#odin's a+ kingship

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Something rubbed against his leg beneath the table. Jon saw red eyes staring up at him. “Hungry again?” he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence. His brothers and sisters had not been permitted to bring their wolves to the banquet, but there were more curs than Jon could count at this end of the hall, and no one had said a word about his pup. He told himself he was fortunate in that too. His eyes stung. Jon rubbed at them savagely, cursing the smoke. He swallowed another gulp of wine and watched his direwolf devour the chicken. Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal. Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating.

Jon I, AGOT

It's interesting that GRRM would dedicate several paragraphs to a seemingly unimportant exchange between a boy, his wolf, and an unfriendly third party. But there's just something about this passage that has continued to nag at me for years since I first read it because, considering how heavy handed GRRM was with the foreshadowing in AGOT, this feels important.

Jon is sitting at table full of squires - aka would be knights. We don't really know who they are or what families they belong to, but it's safe to assume that they come from a certain level of privilege; this is considering the fact that it cannot be financially easy to be a squire. And these boys already have a slew of tales detailing all their previous knightly exploits regarding "battle and bedding and the hunt" which suggests that they have some capital. So you have boys who will soon be men. And they will, presumably, become men of some power.

These lads eat their fill of the chicken until only half remains, which Jon then gives to Ghost. The direwolf's name is not so important here but what he represents is. Throughout the series, we're told that Ghost is reminiscent of the weirwood trees (because of his red eyes and white fur). He's stated to be of and from the Old Gods and since he's a personification of the weirwoods, he might as well be one of them. It's almost as if Jon is presenting whatever is left on the table to the Old Gods (Ghost). He lets them devour his offerings while he silently watches. And the motif of watching is so interesting here because it's kind of like Jon takes on a stewardship role - to watch over land/people/etc. He oversees Ghost eating the chicken, so he's overseeing whatever has been given to the Old Gods. This is not new imagery to his arc. As a brother of the Night's Watch and eventually its leader, we have several instances where he leads people to adopting the Old Gods in some fashion. In ADWD, several recruits swear their vows to the Old Gods while he watches on as their Lord Commander. The Old Gods are also primarily of the North and we're told that Jon has more of the north in him than his brothers; interesting that this also includes Bran. So perhaps whatever is being offered to the Old Gods relates to the North.

We must also note that Jon initially thinks to give only a small portion, a leg, before pivoting and providing the entire thing. It feels to me a bit like the process of carving up a kingdom or something similar. The lords (represented by the squires) take what they want and leave aside what they don't; or perhaps they have eaten to their fill and can take no more. Then when his time comes, Jon first considers a small piece of land/group of people before eventually absorbing all of whatever is left behind. The concept of carving up a kingdom rings harder considering that we have several callbacks to the ideals of kingship in this chapter. Robert, Jaime, Tyrion, and even Mance though we don't know it yet, all play into this. And then there's the aspect of Jon letting the chicken slip between his legs which evokes birth/fatherhood, a very curious choice when GRRM could've just had Jon place the chicken on the floor. So land/people are carved up and Jon then uses whatever is left to birth his own type of kingdom. And this kingdom is one for the Old Gods.

This also touches on something that has been quite prevalent throughout Jon's arc. It's the concept of accepting the "others" or "those left over" who live apart from the accepted social norms. Arya (a tomboy), Sam (a gender non-confirming boy), the Night's Watch (criminals, extra sons, and men who have no future left or place to go), and even the wildlings are all examples of this. And Jon takes on a leadership/paternal role to every single one of them. He looks after them as a leader would/should. Sometimes, in the case of Arya and the wildlings, he's equated to a king. He's a steward/shepherd/king. There's messianic undertones to this:

Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

If you're familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition, you'll know that Jesus is often personified as one who spent the majority his time among the outcasts. The idea is that he came to save them too and that anew kingdom (or new earth depending on your translation) would spring up after the end of the world where he would forever rule as king; which presents the idea of a final king after the earthly ones are done away with. Now GRRM isn't so heavy handed with Christian allusions as other authors out there, but he does have a Catholic background and Jon is so overtly a Jesus figure. And in Revelation, Jesus is king and god at the very end....

One last thing: the mention of the mongrel who challenges Jon has always been rather interesting but confusing to me. A mongrel doesn't really relate to one specific type of dog. But it's interesting that Jon notes several roaming about where he is. They follow the serving girls who carry the food to be offered. Mongrels are used to describe antagonist/villainous groups in ASOIAF. Sometimes, they're used to describe slavers in Essos. But what's interesting is that most of the time, they're used to describe Euron's Ironborn especially in Victorian's POV. So I don't think the mongrel who challenges Ghost is a supernatural threat of death (i.e., the Others) but rather a human one. They represent those who are called to the scene once the lords have finished playing their games. It almost feels like a feast for (carrion) crows....

