#thor lord of the aesir

[johannestevans]

Woe, Boypussy Be Upon Ye: Transing Characters in Fanfic & Fanart

What’s the deal with envisioning your blorbos as transgender?

Originally published in Prism & Pen. Also on my Patreon.

It’s a meme, I made it. Here it is.

It’s been unbelievably positive for me as a trans dude, the change in approach to trans characters in fandom and subsequently in media in general, and I just wanted to write a bit about my experiences with the cultural shift and how positive it’s been for me personally.

What’s weird about people in fandom confidently, nay casually, writing characters as transgender and just having them be a regular dude with a pussy or a regular girl with a dick is that like… I remember when it wasn’t a thing.

Back in 2009, for example, which was a big time for fandom — Superwholock was running rampant, Star Trek (2009) had just gotten a new generation of fans into Trek — or even in 2012, when Les Misérables (2012) had dropped and gotten new people into Les Mis, or when the Hobbit had revamped a lot of interest in Tolkien’s books and the original Lord of the Rings films, not to mention The Hobbit itself, none of this even getting into the Marvel movies, like…

It just. It wasn’t a thing.

Sure, there were transgender characters around, characters that people wrote as trans, but I remember it so strongly as being very niche. It was deep, emotional work where people had to work to “justify” the emotional work they were doing, and even then, they couldn’t just say a character was trans and be chill about it. In order to justify a character being transgender, one had to put in mountains of evidence, or admit the trans perspective was a genderbend of sorts.

For me, I’m pretty sure the moment when things started to change was when I was reading and writing a lot of Loki-centred fanfiction, roundabout 2014–2017 — and the more permissive culture was very much borne of Loki being seen as an exception.

Loki, of the Marvel film and comics, is an alien secretly kidnapped and adopted into the Odinson family, and is known to change his body and appearance frequently, including changing his apparent gender or expression.

He was, in the comic canon (not to mention the original Norse mythologies) quite genderfluid, after all, so even if you didn’t refer to him as explicitly transgender, you could explore him as being some variety of genderfluid, nonbinary, or intersex — as an alien, as a Jötnar as opposed to being AEsir like Thor or Odin, as a god.

But then things changed a bit more.

Welcome to Night Vale, a weird narrative horror podcast, started in 2012, and one thing you could rely on from a lot of fanfics is that people might have weird or alien or otherwise not-not cisgender but not entirely cisgender genitals either. The Magnus Archives, also a narrative horror podcast, started in 2016, and when I got into the fandom in roundabout 2019, which is also when the new Good Omens TV show was due to release and there was a resurgence of interest in the book as well, I remember experiencing a sort of newfound thing where like…

I’d had a mental block around writing many trans characters, before — I could create my own characters who were trans, but a big part of me still felt like I wasn’t allowed to just make a canon character trans if they’d never been mentioned as being trans before or made explicitly trans.

What was it that stopped me?

My own dysphoria? Perhaps a little. Maybe some lacking self-confidence.

Most of all, it just felt as though I couldn’t justify it. I couldn’t justify seeing a cis man written by cis people in a cis show and saying, “Hey, no, he’s like me, actually” — even though I could easily do it about the same character being gay or Jewish or even chronically ill or disabled.

It was like there was a mental block inside me I just couldn’t get past.

I still had a lot of the old online cultural expectations stamped onto me, I think, even being an out trans man who knew many many other trans and intersex and nonbinary people of every gender imaginable in fandom.

I think for Welcome to Night Vale and then especially for The Magnus Archives, part of what made it so easy for people to write and envisage different characters as trans, the fact that there was such limited physical description of characters, the fact that you were attached to them by their voices alone, allowed people to envisage them in whatever way they liked.

In The Magnus Archives, most of the main characters are envisaged as trans in one way or another — Daisy Tonner particularly is explored with all flavours of butch dykey complexity, trans in whichever ways or directions are juiciest and most interesting. But for so many of the characters — from Jonathan Sims and Martin Blackwood to Sasha James and Tim Stoker to Elias Bouchard to Peter Lukas to any of the other Entities — there is no end to the characters people will explore or envisage as trans or nonbinary or just straight-up outside of gender or gender-weird.

No one has to justify a period character being trans with no problems. Loads of people write Izzy Hands or Stede Bonnet or Edward Teach, as being trans in Our Flag Means Death alongside the canonic nonbinary character Jim Jimenez. Any and all characters, trans or otherwise, are invited to participate in ye olde top surgery performed by Roach, the ship’s surgeon, or somehow get hold of ye olde hormones in whatever handwavy way necessary, and it’s cool and fine.

And what’s wonderful for me is the way I see the current approach to trans characters gleefully and delightedly applied to fandoms that are years if not decades old.

I see people write House MD fanfic now where they just go, right from the beginning, yeah this or that character is trans, and they’ve always been trans, and it’s chill. What if James Wilson was trans? It’d rock, that’s what. What if Greg House was trans? Yeah, he’d probably do his own T-shots under the table.

People write Spock as trans now, or guys from M*A*S*H, or Jean Valjean.

What if in the X-Files Dana Scully and Fox Mulder were T4T? Makes complete sense, and also, the idea fucks absolutely. They’re already so lesbian vibes for each other, it fits perfectly.

I wrote a silly little Tumblr post a few weeks ago envisioning Morticia and Gomez Addams as T4T, and it blew up immediately — I think about how if I’d made that most a decade ago it would have been met with crickets, if not a bit of scorn, and not just from transphobes, but just people who like me at that time hadn’t been able to relax and have fun with it.

That’s the real crux of the matter, the impact a lot of fandom has made on me and the way that trans characterisation is approached, the hunger I have for trans characterisation now — it’s the idea of being trans as joyful and delightful, as inherently fun and sexy, but also just as being something every day and normal. A detail you can include as casually in your interpretation of a canon character as any other headcanon.

There’s a beautiful freedom in it, and I’m so grateful to have been able to learn from and grow because of other trans people paving the way with their confident headcanons and delving into trans ideas in their fic.

It’s done wonders for me everywhere — not just in my fanfic, but most of all in the original works I pen now, each one of them featuring trans character after trans character.

[illwynd]

Utgard-Loki's Tale

I finally got to perform this thing tonight, so I guess it has reached its final form.

This poem is inspired by the traditional Icelandic rhyming poem Lokrur. My adaptation uses a bastard Kalevala metre (trochaic tetrameter), with various features of both Finnish poetry (repetition and alliteration) and Icelandic poetry (alliteration and abundant use of kennings and other wordplay), and I developed it specifically for spoken performance, in accordance with the way the story would originally have been passed along. There's some really geeky shit in here.

Also my thanks to @obligate-rebel who gave me a thumbs-up on an earlier iteration of it :D

...

By men I am called Utgard-Loki

Outlands’ trickster, apt in magecraft,

Skilled in spells and in shape-shifting

One who worked his tricks on wanderers

One who wickedly deceived them

When to his threshold gods came calling

You see, all Thor and Loki knew about me was that I throw all the best parties—what else is there to do when you live way out in the Outlands?—but everyone in attendance has to be the best there is at whatever it is they do, so these two gods... they thought they’d crash my party, cause some trouble, start some fights, show me who’s boss in my own house, and I had to figure out a way to get them to head on home without actually starting a war, because, y'know, that would tend to put a crimp on the party scene. So do you want to know how I managed that trick?

Surely you have heard them tell it?

Heard the tale as they recite it

Heard about Thjalfi, swiftest,

Tricked in foot-race versus Hugi

Passed by one who treads so lightly

Or the contest of the mighty

Rymr, he who calls the thunder,

Put his lips upon the vessel

‘Pon the cup all full and frothy

Froth as white as salty sea-foam

And the thirsty draughts he drew then

Drained the horn—of but a mouthful!

So it seemed by liquid’s level

Sore was he, Midgard’s protector

Falling short in simple trial

Surely you have heard them tell it

Heard the tale as they recite it

Heard how Loki, sly and clever

Set his hunger versus Logi

Chowing down along the trencher

Met the two with crumbs between them

Drawing even, feasts devoured

Loki patting bulging belly

Smirking with his smile ‘broidered

Met they then—but skinny Logi

Ravenous as wolf in winter

He had eaten all the meat…

And all the bones… and all the trencher!

Thus was Laufey’s heir defeated!

And you must have heard them tell it

Heard the tale as they recount it

How the grim one’s son continued

Put him forth another challenge

Boasting of his strength of body

Strength indeed of all his sinews

I set before him then the mouser

Tomcat’s father, hearth’s wee tiger

Purring on the floor before him

That he should test his might upon it

Asa-Thor bent low to grasp it

Bent to wrap his grip around it

Struggling with grunts of effort

Grunting as he tried to lift it

But one paw he barely shifted!

One paw raised above the tiles!

Purring still the feline bore it

As Baldr’s brother failed to heft it!

Fury gripped lord of Bilskirnir

And in his anger bade another

Challenger be brought before him

Said I then I thought my mother

In her youth a wrestler had been

But in her dotage still might suit him

Wroth was he with red beard bristling

Stomping on the mat before him

As Elli hobbled to her corner

But soon she did contrive to hold him

Hold him fast with arms around him

Arms like bands of stubborn iron

Till his knee did bend beneath him

Shamed was Grimnir’s lauded kinsman

Beaten so by woman wizened!

Tell me those are not the stories

More or less as you have heard them

But one voice has not been cited

One has not been heard to tell it

That is me. And if you’ll heed

I’ll tell the legend as I lived it

And each contest I’ve recounted

—true it is that I deceived them

Wanderers of Aesir kindred

But look at it from my perspective

Behold for but the briefest moment

Consider how I first had found them

Sheltering in fingers’ caverns

Cowering within the leather

Where the last night I had left it—

I swear I did not mean to wound them

Or to frighten with my snoring

I was merely heedless taken

Heedless of their headstrong journey

Thus I met them in the morning

Waking to their faces frowning

Trying to be most disarming

Not to give them cause for worry

Then they asked ME where the pathway

To the hall of Utgard-Loki!

I saw it full, the very future

Of which I’d had no foretelling

For they queried after speaking

‘Mongst themselves of doom impending

Doom that they would deal that monster

Dwelling in those halls unknowing

Well!

I endeavored to dissuade them

Placing in their path obstructions

Surely less than cruel misfortunes

Set before them my conditions

If they’d travel with my guidance

They would travel by my schedule

I would call the halts and respites

I would carry all provisions

Thus I handed them frustration

Goaded them to resignation

Alas the doggedness of gods

Was not within my calculations

So, if they’d not be dissuaded

Then ‘twas I must scheme before them

How to meet their whim for action

Without inviting my destruction

Thus I pointed them to pathway

To the door of Utgard-Loki

Once apart I shed illusion

Readied all in preparation

Waited till they came a-hailing

Thunder roaring at my doorway

And ‘twas I that granted entry

Though they did not recognize me

As they came to show their mettle

Prove their might in any challenge

Fain was I to meet their boasting

With my own skill in devising

Thus I placed the end of vessel

From which Odin’s son drank freely

Down upon the dolphin’s doorstep

Thirst could never be so mighty!

Not to drain the fishes’ highway

In this way I meant to thwart him

Meant to tactfully confound him

Meant to make him long for Asgard

Not to linger ‘neath these timbers

Then, said I to ember’s elder,

Let me place on you deception

Garb yourself in Aesir aspect

Shape the hungry tongue within you

Solid where your spark did flicker

That Laufey’s son so sly and able

Might not swiftly recognize you

As he sits down at the table

Thus I spake to Munin’s brother

Of the planned dissimilation:

Wrap yourself in men’s attire

From the ash-wood make your raiment

Lace your boots of supple leather

Then set foot upon the pavement

There to meet Toothgnasher’s wounder

There to race against him striving

Round the path of mead’s lacuna

Thus alike I worked enchantments

On the great snake Midgardsormr

On that serpent world-encircling

One that Thor once snared while sailing

Scales reshaped to furry shoulders

Still he hissed alike I tell you

That one trait you might have noted

Naught else of his essence showing

And then came the last contender

Gracious guest of all the prudent,

Spoils of the years’ survivor

By her leave I did conceal her

Veiled her hair in moonlight’s metal

Bent her back like twisted tree-limb

So Harbard’s son would be no wiser

When she set her hold upon him

In the aftermath of trials

Egos soothed with ale aplenty

I revealed to them my secret

That they would not feel too cheated 

Nor would they feel too affronted

All I wished was their forbearance

Parting then as friendly rivals

So they would crave not for vengeance

For Jotuns have our share of talents

Our own place on World-Tree’s branches

Spells apart from gallows’ knowing

More are we than Aesir’s foemen

There my tale is near completed

But if my tongue’s allowed to waggle 

Somewhat more of gods and giants

And the bitter blood between us

Just a few words I will venture

Fury, I have surely felt it

Anger aching for requital

For accounts all to be settled

Quenched with blood the battle’s metal

But I’ve seen no better ending

Not for bards and not for swordsmen

Than to sit by fire flaming

Telling tales with close companions

Ale in hand and sated, cravings

And all the stars above bright-blazing.

[coffeehighallthetime-blog]

I am Kind Not Complacent Chpt 2

I am Kind not Complacent chpt 2

{prev},{next}

Heimdall gow x reader

word count: 6 k

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hello and thank you to every single person who has liked, commented, and reblogged my silly little story. I'm so glad I can make a few people smile and share my little fic. if anyone would like me to tag them to make finding the next chapter easier in the future please don't be afraid to ask!

as always, enjoy and have fun reading!

@engardeitsme as always, love bouncing ideas off and getting to share stuff with you before I post it! thank you for helping again! @lunaryasha @nokolla I hope you enjoy Thank you so much for your support and kind words <3

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As YN got closer to the training grounds, Her limbs got ridged and her steps were more sluggish.

“Um, Mal?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think I can do this.” She froze in her tracks, whimpering as Mal tried to move her forward. She sighed and grabbed hold of the girl’s arm. YN leaned against her pulling, digging her heels into the mossy floor. “I-I mean I’ve only fought to get away, I don’t know anything about combat!” she looked up at Mal pleading, Her cheeks going rosy in embarrassment, “A-and I don’t know these people…” Mal huffed, looking back at Thor and Heimdall as they seemed to be waiting for YN, getting more and more annoyed the longer she took to get there. 

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice really, do you? No come on, I'll introduce you. But you need to act properly. They are the Aesir princes and as someone under Asgard they now rule over you as well, you should know,” Mal tried to encourage the girl while also pressing it was important not to keep the princes waiting, “I’m sure they won’t go hard on you, dear little thing.”

“Oh? Are they nice?” YN asked, a bit hopeful. Mal looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

“Ni-? No, they’re princes. But you’re so small and sweet, so they may lose interest in you. Where did you say you were from again?”

“Vanaheim.”

“...Mmh,” Mal just hummed, now getting s bit nervous herself for the girl.

YN frowned at Mal’s lack of help. She almost felt like she was going to throw up. Meeting new people? who were mean? And she had to spare with them? 

“B-but why do I have to? Why now? I-I just got here, d-don’t you think-”

“Ah ah ah, don’t you go doing that negotiating thing. I saw what you did at breakfast. Now let’s hurry on, I rather not keep the Aesir princes waiting.” YN swallowed thickly, looking down at her feet as she allowed Mal to drag her the rest of the way. They stopped at the edge of the sparing area, where the dirt had gone wet and muddy from constant trampling. Thor quickly blocked a hit from young Heimdall and looked over at Mal and the girl. 

“Lord Thor, Lord Heimdall,” Mal lowered her head and put her hand on YN’s head to elicit a bow as well. “This is YN, a guest of the All-Father’s. She is to train with you today for an introduction to Aesir's fighting tactics.”

“Took you long enough, come here, I don’t have all day.” Thor didn’t even glance an eye at Mal, his focus purely on YN who gulped as he pointed to a spot at his feet. Heimdall didn’t even spare her a glance as he made his way to the opposite side of the circle across from Thor. YN felt Mal give her one more nudge as she finally moved to stand in front of the thunder god. 

“I will take my leave,” Mal stated, before turning back towards the great lodge. YN tightened her fists as she watched Mal retreat. Thor crossed his arms as the girl stood in front, craning her neck up at him. She gulped and dipped into a deep bow. ‘Just introduce yourself, don’t speak too much, and maybe this won’t be so bad. Maybe they’ll go easy if I’m polite.’ YN thought she heard a scoff come from behind her at the thought. But that was impossible. 

“Hello, my name is YN of Vanaheim and I am the goddess of peace. I was brought here to-” She peeked up at the sound of Thor clicking his tongue in annoyance or boredom, she wasn’t sure. She swallowed thickly, focusing on her feet, “U-um to be of assistance in some way t-to the All-Father?”

Yn gasped at a sudden large hand on her shoulder, roughly twisting her to face the blond boy on the other side of the sparing circle, and nearly tripped into the mud as she was shoved forward. 

“Quickly, let’s see where you are. Heimdall, keep her face intact. We don’t want to be scolded by Father, do we?” YN could almost hear the smirk in Thor’s voice and tried not to show her fear as the boy in front of her picked up two swords, the blades dulled for training. He tossed one to the girl and she caught it before it hit the ground, surprised at the weight of it. YN was shocked as the boy seemed to disappear from in front of her and yelped as she was kicked sharply in the back, skidding in the mud but staying on her feet. She whipped around to see Heimdall starting to circle her, smirking with his lips but glaring at her intensely. 

“Gods you pathetic. ‘Maybe I’ll go easy if you’re polite’? Ha!” he laughed sarcastically, before sneering and rushing YN. She moved quickly to try and block, their swords straining against each other as he leaned in, overpowering her easily. 

