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scarletarosa · 4 years

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Loki

Norse god of trickery and deception

Loki was known to have his father as the giant Farbauti (“Cruel-Striker”) and his mother as Laufey (whose identity is unknown). Loki is known to have had several children with the giantess Angrboda (“Anguish-Boding”). These children are known as Fenrir (the devouring wolf who kills Odin), Jormungandr (the serpent who slays Thor during Ragnarök), and Hela, the goddess of the Underworld. Among all these children, only Hela seems to be the one of decent nature, whereas the other two are malevolent. Loki, with his wife Sigyn, are said to have one child; a son named Nari (which is said to mean “corpse”). In another event, Loki had transformed into a mare in order to court the stallion named Svadilfari. This resulted in Loki giving birth to the eight-legged horse named Sleipnir, which Odin came to use as his shamanic horse.

Myths: In his mythology, Loki constantly portrays a lack of compassion towards the other deities; either doing things out of sadistic mischief or doing things to cause severe harm. He is usually described as being a cowardly schemer who cares for no-one but himself. At times he may be seemingly laid-back and playful, but will quickly shift to show that he is ultimately out for his own gain and pleasure. In one story, Loki had cut the hair of Sif (Thor’s wife) while she slept. When Thor discovered this, he approached Loki and demanded that he replace her hair or he would break every bone in Loki’s body. So Loki had to travel all the way to Níðavellir, the land of the dwarves, where he found the two dwarf sons of Ivaldi. They agreed to fabricate hair from gold, as fine as Sif's own hair, and with the magical ability to grow on her head.

Yet Loki is perhaps best known for his malevolent role in The Death of Baldur. After the death of the beloved god Baldur is prophesied, Baldur’s mother, Frigg, secures a promise from every living thing to not harm her son. However, she gained no oath from the mistletoe, which the gods thought too harmless to kill Baldur. Upon discovering this omission, Loki carves a mistletoe spear, places it in the hands of the blind god Hod, and then instructs him to throw it at Baldur. Hod, not knowing what he held, throws the weapon at Baldur, killing him. Upon realizing what has happened, the god Hermod rides Sleipnir to the underworld and implores Hel to release Baldur, pointing out how beloved he is by all living things. Hel retorts that if this is so, then it shouldn’t be difficult to compel every being in the world to weep for Baldur, and, should this happen, the dead god would be released from the grave. So every living being begins to weep over Baldur, except for one- the giantess named Tokk, who is most certainly Loki in disguise. Due to this, Baldur must remain with Hel in the Underworld.

For Loki’s many crimes, the gods forge a chain from the entrails of Loki’s son Narfi and tie him down to three rocks inside a cave. A venomous serpent sits above him, dripping poison onto him. Yet Loki’s faithful wife, Sigyn, sits at his side with a bowl to catch the venom. But every time the bowl becomes full, she has to leave his side to pour it out. When this happens, the drops of venom fall onto Loki once more, causing him to writhe in agony, and these convulsions create earthquakes. He is said to remain like this until the time of Ragnarök.

A fascinating variant of the tale of Loki’s being bound comes from the medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. In his History of the Danes, Thor, on one of his many journeys to Jotunheim, finds a giant named Útgarðaloki (“Loki of the Utgard“). Útgarðaloki is bound in exactly the same manner as that in which Loki is bound in the story mentioned above, which comes from Icelandic sources. It seems that even the pagan Scandinavians themselves held conflicting views on whether Loki was a god, a giant, or something else entirely.

Ragnarök: At the time of Ragnarök, Loki is foretold to escape and bring war upon all of creation with the giants. When this occurs, Loki’s children, Fenrir and Jormungandr, will help in destroying existence. The icy winds will blow snow from all directions, and the warmth of the sun will fail, plunging the Earth into a winter like no other. Humans will then become so desperate for food and other necessities of life that all laws and morals will fall away, leaving only the bare struggle for survival. It will be an age of murder and strife. The wolves Skoll and Hati, who have hunted the sun and moon through the skies since the beginning of time, will at last devour them. The stars, too, will disappear, leaving nothing but a black void in the heavens. Yggdrasil, the great tree that holds the cosmos, will tremble, and all the trees and mountains will fall to the ground. The chain that has been holding back the monstrous wolf Fenrir will snap, and the beast will run free. Jormungandr, the mighty serpent who dwells at the bottom of the ocean, will rise from the depths, causing massive tsunamis around the world. These convulsions will shake the ship Naglfar (“Nail Ship”) free from its moorings. This ship, which is made from the fingernails and toenails of dead humans, will sail over the flooded earth. Its crew will be an army of giants, the forces of chaos and destruction. And its captain will be none other than Loki, the traitor to the gods, who will have broken free of his chains.

Fenrir, with fire blazing from his eyes and nostrils, will run across the earth, with his lower jaw on the ground and his upper jaw against the top of the sky, devouring everything in his path. Jormungandr will spit his venom over all the world, poisoning land, water, and air alike. The dome of the sky will be split, and from the crack shall emerge the fire-giants from Muspelheim. Their leader shall be Surt, with a flaming sword brighter than the sun in his hand. As they march across the Bifrost, the bridge will break and fall behind them. The gods will decide to go to battle, even though they know what the prophecies have foretold concerning the outcome of this clash. Odin will face Fenrir with an army of mighty human warriors, yet will all die in the process. Thor will face Jormundandr and die killing him. Heimdall and Loki will clash, putting an end to the traitor, but at the cost of Heimdall’s life. Then the remains of the world will sink into the sea, and there will be nothing left but the void. Creation will be completely undone, as if it had never happened.

Even though Loki is in some sense a god, no traces of any kind of worship of Loki have survived in the historical record. Though this is unsurprising since not only is Loki just a traitor and murderer, but he is also the anithesis of the Nordic values of honour and loyalty. Thus, like Apep in the Egyptian religion, Loki is the force that seeks to destroy harmony and benevolence, but is ultimately struck down by the gods each time.

Appearance: Loki appears as a man in his 30′s with long orange hair, green eyes, has a “triangular” shaped face and sharp chin, and his long eyebrows curl upwards at the end.

Personal experiences: In my own experiences with Loki, I was uncertain of what to expect, but soon discovered him to be just how the Nords had documented. At first when working with him, he pretends to be kind, playful, and even helpful, but this gradually shifts. Loki often likes to trick people into trusting him so he can stab them in the back later on, causing all sorts of problems from financial issues, diseases, and other personal loss. With spirits, he likes to disguise himself as their loved ones so he can rape them. Many other times, he has tricked deities into doing things that put them in harms way, or tricked humans into doing things that has killed them. In the end, Loki simply laughs; but if his victim is angered and comes after him, he is nothing but a coward who always runs away.

Loki’s children, Fenrir and Jormungandr, are also highly dangerous to work with and can cause severe mental health problems (or worse) to a person. They are basically entities of mass destruction and don’t care for anyone. Loki has also been imprisoned many times by the gods, but he eventually manages to escape somehow. His desire to seek revenge for these (rightfully earned) punishments have caused him to side with the serpent-god of evil, Apep, and seek further destruction on the deities. Overall, please regard the mythology of this god and consider working with other deities of mischief since Loki is not safe to work with.

#loki #norse gods #nordic polytheism #asatru #deities #fenrir #jormungandr #spirits

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thorraborinn · 3 years

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We know the features of some of the gods and goddesses. Thor is red haired, sif golden haired, Odin grey haired, heimdallr is the whitest of the gods. Is it said anywhere else about any of the other deities??

The way that my brain operates, I can only conceive of answering this by finding every example of a physical description of a deity or spirit in Norse literature, and that’s at least a master’s thesis worth of work, so I’m just going to straight-up tell you that I’m not going to do that (even though I don’t think you’re asking that anyway).

But I will say that descriptions such as the ones you mentioned are not as “known” as most people think they are. There are contradictions in the descriptions of Óðinn, for example. I’m not sure it’s actually specified that he’s grey-haired in Old Norse except in cases where he appears as a disguised human (e.g. Há(r)barðr); in heiti he’s called ‘the brown one’ and ‘red-mustache.’ Heimdallr being “white” also might not be a color description (though it could be both, and could therefore be a pun when it’s deployed in Þrymskviða).

