#prose edda

Skáldskaparmál, 4: About Þjazi’s Line

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Another one inspired by my earlier post about modern associations that I have of the Gods. See my UPG tag for the other posts of this nature. All UPG, some serious, some not.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Some of my Associations + Why

1. Astronauts, Space Travel, Rockets, and Airplanes. This is inspired by his name "Váfuðr," mentioned a few times over, meaning Wanderer, and his title "Farmǫgnuðr," meaning travel-furtherer. Combining this with his myth of giving Nótt and Dagr (day and night) horses and chariots so that they may ride across the sky, leads me to associate him with space travel!

2. Doctors and Nurses. Odin is called, in the Grímnismál, "Helblindi," or Hel-Blinder. I believe this refers to the act of defying death, which is, in a sense, what doctors and nurses do every day.

3. Wishing Wells, Good Luck Coins, etc. His title "Óski" means, roughly, the God of Wishes. It seems appropriate!

4. Coding! In myth, he hung himself from Yggdrasil to discover the secrets of runes. Runes, back then, were just letters. That means he is essentially considered the creator of written language. Fast-forward to today, that could be furthered to him being the God of our new "written language." Code.

5. Court, Law, Criminals. He has a few Kennings that associate him with the gallows (Hangadróttinn, Hangaguð, Farmr galga) and truth/wisdom (Sanngetall, Fjǫlnir, Sviðurr). So, I see his aspects reflected in many aspects of criminal justice, juries, defendants, victims, and legal counsel.

Offerings

Jigsaw Puzzles

Beer

Hershey's Kisses

Pennies

Bread

Feelings and Vibes

-The feeling of finally getting the hang of a tough skill; success and pride. (Embroidery, for me)

-Similarly, the faith you have in someone to figure things out for themselves, trust in others.

-That unscratchable itch to learn.

-The relief of sitting down amongst loved ones after a day of tough, draining work.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Oh man, Muspell. It's one of those demons that I seriously researched once upon a time and didn't come up with anything definitive. I think it's just supposed to be a generic jotun of Muspellheim, though--one of those under Surt's command. From the Prose Edda:

A "son of Muspell"? I guess that's the best bet.

I don't think a generic "Nifl" would have a reason to exist, as equivalent giants don't live in Niflheim. The other major giant race is the frost giants; so one might this guy, only icy, I guess. It's the kind of thing that may have existed if they made model edits during the PS2 era as fervently as the sprite palette swaps and edits of the SFC games. They should honestly do this for the new games! It's interesting and would be a cheap way to add needed roster variety!

I have to say, I am very proud of how it turned out. At first I was scared to make it too similar to GoW Ragnarok but I think I did a good job. The only thing I'd change is probably simplify the gloves for my sake and make the belt bigger and cover the whole belly because I think that's a more dynamic design

Like with all my gods I try to take the more nuanced approach. He is not just some mindless stupid drunk killing machine. Yeah he gets shit faced a lot and likes killing giants, and can be a bit brutish, but he has a kind heart. He loves his wife and his children (i'm not sure if he did have an affair or if it was just a previous relationship), is a god of feritility that loves helping manking and most jotun tend to be evil and associated with plague and disaster.

The strongest of the Aesir God, built like a fucking tank, don't mess with his family or risk the wrath of his hammer