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Her eyes widened as she processed his words. What would happen if she failed? Would she be shunned again, would she be shut out? Didn’t she want to go home? Why did the thought of isolation suddenly scare her so much?

She thought of how to get out of the stalemate, wanting to parry and jump back to put some distance so she could have more options. But as she moved to do so, Hiemdall was quick to twist her around and shove her back from him. While she stumbled, her back turned, he moved quickly again, grabbing her by a fistful of hair and kneeing her hard in the ribs.

“And thinking we could ever get along? That you’ll ever belong here? Don’t make me laugh. Crawl on your belly like a dog and maybe I’ll tell the All-Father to send you back to your hovel in one piece, Vanir scum.” there was venom in his voice. Even at this young age, godly strength knocked the air out of her and she sputtered, coughing up drops of blood onto his once pristine tunic. He scoffed in disgust and pushed her back. Her mind raced as her vision blurred. She dissected the situation, his movements, reaction time, and words. She caught her breath, feeling him approach again behind her, and whipped around, knocking him in the brow with the hilt of her sword. Heimdall stumbled back in a daze and stared at the girl in disbelief. He wasn’t planning on retaliation, so he had stopped reading her movements. 

He watched her as she panted, her face contouring into a snarl as she squared her shoulders and changed her stance from submissive to feral; like a beast trying to get away from a hunter. Desperate, scared, angry. 

“That’s a dirty trick,” she growled out, straightening to stare into his eyes, “you have some nerve crawling into spaces you’re not welcome.” he was caught off guard by the statement, shocked that she had found him out so quickly. Thor meanwhile just rolled his eyes on the sidelines, thinking his brother was a fool for talking too much and revealing his hand so easily. Heimdall flushed in embarrassment as he heard Thor’s thoughts prodding into his head and growled, lunging in frustration. YN was able to narrowly dodge and the two circled each other.

“You catch on fast,” Heimdall offered with a sneer.

“You talk too much,” YN bit back, guarding her body just in time as Heimdall attacked again. 

Thor noticed the following pattern:

Heimdall would always attack first, getting a few good hits in. he moved fast, and precise; then got cocky and didn’t remember to put space between him and his opponent. He had a bad habit at his young age of underestimating enemies and didn’t use his foresight as fluidly as he should be,(or so Odin thought, and told Thor to push him harder.)

YN was the opposite. She seemed to almost run away, backing away and refusing to keep her eyes off her opponent for as long as possible, and constantly whipping around to try and keep up. She would try to defend herself, taking a slash to the arm, or leg while protecting her core, and when Heimdall got careless she would go in to retaliate. Her movements were hard-hitting and violent, going for jabs hard enough to push Heimdall across the field or knock the air out of his lungs. That said, she was precise in her own way. Thor also noticed that as Heimdall seemed not to care where he hit the girl, aiming for arteries, joints, and soft spots; she only aimed for places that would discombobulate him, throw him off balance, and put space between them. Thor stroked his beard in thought, calling out to Heimdall. 

“You need to use your powers, Heimdall,” He scolded, “you underestimate too much, and you need to do so quickly, process the information, and act accordingly.”

“Underestimate?” Heimdall scoffed and dropped his stance to stifle a sarcastic laugh. YN stiffened at the mockery and growled.

“Well, what kind of god who can read minds lets his opponent land hits on him?” She barked, blocking another attack and ducking to elbow him in the side.  Heimdall was quick to pary and kicked against the length of her sword, knocking her off balance.

“Maybe you just think yourself too highly. What is a goddess of peace supposed to be able to do in a real fight? You haven’t attacked me once! Goddess of pushovers more like!” He cackled, nearly doubling over. YN dropped her stance, her cheeks searing red in anger and embarrassment. 

“Try goddess of logic and tactic, you oaf!” Her heart pounded in her ears as her anger started to rise. She wanted to stand up for herself. She wanted to reason with him. She wanted to rip his tongue out from his teeth and-

“Ooh! Such snark! Not very peaceful of you, Queen Kindness ~” 

“I’m warning you!” ‘Be calm. Be calm. Be calm. Don’t let your anger get the best of you. It will only end badly. Just breath.’

“Oh or what? You’ll sign a peace treaty? Bake me a cake? Cry and beg for forgiveness?” Heimdall was almost out of breath from laughter, and YN saw red. Suddenly time stood still as Heimdall’s laughter was cut off by a mound of mud flying into his face. YN watched satisfied as the dirt dripped down his chin and smeared down the front of his tunic. 

Thor snorted and threw his head in laughter as he watched Heimdall swipe his hand down his face, his fiery pink eyes searing holes into the girl's face. 

“I told you to shut up!” she shouted, She reeled her hand back with another pile of mud. Heimdall dodged, running at her full force and grabbing her face, slamming her down into the mud. 

“You repulsive little worm.” he snarled, watching her sink into the ground under his weight. With her face still covered under his palm, she blindly grabbed another fistful and slammed it into the side of his head, knocking him off of her and deafening him in one ear momentarily. Thor was wheezing, doubled over the fence. YN stood slowly, the weight of water and dirt seeped into her clothes and hair dragging her down. She looked down at her grimy hands and shook them once, spraying mud and hitting Heimdall with droplets of muck.

“I don’t bake cake” she stated, smearing mud off her face nonchalantly. “But you’ll find I’m quite good at mud pies,” She smirked as Heimdall shook his head, regaining his senses. The next three minutes were full of pure chaos.

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“ Sire, are you certain that Lord Thor and Lord Heimdall were the best suited for the job of testing the girl’s abilities?” A man with curved horns spoke, walking a foot behind Odin at all times. 

“Of course. Heimdall and her are nearly the same age, so it’s a fair fight wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes sir, but Heimdall is young and doesn’t know how to hold back at times. That with his fighting prowess and Thor’s…buffoonery, may cause a bit of disastrous cocktail.” Odin laughed at Mimir’s statement, holding his belly. 

“I always appreciate your bluntness, dear friend!” Odin regains his composure with a sigh, still smiling slightly. “That may be true, but I need Heimdall to read the girl’s mind. And because he is progressing so slowly, he still needs to be close and be able to concentrate, making the whole ordeal less than ideal. And Thor? He’s just grounded and I knew he would hate the job of babysitting.” Mimir frowned at this, not sure why Odin was so carefree about having his two most hot-headed sons be with their new guest. “ I fear Tyr or Baldur would go far too easy on the poor creature. I need results quickly to see where she stands. I just hope they haven’t beaten her too badly.”

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 Mud flew in every direction, both from wads being thrown at each other, or residual splatter from tackling each other into the ground and wrestling each other like feral little goblins.

“Ugh!! You are such a little weasel!” YN screamed as Heimdall managed to slip behind her, shoving mud down the back of her shirt, but not before she flipped around and tackled him to the ground, shaking his shoulders violently and slamming him into the mud. He growled, his eyes glowing as he flipped her over, pinning her to the ground under his hips and yanking her hair, smearing it with dirt. 

“Oh yeah!? Well, you’re nothing but a squawking raven!” 

YN reached up, yanking at Hiemdall’s mud-caked hair, pulling so they flipped and rolled across the floor. Heimdall elbowed her in the eye. She yelped and punched him in the nose, pinning him to the ground, and closed the gap between them. Her hands found home around his throat and she didn’t feel herself squeeze, tighter, tighter, tighter. Heimdall gasped for air, kneeing her in her already bruised ribs. She screamed out in pain, her grip loosening and Heimdall threw her off, making her skid into the mud, curling up in pain as her side throbbed. 

“Hey, alright, that’s enough,” Thor called, getting closer to the two, still chuckling at the state of his brother. Heimdall heaved, grabbing a sword that lay forgotten in the mud. 

“Heimdall, come on, put the sword down,” Thor spoke firmly this time, reaching to grab the sword, Heimdall yanked free of his hold and trudged over, raising the sword above his head to swing down, YN nursed her side and prepared to dodge and tackle him again. 

“Heimdall!”

“ What is the meaning of this!?” A voice boomed, making the children both freeze. YN watched as Heimdall’s eyes widened in horror, dropping the sword and stepping away from her immediately, getting down on one knee in the mud and bowing his head, eyes screwed to the ground. Thor followed, not even the hint of a smile on his face anymore. YN finally looked up, seeing Odin approaching with a scowl on his face, followed by a man with curved horns atop his head, his eyes shining with what looked like opals. 

Odin turned immediately to Thor, his arms crossed and his foot tapping as he waited impatiently for an answer. Thor straightened, deciding to look at the children instead of his father.

“They were just sparing, All-Father. Nothing but some roughhousing.”

“Roughhousing?” Mimir drawled out as he walked closer to YN. “They’re covered head to toe in filth. And this one’s eye is swollen shut!” He grabbed YN's face to get a good look at the bruising. He tutted and walked over to Heimdall, looking him over as well. Heimdall winced as the man checked his nose. “Oh lovely,” he spoke sarcastically, looking back at Thor and Odin. “his nose is broken!”

Odin sighed, bordering on a groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose. YN couldn’t explain it but despite what only looked like mild frustration, there seemed to be electricity in the air. She was not blind to the way Heimdall seemed to cower under his father’s gaze, and Thor seemed so small all of a sudden in the All-Father’s presence. The way everyone reacted to him unnerved YN and she hated the feeling of tension closing in on everyone.

“Boys, I told you to train her, not maim her. Mimir helps her up, will you?” 

Mimir gently grabbed her arm, helping her to stand, and walked her over to Odin’s side. 

“ S-sir it was my fault. I-I’m no good at fighting! I fought desperately and my temper got the better of me, I’m deeply truly sorry.” She tried to reason. Heimdall peaked up at her, confused as to why she would bother to take the blame. She didn’t know him or his brother. Didn’t she know what would happen if she spoke out of turn? Heimdall couldn’t help the pang of jealousy he felt at the way his father acted towards the girl. How his voice softened. Was she manipulating him? Heimdall tried reading her mind but he was still dazed from the scuffle the two had had. 

Odin cut off the girl’s apologies by holding his hand up, shushing her silently. 

“ I won’t hear it. You are a guest and in a strange new land. You were taken from your home and told to fight without any time to understand what was going on. I simply wasn’t thinking. And for that, I am sorry. I was supposed to come here to introduce you and watch you spar, not fight! But I thought to myself, ‘Surely my sons will do well in some friendly competition. I mustn’t worry so much!’ Isn’t that what I said, Mimir?”

“Yes, sir.” Mimir nodded, but YN felt his hand tense against her shoulder. Odin nodded and scowled at Heimdall and Thor, shaking his head with a sigh.

“But I suppose I was wrong to trust them with such a simple task.” YN was caught off guard as she felt Odin’s hand rest on her head.

“Are you alright, child?” YN looked up at him and nodded meekly. He smiled and pushed the girl over towards the two still bowing in the dirt. “Get up.” They stood quickly. Thor looked his father in the eyes, while Heimdall struggled to do the same, his hands squeezed tight at his sides. Odin nudged the girl forward. “I’d like all three of you to apologize to each other.” 

At this, the girl immediately bowed, apologizing for letting things get out of hand. Now that her anger had subsided all she felt was anxiety at the tension in the air. YN wanted nothing more than to apologize and hopefully get along with everyone. She turned to Thor and looked up with big round eyes. 

“ I apologize, Lord Thor, for not paying better attention to your encouragement and advice, and instead letting my nerves take over. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to teach me.” Thor let out a harumph, looking away. But then sighed and lowered his head in a passive bow.

“Yeah… sorry I didn’t keep a better eye on you both.” Odin scoffed, not satisfied but knowing that was the best he’d get out of Thor. He looked down at Heimdall expectantly, who just seemed to be frozen in place. Yn stuck out her hand as a peace offering. 

“I’m deeply sorry, Lord Heimdall. I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly.” Heimdall tsked at the statement and didn’t move. YN looked him in the eyes and he heard her thoughts.

‘I know you can hear me. Shake my hand, and play along. Unless you want to get in more trouble.’ He clicked his tongue in annoyance but with the nudge of her thought and the searing eyes of his father, he grabbed her hand and shook it.

“No my…lady…” he strained with a smile, his brow twitching “The fault is mine for thinking you could withstand a fight with me. I must remember that you are a woman, and therefore, weak and delicate. Like a baby bird,” She smiled back, squeezing his hand so tight that the tip of her fingers turned white. 

‘I’ll show you delicate, you little weasel.’She thought, her brow twitching as she pried her hands away and noticed him flex his hand subtly at his side to subside the aching of her anaconda squeeze.

“There, see? All better now! Mimir, take our guest to the infirmary will you?” Mimir nodded, guiding YN away. When they were out of earshot, Odin’s smile disappeared and he looked at his sons expectantly. 

“What have you learned?”

“She is reactive in her fighting.” Thor started his report, “ only attacking after her opponent makes a move. Otherwise, she’s a bit of a chicken shit. Kept running away from Heimdall until the only choice was to fight back.” 

“Hn…” Odin looked down at the younger boy. “So she was trying to run away and you still ended up like this? Honestly, Heimdall.”

“B-but father-“

“ I don’t want to hear it.” Heimdall shut his mouth stiffly. Odin repeated his original question, directing all his attention to Heimdall. The boy swallowed thickly and remembered her thoughts and the way they rushed one after the other.

“She…she’s a goddess, and she’s from Vanaheim. She wanted to avoid fighting me, kept trying to find a way to introduce herself, and thought being polite would stop me from hurting her. She kept trying to calm herself down, so I provoked her to see where she would go from there. She’s hotheaded and immature. I don’t think she can be trusted. You should just send her back.” Heimdall fidgeted as he spoke and Odin lost his patience, grabbing the boy’s chin roughly to look up at him. 

“Unfortunately that’s not in the cards just yet, son. She’s a child, and a goddess, therefore powerful and unpredictable. We need to keep an eye on how she grows and see if we can use her for the betterment of Asgard before one of our enemies finds her and uses her against us. You understand, don’t you?” Odin squeezed Heimdall’s chin as he posed the question. Heimdall whimpered slightly at the pain of Odin’s bony fingers digging into his skin and just barely was able to nod. Odin abruptly released his son, smiling brightly. “Good. So then, anything that we can use to get her to trust us? Get her to work with us?” Heimdall nodded again, reaching up to rub his sore chin. 

“She’s very lonely and pathetic…, which you can use to gain her trust, All-Father.  She seems passive in her solutions but she is also quick to anger and frustration so it would be important to keep that in mind during any negotiations…” 

Odin looked down at his son, taking in the information. He hummed in satisfaction and nodded.

“ alright. Good. I can work with that.” With that, Odin turned to walk away, paused, and spared Heimdall a glance over his shoulder. “Clean yourself up. You’re filthy.”

⋆⭒˚｡⋆☾⋆⭒˚｡⋆

“What’s his problem, anyway? Is everyone in Asgard as… volatile?” YN asked as Mimir prepared an ice pack for her. He snorted and shook his head. 

“Heimdall is a special cocktail of issues, lass. Best to keep away from him. He’s a spoiled little prince, and I’m afraid the way he’s going it will only get worse.” He walked over to her with a white cloth. He dipped it in a bowl of warm water, rang it out, and pressed it to the girl’s swollen eye. She hissed, pulling away slightly, but Mimir kept her head gently in place, blotting the wound. “Stay still, I know it stings but I need to get all the dirt and blood off.” YN stayed tense but allowed Mimir to clean the wound. There was silence in the room, save for the slow trickle of water from the towel being run out every once in a while. YN interrupted the quiet.

“Are you allowed to say that about the princes?” She asked meekly, looking up at Mimir with her good eye. He raised a brow, dipping the cloth in the water again and going back to cleaning.

“Are you going to rat me out?” He posed, grabbing the ice he had prepared and holding it up to her face. YN shook her head slightly and smiled as Mimir simply shrugged, “Then I have nothing to worry about. Besides, my loyalties lie with the All-Father, not his band of brats. Like I said, best to just keep away.” YN thought for a moment and shook her head, holding the ice to her face as Mimir walked away to grab some medicine for the cuts on her face.

“That doesn’t seem right. Why should they be able to do whatever they want at the expense of others? Because they’re royalty? They should be held to even higher standards considering the power they have.” 

“What we think is right and what will end up happening are two different things. Best to forget the whole thing to save yourself the disappointment.”

“And who taught you that? Was it the All-Father?” Mimir stilled, seeming to be in deep thought. YN pouted, guilty at the tension she had caused.“ I-I’m sorry.” Mimir shook his head, a smile returning to his face. 

“It’s alright. It’s just… you’re quite forward for a young goddess in a new place.” YN frowned at that. She wasn’t really sure how she was supposed to be acting. She had spent so long working off instinct, that it may have made her a bit blunt in her words and actions. Mimir let the silence hang as she fidgeted with her ice pack before deciding to elaborate.

“… I’m not from here… Asgard, I mean. Hel, I’m not even from the 9 realms.” He looked back at YN and chuckled as she straightened her posture, her interest peaked. “ I’m a Fae, a Goodfellow. I used to be a fool to a Celtic faerie king.” He got a faraway look in his eye, as he slowed the grinding of herbs. She swung her feet as she waited for him to continue, tilting her head in curiosity. “What’s a Fae? What’s Celtic?” Mimir snorted at this, shaking his head. 

“That’s too long a story. The point is that I’m an outsider, like you. And I wasn’t happy where I was so I left… things may seem rough here, but they are better than they were. That’s what I hold onto. This is all new to you, and new is strange. The All-Father told me a bit about your background. Going from complete isolation to being surrounded by people and sparing lessons is a lot, and I apologize for your rushed introduction to Asgard thus far.”

