revelation
8:2, John refers to the "seven angels who stand
before God," and this is commonly interpreted to
mean the 7 archangels. The Book ofEnoch (Enoch I)
names the 7: Uriel, Raguel, Michael, Seraqael,
Gabriel, Haniel, Raphael. Later Judaism gives
Phanuel as an alternate for Uriel. Other lists in
apocrypha and pseudepigrapha give, as variants,
such angels as Barachiel, Jehudiel, Sealtiel, Oriphiel,
Zadkiel, and Anael (Haniel). The archangels,
according to the Testament of Levi, "minister and
make propitiation to the Lord for the sins of
ignorance and of the righteous." The ruling
prince of the order is usually given as Raphael or
Michael. The Koran recognizes 4 archangels but
names only 2: Gabriel (Jibril), who is the angel of
revelation, and Michael, the warrior angel who
fights the battle of the faithful. The 2 unnamed
angels are Azrael, angel of death; and Israfel,
angel of music, who will sound the trumpet (one
of 3 or 4 trumpets) on the Day of Judgment.
The earliest source for the names of the archangels
>>47055699
is traced to Al-Barceloni, a writer of mystic
works in the post-Talmudic period, who related
them to the planets. In other writings "we meet
with the conception of 12 archangels connected
with the signs of the zodiac." [Rf: The Book ofthe
Angel Raxiel 52a, 61a; Ginzberg, The Legerrds of
theJews V, 24.1 For the names of the 12 and their
zodiacal signs, see Appendix. The cabala cites 10
archangels (actually 9) and places them in the
world of Briah (2nd of the 4 created worlds), thus :
Methratton, Ratziel Tzaphqiel, Tzadqiel, Kham-
ael, Mikhale, Haniel, Raphael, Gabriel, Methratton.
It will be noted the Methrattin, i.e., Metatron,
appears twice, heading and concluding the list of
10-or rather 9. [Rf: Mathers, The Kabbalah Unveiled.]
"The archangels," says Dionysius in his
Mystical Theology and the Celestial Hierarchy, "are
the messengers bearing divine decrees."
>>47055655
Archangel applies to any angel that is not rock bottom in the hierarchy. So Principalities, Thrones, Gregori, Oriphelim, Cheribum, and Seraphim are all archangel but are very different choirs in hierarchy with Seraphim being the absolute top.
I actually had to reorient my screen to get this screenshot right.
>>47055821
And this one.
>>47053734
I like a strange idealised combination of japanese and swedish/finnish myth.
Spirits are everywhere and in everything, some of them are awesome (like house spirits) and while not necessary super useful are handy to have around - usually because they keep worse spirits away (eg chasing off baby snatching elves / kappa). They're treated with respect and usually left a bowl of milk and a crust of bread every week or so.
Then there's other spirits attached to things like ancient trees or giant stones that are special and important and guard villages. These receive more worship.
Then there's shit like the rampaging demon from princess mononoke, where you hope it goes the fuck away... and even if you have to kill it you still be polite as fuck so that it doesn't curse you.
Then there's shit like huldra and trolls and the wild hunt, where you try to fucking avoid them as much as possible.
Sometimes people respect predatory instinct, and thus end up worshipping things like Rasetsu (extremely violent nigh-immortal warrior spirits of negative emotion that feed off of death and violence - pretty synonymous with Asura's actually).
>>47053734
Which setting uses russian elves? Because I was totally gonna use that.
>>47054451
Seraph and eldrich abominations should not manifest to humans. Their work is to sing the grace of god in heaven. You have human-like angels for PR.
>>47053734
Sauce on that image, OP? I want to play this game.
except eldritch angels are accurate
>>47054011
And not ending you last sentence is another way to be contrarian, right? Fucking hipster.
>>47055506
> if you actually read scripture it mentions nothing about transforming and simply described them blinding the citizens
I'm imagining a couple of normal rapeable looking dudes just casually going around stabbing peoples in the eyes with their fingers.
>>47057566
Yea, I say unto you, stop rapists by poking their eyes out, for they are faggots unto me.
I don't really care about the contents of this thread, I just want more Tewi.
>>47054516
Huh. Good to know. Looks like I'm off to do some more reading on old legends. Tiny dwarves hit that same soft spot in my cold, shriveled blackened heart as tiny gnomes.
>>47054720
You have my attention now, anon. I'm always up for hearing about different cultures' take on mythical races. What sets the Swiss dwarves apart from the rest, pray tell?
