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moribundanchor · 3 years

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The Pelle/Dani Receipts, Post Twelve: Runes

Big, huge Hårga hugs and thanks again to @daydreamers for expertise and editing on this post!

So. Runes. Specifically, the Elder Futhark runes, as Pelle tells Dani in the Director’s Cut, the “special little language” of the Hårgans. Throughout the film, runes are insinuated into basically every surface of Hårga and its people. So many tattoo opportunities, y’all. And it doesn’t even technically start in Sweden. Ari stuck a board featuring the whole Elder Futhark alphabet in Christian and Mark’s apartment. You can see it on the bookcase to Pelle’s right in the couch scenes. So, the film’s usage of the Elder Futhark is a deep, deep rabbit hole full of all the multivalent subtext we crave from this film, but they’re also absolutely blaring evidence for the Dani/Pelle ship. Throughout the film, like many of the background details we’ve discussed, the runes serve as a repetitive chorus of their fatedness for each other, but better still, the runes footnote the film’s ambiguous resolution as their genuine happy ending. So let’s dig in.

Dani has two main runes associated with her, Raidho and Dagaz, and they are both merkstave versions, that is backwards, lending them a negative reading. Oooooh, scary. Except negative readings aren’t necessarily negative either. All runic readings are subjective and contextual, which is why we decided to talk about these last. Let’s not forget that Dani begins the movie at the bottom of an emotional well.

Raidho, literally ride or wheel, refers to a journey. Yeah, Dani’s on one of those, seems legit. This is the only rune that Ari takes care to point out the meaning of within the film itself, when the elder Arne shows the Rubi Radr to Josh, pointing to Raidho on its side and telling him that that one stands for grief. Grief is a legitimate reading of Raidho merkstave, so let’s just take that interpretation at Arne’s word and combine it with Dagaz, Dani’s second rune.

Dagaz is the last rune in the Elder Futhark, and it means day, symbolizing accomplishment, fulfillment, and new beginnings. As a symmetrical rune, it’s questionable whether it can be merkstave, but Dani’s Dagaz rune (technically runes, as she also has them on her shoes) does lie in opposition. Its negative reading in that case would be hopelessness, blindness, or cataclysmic change. Not fairytale stuff, right?

But Raidho and Dagaz appear together on Pelle’s drawing and on Dani’s dress. Also note that runic inscriptions are read right to left, and the tapestry of the “little love story” is an in-film clue to that reading order. With that in mind, together Raidho merkstave and Dagaz merkstave tell of a big change, even an ending, yes, but an ending to Dani’s grief, and that is what her journey in this film describes. Here, two “negative” readings equal out to a positive in the sense of Dani’s ultimate growth and transcendence. But wait, there’s more.

You will notice the runes on the Hårgans’ clothing, of course, as though they are their personal cult cutie marks, but the embroidered runes are often surrounded by other symbols, esoteric symbols and more complex runic talismans, which deepen the reading of the central rune, like footnotes. In Dani’s dress example, Raidho and Dagaz are flanked by merkstaved Tiwaz runes, with sun symbols above and below. Tiwaz (literally “the god Tyr,” the god of law and justice) is one of the runes featured on Christian’s robe during the sex ritual, and it describes justice, honor, authority, self-sacrifice. Its merkstave meaning then reads as conflict, imbalance, lack of communication...separation. And so, in the specific context of the dance competition, while Dani’s main runes shown in Pelle’s drawing forecast (or possibly straight-up spellcast, depending on your interpretation) an end to her grief, the more complex version she wears for the dance tells of that happening through a conflict and a break...but the sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow. It is a new dawn for Dani as the May Queen.

Her shoes, which we only see during the dance, are more complicated. First, the embroidery is done in faded red thread, and we know that red appears very selectively on Hårgan garments. Siv wears a ton of red throughout the festival. Maja and Inga also wear striking red additions to their costumes at the Fire Temple ceremony. Ingemar has a single red button on his waistcoat. So red may convey authority, fertility, sacrifice, or even be a brand of shame, but it always seems to mean something.