Yn nodded, thinking about her own home. There was nothing for her there, really. And though Heimdall and Thor were less than pleasant and Odin had not yet shown he could be fully trusted, there were already things YN felt would be hard to let go of. The food she was able to eat here, the feeling of a warm bed and a crackling fire, the sound of people moving to and fro in the morning. The sound of people living around her, unbothered.

“ Odin called you Mimir…that means wise one doesn’t it?”

“ yes. I am Mimir, the smartest man alive.” He said proudly. He saw as the girl raised her brow in confusion and chuckled, “I am the ambassador of the gods and the nine realms, I know every corner of the realms, everything that has happened, every language spoken, every moment in time past now.” YN’s eyes widened in awe, to meet someone who claimed to know so much of the world after she had been isolated from it for so long, it made her mind soar. YN pulled the ice from her eye and balled her hands together in anxious excitement.

“ Would you… Would you be able to teach me? Please?!” She pleaded, nearly shaking with excitement. Mimir pretended to think about it, stroking his beard.

“ Oh? I dunno, it’s a lot of information I’d be throwing at you. Could be a bit boring.”

“Yes, that’s what I want! I want to learn about the realms, I want to help build connections, That’s what Odin said I’d be able to do here! Will you please teach me, Mimir?” 

The truth was, he was tasked with keeping an eye on the girl and taking her under his wing. Odin wanted him to teach her about the relations of Asgard to the rest of the realms and see if she could aid in Mimir and Tyr’s growth of Agard’s connections. He looked back down at the girl, guilt buried at the back of his mind. She was only here to be used. But then, weren’t they all in some way? 

“I suppose I could use an apprentice. But don’t whine when you feel you're being thrown over the deep end.”

“Yes!” she cheered, hopping off the table. She bowed deeply, before looking back up at the man with a hopeful smile. “Thank you, Mr. Mimir. I hope that your teachings allow me to be more useful, so that I may continue to stay here. Maybe my first day was hard, but I’m sure I can find my place here.” She beamed, the pain of her wounds already subsiding thanks to godlike healing and the creams that had been applied.  She runs to the exit, hoping to find Mal. She wanted to tell her about her fight with Heimdall and tease her for being too scared to stay and watch. 

“Oi, wait, your eye! I need to put this on it!”

“I’ll be fine! I have to go! Thank you again, Mimir!” she gathered her things, a new skip in her step. 

“Ah ah ah, at least take it with you.” He grabbed her by the shoulder, handing her a metal tin with the cream he had made with the crushed herbs and some bandages. “The great hall! Tomorrow at 6 am. Do not be late!” he barely got it out before she left, the heavy door slamming behind her. 

⋆⭒˚｡⋆☾⋆⭒˚｡⋆

The sun had set in Asgard and YN was on her way back to her room from supper with Mal, who had apologized for leaving in a hurry and gave her an extra serving of potatoes as a sorry. 

YN yawned with a stretch. The swelling in her eye had gone down, but the bruising was now a deep yellow and purple. Mimir had also found out she had two broken ribs, but with the ointment and bandages he had applied, the girl felt fine and knew they would be fine by morning. 

YN was about to retire for the night, walking to her door, when she heard a loud hiss come from across the hall. She quirked a brow at the sound and turned. Dim candlelight flickered from under the door and YN walked over at the subtle sound of a pained groan. 

“Hello? Are you ok in there?” She asked with a knock. There was silence for a beat, and she knocked again, “Hello?” The person on the other side clicked their tongue in annoyance and YN could hear the loud screech of a chair dragging across the wooden floor. The door swung open and YN was met face-to-face with Heimdall, scowling with a blood-stained handkerchief over his nose. She tilted her head in confusion. 

“What the Hel do you want?” he grumbled, but his voice was slightly nasily because of his broken nose. YN had started to regret ever knocking but quirked a brow and pointed at his handkerchief. 

“You’re still bleeding.”

“No! Really?” Heimdall gasped in fain surprise.

“ I didn’t know we lived across the hall from each other.” She spoke again, ignoring his rudeness. Heimdall rolled his eyes and went to slam the door in her face. 

“Seriously, just get out.” She held her hand up to stop the door from fully closing. “What the- hey! I said, "Get out!”

“Why didn’t you go to the infirmary?”

“Tsk! Are you serious? I’m not a baby, I don’t need bandages and a cookie for staying still.” YN just rolled her good eye at the statement, pushing further against the door. “Hey!”

“You know we heal too fast for you to leave that alone. Your cartilage is going to grow back crooked.” Heimdall’s eyes widened at that, but he frowned as he looked away. 

“That’s not true. You're lying.” 

“Why would I lie about your nose growing back crooked?” YN watched him fidget in place. It didn’t take a genius to know that he cared about his vanity. The bright white shirts with gold trim and intricate braids in his hair when she first saw him were enough of a hint. And despite everything, she still wanted to make peace, if not to become friends then to at least have to worry less about being tackled at a moment's notice. Heimdall groaned in defeat, knowing she was right. 

“ Alright, fine then. What do you suggest I do, pestering raven?” YN sighed at yet another insulting name and crossed her arms.

“ May I come in?” She asked, annoyance obvious in her voice. Heimdall frowned but opened his door wider. Yn walked in and noticed the room was nearly the same as hers, save for a vanity in the corner of the room with the chair pushed back. She grabbed the back of it, dragged it over to the bed, and sat down, turning to Heimdall and patting the spot on the bed across from her. He shut the door and trudged over, sitting across so that their knees touched.

“Can you move the handkerchief?” Heimdall hesitated but slowly did so, his face showing discomfort as he removed pressure. His nose had in fact already started to bend slightly and YN couldn’t help the concerned hiss she let out. “ I really am sorry…”

“ Whatever. Just fix it.” His bright eyes glared through her.

“ I’ll have to break it again.”

“Like hel you will!”

“OK, if you don’t mind a deep bend at your bridge.”

“… fine.”

“What was that?”

“ I said fine already!”

She just nodded with a smirk, touching at the soft cartilage, and pressing it into place. Heimdall winced and tensed at each prod, his hands squeezed tight on his thighs. 

“If you keep scrunching your face, this won’t work.”

“Well, it hurts! You're doing it on purpose.”

“ I am not. Do you want a towel to bite down on?”

“ Shut up- ow! Hey!”

“OK, take a deep breath, This one is gonna be the worst but it should open up both nostrils so you can breathe better.” 

“H-how do you even know what you're doing is right?” 

“ I’ve been alone for a long time. I’ve always had to heal myself. And I’ve fallen on my face many times, my nose looks pretty good if I do say so myself.” She smirked slightly at him as he only gulped. YN grabbed the bridge of his nose and when he braced himself, she twisted her hand sharply, effectively knocking a piece of cartilage that had grown crooked out of place. Heimdall screamed as blood rushed out his nose. He brought the handkerchief back up to his face.

“Are you crazy?!”

“If I didn’t do that, your nose would have looked like a tree branch. Keep pressure on that for a moment.”She pulled the small tin from her pocket. “Look, Mimir gave me this to apply to my eye and ribs before going to bed. It will help with the pain.” She grabbed some bandages that were tucked in her pocket and ripped them into two strips, rolled them up into tight coils, and dipped the ends into the concoction. “Take that off, please. The bleeding should have stopped, and this will stop the soreness.” YN had started to think the boy’s brows were permanently knitted together in annoyance by this point as he moved the kerchief from his face. YN quickly pushed the wads of bandage up his nose to keep the cartilage from collapsing and to promote healing in the correct direction. That being said, he looked ridiculous and she couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled out of her mouth. His face went red and he pushed her chair away from him with his boot. 

“ Alright, you’re done, right? Get out.” he hopped off the bed, pushing her towards the door. 

“W-wait a minute, do you think we could-” she gasped as she was shoved out the door, but twisted and jammed her foot before it could slam. Heimdall let out an exaggerated growl, throwing his head back.

“Gods- now what do you want?” she swallowed thickly and offered a small bow. 

“My name is YN, goddess of logic, tactic and peace. I will be staying across the hall from you. I hope we can learn to get along.” She stood back straight and smiled nervously. Heimdall pulled together a sickly sweet grin.

“I am Heimdall, god of foresight, and my time is too precious to be wasted on you. Good night.” And with that, he swung the door wide open before slamming it in the girl's face. YN winced and then sighed in defeat, fidgeting with her hands.

“Good night…” she called softly back through the door. At no response, she turned toward her room to retire for the night. Maybe the next day would be better. 

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

[the-broken-truth]

Atreus: A chest! *Tries to break it using his hand but fails lol* AHH!

Revna, trying to hold herself from laughing: Not easy, yeah?

Atreus: Shush! *Breaks the chest with his bow*

I think that in one moment Odin send Atreus and Revna in a mission together (of course with Atreus completely oblivious that Revna is actually Björn all along) and Revna does not waste chance to be mean to Atreus lol, she simply likes to be mean to him xD

Broken (Looks up from her scroll and reads the ask before chuckling): Oh, this is gonna be fun. Very well, let the words weave together!

Revna chuckled as Atreus pulled his hand back while shaking it in pain before flexing his fingers to make sure none of his fingers were broken or fragmented before grasping his wrist with his other hand and rotating it before looking at the chest before him, without a single dent on its lid; the fact that he attempted to open a chest as the Ghost of Sparta does when he clearly lacks the muscles to do so made the Great Bear masquerading as a Raven laugh.

"Not as easy as you assumed it would be, is it, Jötnar?" Revna asked from a distance as she folded her arms over her chest with a smirk on her face and a perfect eyebrow raised while Atreus took the bow from hanging around his shoulders while pouting at her; he knew she hated him but he could never understand why considering that they had never met before, or he couldn't remember meeting someone like her.

"Oh, shush; it's just that Father made it look so easy." Atreus said before he used his bow to break the chest open, then reached in to collect its riches.

"Considering that your father is the Infamous Ghost of Sparta, who slaughtered the entire Greek Patheon and he is literally far stronger than you in regards to muscle mass; you really thought that you would break a chest lid with ease as he does? You are truly as foolish as you look, Loki." Revna said as she started walking down the path with her hands behind her back, she looked around for the temple they were instructed to find by the All-Father, Odin.

Revna took a deep breath as she reflected on the events that had led to this moment. Earlier that day, she had been assisting her mother Sif, who was the Goddess of Grain & Fertility. While Sif was trying to figure out how to undo the curse that the Wild Witch had placed on her son, Thor and Thrud were busy with their training. Suddenly, Heimdall appeared before them and summoned Revna to appear before the All-Father, Odin.

Revna quickly excused herself from her mother and Heimdall and made her way to Odin. When she arrived, she was shocked to find that Odin was in conversation with one of her greatest enemies, Loki/Atreus. Despite her hatred for him, Odin explained that Loki needed her help with something, and since Thor and Thrud were occupied, he wanted Revna to assist him.

Although she was reluctant, Revna had no choice but to agree, and she allowed the blackbirds to teleport them both to their destination.

"You know... You never really told me how you ended up on Asgard; you don't look like you're an Aesir like the others." Atreus said as he jogged to follow Revna, who continued looking ahead with a scowl on her face and her hands behind her back.

"It is no business of yours, Jötnar, stop your constant pestering in my affairs and let us focus on the mission at hand so I may return to aiding Lady Sif with her work." Revna said with disinterest in her voice.

"Sif? Do you mean Thor's Wife? You know her?" Atreus asked.

"If it shall shut you up, yes. I am currently staying with Lord Thor's Family and I keep myself busy with aiding the Aesir until I find what I am looking for." Revna said.

"If you're staying with Thor's Family, then would you happen to know about someone named Björn?" Atreus asked.

"Lord Björn - Lord Thor's Son? Yes, I have interacted with him on a few occasions but he is usually rather busy and is currently away from Asgard on some kind of business for the All-Father. Why do you ask?" Revna inquired with a raised eyebrow; she was going to have some fun with Loki for a while, seeing him angered just by calling her male counterpart 'Thor's Son' brought a small smile to her face.

"Listen, Revna, you might not know this but Björn is not Thor's Son; he's my younger brother. You see, he got into an argument with our father and ran away from home during a blizzard; we could find him in time before Thor arrived and took him away to Asgard. I've been trying to find him while working with Odin but I haven't seen him ever since I got here." Atreus said with disappointment in his voice but Revna shook her head with a scoff.

"That's not what Lord Björn told me. He told me that you and the Ghost of Sparta killed his elder Brothers: Magni, Modi, and Baldur; the ones he bound himself to by means of an Ancient Blood Contract. As for what happened in the Blizzard, the Ghost attempted to sever the bond he made with his elder brothers and Lord Björn fled into the snow after blasting that despicable man with the very magic inherited from his brothers. Quite fitting, if I do say so myself; tell me, Loki, does the ghost bear the scar Lord Björn burned into his flesh?" Revna asked with a smirk, causing Atreus to glare at her.

"You don't know what happened! You weren't there! Father just wanted to protect Björn and purify him; I know the Sons of Thor forced him into the blood contract and Father knew it too, he was just trying to..." Atreus tried but Revna's roar cut him short.

"You are the ignorant one, Loki! If you had actually listened to Lord Björn, you would know just how much his brothers meant to him! They were the only ones who treated him as a person while you and your Father treated him as if he was crafted from the most fragile of glass! He desired to be a warrior but you smothered him with your unnecessary coddling and refused to listen to his requests and desires; you wanted to turn him into another version of his mother, while she was more of a warrior than either you or your father could have ever been. After all, she was able to stand toe-to-toe with Lord Thor himself." Revna looked ahead and kept walking but she continued, driving the last needle into Atreus' heart.

[Quick Note: The most fragile glass is Annealed Glass, also known as 'Float Glass'.]

"Regardless of the bloodline he was born into, The Thorsdottir Bloodline is the one he chose because it was the one who accepted him just the way he was. Magni, Modi, and Baldur were the brothers he chose and loved; it doesn't matter the two of you shared a womb. Lord Thor is the father he desired; regardless of his link to the ghost. Lord Björn is now an Aesir and he shall never return to the sheltered life he lived; once a cub, now a bear. Bears are not afraid to bear their fangs to those who threaten what belongs to them - stay away from him or his teeth shall be in your neck, Loki." Revna finished as she started ascending the stairs to reach the temple, leaving a heartbroken Atreus standing at the bottom while trying to fight back the creeping tears.

[End]

[notthesomefather]

Niflheim

A realm of mist and potential. The habitable region where Niflheim and Muspelheim meet is called the Ginnungagap.

Muspelheim

Musphelheim is a realm of flames. The ruler of this realm is named Surtr, and he is the one destined to kill Freyr at Ragnarok.

Asgard

The home of the Aesir (including: Odin, Thor, and eventually many members of the Vanir). Asgard is protected by a mighty wall, and the creation of that wall has a fairly interesting myth associated with it.

Midgard

Where humans live; Earth (sometimes called Middle-Earth). The gods have been known to visit Earth and occasionally intervene with human affairs both on large and small scales.

Jotunheim

A realm of nature and home to powerful beings of ice and earth, the Jotuns. Some Aesir occasionally visit Jotunheim for adventures and mischief (commonly Thor and Loki).

Vanaheim

Original home to the Vanir (including Njord, Freyr, and Freyja). Vanaheim and Asgard initially began as enemies, but through a messy series of hostage trades and murders, a truce was eventually reached. The Vanir and Aesir successfully cohabitate and have intermarried on a few occasions.

Alfheim

Little is known about Alfheim, other than that it is home to the "light-elves" (or "fairies"). It is commonly thought to be a beautiful, ethereal realm which holds the Vanir god Freyr as its Lord.

Svartalfheim

Home to the "dark-elves" (or "dwarves"). Loki and Freyja are known to have visited this realm seeking the famous craftsmanship of the dwarves. Freyja sought a gorgeous necklace and Loki sought to offer gifts to the other gods (through this process, Thor's hammer Mjolnir was made).

Helheim

The realm that is home to those who pass away in ways other than battle (many people view dying of certain illnesses constitutes as a metaphorical battle, and would thus grant the individual entry to the other afterlife option: residence in Odin's hall Valhalla. This view is valid to me, with the caveat that I don't view Helheim as a lesser realm, or a realm where exclusively "dishonorable" folks reside). Loki and Angrboda's daughter Hel rules over this realm.

[lady-rose-moon]

The Meeting || I Have You || Loki x OFC!Reader ||

A/N: hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter of I Have You! I hope you all enjoy this as it is very dear to my heart.

For people who have not read it, you can find the OFC's introduction HERE to know who the reader shall be through the duration of this story!

↣ MASTERLIST

↣ I HAVE YOU MASTERLIST

Again, welcome to I Have You!

The winter solstice had just ended, and the parties had ceased their music, parents were gathering their children and guiding them home from a long night of celebrating the next change of season, though it shall not happen for the next few months. Asgardians old and young had gathered to celebrate that they were in the deep of winter and spring shall soon bloom. 

In the Asgardian Palace, the Aesir royal family had just finished their evening celebrations with their fellow lords and ladies of the other realms, apart from Jötunheim’s King, Laufey. Asgard and Jötunheim hadn’t had the best track record so it was best that they be left to themselves. The golden walls caught the last fires from the torches that hung from them, showing a slight regality of the now dominant darkness outside. At the head of the large table, King Odin finished his chalice of wine and set it down, rising to his feet to look down the table. Thor, his firstborn, was surrounded by his friends as they discussed the latest battle they had snuck away to fight. Odin admired Thor’s bravery and need for battle but did not approve that he sought out a fight when it was not needed, if he carried on then it could lead to more than just a verbal thrashing from the King and Queen of said realm. The old King sighed and raised his staff, Gungnir, high in the air before bringing it down on the stone floor to make a loud bang which brought all attention to him. 

