History Characters / CelticMythology

* SecretTestOfCharacter: He gives one to Emer by testing her wits with riddles, and she passes with flying colors by testing him with her ''own'' riddles.

* BettyAndVeronica: Cuchulainn has to choose between Emer/Betty, his wife of many years, and Fand/Veronica, a fairy woman he's known for about a week. Due to a combination of LateCharacterSyndrome and Emer being shown as a spirited and interesting person in her own right, Fand/Veronica comes off as a RelationshipSue.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn." Cu Chulainn spends a year bedridden from [[YourMindMakesItReal nightmares about two women whipping him nonstop]]. When Emer finds out where he's been all this time she heads over to Emain Macha, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan literally shakes him out of it]], and berates ''the Kings of Ireland'' for not having the balls to help, all the while complaining that she has spent a full year without her husband's company, IfYouKnowWhatIMean.
** When Emer finds out that Cuchulainn is sleeping with some random sidhe girl called Fand, she marches over with a knife to cut a bitch. What does Fand, this supposedly superior-in-all-ways woman, do? She ''[[DistressedDamsel stands there and cries]]''. Meanwhile, Emer starts ''challenging Cuchulainn to a fight''--if he wins he can leave her for Fand, and if SHE wins he stays with Emer. Does Emer care that Cuchulainn [[CurbStompBattle totally outclasses her]] and doesn't want to put his own wife in horrible danger? No. In fact, she ''calls him a pussy'' for being afraid to answer a woman's challenge.

-->'''Emer:''' You think you're the only one who can make up shit on the spot, little boy? BringIt.
-->[Insert a conversation composed entirely of riddles that ''[[BeyondTheImpossible nobody short of a historian-poet-linguist can understand]].'']
-->'''Cuchulainn:''' Holy fuck, marry me.
-->'''Emer:''' You'll need [[TookALevelInBadass a few more levels of badass]] to get past my twenty-seven bodyguards--led by [[KnightTemplarBigBrother my brothers]]--then [[KnightTemplarParent my dad]], ''then'' those hundred soldiers who'll be guarding the castle the second Dad finds out you were talking to me. Oh, and [[BadassFamily my aunt]] might bring ''another'' hundred soldiers once you're done with the guards.
-->'''Cuchulainn:''' So that means yes?
-->'''Emer:''' [[SarcasmMode No, I tell]] ''[[SarcasmMode everyone]]'' [[SarcasmMode how insanely powerful my family is.]]

* MaleGaze: There's a ''paragraph'' of Cu Chulainn [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean complimenting her looks]]. By saying [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail she's got really nice tracts of land.]] Seriously:
-->'''Cuchulainn:''' Fair is this plain, the plain of the noble yoke.
-->'''Cuchulainn, to Laeg:''' When I said, "Fair is this plain, the plain of the noble yoke," it was not the plain of Bray that I praised then, but the shape of the maiden.

A deadly warrior, whose rival[[hottip:*: and in some versions, sister]] Scathach gave Cu Chulainn his TrainingFromHell. One of Cu Chulainn's flings, and the only one he got pregnant. After she gave birth to a boy called Connla and taught him everything she knew, she got mightily pissed when she found out Cu Chulainn had been married to Emer for ''years.'' Hence, she [[{{Jerkass}} sent Connla to his death]] by making him swear [[ShmuckBait to challenge every man he came across, and never give his name.]] After he inevitably challenged Cu Chulainn to a battle, he was fatally wounded and as he lay dying, Cu Chulainn noticed that the ring on the boy's finger was the one he'd given to Aoife right before he left. ...Yeah, that didn't make Aoife very popular.

----
<<|PageTemplates|>>

* ReallyGetsAround

* {{Badass}}: The most famous one, but by no means the only one.

The beautiful and intelligent daughter of King Forgal. She may not be an ActionGirl, but she is definitely a well-developed character in her own right.

-->'''Emer:''' You'll need [[TookALevelInBadass a few more levels of badass]] to get past my twenty-seven bodyguards--led by [[KnightTemplarBigBrother my brothers]]--then [[KnightTemplarParent my dad]], ''then'' those hundred-odd soldiers who'll be guarding the castle the second Dad finds out you were talking to me. Oh, and [[BadassFamily my aunt]] might bring ''another'' hundred-odd soldiers once you're done with the guards.

-->'''Emer:''' [[SarcasmMode No, I tell]] ''[[SarcasmMode everyone]]'' [[SarcasmMode how insanely powerful my family is.]] Hurry and level up, little boy.

* MaleGaze: There's a ''paragraph'' of Cu Chulainn [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean complimenting her looks]]. By saying [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail she's got really nice tracts of land.]]

A deadly warrior, whose rival[[hottip:*: and in some versions, sister]] Scathach gave Cu Chulainn his TrainingFromHell. One of Cu Chulainn's flings, and the only one he actually got pregnant. After she gave birth to a boy called Connla and taught him everything she knew, she got mightily pissed when she found out Cu Chulainn had been married to Emer for ''years.'' Hence, she [[{{Jerkass}} sent Connla to his death]] by making him swear [[ShmuckBait to challenge every man he came across, and never give his name.]] After he inevitably challenged Cu Chulainn to a battle, he was fatally wounded and as he lay dying, Cu Chulainn noticed that the ring on the boy's finger was the one he'd given to Aoife right before he left. ...Yeah, that didn't make Aoife very popular.

