#ursa lokisdottir

[thetombedspirit]

SPOILERS FOR GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK - The Daughter of Loki and Angrboda

So, with Angrboda, Fenrir and Jormangandr's appearances in Ragnarök, naturally I'm thinking about the third child: Hel, Queen of the Underworld.

Now, after the quest in Helheim, you can find out that "Hel" is more of a title for the ruler of Helheim then the actual name of a character. As is stands right now, the eagle, Hræsvelgr, is the current and longest holder of that title. And after the main game, you find out that in order to secure her alliance, she requests a replacement so that she can retire. And since the OG Hel is Loki and Angrboda's daughter, then that could only mean one thing...

And that just gives me a ton of ideas. Here’s my take:

Atreus and Angrboda’s daughter, which in here, I headcanon her name to be Ursa, as a nod to Kratos being referenced as the bear to Atreus’ wolf and to Atreus’ first shift, which initially started Atreus on the journey that leads him to meeting Angrboda. And she is just the sweetest girl you’d ever meet: she’ll disappear for a day, freaking her family out, only to find her riding Jormangandr or playing with the wolves and bears of Midgard. She even makes friends with a begrudging war-horse with eight legs after just finding him sulking around the forest and just begs her dad to keep him 😉.

She can summon Hel-Walkers, ghosts and other dead creatures with ease. As a child, whenever she was sick, a pack of Hel-Walkers will just show up and stand guard around the house, not once attempting to take up arms, even as Kratos and Atreus attack, thinking they were there to hurt them. It’s only after Freya points out they’re not even defending themselves do they pause and realise they are here to protect Ursa in her moment of weakness, really driving in her role in the future.

She’s an absolute sweetheart, treating the Hel-Walkers as people in need and finding great interest in listening to the stories of spirits and trying to help them in any way she can, just like her dad would. She’s always growing in her powers of soul magic, even reaching feats that the most powerful of Giants haven’t reached. More on that in another post. Oh, and any curse word she picks up, she repeats with absolute joy and vigour towards her enemies and bullies, absolutely shocking her family. Mimir will ask where she learned such words, and she’ll just say "a friend".

When she gets really scared or angry though, she has her own kind of Spartan Rage: Her skin becomes a pale blue and appears translucent, revealing her skeleton, with looks like it’s glowing with blue fire, like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat. This pays homage to what her OG Norse myth says she’s meant to look: half alive, half dead. Her screams become icy winds, making it so cold as to make even Kratos shiver, flails about like those Hel-Broods, leaping on her focus of rage and just scratching their eyes and face like a rabid animal. She’s lightning quick and as agile as a cat, able to dodge and manoeuvre around the most powerful of attacks. She’s very self-conscious about how it makes her look. Afraid that she’s a monster. Her family will be very quick to remind her that her form is not her nature, that she decides who she is.

I’m gonna dig more into this, but I hope you enjoy my personal headcanon. Thank you!

[thetombedspirit]

Spoilers for GOW: RAGNAROK - Ursa’s Quest

There is one big headcanon idea I have which heavily focuses on Ursa coming into her powers as a Goddess of Death. And that is through a quest to restore a certain someone’s soul which eventually leads to her realising her destiny as the future Queen of Helheim.

Here’s my take - Ursa is around the same age that Atreus was during GOW 2018, and her father is visiting Kratos, so she’s just hanging out in the forest, playing with the wolves and having some good old fun when she suddenly feels something, something she’s only felt in the presence of souls. But this one feels incomplete, like it’s missing it’s other parts. She summons it, but doesn’t hear much as it’s a little worn and weak. Just that the spirit is "missing his ‘soul bits’” and that his name is Brok. Ursa stores his first soul part, his mind, in her marble and tells her parents about it, who is shocked to hear that their daughter found a piece of Brok’s soul. Realising how much this means to them, Ursa sneaks out and decides to look for Brok’s other soul pieces herself, eventually gaining the help of Sleipnir along the way as they go on their quest to find Brok’s two other soul pieces, luck and form and bring them to the Lake of Souls to complete him.

And along the way, Sindri shows up, not sure what Atreus’ daughter is doing out here all alone with Odin’s old war horse, until she speaks honestly about her quest. Sindri is stunned, but readily decides to help the little girl in anyway he can if it meant that his brother can finally have an afterlife, even gifting her a dagger embedded with the famine of Fimbulwinter itself. And at some point, and very sleepy Ursa will say "thanks Sin." Leaving Sindri feeling both touched and sad, as he truly does miss having Atreus as a friend but still isn't ready to talk to him. And maybe through his journey to save Brok’s soul with Ursa, he will be.

It’s essentially like Kratos and Atreus’ quest to spread Faye’s ashes, but instead, their trying to find the soul-bits of a dwarven friend, the child’s taking the lead, her main protector is an eight-legged horse, and instead of a talking head, she has a dwarf that is technically her great-uncle to offer advice. They bond over stories and old wounds that Ursa is just hoping to fix, although Sindri tells her that some holes are too big to fill. But that doesn’t mean she can’t fill it up halfway. They open up to each other, become protective and caring towards each other as they help not only overcome their trauma but also help Ursa realise her new powers and accept them (after all, summoning Hel-Walker and becoming a half-dead skeleton can be terrifying for an eleven year old.)

And throughout the WHOLE quest for Brok’s souls, she is eating up Brok’s vulgar mannerisms and loving it! It’s just a riot to her and is spitting swears and insults at all of her enemies like Perrito from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish; making Brok proud as peach of his great-niece, whilst absolutely shocking Sleipnir and appalling Sindri, who is low-key (hehe Loki) worried about what Atreus will say about all this when he finds out. 

They use Ursa’s Marble containing Brok’s soul as a sort of compass or tracker, but because the souls have no direction, they are always moving across the realms, and because it’s God of War, there’s always some sort of obstacle trying to hold them back at the last minute. I’m thinking Baldur returns as the most powerful and coherent Hel-Walker anyone’s ever seen and tries to kill Ursa as revenge against Kratos and Atreus, who denied him his own revenge. This could also imply that Hræsvelgr is slowly loosing her influence in Helheim (the only reason Hel-Walkers even show up outside of Helheim anymore is because Ursa summons them) further tying in that she is in need of a replacement. Maybe that opens up a power vacuum that Baldur wants to take advantage of: become the knew Hel so that he can bring forth a new Fimbulwinter, ultimately decimating the Eight Realms that the Fate Breakers sacrificed so much to save. So it is ultimately up to Ursa to claim her rightful throne as Queen of Helheim in order to prevent those like Baldur to abuse that power.

Then, as they finally find the last soul, finally able to see Brok’s spirit, Atreus, Angrboda and Kratos show up, and they are all just happy Ursa’s okay, are scolding her for running off without telling them, before tearfully saying hello to an old friend and returning to the Lake of Souls together to see him off for the last time. And as Brok leaves, he tells Sindri to look after himself and tells Atreus that he has one tough kid and that he should be proud.

And he certainly is.

That’s what I got! I hope that you guys like it! Let me know what you think!

[thetombedspirit]

Headcanons for GOW: RAGNAROK - Hel and Sleipnir

So, along with Hel, I was wondering how Sleipnir could factor into this universe as well, with him being another child of Loki and the steed of Odin in OG Norse Mythos, and I think I worked out the kinks.

Here’s my take - 

Sleipnir was a young giant and one of the remaining Midgardian Jötunn alongside Laufey and Jormangandr, always just evading Thor’s grasp by turning into an eight-legged stallion and running faster then lightning, running across oceans and sailing through skies. Odin finally sent Heimdall after him, calling it a test of his skills of prediction, to find the Jötnar and capture him. With the assistance of an enchanted bridle and some Bifrost horseshoes, made by the dwarves, Heimdall was able to trap Sleipnir in his stallion form with the bridle and used the horseshoes to steal five of his legs, scattering four across the realms and gifting the fifth to Odin, bending the giant to Odin's will. He was made into Odin’s personal steed. Sleipnir was often abused and threatened in his torment, but was unable to fight back, the brindle making him obedient and silent.

Sleipnir is practically a young adult when Ragnarok comes. It wasn’t until after the fall of Asgard, that Sleipnir would finally be free. As Atreus was leaving Midgard to search for the lost Giants, he heard a soul in pain and found Sleipnir by the Lake of Nine, behaving like the soulless animals in Jotunheim: licking at the ice on the lake and clearly not adept to care for himself. Noticing the enchantments of the bridle, he takes it off, removing the spell on Sleipnir’s mind, but sadly not the enchantment that trapped him in his stallion form. Without so much as a thank you, he flees, leaving Atreus stunned. And with Odin's personal horseshoe.

After years of trying to rid himself of his curse, Sleipnir finds himself caught in a snare. He is quickly found by Ursa, Atreus’ daughter and around her neck was none other then the Bifrost horseshoe. He asks for the horseshoe, and Ursa gives it willingly, restoring his fourth leg. Ursa then promises to help him find the rest.

Recognising her as the child of his previous rescuer, he wasn’t sure what to think. He becomes curious of her, especially as she appears to be talking to a silent companion within a little marble she carries closely. Curious, he finds himself following her, eventually revealing himself as a fellow Giant. He essentially becomes like a big brother/grumpy uncle towards Ursa, mirroring Kratos. The bigger, stronger carer, for the smaller, ambitious child. And becomes a protector as she travels across the Eight Realms in her self-elected quest.

[thetombedspirit]

I Gave Ursa a Girlfriend

Has it been a while since I've talked about God of War?

Yes.

Have I only just recently played the Valhalla DLC so now I'm sucked back in to the point where I'm constantly searching for God of War: Egypt?

Sure!

Did I spontaneously give Ursa, my Atreus/Angrboða fan-child, a girlfriend?

Hell yeah, I did!

Meet Móðguðr! (pronounced Moth-guth-fur) - took me a while to learn how it's pronounced.

She is named and based on a female character, possibly a Giant, of the same name, which means "Furious Battler" and her sole duty is to guard the bridge in Helheim, allowing only the deceased to pass through.

And, you know, since Kratos killed the last bridge guard, that means there's an opening!

She doesn't give a damn about other people's opinions of her, and is more then ready to square up if you cross her. The only person she softens up around though, is Ursa.

Moth's first meeting with Ursa pretty much went like this.

Moth strives to be a mighty warrior and will do whatever it takes to keep Ursa safe, even sit at the entrance of a bridge for hours at a time.

Maybe she meets Ursa during her quest to restore Brok's soul, maybe she meets her after the fact, or maybe they have a whole new quest on their own.

Either way, I think it's cute and I already love them and will die for them!