#Revisionist Norse Mythology

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

Baldur and Hela

So i’ve been thinking a lot about Norse mythology because I have literally nothing better to do, and I thought of a re-imagining of Baldur’s death so here we go I guess.

-

So Baldur dies, right. Very sad. God of peace, compassion, love, probably puppies, and he’s dead. Very sad. What’s worse, because he didn’t die in battle, he goes to Helheim, the icy and cold land, where the unglorious dead go.

And there, he meets Hela, the grim Goddess. Half a corpse, a dead heart in her chest. She rules this icy land where there is no hope, no light, and no love.

Except, now there is.

Now, this glorious shinning light of compassion and love has descended down into these icy depths, and brought with it the first ray of sunlight Helheim has ever seen. A kind, and good soul, a God of Love.

Hela cannot stand. She loathes the sight of the the thing, hates the tight feeling in her chest when she sees him. The unnatural throbbing in her dead heart as she looks upon something that doesn’t belong in this hopeless land.

Hela rages at Asgard. Demands that they take this damnable light away. Demands that they leave her alone in her cold, familiar apathy. She’s not like her brother, not like Fenrir, who craved love and companionship. She is a dead thing. A thing that cannot be loved, and loves nothing.

So the Gods make preparations, struggle to find a way, and Hela is alone. Alone with her complete opposite. Hela is dread, hateful and cold. Baldur is light, kid and considerate.

But time passes, as she waits, she engages with him. They talk. She comes to know him. And she grows to ha(love)te him even more. He is not repulsed by her dead flesh. He smiles, and she feels the sun on her skin. Her good eye waters with tears. He gives her space when she desires it. He comes close when she needs it.

Hela hates it. She hates how he comforts the souls of her domain. She hates how he makes her smile. Hates how he makes the world seem just a little bit brighter.

She hates that she is coming to dread the day he will leave.

She hates the unnatural beating of her dead heart.

She hates that the Gods were so cruel as to taunt her with this. So cruel as to send something she was never meant to have to her realm. Is she not Hela? The grim Goddess? Destined to forever rule her icy realm of pain and misery alone?

The day comes, and all thing weep for Baldur. Even Loki, the architect of his death, weeps as well, deciding that the joke has gone far enough, weeps for Baldur. Even Hela weeps, from her one good eye. She weeps that he must leave her. That he must darken her realm with his absence.

And yet, he remains.

Go! She screams at him. Go, and leave me! You were never for this place. You were never for me!

And still Baldur does not go.

Why, why, why does he taunt her so!? Why does he stay when all thing weep for him to return?

Baldur reaches forward, ad wipes the tears from Hela’s face. And speaks in a voice that is as the birdsong in the trees.

I came here, and I saw a woman who took up a duty no one else would shoulder. I came here, and saw a woman stronger than even Thor and Tyr, willing to endure an eternity of loneliness, if only it meant giving shelter to the unwanted dead. And I saw a woman of insurpassable beauty, unlike any creature above or below.

How could I not fall in love with such a creature?

In the end, Baldur did not stay in Helheim through any machination of Odin, or trick of Loki. In the end, much stronger shackles bound him than any other band of iron and steel.

In the end, Baldur stayed through his own choice. In the end, he stayed in Helheim, bringing light and joy to the souls there, for a very simple reason.

In the end, he stayed with the woman he loved, who’s heart finally found a reason to beat.

[peasantexchangeprogram]

no yeah it must really suck for you how nazis "reappropriated" mythos and history that would not have been remotely as mainstream as they are today without white supremacist revival. where the modern perspective and perception of them the very "aesthetic" of them is inextricably tied to white supremacist eugenist ideals im so sorry you cant wear relatively historically uncommon symbols in public without people thinking you believe that they, their family, community, and the mere idea of their existence should be wiped from the face of the earth. that must be so hard for you.