As for the symbols on her shoes, again we see the merkstave-ish Dagaz rune, but it is alone in the center, no Raidho. So we’re looking at a big change or an ending again. Instead of suns, we have snowflakes, recalling the Spoiler Tapestry in the beginning, the way it began in frosty dark death skullhead weather and ends in summer dinner and dancing beneath the scariest sun since Teletubbies. To the right, we have a bind of three Tiwaz runes, and to the left, we have an Ingwaz (seed) rune, combined with a merkstave Kenaz. The triple Tiwaz is a victory rune, taken from an Old Norse poem where a Valkyrie was woken from her slumber. Three is a holy number, and that’s definitely something we know the 9-multiple-loving Hårgans pay attention to. This rune means the sleeper Dani is about to be awoken through a victory. Meanwhile the Ingwaz rune refers to coming into harmony and reaching potential. It’s also a fertility rune. Kenaz (torch) is a rune that normally describes transformation, knowledge, and the harnessing of light; merkstave, it speaks to darkness, lack of illumination and a relationship breakdown. Taken together, reading right to left, Dani’s shoes basically say: there will be a great change where she will be awoken from her slumber through a victory, she will have a breakup and/or her illusions will be shattered, but that will bring her ultimately into harmony, and there is the added implication of her fertility, bolstered by the red thread, being part of this. THAT IS ON HER SHOES.

For what it’s worth, you will also notice Hanna wearing Dagaz in opposition, like Dani, and the elder Sten wears a merkstave Raidho, in yellow no less. You can peep merkstave Raidho and Dagaz elements on the temple doors, too. So even if you eschew our deep dive here, these runes cannot be looked at superficially, as merkstave = bad = Dani doom. If Dani’s doomed, so is Sten and Hanna and the whole damn Hårga, and you may think that, but it’s not terribly likely they’d write it on themselves, is it? Sten doesn’t look doomed to us. Sten looks quite jolly, actually.

OK, time to obsess on Pelle. Pelle has one rune on his Hårgan tunic that he wears for the majority of the film, Fehu, and this seems more straightforward. Fehu means wealth, specifically mobile wealth, specifically cattle. As we mentioned earlier: moo, Dani; moo, sacrifices. And since Pelle’s the one bringing new blood and their new queen, the association of Pelle with prosperity is quite fitting. Add to that the way Fehu and Raidho tend to pop up all over the village, particularly on the maypole. The maypole combination of Raidho (not merkstave) and Fehu speaks to the way the Hårgans believe the dance around the maypole enacts (and reenacts) a ceremony that brings them prosperity, and having Dani and Pelle as Raidho Barbie and Fehu Ken is just kind of perfect in that light.

Pelle’s Fehu is surrounded by four symbols. Let’s have a crack at those, too. First we have what looks like a closed eye up top. At the bottom, we have a cross. The cross is not actually a cross; it’s a combination of four Isa (ice) runes, and we know this because there are four dots arranged around them, telling us, hey, these are four symbols not one. Then to the right, we have another talisman that looks like a crucified diamond with five dots. Again, the dots mean that these are individual runes drawn as one symbol as a kind of shorthand, so this symbol is actually Ingwaz again, quartered by four Isa runes. Finally, to the left, there is another Isa rune crossing a Tiwaz, and the absence of dots here means that they are a bind, or they are meant to be read as one thing (or are a spell for one thing).

The closed eye symbol is a bit of a guess here; it might represent Pelle’s unclouded intuition or maybe, in view of Dani’s suns and the association of Raidho with the summer solstice, it is meant to symbolize Fehu’s complementary association with the winter solstice. We prefer the association with his intuition given the events of the film. But what about the other symbols? Isa is a rune that describes the self or the ego. On the positive side, it is about will and focus, but on the other side, it is everything bad about ice: rigidity, blindness and self-preoccupation, being frozen. Again, symmetrical runes like Isa don’t merkstave, but they can lie in opposition, and so we have two pairs of Isa indicating, at the right, self-fulfillment, with the added implication of fertility, and coming into unity with the family after the will breaks through the metaphorical ice. At the bottom it is the same reading, only without Ingwaz. Will and self-control overcomes lassitude. And then again, one last time, Tiwaz crossed with Isa, read as one thing, not a series like the previous shorthand symbols, invoking justice and male energy to, again, break through the metaphorical ice. Taken together, it’s a formula for Pelle and the family’s triumph. Governed by his unclouded intuition, Pelle’s will overcomes that of his four differently-blind friends, bringing new blood and justice and unity with the family for the betterment of all, and the two breaks in the rightmost configuration carry the added implication of Pelle bringing into the family Christian’s and Dani’s new blood.

