#(which is why i never really bought that he was bought into mielikki)

[j-esbian]

i feel like there is so much to be said about drizzt do’urden’s religious views and how he’s a stand-in for culturally christian atheists. he grew up in a corrupt religious society and has religious trauma, so as a result he views all religion as bad. at first it seems like he’s going to have a “pagan finds jesus” story but he eventually rejects mielikki too, and imo, it always felt out of character that he followed her in the first place so i wasn’t surprised when he changed his mind. he was looking for a name to label his preexisting system of ideals, which feels very much like christians who claim “all that matters is that you live by the bible and live in a godly manner”. many religions are about teachings and traditions as much as they are about “just being a good person and following god’s vibes” (which i feel like is INCREDIBLY standard in american protestantism)

i think a lot of it comes down to the fact that the forgotten realms (and a lot of fantasy tbh) treats the gods as just Very Powerful People instead of the forces of nature personified (and again this is to be expected from a christian culture, where jesus was Just A Guy)

#ik i don’t really post about dnd lore bc most of it sucks ass and i prefer to ignore it lmao #only a very large sum of money could get me to reread those books tho lmao #it’s to be expected that they would apply morality to the gods when dnd has a morality system yk #it doesn’t work imo. but the way they approach religion feels like it was written by someone who is not religious and doesn’t rly understand #it’s the latent catholicism talking but religions aren’t synonymous with moral systems #it’s ethical guidance for sure but more than that #it’s belief AND practice AND also faith that you can’t know everything #the latter is kind of off the table in a world where the gods tangibly exist bc then it just becomes #‘the king is so powerful and better than you and has many secrets that he keeps for your protection’ #in this type of religious system it makes all clerics seem like sycophants or fools #and yet we also have drizzt who says the gods and their worship are pointless #(which is why i never really bought that he was bought into mielikki) #if you want to make a criticism about systems of power. most fantasy still has kings and queens #been thinkin about drizzt and the drow a lot lately after one of my side moots and i were talking lol #and just how. utterly garbage the official lore is. from all aspects #mine #dnd