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AvannaK — Astrid: Learning the Difference
Published: 2012-12-12 09:29:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 35011; Favourites: 312; Downloads: 293
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Sometimes people call Astrid a Valkyrie and I'm like - I just want to point out the subtle differences between a "Shieldmaiden " and a Valkyrie ... But then I remember the Astrid I like to focus on isn't quite the same one everyone else does.I mean, if you're going by her purposeful design to be attractive and that yaknog incident, then sure. She's got all the makings of a Valkyrie. But if you're going by her prowess in battle and hard attitude then "Shieldmaiden" is more appropriate. I know it's not as pretty-a-sounding word, and now that she's decided to give up the fighting spirit to become a full time girlfriend, it doesn't really apply anymore...
I wrote this tiny story to help ease my mind into accepting her as a Valkyrie:
Astrid Hofferson used to be a shieldmaiden. Back when she was independant, badass, kickass, kissass --oh wait, she's still a bit of that... However things changed after the war. The Integration was rough for a young woman such as herself. She was trained to fight dragons, not people, and quickly found her hard-earned skills useless when their long-time enemies became allies. She grew less competent by the day, her competitive streak waning to the point where she didn't even care about her placement in the Thawfest games. And why should she? She had showy dragon and a sort-of boyfriend. She had to put her energy into supporting him now.
Still, a girl's gotta eat. After Snoggletog, Astrid realized her talents now rested in balancing jugs and mugs on a platter and forcing drinks down people's throats. She started working in the Meade Hall, serving the hardworking men of their village mead, ale... whatever drink they craved. She got to know the local warriors so well, in fact, that Stoick himself would ask her to hand-pick which ones should accompany him to battle.
Astrid continued working in the Mead Hall until she got pregnant with a dozen of Hiccup's spawns, some of which looked like Snotlout, some of which looked like Stoick, and spent the rest of her days living off her fading looks.
And that is the story of Astrid Hofferson, the Valkyrie.
THE END.
What do you think? Accurate? Best story you ever heard? I think so.
Astrid Hofferson © Dreamworks
Astrid the "Shieldmaiden" © Pre-Romantic Flight Astrid
Astrid the Valkyrie © Post-Romantic Flight Astrid
HI-larious award © ME
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Comments: 160
No-one wants the latter because the latter means Yaknog and that's a fate worse than death.
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*Mead pops up randomly(Oo-er)* *she sees the pic and her eyes flick from side to side taking in both sides then takes a deep breath* "Well then I know what side I wanna stay on already and I have only been going to the academy for a week!"
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Mead: Well I mean the good side!
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I thought they were the same job and did both, so they were combination bringers of the slain and bringers of the mead. Kinda like battle waitresses
And I was sure real shieldmaidens didn't exist.
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Now we can see that Astrid can be a warrior.... and a lady based from her situation.
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I can't believe I almost made this flub...
Note to self use "shieldmaiden" for Astrid.
And I might need to make an edit in one of my fics, it was only once but correct me if I'm wrong but not only woulf a Valkyrie choose who would be an Einherjar would they also help a warrior if they were in a tight spot? Cause I think I might have just hallucinated this...
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Hahaha, yeah. It was one of those kind of uninformed fads and I was like 'euughghghgh'. Hahaha.
I'm not sure about how much Valkyries interfered with people's lives directly outside of choosing the slain.
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So I guess if some Valkyrie comes to your rescue youre about to very heroically kick the bucket I guess.
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Haha, exactly. Unless they're already dead.
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So I guess she's making sure you'd kick the bucket on schedual?
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Haha, well that but if you see a Valkyrie yankin' on your spirit you know you've done good, and you're going to spend your time in Valhalla in Odin's hall (can't be bothered to look up the name) feasting and fighting until you get to be a badass during Ragnarok
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I heard tht Rick Riordan's next series will be on Norse mythology...I wonder how he'll portray the Valkyries in a modern sense? Bouncers?
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I heard that too! I do wonder how he's going to spin it. Haha… bouncer Valkyries… I'd imagine they might be a bit like how the satyrs are in PJO.
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Except if you see them you're dead!
And where would their summer camp be if they'll have one? Canada? Since that's where the Vikings landed and lived for a little while?
and imagine how the Norse demigods will be while watching The Avengers either laughing their brains out or yelling "Get 'em Dad get 'im!" Whenever Thor is beating up a bad guy-if Thor actually had any demigod children. It seems like he's one of the few immortals who don't have marriage problems...
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Valkyries were warriors of the gods not bar maids. They are sheildmaidan's that have died fighting in battle and the gods decided they were good enough to become Valkyries. So in that way, you are right. She's not a Valkyrie, she's not dead yet.