Here are some Óðinn-descriptions just from his own heiti (collected and categorized by Neil Price in The Viking Way):

Brúnn, Brúni ‘brown one; bushy eyebrows’

Ennibrattr ‘the one with a straight forehead’

Hrosshársgrani ‘horsehair-mustache’

Loðungr ‘shaggy-cloak-wearer’

Siðgrani ‘drooping mustache’

Siðhǫttr ‘drooping hat’

Siðskeggr ‘drooping beard’

Þunnr, Þuðr ‘lean, pale’

Here’s some more off the top of my head

Hel is famously ‘half fair, half “blue”’ (taken to mean that half of her resembles a living person and half resembles a dead person)

the goddess Irpa’s name is usually interpreted as referring to color (jarpr a shade of brown)

In Nordic languages, Mayweed flowers are called Baldursbrá/Balderbrå ‘Balder’s brow’ which suggests white or yellow eyebrows

Nótt (Night) is said to be ‘swarthy and dark’

We have strong reason to believe (including probably an example) that Freyr was depicted with a huge dick

#ask #anon

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doloresrojo · 3 years

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Hel’s Daughter

Notes: Although I've never read one of his books, I was inspired by Rick Riordan. I also took some elements of different works of fiction, like Francesca Simon's "The Monstrous Child", the History Channel show "Vikings", Neil Gaiman's "Norse Mythology" and other sources. English is not my native language, so there might be mistakes when it comes to grammar and spelling.

Hope you like it.

The word miracle didn’t exist for the old Norsemen; the concept was foreign to them. If you wanted the favor of the gods you had to take it through sacrifice and blood, prayers were not enough. The gods demanded action. Hel, the goddess of the dead, ruler of Helheim, receiver of those who died an unworthy dead, believed this just as much as the Aesir and the Vanir; and yet, she couldn’t think of a better word to describe the baby that was about to come out of her womb. For thousands of years the gods and goddesses had roamed Midgard coupling with mortals leaving offsprings everywhere. So far, Hel had been the only exception when it came to offsprings. Nobody told Hel that she couldn’t conceive, she just assumed it, after all, half of her body was a corpse. She thought that she wasn’t supposed to produce life, it was not her domain. But having a child had always been one of her deepest longings.

Hel was a witch too, her mother the giantess Angrboda was a völva, and a powerful one; Loki had not chosen her only for her beauty and wickedness; power attracted Loki more than anything, and before being separated from her children she had thought her daughter well. Hel could cast a spell for almost anything, but her favorite was the art of illusion. Hel could make the left side of her body, the one that was a corpse, complement the right one. She knew that the other gods disdained her appearance, and she had used that to her advantage, she loved to play with them, but when it came to mortal men she knew that she had to conceal that part of her if she wanted their attention. So she presented herself as a beautiful Nordic woman: fair skin and smooth as the ice, green eyes like a meadow in the spring, scarlet red lips and long blond hair that reached down to her waist. She looked like a princess from a fairy tale, ancient and mysterious.

The father of her baby was a young Irish musician that was living in London, one of her favorite places. He wasn’t particularly ambitious, he hadn’t left Ireland trying to make it big, he was a wanderer and an artist, a good one for that matter. At first Hel had been attracted to his voice, raspy but comforting, like whiskey running through your veins; then as she watched him she realized that he was shy and he was honestly baffled when someone showed interest in him, and it wasn’t an act; she could see it through her left eye, that eye could only see the truth; he knew her as Sigrid and for one night they worshiped each other. Trough sex, Hel was able to feel the rush that only living bodies feel, the feeling that she couldn’t completely have on her own. And this boy was good at what he was doing, despite of his clumsiness and hesitation, once he got confident he became aware of what his partner wanted and delivered. He wanted to see her again and she didn’t oppose the idea, she told him that she would come back; but she didn’t, not because she didn’t want to, she was expecting his baby and she didn’t know what to do. Hel never thought that she would have to deal with such a human and mundane situation.

The pain was excruciating, she had known pain but never like this. The pregnancy had not been an easy one, for the majority of the time she had to stay in bed, more than once the baby tore her left side almost coming out before time. She believed that if the baby was born dead she would be more angry than sad, all that pain for nothing; she longed for a child, yes, but now she felt bitter. The fates had given her so much sorrow: a deformed body, an untrustworthy, narcissistic and negligent father, a family broken by the fear of others, a kingdom that resented her no matter how much she cared of her subjects’ wellbeing. So no, she didn’t believe that the fates will let her have a piece of joy; her own piece of joy. She could have a corpse baby, ready to be put to the ground. A living corpse, cursed to be a living dead. A monster, just like her and her brothers, destined to endure the wrath of the gods.

“Just one more push, daughter, it’s almost here”. Angrboda was assisting her. When Hel arrived to Nifelheim her mother was already waiting for her; she had been killed not long after the gods had come for them.

“Pray to the Bloodmother”. Said Modgud, the giantess that guarded Gjallarbù, and her friend, who was supporting her back and holding her from the armpits.

With a cry that declared war she pushed as if her life depended on it, she felt her left side finally being ripped apart, and she collapsed on Modgud; she felt herself being dragged to unconsciousness, then a memory came out of nowhere: She was back at Jötunheim, with her brothers in her room, she was lying on Fenrir looking at the view from her window- ice mountains and snow being carried away by the wind- Jörmundgandr coiled beside them with Fenrir's tail rubbing him. Her sanctuary. She was brought back to reality by a high pitched baby’s cry. She opened her eyes and saw Angrboda, astonished, looking at the new born. With tears falling down her face she said:

“It is a girl, Hel. A beautiful baby girl”.

Using her remaining strength she sat up and held her arms out for her baby. What she looked was a healthy baby demigoddess, with ten fingers and ten toes, an upturned nose and a lot of hair on her head. Chestnut hair and brown eyes, just like her father.

“Thank you, Bloodmother. She has her father’s looks”.

Hel kissed her daughters forehead and wept; they were tears of happiness, her baby lived. And that was also the problem: No living being could live in Helheim, which meant that she could not stay with her, she had to live in Midgard. Soon she would have to let her go. The fates truly despised her.

***

No matter how much she hated the three dreadful sisters giantesses, they had the answer to her questions. She swaddled her baby and went to pay them a visit at the foot of the tree of life, the Yggdrasil. The sisters were beautiful, three maidens in the prime of their youth, who could believe that they were ancient and feared by gods and mortals alike?

“You took your time, queen”. Said Urd, the Norn that commanded over the past. She was picking up branches and leaves that had felt from above.

“But alas, no one can escape their fate. Not even a god”. Skuld, the one that presided over the future said, she was looking at the well of fate, the Urðarbrunnr.

Hel looked to Verdandi, the one that ruled the present, waiting to see if she had also something to say. She didn’t even acknowledged Hel, she just took a branch out of a basket and snapped it. Hel flinched and held the baby tighter, Verdandi had just terminated someone’s life. Tossing the branch she said:

“Don’t make that face, Hel. You are the queen of Helheim, death shouldn’t make you flinch. It is natural”.

“She is a mother now. Nothing will ever be the same for her”. A smiling Urd said.

Condescending bitch, thought Hel. Maybe it was the nerves but she was feeling mocked by the sisters. Either way, they were talking as if she wasn’t present.

“I am here…”

“Oh, we know”. Verdandi sounded exasperated, bored even. “You want to know what awaits to your child. Put her in the crib”.

A crib appeared at Hel’s feet, carefully she set the sleeping baby in the crib and the sisters stood beside it. They looked at the baby for what to Hel felt like centuries and then stared at each other. Urd was the first to speak:

“Your daughter is not like any other child a god has ever had; she is special, one of a kind. She is the only child you will ever have; she comes from the barest place in the nine worlds and holds so much power. She will be pure magic, she will be the one who will tip the balance when the end of everything comes”.

“You mean?”

“Yes. Ragnarök”. The sisters said in unison.

Ragnarök, the twilight of the gods. The prophecy had done so much damage already to her family. Fenrir was in Asgard, chained with a sword stuck in his mouth and Jörmundgandr was forced to hold the waters of the mortal world with his tale already in his mouth.

“How?”

“That is yet to be seen. Just like you queen, her part in it is yet not defined”. Answered Skuld.

“You wretched… tell me what you know!”

“Hush now. We don’t have all the answers, you already knew that before coming here. And you’d be wise to mind your words, unless you want her to have a similar fate like the rest of your kin”. Verdandi reminded Hel that they could tamper with fate how they saw fit, so it was wise no to offend them so they would be on her side.

Hel took a breath and swallowed her anger.

“Forgive me… I am scared. I don’t know what to do to protect her”.

The sisters softened at Hel’s turmoil. Skuld and Verdandi went back to their places, resuming their work, Urd picked the baby up from the crib and gave her back to her mother.

“You already know what you have to do to protect her, your child is not safe. She is in a very precarious situation. There is only one place were Odin, and Loki, might not find her that easily; your powers will be useful for that. Not to mention your love for her, that’s your greatest weapon against everyone that comes to harm her”.