>>47057665
not that anon but they're jolly, helpful little earth folk who live under hills, raise cattle, and produce magical cheese.
Also pseudo-Swiss template just works for dwarves.
>>47057711
They sound like Scandinavian gnomes.
>>47057721
I'd say there's a lot of overlap between various mythical European smallfolk. The same way in a lot of older Eastern European folklore vampires and werewolves were often the same thing IIRC.
>>47057711
>>47057721
Swiss dwarves and Scandinavian gnomes sound, what's the phrase, cozy as fuck? Whatever it is, very nice. Sadly, neither seem all that appropriate for my setting, or I would very much love to include them.
>>47057800
Scandinavian gnomes (nisser in Danish and Norwegian, tomtar in Swedish) are cozy as long as you're not doing things to upset them, like abusing your horse/oxen when plowing or if you don't feed your animals. Or if you urinate on your house or stomp around inside, as they're said to live under the floorboards.
They're very much fae rather than any kind of playable race.
German folklore has a naval version called the klabautermänner.
I personally love the idea of something like a redeemed Balor fighting against demon hordes.DOUBLE NEGATIVE, INSECT!
>>47053734
>Trusting a member of the fair folk
>Ever
Christ I'm too Celtic for this.
>>47054664
>>47054689
>Thomas the Rhymer
>Numerous Fairy Wife stories
Come the fuck on anon. Faeries were like people. They could do good or bad.
Shit, I think I might have to post a Fairy story now.
>>47059561
.HIGH up in a hollow of the Black Mountains of South Wales is a lonely sheet of water called Llyn y Fan Fach.
In a farm not far from this lake there lived in the olden time a widow, with an only son whose name was Gwyn. When this son grew up, he was often sent by his mother to look after the cattle grazing. The place where the sweetest food was to be found was near the lake, and it was thither that the mild-eyed beasts wandered whenever they had their will. One day when Gwyn was walking along the banks of the mere, watching the kine cropping the short grass, he was astonished to see a lady standing in the clear smooth water, some distance from the land.
She was the most beautiful creature that he had ever set eyes upon, and she was combing her long hair with a golden comb, the unruffled surface of the lake serving her as a mirror.
He stood on the brink, gazing fixedly at the maiden, and straightway knew that he loved her. As he gazed, he unconsciously held out to her the barley-bread and cheese which his mother had given him before he left home. The lady gradually glided towards him, but shook her head as he continued to hold out his hand, and saying:
Cras dy fara, O thou of the crimped bread,
Nid hawdd fy nala, It is not easy to catch me,
she dived under the water, and disappeared from his sight.
>>47059598
He went home, full of sorrow, and told his mother of the beautiful vision which he had seen. As they pondered over the strange words used by the mysterious lady before she plunged out of sight, they came to the conclusion that there must have been some spell connected with the hard-baked bread, and the mother advised her son to take with him some "toes," or unbaked dough, when next he went to the lake.
Next morning, long before the sun appeared above the crest of the mountain, Gwyn was by the lake with the dough in his hand, anxiously waiting for the Lady of the Lake to appear above the surface. The sun rose, scattering with his powerful beams the mists which veiled the high ridges around, and mounted high in the heavens. Hour after hour the youth watched the waters, but hour after hour there was nothing to be seen except the ripples raised by the breeze and the sunbeams dancing upon them. By the late afternoon despair had crept over the watcher, and he was on the point of turning his footsteps homeward when to his intense delight the lady again appeared above the sunlit ripples. She seemed even more beautiful than before, and Gwyn, forgetting in admiration of her fairness all that he had carefully prepared to say, could only hold out his hand, offering to her the dough. She refused the gift with a shake of the head as before, adding the words:
Llaith dy fara, O thou of the moist bread,
Ti ni fynna. I will not have thee.
Then she vanished under the water, but before she sank out of sight, she smiled upon the youth so sweetly and so graciously that his heart became fuller than ever of love. As he walked home slowly and sadly, the remembrance of her smile consoled him and awakened the hope that when next she appeared she would not refuse his gift. He told his mother what had happened, and she advised him, inasmuch as the lady had refused both hard-baked and unbaked bread, to take with him next time bread that was half-baked.
>>47059618
That night he did not sleep a wink, and long before the first twilight he was walking the margin of the lake with half-baked bread in his hand, watching its smooth surface even more impatiently than the day before.