An Irish hero with one of the greatest names ever - it is usually anglicised as '''Finn [=McCool=]''' - Fionn was the leader of the Fianna, a band of legendary warriors. He's most famous for (accidently) gaining the wisdom of the Salmon of Knowledge when he burnt his thumb while he was cooking the thing for his master, meaning whenever he wanted to access that wisdom all he to do was suck his thumb.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Modern artists portray her dressed in black with black hair, when in the actual myths her hair and clothes were frequently ''red''--red was the ancient Celtic color of death, being the color of blood. The former isn't ''wrong,'' though, since it's more of a PaletteSwap than an actual mistake.

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people compare her to Athena, when she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around and positively ''loves'' carnage.

* ContinuitySnarl: We know that Brigid is a nice lady in charge of healing, poetry, and smiths. We don't know much else about her--or we don't know ''who'' knows much else about her, because everyone's arguing over who gets her in the first place.

The fairy wife of King Pwyll in Welsh Mythology. He offered to marry her when she mentioned she didn't like her other suitor, and so she accepted. When her first son was born, he vanished mysteriously and the maids panicked, not only because their king's heir was gone but because they might be blamed for it. To save their asses, they [[KickTheDog killed a few puppies from a recent litter, smeared the blood on the unconscious Rhiannon's hands and mouth, and said she'd eaten her own son in a fit of madness]]. ...Yeah. This wasn't good for Rhiannon since she was still out of it from giving birth and wasn't sure if she ''hadn't'' done such a horrible thing, and everyone started howling for [[FantasticRacism the evil fairy to be killed]]. Pwyll really wanted to believe Rhiannon, but he was also responsible for, you know, ruling, so to compromise he said that she would have to carry visitors from the courtyard to his hall on her back for seven years. Luckily her son was actually alive, had been named Pryderi by his adopted parents, and in the commotion over him nobody had noticed that a newborn foal had also gone missing. Past that the different versions of the story get a little contradictory, but we know everything sorted out in the end. Except for Pwll getting killed in a battle, but Rhiannon eventually married Manawydan, another of the Fair Folk.

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: When Pwyll first met her, all he had to do was ask her to wait for him. Also, if the maids had just told Rhiannon her son vanished without going through the dog-killing business, Rhiannon wouldn't have been punished and everyone might have found Pryderi much sooner. This is when people still believed TheFairFolk roamed around stealing babies, for god's sake.

* ChaoticGood: Extra emphasis on "chaotic."

"''Cuchulainn was an unstoppable warrior hero in Irish legend who was renowned throughout the British Isles for his unmatched prowess in combat, his superhuman deeds, his JustinTimberlake-like good looks and his infamous "Warp Spasm" - [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel a violent bloodthirsty berserker rage which caused his face to contort into hideous positions, made his hair to stand up on end, and prompted one of his eyes to bulge out of his head.]]''" (From his BadassOfTheWeek page.)

An Irish hero with one of the greatest names ever - it is usually anglicised as '''Finn McCool''' - Fionn was the leader of the Fianna, a band of legendary warriors. He's most famous for (accidently) gaining the wisdom of the Salmon of Knowledge when he burnt his thumb while he was cooking the thing for his master, meaning whenever he wanted to access that wisdom all he to do was suck his thumb.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn." Cu Chulainn spends a year bedridden from [[YourMindMakesItReal nightmares about two women whipping him nonstop]]. When Emer finds out where he's been all this time she heads over to Emain Macha, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan literally shakes him out of it]], berates ''the Kings of Ireland'' for not having the balls to help when [[YouWouldDoTheSameForMe Cu Chulainn would have given his life to cure THEM]], all the while complaining that she has spent ''a full year'' without her husband's company, IfYouKnowWhatIMean.

-->[Insert several paragraphs of riddles that ''[[BeyondTheImpossible nobody short of a historian-poet-linguist can understand]].'']

-->'''Emer:''' You might need [[TookALevelInBadass a few more levels of badass]] to get past my twenty-seven bodyguards--led by [[KnightTemplarBigBrother my brothers]]--''and'' [[KnightTemplarParent my dad]], ''and'' those hundred-odd soldiers who'll be guarding the castle the second Dad finds out you were talking to me. Oh, and [[BadassFamily my aunt]] might bring ''another'' hundred-odd soldiers once you're done with the guards.

* MaleGaze: There's a ''paragraph'' of Cu Chulainn [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean complimenting her looks]].

* AngstComa: "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn" is an entire story about it.

* BloodKnight: The type that lives for one-on-one dueling, not bloodbaths. In a twist, he always challenges people to duels because that's the surest way to ''prevent'' bloodbaths (Cu Chulainn being TheChosenOne and all.)