***

After leaving the sisters Hel realized that she needed to act fast. It was only a matter of time for everyone in the Nine Worlds to find out about her daughter's existence; she had cast an invisibility spell on the baby to prevent Odin from seeing her in his dreams but that wouldn’t last forever. Loki was still bound inside of a cave for what he did to Baldr, but the fates had mentioned him and that didn’t surprise her; the gods didn’t understand the full extent of Loki’s powers; bound to a cave with a venom serpent over his head was not enough to contain him. She knew the place that the sisters meant, the one were her daughter would be safer: Midgard. The world of the mortals had changed and with it also Odin’s ability to see everything there; mortals moved faster in comparison to the old days. A lot of things were happening at the same time in Midgard, it was hard for the All Father to keep his eye on them.

Hel was dreading this, to let the father know of the existence of their child, but she didn’t trust anyone else with her daughter’s safety. She had seen his heart, he was a good person; still, she knew that she was asking for too much. They had been together only once and he was young, clearly not ready to be a father. She had to try though; and if he refused, well, she could force him to do it, but she didn't want to do that, because she wanted her child to be loved. Hel's mother loved her, she loved all her children, but not Loki, he didn't know how to love anyone. She wouldn't let her child to be with an unloving father, that wound never heales. So if he refused, she would find someone else to take care of her child. There was no other way.

***

The father’s name was Ciaran, little dark one. He didn’t usually have nice dreams, he always dreamed of unpleasant or strange situations that left him feeling confused or disturbed. However, this dream was extremely different. He was in a place surrounded by rocky cliffs enveloped in green foliage; there were rows and rows of mountains surrounding the land like a belt or a fortress. The wind was cold but it wasn’t unbearable and even though they were near the sea the wind was dry, it could burn your skin. The land had also sterile patches; this place was a harsh one. He heard a surge of water, even though he was now far from the sea, he thought it was a waterfall but the sound was inconsistent; it was a geyser, there were hot springs too. Amazed, he touched the water, warm, it felt so real. He wished he could stayed there forever. Just when he thought that this place couldn’t mesmerized him more, he saw a volcano, and it was not dormant, smoke came out of it.

He loved this place, wherever it was, and he knew it was real, it had to; he didn’t think his imagination as vivid as it was could produce such a place. His favorite part was the beach, with its soft black sand; he sat there for a long time, seeing the waves come and go, breathing the sea breeze. He felt in so much peace.

Hel had been watching this whole time. She was the one who orchestrated this dream; Iceland had always had a calming effect on her, she hoped that he would feel the same way. She felt guilty, she was about to ruin his good spirits. Ciaran heard footsteps, when he turned he found the most beautiful woman in the world. Sigrid, the lovely Sigrid. He laughed when he saw how she was dressed: A long emerald gown with gold and silver embroidery, a black fur cloak as long as her gown fastened with a small gold chain, a copper choker of a snake that ate its own tail around her neck, her impossibly long hair was braided and on top of her head was a crown made of bones and stones. Now, his dream was getting more usual: Nonsensical.

“What’s so funny?” Hel asked, teasingly.

“Nothing… I’m just being silly”.

They didn’t say anything, they just looked at one another.

“You look beautiful, Sigrid”.

“Thank you. Do you like this place?”

“I do, I have no idea where I am but I love it”.

Hel stood beside him and scooped some of the sand in her hands.

“It’s called Reynisfjara beach”.

Ciaran’s eyebrows shot up to the top of his forehead.

“The what?”

Hel chuckled.

“If it’s better, you may say that you’re in Iceland”.

“Really?” Ciaran asked.

“Yes”.

This was a dream, he knew it; but if that was true then why did everything felt so real. The sand that he took form Sigrid’s hands, the smell of salt, the cold wind on his skin, and her. Specially her. It was just as the last time, so natural and effortless. As if to prove himself that she was in fact real, he cupped her left cheek; being in the land of dreams made him bold. She just stood still.

“Where did you go, Sigrid?”

How she wished that she was Sigrid, that she was a normal human woman that could venture to have a relationship with him. Hear him sing his beautiful songs with his lovely voice and caress his skin to sooth away all of his sorrows. But she wasn’t Sigrid and she’ll never be, and there were more important things to talk about right now.

“My name is not Sigrid, I’m not who you think I am”. She removed his hand off her cheek and took a few steps back. Closing her eyes, she let her glamour drop.

She couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes right away, so she listened. For a long moment he held his breath, he didn’t move, but his heartbeat sped up. When she finally opened them she saw him with his mouth agape and his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. He backed away from her in horror. If you asked anyone, they would tell you that Hel had no heart, because it was in her corpse side, she couldn’t feel anything there. That was not true, in that moment she could feel her heart breaking. Not wanting to hear hateful words from his mouth she broke the silence.

“I am sorry for deceiving you, I promise you I meant no harm. My name is Hel, Norse goddess of the Underworld, of Helheim, daughter of Loki and Angrboda. And I need your help”.

Ciaran looked at her with suspicion but also with interest, when they met he had known that something was different about her, now he knew what was it. She turned so her right side faced him maybe that would make things easier for him. He came closer and turned her so he could see her completely. Hel hated to feel evaluated, normally she would punish on the spot anyone that dared to looked at her like this; still, she let him, she owed him this much. He put both of his trembling hands on both sides of her face, the corpse side didn’t feel as he thought it would; the flesh didn’t come off at his touch, there was no stench, in fact, she smelled sweet, too sweet, it was hard to describe. The air around her was colder and her right side felt unnaturally soft.

“Is this not a dream?” He asked still holding her.

“It is, I used magic to enter your dreams. I brought you here because I love this place, it soothes me. I hoped that it would do the same to you, that made easier what I’m about to tell you”.

“There’s more?”

Hel removed her cloak, revealing that she had been carrying a baby in her arms this whole time. Ciaran looked at the baby and then at Hel, comprehension slowly making way to his mind. He opened his mouth but nothing came out, he just looked at the baby.

“I thought that I couldn’t have children, I had been sleeping with mortal men for centuries and nothing ever happened. I don’t know why it was different with you”.

Ciaran didn’t know what to do. Maybe Hel was being manipulative, she took the opportunity to put the baby over his chest, and luckily he took her, maybe more as a reflex than a conscious move.

“She is in danger. She needs to hide from the other gods and from my father, I talked to the fates before coming to you. Our daughter is meant to bring balance when the end of the world comes; she is not like any demigod that’s ever existed. She will be hunt down if we don’t hid her from them”.

“Did you just say the end of the world?!”

“I know it’s a lot to take. But if you accept to be her guardian I will help you; I will be watching over you both, I will instruct you, my treasure is more abundant than the one that Odin keeps in his halls, I will provide for you. Anything you need”.

Ciaran shook his head, this didn’t make any sense. He was just a regular guy, how in the world was he going to be able to protect a demigoddess?

“I don’t… how will I…” Then the baby opened her eyes. She had his mother’s eyes, his eyes. Fatherhood and motherhood were supposed to be different, or so he was told. Fathers were supposed to take more time to feel a bond with their children, it was normal. But now holding this baby, he felt it, he felt that bond. This was his baby and he was her father, he was certain.

“What’s her name?”

“I haven’t named her. I was hoping you would choose a name for her”.

“I always liked the name Felicity for a girl”.

Felicity meant happiness and joy, everything that Hel was not. It was perfect.

“I love it”.

Ciaran smiled and touched Felicity’s little face.

“Ciaran, do you think you can love her? I want her to be loved not just protected. Do you think you can love her as her father?”

“I already do”. And by the gods he did. It was insane but it was true.

“I’m going to need your help, Hel. You will have to teach me, I don’t understand anything that’s happening and I don’t know how I’ll protect her from gods and such”.

“I will, no matter what. I swear”. Said Hel fiercely. She put on her cloak and took Felicity, hiding her once more.

“It’s not dawn yet in London, go back to sleep, Felicity will be there in the morning. I need to say goodbye first”.

Ciaran nodded, he doubted that he could go back to sleep, but Hel made sure of that with a sleeping spell. He would need all the rest he could get.

***

Back at Helheim, Hel asked her mother and her servants Ganglati and Ganglöt to go to her treasure hall and gather enough jewels and valuable trinkets to secure a substantial income for a year. Angrboda took a look at her daughter and understood what she was about to do; it pained her, but it was the right thing. She kissed Hel and left, Ganglati and Ganglöt behind her, moving at the speed of a snail. Hel adverted her eyes elsewhere and when she looked back at where the siblings were they were gone; most likely, they were already at the hall waiting for Angrboda. They were one of Helheim’s greatest mysteries, to this day Hel doesn’t know where they come from or why they move so slowly as long as they are being watched.

She sat on her bed, Sick-bed, the very same bed where Felicity was born. She retrieved a silver pendant of a rune from a jewelry box. She dangled it over Felicity’s head, the pendant catching the light of the fires illuminating the room, her little brown eyes following it.