The sun rose and the rain came, but the youth. heeded nothing as he eagerly strained his gaze over the water. Morning wore to afternoon, and afternoon to evening, but nothing met the eyes of the anxious watcher but the waves and the myriad dimples made in them by the rain.
The shades of night began to fall, and Gwyn was about to depart in sore disappointment, when, casting a last farewell look over the lake, he beheld some cows walking on its surface. The sight of these beasts made him hope that they would be followed by the Lady of the Lake, and, sure enough, before long the maiden emerged from the water. She seemed lovelier than ever, and Gwyn was almost beside himself with joy at her appearance. His rapture increased when he saw that she was gradually approaching the land, and he rushed into the water to meet her, holding out the half-baked bread in his hand. She, smiling, took his gift, and allowed him to lead her to dry land. Her beauty dazzled him, and for some time he could do nothing but gaze upon her. And as he gazed upon her he saw that the sandal on her right foot was tied in a peculiar manner. She smiled so graciously upon him that he at last recovered his speech and said, "Lady, I love you more than all the world besides and want you to be my wife."
She would not consent at first. He pleaded, however, so earnestly that she at last promised to be his bride, but only on the following condition. "I will wed you," she said, "and I will live with you until I receive from you three blows without a cause--tri ergyd diachos. When you strike me the third causeless blow I will leave you for ever."
>>47059670
He was protesting that he would rather cut off his hand than employ it in such a way, when she suddenly darted from him and dived into the lake. His grief and disappointment was so sore that he determined to put an end to his life by casting himself headlong into the deepest water of the lake. He rushed to the top of a great rock overhanging the water, and was on the point of jumping in when he heard a loud voice saying, "Forbear, rash youth, and come hither."
He turned and beheld on the shore of the lake some distance from the rock a hoary-headed old man of majestic mien, accompanied by two maidens. He descended from the rock in fear and trembling, and the old man addressed him in comforting accents.
"Mortal, thou wishest to wed one of these my daughters. I will consent to the union if thou wilt point out to me the one thou lovest."
Gwyn gazed upon the two maidens, but they were so exactly similar in stature, apparel and beauty that he could not see the slightest difference between them. They were such perfect counterparts of each other that it seemed quite impossible to say which of them had promised to be his bride, and the thought that if perchance he fixed upon the wrong one all would be for ever lost nearly drove him to distraction. He was almost giving up the task in despair when one of the two maidens very quietly thrust her foot slightly forward. The motion, simple as it was, did not escape the attention of the youth, and looking down he saw the peculiar shoe-tie which he had observed on the sandal of the maiden who had accepted his half-baked bread. He went forward and boldly took hold of her hand.
"Thou hast chosen rightly," said the old man, "be to her a kind and loving husband, and I will give her as a dowry as many sheep, cattle; goats, swine and horses as she can count of each without drawing in her breath. But remember, if thou strikest her three causeless blows, she shall return to me."
>>47053734
What emotion or state of mind does that facial expression mean to express?
I'm getting some mixed signals here.
>>47059711
Gwyn was overjoyed, and again protested that he would rather lop off all his limbs than do such a thing. The old man smiled, and turning to his daughter desired her to count the number of sheep she wished to have. She began to count by fives--one, two, three, four, five--one, two, three, four, five--one, two, three, four, five--as many times as she could until her breath was exhausted. In an instant as many sheep as she had counted emerged from the water. Then the father asked her to count the cattle she desired. One, two, three, four, five--one, two, three, four, five--one, two, three, four, five--she went on counting until she had to draw in her breath again. Without delay, black cattle to the number she had been able to reach came, lowing out of the mere. In the same way she counted the goats, swine and horses she wanted, and the full tale of each kind ranged themselves alongside the sheep and cattle. Then the old man and his other daughter vanished.
The Lady of the Lake and Gwyn were married amid great rejoicing, and took up their home at a farm named Esgair Llaethdy, where they lived for many years. They were as happy as happy can be, everything prospered with them, and three sons were born to them.
When the eldest boy was seven years old, there was a wedding some distance away, to which Nelferch--for that was the name the Lady of the Lake gave herself--and her husband were specially invited. When the day came, the two started and were walking through a field in which some of their horses were grazing, when Nelferch said that the distance was too great for her to walk and she would rather not go. "We must go," said her husband, "and if you do not like to walk, you can ride one of these horses. Do you catch one of them while I go back to the house for the saddle and bridle."
"I will," she said. "At the same time bring me my gloves. I have forgotten them--they are on the table."
