#ragnarok

In the Norse creation mythology, the worlds were created mainly through the clashing of fire and ice, heat and moisture.  Among the first beings in existence were the fire giant/deity Surtr, the hrimthurs (ice giant/deity) Ymir, and the giant nourishing cow Audhumla.  From heat and moisture on his body, Ymir begat other beings, and they in turn produced their own offspring.  Odin was closely descended from Ymir on his mother’s side, and Odin’s paternal grandfather, Buri, was considered the first god.  Buri had been different from Ymir’s creations in that he had been created from the cow Audhumla’s licking of a block of ice (creation was again achieved through a meeting of heat and ice).

Odin and his immediate family, although partially descended from Ymir, considered themselves set apart from Ymir’s creations, dubbed the Jotnar.  Odin and his brothers saw Ymir as an enemy, and, fearing his immense power, they caught him unaware and slew him.

Ymir had been an enormous being, so his death did not come without collateral damage.  The blood that poured from Ymir’s body created a flood that killed Odin’s parents and all the Jotnar but one, Bergelmir (also known as Farbauti).  It is generally believed that the longstanding feud between the Aesir and Jotnar arose from this near destruction of all Jotnar and complete destruction of Ymir, as committed by the Aesir, and the ultimate battle of Ragnarok was to be the Jotnar’s revenge for the act.

Bergelmir and his wife had taken refuge on a small wooden boat, and thus escaped from the treacherous fate that befell the rest of the Jotunnar.  It is unclear whether Bergelmir’s wife Nal (also known as Laufey) was Jotunn or god (As).  Bergelmir is said by some sources to have been the only remaining Jotunn, but in other sources his wife is included with him (although this may have simply been an assumption made because it was a Jotunn to whom Nal was wed).  Whatever Nal’s ancestry though, it was the union of Bergelmir and Nal that repopulated the world’s tree with Jotnar once more.  The land to which they escaped became Jotunnheimr.

Among Bergelmir (or Farbauti) and Nal (or Laufey)’s offspring was Loki.  The myth concerning the conception of Loki states that Loki was born from Bergelmir (or Farbauti) striking Nal (or Laufey) with lightning.  Loki was originally a fire deity before he became more closely associated with the trickster archetype, and this better explains the odd story of conception.  Farbauti, meaning “fierce strike”, was a representation of lightning.  Nal meant “pine needles”, and her other name, Laufey, meant “leaves”.  In this way, Loki – fire – was created by Farbauti – lightning – striking Nal or Laufey – pine needles or leaves.  The story describes a natural phenomenon with representative personifications.

When Loki gave birth to the wolf Fenrir, it was foretold that Fenrir would kill Odin one day in battle.

Although kept among the gods at Asgard, Fenrir was designated their enemy before he had even opened his eyes.  The gods sought to bind Fenrir in such a way that he could never escape, but if they failed, Fenrir would surely attack them for such actions.

As such, the gods bound Fenrir in fetters under the pretence that it was just a game.  Fenrir would be bound by the fetters, and he was to try to break free.  Fenrir agreed to the game, and was bound as tightly as the gods could manage.  However, much to their surprise, Fenrir broke free of his bonds.  The gods returned after that with increasingly stronger bonds, hoping to trap Fenrir, but each time Fenrir successfully broke free.

Finally, the gods sought the help of the dvergues, master craftsmen.  The dvergues did not disappoint, and created for them an unbreakable fetter called Gleipnir.  It was made of the beard of a woman, the breath of a fish, the sinew of a bear, the root of a mountain, the spittle of a bird, and the sound of a cat’s footfall.  All of these things, each one supposedly impossible, gave the fetter its indestructibility.

The gods approached Fenrir again, this time with Gleipnir, and asked to play the binding game with him once more.  Fenrir was wary about the ribbon-thin fetter they held.  The fetters had been increasing in size until now, but given the appearance of this one, it was surely strengthened by magic.  It was difficult to miss the gods’ hatred for him, and Fenrir suspected that the gods truly meant to bind him, despite the pretence of a game.

Fenrir agreed to play the game once more, but only on the condition that one of the gods stick his hand in Fenrir’s mouth.  He hoped the prospect of losing a hand would keep the gods from foul play.  The brave god of war, Tyr, volunteered to comply with Fenrir’s request.

So Fenrir was bound with the unbreakable fetter, with Tyr’s hand in his mouth.  Once Fenrir was bound, he struggled to break free, but found that he could not.  The gods had indeed tricked him, and they intended to keep him trapped there forever.  In anger at the trickery, Fenrir bit off Tyr’s hand.

But the gods had not averted Fenrir’s fate.  They had ensured it.  In binding Fenrir, they had made Fenrir their enemy.  When Fenrir broke free at the outset of Ragnarok, he was filled with anger at the gods who had kept him prisoner his entire life.  It had been foretold that Fenrir would kill Odin, and his treatment from the gods was what had driven him to it.

Loki is conspicuously absent on all occasions when the gods attempted to bind Fenrir.  Given that Loki plays a prominent role in most myths, and that he was the mother of Fenrir, his absence is somewhat strange.  It may have been that Loki was kept from the proceedings, so that he would not interfere for the sake of his son.

Furthermore, it was at this time that the gods began to mistrust Loki, and to see him as an enemy.  Loki had always been mischievous, but the gods had considered him an ally until this point.  It may have happened simply because of Loki’s relation to the killer of Odin, or perhaps because Loki had protested against Fenrir’s treatment, and they saw anyone who desired Fenrir’s freedom to be an enemy of Asgard.  A further possibility is that Loki was entirely guilty of becoming mistrustful, and an enemy of Asgard.  Perhaps, after seeing Asgard’s treatment of his son, who had done nothing, Loki could no longer feel loyalty to the Asgard that had once been his home.

Hanzo watching as Cole stabs Bi-Han in the same place Bi-Han stabbed Hanzo centuries ago:

netflix ragnarok exists to heal the wounds inflicted by the loki series

“I’ve been falling, for thirty minutes!” -Loki

I said long ago that I never wanted anyone other than Taika Waititi to touch Loki’s character and NOW LOOK WHAT HAPPENED

lord-of-gamers:

Lord-of-gamers-store

The Sister Squad but as the Revengers