Looking For A Little Input

[DHBirr]

Arrrrgh.  I posted this on another thread nearly seven years ago ... why did it take me so long to realize it might fit here?

In the mirrors of the many judgments, my hands are the color of blood. I am a part of the evil that exists in the world and in Shadow. I sometimes fancy myself an evil which exists to oppose other evils. I destroy [them] when I find them, and on that Great Day of which prophets speak but in which they do not truly believe, on that day when the world is completely cleansed of evil, then I, too, will go down into darkness, swallowing curses. Perhaps even sooner than that, I now judge. But whatever ... Until that time, I shall not wash my hands nor let them hang useless.

         -- The Guns of Avalon, Roger Zelazny
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Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oooooh, that's so almost right for my needs that the smallness of the part that makes it wrong is agonizing.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[DHBirr]

Well, it's disappointing that I wasn't able to help.  And it's tantalizing that you didn't specify what the wrongness is.  I suppose that would be a spoiler.
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Bob Schroeck]

Not really, actually -- it's the part about acknowledging oneself as (an) evil. Something like that quote without the "i am an evil fighting evil" aspect would be pretty much on target.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[classicdrogn]

Hmm, It's made from whole cloth, but...

I take this as my credo -
To fight evil, where I find it,

to give help as needed, where I can,
and until that day when evil and need are wiped out

(or perhaps more likely I fall trying to bring it closer)

to not turn my head or step aside,

when the strong threaten the weak.

Could still use a little work, probably, but it's the best I have right the now.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[ECSNorway]

The Earth is full of anger,
The seas are dark with wrath,
Th nations in their harness
Rise up against the path
Ere yet we loose the legions -
Ere yet we draw the blade -
Jehova of the thunders,
Lord God of battles, aid!

http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/k ... ction.html
A Hymn Before Action, Rudyard Kipling
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[DHBirr]

Oh, nice.  That's one's been on my list of favorites for decades.  Doug might be a bit leery of the "calling on God" aspect, though, even without music. 
There is, by the way, at least one actual hymn tune I've found to which this scans quite nicely.
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Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[robkelk]

Why didn't I think of this before?

Started a thread over on the SJGames forums - in GenChat (which gets pruned on a regular basis), so I'll copy any replies over to this thread.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

Some interesting ideas there... I'll have to give them a more thorough going-over tonight. Thanks, Rob!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Labster]

Used as a magical invocation in Madeline L'Engle's A Swiftly Tilting Planet, though the words are attributed to St. Patrick himself:

At Tara in this fateful hour,
I place all Heaven with its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And the fire with all the strength it hath,
And the lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the wind with its swiftness along its path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the Earth with its starkness
All these I place
By God's almighty help and grace
Between myself and the powers of darkness

That's the best I got.  In order of decreasing quality:
Because it somehow hasn't been mentioned yet: Mars Star Power MAKE UP!!! (et al.)
The phrase "Cast in the name of God, ye not guilty" also comes to mind, though I'm not sure it fits entirely.  And I'm sure Belldandy used a few incantations, but sadly none come to mind.
-- ∇×V

[Bob Schroeck]

Mmm. Hmm. Maybe I can move things around and use that one.

Let me see if I can explain what I'm doing without giving anything away. I have ten characters for whom I need oaths/promises/declarations. They all have to be approximately about the same thing, although the actual expression varies wildly based on the personality of the individual characters involved, in that they are all references to other sources which resonate on some level with who the individual character is.

I have nine of these ten oaths. The last one I'm looking for is for someone who is rough around the edges, violent, who fell by into darkness (not entirely by their own fault) and clawed their way back to the light. Their oath ought to have something that alludes to that, and their determination to stay in the light.

I might be able to repurpose one of my existing selections for them, and replace it with the Le Guin quote above -- but I'm sure there's something ideal out there. I just have to find it.

I'd list the nine I've already selected, except I think there might be just enough of a hint in them that you might figure out what I'm doing (hell, one is a dead giveaway). And I don't want to spoil the moment when it finally comes.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Proginoskes]

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the to-be-reassigned one is the Wizard's Oath ("In Life's Name and for Life's sake..."). I'd say it would appeal especially strongly to anyone who has already faced the Darkness.

[robkelk]

Some interesting ideas there... I'll have to give them a more thorough going-over tonight. Thanks, Rob!

New stuff in that thread - especially check out post #22...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bluemage]

Oaths and invocations, eh?  Something of an idle project of mine.  Let's see what I can dig up.
Just a warning- I'm going to throw in things that only partially match what you're looking for, on the theory that you may be able to take bits from them to alter more fitting ones.

"When we joined the Covenant, we took an oath."

"According to our station, all without exception."

"On the blood of our fathers. On the blood of our sons. We swore to uphold the Covenant."

"Even to our dying breath!"

"Those who would break this oath are heretics,
worth of neither pity nor mercy. Even now they use our Lord's creations
to broadcast their lies."

"We shall grind them into dust—"

"—And continue our march to glorious salvation!"