“This is the Hagalaz rune; it’s a rune that is associated with me. It represents the wrath of nature, destruction, trials and testing and crisis that leads to completion. If anything the fates said is true then it represents you well, my love… a god cannot always be everywhere at once, I certainly can’t; this pendant will be my eyes and ears, as long as you wear it I’ll be able to know where you are and if you need my assistance. Never take it off”.

Hel chanted the incantation necessary to bind herself to the pendant, green light poured out of her hand and danced around the pendant settling in the rune. Felicity watched everything with a serene expression, as if magic was already normal to her, as if she hadn’t been born a few days ago.

“Felicity, if only I could let you know how much this hurts me. I dreamed of you for so long, forgive me. This is not what I wanted for you, for the both of us… I don’t know what your father will tell you about me, but rest assured your mother loves you, and I am willing to tear everything apart for you”.

***

Ciaran woke up in the morning feeling rested; it had been a while since he had slept so well. He stretched and savored the feeling before remembering everything. He stood up and looked around his room, and there she was. Felicity, his daughter. A bag was next to her basket on the floor, he knelt and peeked at the basket, she was awake, and in her tiny fist she was holding something, he took a closer look and saw that it was a necklace, a pendant of a rune. Even he had heard of runes, and he knew that this was meant for Felicity to have. He opened the bag and found jewels, golden coins and precious stones, Hel wasn’t kidding when she said that she had treasure. Now it felt truly real. The dream that Hel had called upon felt real enough, but now it had materialized. Last night he was a musician that worked odd jobs to get by and was content with being aimless, and now, he was a father, a father of a demigoddess. Hel had not been very specific about the dangers that followed Felicity, and now him he supposed; how was he going to explain this to his parents? To his friends, he needed help, he had to go back to Ireland. This was not going to be easy, even with Hel’s help and support, but he was up for it. Whatever was coming he would face it, he would be there for his daughter just like his parents were there for him no matter what.

***

Verdandi saw everything as it was happening. Hel resumed her role as the queen of the Underworld, pretending that her heart and mind were there, Loki was struggling and raging in his bonds and Odin was vigilant as always, but still unaware of the existence of Felicity. The father was preparing to go back to his homeland with his kin. He didn’t know what awaited them. Not even her and her sisters knew for sure. The pieces on the board that was Ragnarök were scrambled. Some of the pieces were still set in their rightful place: Fenrir was still going to kill Odin and Odin would kill him in return, Thor and Frey would perish as well, and so would Loki. Hel’s role was still unchanged; she would provide her father with an army of the dead but it seemed that the rest was up to her. After Ragnarök the world will be reborn, a new order will come; that’s were Felicty’s part comes in to action. She will either lead the gods in this new world or she will return to the giants what was taken away from them so long ago, as their ruler. Why was she the one bestowed with so much power? Simple, this girl had inherited the power of Ymir. Everything came from Ymir; the giants, the world as we know it, and even the gods. Odin and his brothers had killed Ymir, little did they know that had Ymir wanted to they could have killed them in the blink of an eye. They were nothing compared to Ymir, but Ymir had chosen to sacrifice themselves so marvelous things were born. Ymir was great, and the greatest thing about they was the purity of their heart. But Felicity was not Ymir, and it was yet to be seen if she possessed the same purity of heart. None of this worried Verdandi, whatever this girl happened to decide to do with her power was… unimportant. As long as the outcome was unchanged, the rest didn’t matter.

#hel norse goddess #norse mythology #helheim #ragnarok #paganism #pagan god #nordic paganism

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scotiaeire · 4 years

Video

youtube

The Afterlife and Hel in Norse Myth

“ Norse beliefs in the afterlife were more complicated than usually presented today, and their unusual perspective has often bewildered modern translators. This video looks at general concepts of the afterlife, early evidence, and descriptions of Hel (the afterworld and the goddess who rules it). Jackson Crawford, Ph.D.: Sharing real expertise in Norse language and myth with people hungry to learn, free of both ivory tower elitism and the agendas of self-appointed gurus. Visit JacksonWCrawford.com (includes bio and linked list of all videos). “

SO HERE’S THIS OLD WOMAN, LESS TIME AHEAD OF HER THAN BEHIND. SCOTS BORN BUT WITH ICELANDIC AND SCANDINAVIAN GENETICS STRONG IN HER BLOOD. RAISED IN NORTHERN SCOTLAND WITH A MISH-MASH OF NORDIC AND CELTIC LORE AND MYTHOLOGY. LIVING IN AREAS WHICH, TBH, HAD MORE NORSE BASED PLACENAMES THAN CELTIC IN NORTH SCOTLAND.

LEARNING ABOUT THE AFTERWORLDS OF BOTH CULTURES AND PEOPLES.

AND SITTING HERE AS TIME GOES BY THINKING “JUST WHERE THE F*CK *AM* I GOING TO END UP?”

“ The Vikings’ religion never contained any formal doctrines concerning what happens to someone when he or she dies. In the words of historian H.R. Ellis Davidson, “There is no consistent picture in Norse literary tradition of the fate of the dead,”[1] and “to oversimplify the position would be to falsify it.”[2] The rational order that people today often naively insist on finding in Viking portrayals of the dead simply isn’t there in the sources. “

SOURCE:https://norse-mythology.org/concepts/death-and-the-afterlife/

SO I’VE SPENT MUCH OF MY LIFE HOPING I’LL END UP, SOMEHOW, HANGING AROUND THOR’‘S HALL, BILSKIRNIR. WHICH IS PROBABLY AS LIKELY AS ALL THE MOSHERS WHO’LL NEVER FIGHT AN ACTUAL BATTLE IN THEIR LIVES EXPECTING TO GET INTO VALHOL. SORRY. BRUTAL BUT TRUE.....

STRANGELY, GIVEN MY STRONG IRISH/SCOT GENES, THE CELTIC AFTERLIFE HAS NEVER HELD ANY STRONG APPEAL FOR ME.

UNLIKE CHRISTIANITY, IN THE NORSE RELIGION THERE IS NO DIVISION IN THE AFTERLIFE OF “HERE’S WHERE THE GOOD GO” AND “HERE’S WHERE THE BAD GO”. HELA’S REALM’LL PROBABLY BE “IT”. BUT GIVEN HOW LONG I’VE BEEN A THOR’SWOMAN, I HOPE THE BIG FELLA AT LEAST LOOKS IN FOR A VISIT ONCE IN A WHILE....

WE NONE OF US *KNOW* FOR CERTAIN WHAT THE AFTERLIFE WILL BRING. WE CAN WORK TOWARDS A GOAL OF AIMING UP WHERE WE’D LIKE TO HENCE VALHOL AND THE HUGE AMOUNT OF GUYS EXPECTING TO GET THERE, MOST OF THEM FORGETTING FREYJA GETS THERE FIRST TO PICK AND THEY’VE NO SAY IN IT, LIKE THE REST OF US.

BUT...AND I STRESS THIS SUPERSTRONGLY..IT’S ONLY MY MINDSET.

I *DO* BELIEVE WE END UP WHERE, DEEP IN OUR SOUL, WE BELIEVE WE WILL. *SHRUG*. MAKES LITTLE SENSE BUT WHO CARES. IT’S WHAT I BELIEVE.

ONE OF THE REASONS I DELVED INTO MY GENETIC HERITAGE WAS TO FIND OUT WHO WENT INTO MAKING ME, ME. ANOTHER WAS TO FIND OUT HOW STRONGLY MY BELIEFS AND STRENGTH OF FERNWEH MATCHED UP WITH MY DNA.

AND IT DOES. IT DOES...

IF YOU’RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET OLD (THE OLD SAW, LIVE HARD, DIE YOUNG, LEAVE A GOOD LOOKING CORPSE IS VASTLY OVERRATED. FACED DEATH MORE THAN ONCE. I WOULD RATHER LIVE. NOT THROUGH FEAR OF DEATH. BUT THROUGH FEAR OF WHAT I’LL LOSE WHEN I DO DIE) THEN MORTALITY BEGINS TO PERSISTENTLY SLAP YOU ROUND THE FACE AND LAUGH AT YOU RIGHT IN THE EYES.

THERE ARE NO PREPARATIONS I’M MAKING FOR MY JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE, EXCEPTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BEING CREMATED, NOT BURIED, AND THAT IF I HAVE A TERMINAL DISEASE THAT’LL BE LONG AND LINGERING, I GET TAKEN TO BELGIUM FOR EUTHANASIA.