But it doesn't really matter because this mongrel isn't much of a challenge for Ghost. Though the mongrel is much larger, the direwolf is able to fend her off very effortlessly. Given that "mongrel" is used to describe Ironborn raiders, could this exchange between Ghost and the mongrel point to reavers or sea raiders who rise and fail challenge Jon kingdom? There is a historical King Jon Stark who did this....

When sea raiders landed in the east, Jon drove them out and built a castle, the Wolf's Den, at the mouth of the White Knife, so as to be able to defend the mouth of the river.[1][2] His son, Rickard, followed him on the throne and annexed the Neck to the north.

ref.

So this might shed some light not only on Jon's already published arc, but also on what we can expect in the future. We have some foreshadowing through Jon's ADWD dream that he will not only rise with the dawn (thereby live through the Long Night), but will be in a position to lead people (wildings in that chapter) to a new peace after a hard fought war. Also remember that the wildlings, rather enthusiastically, swear oaths to him as if swearing oaths to their king. In this instance, the supernatural (a dream of the war for the dawn) is followed by the natural/human. So perhaps this particular passage (and Jon's dream) can be used to predict that Jon comes out on top, and quite effortlessly too, as a leader. And he becomes a leader who rules by association with the Old Gods; or rules a kingdom for them.

To end, I think it's of note that this passage immediately precedes Jon's conversation with Benjen where he voices his desire to go out on his own - the hero's call to action. This is the adventure that's going to kickstart his growth as a man, warrior and most importantly, a leader. So it looks like before we even began, GRRM telegraphed how it would all end in just three short paragraphs.

[littlehollyleaf]

So mcu loki is at the heart of a/the world tree now... isn't making a sacrifice and spending time inside the world tree something Odin (and Thor?) is famous for doing? To learn the secrets of the universe and/or as a rite of passage to becoming king or such?

(my Norse mythology is v limited sorry!)

[royalcommunistthor]

forever thinking how thor learned his lesson a little too well. or perhaps learned the wrong lesson in the first place. how odin wanted to teach him that his actions have consequences, above all consequences of disobeying HIM, of stepping outside that line in the sand odin drew for him but what he got instead is thor caring about people, ordinary people especially, rather than kingship and then he was " no no not like this"

[cookie-doughandwaffles]

How Odin show more love to Thor than Loki

Several factors might suggest that Odin loves Thor more than Loki:

1. Public Favoritism: Odin often publicly praises Thor for his bravery, strength, and leadership qualities, while he rarely acknowledges Loki's accomplishments or strengths.

2. Parental Expectations: Odin consistently expects more from Thor, grooming him for kingship and emphasizing his role as the future ruler of Asgard, while he often expresses disappointment in Loki and criticizes his behavior.

3. Emotional Connection: Odin shares a closer emotional bond with Thor, frequently expressing pride in him and showing concern for his well-being, whereas his interactions with Loki are often characterized by disappointment, anger, or indifference.

4. Decision-Making: Odin tends to prioritize Thor's desires and opinions over Loki's, especially when it comes to matters of leadership and Asgardian affairs. Have anyone noticed that loki tends to keep quiet when odin and thor are talking, and when loki was speaking in Thor movie 1 , Thor told loki “know your place brother”.

5. Familial Dynamics: Odin's actions, such as including Thor in paintings (the fake ones in the throne room celling) or favoring Thor in critical situations, demonstrate a clear preference for his elder son. This favoritism is often evident in their interactions and the way Odin treats them differently. He doesn't give loki a second look in public.

Odin , If you are going to adopt a child; treat the child equally to your real child. If not, don't adopt the child at all. Well we can see how Thor’s life would have turned out in the What if series if loki was never adopted. Thor would be “the party prince” and frost giant prince loki looked 10,000 times much happier than asgardian prince loki.

[theseventhoffrostfall]

I've mentioned before that I have so many weird nicknames (and my family and friends just happen to use names in direct address so rarely) that there've been times in my life where I've had to take a solid several seconds to remember my actual name. But it's just occurred to me recently that that sort of thing applies to most of the people I know, who all go by not only weird nicknames but they all have a dozen asterisks after them.

Ninja-- so named because he's Asian, even though he's a pudgy diminutive Kazakh.