 “Welcome to newer times of the year, my friends. I hope the next year will be as peaceful and thriving as this one has been,” Odin spoke, and the table listened to him as he spoke, truly enamoured by every word the Allfather spoke, “I apologise for my brief appearance, but I must retire for the night. I wish you all safe travels home, goodnight.” The table chorused a soft goodbye and Odin stood, departing from the dining hall with his wife on his arm.

Everyone resumed their conversations once the doors to the dining hall shut behind the departing King and his Queen. About halfway down the table, a boy sat beside Volstagg and a black-haired girl that couldn’t be much older than himself. This boy was Loki Odinson, second born to Odin Allfather and Queen Frigga. The boy did not look happy to be attending the dinner that his mother had firmly demanded he attend. He had wanted to stay in his room and read all night, watch fireworks from his window and celebrate his own way but Frigga would not allow it. 

 ‘You are almost 1,000 years old now, Loki, you must make a name for yourself.’ His mother had said to him that morning. But Loki had already made a name for himself, he had married young to a giantess, Angrboða. With her, he had sired three children: Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel. Loki loved his children with his heart, he had tried his hardest to keep Fenrir close to him so that Odin could not get his hands on his beloved son but while Loki was in the bath one night, a member of Odin’s Einherjar had snuck into his room and stolen his firstborn. 

Angrboða and Loki mourned the loss of their son and continued to do even after Angrboða informed Loki that she was with child once more. The child had been born strange, an egg instead of a baby. Loki had been confused as he held the bloody egg, but he felt nothing but love as his baby grew inside it. The same happened to his egg that happened to Fenris only this time, it took less time. Angrboða was watching over her egg fondly as Loki was meeting with officials from Vanaheim when a member of Odin’s Einherjar came in from a door behind her and promptly knocked her out, stealing the egg. The next Loki heard of the egg, Odin informed him that it had been thrown into the oceans of Midgard and Loki grieved, grieved for the loss of his first son, for the banishment of his second and for the love he knew he will never receive off Odin now.

When Hel was born, Loki saw her half-dead body and sobbed, resting his head on Angrboða’s chest as his child suckled her nipple for milk. He wasn’t sobbing because he didn’t want this child, he already loved her so much! He cried because he knew she would also be considered a monster by Odin and sent away just like her elder siblings. Loki and Angrboða tried to convince everyone that she had lost the baby, that it had been stillborn but the Allfather had not believed her. Loki had taken it upon himself to keep Hel close and to protect her, he did not leave her in her cradle for a bath, he did not let her sleep away from himself and Angrboða.

 Loki was terrified of losing his only little girl, he had always wanted a girl and cherished her cute giggles and excited squeals whenever he showed her simple magic tricks. Even through all this added protection, Odin had torn his only daughter from his arms and banished her to Helheim. That day came and went, many more passed and soon even Angrboða left him, she had died of a broken heart at losing all three of her children but Odin passed the death off as the flu to his citizens and life went on. 

Then there was a time, three hundred years later, when Loki decided he had had enough of grieving for his family, and he wanted to ruin Odin. Loki decided it would be funny to seduce Odin’s current warhorse, Svaðilfari. It had been all fun and games until she discovered she could not turn back from a mare into her human form, she had used her magic to scan herself and found another little bundle of magic beneath her own. Loki’s heart stopped and she realised she could not stay near Asgard’s palace while she was pregnant with her child and so she ran. Many warrants went up all over the Realm to find the prince and as she was reaching her eleventh month of pregnancy, she had hidden to wait out the rest in the mountains and away from any other life.

When her son, Sleipnir, had been born and she could shift back into her human form, she held her son close to her and looked down at him lovingly, appreciating this blessing from the gods. Sleipnir had been born a foal as she had carried him that way for the whole duration, she watched him change into a normal human as his magic slowly built up over the few hours, she spent holding him. He looked just like her, ebony hair already on his head, deep green eyes, and the cutest smile he’d ever seen since… her heart skipped a beat as she remembered Hel and her smile. Sleipnir had Hel’s smile and she was so proud. 

Two months later, when he was sure that Odin wouldn’t think him to be the culprit of Svaðilfari’s disappearance, he returned to Asgard castle with Sleipnir. Odin had been suspicious of course, but Sleipnir showed no reason to be a threat, so he wilfully ignored the child for once. Loki had been thankful for this, and he had shown his son around the castle with a bright smile, listening to Sleipnir’s cooing and enthusiastic squeals. 

Then they arrived, Queen Serena and her two daughters, Serenity, and Isabella. It was widely known that Princess Isabella was adopted after her father had saved her from her mother and sent her to live with the royal family of Midgard’s moon.

Loki was required to stand with his family, staring boredly at the new royalty that he would have to study about later as he itched to get back to his son safely locked in his chambers.

"King Odin, oh grand Allfather, I present my daughter, Princess Isabella Moon to you and pronounce her my heir to the title of Queen of the Moon Kingdom," Queen Serena announced and Loki raised a curious eyebrow as he took in those words. This Queen is favouring her ward rather than her firstborn, he mused to himself, perhaps I, Odin's second born still may have a chance against my brother if that is so.

"The Nine Realms recognise Princess Isabella Moon as heir to the Moon Kingdom," Odin replied, holding his hand out to Isabella and watching as she took it warily, "Princess Isabella Moon, can you declare with your whole heart that you will honour this title and always respect your mother's choice?"

Isabella's back straightened and she nodded bravely, "I so swear it, Allfather," she replied softly, her voice catching in Loki's ears unexpectedly, igniting a curiosity that had been dulled through motherhood.

Odin nodded and looked beyond the Princess to the crowds, "I present to you, Crown Princess Isabella Moon of Midgard, the heir to their Moon Kingdom!"

The crowd applauded and Isabella smiled nervously as she looked out to the crowd, waving hesitantly as she realised the situation she was in before her younger sister grabbed her hand and dragged her out onto the dance floor.

Despite his interest, he took no notice of Princess Isabella as he was still nursing Sleipnir and recovering from his birth but later in the night when cuddling his already sleeping son, she walked up to him with a gentle smile.

“May I hold him, your majesty? I won’t wake him, I swear,” the girl smiled and looked at him with a curious look in her eye and he reluctantly handed his son to her, watching her carefully as if she would turn away and take Sleipnir from him. She didn’t. She took a seat beside him and gazed down at the young boy in her arms with a soft smile before she began to speak again, “is he yours? Mother had me and Serenity informed of your fluidity to respect you! He’s so beautiful, he looks like you.” 

Loki looked at the girl with surprise evident on his face before he smiled and nodded as he gazed down at his son, “his name is Sleipnir. I love him more than life itself and if something happened to him…. I wouldn’t forgive myself…” He mumbled weakly and smiled gently at her before huffing and wiping his eyes quickly, “I’m sorry, I’m still very hormonal. Mother says it will last a month longer and then I shall be back to normal.” He gently took Sleipnir back from her and smiled lovingly at his sleeping son’s face. 

Smiling, Isabella tucked a bit of hair behind Loki’s ear and watched him curiously, “forgive me, the Allfather spoke of you and said your reputation was horrible, that you cared for no one but yourself and your son.” That made Loki laugh as he looked up from his baby to meet Isabella’s eyes, his heart so full of grief and pain that Isabella could see it so clearly on his face and she reached her hand out and cupped his cheek, flinching back when Loki instinctively flinched away from the contact.

“Please don’t,” Loki mumbled, looking away from her and down at his son, “I’m not at all crazy about contact after what has happened to my family.” He sounded so broken, his eyes were glossy with unshed tears and Isabella hated herself for taking all this time to get to him, to get to her soulmate.

“I’ve gone through many lovers, Isabella, I’ve never been able to hold them. Please don’t think you’ll be the first to try to stay with me, the last one died because of me and my family.” 

Isabella sighed and nodded, giving him a smile before she stood up and moved to kneel in front of Loki and Sleipnir, pushing away some of Sleipnir’s loose hair and she giggled when Sleipnir started to rouse from his sleep, “I suggest we should move him, your highness, if he wakes right now, he shall not sleep the night.” Loki nodded right away and lead Isabella through a side door and down a corridor or two until he got to the grand doors of his chambers, and he turned to her with a shy smile.

The way Isabella’s heart fluttered when she saw Loki’s own smile was indescribable! She had just met the Godling, and she already knew that he was the one she was assigned to by Ymir and the Yggdrasil. Gently stepping back, she gave a small wave to Loki and to Sleipnir’s slowly rousing face before she turned on her heel and left. 

Loki watched her leave with a sad smile before Sleipnir started to get fussy and he laughed, walking into his room and over to his bed after locking the front door and all the windows, “you are a fusspot when you just wake up, sweetie!” Laying Sleipnir down, Loki undressed him from his onesie and proceeded to change him before giving him a new nappy and conjuring up a bottle of warm milk as he paced around his bedroom, smiling down at his son as he watched the young boy drift off again while drinking the milk. Sighing in relief, Loki slipped into bed and laid Sleipnir down beside him and held his tiny hand in his own before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

"Thank you," he whispered into the night, his mind thinking of the Princess he had just met and the promise of a better life.

He had let his guard down. Odin had backed off. Everything was supposed to be fine! He had merely stepped into the next room to grab Isabella and show her that Sleipnir had finally said “mummy”! When he came back, though, his son was gone. His son was gone, along with the last of his heart. Dropping to his knees, he stared at his bed where his child had been not two minutes ago. He broke. His heart was now sawdust blowing in the Asgardian summer. Isabella knelt beside him and rested her head on his shoulder as she tried to hold back her own tears. It had been a year; she had known the broken family for a year and had become quite attached to Sleipnir, so this loss affected her deeply. She watched as her soulmate’s heart shattered and the boy in front of her barely looked like the proud mother, he had been just three minutes ago... He looked so vulnerable, so broken, so helpless and Isabella hated seeing him so. 

“It can’t be so, I just left for a moment! How did... how did he get in here...?” Loki mumbled weakly, more to himself than to the woman holding him so lovingly. He stood abruptly and started pacing around the room, trying to figure out the fateful lapse in his judgement. Why had he walked out on his son? Did his son cry? Did he call for his mummy only to be taken away still? Where had Loki gone wrong in his watch? Why did he look away?! 

“Loki, you’ll burn a hole into the marble if you carry on pacing,” a gentle voice whispered by his side, a warmth surrounding him as Isabella took him into her arms and sniffled, “we will all mourn for them alongside you, but you must remember that I can easily break the treaty with Asgard for this, you know Serenity will agree to my choice when she finds out about this and so will Mother.” Isabella stroked her hand through his silky hair and frowned when Loki shook his head.

“No, this is another of Father’s malicious tests of loyalty. Pull out now and he’ll forbid your return to Asgard the moment the comment leaves your mouth. I can’t lose you too, Isabella, you’re the only one left!” Loki begged her, his weakness shining through now that he had lost all of his children. Isabella helped him cling to her as she shushed him gently, stroking his hair and frowning.

The Demoness knew that she would not be able to forget how broken Loki looked on the day he lost his foal. All of the faith that she had for the Allfather and belief that Loki and Odin might be peaceful someday shattered the moment the first tear rolled down Loki's cheek. Now her loyalty was to Loki and only Loki.

