The OOC RP Discussion Meme

[museboxy]

The OOC RP Discussion Meme

[How To]

1. Discuss anything to do with RP-ing - Plots you want to try out, characters, characterization, head canon/fan theories, game ideas, meme ideas, fic and fanart ideas, AU and crossover ideas, Verse/PSL ideas, etc, etc. Game and comm promotions are fine, too.

2. Comments can be anon or non-anon, it's up to you.

3. Please do not bash, flame or name drop any mun or game in a negative fashion. No wanking, please!

4. Have fun!

Comments

warning: here there be spoilers.

[sigr]

Hi!

I just wanted to address a few things: you are 100% correct about everything you wrote and this is completely how I intend to portray Sigyn. She is not a battered woman, she is NOT weak and I dislike how many players (for their own reasons) choose to portray her as a woman chained to Loki's side, unable to exist beyond him. Part of what fascinates me so much about her character is her ability be unconventionally strong; we picture strong women as women who defy gender roles, or women who rise above adversity -- Sigyn is a woman calm in her role as his wife and mother of his children, devoted to her duties as a mother and as a Goddess (correct me if I'm wrong).

However, there is a dichotomy in Marvel comics about the manner of their marriage. Without spoiling too much of the Thor comics for you, Loki and Sigyn are married after Loki spies her from afar and decides he wants her for himself; he disguises himself as her betrothed (after killing him) and only reveals his true face until after the wedding. As in myth, Odin offers her a way out. She chooses to stay with him, honoring the vows she made and Odin appoints her Goddess of Fidelity for her sacrifice.

I think right now I'm struggling with finding a balance between a portrayed devotion to a husband who is not always present in her life (as I understand it - I'm a history major in school - there were certain expectations of husbands in society, regardless of societies normative views on infidelity) and perceived weakness in a pantheon of strong, shield-bearing and sword-wielding women.

I really appreciate the information you gave me, as well as your perspective; it's really, really helpful and I've bookmarked both of those sites - I've already scoured Sigyn's wiki page for ages, but I didn't know of that patheos link. I'd love some more feedback if you could give it! :)

edit: Oops! Regarding Loki & Sigyn, re: their relationship and Loki's feelings on the matter. In Marvel, he is neglectful, to the point of letting her die in Ragnarok. There is little to no canon evidence of him caring for her at all, though she is always there to plead his case for him and support him (much as she is in myth). It is only after her death that you see any emotional reaction on his part in regards to his wife, and he pleads for her to be brought back; I believe he cares for her, deeply, in a more complicated way than just 'love' or 'lust'. I meant to address that, also.

[(Anonymous)]

oh I don't mind spoilers! I read a fair amount of Marvel, but not Thor.

I would personally lean more towards the myths and make her an AU version, myself, but there's gotta be a way to balance it harmoniously! Maybe she's less willing to deal with his cruelty as time goes on and she's in love but wants him to change? Maybe you could play her from the end of her time in the comics, have her willing to rejoin him and fight for him but only after a long talk, or something. Maybe she's an AU where Loki acts more like myth!Him and isn't absolutely ridiculous. Idk- I love the movies but the Thor comics tend to get under my skin, haha, so I'm not sure how to help constructively here.

There are some pagans who insist she's almost feminist in her refusal to give up how she prefers to be (feminine, housewifey, quiet but intense) as opposed to being like Freyja or Skaldi or Angrboda or etc etc etc, so maybe you could make her quietly fierce and sort've defend on the strength one can find in such things? Like calmly but firmly rebutt people's reactions to her more feminine preferences or what have you? There are people who learn threadcrafts for her in their practice, to learn patience and the skill one needs for such things and so on and so forth - just food for thought.

I would also suggest writing out some of what you think is going on there to help you pin her down a little better. It's always helped me, writing personalities and histories and snippets of stuff, at least, so I thought I might put it here.

(I only mentioned the infidelity because it seems like most of the people who talk about Sigyn think that's supposed to be a big deal, like he was cheating on her because he hated her or something. It's frustrating to me, haha. "Oh no poor Sigyn was so strong for her cheating husband" argh! Poor Sigyn was an AEsir. /rolls eyes)

I have more links you can read if you're interested on more takes about Sigyn from a pagan point of view! I'm a Lokean myself so I know a few people who work with her.

No problem, glad to help! Hope I'm not being too forward. :)
Also sorry if my talking about the pagan views of her bothers you - I thought it might help with trying to round out your characterization and balance it all.

[(Anonymous)]

sighs. Skadi. I have GOT to check my spelling more carefully.

[sigr]

Originally, when I created the character, I had the idea of a more 'angry' Sigyn, less willing to put up with bullshit both from Loki and from the other members of the court. It can't have been easy for her, putting herself in those positions for him, regardless of her love for him and belief in her duty and honor. But, reviewing the myths, I didn't really think that "meshed" with her as well as I thought it would in my head; I'm still thinking about it, but now I'm leaning more towards a Sigyn who is (like you said) less willing to lay down and let him be cruel, but also unwilling to hear Loki besmirched by anyone else -- and still strong in her own right, perhaps fighting on her own to bring Loki back into Odin's favor.

It's difficult because she's not present in the movies at all; which doesn't mean in MCU that she doesn't exist, but means that she's not important (yet, we don't know if she may appear). The Thor comics can be really difficult to get through (he's ridiculous, face it) and most people aren't canon familiar.

I definitely want to embrace her femininity, though I don't want to go overboard with that or with her "feminist" perspective; one of the things I love about her is how sure she is of herself and who she is, especially regarding her roles, which are more oriented towards traditional gender roles, in a way that doesn't make her oppressed in any way. I like your suggestion of having her firmly rebut people's reactions; there are a lot of female characters who would probably be surprised to meet someone who genuinely enjoys the life she lives.

As you can probably tell, haha, she's very much a work in progress and I've been finding that it's easiest for me to get a feel for a character the more I play for her - I have a word document of things that I'm working on for her like a personality that I've been adding to (a good deal of this entire thread has gone into there) that I'm going to put up in my journal as soon as it reaches any sort of completion.

I'd love more links to read!

And your views don't bother me at all - I'm pagan, but a completely different pantheon, so this is very, very helpful for me! Thank you!