Nigerian Dave-- Neither from Nigeria nor named Dave

Mexican Steve-- not from Mexico but really is named Steve

The King of Kyiv/ King of Komedy/ King of Kalories/ King of Kindergarten-- so named for being a 500-pound sex offender. His kingship is self-declared

Brandon-- that's his badass mercenary callsign. Real name is William.

Harry Perver-- posh and nebishy British sexpat

Trucker Mike/ Truckwanger-- amusingly accented New Jerseyite and the reason we use "Trucker" as a colloquialism for "Serial Killer"

Loki-- so named because he was an officer in a unit called Odin

Thor-- in the same unit, but just named that because he used to be called Ricochet and they made him change it when they noticed all the English-speakers would start taking cover whenever they called for him.

Sultan-- so named because he fucked older women. Currently awaiting sentencing for double homicide

Swinger Brandon-- we tried to call him "Spike" because he was a cowboy bebop fan but it didn't stick, so we had to specify. His name really is Brandon, but just "Brandon" was taken by William, so he joins the ranks of Malaysian Brandon, Incel Brandon, and Regular-Sized Balls Brandon

Leeroy/L.A./Zac-- no idea which of these is his real name. At some point picked up "Sultan" as a name, which I guess he can have because the old Sultan is probably getting the chair.

Professor-- the dumbest commander I ever worked under

Director-- a man who was in charge of nothing

Ram-- allegedly short for 'John Rambo', which is a name he could actually just about live up to, but considering he was pretty much a Khazad Dwarf/Satyr hybrid I think it was just literal. I don't think his vampire wife had a name.

Al Capone-- descendent of Santo Trafficante. Spent the family fortune on doujins and attempts to find a waifu.

Le Perv-- French Sexpat

The Sacred Band of Lviv-- a very heterosexual and astoundingly not gay muscular Greek man and his shrimpy half-Romanian friend who was, according to the Greek, a total "simp" and "coomer" and needed to be frequently "punished" for it

Robocop-- ex-cop turned murderer, kept around exclusively because he possesses a rare .308 Chilean Mauser than Ninja is trying to swindle him out of.

[samwisethewitch]

15 Days of Freyja Devotion

Day 6: Relations to Other Gods

This is where it gets... controversial.

So. Keeping in mind that true, pre-Christian Heathenry is not well documented, and keeping in mind that "Heathenry" is an umbrella term for a collection of regional traditions that could and did contradict each other, it's hard to make generalizations about the gods and their relationships to each other. Two seemingly contradictory interpretations can both be supported by textual and archaeological sources, and may in fact have coexisted historically. This becomes especially clear when talking about Freyja's relationships to the other gods. What is presented in this post is my own interpretation based on research and personal experience. Other Heathens may disagree, and that's okay.

As I mentioned on Day 2, Freyja is the daughter of Njord and an unnamed mother and is the sister of Freyr. This, at least, is pretty consistent across all Norse Heathen traditions.

Freyja's husband is called Odr. Some scholars, such as Jackson Crawford, believe that Odr is Odin, and I tend to agree. Odr and Odin seem to be different forms of the same name, and Odr is described as a mad wanderer, which sounds a lot like Odin. There are also places in the Poetic Edda where Freyja seems to be referred to as Odin's wife or lover.

On a more personal note, I experience Freyja and Odin as deities that are very closely connected. There is a lot of overlap in their powers and associations, and they seem to frequently work together. Based on this and the textual evidence, I tend to see Odin and Freyja as partners and spouses.

Freyja is also sometimes said to be the consort of her brother, Freyr. Remember, the Eddas say sibling marriages are a common practice among the Vanir, so this wouldn't have been seen as a taboo, incestuous pairing. I think it's also important to note that while the gods are like humans in some ways, they are also abstract ideas and, in some cases, forces of nature. As siblings and lovers, I see Freyr and Freyja as embodying the male/masculine and female/feminine aspects of fertility. (This makes it even more interesting that they both subvert Norse gender roles in some ways -- for example, Freyr gives up his ability to fight while Freyja revels in warfare.)

I am comfortable saying that both Freyr and Odin are Freyja's partners and lovers. The Old Norse practiced what we would recognize as polyamory or open relationships, so it makes sense that Freyja, like many of the Aesir, would have multiple lovers.

In Old Norse society, marriages were literal legal contracts and were often used to seal alliances and treaties. (In Anglo-Saxon England, which is not Norse but is a related culture, brides were called "Peace Weavers" because of how common these political marriages were.) It makes sense that Freyja, who is important or possibly royal among the Vanir, would be married to Odin, the chief of the Aesir. We know Freyja and her family went to live with the Aesir as peace hostages after a war between the Aesir and the Vanir. A marriage contract between Odin and Freyja would have helped keep war from breaking out again.