-Halo 2, from a group of Elites

"I stand between the Light and the Darkness, between
the Innocent and the Monstrous, between the Just and the Vile. I dwell
at the edge of Darkness, that others may live in the Light. I am a
Twilight Paladin. As such, I hereby take these oaths:

"Upon my honor, upon my soul, upon my magic and my hope for redemption, I swear to never again kill a thinking being.

"Upon my honor, upon my soul, upon my magic
and my hope for redemption, I swear to seek and serve justice to the
limit of my capacity and the best of my understanding.

"Lastly, I swear my magic, my skills, and my life to your defense and your service."

-The oath of the Twilight Paladins, from the Nanoha fic Endless Waltz

Never violate a woman, nor harm a child.
Do not lie, cheat or steal.
These things are for lesser men.
Protect the weak against the evil strong.
And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.
Never back away from an enemy. Either fight or surrender.
It is not enough to say "I will not be evil." Evil must be fought wherever it is found.

-The Iron Code of Druss the Legend(This one could be twisted to fit SO EASILY.  Change the concept of 'never' to 'never again', and you're there.)

I am Sa'kage, a lord of shadows.
I claim the shadows so that the Shadow may not.
I am the strong arm of deliverance.
I am Shadowstrider.
I am the Scales of Justice.
I am He-Who-Guards-Unseen.
I am Shadowslayer.
I am Nameless.
The coranti shall not go unpunished.
My way is hard, but I serve unbroken.
In ignobility, nobility.
In shame, honor.
In darkness, light.
I will do justice and love mercy.
Until the king returns, I shall not lay my burden down.

-The creed of the Night Angels, from the trilogy of the same name.("...From ignobility, nobility.  From shame, honor.  From darkness, light."?)
I'll look over my files when I get home from work.  Might have a couple more to consider.EDIT: Nope.  Incantations, I've got- most of them too specific.  Prophecies?  Sure, a few.  Oaths of fealty?  Not a one.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oooh, I think we might have a winner with the Iron Code...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[classicdrogn]

It is a humdinger, isn't it? Basically a more concise version of where I was trying to go with the Danzaiver Oath, though given the original of that is supposed to be in Japanese, 'concise' doesn't really enter into it, and it probably isn't really flowery *enough.*
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bob Schroeck]

I'm a little less enamoured of it this morning than I was last night, but still, it's the best candidate I've seen so far.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

...And once again I awaken this topic. I'll be going through it again shortly, but I wanted to necro it because I've added an eleventh character to the sequence -- one whom I belatedly realized should have been there all along, and if the description prompts someone to post the perfect passage, fantastic!

Personality: Superficially chirpy and, well, kinda genki, but serious and responsible underneath. Left the only family they ever knew to make a leap into the unknown with a relative stranger as their only company, and hasn't looked back since.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[robkelk]

Personality: Superficially chirpy and, well, kinda genki, but serious and responsible underneath. Left the only family they ever knew to make a leap into the unknown with a relative stranger as their only company, and hasn't looked back since.

Hmmmmm... that description sounds familiar...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

robkelk wrote:

---

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Personality: Superficially chirpy and, well, kinda genki, but serious and responsible underneath. Left the only family they ever knew to make a leap into the unknown with a relative stranger as their only company, and hasn't looked back since.

Hmmmmm... that description sounds familiar...

In that case you might have an easier time evaluating possible vows/oaths/quotes/what-have-you.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[ECSNorway]

This came to me recently, out of a combination of an online tabletop RPG where we faced off with a villain that claimed to be the personification of Nothing, and a few too many rewatchings of 'The End of Time'...

We deny Oblivion
We reject Despair

With every birth and every breath
With every dawn and every dream

We choose life
We choose joy
We choose hope

--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Valles]

I'm not sure where this comes from - I found it on a homemade motivator of Signum from Nanoha, on an Exalted site, unattributed - but as oaths go I really like it, even though I doubt it'll fit what you're after:

"I am your sword against all foes.
"I am your shield against all woes.
"I am, forever, yours."
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[DHBirr]

Just for the hell of it, this comes from a book about the Chinese equivalent of astrology by Theodora Lau.  She included a little verse like this for each animal of the Chinese "zodiac."  As some of my friends pointed out, the full write-up for the Year of the Dog sounds like it's talking about a superhero: "...no matter how much he or she complains, scolds, or feigns indifference, the Dog person cannot ignore a real call for help....  Raving with disgust at how low our morals have sunk, the Dog will still be found pitting his strength against the forces of evil and answering every S.O.S. that comes his way."
"The martial strains have summoned me 
To hear your sorrows, 
Still your pain. 
I am the protector of Justice; 
Equality -- my sole friend. 
My vision never blurred by cowardice, 
My soul never chained. 
Life without honor 
Is life in vain. 
I am the Dog."
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[robkelk]

(blows dust off thread)
(coughs)
(blows more dust off thread)

This one's bit shorter than most of the incantations already listed:

Rootah, vootah, zoot!
- Ala Bahma, "Case of the Missing Hare"

[Bob Schroeck]

Hah!