HOME | DD
AvannaK — Astrid: Learning the Difference
Published: 2012-12-12 09:29:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 35033; Favourites: 312; Downloads: 293
Redirect to original
Description
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
Related content
Comments: 160
I admit, the story was sorta funny even as it made my inner feminist gnash her teeth.
I think it's unnecessarily poetic referring to Astrid as either valkyrie or a shieldmaiden. She's a viking, and that's that. After how many centuries of battling dragons, people of Berk kick plenty of ass, whether or not you wanna put some fancy name on their occupation.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh yes - beleive me, writing that story was a little painful for me; it was a battle between my pride and my humor. My humor won out, as it usually does.
I don't see Astrid as either or (or rather, I can see her as both). Her occupation is technically a shieldmaiden, and when people describe her as a Valkyrie I just imagine her serving everyone Yaknog like a valkyrie would.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yeah, well, valkyries are kinda paradoxal figures, at least to me. On one hand, they serve as the otherworldly barmaids, on the other, they essentially pick who's gonna live and who's gonna die in a battle.
That's actually true for viking women in general. Men went out either pillaging or trading while the wives stayed home, but then the men handed all their earnings over to the women as soon as they came home. Like being a kitchen maid and a queen all rolled in one.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yeah, that is the definition of what a Valkyrie is, which I made a parody of in my little story (Astrid serves men their mead, and then picks which ones are accompanying Stoick (or Odin, in this allusion).
Do you read Viking Answer lady? She has great stuff about Viking women. Women could also divorce men (particularly if they didn't meet their bedroom expectations 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Viking Answer Lady? No, never heard of that. I may need to look it up.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
[link] <-- that's the website that was a gold mine of information when I was writing my story. Literally all you need to know about the Viking lifestyle.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I also like Astrid the shield maiden better, she's supposed to be badass! And just like Toothless, the show has sorta underpowered them a little. I don't like the Toothless from the show...he's not badass like in the movie. His fireballs didn't even blow up a ship...tsk tsk.
BTW reading all the responses is fun!
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Yeah... the show kind of messed around with some of the characters, which was a shame. I just separate the show and the movie verses.
Glad you're enjoying the responses! Some people got thsi for the joke it was meant as. Others... not so much.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I also think people don't get that you can be sweet and caring and still be an awesome warrior. Shield-maiden DOES NOT equal being a bitch 100% of the time.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
YES! Right?! And there are so many people who write Astrid as this one-dimentional ball-crusher and I'm like 'WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT'?!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
YES!!! THE DIFFERENCE IS KNOWN TO THE WORLD!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's what I scream when I want people to move out of my way: "Fxxxxxxxxxxxxx!" or "FXX RO DA!'
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I wish I could 'like' a statement. Because I would so like this.
I think it would be pronounced: "FSSSSHHHHHH"
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
isn't a Valkyrie also "The chooser of the slain"
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes. Well, they choose who will die in battle to fight alongside Odin for Ragnarok. Until Ragnarok they serve those warriors mead and stuff while they dine in Valhalla. I alluded to her 'choosing' warriors in my awesome story.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I dont understand the picture o.o
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's okay. it's more the comments that need to be understood anyway.
Basically, there's this cliche of sorts in the fandom where people call Astrid a valkyrie and I'm just poking fun at them by showing them what exactly that would make Astrid.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hahaha, nice, thank you, I love you.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Erm I hate to burst your bubble but an actual Valkyrie isn't exactly sweet and caring, they transport fallen heroes to Valhalla and they tend to be beautiful women kicking arse looking very much like angels from Christianity, who are THE soldiers of God might I add, but mostly kicking arse in the midst of battle to transport the valiant dead. Not the nursemaids most people seem to think of them as.
So Valkyrie might actually be a fitting word for Astrid. You know, unless there's another meaning in the fandom and I'm just stomping in with my size 11s.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's not... what I'm saying... at all...
No where in here did I say Valkyries are sweet in caring. I pretty much said exactly what they are.
WHY ARE YOU SO BAD AT READING DAVE?!