I see Freyja's partners as reflecting different sides of her as a goddess. Freyr reflects and complements her associations with sex, fertility, love, beauty, and agriculture. Odin reflects and complements her associations with magic, battle, death, and prophecy. Interestingly, both Odin and Freyr are associated with kingship and were said to have fathered lines of mortal kings, which may hint at some sovereignty aspects for Freyja.

And because I know someone is going to bring it up if I don't: yes, Frigg is also called Odin's wife and is arguably given this title more often than Freyja in the Eddas. Again, because having more than one lover was socially acceptable to the Old Norse, I don't necessarily see this as a contradiction. Maybe Frigg is Odin's wife and Freyja is his concubine. Maybe he was married to both of them at different times, but divorced one and then married the other. Maybe they're a functioning polycule. I don't necessarily need to know the answers to love and respect the gods.

There is a popular academic theory that Frigg and Freyja were originally one goddess, and I do see some truth in it. Talking about this theory would easily double the length of this post, so I'll just link to Jackson Crawford's excellent video on this instead.

I mostly agree with Crawford's conclusion that Frigg and Freyja were originally a single sex-and-queenship-and-motherhood-and-magic goddess who was Odin's wife, and that they had recently split and were in the process of becoming differentiated when the Conversion began. In terms of modern worship, I see them as separate but closely connected goddesses with some shared functions, similar to how I see the three Morrigan sisters in Irish polytheism.

[beheworthy]

Heimdall and Thor's mother genuinely like Jane without even meeting her. Others don't like it or don't care.

When Odin threw him on a backwater planet, he didn't know his son will find the next Queen there. As is shown, he has had many lovers before in his 1500-year-long life, but with Jane, everyone just knows he's dead serious about her.

Also, everyone just knows what happened on Midgard: Odin in his Odinsleep, Loki makes a r*pey comment about paying her a visit (what the f?), Sif and Frigga talk about her (though this could be Sif recounting her experience on Midgard to the All-Mother but the point is that they know), and of course, the all-seeing Heimdall.

I'm assuming the word spread (accentuated by the Warriors Three) and the general public also has an inkling about their Crown Prince's dalliance with a Midgardian maiden on his exile.

1. Odin is obv unapproving because she's not a blue blood like them - a royal or even an Aesir. She is as far away from being an ideal daughter-in-law as she can be. He pushes for Sif. And his argument for that is this:

*clenches fist* We need to talk about this line.

This is his view of a Queen, that she'd serve the King like a servant by bearing him children and present herself to being used by him whenever he pleases. That's vile.

He's not in favor of Sif, he just wants Not-Jane. Anyone but a lowlife Midgardian. Why? Because her flimsy lifetime makes her unfit to 'serve' the King. And an Aesir woman would be able to do it better. The Aesir women 'lying' in front of him like things!

What's worse is that Thor doesn't even react to his father's abhorrent way of thinking :(, he's so used to it. Thor would never treat his Queen this way, jeez! But Reddit and Tumblr keep telling me how great it is that Thor is given parallels with this man in Thor3 and Thor4 as tho he was a positive influence on him :)

I thought Odin would eventually come around on Jane but his hostility only increases when Frigga dies 'because of her'. And he just never approves of her till he lived, not even for his son's sake :( I headcanon that Odin stayed near Thor and Jane's home when he was exiled by Loki and saw how happy Thor was with her.

2. Loki is actually understanding of how much wrong Thor is doing to himself by setting himself up for much bigger hurt. He should cut ties now when it will hurt less rather than later when she dies in a fraction of his lifetime anyway, leaving a gaping hole in his heart.

He's right but no one understands the predicament my man was stuck in. He had already done what Loki is saying by breaking his promise and not going back so Jane could move on with her life and contented himself with looking at her from Asgard. But when she got in mortal danger because she was looking for him, he can't just leave her now. He had to do justice to her this time, All-Father be damned.

I find it fascinating that Odin's opinion of Jane was about kingship and Loki's was about love and companionship.

3. Frigga and Heimdall are fully approving of her :D She has all but accepted her as her daughter-in-law and given her blessings to them. She died saving her. What more can you ask of her?!

And Heimdall is the only one who knows about his longing for her (that little laugh when he first asks her if he can see her at the end of Thor1). He knows how much Thor hurt himself by asking about her every day when he was never going to go back.

