#arkes

*runs excitedly*

*clears throat*

@sandpixieden

I. Am. So happy that you said that!

It's not only the title of the song by Light in Babylon - from Hebrew it means "Thou art beautiful" and the text is actually the Song of Songs of Solomon (and I am having a *tender* connection to it) in ancient Hebrew.

I often use lines from this poetry in some works, and even in Secunda - for example, Arkes quotes them to the Archon during their first meeting to emphasize belonging to the cult of Desires.

Because I associate this poetry with Charet deeply and firmly - a part of the Old Testament dedicated to love as a religious experience. This is not just romantic / allegorical lyrics - but to some extent pure eroticism.

While the historical / cultural origin of most of the characters was immediately clear to me (Takhisis is a Lithuanian, Edwardis is a Dane, Titian and Rakhyl are Georgians mixed with Greeks, Margot is Ukrainian, Holt is from northern Russia, and Arkes is Persian), the origin of Charet was difficult - there are Babylonian, Byzantine and Persian, and - so far away, the Baltic origins, but closer now I prescribe the Israeli one for them.

The most personal thing for me is that I listened to the song a long time ago and it was special for me, and after a few years - without realizing that it was the same text in different languages, I was absorbed in the Song of Solomon. Not long before writing that scene in Secunda, I started translating - and, well, I got electrocuted, as if I had met a long-forgotten friend.

Arkes:

- You are beautiful.

- As an apple tree is among forest trees, so is my beloved among young men. In its shade I love to sit, and its fruits are sweet to my throat.

Archon:

- He brought me into the house of the feast, and his banner over me is love.

The words of the anthem - a poem, escaped against my will, but they were too intimate to remain silent - especially for me.

The bearer of this hymn.

The bearer of.. Logos, and when my hand pressed against the exhausted interior of my self-flesh, the human eyes did not ignore this - and their face brightened, and their eyes - black cherries, became even darker.

They were special. They knew the words, the right words - songs of Charet, countless, but full of passion, desires, and love, and they are all a mystery, and the knowledge of something secret, devilish and godlike, like love itself.

I am gradually, deeply working on Secundan Gothic (aka, the RPG sequel to the first Secunda оwо), or at least those things that my hands and possibilities can reach at the moment. I don’t think I will be able to post as many drawings on free topics in the next time - but my love and inspiration are great, and I wanted to ask..

How about doing some headcanons and requests for our LI and the rest of the characters?

((So, since most my guys are bi or pan, I’m going to do more of the ones who are single))

Terrance: “Well, I have my ideal woman...Morrigan.” *blushes* “Not many have been able to make me feel courageous, yet at the same time she’s caring and calm and gentle.  She trusted me to share her godhood with me.” 

Amphin: “I like myself a woman who knows a strong drink and isn’t afraid to get rough and stand her ground.”

Jon Lucas: “Someone who can keep up with me and is a bit is okay with my tinkering.”

Arkes: “A person who is willing to overlook the terrible things in my past and see that I am in fact a new man.  Also, helps if they like seafood.”

Jericho: “I want someon who sees me as a person, and not just a powerful gijinka.  After being chased for a while, It’s nice to have someone who likes me for me.”

1997 debate between The Nation and National Review. This is part 1 of 8. Hitchens alone is worth the watch, but I think Professor Hadley Arkes of Amherst was equally impressive.

Hitchens states his opposition is clearly rooted in his belief that capital punishment implies a totalitarian relationship between the state and citizen.

Arkes holds that capital punishment is permissible to avenge the death of victims. At bottom, he seems to argue, a state without capital punishment cheapens the deaths of said victims.