#odin homoerotic art

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Norse Gods: Discovering a Cult of Odin

Original Image: 'Odin' by Djvenom45 [DeviantArt] [slightly edited!]

Posted: 28th June 2023

[corvichor]

I may be a little (very) late to the party, but in regards to Ava’s Demon - while I’ve seen much discussion on which character is which fairy tale, I haven’t really seen anyone equate the characters with the fairy tales from the Titan Tales book? (Nevermind. I was being stupid and using ‘fairy tales’ rather than ‘titan tales’ in my search phrase.) SO. Here it is. 

The Little Merling

The Little Merling (The Little Mermaid) is, fairly obviously, Gil, what with his connection to Nevy and the sea (and also his homoerotic dream). I’m somewhat certain that the Sea Witch in this case will end up being Nevy, while the Prince (for the moment) is either Odin (who is an Actual Prince, apparently) or Olai (who, being Odin’s brother, is also probably an Actual Prince). I’m not very certain about the casting of the Prince (I suspect that it may end up being a character we haven’t seen yet), but we do have a rather limited cast, so Odin/Olai it is, for the time being. The reason I named Olai at all is because there seems to be some very obvious hinting at a relationship between Ava and Odin, so depending on which version of the fairy tale you follow, it could go down in two ways. Also, what struck me most about the Odin in Gil’s dream were his rings - which bear much resemblance to the rings we see on another Arrow’s hands.

Happy Ending - Odin is eventually substituted for Olai, once Gil and Olai meet, and then they live happily every after. The end. 

Probably the more likely ending - Odin (The Prince) and Ava (The Other Girl) get together, and Gil (The Merling), turns to sea foam (or a “monster of failure”). Of our current characters, he and Maggie are currently the most likely to fail their pacts. The more obvious choice would be Maggie, considering that she currently has a pact, but Gil (whose pact may or may not end up revolving around Paradise - which probably doesn’t exist), feels like another likely option for a failed pact (and also the failure I would personally prefer to see).

Beauty and the Titan

Beauty and the Titan (Beauty and the Beast), through process of elimination, is Maggie (seeing as she is literally in possession of a rose). The Beast in this case would be Maggie, with her desire for love and affection (and also Odin’s equating of her to a monster (and her visceral reaction to it) in Chapter Two). The casting of the other characters is currently unclear. Seeing as the original Beauty and the Beast was influenced by the Greek myth Eros and Psyche, and I have seen some relating of Eros and Psyche to the Star Host, the cast of characters for Maggie’s fairy tale may still be incomplete, so I’ll leave my speculation here for now. 

I have also seen speculation of Maggie’s fairy tale potentially being Snow White, with the seven flowers for the seven dwarfs, but several very central aspects of Snow White’s fairy tale do not line up with Maggie’s story. Her appearance - skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, hair as black as ebony (or the night, depending on which version you read), apples, and a death-like sleep. While Maggie has been depicted with apples in official art, she has yet to appear with apples in the actual story, nor has sleep been a major theme. I am personally of the opinion that if Snow White does happen to be a fairy tale referenced in Ava’s Demon, Snow White may be Magpie Arrow instead, or another one of the Arrow siblings. I have no evidence to support this, but I’d like it to be true. 

The Wolf and the Fox

The Wolf and the Fox is Odin. He has often been symbolised as a fox, and his story seems to mesh with that of the Fox in the fairy tale rather well. It might be worth noting, at this point, that the title of this fairy tale has not been changed by TITAN, whereas the title of every other fairy tale has. This may have to do with the fact that the other three hosts so far have been raised in TITAN’s ideology, where Odin has not. It may have a deeper meaning. It may also simply be that the title bears no changing. It is unclear, at this point. Moving on - the Wolf in this fairy tale is Olai. The relationship between the Wolf and the Fox in the fairy tale mirrors the relationship between Olai and Odin in the story. Odin (the Fox) is the weaker of the two, relating to Odin’s standing in his own family, wherein he is ranked below his own younger sisters. Odin’s mission, assigned to him by Olai (the Wolf), is to retrieve a Vessel. This is the first ‘errand’ we’ve seen so far, but according to the fairy tale, Olai will fail where Odin succeeds. Perhaps Olai will fail to enlist the help of the Vessels, after Odin has brought them to Aedinfell. Perhaps some event will happen in the story wherein Odin succeeds his brother as head of the family. Only time will tell.

A Follower’s Adventures in Titanland

A Follower’s Adventures in TItanland (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (and Through the Looking Glass)) is Ava, which has been officially confirmed through the Ava in Wonderland AU. I won’t cast the characters, seeing as there is already an official list. The imagery present in Alice in Wonderland - the whimsical, fantastical madness - is reflected in Ava’s own mindscape, in the bizarrely childish drawers and toys. There have also been several visual references to Alice in Wonderland in the story, most notably the references to Alice meeting the Caterpillar, referenced in Ava’s meetings with Wrathia in her mindscape, and also her encounter with Odin after the Limbo Lenses fiasco in Chapter Eight.

Alice’s ‘Drink me’ bottles are also reflected in Wrathia’s potions - catalysts of change. While Alice merely changed shape and size, Ava changed entirely, in a release of bottled rage. The constant theme of Alice not being Right, not fitting in - being too big or too small - is also reflected in Ava’s story, being an outcast and a loner. While there is an official character list for the Ava in Wonderland AU, their functions change within the story itself - Odin changes from the White Rabbit (when Ava follows him onto the ship at the start of the story) to the Caterpillar (in the scene depicted above) to the March Hare (the Mad Hatter’s companion, wherein he shares food with Maggie (who according to the official cast, is the Mad Hatter)). Ava herself changes from Alice to the Red Queen during her rampage as Wrava, where she beheaded several guards. 

None of the analysis here is very in-depth, considering that I am probably not the only person who has done this, and also the fact that I am not in the mood for writing entire essays on this speculation, but - here it is, nevertheless. 

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Odin

Artist: Sandra SanTara (2008)

Original images was slightly edited by gifts-of-heimdall-runes.