silveradept | Entries tagged with sunshine challenge: 2021

Prompt 7, the final prompt for this Sunshine Challenge, is the promise of growth and new life: Zephyrus, the West Wind.

The child of Dawn (Eos) and the Titan Astraeus, Zephyrus represents the West Wind. Zephyrus was considered to be the gentlest of the Anemoi (wind gods representing the cardinal points of the compass), and the beneficial bringer of Spring. The gentle springtime winds of the West indicated an end to Winter and the new growth of plants and flowers.

( What does a gentle wind bring with it, and how does that relate to the ways that we interact with each other? )

That's the warm and gentle breeze, the promise of flowers and rain and spring, I think. The ability to step away from the things that everyone else seems to prize and create something for yourself (or someone else). Even for people who make works for a living or a side hustle, the promise of Fandom is of being able to enjoy a thing unabashedly (and without anybody bashing you, even if there have to be conversations about the choices you're making) with others who enjoy the same thing. A community for people who are (sometimes desperately) in need of one to help them thrive, and for those who want to share their experiences to others through the creation and enjoyment of works. It's not perfect. A lot of the systemic problems from the world outside fandom have found their way in all the same, but there's definitely the promise that things can be better every time a new work gets created.

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: Alan Menken - Beauty and the Beast (1991) - Prologue

Prompt 6 for the Sunshine Challenge is someone about who little is known but their relationship to someone else: Amphitrite

Amphitrite is the goddess of the sea, wife of Poseidon, and eldest of the fifty Nereides. She is the female personification of the ocean: the mother of fish, seals and dolphins. Poseidon chose Amphitrite from among her sisters as the Nereids performed a dance on the isle of Naxos. Refusing his offer of marriage, she fled to Atlas. The dolphin-god Delphin eventually tracked her down and persuaded her to return to wed the sea-king. She also bred sea monsters, and her great waves crashed against the rocks, putting sailors at risk.

Having been recommended some resources in the last post, I went and took a look around to see if there was anything additional that could be gleaned, but there doesn't appear to be much about the wife of Poseidon other than her heritage and the story told of how Delphin ended up as a constellation for his service to Poseidon in convincing Amphitrite to marry him and taking charge of the wedding preparations.

( Mythology, technology, fandom. Not necessarily in that order. )

And, y'know, I wish the most consequential decision that we were making these days was how much good-natured shit we're willing to take for our fandoms from people who like us and would apologize and stop if we said it hurt us.

Current Music: Rei Kondo - Okami - Giving Kushinada A Ride

Prompt 5 is a god of wild places, nature, and taking time away from all the thoughts in your head to enjoy what's around you: Pan

Part man and part goat, Pan is a nature god well known in many mythologies. Born in Arcadia to Hermes and a dryad, Pan was a precocious child whose goat’s feet and horned head delighted the gods, but startled the mortals he lived nearer to; Pan did not live on Mount Olympus, but rather in the forests and wilds of Arcadia. Pan famously invented a musical instrument: the syrinx, or pan pipes as they are more commonly known. He is known for his haunting melodies, and music was often a central part to his worship.

( The Pan, yes, although J. M. Barrie's character doesn't appear here )

Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: Aubrey Hodges - The Dream

Prompt 4 for the Sunshine Challenge are the ones who don't rest until they are satisfied: The Furies

The Furies, also known as the Erinyes, are a trio of vengeance deities whose immortal task is to hear complaints of insolence from mortals—and to punish those crimes by hounding the culprits relentlessly. They are said to focus on punishment for lying, killing, or sinning against the gods, but any lawbreaking was indeed punishable by them.

“Alecto was the oldest, unceasing in anger. Megaera was next, retaliator of jealousy, and Tisiphone, the last, regarded as the avenger of murder.”
― Elisabeth Naughton, Stolen Fury

Maybe you are inspired by Alecto (“the implacable one”, incites war), or perhaps Megaera (“the envious one”, vengeance) speaks to you, or maybe even Tisiphone (“avenger of murder”, guards the gates to Tartarus) – however you want to interpret the prompt, we’d love to hear from you!

( The use of euphemism, for both good and ill )

I suppose the thing I want to hammer home the most is this: The invocation of such forces, who do not rest until they have been satisfied, is not to be done lightly, trivially, or on anyone who you do not fully intend to drive away without the possibility of return. Calling upon them, if necessary, should be done when the cause is just and the person who has offended did so out of malice or indifference instead of ignorance. (Persistence in ignorance is indifference or malice.) And those that do the calling should understand that the powers they unleash are the sole determiners of when they are satisfied, so they should not cry foul should it turn out that the kindly ones come for the one who invoked them as well as (or instead of) the one they were directed at.

Current Mood: satisfied
Current Music: Yoko Shimomura - Organization XIII

Prompt 3 for the Sunshine Challenge is the Goddess Who Knows What You Did In The Dark: Hekate

Otherworldly and mysterious, Hecate is best known for her association with magic, ghosts, and the night. If you hear the baying of hounds in the dark, she's likely near as they were ever at her side. She is traditionally depicted as bearing two torches to light her way or as a triple goddess of the crossroads. In mythology she is known for helping Demeter search for her daughter Persephone, a theme that ties her even more to the Underworld and spirits she is associated with. Today she is often considered a representative of those liminal places where reality bends and all manner of events may unfold...

( That which was old is new again. That, for the most part, is a bad thing. )

Current Music: Dream Theater - Train of Thought

Prompt number 2 for this month's Sunshine Challenge is Eos, Goddess of the Dawn.

The dawn goddess Eos was almost always described with rosy fingers or rosy forearms as she opened the gates of heaven for the Sun to rise. Eos had a team of divine horses to pull her chariot, providing daylight as they climbed the arc of heaven scattering sparks of fire across the sky (she was also sometimes depicted aloft by the power of her own wings). Eos is known for having had many lovers, which has led to Eos being known by some as a goddess of joy and pleasure in addition to being the goddess of the dawn.

( How do you spark joy in yourself? )

If I have to sum it up, I suppose I would do it this way:

These nine words fandom's manifest:
"Cheer what works,
fix what's broke,
discard the rest."

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Casey Lee / Jeff Williams - Like Morning Follows Night

We're back for the Sunshine Challenge this summer, and the runners have mixed things up again, this time going with a different theme.

( Prompt 1: Hades )

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Casey Lee / Jeff Williams: It's My Turn