On A Really Bad Day, That List May Include Stuff Like; Eat, Drink Water, Shower, Get Out Of Bed.

Coolest thing about lord of the rings? The king of horses shows up. It appears he is no different from all other horses

In light of certain recent topics, I’ve been reminded of the 2017 book ‘Norse Mythology’ by Neil Gaiman. It was a nice telling of the more well-known Norse Myths, but there are LOTS of other options out there for people wanting to learn more about Norse Mythology—you don’t have to support that predator to learn about the gods.

Below is a list of some of the other resources that I’ve used. It’s not exhaustive by any measure—just what I’m familiar with and what comes to mind as I sit here at my desk at work. If anyone else has any additional recommendations, please add them to the list!

Norse Mythology for Smart People - norse-mythology.org

This was where I first started when I wanted to learn about Norse Mythology years ago—I literally just typed “Norse Mythology” into google and clicked the first result like a noob. But this site does a really good job of giving information on a wide range of topics within norse mythology as well as vikings in a general sense—everything from different gods, goddesses, creatures, places, and major stories. It’s a solid encyclopedic source that I would recommend to anyone wanting to get general information on the mythology.

“Norse Mythology: The Unofficial Guide” - https://open.spotify.com/show/7F0tD7bStFIDSVEbsnrxuI?si=8ce8f5ccf3a3417d

If podcasts are your jam, the best by far in my opinion is ‘Norse Mythology: The Unofficial Guide’. At the time of me writing this, there haven’t been any new episodes for 6 months, but there are 37 episodes that are about an hour each & range on a variety of topics from cosmology to specific deities to stories like Ragnarok or specific topics like runes. It does a fantastic job of explaining each topic in a way that is both thorough and accessible & honestly I can’t recommend it enough.

The ‘Northern Myths’ Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/7KtSJb5DTLSwmfj1BPYY5v?si=fcd6c297cdc1463d

If you want to go deeper into Old Norse texts like the Eddas or the Havamál, the ‘Northern Myths’ podcast is the place to go for a very deep dive/discussion on these texts. The episodes are long and sometimes get a little dry, but they do read these texts directly and then discuss each passage, so it’s a decent place to go for some deep discussion on some of the pillars of Old Norse texts.

Dr. Jackson Crawford - https://jacksonwcrawford.com/

Most people who get into Norse Mythology/History become familiar with Jackson Crawford pretty quick. He’s an expert specifically in linguistics and the Old Norse language—which includes runes—but he also has extensive knowledge on Old Norse & “Viking” history & culture. He’s previously taught at UCLA, UC Berkeley, and University of Colorado, and now has an extensive Youtube channel. He’s also been a consultant for projects like AC:Valhalla. If you have a question about Old Norse & would like to have a soft-spoken, no-nonsense cowboy in the wilds of Colorado explain it to you, this is your new home.

Again, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start. Please please feel free to reblog with any additional sources you’ve used so we can help new friends learn more!

I know this is more of a joke post but the dwarves have a union with three chapters, it’s the discord integration feature. The chapters are Mighty Miners, Cave Crawlers, and Dirt Diggers.

ROCK AND STONE!

He actually cried for like 3 hours after this

Extra History recently did a series on Nazis and the Occult, it's pretty good.

apologies if you've asked this before, but why were the nazis so into the occult? like what drew them in specifically?

Fascists love identifying with an ancient warrior culture that never existed, and they love to try and believe things until they become true. The occult mileu of the 1930s had both in spades.

Important to say though, a few important Nazis were really into the occult, but Hitler himself found it pretty cringe. Don't get it in your head that every Nazi was training to be a wizard or some shit. Read Nicholas Goodrick Clarke's book on the topic.

I hate the “Ragnarök is a Post-Christian Myth” theory.

First off, it feels like most people see that Snorri Sturluson was Christian and immediately assume he did what the Irish monks did to Irish mythology. This completely ignores why he wrote the myths down, which was to establish a cultural connection between Iceland and Norway, in order to try and get Iceland to join the Kingdom of Norway (which failed). It also ignores that fact that he WASN’T A MONK. Outside of a part about the Aesir being Trojans and living in Asia (which makes no sense when looking at the rest of the Edda and the myths within), and some stuff about some great god who is more powerful than all of the Aesir and is never actually named, there isn’t much evidence to there being large post-Christian changes.

The second problem is that the theory focuses too much on Loki. He doesn’t do much during Ragnarök. He captains a ship (whatever that meant to the Norse) and he kills/dies to Heimdallr. Each of his kids from Angrboda does more. Fenrir eats Odin, and in some versions also the sun, moon, and stars. Jormungandr floods Midgard and poisons the sky, along with killing the strongest of the Aesir, Thor. Hel(a) brings an army of Draugr from her realm to fight Odin and Freya’s einherjar (Freya got half of those who died in battle). I agree that Ragnarök is a story of revenge, but its not Loki’s. ITS THE JOTNAR’S REVENGE. Revenge for a long list of insults and grievances that started with the killing of Ymir during the Voluspa by Odin and his brothers. Also, both Fenrir and Jormungandr are getting revenge against the gods they hate most, whom they are stated to kill. In the end Surtr, king of Muspelheim, kills Freyr, destroys Asgard, and burns all of the worlds (which since they are made of Ymir’s corpse, make this technically Ymir’s funeral pyre). Also the Jotnar on Loki’s ship aren’t his troops, they are led by a different Jotun, and it isn’t even his ship.

I could do an entire other post on the problems with how Loki gets viewed through modern lenses, and I’m tempted to.

Reasons I have seen webcomic authors publicly cite for cancelling their comic mid-storyline:

Too busy  

Lost interest  

Increasing age gap between characters and author made it difficult to relate  

Did the math and figured out that completing the planned arc with their current update schedule would take 150 years  

Ostensible author actually a fictional persona that’s now being retired, and they didn’t want the comic linked to their real identity  

Realised that the way they’d written the central relationship wasn’t emotionally genuine (note: this was a hobbit porn comic)  

The comic’s readership contained too many lesbians  

Converted to a religion that regards all representational art as a form of idolatry  

Broke up with the person the protagonist was based on  

Outed as not actually Japanese  

Imprisoned for manslaughter  

Aliens

real time with pause is really the worst of all worlds

AROMANTICISM. YOU AGREE. REBLOG

"OK I have a plan to defeat chaos across all planes of Reality! I'm gonna need 2 things...."

"First im gonna need this Hammer."

"Next we give it to this Dwarf. We take cover and wait for the shaking to stop."

Yeah, you definitely want to keep in mind the cultural differences and origins of European vs Asian martial arts when talking abut weapons from either area. Like, yeah this weapon will probably be shit on a battlefield, but it wasn't meant for that. It's similar to (how I think) cavalry sabers work. They're great for what they were designed for, people riding horses at speed, but they lose effectiveness when the wielder isn't mounted.

Demonstrating the rope dart (繩標; sheng2biao1)

[eng by me]