BUT THAT’S IT. WHAT COMES AFTER THAT, WHEN THIS BODY, PACKING UP ALREADY BY DEGREES, FINALLY THROWS IN THE TOWEL..WELL, WE’LL SEE. I’M HOPEFUL.

I GOT TOLD ONCE, BY A NEO HEATHEN, WHEN I WAS DISCUSSING VALHALLA AND HOW IT WAS DECIDED WHO WENT WHERE, THAT I WAS WRONG. THIS YOUNG MAN, WHO SAT AT A DESK ALL DAY, WHO WORE HIS “PRIDE OF ODIN” T SHIRTS FOR ALL TO SEE, WHO “BRAVED” THE PSEUDO VIKING TATTOOS, HAD MADE UP HIS MIND HE WAS GOING TO VALHALLA. ODIN, NOT FREYJA, WOULD CHOOSE HIS “WARRIOR’S” SOUL.

I SUSPECT HE’LL BE MIGHTILY SURPRISED WHEN HIS TIMES COMES.

ME? I’LL TAKE WHAT COMES. WON’T BE LIKE I’VE A CHOICE, AFTER ALL.

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ragnarot · 11 months

Note

What does Jack look for in a woman?

curious anons / accepting for now .

" her organs , of course . hehehehahahah. " *pulls him off-stage*

that's ... an interesting question , since jack is very volatile in many instances . he doesn't often seek out romantic / sexual partners . since he views love in a very particular manner ( usually expression affections through violence & murder , and thus experiencing what HE DEEMS is love ) , he knows most people will not reciprocate his views . at times , he feels lonely . at times , he scorns the world . but , he believes that what he's doing brings him happiness . and , he wouldn't want to trade that happiness for anything . he loves to kill . he loves violence . everyone that he truly loves , he kills .

he isn't exactly picky when it comes to women . jack gets attached very easily ( or , at least , he bombards them with what he thinks is love ------ jack likes to put on acts for others ) . really , anyone who gives him a single ounce of attention , he's going to be obsessing over for a while . his brain works that way . it may not rise to legitimate violence , eventually , but there are many people he keeps in mind . he does his best to remember faces , names . but he does stalk people . actively . if he really likes you , he will visit often , unannounced , and leave little gifts . letters . that sort of thing .

getting jack's attention is dreadfully easy . the hard part is getting him to let go of you . if you want that , of course . i know some of you are FUH-REAKS .

of course , he does have two relationships that stand out , and they're rather hard to define . the first is his relationship with hel ( @eclipsecrowned ) , who is the nordic goddess of the dead . they're both morbid & deranged . the second is his relationship with qistina ( @deathleads ) , alchemist & magick woman . they're also both morbid & deranged . and both of them do not care for his crimes , both cannot die when he kills them , and he loves them both . it's all a mess . with jack , anything is a mess , though .

it's a big question & there's just no clear answer .

#ask to tag .#well. this got messy :)#headcanon / jack .

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thenightling · 5 years

Text

The story of Krampus

I noticed there are quite a few people who only know the Krampus from American Dad, Venture Brothers, or the Krampus movie. They don’t know the actual folklore or they assume the horror film is accurate.

So here is the real legend of Krampus as best as I know it as it was told to me. Some of this comes from Austrian folk tradition and some of this comes from the equivalent of campfire stories.

Krampus is the odd result of merging Catholic religion / Eastern (Greek) Orthodox and Asatru (Ancient Nordic) folk belief.

The story goes that Hel, goddess of the dead, and daughter of the Mischief God, Loki, bore a demonic son named Krampus.

When Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) came along he discovered that Krampus was eating children. This simply would not do. So he captured the demon, binding him with magical golden chains and used him as a slave.

Now here’s where the story gets murky. Some versions say Santa actually sends him out to do this. Other versions say Krampus just manages to escape about once a year. I prefer the “escape” version of the story because it makes Santa less of a ...well, creep.

The story goes that once a year Krampus gets loose, somehow thwarting his master and running wild. During this time (known as Krampusnacht or Krampus Night) he seeks out children, his favorite prey. In Austria this is December 5th. In some parts of Eastern Europe this is December 6th. And in some other places that only recently got the legend (like the USA) this happens on the night of Christmas Eve.

But years with Santa has “mostly” tamed this demon. So instead of out right devouring them he makes threats. He’ll lick the relatively well behaved children as a warning that they taste good and demons like the gobble up naughty children. to the semi-naughty, but not too bad, he lightly and playfully hits them with a birch branch to remind them to behave.

As for the truly evil, the children that might grow up to be serial killers or rapists, these he is drawn to for the darkness in their hearts. Some versions of the story says he eats them. Some say he just kidnaps them and keeps them imprisoned. Other versions say that like a goblin or dark faery he transforms them into imps or dark elves and some (now forever transformed into elves and imps and unable to go back to being human) are reformed to do Santa’s bidding as his minion.

Either way he carries them off in a big wicker basket and they are never seen again (at least not as human children).

Santa always ultimately re-captures Krampus for another year or so. But in December he tends to get loose.

One semi-contemporary Krampus story says he laments that he was unable to capture child-Hitler as he had been unable to escape during Hitler’s childhood. Had he been able to get loose he would have “taken care” of the boy.

And there you go. That is the story of Krampus. Loki’s grand-son, who is from a weird hodgepodge of Catholic and Viking folklore.

Krampus has also appeared in Marvel comics in a Christmas issue of Ghost Rider.

#Krampus #Krampusnacht #Santa Claus #Loki #Mythology #Folklore

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haevatein · 4 years

Text

🔥 ‘ﾟ･ 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐑;

𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄; 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒. Shifter of Shapes, the Catalyst of Change. Untamable and volatile, troublesome, tester of minds. A wild flame that inspirires creativity and life.

NAME: Loke Laufeyjarson TITLES: Bekki, Blind, Gammleid (leader of amusement), Haloge, Hveðrungr (roarer), Lokabrenna (loki’s torch/burning by loki), Lóðurr, Logaþore, Loge, Lôgna, Logi, Lokkji, Loptr (lofty), Lucky, Loki, Laugaz (blazing god), Laugatjanaz (blazing one), Rogur (slanderer), Slaegi (sly), slaegurtyr (sly god), Wildfire, Villieldr (blazing) ,Dogstar, Sataere (the thief in ambush), Lævatein, Hævatein, Trickster, Liesmith, Truth-speaker, Fire-Bringer, Scarlip, Fireball, Demon, Silvertongue, Vaelandi (debasing), Shifter Of Shapes.

God of Fire and Chaos, God of Mischief and Creativity, God of Laughter and Mirth. God of Madness and Change.

Son of Laufey, Farbauti’s Son, Begetter of Serpents, Father of Wolves, Sire of Half-Born Hel, Mother of Horses.

Brother of Byleist, Brother of Helblinde, Blood Brother of Oden, Confidant of Thor, Friend of Oden, Friend of Thor, Fromkveda Flaerdanna (seductive speaking), Gift bearer, Harmer of Sif’s hair, Prisoner of Geirrodr, Sea Thread’s Father (the sea thread is a kenning for the midgard serpent), Sky-Walker, Staunch Friend of Hoenir, Thief of Brisingamen, Thief of Giants, Thief of Idunn’s Apples. The Sky Traveller, Architect and Destroyer of Worlds, Opener of Forbidden Doors, Builder of Asgard, Lighter-than-Air.

Bonus: One kenning used to identify Thor is Bragdmilldr Loka (compassionate to Loki).

AGE: 1,500,000,000+, exact age unknown. SPECIES: Jötun and Aesir God. GENDER: Male, but is able to shapeshift to the opposite gender. ORIENTATION: Bisexual/Demi-romantic. SPOKEN LANGUAGES: Old Norse, Runic, Allspeak. LOCATION: Verse dependent. Mainly Asgård or Midgård, can also be seen on Jötunheimr.

FAMILY:

Laufey ( mother )

Farabute ( father )

Byleist ( brother )

Helblinde ( brother )

Oden ( brother through blood-pact)

Balder, Thor, Vidarr, Hodir, Tyr ( sort-of nephews; sons of Oden)

Sigyn ( wife / verse dependent )

Angrboda ( lover )

Narfi and Vali ( twin sons )

Fenrir ( son )

Jörgumandr ( son )

Sleipner ( son )

Hel ( daughter )

Moder ( daughter )

APPEARANCE

Loke often appears with the height of 7'5"ft ( 229cm ); he is taller than most humans, but he is shorter than most Jötnar. His mother still towers above him. But to his height is average to that of an Aesir male.

He mostly appears as a 27-30 year old man or woman to others, but can change his physical age. His body is athletically built with defined muscles, however not as muscular and large as other male Aesir such as Thor or Tyr.

