Jason Weiser

You know that if they opened their mouths and told the other how they felt and shared who they were, they would have found love, but they remained walled off by their own assumptions.

Timbertop was interesting because he's someone who had no internal life.

The story seems to say that even as a human, he's an animal who exists only to hoard and eat.

And so that was exactly what the Dokebi turned him into.

But

with the outside matching the inside, he actually grows and develops empathy.

We mainly focused on him turning the game of the rich and powerful on themselves by going around secretly turning people into oxen and then making a name for himself by curing them, but the story is pretty clear that he reconnects with his family and dies a respected and loving person, surrounded by those who care about him.

I'll wrap things up, but the stories today, to me, speak of the need for genuine connection and the stagnation that can come from refusing it.

Genuine vulnerability is scary, but the alternative is a dank hole in the ground where you might be safe, but you'll be alone.

Real connection is taking the risk and then being willing to meet and help people when they take that risk with you.

Next time on the podcast, it's the story of Vitasco, whose mom started dating a dragon.

And you'll see that if you're an epic hero, the last thing you want is for your mom to start dating a dragon.

As you absolutely know by now, hopefully, Myths and Legends has a book coming out.

It's a comprehensive telling of the King Arthur legends, and it is phenomenal, if I may say so.

The first book of a three-book series comes out December 1st.

It's available for pre-order now.

But I just want to say, you all are awesome.

I mentioned the giveaway a few weeks back, and 11,000 people applied to it.

So they are doing another giveaway, which is going on now through June 14th.

There are links to everything in the show notes.