Also, I'm certain the Aesir people will be pretty accepting of her as their Queen, given how peaceful they're shown to be. :)

[mischiefprincess]

A rant about Loki - Where Mischief Lies

Loki - Where Mischief Lies is probably one of my favorite Loki contents, the book portrays this young Loki and a bit of his life in Odin’s court, it dives deep in his magic and how he feels growing up as a sorcerer in a warrior’s society, it also shows his relationship with Amora, who in the story is Karnilla’s apprentice and heir to the throne of Nornheim, Karnilla is the Norn Queen and Odin’s royal sorceress.

I think I love the book so much because Mackenzie Lee (the author) is not afraid to explain to the readers what’s going on inside Loki’s head. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading some meta analysis of the character (and I mean that as a compliment!), she really understands Loki, what his motivations are and portrays him as this charming young boy who’s so insecure about who he is but is so eager to please his father, to prove himself worthy of the title of prince of Asgard, to impress Amora, to be a good sorcerer, to be a good soldier, a good son, he is just desperate for someone to see his value, even though he doesn’t see any value in himself.

The book is supposed to show us who Loki was before he became the villain of the Avengers, before he embraced his role as a antagonist and in my opinion it does a really good job on that, we see how reluctant he is to accept that in the beginning of the story, but by the end he is sadly ready to take the mantle of The Villain and to become the awful man everyone around him assumes him to be.

Right at the beginning of the story we see a boy who lives under the pressure of being a son of Odin and a prince of Asgard, Loki says at some point:

“He wished he could afford not to care, not to feel like everything he did right or wrong was ticked off in a corresponding column and kept on file for the day Odin would name either him or Thor as the heir to the Asgardian crown.”.

Now, that is a lot of pressure for someone to grow up under, and this bit is specially heartbreaking to me because we as an audience know that Odin has no intents to put Loki in the throne of Asgard, but the boy feels like he has the responsibility to prove himself worthy of the throne, he feels like he is failing his father and his people and he is also so immensely alone, he has no friends in court until Amora arrives and no one in Asgard has a good opinion on her. Loki is very clearly in love with her, I find so sweet the way he describes how he feels when around her, he’s like this teen awkwardly in love for the first time, he sees her as a model of perfection, he wants to be like her, she is everything he ever dreamed to be: confident, skilled with magic, strong, witty and funny.

There's a few moments where he talks about himself and we can see that the self loathing is strong, he despises all the things that make him him and would gladly throw it all away if it meant he could become Asgard’s “ideal prince”, wich by the way is Thor, that’s it, in Loki’s opinion (and apparently in Asgard’s opinion) Thor is the perfect prince, he is blonde, muscular, strong, and an excellent warrior, Loki even says:

“The gods could not have handcrafted a more obvious model of kingship than Thor”.

Loki praises him (not out loud of course) for his appearance and describes himself as

“the scraps of (Thor’s) silhouette, the part that was discarded on the workshop floor to be swept up and tossed into the fire—thin and pale, with a hooked nose and black hair that hung flat to the nape of his neck, where it flipped into an unflattering curl. While Thor’s skin bronzed in the sun so that he seemed made of armor, Loki was pale as milk, and soured just as easily.”

It’s very clear Loki does not think much of himself, he hates pretty much everything that makes him unique and is very sad to see how desperate he is to fit in, to belong. We see his desperation when he talks about Amora arriving at court, he says he had never interacted with another sorcerer besides his mother and states that he thought of Amora as an equal, someone just like him. In his first conversation with her we can see clearly how unsure of himself he is, he wants to be more confident and open but fears she’ll not find him interesting enough to talk to him:

“He wanted to sit beside her, but somehow that felt too presumptuous, a bold assumption that he was interesting enough for her to want around.”

That almost seems like another character entirely, right? Imagine Loki from the MCU, that arrogant man who treated everyone else as being beneath him as a shy, insecure teenager who was scared the girl he had a crush on would not want to talk to him. That’s why I love that book so much, it shows who Loki really was before adopting the persona of the God of Mischief. The way he describes some of their interactions is literally so sweet and relatable, he really was just a boy in love with the new girl in town, there’s a bit where they’re in the gardens and this happens:

“Loki sank down beside her, close enough that their knees pressed together. Even through the hazy gloom lingering from his conversation with Thor, an electric shiver went through him when she didn’t pull away from his touch. No matter how small that touch was.”

This is so sweet, he is so in love with her, is so shy and insecure, he is always nervous when around her, always trying to hide things she would consider weaknesses, it’s clear he considers himself to be weak, as i said before he despises himself and all of his particularities.

He is also always seeing other people as being superior to him, is always looking down on himself and trying to be someone else, someone he thinks is who he should be. He wants to be accepted so bad, he wants to be loved, wants to know that he belongs in his family, wants to be just a good prince as Thor is, wants to feel seen by his father, this may sound silly but he just wants attention, he is tired of feeling inadequate, he is desperate for Odin to acknowledge his value and to consider him worthy of his attention.