>>47059730
He went back to the house, and when he returned with the saddle and bridle and gloves, he found to his surprise that she had not stirred from the spot where he had left her. Pointing to the horses, he playfully flicked her with the gloves and said, "Go, go (dos, dos)."
"This is the first causeless blow," she said with a sigh, and reminded him of the condition upon which she had married him, a condition which he had almost forgotten.
Many years after, they were both at a christening. When all the guests were full of mirth and hilarity, Nelferch suddenly burst into tears and sobbed piteously. Gwyn tapped her on the shoulder and asked her why she wept. "I weep," she said, "because this poor innocent babe is so weak and frail that it will have no joy in this world. Pain and suffering will fill all the days of its brief stay on earth, and in the agony of torture will it depart this life. And, husband, thou hast struck me the second causeless blow."
After this, Gwyn was on his guard day and night not to do anything which could be regarded as a breach of their marriage covenant. He was so happy in the love of Nellerch and his children that he knew his heart would break if through some accident he gave the last and only blow which would take his dear wife from him. Some time after, the babe whose christening they had attended, after a short life of pain and suffering, died in agony, as Nelferch had foretold. Gwyn and the Lady of the Lake went to the funeral, and in the midst of the mourning and grief, Nelferch laughed merrily, causing all to stare at her in astonishment. Her husband was so shocked at her high spirits on so sad an occasion, that he touched her, saying, "Hush, wife, why dost thou laugh?"
>>47059727
It's Tewi.
Mischief and "oh, you're such a fucking sucker, you stupid pervert" are synonymous.
>>47057014
Not him, but it's a fake screenshot, some artists do that.
http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=26243373 Here's the pixiv.
>>47059807
>http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=26243373
I am upset but also grateful. Thank you, kind anon, even if it isn't what I wanted to hear.
>>47057091
The plurality of "let us make man" is traditionally interpreted as god talking amongst the souls which will one day inhabit those human bodies.
It has nothing to do with polytheism, especially since he bible goes on and on with God saying that he is singular.
>>47053734
They think it makes them 'intelligent' because they know what normal people don't, and 'clever' for using the 'proper' version in their stories. Obviously, they're just being morons and discounting the variety of stories involving fairies and angels where they don't adhere to their stereotypes, ultimately making them the same as the people they mock.
>>47053809
Duergar culture's more interesting.
>>47054011
I've noticed this too. You see it real bad on /co/ (which is shit nowadays for a variety of reasons), where they have trouble coping with superheroes getting so much mainstream attention now. I see it on /a/ and with some of the stuff I follow on /vg/, too.
>>47058083
They'll do you a good turn if you're polite and hospitable to them. Even if they're in a mood to start shit you can always banish them by calling on the blessed virgin or some such.
>>47062091
"Traditionally" in this case being the Catholic Church's response to people pointing out that whole 'Elohim = multiple gods' business.
After all, it's not like the Hebrew people used to polytheistic themselves, right? They were never, say, the Semites.
That's right, they used to have a whole pantheon. Of particular note would be Baal, god of thunder and lightning, rain that cleansed and brought forth crops... or drowned the world of sinners.
Heck, he even died and came back again. Got eaten by his brother, Death, who "took him like a lamb into his mouth". Odd symbology there, pretty sure no one else was ever called a lamb and came back from the grave.
Admittedly, Baal needed help from a friend to come back, but still, divine being who died and rose again.
It only makes sense that the Hebrew belief system would reflect its origins and the cultures that had influenced them. The evidence is just hidden in old terms and applying direct translations rather than taking the new ideas on faith.
>>47063937
"Traditionally," as in Jewish oral and written traditions that easily predate the council of nicea if not Jesus himself
Even if you believe that the entirety of the bible is a fabrication and that the isrealites were originally polytheistic, why would they leave the part about multiple gods after becoming stringently monotheistic.
>>47064104
>why would they leave the part about multiple gods after becoming stringently monotheistic.
Unknown, but as long as it wasn't as politicized as the Church became later, it's entirely possible that no one thought to remove words left over from their origins. Or even that the terms had diverged from their original meanings, and made sense in a monotheistic context by the time it mattered.
>>47064375
I don't think you understand just how austistic Judaism is about the bible.
There are 2000 year old arguments between various factions of rabbis, all over 1 or 2 words in the bible and what its proper interpretation is.
If you're scribing a Torah scroll, and you make even a single spelling or grammatical error, the entire section of the scroll you were just writing needs to be buried and rewritten.
These are not the kinds of people who would just leave such an obvious and crucial error right at the beginning of their fucking holy-book.