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I know what a Valkyrie is… and you are wrong on many fronts.
Valkeries--not the gods--flew over battlefields and chose fallen warriors to become einherjar. EINHERJAR are what viking warriors want to be. Einherjar are the brave warriors, escorted by Valkyries, to Odin's hall to drink and be merry until they fight alongside Odin during Ragnarok. That's what ASTRID would want to be. An einherjar, not a Valkyrie.
When they're not swinging around snatching souls for the gods, Valkyries are serving the Einherjar in Odin's giant mead hall. That is what a Valkyrie is.
So yes, Astrid in not a valkyrie in any capacity unless you want to demote her.
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"When they're not swinging around snatching souls for the gods, Valkyries are serving the Einherjar in Odin's giant mead hall. That is what a Valkyrie is. "
You left out the part about the Valkyrja's main task being the deciders of the fates of warriors. They don't just "snatch up souls"- they decide the fate of battles.
They are not only warriors themselves, but they have the powers to make human factions win and lose at their disposal. Serving wine to the einherjar is a secondary task which actually makes sense- they were the ones who brought the particular warriors there to be einherjar, so they host them well.
Most of the Valkyrja are concepts of war(strength, victory, battle) embodied. Some of them are even outright goddesses themselves- like Thor's daughter Thrud, and Freya herself who is both a valkyrie and considered a goddess of war.
They are magical, more important versions of the shieldmaidens, who are mere mortal women. Heck, let's take a look at Brynhildr, the "shieldmaiden" in that wiki article: She's a valkyrie shieldmaiden demoted to just a mortal shieldmaiden for using her powers of deciding victory to make the side Odin wanted to lose win.
So no, not only are valkyries not "escorts who serve wine", but a demoted valkyrie is... a mortal shieldmaiden.
I don't have an issue with you saying Astrid isn't a Valkyrie. She isn't one.
Acting like a valkyries is somehow a downgrade from a shieldmaiden is pretty bad when valkyries are actual divine beings(essentially a class of lesser war goddesses, with Freya as major one) who decide the fates of battles and are warriors themselves.
In short, if you are gonna complain about "demotions" make sure you actually know your mythology. Preferably better than a scandinavian who reads the old myths often.
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Alright, pipe down, the issue was with Astrid being called a Valkyrie and having it equate to her strengths, which is certainly not being the decider of a warriors fate, which I had informed myself of long before I made this silly doodle years ago. Additionally, I've long, long since learned more about the Valkyries since then, and even then was well aware of Valkyries being divine beings.
And no, this wasn't meant to demean Valkyries so it was meant to show that Astrid wasn't a valkyrie in the language those who were depicting her as might understand. As, y'know, the parody that it was. Hey-zues, it cool.
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"the issue was with Astrid being called a Valkyrie and having it equate to her strengths"
See, I'd agree to that, to a point, but you went out of your way to say Valkyries were not warriors when they most certainly were. They are essentially divine shieldmaidens.
That was really the main gist I was getting at with my response back then. Wasn't meaning to come across as harsh as I might have done.
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but the difference is that valkyrie is a godlike being and shieldmaiden just mortal
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Yes--along with every other functional difference. And Astrid is just mortal.
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yeah i know but i was just giving the biggerst difference
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This made me laugh--actually laugh, which isn't something I ordinarily do. Usually I just sort of smile and think to myself, Well, that was amusing. But this actually got a laugh out of me, and in the middle of a panic attack, too.
Thank you for making this. XD
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Well good, it was meant to be funny (while still poking at real issues in her portrayal and the fandom's understanding of her).
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Ah I like both words. Though shield maiden makes me feel that she'll protect me....in that whole "GTFO MY wAY!" feel....
I like it though
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My initial reaction was: What the hell, AvannaK? This isn't the Astrid we know and love! Then it hit me. Parody. Is this story a good depiction of a valkyrie? Admittedly, I'm not as well-versed in Norse mythology as I'd like to be.
And I'm sure that Astrid would have words for someone suggesting that she cruise out on her looks.
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Haha yes, thank you for reading. It is definitely a parody.
Mostly, it was inspired by how many people would refer to Astrid as a Valkyrie… and it was insinuating they did so because she was pretty and she could fight. But in Norse tales Valkyries weren't hailed for their battle prowess--they watched over batted and chose the men who died in it to go to Valhalla. While the dead warriors were in Valhalla, waiting for Ragnarok to fight alongside Odin, the Valkyries would serve them mead and food. Valkyries chose warriors and served them. So people calling Astrid a Valkyrie would give me a thousand eyerolls.