Finally, as discussed briefly in posts 10 and 11, Pelle changes his shirt on the morning of the dance competition, swapping Fehu for Wunjo (joy). There do appear to be a couple flanking symbols on this shirt, too, but we never get close enough to see, so we’ll just have to go with Wunjo’s face value. Again, this is the rune that emphasizes harmony, family, and the art of correct wishing, i.e. wanting (and getting) what is good for you. Pelle wearing Wunjo when he kisses Dani is a sign that he, the anti-Christian if you will, is her wish come true. This choice is not only incredibly positive for his relationship with Dani, but illustrative that there is a difference between Dani/Pelle and Dani/Hårga by virtue of the fact that he changes back into the Fehu shirt for the Fire Temple ceremony. Insofar as Dani is part of the family after the ceremony, the prosperity spelled on his Fehu-emblazoned tunic applies to her, too, but the Wunjo shirt is for her and for her victory...and his victory over Christian for her sake. The implication is that their story will not simply end with Dani assimilated into Hårga. They have special, personal significance for each other. While the ending shots of the film are a little ambiguous, the runes promise the May Queen and her consort are going to be just fine, y’all.

Again, would you like to see our fanfics?

Of course, there’s tons more to explore in the film that doesn’t speak specifically to Dani and Pelle’s love story, and even while we compiled this list, we were continually noticing and discovering the significance of new things. There’s no reason to think that will stop just because we’ve posted the Receipts. Still, we hope that you will enjoy the evidence we have compiled here for not only the legitimacy of the Dani/Pelle ship, but its promise of a happy ending for the OTP because, by Ari’s own admission, for better or worse, Midsommar is a wish fulfillment fantasy.

For more, click on The Pelle/Dani Receipts Masterpost

#the pelle/dani receipts #pelle/dani #dani/pelle #pelle x dani #dani x pelle #pellani #midsommar

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mtg-realm · 3 years

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Magic: the Gathering - I'M ON A BOAT !

Inga Rune-Eyes is the leader of the Omenseekers clan of humans from the realm of Bretagard on Kaldheim.

Inga is a blind seer with a strange white gaze but the ability to walk with confidence. Her eyes are clouded over with rune marks, after she sacrificed her sight to gain a different type of vision. She always seems distracted because she has sight beyond most mortals and her mind is inscribed with all the knowledge that her clan has acquired on its seafaring journeys.

#mtg #mtgkaldheim #magic the gathering #Kaldheim #viking #longboat #norse mythology #fantasy art #Illustration

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bacejelerenvorthos · 3 years

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The Lore of Kaldheim: Inga Rune-Eyes

“The leader of the Omenseekers, Inga is a blind seer who sacrificed her sight to gain a different type of vision. Inga's eyes are clouded over with rune marks, and her mind is inscribed with all the knowledge that her clan has acquired on its seafaring journeys. From her seat at the prow of the longship, Inga can lead her crew to any place an Omenseeker has ever set foot.

Widely respected among her people, there are none who would not lay down their life in order to protect her. Inga is somewhat uncomfortable with this level of devotion, so she uses her gift to best keep her people from harm.”

Art by Bram Sels and Nico Delort

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geekynerfherder · 3 years

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'Inga Rune-Eyes' by Nicolas Delort.