Delicately, she cupped his cheek and smiled lovingly at him as she lifted his head so he could look at her, “I’m never leaving you, I have you, I promise.”

~~~

@lokisgoodgirl @lokisninerealms @evelyn-kingsley @slpnbty2001 @jennyggggrrr @hahaha12123445 @ozymdias @holdmytesseract @itsybitchylittlewitchy @lovingchoices14 @xorpsbane @huntress-artemiss @muddyorbs @nerdy-fangirl-65 @lonadane @silverfire475 @chantsdemarins @iamsherlocked1479 @kittiowolf210 @just-someone11 @stupidthoughtsinwriting @loki-laufeyson-1054 @fictive-sl0th @coldnique @anukulee @eleniblue

~~ fic tags ~~

@thegodofnotknowing @crimson25 @simping-for-marvel @buttercupcookies-blog @vileepponine @pinestwinssimp

[witchcraftsymbolsblog]

Freya Goddess Symbols- Nordic Goddess of Love and War

Freyja is technically not a name. It is translated in old Norse to mean “lady.” The modern spelling of her name is Freja which was anglicized to Freya. She had a brother named Freyr, which meant “Lord.” They were the offspring of Njoror, the sea, and Herta, the earth. Freyja goddess symbols are just as powerful as the goddess herself.Freya Goddess Symbols

Although she went searching for pleasure and passion, she was a complicated character. The Vikings saw her as a mighty force, a goddess on the same level as Odin and Thor in Norse mythology.

Freya Goddess of Love

Although Freya was known as the goddess of love, she was also the fertility goddess and goddess of war and death. Old Norse literature highlighted her insistence on everything sexual. However, she has been completely omitted from childbirth, which is an element of fertility within the confines of other goddesses of similar nature.

According to Norse myth And Freya goddess Symbols, Freya was the Norse goddess of love, fertility, sex, war, death, magic, beauty, and witchcraft. She supervises battles, can grant and remove fertility, can be beseeched for love, and was born knowing the sacred secrets of witchcraft and the Runes. Because she belonged to the Norse Vanir tribe, people thought she practiced witchcraft and was strongly connected to the earth.

She considered pigs sacred and rode a boar with golden bristles. She also had a chariot drawn by cats as another means of transport. Freya was privileged to have the opportunity to choose half of the warriors slain in battle for her great hall in Folkyangar, while the rest were taken to Valhalla by the god Odin.

She had a famous necklace known as Brisingamen that was stolen by the god Loki, the trickster, and later recovered by Heimdall, a watchman to the gods.

Freya is believed to have done the evil act of teaching the Aesir, a tribe of gods, witchcraft.

Like the Egyptian goddess Isis and Greek goddess Aphrodite, Freya traveled the world looking for a missing husband while shading golden tears. She had four nicknames: Horn, Mardoll, Syr, and Gefn.

Freya’s themes included strength, devotion, the sun, passion, and magic. Her symbols consist of lions and strawberries.

Freya was not a mysterious goddess; on the contrary, she was loved and worshipped all over European territory in places such as Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia, the Germanic lands, Anglo-Saxon Britain, and Holland. She remains among the most loved and idolized Pagan goddesses to date.

The spirit of Freya angered Christian authorities. Ironically, this anger propelled Freya to survive more vividly than any other European female spirit. Continuous condemnation ensured Freya remained relevant.

Freya was criticized as the Queen of Witches. Women who idolized her were automatically labeled as “witches’. Freya’s rites and traditions encouraged magical practice, shamanism, mediumship, and female autonomy, while Freya acted as a role model. The new regime viewed this behavior as an abomination and symbolizing deadly sin.

The Vanir

The Norse gods are divided into two: the Vanir and the Aesir. Freya and her family belong to the Vanir, and unlike their counterparts, little is known about the rest of Freya’s family.

All that is known is that there was a war between the Aesir and the Vanir, with the Aesir emerging victorious. Freya and her brother Freyr were sent to live with the Aesir as part of the truce agreement.

According to Norse mythology, the Vanir lived in what is presently referred to as Scandinavia when the Aesir arrived. The Vanir provoked greater hostility from the Christian church than the Aesir; therefore, limited information concerning the Vanir survived.

The only information available about the Vanir was retrieved from those sent to live in Aesir.It is believed that the Vanir were shapeshifters linked to creative energy, magic, the sea, eroticism, fertility, prophecy, and shamanism.

According to the myth, Freya shared all her knowledge with the Aesir after being taken hostage. The Norse god Odin was the first member of the Aesir to befriend Freya. By becoming close to Freya, the god Odin learned about the ways of Seidr. Seidr was a form of magic perceived as a woman’s magic and unsuitable for men.

Freya knew all about the Runes, but according to the myth, her knowledge of the Runes directed Odin to gorge out one of his eyes and hang himself from Yggdrasil upside down while looking into the Well of Wyrd. After staring into the well for nine days and nights, he finally understood what the Runes meant.

Freya and Warfare

Freya, the queen of love and war who goes by the name Valfreya, leads the Valkyries into battle. The Valkyries are angels of death who transport the souls of the recently departed to the next realm, and in battle, the souls are transported to two different destinations.

The Valfreya get the first picks of the departed souls, followed by Odin, but finally, all the souls of the dead are evenly split. The souls chosen by Odin are taken back to Valhalla, whereas those chosen by Freya are taken to her realm, which goes by the name of Folkvangr, a meadow with a large hall known as Sessrumnir. In Folkvangr, love songs are always played.

Freya and Frigg

There are similarities between Freya and Odin’s wife, the Norse goddess Frigg. Some people have reasons to believe that Freya and Frigg are one person. This argument is supported by the fact that Freya is technically not a name but a title, whereas Frigg is a name.

Frigg is also referred to as the “well-beloved lady.” She can also be called Frigga, Sacka, or Fricka. She is the goddess of childbirth, fertility, matrimony, and divination. It is unclear whether she is part of Aesir or Vanir.

Since she is the wife of Odin, she is linked to marriage and fidelity. In the afterlife, married people spend their time in Frigg’s hall, known as Fensalir. It is not easy to differentiate between Freya and Frigg.

They are two different spirits in Scandinavia but seem to have merged into one spirit in German land. The distinctions can still be made even if some information has been lost or suppressed.

Ironically, even though Christian authorities were against Freya, there is still substantial information about Freya and her beliefs.The theory that Freya and Friggs are the same people is exacerbated by the belief that Freya’s husband, Odr, is Odinn, and their two daughters go by the names Hnoss and Garsemi. Not much is said about the two daughters.

Freya Attributes and Association

According to Norse myth, the beautiful Norse goddess Freya has long blonde hair. We must know that she is a shapeshifter capable of assuming any form. She has a magical falcon cloak, which she uses to fly. She also wears a necklace mentioned earlier in this article that the Brisingamen dwarfs made.

Her chariot is pulled by two silver cats, which some people think are called Bygul and Trjegul. These cats might be lynxes. Freya is associated with different animals, such as cats, rabbits, falcons, cuckoos, ladybugs, swallows, boars, and oxen.

Her preferred colors are green, red, yellow, light blue, pink, and white. Freya’s materials of choice include gold and amber. She is also a fan of flowers. Plants associated with the queen include:

Primrose

Opium poppy

Rose, clover

English daisy

Hemp, Arnica

Almond, Bedstraw

Bird Berry

Benzoin

Henbane

Strawberry

Essential oils linked to her include sandalwood, Birch, Benzoin, Cypress, Myrrh, and Rose. You can include any of the mentioned items when offering to the goddess. You can also add her favorite foods: pork, honey, mead, ale, apples, edible flowers, and barley.

Because of her love for cats, you can pay homage to the goddess by treating cats well. The goddess of love is a fan of love poems and songs continuously playing in Folkvangr.The Freya goddess can be considered a source of inspiration among ancient and present cultures. The mythology also proves that the Nordic people had a rich culture that is present to date.

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

As Rykker filled it for him, Bowen Marsh said, “You have a great thirst for a small man.”

“Oh, I think that Lord Tyrion is quite a large man,” Maester Aemon said from the far end of the table. He spoke softly, yet the high officers of the Night’s Watch all fell quiet, the better to hear what the ancient had to say. “I think he is a giant come among us, here at the end of the world.”

We’ve all talked about ASOIAF being heavily influenced by Norse Myth, but I rarely see people talk about the parallels Tyrion Lannister has with any of the Norse gods.

An obvious parallel, I think, is the god Loki. Loki was a trickster god with extreme cunning and wit. He was known for his intelligent schemes which tended to both help and hurt Asgard. He also had a certain charm about him that made people love and hate him all at the same time. If you were to come across a witty comeback or jab in an exchange between deities, best believe that Loki would be present. I think we see this of Tyrion, as early as his first three chapters in AGOT. Jon I and II link Tryion with “tricks” and Tyrion II and III showcase his great cunning and wit.

But what makes Loki such an interesting parallel for Tyrion, imo, is the difference in stature. See, Loki is descended from the Jotunn - giants in Norse myth. Tyrion on the other hand is a dwarf, which is a far cry from being a giant. However, we are told time and time again that he is a small man who casts a large shadow. He’s even called (ironically and unironically) a giant several times in the books. So there is an inverse there, Tyrion may not physically be a giant but boy does he have the presence of one! And Loki is a god with a strong presence throughout Norse myth.

And we also have to look at the roles both Tyrion and Loki occupy in their respective verses. Loki is one of the most prolific of the Norse deities (among Thor and Odin) and Tyrion is considered to be among the central ASOIAF characters (whether you believe in the big 5/6 or the big 3).

And if we look at the relationships both establish in their respective worlds, we can see even greater parallels. Loki is a blood brother to Odin, the god of the Norse gods and perhaps the most important one. Well, Tyrion has thus far established some very meaningful relationships with ASOIAF’s two main Odinic figures: Jon Snow and Bran Stark. He and Jon even go as far as officially recognizing each other as friends.

It will be interesting to see just how far these parallels will go as ASOIAF nears completion. In myth, Loki is a key player in the starting of Ragnarok and even takes on the role of an antagonist against the Aesir. While Tyrion siding with the Others in the upcoming apocalypse is a laughable notion, it’s entirely possible that he plays a big role in the political destruction of Westeros. After all, we have been promised a dance of the dragons and Tyrion is said to be a small man with a giant shadow snarling in the midst of all.

[shipcestuous]

The bit about Loki accusing Freyr and Freya of incest comes from Lokasenna, one of the poems in the Poetic Edda:

"Loki spake: 32. "Be silent, Freyja! | thou foulest witch, And steeped full sore in sin; In the arms of thy brother | the bright gods caught thee When Freyja her wind set free."

Njorth spake: 33. "Small ill does it work | though a woman may have A lord or a lover or both; But a wonder it is | that this womanish god Comes hither, though babes he has borne.""

(https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe10.htm)

Lokasenna is a poem in the "senna" genre, essentially an exchange of insults in poetic form, where Loki gets drunk and insults all the other gods, one by one, at a feast before being driven away by Thor. It has indeed been questioned how much of what Loki says in it was accepted as part of this or that mythical tradition, or if all if his accusations are made-up wholesome as part of a satirical poetic exercise. However, it's also been read as an expression of Loki as an ambiguous figure (as a jotun who was welcomed among the gods as Odin's blood-brother and friend but may act either for or against the gods and bringing positive or negative changes to their world depending on the myth) able to weave in and out of the gods' in-group, knowing it intimately but also offering an outsider's perspective on it at the same time, thus being able to bring up and expose uncomfortable and harsh truths, and highlighting what can be read as the hypocrisy of the gods, who are held as shining, dignified authorities in certain contexts but have plenty of flaws and make plenty of mistakes in others.

Also, we know for sure that at least SOME things Loki are true, which does cast some level of doubt *on* the doubt we might cast on the others: he accuses Odin of being unmanly (we know that's true because we know he is associated with a type of magic that's always regarded as "womanly" or "unmanly") and Frigg of having slept with both of Odin's brothers (an idea also reported elsewhere, together with the idea of her generally being an adulterer), mocks Tyr for having had his hand bitten off by Fenrir (that's the most important Tyr myth that survived after the Viking Age) and Freyr for giving up his sword (and the advantage it would have given him during Ragnarok) to gain Gerd as a bride (also an attested myth) then Heimdall for his unlucky position as the eternally-watchful sentinel of the gods (his main role in the myths), and claims to have slept with Sif (not *technically* attested, but fits well with Harbardsljod, another senna-type poem, where Thor is told in no uncertain terms that his wife has a lover that she has fun with while he's away from home, and also with Sif having a son, Ullr, who's on record as a *stepson* to Thor). He even admits to killing Balder (true... at the least in the version of the events the poem references) and foretells his own binding.

Then, there's also the fact that, for as many insults as Loki shoots at the gods, the gods fire just as many back, and the majority of those are also true: he's accused of being unmanly (true in many different ways), of having given birth (just look at the myth of the building of the wall of Asgard and how Odin got his horse Sleipnir), and of being unpleasant and sowing discord (... hard to argue with that, especially in context).

A point that should also be considered is that we do know from at least two pieces of writing that the Vanir gods (unlike the Aesir, who forbid it) practice incestuous relationships and even marriages. Specifically, brother/sister ones.

Again from the Lokasenna:

"Njorth spake: 35. "Great was my gain, | though long was I gone, To the gods as a hostage given; The son did I have | whom no man hates, And foremost of gods is found."

Loki spake: 36. "Give heed now, Njorth, | nor boast too high, No longer I hold it hid; With thy sister hadst thou | so fair a son, Thus hadst thou no worse a hope.""

From the Ynglinga Saga, in the context of an euhemerized account of the gods as kings and heroes of old:

"While Njord was with the Vanaland people he had taken his own sister in marriage, for that was allowed by their law; and their children were Frey and Freya. But among the Asaland people it was forbidden to intermarry with such near relations."

(https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/heim/02ynglga.htm)

Personally, I tend not to give too much credit to people who look at the Norse gods doing weird/uncomfortable/gross/very sexual/kinky things and say "oh, but SURELY that must be a satire! A later invention that could NEVER be referencing some older tradition! A slanderous invention! The Christians putting their grubby little hands all over the myths to make the heathen gods look bad, even in the case of authors we know were just trying to preserve their people's history as they knew it or their traditional poetry and were actually more likely to try and ennoble or at least normalize them!" It's true that Germanic people did hold their gods in high regard and pray and sacrifice to them like any other culture, but that doesn't mean they thought of them as perfect, or were never wary of them, or never told stories about them doing things that they themselves wouldn't do.

There is a chance that Freyr and Freya weren't actually thought of as incestuous, and there is a chance they weren't even born out of an incestuous relationship (not only but chiefly due to wonky timelines/topics not being presented in the order we'd normally expect in a certain section of the Prose Edda ... which was written by Snorri Sturluson, the same guy who wrote the Ynglinga Saga, but make of that what you will), but honestly, I just don't see enough evidence to dismiss the material presented in the Lokasenna. Freya is also known as a very proud and headstrong character as well as overly lustful (like in the Hyndluljod poem, where she's accused of having allowed plenty of men under her skirts, or in the late Sorla thattr story, where she agrees to spend one night with each of the four dwarves working on a necklace for her, or in her association with love poetry, which was actually considered so powerful and dangerous, it was sometimes outlawed) so following her desires without caring for a law that's not even really her own doesn't strike me as particularly weird of her.

That's just my opinion, of course! Although, I would argue that, taken at face value and without digging into whatever mythological and literary nuances we might theorize, they ARE canon.

Please forgive the rant, I've always been really into Norse mythology and I actually had a lot of fun doing this little write-up! ^^

[x]

Thank you so much for this! It was wonderful to get a description of the facts from someone who is clearly very knowledgeable on the topic. I think we're all very inclined to agree with your conclusions.

I didn't realize that Loki's accusation against Freya was part of a series of accusations, at least some of which are "confirmed", so to speak. That's very promising indeed.

I only did a tiny bit of research but I did find at least a couple of sources that seemed very biased against Vanir incest, straining to disprove and such. A more open-minded approach might see Frey/Freya considered canon more often.

[bedlamsbard]

could i get a director's commentary on loki's coronation ritual in chapter one of yonder? i love the way it's structured.

Yes, of course! Let's do this old school DVD commentary style since it's a long scene and it's been a minute since I've done the line by line thing, which is always very fun.

The coronation was either the first or second scene written -- I can't remember now. It's something of an artifact of when the story was originally going to be more Loki-focused, closer to Yonder that way, and I'm not sure I would have made that choice if I had known upfront it was going to be a Steve-and-Natasha-centric story. But once it was written I wanted to keep it.

I actually wrote this coronation and the one in Morning 9 back to back, though I can't remember which was written first. If the one in Morning (which takes its cues from Thor's coronation in Thor, which Yonder establishes is to crown a co- or junior king rather than a ruling monarch, in the fashion of the Roman augustus and caesar (senior and junior emperor) system) is the public ceremony that the Valkyrie refers to, then this is the private version meant entirely for the people of Asgard. This is the coronation ceremony that crowns a ruling king, which is why it's distinct from Thor's coronation.

“This is the old way,” the Valkyrie had said when she was telling Natasha that the humans could watch the coronation but they had better stay the hell out of the way. “Bor and Odin prettied the public parts of it up when they decided that there was no reason that Asgard shouldn’t rule the Nine, but this is what all that gilding covers up. It’s what our ancestors have done since before the Aesir split from the Vanir. Odin did it, Bor did it, Buri did it before him – Thor never got the chance.”

The rivalry between the Aesir and the Vanir is referred to a few times in this story as well as in Yonder. The version of the history that the Aesir tell is that the Aesir left Vanaheim amongst some kind of conflict and eventually settled on Asgard.

I can't remember if this is said explicitly in Yonder, Horizon, Morning, or never and just threaded through all of them, but the way I have the Asgardian imperial system working is that Yggdrasil, the Nine Realms (which actually encompasses far more than nine planets), was a loose confederation prior to Bor's day. When Malekith and the Dark Elves went on their crusade, Asgard's victory over Svartalfheim let them rise to prominence, which is where the original Protectorate of the Nine Realms comes from, and that was political alliance with a much tighter grip than earlier. It didn't go to direct conquest until Odin's time, though over the millennia since Odin's and Hela's campaigns Asgard has very much backed off of direct rule and mostly just gone back to interfering in most cases. "Lord Protector" is a title that Loki still takes very seriously, as comes up in Yonder.

There was pain briefly on her face at the mention of Thor, but by now Natasha knew that the Valkyrie hadn’t known him for very long before the attack on the Statesman. Maybe it was the potential she mourned, not the man, but it was hard to tell. Maybe to the Valkyrie it didn’t really matter; maybe for her the two had been one and the same.

The Valkyrie only knew Thor for about a week in the timeline I use, which has Ragnarok and the attack on the Statesman very close together but not on the same day.