Loki is almost obsessed with his father, everything he does he does to impress him, sadly he never succeeds, each time he creates a scheme to praise Odin he fails and his opinion on Loki only gets worse, Odin starts to see Loki as this corrupted man with darkness in his soul, with an evil and calculating nature and a danger to Asgard.

What he fails to realize is that Loki at his core is just (as Mobius himself put in the series) a scared little boy, he needs guidance and validation from the person he considers the most, he depends so much on Odin’s opinion of him, he lets it define who he is, he is not strong enough to stand up against this perception of himself, probably because he hasn’t got a single friend, no one he can be vulnerable with without fear of judgment, he bears his burden alone and is nearly falling apart under the weight of everything he has on his shoulders, he really needs someone he can be real with, but he probably will never feel comfortable enough with anyone to let his guard down.

He doesn’t even allow himself to be in love, when he realizes he’s starting to become too fond with people he immediately pushes them back, he puts on the act of the cold, bad guy, but at the same time he is desperate for connection, contradictory fellow innit?

Loki struggles with his need for love and acceptance and the fear of showing his true colors to people around him, he views himself as weak and he’s not willing to show weakness to anyone, he needs a friend he can be real with (and I feel the Loki series has hit the nail in the head with Mobius, he is exactly the kind of friend Loki needs), a friend who sees the man behind the mask of villainy and is willing to accept Loki for who he is.

I couldn’t help but feel impotent reading the book because at some parts you really wants to jump on the pages and hold him close to you, whilst telling him everything will be okay and that he is enough, that his worth is not tied to Odin perspective of him and that he is capable of doing everything he ever dreamed and more.

Well, that was quite a long post, sorry if I talked too much, this book is so important to me as a Loki fan, I could rant about it for hours!

[delyth88]

Fic rec time!

This is a lovely WIP by @indelen called Borrowed Time set after Ragnarok but in a timeline where Thanos has not yet come after Loki or the Infinity Stones. It has a strong focus on Loki and Thor's relationship so far, and the opening few chapters are a really quite beautiful exploration of Finland's wilderness and folklore and how Loki and Thor might fit in to this on Earth. It quickly gets going though and we spend time with some of the Avengers and in New Asgard while trying to solve the mystery of what is going on.

I've very much enjoyed how Loki and Thor are written, and the premise is intriguing.

Still very much a WIP, but worth a read even just this far.

Author's summary:

The Statesman never encountered Thanos between the destroyed Asgard and Earth. Thor, Loki and the remaining survivors settled on Earth and formed New Asgard. A year later and the Odinson brothers struggle to preserve the life, culture and history they lost. For Thor kingship is a heavy burden and he had to sacrifice much to preserve his relationship with his people and his prickly brother. And for Loki New Asgard brings nothing but old grudges and old troubles and old prejudices.

And then monsters fall from the sky and Earth's magic wielders begin to disappear and things really start to get complicated. Magic, mystery and monsters, Gods and humans and everything in between ...

... and all the while Loki, his pockets still quite heavy from the jaunt to Odin's Vault, can't shake the feeling that someone is watching him.

[xartus]

It would seem that, by the time of Late Iron Age Scandinavia, the goddess Frijo (OE Frīg ON Frigg), counterpart of Freyr (OE Frēa PGmc Fraujaz), had been split into 2 separate deities, and one inbuded with the aspects of the carrion-eating war bird goddess found in Celtic societies (Gaul. Cathubodua)

This goddess of warfare magic, death, and battle either acquired or already had a male counterpart, a counterpart who would eventually become part of the 270 gods in a trenchcoat that is Odin

Now as I've mentioned before, Odin seemed to have arisen from the Roman-Germano-Celtic cultural horizon of the 1sr centuries BC and AD, and was originally a Celtic seer deity or a possible divinized ancestor(s)

We have plenty of evidence for spirits of battle and the carrion-eating goddess of battle, so where the hell did the masculine counterpart come from?? I guess the theory is that a seer/magician could control/invoke these spirits and eventually became a deity in and of itself, because the battle spirits and goddess were VERY much seen as female

The Anglo Saxon Woden was more of a king-ancestor and magic worker, and only had battle connotations when it came to *being* a king-ancestor. I just have to chalk it up to patriarchy because its pretty fucking clear the the battle deity was a woman

You won't be able to pry the idea that Wothanaz/Watonos was a divinized ancestor/collective of seer ancestors that legitimated kingship, which would have been a specific subclass of seers in general who were aligned with the warband and aristocracy. But the evidence points to MANY of those people also being women so...jury is still out