The Trickster has sharp but not unpleasant features, to most he is beautiful to look upon, no matter the gender. He wields an alluring aura. Like fire, Loke’s eyes are bright and intense. A flame-like red and yellow, wich gleams even in the faintest of shadows. Black dots under the lower lashes frame the eyes. He has many freckles sprinkled across his face, most notable over his cheekbones, the bridge of his nose and above his eyebrows.

Curved horns with old-nordic patterns engraved into their surfaces decorate the top of his head. They are his most striking features alongside his fiery red hair; untamed and wild just like his nature. It is lenghty and reach past his hips, and curl around his horns and spread out as if the laws of gravity does not apply to his hair, he often let the hair be braided into one or three braids that drape over his shoulders. His skin is pale and on syren tinted lips are permanent, rough jacks and scars, a result after the punishment where he got them sewn together. His ears are pointed, and his nails are sharp like claws, often painted black.

HEIGHT: 7'5"ft / 229cm (can be altered, true heigh is giant; sky-reaching) EYE COLOUR: Fire-Red and Yellow HAIR COLOUR: Fiery Red with a gradient to bright yellow at the hair’s edges. SKIN COLOUR: Pale BUILD: Athletic

INTERESTS

Loke takes interest in things that pleases him. Mischief; pranks and a bit of chaos entertains him greatly, but so does also the entertainment of others. He often interacts with mortal beings; either to chat or to cause minor trouble, eitherway it amuses him most of the time. He also enjoys horseback riding, sex, food and alcohol.

PERSONALITY

He’s a very light-hearted God, who often wear a sly smile on his face. It is uncommon to find him in a serious mood, even when the situation would call for it. He is compassionate and giving to those who are devoted to him, most of his actions aimed at his worshippers have good intention, but his methods are that of rough love; making others face the hard truth, face their insecurities as he guides them to their fated path. This doesn’t make him any less of a mischevious trickster,however, even to his followers. He will find amusement along the journey, be it on their behalf, others, or his own.

But despite his easy-going and wild nature, Loke is capable of great anger, of wrath, an emotion one does not wish to evoke from him- as the lenghts he will go to get that sweet revenge are great and have no limits. He is not beyond killing someone out of spite or sheer annoyance. To get on Loke’s bad side is to wish for a life filled with unrest. And with Hela, the Goddess and Ruler of the Unworthy dead, as his daughter, not even death may be peaceful.

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral

HOGWARTS HOUSE: Slytherin

POSITIVE TRAITS: Charismatic, intelligent, humorous, playful, curious, creative, ambitious, patient, loyal, passionate, caring, generous.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Manipulative, crafty, mischevious, decietful, distrustful, violent, chaotic, impulsive, rude, hateful, jealous, vengeful, volatile, unpredictable, unscrupulous, dishonest, juvenile, proud, stubborn.

PHYSICAL ABILITIES:

INTELLIGENCE: Loke has a genius level intellect and possesses a great deal of knowledge and wisdom. He is often valued as many mortal’s pateron god not only for his mischevious and light-hearted nature, but for his advice and knowledgeable mind. He is also extremely cunning and skilled, an expert battle strategist, and a highly skilled; charming and charismatic manipulator, which is evident by the ease how Loke repeatedly succeeded to regain the trust of his fellow Gods, despite his numerous deciets.

SKILLED COMBATANT: Loke is a formidable combatant, as a hand-to-hand fighters, and particularly as a swordsman or in the use of seidr during combat situations. Against mortal beings (super-human or not) Loke will win with overwhelming easy victory, the strenght of a god is not to be underestimated or down-played. The sheer force of his screams are powerful enough to cause violent earthquakes on Midgård(earth) when he is not even present on that world.

SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH: Loke, without the aid of anything, through his own biology, possess strenght far FAR greater than that of an average human male, even mortal beings enchanced with superhuman abilities or strenght ( keep in mind that just the pure force of his screams is powerful enough to cause destructive earthquakes on Midgård when he is not even on that realm; hence the name Roarer ). However his physical strenght is average in comparision to the most skilled warriors of his fellow Gods such as Tyr, Freyr and Thor.

FIRE-RESISTANT: He is resistent to fire, all kinds of fire. Fire will not harm him.

SUPERHUMAN LONGEVITY: Loke will not die unless killed by another God. Only Gods are able to truly harm him and mortally wound him, and even kill him. If killed he reincarnates.

SEIDR:

DREAM-VIEWING: Loke can enter; watch and interact with other beings’ dreams. There he can see their desires; ambitions and personality traits. He can gain knowledge of secrets kept away if the person is not strong-willed enough to keep it hidden in their dreams.

TELEPORTATION: He can teleport himself or others across dimensions and space and time.

PSIONICS: Loke has powerful psionic capabilities He has the ability to project his thoughts telepathically well as potent hypnotic capabilities.

SHAPE-SHIFTING: Loke possesses shape-shifting abilities through his own biology. He is able to adopt any form imaginable whether it be animals, other humanoid beings, or even inanimate objects— and gaining the abilities of whatever form he takes. The only limit is his own imagination.

PYROKINESIS: Loke is a God of Fire. He is able to control the elements of fire as he so see fit. He can summon flames to physically appear in his hands and around his body or use his sorroundings to control it at will. There is no limit to the amount of fire he can produce, nor how high he can turn up the temperature- if he wanted to, he could melt down buildings made out of rock, and metal. He could make a planet’s earth crumble under the heat. This also makes him invulnerable to fire, all types of fire.

RESSURECTION: Just as his fire may bring destruction and chaos and death, it can also bring warmth and life. He is able to bring life to the recently deceased, and is thought to be one of the Gods who created the first humans (together with Höenir and Oden).

INVISIBILITY: Loke, like his fellow Gods; is able to render himself unseen to the eye of other beings. A nice quirk benefitting Gods as they can shred themselves of physical flesh and roam as shapeless entities in any realm, or in mortal minds. He can remain unseen to mortal eyes for as long as he so desire, and only shows himself for those he wants to see him. However sharp-minded and attentive beings can possibly sense something is there, but not actually see him.

ILLUSIONS: Loke is able to fool his enemies who try to attack him with illusions of himself. He can also cast illusionary images inside mortal beings minds— fooling them by making them think what is not there, exists, as well as affect their senses while they're in that illusionary reality.

PROJECTION: Loke, like all other Gods, is able to be at multiple places at the same time, without loosing any attention or power. With many devoted to their Pantheon, there are many beings’ prayers to pay attention to.

BIOGRAPHY

Loke is the son of the giants Farabute and Laufey, and brother to Byleist and Helblinde. By the Giantess Angrboða, Loke is the father of Hel (the Goddess of Death, and ruler of Helheimr), the Giant Wolf Fenrir, and the World Serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loke is the father of Narfi and Nari. By the stallion Svaðilfari, Loke is the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

Brought from the realm Jötunheimr by Oden, Loke was recruited to assist the Gods. Oden and Loke saw kinship in eachother as they both were equal in their cunning, wisdom. knowledge and trickery. They held great mutual respect for eachother, and enjoyed the other’s company enough to share their blood, therefore becoming blood-brothers.

“ Remember, Othin, | in olden days That we both our blood have mixed; Then didst thou promise | no ale to pour, Unless it were brought for us both.”

Their relationship is a complicated story of trust and deciet and betrayal. They see eachother as friends, and brothers. Making a blood-pact oath to treat eachother as family. Oden and Loke are and were closer than any of the other Gods were in relation to the All-father, aside from Frigga, Oden’s wife, and his children. With time this trust was broken, both sides to blame — and their feud would come to bring upon the end of all the Realms. Ragnarök.

Loke’s relation with the Gods varies. Loke sometimes helps the Gods and sometimes causes problems for them. Loke is a powerful user of seidr, a shape shifter and a God of Fire and Madness and Chaos and Mischief. But he is also known as the God of Laughter and Mirth, Creativity and Change. Nothing with the Gods is black or white. They are all assholes and good people. Human and mortal logic and morals are not to be expected from them.

Loke’s positive relations with the Gods end with his role in, out of jealousy and resentment, engineering the death of the god Baldr, Oden’s son. He also appeared as a foe of the Gods, entering their banquet uninvited and demanding their drink. Loke is eventually bound by the Gods with the entrails of his sons, Narfi and Vali as punishment for killing the God of Light.

Depending on the timeline, Loke is loyal to Asgard and often ally with them— but, past complicated events that lead to Loke loosing trust in the Aesir, Loke flips the switch and grows hateful of the Aesir. He becomes so spiteful and vengeful he engineers Baldr’s death, and as punishment he is bound to to a rock where the venom of a snake is to drip onto Loke’s face forever, with his wife Sigyn keeping him company during his punishment. Eventually he escape from his bonds; more vengeful than ever. He wish to gain revenge upon those he feel have wronged him. With the Gods no longer countable, Loke takes the opposing side of the Aesir during Ragnarök; the End of All Worlds- he chose to oppose them alongside his children ( who also sought revenge for their mistreatment by the Aesir) and be responsible for their ruin.