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn." Cu Chulainn spends a year bedridden from [[YourMindMakesItReal nightmares about two women whipping him nonstop]], and nobody knows what's wrong with him. When Emer finds out where he's been all this time she heads over to Emain Macha, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan literally shakes him out of it]], berates ''the High Kings of Ireland'' for not having the balls to help when [[YouWouldDoTheSameForMe Cu Chulainn would have given his life to cure THEM]], all the while complaining that she has spent ''a full year'' without her husband's company, IfYouKnowWhatIMean.

-->'''Emer:''' You might need [[TookALevelInBadass a few more levels of badass]] to get past my twenty-seven bodyguards--led by [[KnightTemplarBigBrother my brothers]]--''and'' [[KnightTemplarParent my dad]], ''and'' those hundred-odd soldiers who'll be guarding the castle the second Dad finds out you were talking to me. Oh, and [[BadassFamily my aunt]] might bring ''another'' hundred-odd soldiers once you're done with the guards. Please don't kill my brothers--they're really nice when they're not overreacting.

The most infamous Celtic goddess, her name means "great/phantom queen." Due to the fragmented nature of Celtic mythology, she is associated with a number of related deities--the Washer At the Ford (a harbinger of death who washed the clothes of the soon-to-be-dead in the river), Macha (either a goddess or one of TheFairFolk, forced to run a race while pregnant and ended up giving birth after winning), and Badb, another warrior-goddess. Nobody's really sure of anything with her, aside from the facts that 1) she is a war-goddess, and 2) nobody's sure of ''anything'' with her. Tellingly, she is one of the few deities who ''wasn't'' BroughtDownToNormal and didn't get her SerialNumbersFiledOff.

* GoodPowersGoodPeople: God of the sun, light in general, and fertility. Getting any "evil" vibes from that?

* [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim What Does He See In Her?]] He's (possibly) married to ''the Morrígan,'' of all people. Then again, they have ''a couple'' of things in common...

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people compare her to Athena, when she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around and positively ''loves'' violent carnage.

The fairy wife of King Pwyll in Welsh Mythology. He offered to marry her when she mentioned she didn't like her other suitor, and so she accepted. When her first son was born, he vanished mysteriously and the maids panicked, not only because their king's heir was gone but because they might be blamed for it. To save their asses, they [[KickTheDog killed a few puppies from a recent litter, smeared the blood on the unconscious Rhiannon's hands and mouth, and said she'd eaten her own son in a fit of madness]]. ...Yeah. This wasn't good for Rhiannon since she was still out of it from giving birth and wasn't sure if she ''hadn't'' done such a horrible thing, and everyone naturally started howling for [[FantasticRacism the evil fairy to be killed]]. Pwyll really wanted to believe Rhiannon, but he was also responsible for, you know, ruling, so to compromise he said that she would have to carry visitors from the courtyard to his hall on her back for seven years. Luckily her son was actually alive, had been named Pryderi by his adopted parents, and in the commotion over him nobody had noticed that a newborn foal had also gone missing. Past that the different versions of the story get a little contradictory, but we know everything sorted out in the end. Except for Pwll getting killed in a battle, but Rhiannon eventually married Manawydan, another of the Fair Folk.

More of a Welsh figure than Irish, he is the greatest bard in the world. He was born a mortal boy named Gwion Bach, and was chosen by the goddess Cerridwen to stir a potion containing all the knowledge in the world. When the potion started bubbling, a few drops of the potion landed on his finger and he instinctively stuck it in his mouth, accidentally gaining the potion's knowledge and pissing off Cerridwen when she found out. He tried to flee from her by turning into various animals, then into [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles grain of wheat amidst more wheat]]. Cerridwen then turned herself into a hen and ate him. Eventually she realized she was pregnant, planned to kill the baby when he was born, but in the end couldn't bring herself to because he was so beautiful. So she put him [[MosesInTheBulrushes in a basket and sent him down the river,]] where a poor couple found him and named him "Taliesin." He became the greatest bard in the world.

* WarriorPoet: Literally a warrior and a poet. The Irish in general love these.

The most infamous Celtic goddess, her name means "great/phantom queen." Due to the fragmented nature of Celtic mythology, she is associated with a number of related deities--the Washer At the Ford (a harbinger of death who washed the clothes of the soon-to-be-dead in the river), Macha (either a goddess or one of TheFairFolk, forced to run a race while pregnant and ended up giving birth after winning), and Badb, another warrior-goddess. Nobody's really sure of anything with her, aside from the facts that 1) she is a war-goddess, and 2) nobody's sure of ''anything'' with her. Rather tellingly, she is one of the few deities who ''wasn't'' BroughtDownToNormal and didn't get her SerialNumbersFiledOff.
* BloodKnight: Unusual in that she's a genuinely bloodthirsty ''female'' deity, and uses her wits to ''cause'' bloodbaths instead of solve them. She draws a marked parallel with Kali in that respect.

* {{Flanderization}}: For [[DarkerAndEdgier some]] [[RavensAndCrows reason]], {{Goth}}s view her as a misunderstood and [[TheHighQueen regal persona]] rather than the {{Badass}}, [[HairTriggerTemper ill-tempered]], [[DisproportionateRetribution insanely vengeful]] figure she is in myth.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: On one hand, she's a HotAmazon who has no problem trading sex for little things like lifelong glory and prosperity. On the other hand, if you piss her off she will ''fuck your shit up''. She won't just kill you--first she'll ruin everything you stand for as you watch helplessly, and then she'll make ''absolutely sure'' your death is long, agonizing, and pointless.