[eclipsecrowned]

spooky season inbox call. like for something from one of my death-aligned muses. specify a muse or fandom.

brunhilde (ror)

enkidu (sumerian mythology)

freyja (norse mythology)

hel lokadotter (norse mythology)

kascheyevna (slavic revisionist mythology)

megaera (hades / greek mythology)

melinoe (greek mythology)

nyx (hades / greek mythology)

odin allfather (norse mythology)

orpheus (sandman / greek mythology)

unohana retsu (bleach)

seth plate (city of angels)

shihoin yoruichi (bleach)

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Someone added some great tags to a post about antisemitic tropes that... I cannot find anymore, sob, but they brought up a point that does need to be addressed - not all markers of racist and antisemitic tropes are done with the intent to harm by creators. We have unfortunately absorbed a great deal of BS throughout our life that takes effort to unlearn, and you can easily incorporate ideas you got from sources you trusted without realizing you're carrying through with something awful.

Let's look at something easy - are dwarves inherently antisemitic? Well, no, if we look at their origins in Germanic and Norse mythology, dwarves had a tendency not to trust the gods and keep their wealth and goods to themselves because the gods were untrustworthy and liked to take advantage of others (particularly but not exclusively Loki).

Where this becomes a problem in modern depictions is when dwarves who have reasons to be mistrustful are suddenly greedy gold hoarders, and then you get into the weeds of why this depiction tends to stick and how it's a bad way to go.

Are goblins antisemitic? In their folkloric origins no, as She Who Must Not Be Named depicted them, hell yes. What about light versus dark fairies, is this racist? Well, you can look into the Seelie and Unseelie faery courts of Scottish folklore and see that this had to do with describing behavior and not skin color at all.

(Yes, Snorri Sturluson used the phrase 'light and dark elves' in his Norse poetry but many scholars believe he was a Christian revisionist trying to shove the concept of good and evil angels in there - look it's complicated, but probably not meant to be racist).

Regardless, many of us grew up with hooked nose villains or gay-coded bad guys, and while some tropes are easy to spot and be rid of, others may fly completely under the radar. Fortunately a lot of the way these things spread - cartoons, card and board games, and video games - are making more efforts to fix these issues, but there's still a lot of stuff to unpack and unlearn out there.

We should be mindful of ourselves and aware of these issues when they come up, because the only way to stop these harmful tropes from repeating is to spread awareness of what they are and why they're hurtful in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, some things are intentional, and fuck the people who do that shit. But if you've unintentionally copied something you later learned was horrid, you have to give your younger self grace for what others who should have known better taught you.

[theofreakingbell]

Me: I have no idea if the 'Tales from the North' book in LWML was even based on a real book. there's no book with that title and they could have just invented one for story purposes. there's no point in looking for it

also me: *accidentally finds a norse mythology book published in 1886 in England (so right before LWML would take place) called "Asgard and the Gods: The Tales and Traditions of Our Northern Ancestors" which is a suspiciously similar title, which also has a red cover and is apparently full of a certain Christian revisionist garbage norse mythology, which did sometimes refer to Loki as the 'God of Evil' especially during that period of time*

Me:

a link to a page on the Harvard Library where you can see scans including of the cover by clicking the 'view online' thingy

[mor-beck-more-problems]

@athenaquinn replied to your post: [pm] Hi Professor Beck!!! :) So I know you already...

[pm] I like to keep busy. So yes! Always, even if it won’t impact my grade. Ooh! I might like to do an independent study with you. I liked Goblin Market. It tells such a fascinating  ew story.

[pm] Well there’s a great novella by Seanan McGuire that takes a revisionist approach to the setting. It’s called In an Absent Dream. We’ll be reading a different entry in that series later in the semester, actually. You’ll be able to get a sense of her style!

Or if it’s the poetry part that interests you, I have some compendiums of mythology in translation from another course. Norse, British Isles, Greek, North American, and selections from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

[nintendocafe]

Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards coming to Nintendo Switch in 2020

Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards stars comic book creator and actress Paula Garces (Harold & Kumar series, On My Block, The Shield) as Incan demigod Aluna.