The old way, she thought now, watching the intent faces of the Asgardians in the flickering firelight of the bonfires set up at the top of the cliff face where New Asgard would be built. It was the dark of the moon, the night sky so clear that the stars looked like gems spilled out on dark velvet. She didn’t know if Asgard was up there somewhere, still shining, still visible from Earth because the light of its destruction hadn’t reached them yet.

Most of the time it was easy to pretend that the Asgardians were human, or at least close enough to it not to matter. They looked human unless you were close enough to note the handful of minute differences visible to the naked eye – a certain sharpness to their features, a heavier tread, a slightly lower center of gravity. Natasha suspected that there were more that even she just hadn’t noticed yet; it was easier to see when there were more Asgardians around than just Thor or Loki, where discrepancies could just be written off as individual quirks rather than characteristics of the whole species. Even after two months – nearer three now – she was still finding out all the numerous other ways in which Asgardians differed from humans in ways other than their lifespan and physical strength. It went beyond enhanced senses – it had been a shock to realize that they really could see in the dark, something she had vaguely been aware of when Thor had been with the Avengers but written off only as good night vision.

Obsessed with making aliens be aliens, especially the more humanoid aliens like Asgardians. There are other physical differences that Natasha isn't aware of so aren't mentioned here, but they pop up occasionally in some of my other fic.

Their eyes flashed now in the reflection of the bonfires – fewer than two hundred and fifty people, from the oldest grandmother to the two infants in arms (one with its father, one with an older sister), less the handful of Asgardians who had been cloistered in the purpose-built little hof for the past twelve hours. Natasha was uncomfortably aware of how small and human she was compared to them and was glad to have Steve and Bruce with her, the three Avengers standing at the back of the gathered crowd. Since they were allies, they hadn’t come armed – Natasha wasn’t even wearing her widow’s bites – but it left her feeling vulnerable in a way she disliked. It wasn’t that she thought she was in any danger, since the Asgardians seemed barely aware of the humans watching them. But she didn’t belong here. None of them did, never mind that it was their planet in the first place.

The number of surviving Asgardians was established in Yonder: 223 in New Asgard, 143 on Vanaheim, and 9 elsewhere in the Realms. I think in retrospect I might have upped the number of survivors, but it is what it is and the numbers were set in Yonder.

I remember that there were a few early versions of this scene that had Rhodey present.

“The king comes!”

She didn’t see who had called out. It was a woman’s voice, but that didn’t mean much; three out of every four Asgardian survivors were women. Others took up the cry until Natasha could feel it pulsing in her bones.

Something else established in Yonder: between Ragnarok and the attack on the Statesman Asgard has a pretty drastic gender disparity, since most of the male Asgardians were killed fighting either Hela or Thanos's forces.

“The king comes! The king comes! The king comes!”

In the glittering firelight that punctuated the lambent darkness, Loki’s eyes gleamed with reflected brilliance.

He was in white – undyed wool, rather – and it was pale against the darkness as he came up the marked path from the hof, accompanied by the Valkyrie and one of the other Asgardian survivors. He looked very little like the would-be conqueror Natasha remembered from six years earlier, his hair loose around his shoulders and his hands empty at his sides. She couldn’t see his expression from here.

The first of several tests. Note that Loki is never the one who responds to the initial question.

An Asgardian man stepped out of the crowd before Loki and the two women could enter the circle of firelight and set the butt of his spear against the ground, blocking their way. “Who comes?”

“The King of Asgard,” the Valkyrie said. “The Allfather of the Aesir.”

None of the other Asgardian royal titles (Lord Protector, etc.) are being used, emphasizing that this is a ceremony solely focused on the Aesir.

“Who claims this?”

“I do.” Loki’s voice was hoarse. “I am Loki, son of Odin, son of Bor, son of Buri. I am Loki, son of Frigga, daughter of Fjörgynn, son of Nörvi. I am Loki, brother of Thor, son of Odin; I am Loki, brother of Hela, daughter of Odin. I am Loki, blood-son of Laufey, son of Bergelmir, son of Þrudgelmir, son of Ymir. I do not know my blood-mother.”

Loki doesn't find out that Farbauti is his birth-mother until that scene in Yonder 6. Fjörgynn is the mythological Frigg's father. Bergelmir and Þrudgelmir are both mythological jotunns; I figured Laufey's parentage would be well-known enough that Loki would know it. (Best I could find there is no parentage for the mythological Laufey, who in the myths is Loki's mother, not father; Marvel switched the genders of the parents.)

“Will any vouch for you?”

“I do,” said the Valkyrie. “I am Brunnhilde, daughter of Viðrir, last of the Valkyrie. My oath is to the throne of Asgard; I have sworn my sword to Loki Odinson.”

Viðrir is one of Odin's many names -- not that I think the Valkyrie is Odin's daughter on the wrong side of the sheets, I was just running through likely names. MCU's STILL never given the Valkyrie a real name; Brunnhilde is the name of the comics character.

“I do,” said the other Asgardian, a handsome older woman whose dark hair was shot through with threads of silver. “I am Eir, daughter of Hjukí, healer of the house of Odin. I have seen Loki Odinson grow from babyhood to manhood: he is the son of Odin.”

We never see Eir's fate in Ragnarok so I have made the executive decision that she survives -- as Natasha says in a later chapter, it's the equivalent of having Loki's pediatrician survive, but it also means that there's someone who has a long history with the royal family surviving who can vouch for him. Hjuki is another Norse mythological figure, who might be related to health/healing.

The Asgardian man stood aside. “Pass, then, King of Asgard.”

The trio proceeded nearly a double handful of steps until another Asgardian stepped out of the crowd. She held a battered shield in one hand and brought it up before her. “Who comes?”

The passage between each of the tests is nine steps, from the Völuspá in the Poetic Edda, which talks about the mythological Ragnarok. Although Thor fights and defeats Jormungandr, the world serpent, he is poisoned by its venom and is only able to take nine steps before he falls and dies.

“The King of Asgard,” the Valkyrie repeated. “The Allfather of the Aesir.”

“By what right does he claim this?”

“By kin-right; I am the son of Odin, King of Asgard, who has passed the great gates and feasts now in Valhalla; I am the brother of Thor, King of Asgard, who has passed the great gates and drinks now in Valhalla with all the rest of our kin.” Loki’s voice broke slightly on his brother’s name, but he didn’t hesitate. “By acclaim of the Althing, who are the voice of Asgard and speak for all the Aesir.”

My "Asgard is an elective monarchy" agenda. The Althing is still the parliament of Norway and has been for the past millennia plus.

“Will any vouch for you?”

“Of those among the living I alone saw my father and my brother die,” Loki said. “It is my word alone you must trust in this. My brother –” He stumbled over the words, but managed to push on. “My brother died for me, and I will carry the burden of that all the days of my life.”

Natasha had the sudden visceral memory of Loki screaming in Wakanda after Thanos had snapped his fingers and left them all behind – that awful, barely comprehending grief of someone pushed to their breaking point. He had screamed until his voice gave out, the only real sound that Natasha could remember from that first awful hour. Everything else she remembered only in flashes of sensation – the breeze on her face, the ruined metal of the War Machine suit under her hands as they had pried Rhodey out of it, Steve’s bruising grip on her as he had wept. All of it overlaid by the memory of Loki screaming.

Yonder establishes Loki just snapping and screaming and screaming after Thanos leaves. Didn't know at this point that the Battle of Wakanda was going to make it into Horizon. Rhodey has to be pried out of the War Machine because Thanos crushes it with, I think, the Power Stone.

A woman stepped out of the crowd of Asgardians – barely more than a girl, at least by human standards; Natasha still wasn’t certain what that meant for an Asgardian. She was visibly pregnant, her hands resting on the curve of her belly. “I speak for the Althing,” she said. “I am the voice of Asgard and the tongue of the Aesir. By our choice Loki Odinson is King of Asgard and Allfather of the Aesir.”

Deliberate choice to have a pregnant woman as voice of Asgard, signifying both present and future.

The other woman lowered her shield and stood aside. “Pass, then, King of Asgard.”

Natasha counted the number of steps Loki took before his path was blocked again – nine steps, carefully measured. The gray-haired man who stopped him this time had a sword in each hand, bringing them up before him in an X. “Who comes?”

Not named in this scene, but this is Ullr, who appears again in the next chapter. Ullr is the Norse god of skiing and hunting, and associated with swearing oaths -- oaths in this 'verse, where there are a few other mentions of whether he can/should get Loki out of his. It's mentioned briefly later, but Ullr wasn't on Asgard during Ragnarok, he was with the Asgardian garrison on Vanaheim and chose to come to New Asgard. He's one of the older surviving Asgardians. The mythological Ullr is the son of Sif; it's not mentioned in this story, but he's probably either her father or her uncle, some kind of relation.

“The King of Asgard,” said the Valkyrie. “The Allfather of the Aesir.”

“Loki Jotun-born, by his own admission,” said the man, who was muscled like a blacksmith and might well have been one. “Laufeyson, not Odinson. What right has he to Asgard? What claim does he have on the Aesir? Go back to Jotunheim, frost giant.”

The tests have to actually be TESTS. They're ritualized, but it's not a gimme that Loki will get through them.

From the way Loki flinched back, Natasha guessed he hadn’t expected this, though neither Eir nor the Valkyrie looked surprised. His mouth worked silently for a moment, then he said, “Jotunheim has no – no claim on me, nor I on Jotunheim. By our laws and Jotunheim’s there is nothing between us, neither by kin-right or law-right.”

Note that kin-right and law-right are two separate things here, as are Asgard's and Jotunheim's legal codes.

“Kin-right, law-right.” The man made a scoffing sound. “No child of the Aesir are you, sly-skinned false godling. No Ás fathered you, no Ásynja bore you. Even the rime-cursed Jotnar cast you out.”

This was the part where I had to really sit down and grapple with the hold that genealogy and blood descent have on high fantasy, and I tried to be really careful with my phrasing throughout this scene, since Loki's claim to the throne relies so heavily on his kin-relationship to Odin and Thor, and I didn't want to accidentally default to blood-relationship language.

Loki’s eyes were shocked and huge with hurt, but there was more resignation on his face than anything else – the shock, Natasha thought, came from the fact that the accusation had come so publicly, not that it had come at all. His gaze flickered to either side very quickly; whatever he saw on Eir’s and the Valkyrie’s faces seemed to reassure him. What had come as a surprise to him had clearly been planned by the two women.

It still took him a moment to answer, his tongue darting out to moisten his lips. “Jotun-born am I, yes,” he said haltingly. “No Ás fathered me, no Ásynja bore me. But never have I known any father but Odin Borson, nor any mother but Frigga Fjörgynndottir, nor any brother but Thor Odinson. In all the years of my life I have called no realm home but Asgard, no house such but the great palace of Valaskjalf. Sly-skinned am I, yes, but this skin is my own by choice; I know no people but the Aesir, nor would I have any were they offered me.” He took another breath. “I was offered that choice. I denied it. The Aesir are my people by my choice, not by raising alone. I have no claim on Jotunheim; Jotunheim has no claim on me.”

Loki's ritual language slips a little with "I was offered that choice" -- a reference to his time with the Black Order. I wanted to really, really emphasize here that this is Loki's choice to stay with Asgard, to continue being Asgardian, to remain with the Asgardian people, to continue claiming his family.

The repetition of the "I have no claim on Jotunheim; Jotunheim has no claim on me" is Asgardian legal language, going back to the fact that Asgard and Jotunheim have different laws. By Jotun law Loki lost all legal rights when Farbauti made the decision to abandon him, but by Asgardian law he still has some rights. He has to revoke them in order to take the Asgardian throne, giving up what he calls on at the beginning of IW when he calls himself "rightful king of Jotunheim." (In Yonder when he invokes the "name of Jotunheim which bore me" during the summoning it's actually a major, major legal fuck-up, which is what Farbauti takes him to task for.)

“Will you go to the gates of Valhalla and ask those whom you claim as your kin if they see it so?”

Only way to go to Valhalla is to go to the verge of death.

A muscle jumped in Loki’s jaw, the flickering firelight illuminating the sharp planes of his face. He was very pale. “Yes.”

The Valkyrie stepped forward. “Even the divine Aesir may pass the great gates but once,” she said, grasping the hilt of her sheathed sword. “My oath is to the throne of Asgard. I can let no harm come to Odin’s kin while I yet draw breath.”

A woman stepped onto the pathway behind the man with the swords – Forseti, the goddess of justice. Her voice rang out clearly as she said, “If he is worthy, then he may go to the great gates and no further.”

Because "worthy" isn't a loaded term at all in the MCU.

“Not even the divine Aesir may go that far without dying themselves,” said Eir.

“Every living thing must die, even the gods,” Loki said; there was a heavy ritual note to the words, as there had been to everything that had happened since the sun had gone down. “Even stars burn out.” He shut his eyes briefly before he went on, his breath coming out in short, sharp pants; he was afraid. “I have faced death before. Death is an old friend. One way or another I will see my kin again.”

Callback to what Loki says to the Ancient One and later Thanos in Yonder. One of the recurring themes in Norse mythology is that the gods lose in Ragnarok; they aren't immortal in the way, say, the Greek gods are. They can still die. And Loki's pretty fresh off both Ragnarok and the massacre on Statesman, not to mention the Snap; he and the other Asgardians are all VERY aware that they can die. Loki's also scared that at the end of the day, he's not Asgardian by birth; he might not be able to survive what an Asgardian could.

The man looked at him for what felt like a long time, though was in reality only a few seconds, then lowered his swords and stepped aside. “Pass then, King of Asgard.”

Loki moved past him to stand before Forseti; the other Asgardian moved back into his former position before Eir and the Valkyrie could follow him. “This path can be walked only by one. Your oath has no place here, last of the Valkyrie.”

“I will guard his body, then, while his spirit goes seeking,” the Valkyrie said, and sat cross-legged, drawing her sword as she did so and resting it across her knees. Eir sat beside her in the same position, her hands resting palm-up on her knees.

Loki stood looking at Forseti – a tall, dark-skinned woman with her hair dressed in elaborate braids. A girl stepped out of the crowd and offered Forseti a wide-bowled cup, flicking a fascinated glance at Loki as she did so. Forseti took the cup, careful not to spill a drop – firelight gleamed off the surface of the golden liquid that filled it to the brim – and passed it to Loki.

Alcohol, honey (of course), drugs that thin the veil between the realms of the dead and the realms of the living, and more drugs to accelerate even an Asgardian's accelerated healing.

He raised it in salute. “I drink to our glorious dead!” he cried, then raised it to his lips, his throat working as he drank. He didn’t pause for breath, just tipped it back; when he was done, he turned the cup over to show it was empty before passing it back to Forseti.

A lot of the ritual language in this scene goes back to Loki's battlefield prayer/speech and the toasts in Yonder. Asgard's religion is a form of ancestor worship; there's a difference between the divine (living) Aesir and deified (dead) Æsir, and it's the latter Loki's calling on here.

He was breathing hard as he went to his knees with what Natasha thought was exaggerated care. Even in the flickering firelight that she could see that his normally-pale eyes were dark, the pupils blown wide; she guessed that whatever had been in that cup hadn’t just been alcohol. He put one hand to the ground in front of him, then touched a clod of soil and grass to his lips. “Earth must be fed.”

The "Earth must be fed" line is actually borrowed straight out of S.M. Stirling's Emberverse and isn't from Norse mythology at all, though in its original appearance back in Yonder, when it's Sif doing so at first, it was a reference to the mythological Sif as an earth goddess, bridging war/death and earth.

There was an echoing murmur from the watching Asgardians, like a swift flurry of wind through cornstalks. Beside her, Steve shifted uneasily, one hand twitching like he was thinking of crossing himself with his old childhood instincts. The back of Natasha’s neck prickled and she found herself feeling automatically for the widow’s bites she wasn’t wearing, as though they might have any place here.

I have a whole elaborate headcanon/backstory for Steve's relationship with religion that's mostly only hinted at in Horizon and later Home.

It wasn’t the planet Earth the Asgardians meant, she knew. It was primordial earth, where the Asgardians believed that the roots of the World Tree Yggdrasil were watered by the three wells that ran through all the realms.

Primordial earth as the place where the roots of Yggdrasil are watered by the three wells is from Yonder -- the wells are from Norse mythology, primordial earth is mine. Asgardian religion and cosmology is NOT Norse mythology.

Forseti touched her fingers to her lips in the same gesture, then drew a knife out from inside the loose sleeve of her gown. As Loki raised his gaze to her, she stooped and in one quick, liquid motion cut his throat.

A few earlier versions of the scene had sacrificial animals, because I did want to have a blood sacrifice. I was thinking about different ways to do this scene and play more into the alien-ness of the Asgardians and eventually hit on actually bringing Loki to the edge of death, because of the Asgardian accelerated healing. As he tells Natasha the next morning, if he dies, he dies: there has to be real risk.

Steve jerked forward as the knife flashed. Natasha and Bruce both grabbed his arms, Natasha hissing, “Remember the Valkyrie said not to interrupt, no matter what happened.”

This is the only line of dialogue any of the humans have in this scene.

Loki hadn’t even flinched as the knife opened his throat, sending a spray of blood across Forseti’s face and gown. He was gasping now, his blood a dark waterfall across his chest as he raised his empty hands over his head, turning his face upwards towards the stars – absurdly bright out here, far from Oslo or any other city. His voice was hoarse as he spoke, barely audible from having his throat laid open nearly to the bone, and his eyes were glowing gold.

The gold-glowing eyes are a reference to Heimdall's eyes -- Loki can see well beyond what a normal Asgardian can right now.

“I stand at the gates of Valhalla and they are open for me!” he cried, his pale face ecstatic in the firelight. “There beyond them do I see my father and my mother. There beyond them do I see my father’s father and my mother’s mother. There beyond them do I see my father’s father’s father and my mother’s mother’s mother and all the line of our people back to the beginning of time.”

This is a take on the Viking prayer for the dead that was dramatized in The Thirteenth Warrior and which Thor: Ragnarok later used parts of when Thor is mourning Odin on Sakaar: Lo there do I see my father, Lo there do I see my mother, my sisters, and my brothers; Lo there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning. Lo, they do call me, they bid me take my place among them, in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever. (The Thirteenth Warrior, based on Michael Crichton's novel Eaters of the Dead, which in turn is based off Beowulf, does not really...hmm. either age well or hang together, but the prayer for the dead was probably its greatest legacy: it's a good scene. This version also has ibn Fadlan's prayer at the beginning. Fun fact: the red-headed Viking in the mail shirt is actually played by the same actor as Bor in TDW.)

There were tears running down his face, shining in the firelight as he rocked back and forth on his knees. The wound in his throat was still streaming blood, but Natasha could see it already beginning to close. His voice rose again, stronger now.

Loki is, quite literally, having a religious experience, because he didn't actually know if it would work. Not just because it really could straight-up kill him, but because he didn't know if it would work because he isn't Asgardian by birth.

“Even now my kin are pouring out the grave-ale in the great hall where the brave will live forever! They are calling to me! They bid me take my place among them beyond the great gates which even the divine Aesir may pass but once!”