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people compare her to Athena, when in fact she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around and positively ''loves'' violent carnage.

* UnusualEuphemism: Characters often make reference to "the Morrígan's harvest" after a battle--that being the eyes, souls, or heads of the dead. After a battle, everyone still alive would clear the hell out of there to ensure that the Morrígan's "harvest" went peacefully.

* BigEater: If you have a cauldron that can feed hundreds of people, you probably like eating a lot yourself.

An immensely popular figure even today, she is one of the patron saints of Ireland and second only to St. Patrick (yes, that one). She presides over [[ComboPlatterPowers healing, poetry, and smithwork]]--some believe that she was [[BroughtDownToNormal originally a goddess]] who had her SerialNumbersFiledOff, as that fits the "triple goddess" concept. Another "coincidence" is that her festival day is February 1, the day of Imbolc (and Goddess!Brigid's sacred day) in the pagan communities. St. Brigid's well is a well-known landmark for those who suffer chronic illness or injury. She is also associated with fire, and before Christianity set in there was a temple where her "sacred flame" was constantly tended to by priestesses/nuns.

* ContinuitySnarl: We know that Brigid is a nice lady in charge of healing, poetry, and smiths. We don't know much else about her.
* TheHeart: She was so beloved that the Christians [[CanonWelding made up their own version of her instead of demonizing her like the rest of the Celtic pantheon]].

* KickTheDog: She was the figurative dog who was kicked, as well as the literal puppies that were killed to frame her.

* CrypticConversation: Many unfortunates piss her off because they can't understand what the hell she's ''saying.''

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people compare her to Athena, when in fact she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around and is just as happy with bloody carnage as a well-fought battle.

* UnusualEuphemism: Characters in stories often make reference to "the Morrígan's harvest" after a battle--that being the eyes, souls, or heads of the dead. After a battle, everyone still alive would clear the hell out of there to ensure that the Morrígan's "harvest" went peacefully.

** This is also PlayedWith--Emer is perfectly fine with it because the other women can't keep Cu Chulainn interested on an ''intellectual'' level, unlike Ms. "You think you're the only one who can make up riddles on the spot, little boy? BringIt."

* HappilyMarried: Because those floozies Cu Chulainn fools around with wouldn't last a minute with ''her.''

A deadly warrior, whose sister Scathach gave Cu Chulainn his TrainingFromHell. One of Cu Chulainn's flings, and the only one he actually got pregnant. After she gave birth to a boy called Connla and taught him everything she knew, she got mightily pissed when she found out Cu Chulainn had been married to Emer for ''years.'' Hence, she [[{{Jerkass}} sent Connla to his death]] by making him swear [[ShmuckBait to challenge every man he came across, and never give his name.]] After he inevitably challenged Cu Chulainn to a battle, he was fatally wounded and as he lay dying, Cu Chulainn noticed that the ring on the boy's finger was the one he'd given to Aoife right before he left. ...Yeah, that didn't make Aoife very popular.

* {{Bishonen}}: His name Taliesin means "shining brow." And, you know, being so beautiful that Cerridwen instantly stopped being angry at him.

The most infamous Celtic goddess, her name means "great/phantom queen." Due to the fragmented nature of Celtic mythology, she is associated with a number of related deities--the Washer At the Ford (a harbinger of death who washed the clothes of the soon-to-be-dead in the river), Macha (either a goddess or one of TheFairFolk, forced to run a race while pregnant and ended up giving birth after winning), and Badb, another warrior-goddess. Nobody's really sure of anything with her, aside from the facts that 1) she is a war-goddess, and 2) nobody's sure of ''anything'' with her.

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people compare her to Athena, when in fact she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around and is just as happy with bloody carnage as a well-fought battle. On a minor point, modern artists portray her dressed in black with black hair, when in the actual myths her hair and clothes were frequently ''red''--red was the ancient Celtic color of death, being the color of blood. The former isn't ''wrong,'' though, since black is still considered the color of death in the West.

* TheBigGuy/BoisterousBruiser: Often portrayed as this.

An immensely popular figure even today, she is one of the patron saints of Ireland and second only to St. Patrick (yes, that one). She presides over [[ComboPlatterPowers healing, poetry, and smithwork]]--some believe that she was originally a goddess who had her SerialNumbersFiledOff, as that fits the "triple goddess" concept. Another "coincidence" is that her festival day is February 1, the day of Imbolc (and Goddess!Brigid's sacred day) in the pagan communities. St. Brigid's well is a well-known landmark for those who suffer chronic illness or injury. She is also associated with fire, and before Christianity set in there was a temple where her "sacred flame" was constantly tended to by priestesses/nuns.