Card art for the 'Kaldheim' expansion set, released January / February 2021 by Magic: The Gathering

#Art Of The Day #Art #AOTD #Nico Delort #Magic The Gathering #MTG #MTG Art #Kaldheim #Norse #Norse Mythology #Card Art #Fantasy Art #Fantastical Art #Fantastical Realism #Imaginative Realism

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moisellethefae · 3 years

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The planeswalker Kaya hunts a terrifying monster on the Viking plane of Kaldheim. Original Story: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/episode-1-travelers-2021-01-07

Voice Credits: Inga Rune-eyes: Arden Hughes https://twitter.com/OhHeyItsArden Woman: Renara Hawke https://www.youtube.com/c/renarahawke Man: VioletLegacy https://twitter.com/TheVioletLegacy Hersir: Setsu Uzumé https://setsuuzume.com/narration/ Hras: Phoenix Madrone http://izzet-bedtime-yet.tumblr.com/ Asi: Daniel Barber https://twitter.com/DanStreamsGames Kaya: Nilahni https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8EbwCH__SoqB5P1FYx9oMQ Omenseeker: Ozzie Sneddon https://www.librariumstudios.com/

Sound Credits: Sound editing by Noxshade https://www.youtube.com/noxshade "On the Shore" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ https://www.purple-planet.com/ Voice of All is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

#mtgkhm #kaldheim #voice acting #audio drama #audiobook #magic story

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mtg-cards-hourly · 2 years

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Inga Rune-Eyes

Artist: Nico Delort TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

#mtg #magic the gathering #tcg #nico delort #inga rune-eyes #magic online promos #legendary #creature #human #wizard

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razieltwelve · 3 years

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This Is Why I Play...

Wow...

I might have played the single greatest game of draft I have ever played in my life.

So, here’s the story.

It’s Kaldheim, and I’m rare-drafting, so my deck is naturally not as strong as it could be. However, I end up drafting a WUG controlling deck that tries to just survive the early game before playing powerful threats enhanced by runes to close out the game.

My opponent is running an aggro URg deck with a giant and dwarf sub theme.

I spend the first four turns getting my face kicked in as he curves out like a champ, and I somehow don’t draw any of my removal (e.g., binding the monster, iron verdict, bound in gold, etc.).

I’m also stuck on one green source, which is awful because I’m holding onto Vorinclex and the 5/4 Yew card that’s searches when it dies.

To survive, I’m forced to play my value creatures and Auras early. It doesn’t help that he finds Squash and the giant that gives everything +1/+0 when it comes down. He’s got the changeling flier as well, and I’m forced to keep eating damage because if I trade my biggest creature for his giant, that flier will kill me.

I finally managed to play Vorinclex but I’m already down to less than half my life total. He binding the monsters it, and I’m almost certainly screwed. But I find Inga Rune-Eyes and set up my draws, so I can keep chumping and trying to find answers.

He makes treasure to blow up a land and make a troll token (using the land that blows up other lands) and swings with everything. At this point, he’s on 14, and I’m down to 3.

I’m basically dead unless I can find blockers and draw my Kaya’s Onslaught. Thankfully, Inga dying lets me draw cards, and I find the blockers and I finally have the mana to play blockers and the changeling who can blow up enchantments. However, I’m still way behind, and I can’t attack because if he draws another creature, I’m probably just dead.

More turns go on, but he can’t find any good attacks. Finally, he thinks he’s found a good attack and he goes for it with everything thinking that I can’t swing back for lethal. I’m still alive, but I’m down to only two creatures and he’s still got plenty of threats.

The Kaya’s Onslaught comes off the top. Combined with the rune I can put on Vorinclex it gives me exactly 14 to win since he hasn’t got any fliers left back to block (Vorinclex has the flying rune on him).

Damn that was a good game.

I played about as well as I’ve ever played in a draft, at least from a defensive standpoint. Trading when I could, taking damage when I had to, and playing to the few outs I had in my deck. I don’t even think my opponent played it wrong. He couldn’t have known I had Kaya’s Onslaught in my deck, and he was correctly trying to kill me before I could completely stabilise. Had I drawn one less creature or had he drawn one more creature, he would have won.

But that’s the thing. There’s luck in the game, so you have to play as if you’ll find one of your outs because if you don’t you’re dead anyway but if you do you can win. This is one of those games that can make you just forget about all those times you died of mana screw on turn 4.

Incidentally, the rare-drafting went amazing. Got a bunch of mythics and rares that I actually needed.