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I did not know that. I always thought that Valkyrie was a divine female Norse warrior! Duly noted. If that comes up on Jeopardy, I'll think of you and breathe a blessing.
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Hahaha! Well, you're welcome! Apparently not a whole lot of people in the fandom know that either.
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Tehehehe. Man, you do your research and suddenly you can't look at some things the same way. Like the 'Asari Valkyrie' Sentinel character from Mass Effect 3 multiplayer.
And a hilarious story as far as being a parody. As long as someone understands it's a parody, everything's fine... but some people are like Berk's sheep. They need it hammered into their head by Astrid the Shieldmaiden
Anyways, from what I've seen she's honestly getting traits of both... and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, with no raids every other nice she's going to need a day job 
Honestly, this is one problem I think there is with modern fiction: People see that women must either be 100% hard-as-iron-nails badass, or are complete doormats. I think Ashley Williams from Mass Effect summed it up most accurately: "Just because I can drill you between the eyes at 400 meters doesn't mean I can't like sensitive stuff." And hell, it's true. She's one of the most badass characters with only Wrex matching her for tankiness and she's a pure combat monster. Sure, in ME3 she got a 'prettiness' upgrade, but her default armor for combat was still a full Alliance Combat Armor. The 'casual' outfit was her alternate. And her romance doesn't involve any door mating. Heck, she's probably the more eloquent one in the pairing and she WILL argue with Shepard in topics they disagree with even if she remains professional when on the mission.
I see it similarly with Astrid, honestly. Sure, she's still capable of kicking you ass over head and then plating a greataxe there in your nervous system for good measure, but who says she isn't realizing she has a sensitive side too and actually started bringing it out once the war was over? It's not like she hasn't stopped being a badass. Heck, I'm relatively sure she flung both of the twins off when they tackled her unprepared and held down own against a Monstrous Nightmare when unarmed...
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I'm so happy to see there's some people who recognize it as a parody! 
It annoys me greatly when people squish ass-kicking girls into this mold of being emotionally-constipated and cold.
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Unfortunately, sarcasm detectors have zip for reliability, leaving most people unable to understand things. Just gotta call them out and hope they eventually listen.
That's a pretty solid explanation, though. Generally likes helping people and adapts to what's most needed. In a time of war, a badass action girl who can cut your head of ten ways from Berk. In a shitty holiday season, she tries to cheer up everyone in other ways.
Yeah, some people just won't do things half way. *shakes head* Ironically, assuming an action girl must be cold-as-nails and with the emotional range of a teaspoon is probably just as sexist as them being delicate little flowers
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Haha… don't know that but cool!
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There is some overlap between the two, wasn't Brynhildr supposed to be both?
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Yes, she was! But Astrid is certainly not Brynhildr.
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Hahahaha! Oh, this is the best. You win.
I second this wholeheartedly - Astrid the Shieldmaiden is a boss, and would probably put an axe in anyone who suggested that she'd be better served working in the mead hall. Comments aside, the contrast between these two drawings is hilarious. I love it!
*SO AMUSED RIGHT NOW*
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Huzzah~
Good, this was mean to bring amusement to people. 
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ooooh my word. I MISSED this!
the 'HI-larious award' 
But that aside, I loooooove the colours here. The line are... the stylization... and the colourpallate you gave her! I know Valkyrie is a viking thing, but what exactly is a Valkyrie in the Viking lore? I know what a shieldmaiden is becasue of The Lord of the Rings (Eowyn)... but there's not Valkyrie hobbits, elves, or mortal maidens unless I'm mistaken ;D
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Haha - you missed it! Well,you found it now. I'm glad you like the color. It did turn out particularly vibrant. (Saying that makes me hurt extra about not having a tablet to color my PJO stuff 
Valkyries basically follow around men in battle and choose which ones will go to Valhalla to wait and fight along side Odin in Ragnarok. While they're there, the Valkyries serve them food and meade.
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I FOUND it!!
You'll have a pen soon!!! Soon!
Oh! that's what they are? Wow! That's simple enough
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Hmmm. Maybe I'm forgetting what they did teach us in school (nevermind how long ago that was!) but I remember being told about the "choosers of the slain" part, and not so much about the serving wench part. Could be that they glossed over that bit in the name of political correctness.
I'd agree with earlier posters that the term "Valkyrie" has probably strayed in the modern consciousness from its original meaning. Blame comic books and anime.
But yeah, shieldmaiden all the way. 
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Freaking comic books and anime - twisting mythology.
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