The fairy wife of King Pwyll in Welsh Mythology. He saw her riding a white horse at a slow gait, but no matter how fast he rode, he could never catch up with her. Eventually when he and his horse were exhausted, he called for her to wait and she promptly stopped to talk to him. He offered to marry her when she mentioned she didn't like her other suitor, and so she accepted. When her first son was born, he vanished mysteriously and the maids panicked, not only because their king's heir was gone but because they might be blamed for it. To save their asses, they [[KickTheDog killed a few puppies from a recent litter, smeared the blood on the unconscious Rhiannon's hands and mouth, and said she'd eaten her own son in a fit of madness]]. ...Yeah. This wasn't good for Rhiannon since she was still out of it from giving birth and wasn't sure if she ''hadn't'' done such a horrible thing, and everyone naturally started howling for [[FantasticRacism the evil fairy to be killed]]. Pwyll really wanted to believe Rhiannon, but he was also responsible for, you know, ruling, so to compromise he said that she would have to carry visitors from the courtyard to his hall on her back. Luckily her son was actually alive, had been named Pryderi by his adopted parents, and in the commotion over him nobody had noticed that a newborn foal had also gone missing. Past that the different versions of the story get a little contradictory, but we know everything sorted out in the end. Except for Pwll getting killed in a battle, but Rhiannon eventually married Manawydan, another of the Fair Folk.

* CoolHorse: Rhiannon's mount when Pwyll met her. Rhiannon's punishment essentially forced ''her'' to become a HorseOfADifferentColor, and the vanished foal grew up with Pryderi and became his trusted mount. Some believe Rhiannon to be a horse goddess (with SerialNumbersFiledOff) due to the recurring motif, even though there's no actual evidence in the Mabinogion.

* BettyAndVeronica: Cuchulainn has to choose between Emer/Betty, his wife of many years, and Fand/Veronica, a hot fairy woman he's known for about a week. Due to a combination of LateCharacterSyndrome and Emer being shown as a spirited and interesting person in her own right, Fand/Veronica comes off as a RelationshipSue.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn." Cu Chulainn spends a year bedridden from [[YourMindMakesItReal nightmares about two women whipping him nonstop]], and nobody knows what's wrong with him. When Emer finds out where he's been all this time she heads over to Emain Macha, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan literally shakes him out of it]], berates '''Finn [=MacCool=]''' ''and the '''rest''' of the High Kings of Ireland'' for not having the balls to help when [[YouWouldDoTheSameForMe Cu Chulainn would have given his life to cure THEM]], all the while complaining that she has spent ''a full year'' without her husband's company, IfYouKnowWhatIMean.
** When Emer finds out that Cuchulainn is sleeping with some random sidhe girl called Fand and planning to bring her to the mortal world, she marches over with a knife to cut a bitch. What does Fand do? She ''[[DistressedDamsel stands there and cries]]''. Meanwhile, Emer forgets about Fand and starts ''challenging Cuchulainn to a fight''--if he wins he can leave her for Fand, and if SHE wins he stays with Emer. Does Emer care that Cuchulainn [[CurbStompBattle totally outclasses her]] and doesn't want to put his own wife in horrible danger? No. In fact, she ''calls him a pussy'' for being afraid to answer a woman's challenge.

* [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Everything's Better With Princesses]]: Especially if they're smart.

* {{Bishonen}}

The most infamous Celtic goddess, her name is not a proper name but instead means "great/phantom queen." Due to the fragmented nature of Celtic mythology, she is associated with a number of related deities like the Washer At the Ford (a harbinger of death who washed the clothes of the soon-to-be-dead in the river), Macha (either a goddess or one of TheFairFolk, forced to run a race while pregnant and ended up giving birth after winning), and Badb, another warrior-goddess. Nobody's really sure of anything with her, aside from the facts that 1) she is a war-goddess, and 2) nobody's sure of ''anything'' with her.

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people compare her to Athena, when in fact she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around a lot and is just as happy with bloody carnage as a well-fought battle. On a minor point, modern artists portray her dressed in black with black hair, when in the actual myths her hair and clothes were frequently ''red''--red was the ancient Celtic color of death, being the color of blood. The former isn't ''wrong,'' though, since black is still considered the color of death in the West.

* ComboPlatterPowers: Yet another one.

The fairy wife of King Pwyll in Welsh Mythology. He saw her riding a white horse at a slow gait, but no matter how fast he rode, he could never catch up with her. Eventually when he and his horse were exhausted, he called for her to wait and she promptly stopped to talk to him. (Pwyll may be kind and just, but he's not that bright.) He offered to marry her when she mentioned she didn't like her other suitor, and so she accepted. When her first son was born, he vanished mysteriously and the maids panicked, not only because their king's heir was gone but because they might be blamed for it. To save their asses, they [[KickTheDog killed a few puppies from a recent litter, smeared the blood on the unconscious Rhiannon's hands and mouth, and said she'd eaten her own son in a fit of madness]]. ...Yeah. This wasn't good for Rhiannon since she was still out of it from giving birth and wasn't sure if she ''hadn't'' done such a horrible thing, and everyone naturally started howling for [[FantasticRacism the evil fairy to be killed]]. Pwyll really wanted to believe Rhiannon, but he was also responsible for, you know, ruling, so to compromise he said that she would have to carry visitors from the courtyard to his hall on her back. Luckily her son was actually alive, had been named Pryderi by his adopted parents, and in the commotion over him nobody had noticed that a newborn foal had also gone missing. Past that the different versions of the story get a little contradictory, but we know everything sorted out in the end. Except for Pwll getting killed in a battle, but Rhiannon eventually married Manawydan, another of the Fair Folk.