>>47064634
Except for the obvious and crucial error where man is created twice, once with a mate and then without, right? And tried to cover their asses with someone else's demon. You know, Lillith?
Also,
>fucking holy book
Ah yes, the Gospel of Eve. Too bad people are prudes and all we have today is the compaints list. Their reasons for cutting that out made it sound quite entertaining.
>>47065749
No, Adam was only created once. Fir there was Adam and Lilith, and then when Lilith fucked off, god made Eve.
Also
>gospel of eve
>litterally any fringe New Testament stuff
revelations is a meme holy-book
>>47064634
They didn't change it because they were faithfully transcribing a text from an era when they worshiped multiple gods. Eventually they formed a covenant with one of these gods (Yahweh) and ceased to worship the others. Later on, this exclusive worship was perceived as monotheism, but the other deities in the pantheon were never claimed to be nonexistent, it was just forbidden to worship them. It was Christ who claimed that there was a single merciful "Heavenly Father", in contrast with the vengeful deity Yahweh and the other gods depicted in the Old Testament.
>>47066510
That certainly has "though shall have no other gods before me" making more sense now.
>>47066860
Or it could refer to idol worship, you know kinda exactly what the Israelites were in the process of doing while God was saying that to Moses?
>>47053734
Fairies can be pretty cool, though.
>>47066348
Adam was distinctly created twice, and the whole thing mentioned four times, and only once was woman made with him. So when people noticed the inconsistency, golly gee, here comes Lillith, borrowed from the neighbors to explain it.
>>47067100
It may have indeed been regarding idol worship, especially that of the other gods from Yahweh's pantheon.
>>47053734
>Why is your "understanding" of /tg/'s "understanding" of mythological/fantasy creatures so horrible?
FTFY
>>47057610
You and me both
>>47067155
Ah. I see what the problem is.
God does not create Adam twice. God creates mankind in genesis 1 - 26, and he creates Adam and Eve in genesis 2 - 7.
It's a common misconception that Adam was the first man. He wasn't. We know this because, when Cain was kicked out of Eden, he was afraid of what other people would do to him. What other people, if Adam was the first man?
Adam was actually the first man to have conception of God. Think of him as the first Homo Sapiens, and the mankind created in genesis 1 - 26 as being early homonids.
This interpretation, by the way, fits quite will with the interpretation of the 7 days of creation actually being the several billion years of creation.
>>47059752
Aww, he didn't finish it.
I know the general, but not the details.
Basically, that was the third causeless blow, and his wife left him. He was heartbroken, and went back to the lake he had found his wife at. Eventually, it is said, he was allowed to join her at her father's house.
They're plebs, no question.
>>47054777
I'm tired of this meme, read Genesis 19:1-11.
>>47053734
TG really needs to lose the hateboner for elves.
Some people into roleplaying are tall, graceful, attractive and have long hair - get over it and stop denying us representation in games.
>>47054451
>>47054777
>>47054879
Nobody knows what a seraphim looks like or why they cover themselves, only that they do. It could very well be humans with wings beneath. No need to bullshit.
>>47054451
I'm almost willing to give succubus a pass on demon shit since they're basically just non-canon wet dream monsters. I still wouldn't since it defeats the whole point though
>>47053734
how is your understanding better/more precise than any other?
>>47053734
>kancolle fairies
>evil
pick 1
>>47054096
Shut up, Ulfric. Long live the Empire.
>>47053734
Let's see how I stack up
>faeries
Generally a mixed bag. The lesser fae tend to behave like capricious, slightly crazed people. They can help or harm, but sometimes their help is destructive or painful and their 'curses' actually helpful to anyone who isn't a faery. The True Fae, though, are pure terror. They're dangerous to deal with no matter what.
>angels
I prefer them like pic related- human enough, but still otherworldly. Also somewhat alien in mindset just from how pure and godly they are
>demons
I like them morally grey but still largely destructive, succubi included
>elves
Tolkien elves a shit. I generally make mine fey-lite, and very capricious and weird.
>dwarves
Hard to do right, desu. I've tried to do different things with them, but it either feels half assed or like they're not really dwarves anymore. I generally go whole hog weird with them recently. In my current campaign, they're stereotypical but gregarious and well liked, but that's just because they're a race of faces/diplomats for the real, golem-like dwarves deep in the mountains
>>47081133
HEIL ULFRIC
REMOVE MER
SKYRIM BELONGS TO THE NORDS