[athenaion]

odin, allfather, lives in my head rent free. he's the only norse deity I feel particularly called to, and I think it's because of my deep love for the runes and the connection I feel to the music of wardruna.

he appears to me as ansuz, and I know odin is speaking to me through the runes. he gaurds me, at certain times, and he carries me through painful moments. he has known pain and he understands my own.

he is othala. heritage. knower of all that has come, and all that will be. one-eyed yet he is a seer.

odin-zeus also appears in my mind. the runes call him sowulo; brightness, sunshine, illumination. the One in my mind is not zeus is odin is zeus is odin, but both, at once. as though harihara - the merged deity that is half shiva, half vishnu. a divine father; a wild king. harihara represents all of creation and what is to come. odin-zeus is wilder. pure kingship and paternal instinct. he is alive, reachable, the palpable heaviness of an oncoming storm.

i wonder if odin-zeus is a manifestation of something beyond either of these fathers. pure masculine energy itself.

why does this call to me now? why does odin warn me of miscommunication, of forgetting the past?

the runes have not told me everything yet. neither are they going to. this is where we end, for now.

hail odin, allfather, who speaks through the runes!

[honoringthor]

Vanir

The Vanir are a tribe of Norse gods known for their magical prowess. Their skill matched the martial prowess of the Aesir. The Vanir went to war with the Aesir at one point and it was a draw. To end the war the Aesir and Vanir exchanged hostages. The Vanir sent Njordr, Freyr, and Freyja.

Njordr. Njordr is the father of Freyr and Freyja by an unknown sister (some say Nerthus who was not a Norse goddess) His home was called Noatun, on the coast. He was once married to the Jotun, Skadi. Njordr is a god of seafaring, ocean harvests, wind, wealth,

Freyja. (Freya, Freja) Freyja is the sister of Freyr and daughter of Njordr. She is a warrior and Seidkona, skilled in magic. Her hall is Sessrumnir in Folkvangr and she has a falcon cloak often borrowed often by Loki. Her husband is Odr and she had a lover, Ottar, who she rode as boar called Hildisvini. He daughters are Gersemi and Hnoss. Freyja taught Odin Seidr, has her pick of the battle dead and leads the Valkerie. She has a necklace called Brisingamen. Her actual name is unknown. Freyja is a goddess of war, magic, fertility, love poetry, gold,

Freyr. (Frey, Ing, Ingve Frey, Yngve, Fro) Freyr is the brother of Freyja and son of Njordr. His real name is unknown. Freyr was given Alfheim were he rules the Alfar. He's married? to the jotun, Gerdr. His servants are Skirnir, Byggvir, and Beyla. He has dwarf made treasures, Gullenbursti, a golden bristled boar, and Skidbladnir, a foldible ship. He will be killed by Surtr at Ragnarok. Many Swedish royals trace their geneaogy to him. He's a god of peace, fertility, kingship, pleasure, good weather, good harvest, horses

Honorable mentions

Nerthus. Nerthus is theorized by some to be Njordr's sister/wife by some. She is a goddess attested to by Tacitus in Germainia. She was said to live in a veiled statue in a sacred grove on an island. Humans were sacrificed the her. The names Nerthus and Njordr are aparently related, with Nerthus being an early form of Njordr.

Skirnir. Skirnir is the messenger of Freyr who presured Gerdr into meeting his boss. I'm not sure if he's a Vanir or just works for one.

Byggvir. Byggvir is another servant of Freyr who may or may not be Vanir. He's the husband of Beyla. He may have been connected to barley processing.

Beyla. Beyla is the wife of Byggvir and a servant of Freyr. May or may not be Vanir. She may be connected to cows, bees, or beans.

[illwynd]

would it be rude to ask what the werewolf loki fic is about? (also. i am. SO hyped for the skrull!thor fic. yes i will be replacing TR!canon with it in my mind. no disney cannot stop me)

Not rude at all, nonny! XD Without giving too much away, the basic gist is that young Prince Thor has to go on a special quest to slay a monster as a rite of passage for the future kingship, and on the way he meets a werewolf out in the wilderness. But, because he grew up familiar with Geri and Freki as a pair of werewolf servants that were loyal to Odin, instead of being afraid or deciding to attack, Thor goes "Puppy!!! :D" and decides to befriend it. He actually succeeds, and the werewolf helps him on his quest, and the two become. ahem. quite close along the way. But little does he know, this particular werewolf is his dad's old frenemy, Loki, who's been trapped in that form for years, and fur is gonna fly when he brings him home with him XD

And aww <3 thank you nonny! I am hyped for the skrull!Thor fic too, tbh, and will likewise be doing my best to block out canon with it XD

[nimblermortal]

Yngling Death Battle Round 2

We had multiple ties last round, it may be necessary to advertise this in popular tags.