Still playing off the Viking prayer for the dead. Loki uses the same language during the prayer/speech before the battle in Yonder.

There was a low rising murmur from the watching Asgardians. They seemed to eddy like a tide, leaning towards Loki as though they could see what he saw, into the afterlife where all of Asgard but them now dwelt.

Every living Asgardian has in the space of a few days seen ninety-nine percent of their species die, their planet destroyed, and then half of the remaining one percent of surviving Asgardians be snuffed out of existence. For the king -- the interlocutor between the living Aesir and the dead Æsir -- to be able to publicly see and speak with the dead...it's a big deal.

Loki threw his head back suddenly, voice raised in a wordless hawk-screech of triumph as he spread his arms to the stars above him. “Allfather Odin!” he shouted. “Your son calls you! God to god, king to king, Allfather to Allfather! My people, who were once yours, send me now to stand at the gates of Valhalla to look upon the faces of the Æsir and the Ásynjur; I may come this far but no further, for they are calling me back to them.”

Another line straight out of Loki's prayer/speech in Yonder. If you pay close attention to Yonder and Horizon, you'll notice that outside of this ritualized language, no one ever refers to Odin as Allfather again; Loki is the only one who gets that title until he also gives it to Thor in the final chapter of Yonder.

He paused to take a breath, his face gilded with tears as he cried out again. “Allmother Frigga! Your son calls you! God to goddess, king to queen, Allfather to Allmother! My people, who were once yours, send me now to stand at the gates of Valhalla where all the line of our kin have passed before; I may come this far but no further, for they are calling me back to them.”

The wound across his throat was little more than a thin red line now.

“I bid you pour a cup for your son in Valhalla and think of me kindly until I come to dine with you again, for even the gods must die. Hail Æsir! Hail Ásynjur!”

Yonder again. Loki says the same thing before he bloods Thanos and then turns him over to the other leaders of Yggdrasil.

Whatever Loki had been about to say next died on his lips as his eyes went wide. “Thor!”

Not ritualized, not expected. But who else would it be?

He jerked forward with his hand outstretched, reaching for something – someone – no one else could see. There was a sudden stillness in the air, all of the Asgardians staring fixedly at Loki with somehow even more intensity than they had before. By now there was no question that Loki loved his brother beyond all reason, despite what Natasha thought were several determined attempts to kill him; every Asgardian there had to be terrified that given the chance he would follow Thor into death.

“Thor,” he said, pleading. “Brother –” He was weeping now in earnest, tears spilling from his still-golden eyes and dripping off his chin to water the earth where he knelt.

Earth must be fed.

There was agony on Loki’s face as he finally drew his hand back, curling briefly in on himself with his palms pressed to his stomach, as if holding in a mortal wound. “I cannot do it,” he whispered. “I cannot do it. There is no one else.” He raised his head again, golden eyes glowing in the firelight before they began to fade back to his normal blue-green. “Asgard is ashes and atoms and all of my kin are feasting now in Valhalla, save for she who rules in Hel. I will have no homecoming in this life, not until I come to the great gates once more.”

As the gold fades from his eyes his vision is returning to the real world.

One of my favorite bits in this scene, and I went through a lot of variations on Loki's exact phrasing. At the end of the day it always has to be his choice, whether to stay and take up the responsibility or to walk away. I've always seen Loki as having a very strong sense of responsibility.

It's left deliberately vague whether he really saw Thor or if Thor spoke to him. A few later scenes call back to this specific sequence:

“Not long now, brother.” Loki’s voice was so low that Steve didn’t think he would have heard it if they hadn’t been standing side by side. The words weren’t meant for him anyway. “Meet me at the gates.” (Horizon 16, flashback to the Battle of Wakanda)

and of course, when Loki returns to New Asgard in the last scene

The great hall’s carved wooden doors were shut to keep out the cold. Loki vanished his glowing ball with a twitch of his fingers and took a deep breath, then pushed open the doors.

Light and sound spilled out, the cheerful scrape of the guitar- and fiddle- like Asgardian string instruments and the characteristic three stroke double-beat of the drums, a woman’s voice singing along with it. It continued on for a few seconds before someone noticed the open doors.

“The king!” someone cried, and then in eerie echo of the coronation ceremony months earlier, “The king comes! The king comes!”

“King Loki!” The little girl who had brought Loki the kittens to bless the day they had left came tearing down the aisle, making Loki stagger backwards as she flung herself into his arms. “King Loki, you’re back!”

They might not be the great gates of Valhalla and it might not be his family, but he gets a homecoming at the doors of Iðavoll nevertheless.

Loki stayed on his knees for a few moments more, then rose to his feet, a little unsteady as the Valkyrie came to help him – the man that had blocked her path had stepped aside. He took the knife that the Valkyrie handed him and breathed on it, raising it so that the mist of his breath could be seen on the metal, then drew the blade slowly and deliberately across his palm. The wound began to close up again nearly as soon as he took the blade away and held his hand up but the blood ran down his wrist to stain the sleeve of his white shirt. “I bleed! I breathe! I live! I have gone to the great gates but no further; I have looked upon that which is not to be looked upon by the eyes of the living and I will not see its like again in this life. I have spoken with the Allfathers and Allmothers who came before and returned to stand before you now.”

To show that he's returned in body, not just spirit: he draws breath, he bleeds. Note how quick he starts to heal up again; the drugs in the drink are still working on him.

He flung the knife point-down into the ground before him, where it stood quivering like a giant bee, and let his gaze travel around the circle of watching Asgardians. “I am Loki, King of Asgard, God of Mischief, Allfather of the Aesir! Does any deny me? Speak now!”

This is the first time Loki himself claims his titles; previously during the coronation Eir and the Valkyrie have announced him.

The only sound was the crashing of the waves against the cliff below them.

“Speak now!” It was Eir.

Another long pause.

“Speak now!” Forseti cried out.

Silence, and then someone – Natasha couldn’t tell who – shouted out, “The king comes!”

Others took the cry up. “The king comes! The king comes! The king comes!”

As if it had been a signal, the Asgardians began to kneel – one by one at first, then in clumps and finally the stragglers in a great wave, until Loki and the three humans at the back were the only ones still standing. Steve twitched a little, uneasy – possibly at the same memory Natasha was having right now, but somehow she could feel the difference between this and Stuttgart. Maybe it was the expression on Loki’s face. Maybe it was the hum of magic in the air, something that raised the hair on the back of Natasha’s neck and made her feel painfully small and human. Like she was the alien here, not the Asgardians.

Loki's got a complicated history with large masses of people kneeling to him.

“I am King of Asgard,” Loki said again – for himself this time, the words falling like stones into a still pond. He shut his eyes, as if trying to hold onto the shining image of whatever it was he had seen when Forseti had cut his throat. “Farewell, brother,” he whispered into the firelit darkness, with the only other sound the pounding of the Skagerrak’s waves against the cliffs below. “Pour a cup for me and think of me kindly, little though I have deserved it at times. I will not see you again this side of the great gates. Wait for me a while longer, if you will.”

Another callforward to what Loki says during the Battle of Wakanda, that's quoted up above: "Not long [to wait] now, brother. Meet me at the gates." That scene was not written when this scene was, so that scene's actually a callback to this one.

I've said a few times that for a big chunk of Yonder I wasn't certain whether Thor was going to actually come back. That's even more true here, where we know that none of the snapped people are going to return for at least five years. One of the things that I really wanted to keep in mind throughout Horizon in regards to the Snap was that as far as any of the characters are concerned, they're dead. Really, truly, not coming back, dead. And for the Asgardians that goes double, because most of the Asgardians were massacred, not snapped. Loki has no idea that Thor was snapped and not killed until he shows up on the battlefield in Yonder. Part of him is always going to hang onto Thor, but he's also releasing him here, accepting that he has to stay on this side of the gates.

[honoringthor]

15 days of Thor devotion ⚡ names and kennings

As with many gods Thor has many names. Here are some. I don't have the special letters for some of the spellings. Most of these can be found in the Prose and Poetic Eddas.

💚❤️🌩️🩶 Thor💚❤️🌩️🩶

Donnar

Donar (German)

Tomar (Ireland)

Thunor (old Friesian)

Asabragr "Aesir-lord"

Atli "terrible'

Bjorn 'bear"

Einridi "one who rides or rules alone"

Ennilangr "one with a wide forehead"

Hardhugsdr "strong spirit'

Hardveurr "strong archer"

Hlóridi "loud Rider?"

Oku-Thor "cart Thor"

Rymr "noise"

Sonnungr "true one?"

Vethormr "protector of the shrine?"

Véudr "hallower?shrine guardian?"

Véurr "hallower? Shrine guardian?"

Ving Thor "battle Thor"

Orms-einbani "lone killer of the serpent"

Wielder of Mjolnir

Defender of Midgard/Asgard

Killer of giants/troll women

Of the mighty girdle

Enemy of the Midgard serpent

Adversary of ___

[the-broken-truth]

Hi hi hi! I was just thinking about what if Björn makes a blood connection with Magni and Modi before they died. Like, the three of them cut their hands and they hold each other’s hands, like that they believe that now Björn is their brother cause they are connected by blood.

Imagine if Baldur and Björn does the same thing. Basically it would mean that Björn (and also Revna) are connected with Baldur, Magni and Modi by blood, making them siblings.

Imagine Kratos and Atreus going feral when they discover about it.

[BLOOD CONTRACT WITH THE SONS OF THOR] [MIDGARD - ON THE EDGE OF THE FOREST]

The sun sat on the edge of the horizon as it began setting from the sky to give light to the other side of the world, but the golden eyes of the son of the Ghost of Sparta looked at the glowing orb of light with tiredness in his eyes - he was exhausted from his training with his bloodless brothers - Magni and Modi - the Sons of Thor. It was month 3 or 4 of Bjorn's Training in swordsmanship and channeling his lightning magic through his hand and through his sword but it was still draining for the young bear when he was training from sunrise to sunset, he was finally given a moment to breathe before he had the return home and deal with the overprotective nature of his father and older twin brother. Oh, how he wished that Magni and Modi were his real brothers, along with Baldur; if only fate had been kind to him and birthed him into the Family of Thorsdóttir.

"You seem distracted." A powerful voice called from behind Bjorn, causing him to look behind him and his golden eyes locked with the electric blue eyes of Magni, the older of Thor's Sons & the taller one. "What's going on through your mind, Little Bear?"

"It's nothing to concern yourself with, Magni; sorry if I was bothering you with my thoughts." Bjorn said as he looked back at the sun. Magni knew something was wrong with the younger warrior and sat beside him as he looked at the sun as well and the two of them sat in silence before Magni looked at Bjorn again and reached over to place his hand on his shoulder, making the boy look back into his blue eyes.

"You're becoming a splendid warrior, Little Bear, but a skilled warrior needs a clear mind and I can tell that your mind is clouded with something. Tell me, Little Brother, what is bothering you so much?" Magni asked again, the title 'brother' made Bjorn look to the ground before he looked into Magni's eyes again.

"That's the thing - I want us to be brothers - blood brothers - you, Modi, and Baldur have been like the brothers I never had but always wanted: you train me, you understand me, and you actually want me to get better unlike my father and Atreus. I wish that it was your blood I carried in my veins instead of theirs, I wish that Lord Thor was my father… I sometimes wish that I was an Aesir instead of a Spartan." Bjorn closed his eyes at the last sentence before he exhaled and looked back at the sun, "But the fates aren't kind like that…Are they, Magni?"

"No. No, they are not kind enough to put your in our family where you belong but that doesn't mean we can't make it happen, Little Brother." Magni said, causing Bjorn to look at him with confusion in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" The bear asked.

"Have you ever heard of a blood contract?" Magni asked but Bjorn shook his head and Magni smiled, "A Blood Contract is old magic - when two or more people want to be joined by the kinship of blood, they would cut their hands and join them together, the idea was that the magic would bind them together as blood family for the rest of their lives."

"Are you serious?" Bjorn asked with hope sparkling in his eyes.

"He's right, you know." Modi said as he appeared on the other side of the bear cub and took his seat their and smiled at the boy, "If you want to be our little brother, we can do a blood contract and we'll be bound by blood for the rest of eternity." Modi said as he held out his hand to Bjorn, who looked at him with a smile on his face.

"Yes. Yes, I want to be your blood brother. How do we do this?" Bjorn asked as he looked at Magni, who produced a knife from his pocket and cut the palm of his left hand before passing the knife to Modi who cut the palm of his right hand, they handed the knife to Bjorn, who looked at the blood-soaked blade for a while before the thought of them being blood-related crossed his mind again and he took the knife and cut both of his palms before setting the knife down. All 3 of them looked at the sun as Bjorn placed his smaller left hand in Modi's hand, the blood mixing, before doing the same with Magni; a warm feeling coursed through all of their bodies as they sat in silence and looked at the sun, letting their blood bond settle. Magni and Modi closed their hands around Bjorn's smaller hands, allowing their wounds to touch and their blood to get even closer.

[BLOOD CONTRACT WITH BALDUR - SON OF FREYA]

Bjorn dodged Baldur's attack before throwing his fist out, connecting with Baldur's face, making the taller man move back for a while as the bear panted but kept his guard up. Baldur wiped the blood from his lip and smiled at Bjorn, who smiled back at him but the match was stopped when Magni called out from the sidelines.

"Enough. My little brother needs to rest for a while, Baldur." Magni said as he unfolded his arms and walked over to Bjorn, "That's enough for now, Little Bear, you need to take a breather."

"But, Elder Brother, I feel fine. I feel like I can handle more that I usually do." Bjorn explained as he looked at his hands, mainly, the scars on the palms of his hands from the blood contract he partook in a week ago. Magni placed a hand on Bjorn's shoulder and smiled at him.

"I know, Little Brother, but you don't want to burn yourself out during a fight so you neeed to take a breather before you continue to your swordplay." Magni explained befor walking off to the side with Bjorn following behind him but Baldur walked over to them and asked.

"What is it with all this 'Little Brother' crap, Magni?" Baldur asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A week ago, we did a blood contract; Bjorn is my little brother now." Magni said as he placed at hand on Bjorn's head, ruffling his hair, causing the boy to smile.

"You both did a blood contract? Do you know if it worked?" Baldur asked as he looked at Bjorn.

"Well, I've been feeling much stronger than I used to be before I did the blood contract. I think it worked." Bjorn said as Baldur kneeled before the boy.

"What about me? Aren't your brother too?" Baldur asked, making Bjorn raise his eyebrow.

"Of course you are, Baldur. You're the one who introduced me to Big Brother Magni and Big Brother Modi. If I could, I would have done a blood contract with you too." Bjorn said with a smile.

"You can…" Magni said, "If you want to be bound to Baldur as well, preform the same blood contract we did together."

Baldur and Bjorn looked at each other before nodding - Bjorn pulled out Magni's Knife - Magni let him have it after the blood contract last time - and cut open the scar on his left hand before hand the knife to Baldur, who cut the palm of his left hand and the two of them held hands - this time, a cold feeling coursed through Bjorn's Body.

"From this day on, we are brothers." Baldur said with a smile.

"Big Brother Baldur. Now I have 3 brothers that care of my power and I shall make you all proud." Bjorn said with a smile. Time to get back to training.

[KRATOS AND ATREUS FINDING OUT ABOUT THE BLOOD CONTRACTS]

"Father! NO!" Bjorn cried out as Kratos broke Baldur's neck and threw his body to the ground; the little bear ran over to the body of his fallen brother and looked into his blue and red eyes and placed his smaller hands on Baldur's body, shaking him as if he was asleep.

"Baldur! Baldur! Please, don't leave me… Please, don't leave me like they did…" Bjorn's eyes began to water.

"Bjorn, don't touch him." Kratos tried to pull Bjorn away from Baldur's body but the young bear roared at him and pushed him away.

"YOU KILLED MY BROTHERS! ALL OF THEM! MAGNI, MODI, AND BALDUR! YOU KILLED MY FUCKING BROTHERS, FATHER! I BEGGED YOU NOT TO DO IT, HE WASN'T GOING TO KILL HIS MOTHER…He wasn't going to kill her…You killed him for nothing…" Bjorn cried as he looked at Baldur, who was now being cradled by Freya who was sheding her own tears.

"Why did you call them your brothers? Atreus is your only brother." Kratos said.

"No… No he wasn't, not anymore. I did a blood contract with Magni, Modi, and Baldur - they became my blood brothers - I was linked to them by blood and now you took that away from me." Bjorn said as he glared at Kratos, who glared back at him.

"YOU TAINTED THE BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS WITH THEIR BLOOD?! THE BLOOD OF MYSELF AND FAYE?! HOW DARE YOU, BOY?! WHAT EVER WERE YOU THINKING?!" Kratos demanded to know.

"HOW DARE I?! HOW DARE YOU?! YOU TOOK THEM AWAY FROM ME - THE BROTHERS THAT SAW MY POTENTIAL AND TRAINED ME TO BE THE WARRIOR I AM NOW! YOU TOOK THEM AWAY FROM ME, GHOST OF SPARTA, AND I SHALL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" Kratos suddenly grabbed Bjorn's arm tightly, "LET GO OF ME!"

"YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR, BOY! YOU TAINT YOURSELF WITH THE BLOOD OF OUR ENEMIES AND NOW THEY ARE WITHIN YOU! YOU ARE NEVER LEAVING THE HOUSE AGAIN AND I SHALL BE KEEPING AN EYE ON YOU FROM NOW ON!" Kratos yelled as he pulled Bjorn away from Freya and Baldur with tears in the little bear's eyes as he cried for the last of his fallen brothers.

[kinnoth]

Ok so I don't think I'll be able to fully implement this bc I think it might be TOO SPICY but--

You know how languages (eg norse) have "masculine, feminine, and neuter" nouns

You know also how in many places, babies are referred to as "it" as in "it's time for baby's nap! Here's how to put it down"

You know how on Asgard, the most cutting insult is to desex someone and turn them into an "it" i.e. "take that out of my sight, it is a disgrace"

The thing I want (and have always wanted) is that the Asgardian convention for gender to be children are genderless and are then given gender as they "come of age". All children are "it" until they're either breeched and become "he/him" boys or have their hair bound and become "she/her" girls.

(this has been in the back of my mind as I have produced meta regarding Thor not fully understanding gender as a child i.e. "I wanted to be a Valkyrie" and also in explaining the whole thing where loki forcibly changes his sex and how he got away with keeping that a secret)

ANYWAY so the neuter is for children who are not fully people yet and therefore to linguistically neuter someone in an insult is grave offense and removes them from their personhood

THAT'S WHY there is a suspicion that is linguistically inherited and is always lurking on the edges of every interaction between the giants and the aesir. The giants have a single gender and therefore their language only supplies a single pronoun "they/them". This does not translate to Asgardian however, in which the only neuter pronoun in use is "it" -- for children and the desexed. When a giant talks about an aesir, it sounds like an insult; maybe if these two cultures had had more relations between them, this sort of thing could be smoothed over and cleared up, but unfortunately, the aesir were too busy with their wars and the giants were too defensively isolationist to allow for much commingling.

Anyway so Asgardian translates jotnir "they/them" into "it" but allspeech defaults all of jotnir's neuters into the masculine, so ironically if the aesir had had access to allspeech earlier in their history, the two cultures might have had an easier relation.

(here I could insert an aside about whether or not it's possible for allspeech to be politically neutral when it is a) a weapon of the colonizer and b) actually, for real, Odin's magic, a tool which he created for the use of the gods -- but that's for later)

Regardless, here's how I think loki finds out about the giants being all one gender:

Gertha, wife of frey, comes to visit loki in the jotnar settlement on vanaheim.

She genuflects to skrymir who receives her, like "hello grandfather, it has been a long while. I've come for the prince shaper, and to see how he fares" and everybody is very excited, all "Lord grith" this and "Lord grith" that

And Loki, who does not speak jotnir at this point and has been getting by with allspeech and vanir, asks angrboda as an affronted aside like "why are they calling gertha lord, she is princess consort to the king of vanaheim, she is a woman" and angrboda is just like "what's a woman?"

Loki is flabbergasted. "A woman??" And struggles to explain this basic concept and settles on "you know, like a maiden, a mother. Not a man"

Angrboda: "I said, what's that?"

Loki: stuttering, incoherent

Angrboda: "🙄you're just making up words. It's always something with you isn't it?"

Loki: "how do you not know what men and women are???"

Angroda: sighing deeply. "Ok, say those words again."

Loki, enunciating: "man." looking for a glimmer of comprehension from angrboda. "woman." Nothing, he just looks bored and annoyed. "Man."

Angrboda, looking at him: "you're just saying. The same. Word. Over. And. Over." Muttering to himself, "so fucking weird"

Loki, sotto, hissing, extremely embarrassed: "a man has a penis. A woman has a vagina"

Angrboda rolls his eyes with his entire body: "we all have a penis and a vagina, what are you talking about?"

Loki: 🤯

Angrboda: "what?"

Loki: "what???"

Angrboda, who usually doesn't give a shit about any social niceties, suddenly very condescending: "my lord, I don't think this is the appropriate setting for this sort of discussion"

Loki shuts up. Visits with gertha, who doesn't have very much to say to him, but is distantly kind. She asks if she can bring him anything from outside. Loki asks for paper, pen, and ink. She promises to deliver him some.

On the way home through the woods, Loki does not drop the subject: "I've seen you naked, in the baths, you have a penis"

Angrboda, losing patience: "this again? Listen, I know you don't have the best opinion of me, but I'm not some sort of savage. I know how to clean myself!"

Loki: "explain what that means"

Angrboda, blowing up: "what the fuck is there to explain!"

Loki, in the middle of a full on gender panic, he can feel his skin splitting again beneath his clothes: "what do you mean we all have both??"

Angrboda, not really understanding what is happening, just sensing that Loki is upset, bends down and starts drawing in the dirt: "when you need it for something, like to wash it, you pull it out. When you do don't need it for anything, like when you're walking around, you put it back in. Every child knows this--"

Loki, still gender panicking, feeling sick now: "so it's all one organ. and you use it to procreate?"

Angrboda, slowly, not sure where this is going: "yes"

Loki: "and how do you decide who will become the woman?"

Angrboda, just baffled: "what?"

Loki, loudly: "how do you decide who carries the baby?"

Angrboda, kind of scared now, doesn't like it when Loki shouts: "I don't know! You just work it out between the two of you? Is that not how the aesir decide?" A beat. "Are you ok? Are you bleeding??"

Loki, definitely bleeding: "no" just starts walking away really really fast. Angrboda thankfully does not follow him.

[wyrmfedgrave]

1914: The Work.

"Mighty Odin laughs upon his throne¹,

Claim(ing) his children² for his own.

The voice of Thor resounds from on high,

(As) armed Valkyries ride (in) the sky:

The Gods of Asgard³ their powers release,

To rouse... dullards from (their) peace.

Awake,... hypocrites & deign to (see),

The actions of (your) "Brotherhood of Man⁴."

Could your shrill pippings... impair,

The warlike impulse (found) there?

Where now the gentle maxims of school,

The Cant⁵ of preachers & (their) Golden Rule⁶?

What (can) feeble... doctrine... sway?

Too long restrained... bloody tempest breaks,

Midgard⁷, beneath the (tread) of warriors shakes,

On to death, Berserkers⁸ bold!!

In acts of (red) bravery... die!

Who cares (for a) heaven (full) of priests,

When only warriors... with Woden⁹ feast?

Flesh of Schrimnir¹⁰ &... cup of mead,

Are for him who falls in martial deed:

Luckless boor that passive meets his end,

Never in Valhalla (will he) contend¹¹.

Slay, brothers, slay!!

Bathe in crimson gore;

Let Thor... view the sport once more!

All... thoughts fad(e) in(to) mist,

Attack or... resist.

List,... Alfadur¹² to the clash of steel;

How (a)like does each swordsman feel!"

Notes:

1. Odin's main throne was in Valhalla. But, he had another, lesser known seat of office.

This was called Hlidskjalf (high seat with a view) & it allowed the 1-eyed God to use seidr (omniscience)!

There, 1 could look into the other realms. Such as when Freyr (lord) did so, when he peeked into Jotunheim - & fell in love...

It's described as being inside of Valaskjalf (Shelf of the Slain), Odin's home.

Freyr, BTW, is the Vanir (friends?) God of peace, rain & fertility. Though from another race of Gods, he lived with the Aesir - as a 'hostage!'

2. In the Christian Bible, there's 2 versions of the creation event.

But, in Norse myth, there's different Gods present at man's creation.

The only God present in both versions is Odin.

He was the 1 to breathe life into 2 tree trunks found at the beach. These were named Ask (ash tree) & Embla (elm, water pot or vine?)

3. Asgard (Gods's 'fort'?) was home to the Norse Gods. Several divine homes are located there.

Places like Alfheim (Elfland), Gladsheimr (bright home), Idavollr (splendid plain), Noatun (ship port?), Vingolf (friendly hall) & Valhalla are all located there.

4. Here, Lovecraft shows his disdain of Immanuel Kant's book Perpetual Peace & the growing inter- national peace movement.

Kant was a major German philosopher.

Hate much, Lovecraft?

5. Interesting word: It describes any hypocritical or sanctimonious speech on political, religious or moral.

It's also all about particular slangs, lingos & science terminology!

"Beam me up, Scotty?"

6. The Golden Rule, of almost all religions, is to treat others as you want to be treated. It got this name because there's value in being respectful & caring with 1 another.

7. Midgard (middle earth or 'fort' wall?) is the Earth. It named the "wall around the world," a defense from Ice Giant attacks!!

Where's Thor when you really need him?

Making movies...

8. Berserkers were unruly Norse warriors who fought in a trance-like fury!

Some would fight in the nude - unhindered by either, wounds or weather.

Others bit their shields or roared like banshees!

Often, they attacked both, friends & foes - which led them be outlawed.

Think about that for a 2nd...

A successfully violent & martial culture that's scared of no 1 - except 1 of their own!!

9. Woden¹³ is the Anglo-Saxon version of the Scandinavian Odin. He's also king of their Gods & leads the nightmarish 'Wild Hunt!'

But, all of these divinities are of Germanic stock. Local languages account for the variant spellings.

10. Schrimnir is now spelled Saehrimnir (sooty sea beast). Both, however, are the names of the magical boiled meat served in Valhalla.

The beast (walrus?) is slaughtered each evening to feed the Einherjar (warriors who fight alone?).

Then, the beast (boar?!) is resurrected again - til the next evening...

11. Cowards & those who died in bed or from disease weren't welcomed in Valhalla. Only heroic warriors could expect to be taken there.

However, only half of the slain actually went to Valhalla. The rest went to Folkvangr (field of the host), hall of Freya (the lady).

Freya was the Goddess of love, war & magic. She's also an Aesir 'hostage' & was originally a Vanir Goddess.

12. Alfadur (all father) is another name for Odin.

But, long after Ragnarok, an Alfadur is supposed to recreate some of the lost worlds.

The whole 9 worlds aren't mentioned.

This sounds like a major error, since it's Balder who's supposed to do that.

But, perhaps, Alfadur is a title that passed down to Odin's son...

It could be this error that confounded Lovecraft's translation.

13. Anglo-Saxon Woden is also known as Uuoden in Old Saxon, Wuodan in Old Dutch, Weda in Old Frisian & Wuotan in Old High German.

All these various names go back to the old Proto- Germanic Wodanaz, meaning "Lord of the Frenzied."

Odin seems to translate as "lord of inspiration?" But , it can also mean "lord of the delirious or raging."

Next: Part 3 The Work continues...

[lady-rose-moon]

I have you || Prologue ||

A/N: welcome to the prologue to I have you! Let me offer you some context before we begin! You are the adopted daughter of the Queen of Midgard's Moon, known as the Demon Goddess. You have a sister. You have magic. There won't be any description of Y/N past the colour of the fingernails just to let everyone view themselves in this role! Without further ado, shall we begin?

Prologue | Masterlist | Chapter One

The winter solstice had just ended, and the parties had ceased their music, parents were gathering their children and guiding them home from a long night of celebrating the next change of season, though it shall not happen for the next few months. Asgardians old and young had gathered to celebrate that they were in the deep of winter and spring shall soon bloom. 

In the Asgardian Palace, the Aesir royal family had just finished their evening celebrations with their fellow lords and ladies of the other realms, apart from Jötunheim’s King, Laufey. Asgard and Jötunheim hadn’t had the best track record so it was best that they be left to themselves. The golden walls caught the last fires from the torches that hung from them, showing a slight regality of the now dominant darkness outside.

At the head of the large table, King Odin finished his chalice of wine and set it down, rising to his feet to look down the table. Thor, his firstborn, was surrounded by his friends as they discussed the latest battle they had snuck away to fight. Odin admired Thor’s bravery and need for battle but did not approve that he sought out a fight when it was not needed, if he carried on then it could lead to more than just a verbal thrashing from the King and Queen of said realm. The old King sighed and raised his staff, Gungnir, high in the air before bringing it down on the stone floor to make a loud bang which brought all attention to him. 

 “Welcome to newer times of the year, my friends. I hope the next year will be as peaceful and thriving as this one has been,” Odin spoke, and the table listened to him as he spoke, truly enamoured by every word the Allfather spoke, “I apologise for my brief appearance, but I must retire for the night. I wish you all safe travels home, goodnight.” The table chorused a soft goodbye and Odin stood, departing from the dining hall with his wife on his arm.

Everyone resumed their conversations once the doors to the dining hall shut behind the departing King and his Queen. About halfway down the table, a boy sat beside Volstagg and a black-haired girl that couldn’t be much older than himself. This boy was Loki Odinson, second born to Odin Allfather and Queen Frigga. The boy did not look happy to be attending the dinner that his mother had firmly demanded he attend. He had wanted to stay in his room and read all night, watch fireworks from his window and celebrate his own way but Frigga would not allow it. 

 ‘You are almost 1,000 years old now, Loki, you must make a name for yourself.’ His mother had said to him that morning. But Loki had already made a name for himself, he had married young to a giantess, Angrboða. With her, he had sired three children: Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel. Loki loved his children with his heart, he had tried his hardest to keep Fenrir close to him so that Odin could not get his hands on his beloved son but while Loki was in the bath one night, a member of Odin’s Einherjar had snuck into his room and stolen his firstborn. 

Angrboða and Loki mourned the loss of their son and continued to do even after Angrboða informed Loki that she was with child once more. The child had been born strange, an egg instead of a baby. Loki had been confused as he held the bloody egg, but he felt nothing but love as his baby grew inside it. The same happened to his egg that happened to Fenris only this time, it took less time. Angrboða was watching over her egg fondly as Loki was meeting with officials from Vanaheim when a member of Odin’s Einherjar came in from a door behind her and promptly knocked her out, stealing the egg. The next Loki heard of the egg, Odin informed him that it had been thrown into the oceans of Midgard and Loki grieved, grieved for the loss of his first son, for the banishment of his second and for the love he knew he will never receive off Odin now.

When Hel was born, Loki saw her half-dead body and sobbed, resting his head on Angrboða’s chest as his child suckled her nipple for milk. He wasn’t sobbing because he didn’t want this child, he already loved her so much! He cried because he knew she would also be considered a monster by Odin and sent away just like her elder siblings. Loki and Angrboða tried to convince everyone that she had lost the baby, that it had been stillborn but the Allfather had not believed her. Loki had taken it upon himself to keep Hel close and to protect her, he did not leave her in her cradle for a bath, he did not let her sleep away from himself and Angrboða.

Loki was terrified of losing his only little girl, he had always wanted a girl and cherished her cute giggles and excited squeals whenever he showed her simple magic tricks. Even through all this added protection, Odin had torn his only daughter from his arms and banished her to Helheim. That day came and went, many more passed and soon even Angrboða left him, she had died of a broken heart at losing all three of her children but Odin passed the death off as the flu to his citizens and life went on. 

Then there was a time, three hundred years later, when Loki decided he had had enough of grieving for his family, and he wanted to ruin Odin. Loki decided it would be funny to seduce Odin’s current warhorse, Svaðilfari. It had been all fun and games until she discovered she could not turn back from a mare into her human form, she had used her magic to scan herself and found another little bundle of magic beneath her own. Loki’s heart stopped and she realised she could not stay near Asgard’s palace while she was pregnant with her child and so she ran. Many warrants went up all over the Realm to find the prince and as she was reaching her eleventh month of pregnancy, she had hidden to wait out the rest in the mountains and away from any other life.

When her son, Sleipnir, had been born and she could shift back into her human form, she held her son close to her and looked down at him lovingly, appreciating this blessing from the gods. Sleipnir had been born a foal as she had carried him that way for the whole duration, she watched him change into a normal human as his magic slowly built up over the few hours, she spent holding him. He looked just like her, ebony hair already on his head, deep green eyes, and the cutest smile he’d ever seen since… her heart skipped a beat as she remembered Hel and her smile. Sleipnir had Hel’s smile and she was so proud. 

Two months later, when he was sure that Odin wouldn’t think him to be the culprit of Svaðilfari’s disappearance, he returned to Asgard castle with Sleipnir. Odin had been suspicious of course, but Sleipnir showed no reason to be a threat, so he wilfully ignored the child for once. Loki had been thankful for this, and he had shown his son around the castle with a bright smile, listening to Sleipnir’s cooing and enthusiastic squeals. 

Then they arrived, queen Serena and her two daughters, Serenity, and you. It was widely known that princess Y/N was adopted after her father had saved her from her mother and sent her to live with the royal family of Midgard’s moon. At first, he took no notice of princess Y/N as he was still nursing Sleipnir and recovering from his birth but later in the night, when cuddling his already asleep son, you walked up to him with a gentle smile.

“May I hold him, your majesty? I won’t wake him, I swear,” you smiled and looked at him with a curious look in your eye and he reluctantly handed his son to you, watching you carefully as if  you would turn away and take Sleipnir from him. You didn’t. You took a seat beside him and gazed down at the young boy in your arms with a soft smile before you began to speak again, “is he yours? Mother had me and Serenity informed of your fluidity to respect you! He’s so beautiful, he looks like you.” 

 Loki looked at you with surprise evident on his face before he smiled and nodded as he gazed down at his son, “his name is Sleipnir. I love him more than life itself and if something happened to him…. I wouldn’t forgive myself…” He mumbled weakly and smiled gently at you before huffing and wiping his eyes quickly, “I’m sorry, I’m still very hormonal. Mother says it will last a month longer and then I shall be back to normal.” He gently took Sleipnir back from you and smiled lovingly at his sleeping son’s face. 

Smiling, you tucked a bit of hair behind Loki’s ear and watched him curiously, “forgive me, the Allfather spoke of you and said your reputation was horrible, that you cared for no one but yourself and your son.” That made Loki laugh as he looked up from his baby to meet your eyes, his heart so full of grief and pain that you could see it so clearly on his face and you reached your hand out and cupped his cheek, flinching back when Loki instinctively flinched away from the contact.

“Please don’t,” Loki mumbled, looking away from her and down at his son, “I’m not at all crazy about contact after what has happened to my family.” He sounded so broken, his eyes were glossy with unshed tears and you hated yourself for taking all this time to get to him, to get to your soulmate.

“I’ve gone through many lovers, Y/N, I’ve never been able to hold them. Please don’t think you’ll be the first to try to stay with me, either the last one died because of me and my family.” 

You sighed and nodded, giving him a smile before you stood up and moved to kneel in front of Loki and Sleipnir, pushing away some of Sleipnir’s loose hair and you giggled when Sleipnir started to rouse from his sleep, “I suggest we should move him, your highness, if he wakes right now, he shall not sleep the night.” Loki nodded right away and led you through a side door and down a corridor or two until he got to the grand doors of his chambers, and he turned to you  with a shy smile.

The way your heart fluttered when you saw Loki’s smile was indescribable! You had just met the Godling, and you already knew that he was the one you were assigned to by Ymir and the Yggdrasil. Gently stepping back, you gave a small wave to Loki and to Sleipnir’s slowly rousing face before you turned on your heel and left. 

Loki watched you leave with a sad smile before Sleipnir started to get fussy and he laughed, walking into his room and over to his bed after locking the front door and all the windows, “you are a fusspot when you just wake up, sweetie!”

Laying Sleipnir down, Loki undressed him from his onesie and proceeded to change him before giving him a new nappy and conjuring up a bottle of warm milk as he paced around his bedroom, smiling down at his son as he watched the young boy drift off again while drinking the milk. Sighing in relief, Loki slipped into bed and laid Sleipnir down beside him and held his tiny hand in his own before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

He had let his guard down. Odin had backed off. Everything was supposed to be fine! He had merely stepped into the next room to grab you and show you that Sleipnir had finally said “mummy”! When he came back, though, his son was gone. His son was gone, along with the last of his heart. Dropping to his knees, he stared at his bed where his child had been not two minutes ago. He broke. His heart was now sawdust blowing in the Asgardian summer. You knelt beside him and rested your head on his shoulder as you tried to hold back your own tears. It had been a year; you had known the broken family for a year and had become quite attached to Sleipnir, so this loss affected you deeply. You watched as your soulmate’s heart shattered and the boy in front of you barely looked like the proud mother he had been just three minutes ago... He looked so vulnerable, so broken, so helpless and you hated seeing him so. 

“It can’t be so, I just left for a moment! How did... how did he get in here...?” Loki mumbled weakly, more to himself than to the woman holding him so lovingly. He stood abruptly and started pacing around the room, trying to figure out the fateful lapse in his judgement. Why had he walked out on his son? Did his son cry? Did he call for his mummy only to be taken away still? Where had Loki gone wrong in his watch? Why did he look away?! 

“Loki, you’ll burn a hole into the marble if you carry on pacing,” a gentle voice whispered by his side, a warmth surrounding him as you took him into your arms and sniffled, “look, I will mourn for them alongside you, but you must remember that I can easily break the treaty with Asgard for this, you know Serenity will agree to my choice when she finds about this.” you stroked your hand through his silky hair and frowned when Loki shook his head.

“No, this is another of my father's malicious tests of loyalty. Pull out now and he’ll forbid your return to Asgard the moment the comment leaves your mouth. I can’t lose you too, darling, you’re the only one left!” Loki begged you, his weakness shining through now that he had lost all of his children. You helped him cling to you as you shushed him gently, stroking his hair and frowning.

Delicately, you cupped his cheek and smiled lovingly at him as you lifted his head so he could look at you, “I’m never leaving you, I have you, I promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[i-am-theseeker]

GODS (en)

Who are the Aesir Gods? The Human world was called Midgard, while Asgard was the Aesir’s home, lords of the sky.Above these gods there was Odin, wise father of all gods. He had many sons – the most famous was Thor, god of thunder, whereas the well-known Loki, god of trickery, was his brother-in-blood. Odin’s […]GODS (en)