* CoolHorse: Rhiannon's mount when Pwyll met her. Rhiannon's punishment essentially forced ''her'' to become a HorseOfADifferentColor, and the vanished foal grew up with Pryderi and became his trusted mount. Some believe Rhiannon to be a horse goddess due to the recurring motif, even though there's no actual evidence in the Mabinogion.

A deadly warrior, whose sister Scathach gave Cu Chulainn his TrainingFromHell. One of Cu Chulainn's flings, and the only one he actually got pregnant. After she gave birth to a boy called Connla/Conlaoch and taught him everything she knew, she got mightily pissed when she found out Cu Chulainn had been married to Emer for ''years.'' Hence, she [[{{Jerkass}} sent Connla to his death]] by making him swear [[ShmuckBait to challenge every man he came across, and never give his name.]] After he inevitably challenged Cu Chulainn to a battle, he was fatally wounded and as he lay dying, Cu Chulainn noticed that the ring on the boy's finger was the one he'd given to Aoife right before he left. ...Yeah, that didn't make Aoife very popular.

The most infamous Celtic goddess, her name is not a proper name but instead means "great/phantom queen." Due to the fragmented nature of Celtic mythology, she is associated with a number of related deities like the Washer At the Ford (a harbinger of death who washed the clothes of the soon-to-be-dead in the river), Macha (either a goddess or one of TheFairFolk, forced to run a race while pregnant and ended up giving birth after winning), and Badb, another warrior-goddess. Nobody is really sure of anything regarding her, aside from the facts that 1) she is a war-goddess, and 2) she is a VENGEFUL war-goddess.
* TheChessmaster: If you want to emotionally and physically ruin someone, you've got to be smart.
* CrypticConversation: Many unfortunates piss her off just because they can't understand what the hell she's ''saying.''
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: On one hand, she's a HotAmazon who has no problem sleeping with people for little things like lifelong glory and prosperity. On the other hand, if you piss her off she will ''fuck your shit up''. She won't just kill you--first she'll ruin everything you stand for as you watch helplessly, and then she'll make ''absolutely sure'' your death is long, agonizing, and pointless.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Even worse than usual in Celtic myth. She's either the Morrígan/Mórrígan/Morríghan/Morrigu, or Mor-Ríoghain. ''All of them'' are technically correct, since they mean "phantom/great queen".

* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight: She announced her presence by screaming war-cries to wake everyone up. Whoever had the balls to go and check would be rewarded if they helped her out, or punished if they pissed her off. (Which is [[HairTriggerTemper really, really easy, by the way]].)

* UnusualEuphemism: Characters in stories often make reference to "the Morrígan's harvest" after a battle--her "harvest" being the eyes, souls, or heads of the dead. After a battle, everyone still alive would clear the hell out of there to ensure that the Morrígan's "harvest" went peacefully.

* ReallyGetsAround: Noticing a theme?

An immensely popular figure even today, she is one of the patron saints of Ireland and second only to St. Patrick (yes, that one). She presides over [[ComboPlatterPowers healing, poetry, and smithwork]]--some believe that she was originally a goddess who had her SerialNumbersFiledOff, as that fits the "triple goddess" concept. Another "coincidence" is that her festival day is February 1, which is also the day of Imbolc (Goddess!Brigid's sacred day) in the pagan communities. St. Brigid's well is a well-known landmark for those who suffer chronic illness or injury.

* TheHeart: She was so beloved that the Christians [[CanonWelding made up their own version of the goddess instead of demonizing her like the rest of the Celtic pantheon]].

A figure in Welsh mythology, the fairy wife of King Pwyll. He saw her riding a white horse at a slow gait, but no matter how fast he rode, he could never catch up with her. Eventually when he and his horse were exhausted, he called for her to wait and she promptly stopped to talk to him. (Pwyll may be kind and just, but he's not that bright.) He offered to marry her when she mentioned she didn't like her other suitor, and so she accepted. When her first son was born, he vanished mysteriously. The maids panicked, not only because their king's heir was gone but because they might be blamed for it. To save their asses, they [[KickTheDog killed a few puppies from a recent litter, smeared the blood on the unconscious Rhiannon's hands and mouth, and said she'd eaten her own son in a fit of madness]]. ...Yeah. This wasn't good for Rhiannon since she was still out of it from giving birth and wasn't sure if she ''hadn't'' done such a horrible thing, and everyone naturally started howling for [[FantasticRacism the evil fairy to be killed]]. Pwyll really wanted to believe Rhiannon, but he was also responsible for, you know, ruling, so to compromise he said that she would have to carry visitors from the courtyard to his hall on her back. Luckily, her son had actually survived, had been named Pryderi by his adopted parents, and in the commotion over him nobody had noticed that a newborn foal had also gone missing. Past that the different versions of the story get a little contradictory, but we know everything sorted out in the end. ...Except for Pwll getting killed in a battle, but she eventually married Manawydan, another of the Fair Folk.

