hrefna, 8 months ago

The first one probably deserves some elaboration: I don't mind in principle, there are a lot of interesting things you can do with that conceit.

What I mind is that authors seem to have come to the conclusion that That's The Way The Fae Are™ and then they don't play with that conceit or only barely do.

Historically it was sometimes, for some groups, that they didn't lie, or that you shouldn't lie to them, but not that they couldn't lie.

But now it mostly just seems to be the default.

hrefna, 8 months ago

Jeannette Ng handled this beautifully in Under the Pendulum Sun:

"They will never tell a lie if the truth can hurt more, and the truth can always hurt more."

“…never expect an Arcadian to speak the truth when there is a chance for them to tell a lie. Yet this very people will tell you by their own laws, and by their own lips, that it is a vile sin to lie and deceive”

bahmanm, 8 months ago

@hrefna It somehow reminded me of this ancient prayers of Darius I from 2 millennia ago:

🙶
May Ahura Mazda keep our land safe from
lies,
enemies
and draught.
🙸

bahmanm, 8 months ago

@hrefna It also reminded me of one my favourite proverbs. It's a Yiddish one:

🙶
Truth lives a wretched life, but always survives a lie.
🙸