Like uh.......Lord of the Rings? I've never understood why lotr fans don't read the Eddas. Especially the Gylfaginning, come on, you want to know why Tolkein was surprised to find Strider in his story? Anyway, this has nothing to do with that.

In the meantime, I'm just continuing both of the options from the previous poll because Tumblr allows things like that.

As a reminder:

-Aun lived to 200 by sacrificing a son to Odin every ten years. How he continued to obtain sons when he was bedridden and had to be fed through a horn remains a mystery to me, but the only reason he died is that the population as a whole decided they were cutting him off.

-Visbur had three sons, two of which decided killing their dad for a chance at the kingship was worth inviting killing-within-the-family as an inheritable trait for the rest of their lineage

-Athils rode his horse around inside a temple as if there would be no penalty for this. Since he was living in legendary times, there was.

[thot-son-of-odin]

I see your frigga posts and I raise you a possibility: frigga knew that thor was already doomed by the narrative meant to be king and had to learn the ways of kingship from his father. So she took her chances with loki and decided to teach him what she also wanted to teach thor, build a relationship with him she also wanted to build with thor etc. She knew that thor had to learn to obey and to become a leader and she taught loki to question the status quo to one day question their position and maybe rescue thor from a path he didn't choose for himself. Basically she raised thor's worst enemy and best ally thinking of their own well-being

Ok yes I can see this however I raise you another possibility — if Frigga knew that Thor was doomed by the narrative meant to be king and would thereby have to obey and cause great stress to himself, why would she simply not take that possibility away? Why not raise Thor to also question the status quo and to say, no I don’t want to be king or no I don’t want to be the same kind of king as Odin.

I feel like the root of the issue is that frigga is too concerned with Asgard and its stability far more than Thor’s stability. If Asgard needs a king like Odin, that means Thor needs to be exactly like Odin. And the only way that’s going to happen is that he gets crushed. If Frigga wanted to put thor before Asgard, this wouldn’t be a thing.

The problem becomes that Frigga is a queen first and a mother second.

[artnamikasd]

Since I'm hype on Marvel/MCU content , it's time I introduce some OCs!

(Thor x Jane) The Thorsdottirs & Thorsson

Before the Kang Wars , probably not much and Jane revived; becoming Valkyrie Jane and meet Thor again in an event of War of Realms (Me: plz, plz, plz, Kevin , plz make it!) They becoming more close and finally got married. Their union results 3 children. Despite that, both Thor and Jane loves Love as much as their own biological child and the children love and respect her as an honorary sister.

(Picrew : this and this )

Thrud Natasha Astrid Thorsdottir / Astrid / Trudy

Born in the summer of 202x, the news spread secretly around the people of New Asgard, especially Asgardians, they celebrated to the birth of their new princess, a new heiress to the bloodline of Odin and the fruit of the union of Gods and humans. Valkyrie was overjoyed and planned to give up her kingship and give it to her, as well as becoming the future queen's governess and mentor.

When Astrid was 10, she was crowned as Queen of Asgard, with her father as a regent and having Valkyrie and Loki as co-regents, which will ended when she reached adolescent and she will have her full power to rule.

Her relationship with her family is healthy, she is likely to be closed with her father , her sister, Love and her uncle Loki, she grew up to be just like her father, a reckless and stubborn ones, but she doesn't be like Thor in his earlier days since she was raised to having responsibility of being a ruler and she would try her best to be more sweet and polite, yet it's not that easy since she also wants to be a great warrior.

Anthony Magnus James Thorsson/ Magnus

He was born when Astrid was 2 years old, becoming a second heir(if worst case like Astrid's death happened or maybe if she choose to marrying out -- political reasons) to throne.

Magnus seems to be close to his mother and they're really close, he's calm, independent and intelligent like Jane, which lead to many naming him "Unbrave Magnus" and "Magnus Lackwar". Yet his strenght and power isn't that weak and he's capable of fighting as well, he just doesn't like an idea of using violence.

Thundra Tofa Brunhilde Thorsdottir/Tofa/Toffie

Born a third child of Thor and Jane, the youngest one, she is loved and cherished by her parents , her siblings and her whole family, she's a cute and sweet little girl with an adorable smiles and laughter, people or her relatives such as Loki would called her "Lemmiki"(It means "sweetheart" and also the name of Forget-me-not in Finnish)