* TheAce, of course. He got into the Tuatha de Danaan solely because while they had masters of all fields, none were a master in all fields like him.

One of the most infamous Celtic goddesses, her name is not a proper name but instead means "great/phantom queen." Due to the fragmented nature of Celtic mythology, she is associated with a number of related deities like the Washer At the Ford (a harbinger of death who washed the clothes of the soon-to-be-dead in the river), Macha (either a goddess or one of TheFairFolk, forced to run a race while pregnant and ended up giving birth after winning), and Badb, another warrior-goddess. Nobody is really sure of anything regarding her, aside from the facts that 1) she is a war-goddess, and 2) she is a VENGEFUL war-goddess.
* TheChessmaster: As if she couldn't get more intimidating, she can play anyone like a pawn--see what she did to Cu Chulainn.

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people compare her to Athena, when in fact she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around a lot and is just as happy with bloody carnage as a well-fought battle. On a minor point, modern artists portray her dressed in black with black hair due to her association with corvids, when in the actual myths her hair and clothes were frequently ''red''--red was the ancient Celtic color of death, being the color of blood. The former isn't ''wrong,'' though, since black is still considered the color of death in the West.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: She's either the Morrígan/Mórrígan/Morríghan, the Morrigu, or Mor-Ríoghain. ''All of them'' are technically correct.

An immensely popular figure even today, she is one of the patron saints of Ireland, second only to St. Patrick (yes, that one). She presides over [[ComboPlatterPowers healing, poetry, and smithwork]]--some believe that she was originally a goddess who had her SerialNumbersFiledOff, as that fits the "triple goddess" concept. Another "coincidence" is that her festival day is February 1, which is also the day of Imbolc in the pagan communities. St. Brigid's well is a well-known landmark for those who suffer chronic illness or injury.

A figure in Welsh mythology, the fairy wife of King Pwyll. He saw her riding a white horse at a slow and steady gait, but no matter how fast he rode, he could never catch up with her. Eventually when he and his horse were exhausted, he called for her to wait and she promptly stopped to talk to him. (Pwyll may be kind and just, but he's not that bright.) He offered to marry her when she mentioned she didn't like her other suitor, and so she accepted. When her first son was born, he vanished mysteriously. The maids panicked, not only because their king's heir was gone but because they might be blamed for it. To save their asses, they [[KickTheDog killed a few puppies from a recent litter, smeared the blood on the unconscious Rhiannon's hands and mouth, and said she'd eaten her own son in a fit of madness]]. ...Yeah. This wasn't good for Rhiannon since she was still out of it from giving birth and wasn't sure if she ''hadn't'' done such a horrible thing, and everyone naturally started howling for [[FantasticRacism the evil fairy to be killed]]. Pwyll really wanted to believe Rhiannon, but he was also responsible for, you know, ruling, so to compromise he said that she would have to carry visitors from the courtyard to his hall on her back. Luckily, her son had actually survived, had been named Pryderi by his adopted parents, and in the commotion over him nobody had noticed that a newborn foal had also gone missing. Past that the different versions of the story get a little contradictory, but we know everything sorted out in the end.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment
* CoolHorse: Rhiannon's mount when Pwyll met her. Rhiannon's punishment essentially forced ''her'' to work like a horse, and the vanished foal grew up with Pryderi and became his trusted mount. Some believe Rhiannon to be a horse goddess due to this, even though there's no actual evidence in the Mabinogion.

More of a Welsh figure than Irish, he is the greatest bard in the world. He was born a mortal boy named Gwion Bach, and was chosen by the goddess Cerridwen to stir a potion containing all the knowledge in the world. When the potion started bubbling, a few drops of the potion landed on his finger and he instinctively stuck it in his mouth, accidentally gaining the potion's knowledge and pissing off Cerridwen when she found out. He tried to flee from her by turning into various animals, then into [[NeedleInANeedleStacka grain of wheat amidst more wheat]]. Cerridwen then turned herself into a hen and ate him. Eventually she realized she was pregnant, planned to kill the baby when he was born, but in the end couldn't bring herself to because he was so beautiful. So she put him [[MosesInTheBulrushes in a basket and sent him down the river,]] where a poor couple found him and named him "Taliesin." He became the greatest bard in the world.
* {{Bishonen}}: His name Taliesin means "shining brow."

!!The Morrigan
One of the most infamous Celtic goddesses, her name is not a proper name but instead means "great/phantom queen." Due to the fragmented nature of Celtic mythology, she is associated with a number of related deities like the Washer At the Ford (a harbinger of death who washed the clothes of the soon-to-be-dead in the river), Macha (either a goddess or one of TheFairFolk, forced to run a race while pregnant and ended up giving birth after winning), and Badb, another warrior-goddess. Nobody is really sure of anything regarding her, aside from the facts that 1) she is a war-goddess, and 2) she is VENGEFUL.