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
omg the facedesk picture made my night
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I just looked at that picture? I've been at work? My brain cells are numbed by the idiocy of the general public? I have a hair-trigger response to correcting people on stuff that is so wrong it annoys me? Even when I'm wrong.
In my defence you put the word Valkyrie above a smiling and sweet looking Astrid offering a warm drink. I figured that's what you were calling a Valkyrie.
Sorry?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's right you're sorry.
Yeah, I should have anticipated that most people would look at just the picture and jump to all their mindless (or, in some cases, overly mindful) conclusions.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I will assume I'm mindful. Just to save some of my self-respect.
Yeah, 'sorry' let's go with 'sorry'
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Because I'm a wise-arse?
Because I am difficult?
Because it's fun to mess with you?
Because I'm British and this is what we DO!?
Pick the one you think fits best.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'll take option D.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Fair enough, probably accurate. I'd go or 'option E: all of the above' though.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm fairly sure that 'E' is none of the above.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i like the valkerie one better much more of a sweet girl going "more tea for you sir 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It is sweet... until she's refused and we all find out she has a gun strapped to the bottom of that tray.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I dunno what you're seeing in the show. Because she's still both.
She started as one and then developed the traits of the other. The show is making her a more rounded character.
But to say that she has dropped her shieldmaiden aspects is wrong. Maybe she was more Valkyrie in GOTNF than in HTTYD. But it was because of the circumstances.
And in Riders Of Berk she keeps showing all her Shieldmaiden traits.
All that has changed is that she's no longer antagonistic to Hiccup.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Um... she has changed quite a bit more than just being 'not antagonistic' to Hiccup, but that's not the point here. Clearly this is an exaggeration and parody on her character, both in the franchise and how fans portray her. I think people are taking this a little too seriously.
That story... it was a joke.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
My comment was more about your responses than the story.
I got from them that you are uncertain how Astrid is developing and where her character is going, as if Valkyrie Astrid is on its way to become her default personality.
And yet, as far as I can tell, in the show she is still mostly Shieldmaiden Astrid. She is gaining some more dimension from her HTTYD portrayal, but her sweet side is a thing only Hiccup and Stormfly see (sometimes Toothless and maybe Fishlegs too).
Her tough, no-nonsense personality is still what everybody in Berk see of her.
I was just providing my two cents. Anyway, I might have misinterpreted your posts.
Honestly, I have never seen much Valkyrie Astrid, even post GOTNF and ROB. Not in fanart, not in fanfic.
Though maybe I'm just not looking at the right places.
I like my Astrid to be both.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh god, the fandom is saturated with "valkyrie Astrid" sometimes - but this deviation was originally done for the people calling Astrid a valkyrie because she was a pretty warrior... and anytime she was called such I just pictured her offering everyone her yaknog.
Now the franchise seems to use Astrid as a reward for Hiccup and his development, particularly in the last couple episodes, and giving her a little more depth is often left to the fans. We can say she's a woman hardened by war who is slowly learning to show her softer side to others, we can say she's a naturally sweet person and uses her determination as a cover to fit in, which she finds painful at times; it all comes down to how we personally want to interpret her because, canon-wise, she isn't defined well at all.
And personally, I think I have a very firm grounding of who Astrid is. Nothing I've said in my comment box expresses my personal feelings on her.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Meh, I like how they are handling Astrid.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Which is fine. To each their own. I just hold Astrid to some higher standards because she is, essentially, a lot like me. When you identify with someone who gets jerked around from time to time, it's a little disconcerting.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I think it's a little farfetched that just because Astrid got a little nicer and sweeter that she's end a glorified village wife popping babies.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It's a dark road she's heading down. A dark, dark, road.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
oh come on, have a little faith!
I mean the first movie was great!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
The movie was great, absolutely. The romance was unnecessary, but other than that they hit a home run on a lot of things.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
ah.
but that's no fault of the characters, right?
just that romance is not everyone's cup of tea.
that doesn't make a character less cool
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
| Next =>