After Ragnarök, Loke had ‘died’ during the war and was reincarnated, like the other deceased Gods. As the Worlds healed and became hospitable for life, Loke opted to lay low until things began moving in the Realms once more.

Past Ragnarök he is no longer fueled with rage and a thirst for revenge. He is tired and avoids the Gods most of the time; having grown past their previous disputes, as it does not serve immortal dities well to hold an eternal grudge. He is still drawn to chaotic events and mischief; his charm and impish and playful attitude intact, but he is less likely to cause major trouble.

#🔥 ‘ﾟ･ about post #long post cw

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killerswonderland · 5 years

Text

The Goddess of Death

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Summary: You always taught you were going to have the job you wanted. But in Gotham it was never like that. Will the goddess of death continue to reign or will she finally succumb and lay to rest in her deadly world.

Warnings: Language, minor violence, mentions of death.

Word Count: 2.2 k

A/N: OMG!!! Thank you everyone who liked my previous fic! I fucking cried. You guys are amazing!

This one is a little weird. Hope you guys like it!!!

——————————————————————-

The clicking of your heels sounded rhythmic against the pavement. Every move you make, every breath you took, every look sent to the passing gothamites was carefully calculated. Hiding in plain sight was your specialty. The suitcase you carried was heavy, but you didn’t let that manifest, lightly swaying your hips so you could maintain a balanced walk through the path you had chosen. You got to your destination quickly, entering the high office building, the wall full of glass causing a light reflection in your eyes as you passed through security, nodding and giving the guard a small smile.

You got in the elevator, pressing the button for the last floor. As the sudden motion began, you watched as the walls of the elevator turned from black to a skittish grey, the clarity of the outside world infesting the little glass cage. Gotham was a big city, a big monochromatic grey city. The downtown area was packed, the buildings extending through miles, the streets looking like pathways for ants, as people shuffled in the sidewalk, mindlessly following their routes, the anxiety coursing through their veins. Although you held an apathetic gaze you knew the feeling. The desperation, the panic, the depression of the city that surrounded you. You broke it as your heard the gears slow down, turning to the doors and walking straight out when they opened it.

The stairs were one of the worst things of your little career, slightly loosing to the main action of your contract. You never thought that you would follow the line of work you had. You see, you had always been a good girl, a smart girl. You took your SATs, you passed through university like it was the easiest thing to do and did your Bar Exam, and still, after all of that, you didn’t got the job you wanted as a minor lawyer at Wayne Enterprises. You got the job it was offered, not only doing what you got a diploma for, but also for doing something else.

As you opened the doors the winds pushed you backwards. You took long strides to the ledge of the roof, seeing the covered sun setting, the myriad of unusual colors mixing with the polluted grey of Gotham’s skies. You took a breath, turning to one of the building that surrounded you. Now, you were in the tallest building in the area so you knew no one could see you. You knelt onto the ground, laying your suitcase and opening it, staring at its disassembled contents, a sigh of uneasiness leaving your lips as you picked up the part of the lower receiver, clicking the trigger mechanism, twisting in the bipod and locking it in place. Allowing the bolt carrier to come forward, you positioned the upper receiver, grasping lightly and releasing the charging handle slowly, fully closing the bolt, and finally attaching the scope and the suppressor. You laid onto the floor, position ready, breath held. You take a shot and you can hear the screams even from the distance. You raise yourself, clicking, twisting and snapping the rifle, disassembling back into its harmless form, closing the suitcase and leaving the building.

Hel, that’s what you were called. The heir of Loki. The nordic Goddess of Death and ruler of the land of the dead. Your boss was the great crime lord Black Mask, and you were not only his lawyer, which sounds ridiculous since he only deals with criminals, but also his number one markswoman. You hated the job, but the sum of money you received was enough for you to become calloused with the deaths.

As you enter your apartment complex you feel a tranquil sensation overtake you. You lived in a small but comfortable studio apartment, as you didn’t liked the opulent style your boss and colleagues flaunted. It also helped you feel more human, knowing your neighbors, hearing their talks about how the prices of tomatoes were raising. “You seem tired sweetie” you hear the softly spoken voice of your elderly neighbor Nanci say as you get to your door. Tiredly looking at her you just give her the most sincere smile of your day and she responds with a sympathetic one as you opened your door, getting promptly inside.

Taking your shoes of you walk through your living room and past your bed, entering the bathroom only to peel your clothes like they were hazardous and enter your little bathtub. In days like these you felt relieved your boss gave you the rest of the night off as a reward for a job well done, and always sunk in your tub, darkness engulfing you, warm water washing your sins. You guess you laid there for an hour, the flames of the candles you lit slowly extinguishing, until you decided to leave the warm comfort. As you raised you felt the brisk air, coming in contact with the water that trickled down your body, you shivered, quickly going for a fluffy black towel and drying yourself so you could put on the old silk robe your grandmother had given as her parting gift.

When you left the bathroom the apartment was dark, the penumbra settling in. Not that it was uncommon for you to leave the lights off, enjoying only the lights that came from the city. You moved to your dresser, putting your light flannel pijamas on and laid in the bed, a drained sigh escaping your lips as you closed your eyes, waiting for another dreamless night to take you in.

You guessed it was 3 a.m when you heard a thump, eyes opening immediately as you shudder from the chilly autumn air. Even though Gotham was a cold city, your apartment was never cold as it was now, so you knew something was wrong. You felt as someone, or something, was observing you. You breath hitched in your throat when you saw the tall figure through the wooden carved divider and you slowly made your way to the wall of your wardrobe, gently removing the ebony wood, getting the pistol you left hidden for the day someone would try to get their revenge on you.

You walked calmly towards the living room where you saw the shadow, positioning yourself so if you needed to take the shot it was going to be certain.

“The only thing I don’t understand is how someone as smart as you is working for someone as dumb as Black Mask” the shadow tonelessly said, a red helmet shining as the city lights entered you apartment. He turned to you, the blue electronic gaze clearly analyzing your stance, gloved fingers brushing the gun in his holster.

“And I don’t understand why the most psychotic vigilante broke into my apartment”, your caustic tone dripped from your tongue. Breaking your stance you lowered the gun, returning the hammer and putting the safety on as you sit on the sofa, putting the pistol in the coffee table between you and the vigilante. “That wasn’t my first option of a job, you know,” you point it out, the tiredness in your voice making the stance that he held soften.

You stood there, a comfortable silence setting as he took his gun from the holster and, imitating you, left it on the small table and leaned his back on the wall, still staring at you. You closed your eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath as you raised your body from your couch and moving to the kitchen “You can sit down, if you want Red Hood. I guess we have a lot to talk and if I don’t have a coffee you better just die before I get to the gun again” you confessed, hearing a light mechanic chuckle coming from the living room. You start to boil water in your stove as you hear hard footsteps, “And please take the shoes off, leave them by the door” you demanded and soon later heard the a slight “ompf” as the heavy boots dropped to the ground, with that you smiled and thought that at least you would die in the hands of a considerate vigilante.

When he got to your the kitchen island he sat down in one of the stools while you were putting the grounded coffee beans in a paper filter, covering with water as the dark liquid filled a thermic bottle, and not even the helmet could stop the smell of fresh coffee of reaching his nose. You poured it in two cups, sliding one back to him as you pulled your body up until you sat in the cold marble counter, holding the cup with your two hands and slightly blowing the steam coming from the scalding liquid. You hear the small gears of Red Hoods helmet twist and a light pop as he detached the crimson helmet and put by his side.

“Does the other mask serve as a dramatic effect?” you jokingly ask as you study his face. The chiseled jaw and the soft skin begging to be touched by your hands and the chapped lips begging to be kissed by yours. You shake your head, taking the indecent thoughts ou of your mind as he passes his hands through his raven hair and you thought you could see a clear white streak hiding between the dark locks.

“Yes” he answered giving you a sheepish grin and taking the cup of coffee into his hands, smelling e taking a small sip, a distorted quiet moan leaving his lips as he closed his eyes, muscles seemingly relaxing “You know, my partner would love this. He never sleeps so he needs caffeine all the time” he tells you.

“The secret is in the way you prepared it, fresh, saying no the the machines” you instructed, taking a gulp of the hot beverage, the sensation of the burning awakening you. Again you two sat in silence, the only sound being the almost silent swallowing. “I can’t leave” you mumbled, attracting his gaze from the cup back to you, eyeing you with curiosity. “I can’t leave, I signed a contract, I sold my soul to him. I know what I did is wrong, but it was the only way I could survive Gotham,” you said louder, your grip in the mug tightening, “I do the job and in return he keeps me safe and pays me a good amount. And if one day I decide to leave…” you stop, the panic arising on your mind, reflecting as you bite you lower lip and you see his jaw tighten.

He raised himself from the stool, his hands tightened into fists as he got closer to you, slightly looking down so the could see you in the eye since you jumped of the counter. “I can’t help you” he began “I was sent here to do a job. You see, I do get some gruesome jobs sometimes, after all, I do have to pay the rent so I don’t blame you there” he revealed, a dark tone lingered in his voice. You closed your eyes, hunching your shoulders and twisting your lips in a half, sad, smile. You heard him turn, walking back to the living room and picking the heavy pistol, pressing the hammer down. “What I can you, is kill you” that was the last thing you heard as the ringing in your ears started. The loud bang startling you as you felt the raging pain in your leg, warm crimson liquid leaving your as you fell on your knees.

You held the scream of pain, looking as Red Hood, face hidden once again by the helmet, walked back to you and kneeling onde he got in front of you. “Pack a bag, go away. I’ll take care of the rest and after I’m finished they won’t have a doubt that you’re dead” he calmly whispered, touching your wounded and spreading some of the blood in your sofa. He turned to you, helping you to your feet and you limped back to your wardrobe, getting the the bag you prepared when you first entered the job. You opened it to see all your money money, fake documents and some clothes laid neatly in it. You entered the bathroom, scattering on your cabinet for your first aid kit and promptly arranged a tourniquet, also popping some painkillers in your mouth. You keep hearing crashing coming from the kitchen, glass being shattered and now suppressed gun shots in you wall.

It was a misunderstanding to say that it was repairable. Your apartment was in shreds as Red Hood got closer to you, opening the fire escape so you could pass through it and both of you got down to the alleyway that stood in the middle of your and the neighboring building. The next thing you know you were hugging his back tightly as the motorcycle roared and speeded thought Gotham’s streets. The lights passing so fast you thought you were going to vomit. As the bike came to stop you noticed the neon lights mark the way to the bus stop.

“Get as far away as possible, and never come back. Gotham always remembers.” he says as a restrained mumble, never sparing you the look.

“Thank you” you said, lips quickly coming in contact with the cold steel of his helmet.

He watches you until you disappeared, never once turning to look back.

#jason todd x reader #red hood x reader #jason todd imagine #red hood imagine #jason todd #red hood #reader insert #batboys imagine #fanfic

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ace--jace · 4 years

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also did y'all know there's a small debate on if Hel is even an actual goddess of death? some scholars say it's just Hel(heim), others say she's a true figure in Norse mythology, and it's hilarious to me because we dunno if Loki actually had a daughter with a half dead body who was cursed like that because Angrboda died giving birth (also debatable)

anyone who claims that Norse/Nordic beliefs must be entertained in one particular way are not to be trusted

#norse tag #ajpersonal

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writersblockinherstory · 5 years

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List of places in Nordic Mythology

The places of Nordic Myths

Alfheim:

Alfheim is the home of the elves.

Amsvartnir:

In this lake is the island, on this island is the wolf fenrir connected.

Asgard:

Asgard is home to the gods of aesir.

Barri:

Barri is a sacred forest where the God freyr and gerd were married.

Bifrost: tremendous way

Bifrost is the rainbow bridge that connects midgard and midgard, the guard in bifrost is heimdall. Bifrost is built of fire, air and water by the gods. The three materials give the three colors red " fire ", blue " Air " and green " water ".

Breidablik

Breidablik is the brilliant house of God balder in Asgard.

Byrgir:

Byrgit is the well, where the two sons bil and yuki from midgard went, to get some water before being stolen by mani.

Eljudnir:

Eljudnir is the palace of the goddess hel, in niflheim. The Hall has very high walls, high walls and huge gates. Hel has two servants in his palace, their names are ganglot and ganglati.

Fensalir:

Fensalir is home to the goddess frigg.

Fólkvangr: host field, " field of people " or " Army field "

Fólkvangr meaning " field of the host ", " field of people " or " field of the army ". is a place where half of those who die in a battle go to the afterlife, while Odin will receive the other half.

Gimli:

Gimli is the court of the gods after ragnarok. Gimli is the most beautiful place in the world, and gimli has a roof made of gold.

Gjallarbru:

Gjallarbru is the bridge that crossed the gioll river, and connects the worlds of the living and the dead.

Gioll:

Gioll is the river that divides the world from the dead of the living. The Gjallarbru Bridge crosses this river.

Gladsheim: brilliant house

Gladsheim is the hall in Asgard, where all the gods have their high seats.

Glitnir:

Glitnir is the hall where the God forseti lives.

Whole / Home:

Helheim is home of the dead and its ruler hel.

Himinbjorg:

Himinbjorg is the mountain where the rainbow bifrost connects midgard and midgard. On this mountain, the God heimdall lives, the guard of the bifrost.

Hlesey:

Under this island, sea giant aegit and his wife ran, live in their coral cave. The Island is believed to be the island of laeso in the kattegat "Cat's throat". the island is between Denmark And Zealand in Denmark.

Hlidskjalf: High seat

Hlidskjalf is the high bench of Odin, where he can see the whole universe. The throne is in the high tower of his valaskialf palace in Asgard.

Hnitborg:

Hnirborg is the mountain where the giant suttungr hid the mead of poetry and his daughter it stayed guard.

Hvergelmir: Sparkling Spring

The source in niflheim is called hvergelmir where the 11 rivers called elivagar come from. Above Spring, the nidhug dragon roia one of the roots of yggdrasil.

Idavoll:

Idavoll is the field in asgard where all the houses of the gods of aesir are. In Ragnarok "the end of the world", the idavoll field would be green again and all the houses were. New houses would be built again, the most beautiful of them would be gimli.

Ironwood:

Ironwood is a forest east of midgard. In this forest, troll women who took giants and giant wolves.

Jotunheim:

Jotunheim is home to the Giants / Giants.

Laerad:

Laerad is the great tree that was found when valhalla was built.

Lyngvi:

Lyngvi is the island in the middle of lake amsvartnir, where the wolf fenrir is connected.

Nastrond:

Nastrond is in hel, where the dragon nidhug eats the bodies that accumulate on the shore.

Niflheim:

Niflheim is to the north, inside somewhere under the ground helheim is resident of the dead.

Noatun: Port of ships

Noatun is the house of God of vanir, in Asgard.

Midgard: middle land

Midgard is the home of human beings, is connected to Asgard by the bifrost "the rainbow rainbow".

Muspelheim:

Muspelheim is to the south, and is home to the giants of fire and demons with their surt ruler.

Sessrumnir:

Sessrumnir is the hall where the goddess Freya receives half of midgard's dead heroes.

Black Address:

Svartalfheim is home to dark elves.

The Northern Lights:

In The Northern Hemisphere there is something called Northern Lights. It is believed that jotun gerd has issued this green color in the air.

Thrudheim: place of power

Thor lives in thrudheim, it's a huge house with 540 bedrooms. It's the biggest house known.

Þrymheimr:

Þrymheimr is the place where giant thiazzi and his daughter skadi live.

Urdarbrunn: well of urd

Urdarbrunn is good in the center of Asgard. The water in this well is so sacred that everything that came into contact with it has become white as an egg shell. From this well came 2 Birds, white as snow. They are called swans, and from them descend all the birds, which carried the name of swans.

Utgard also called udgard:

Utgard is the place in jotunheim, where the giant skrymir fooled Thor with illusions.

Valaskialf:

Valaskialf is the palace of the chief God Odin; it has a silver roof and a tower in which Odin can see all nine worlds of his high seat.

Vanaheim:

Vanaheim is home to the vanir.

Vingolf:

Vingolf is the home of the asynjur in Asgard.

Valgrind: death door

Valgrind is the outer gate of Valhalla.

Valhalla: Hall of the dead

Valhalla is located in Asgard, where there are 540 doors. The doors are so wide that, through all doors, 800 Warriors can walk side by side. The roof is covered with golden shields, and the walls around valhalla are made of wooden spears axes.

Vimur:

Vimur is the largest of the elivagar rivers, which were formed at the beginning of the world. The River is rushed by jotunheim, the giant gjalp tried to increase the level of the urinating river in the river. She wanted to drown the God Thor, but Thor threw a stone right at her, and she ran away.

Yggdrasil: the tree of life

Yggdrasil is in the middle of Asgard, where the gods live. Yggdrasil is the tree of life. It is an eternal tree of green ashes, and saint branches extend over all nine worlds, and extend above and above the heavens.

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