Created by actress Paula Garces and Antonio Hernandez in response to the underrepresentation of both latino and female superheroes in comics, Aluna went on to become a cult hit and is currently starring in the ongoing comic book saga, The World of Aluna, written by Assassin’s Creed and Batman: Arkham Origins scribes Ryan Galletta, Dooma Wendschuch, and Corey May. Aluna further made a name for herself in video games after becoming a playable character in S2 Games’ popular MOBA Heroes of Newerth, where she was played by Paula Garces herself.

“One of our goals when we created Aluna was to bring the world of 16th Century Latin America to life,” said Digiart Interactive founder Antonio Hernandez. “We’ve seen plenty of games about Greek and Norse mythology, but little representation for Inca lore. There’s such a rich cultural history to explore there, and as much as we’ve enjoyed making the comic book series, we wanted to truly immerse our audience in a fully realized world that they could explore firsthand.”

“Aluna has been a very personal project for me,” said Aluna creator and actress Paula Garces. “Latino women are seldom given starring roles, especially when it comes to superhero comics and video games. Yet there’s so many Latino women who play games and read comics, who never see themselves reflected in the media they admire. With Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards, I wanted to change that.”

Developed by Digiart Interactive and  N-Fusion Interactive, Aluna: Sentinel of the Shardsfollows the exploits of Aluna, the warrior daughter of a Spanish conquistador and South American nature goddess Pachamama. Raised in early 16th century Spain, Aluna escaped to the New World only to realize it was her true homeland. Aluna: Sentinel of the Shardssets our heroine on a quest through Inca mythology as she strives to restore the amulet her goddess mother entrusted to her… and fulfill her true destiny.

Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards combines the deep action-RPG mechanics of Diablo with the revisionist mythology of God of War. Based around Inca lore, Aluna: Sentinel of the Shardsfeatures mythological gods, beasts, and tales that formed the backbone of 16th century Colombian culture. Venture from the Sanctuary seaside cliffs through the massive jungles of the New World, all the way to Nagaric’s Temple in the Volcanic Canyons in this epic historical adventure.

[catsnuggler]

That’s 2 guys I know who are really nice people, but are also fundamentally Christian and say they’ll, “Pray for (me).” 

I’ve told them hey, the Bible’s mythological, too. You don’t know for sure that Jesus was the Son of God. You know Nazareth is a real place, and Jerusalem, and Bethlehem and all the other places on Earth that are mentioned. You know the man actually existed; the Romans verified a man named Yeshua existed, although their story is... markedly different. But I have to grant that a man named Yeshua, later to be called Jesus, existed. But that doesn’t man he turned water to wine, that he raised the dead, that he died for everyone’s sins and now I, who never knew the guy, have to follow his commands to the letter or else be sent to Hell. That just means a man named Yeshua existed.

You have the benefit of having more literature, too, because the Mediterranean peoples were literate. The people who practiced the faith I try to model my own faith on weren’t literate; and among the Germanic and Norse populations, conversion was extremely violent; the myths, when recorded by the literate Christians, were heavily, intentionally, often angrily revisionist and written their damnedest to get the pagan out of them, except insofar as they were demonized. Yet my faith still has some myths, and not just about gods outside the Earth, but people on it. Even the revisionist myths are useful.

An excellent example of surviving pagan, albeit revised, literature is Beowulf. Beowulf is a man, specifically a Geat from what is now Southern Sweden. He hears of a monster terrorizing a hall in Denmark, and sails out to kill this monster. The monster is quite likely a Jotun, a giant from the pagan religion. Beowulf swears against killing Grendel with a sword, and sets to it with his bare hands. The strength required to do this might befit a follower of Thor. However, Beowulf later becomes a wealthy but generous king, a ring-giver, and while Thor is the god of commoners, Odin is the god of kings. So Beowulf may be linked to one, the other, or both.

However, while I believe in the gods I believe in, Beowulf is a mythic tale. I could believe in it, although incidentally, I don’t believe it literally happened. I believe in my gods. I believe in their power. But there is no archaeological evidence that the story of Beowulf happened, so I won’t ever tell anyone Beowulf actually slew Grendel because I have to listen to science on the matter. While I have my own beliefs about the metaphysics of the universe, I have to recognize that everything I believe in is a myth, because everything every religious person believes in is a myth. 

The world, as far as science tells us, was not formed between a cold North Pole and a hot South Pole with a cow in the lukewarm middle of it all licking things into existence while a giant just laid around on his ass, chilling as sentient beings just generated from him or got licked into existence by the cow. The Earth is also a lot older than 6,000 years, friend, so I hope that isn’t something you believe.

What I’m getting at is, if we believe every single unfounded thing our religious books tell us, and we go around telling people they’re going to suffer if they don’t believe our religion, that they need our religion, go around laughing at people for having the slightest doubt, then frankly we’re assholes. Also, the “doubt” I have, I prefer to call “restraint”; besides, I won’t tell you, personally, why, but things have happened in my life which proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that Odin exists and has power over people’s very lives; if he exists, the others exist. But I can’t prove that scientifically. I just personally believe in him, and will never stop. But I’m sure as fuck not going to try converting you to any kind of paganism, and the way I see the afterlife, I don’t see any reason to. There’s no sort of punishment you’ll face for not believing what I believe. Maybe you could respect my agency and not try to convert me, guys.

[beanboop]

Running book list so I don't forget to write it down: Carrie Fischers book A monster calls Persuasion Norse mythology The raven cycle Uhhh those books that Hannah's reading they looked interesting Carry on Podcasts Taz Revisionist history Uhh that science one that awis had the link to

[lanegrooms]

Jesus Christ the Original

After diving deep into M.P. Hall, H.P. Blavatsky, and H.P. Lovecraft, and listening to the late, great Bill Cooper(R.I.P.). I was racked with some major problem. If the virgin Mary has been transformed into Isis, and Jesus in turn represents Osiris, then we may have all fallen into the Sun-god's trap of illumination... But before we fall into the snare, we have to cast aside revisionist history; we have to look at the other side of the story and make sure that our sources are reliable.

Now, I'm the first one to cringe at modern Christian apologetics. There are some complex loops and hoops that are ran through in the name of defending the faith, but this topic is a blessing to the apologist because Christians have the high ground. Nothing prior to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ claims that any deity, much less a flesh and blood man, has resurrected on earth in body and spirit. Osiris was not crucified, he did not resurrect in the body, and he did not die willingly. Isis was not a virgin, and she was not Jesus' sister. Most importantly, Osiris did not fulfill a prophecy as old as the dawn of consciousness.

But where did these rumors come from?

There are, in this world, two branches of religions. No, I'm not talking about the scholarly divisions: monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, etc,... I am talking about a division between those who worship the Most High God and those who worship the Creation. The Hebrews were the vessel of the Most High God's Son. The Muslims are also a vessel of the Most High God's design. The worshippers of Creation are the many pieces of the Mystery Babylon: All of the world religions who sprang from the Tower of Babel Genesis event. Mythologies: Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse, Chinese, American, and Hindu: all of them polytheistic branches of the Babylonian root. This root is the worship of Baal, a.k.a. Lord of this World a.k.a. Nimrod a.k.a. He Who Rebelled, a.k.a. The Sun, a.k.a The Morning Star, a.k.a. Lucifer.

Let me be clear that science and the scientific methods are not evil. No, science and its methods are not evil. True science is the building of knowledge based upon observation. Science becomes evil when information asymmetry is used to control others. This information asymmetry is the basis of the Mystery Babylon religions. They use science, and any other body of knowledge, to control, and that is evil. Intellectual property? Do you have any idea of the amazing intellectual progress that has been suppressed by closing source code and proprietary control of new technologies? We can only speculate what technology is being withheld for military purpose. Knowledge asymmetry for control; this is how the world works.