#mtg #mtg arena #magic: the gathering

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bramsels · 3 years

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Inga Rune-Eyes

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fallenidol-453 · 6 years

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at first I thought, why does my head hurt so bad and why do I feel like a wreck?

then i realized I’ve been up since almost five in the morning and I haven’t eaten anything since about one this afternoon.

good night.

but first! a WIP that will never be finished, because people have been liking that one post where I promised I’d post them...

... though this could TECHNICALLY count as three WIPs in one document.

Runa trembled with exhaustion. The combined weight of Breda and Padraig strapped to her back and against her chest pressed down on her aching shoulders. They were thankfully still asleep, and she hoped they remained that way until this meeting with their grandfather was over. She took a deep breath and made an effort to stand straighter and keep her head up high.

“Father,” she whispered.

“I heard Tors Aifeatas and Mhoibh were invaded by your husband’s bastard brothers,” Cathal replied. “Why are you here?”

Runa choked back a sob. She fought the urge to fall to her knees as she gripped the stained hem of her dress.

“C-Ciardha’s dead,” she stammered. “I-I…”

“I ran so I could protect the life of my children!” Runa screamed back. She angrily wiped the tears falling out of her eyes. “Did you want another damn heir of yours to die?! Let Aifeatas and Mhoibh fall to the dogs! I saved my life and Breda’s and Padraig’s and that’s the only thing that matters now!”

“You could have stayed and ruled as your son’s regent!” Cathal shouted. “You could have offered your hand in marriage to one of the brothers! Do you know how long it took me to gain Aifeatas and Mhoibh? Do you?!”

Cathal grabbed her arms and shook her. Runa forced herself out of the iron grip and glared at her father.

“My home was being invaded! Did you expect me—me—to pick up a sword and fight? We were overwhelmed before we could even muster soldiers!” she shouted back. “The only option I had was to run! It was either that or die at the hands of either Orrin or Gerant! They hated Ciardha and they would not have hesitated to strike me and my children down!”

One child was wailing at the top of their lungs. Runa didn’t know which one. She wouldn’t be surprised if both of her children were awake and screaming. Her ears hurt and her eyes smarted from the dirt on her hands.

Cathal opened his mouth to speak—

“Don’t say a word, father!” Runa interrupted. She flinched as either Padraig or Breda yanked on her hair and wailed. “You can regain Aifeatas and Mhoibh on your own! I will not be a part of it, ever!”

“Runa—!”

Runa pushed past the small group of people looking on and stormed out of the great house.

“Easy, Rune. Steady steps now,” a gruff woman mumbled. “Don’t want your legs to give out before we enter the water.”

Supported by Kiernan’s mother Eigyr and a maid she only knew as Inga, Runa gingerly stepped down into a large pool used as a communal bath for women. The warm water eased some of the pain in her muscles, and she groaned as she was gently lowered into a sitting position.

“You’re covered in filth, girl,” Eigyr grumbled. “I don’t think the dress you were wearing when you stumbled back to Malachuil can be salvaged.”

“I’m sorry,” Runa replied.

“Why are you apologizing? I wouldn’t be worrying over my appearance when I’m running away from a battle with two children strapped to me,” Eigyr said. She pushed Runa’s hair out of her face and started wiping off the worst of the dirt.

“You… you heard everything between father and I,” Runa stated wearily. Inga was gently massaging her shoulders, and she resisted the urge the cry out from the painful relief.

“How could I not? I was in the next room over,” Eigyr said. She finally stopped wiping Runa’s face and began concentrating on her arms instead. “Don’t listen to a word he says. You were right – you and your children’s safety is far more important than anything else. What was he thinking, telling you that you should have stayed?”

“It took him five years to gain Aifeatas and Mhoibh—“

“He only gained it by throwing you at Ciardha,” Eigyr interrupted. “And that was after he’d attempted two invasions and one attempt at diplomacy. I’m surprised Caelva Aodh even accepted the proposal.”

“At least I wasn’t married to Aodh himself,” Runa muttered.

)

#personal #writing #julia's writing adventures #crown quartet ref #just votgardt things #runa

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