# Lionel johnsons "the dark angels"



## ArcAngels (Sep 19, 2007)

DARK Angel, with thine aching lust To rid the world of penitence: Malicious Angel, who still dost My soul such subtile violence! 
Because of thee, no thought, no thing, Abides for me undesecrate: Dark Angel, ever on the wing, Who never reachest me too late! 
When music sounds, then changest thou Its silvery to a sultry fire: Nor will thine envious heart allow Delight untortured by desire. 
Through thee, the gracious Muses turn, To Furies, O mine Enemy! And all the things of beauty burn With flames of evil ecstasy. 
Because of thee, the land of dreams Becomes a gathering place of fears: Until tormented slumber seems One vehemence of useless tears. 
When sunlight glows upon the flowers, Or ripples down the dancing sea: Thou, with thy troop of passionate powers, Beleaguerest, bewilderest, me. 
Within the breath of autumn woods, Within the winter silences: Thy venomous spirit stirs and broods, O Master of impieties! 
The ardour of red flame is thine, And thine the steely soul of ice: Thou poisonest the fair design Of nature, with unfair device. 
Apples of ashes, golden bright; Waters of bitterness, how sweet! O banquet of a foul delight, Prepared by thee, dark Paraclete! 
Thou art the whisper in the gloom, The hinting tone, the haunting laugh: Thou art the adorner of my tomb, The minstrel of mine epitaph. 
I fight thee, in the Holy Name! Yet, what thou dost, is what God saith: Tempter! should I escape thy flame, Thou wilt have helped my soul from Death: 
The second Death, that never dies, That cannot die, when time is dead: Live Death, wherein the lost soul cries, Eternally uncomforted. 
Dark Angel, with thine aching lust! Of two defeats, of two despairs: Less dread, a change to drifting dust, Than thine eternity of cares. 
Do what thou wilt, thou shalt not so, Dark Angel! triumph over me: Lonely, unto the Lone I go; Divine, to the Divinity. *Lionel Johnson*

how did this inspire the chapter? it was about lionel being a homosexual, El'jonson wasnt gay or maybe thats why he sent luther back to caliban, couldnt stand to see his lover die, oh wow where am i going with this, any thoughts


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

None that I'd like to have swimming around my brain, but I would say that El'Johnson is BASED off the poem, not taken straight from it. 

-Dirge


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## Red Orc (Jun 14, 2007)

Errm, how did it not?


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

Moved to Fluff

*The Wraithlord
Heretical High Council*


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## Bloodhound (Feb 8, 2007)

I understood very little of it cause of the 'thee and thou' ans such, but out of what I did, it was pretty good.

Also, It's Lion El'Johnson.
His name is Lion, not Lionel.


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## ArcAngels (Sep 19, 2007)

hahahaahah dude this is a peome written by a real author who became the basis for the dark angels chapter and primarch, lionel johnson is a real person, lion EL'johnson is the primarch lol


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## Bishop120 (Nov 7, 2007)

I dont understand how this poem is about being gay.. though I couldnt understand much of what was said as it sounded like rambling to me. But I do see how it could have been the inspiration of the Dark Angels and Lion El Johnson.


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## cerrakoth (Nov 7, 2007)

This is the inspiration for Lion el because GW say he was based on a guy named lionel johnson so this fits the bill=]


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## ArcAngels (Sep 19, 2007)

and that guy lionel johnson was a gay writer who feared people knowing of his homosexuality so he wrote poems like the dark angels to express how he felt. im just trying to see how GW took a repressed **** and made such a courageous hero like the lion out of his pansy little poem


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## Bishop120 (Nov 7, 2007)

Maybe Lionel Johnson was a friend of one of the developers or maybe one of the developers is gay and liked the poem.. Maybe it was just on a list of 100 random suggestions and they threw darts at it..


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## Extraho (Nov 28, 2007)

when i found this out it led me to stop collecting my dark angels and start collecting Death guard :laugh:


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## Fluff'Ead (Aug 22, 2007)

Lionel and his poem seem to have as much in common with Lion'el and his Dark Angels as Poes "The Raven" and Corax have. 
And that'd be not much.


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## Bloodhound (Feb 8, 2007)

oh..... Right.
My bad.


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## Ezekial Lightning (Oct 30, 2007)

DA are awesome why would u dtop collectin?! but like bloodhound thees and thous blah i got bored.


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## ArcAngels (Sep 19, 2007)

its an old poeme, thats was the style of writing and mostly speaking, people dont realise this but if we were sent to the 41st mellenium or even the 1700's people wouldnt understand us at all they speak english but not our english. i can even imagine what a conversation in high gothic is like, would make my head hurt alot


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## cerrakoth (Nov 7, 2007)

High gothic is a completly different language is it not it could be derrived from any language as this is thousands of years in the future when who knows all races become one? I mean they all unite so who's to say its not just a mixture of hundreds of languages?


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## Captain Galus (Jan 2, 2008)

the lion isnt based on lionel jonson or the poem at all, but the chapter itself draws from the history of the poet. lionel was gay at one point. however, lionel repented for his ways and wrote that poem about his dark side, which he strove the rest of his life to atone for.
the dark angels chapter is now consumed by its need to atone for an ancient wrongdoing...coincidence? i think not


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## Red Orc (Jun 14, 2007)

It's funny, all this fuss about him being gay.

What I heard was the inner turmoil he was wrestling with was alcoholism.

Gotta disagree though that "the Lion isn't based on Lionel Johnson ... at all" though, he's pretty obviously the inspiration. When the background to the Dark Angels was first revealed, in late 1987 (when all the Raven's Wing rode jetbikes!) the Primarch of the Dark Angels was called "Lionel Johnson or Johansen". Not "Lion El'Johnson", but definitely "Lionel Johnson".


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## rgw (Jan 29, 2008)

Yeah, reading way to much into the possible gay thing. I think the essence of the poem is that when you atone for something dark in your past, you feel like you have to make it up to society, yourself, God(or the Emperor) or people who depend on you. Which is what the Dark Angels are all about, atoning for the heresy of the past.


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## Captain Galus (Jan 2, 2008)

> Yeah, reading way to much into the possible gay thing. I think the essence of the poem is that when you atone for something dark in your past, you feel like you have to make it up to society, yourself, God(or the Emperor) or people who depend on you. Which is what the Dark Angels are all about, atoning for the heresy of the past.


hot damn dude you hit that nail on the head...kudos and rep to u sir


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## Lionel_Johnson (Jul 13, 2015)

*What.*

We aren't fallen angels. Did you expect a happy ending for Horus?


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## Over Two Meters Tall! (Nov 1, 2010)

ArcAngels said:


> and that guy lionel johnson was a gay writer who feared people knowing of his homosexuality so he wrote poems like the dark angels to express how he felt. im just trying to see how GW took a repressed **** and made such a courageous hero like the lion out of his pansy little poem


 How a strong and intelligent man could have a deep personal secret that would potentially destroy him and all he's built if it became public knowledge due directly to the fear and ass-hattery of those around him? Yeah, don't know where that could have come from.


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## neferhet (Oct 24, 2012)

Really guys. Necrothreading on this kind of shite? Bah.
The board should auto lock threads after 2+ years of inactivity.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

As already mentioned, this thread is over two years old.

If you want to discuss the "fact" that the Dark Angels like to mince around in private, please start a fresh thread. 



Locked.


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