* CrypticConversation: Many unfortunates piss her off just because they can't understand what the hell she's actually ''saying.''
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: On one hand, she's a hot, powerful warrior goddess who has no problem sleeping with people for little things like lifelong glory and prosperity. On the other hand, if you piss her off she will ''fuck your shit up''. She won't just kill you--first she'll ruin everything you love and stand for as you watch helplessly, and then she'll make ''absolutely sure'' your death is long, agonizing, and pointless.

* SadlyMythtaken: Some people believe she's the Celtic version of Athena, when in fact she's the exact opposite--Athena was a virgin goddess who dealt more with strategy, while the Morrigan sleeps around a lot and is just as happy with bloody carnage as a well-fought battle. On a minor point, modern artists often portray her dressed in black with black hair due to her association with corvids, when in the actual myths her hair and clothes were frequently ''red''--red was the ancient Celtic color of death, being the color of blood. The former isn't ''wrong,'' though, since black is still considered the color of death in the West.
* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight: She announced her presence by screaming war-cries to wake everyone up. Whoever had the balls to go and check would be rewarded if they helped her out, or punished if they pissed her off. (Which is [[HairTriggerTemper really, really easy]].)
* UnusualEuphemism: Characters in stories often make reference to "the Morrigan's harvest" after a battle. Her "harvest" is the eyes, souls, or heads of the dead. After a battle, everyone still alive would clear the hell out of there to ensure that the Morrigan's "harvest" went peacefully.

!!Brigid

* BettyAndVeronica: Cuchulainn has to choose between Emer (Betty), his wife of many years, and Fand (Veronica), a hot fairy woman he's known for about a week. Due to a combination of LateCharacterSyndrome and Emer being shown as a spirited and interesting person in her own right, Fand comes off as a bit of a RelationshipSue.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn." Cu Chulainn spends a year bedridden from [[YourMindMakesItReal nightmares about two women who take turns whipping him nonstop]], and nobody knows what's wrong with him. When Emer finds out where he's been all this time she heads over to Emain Macha, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan shakes him out of it]], berates '''Finn [=MacCool=]''' ''and the '''rest''' of the High Kings of Ireland'' for not having the balls to help when [[YouWouldDoTheSameForMe Cu Chulainn would have given his life to cure THEM]], all the while complaining that she has spent ''a full year'' without her husband's company, IfYouKnowWhatIMean.
** When Emer finds out that Cuchulainn is sleeping with some random sidhe girl called Fand and planning to bring her over to the mortal world, she marches over with a knife to cut a bitch. What does Fand do? She ''[[DistressedDamsel stands there and cries, begging Cuchulainn to protect her]]''. Meanwhile, Emer (and the readers) completely forget about Fand and starts ''challenging Cuchulainn''--if he wins he can leave her for Fand, and if SHE wins he stays with Emer. Does Emer care that Cuchulainn [[CurbStompBattle totally outclasses her]] and sort of doesn't want to fight his own wife? No. In fact, she ''calls him a pussy'' for being afraid to answer a woman's challenge.

* DeadpanSnarker: When Cu Chulainn bragged that he was strong enough to defend against a hundred men, she called him a little boy play-fighting with his friends.

* RebelliousPrincess: One of the oldest examples.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn." Cu Chulainn spends a year bedridden from [[YourMindMakesItReal nightmares about two women who take turns whipping him nonstop]], and nobody knows what's wrong with him. When Emer finds out where he's been all this time she heads over to Emain Macha, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan shakes him out of it]], berates '''Finn [=MacCool=]''' ''and the '''rest''' of the High Kings of Ireland'' for not having the balls to help when [[YouWouldDoTheSameForMe Cu Chulainn would have given his life to cure THEM]], all the while complaining that she has spent ''a full year'' without her husband's company, IfYouKnowWhatIMean.

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: When Pwyll first met her. Also, if the maids had just told Rhiannon her son vanished without going through the dog-killing business, Rhiannon wouldn't have been punished and everyone might have found Pryderi much sooner. This is when people still believed TheFairFolk roamed around stealing babies, for god's sake.

* DivineParentage: He's the son of Lugh the Long-Handed, which is responsible for a lot of his badassery.

* LadykillerInLove: Cú Chullain, who sleeps with dozens of women and yet was HappilyMarried to Emer. This is one of the ''very'' few mythologies that distinguish his [[{{Understatement}} somewhat]] [[ReallyGetsAround active libido]] from his genuine love for Emer.

A deadly warrior, whose sister Scathach gave Cu Chulainn his TrainingFromHell. One of Cu Chulainn's flings, and the only one he actually got pregnant. After she gave birth to a boy called Connla and taught him everything she knew, she got mightily pissed when she found out Cu Chulainn had been married to Emer for ''years.'' Hence, she [[{{Jerkass}} sent Connla to his death]] by making him swear [[ShmuckBait to challenge every man he came across, and never give his name.]] After he inevitably challenged Cu Chulainn to a battle, he was fatally wounded and as he lay dying, Cu Chulainn noticed that the ring on the boy's finger was the one he'd given to Aoife right before he left. ...Yeah, that didn't make Aoife very popular.

!Gods

* JerkassWoobie: Finding out the dude who knocked you up has been married to another woman for ''years'' is horrible, but that doesn't excuse sending your prepubescent son to his death.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In "The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn."