Post by meriada on Sept 11, 2017 15:03:33 GMT
How's UvU going, Ishtaria? I'm Meriada, and today I shall be bringing the next installment of Know Your Unit! This time, we will focus on Idun, a Norse goddess who has many incarnations in the Ishtarian world.
Mythological/Historical Information
As previously stated, Idun is a Norse goddess. She is a goddess associated with fertility and youth, and she is also married to Bragi (who, by the way, is supposed to be an old man with a long beard). Although she is associated with youth, it is not because she is a loli, but rather because she tends some very special fruits - apples that grant immortality and reverse aging. Something interesting to note is that while they are assumed to be apples, the actual word usually used to describe her fruits, epli, can refer to many types of fruits and nuts. As Scandinavia did not have apples as we know them until they were introduced by the Christians, it is likely that the "apples" in the original story were not apples at all.
In the Prose Edda, an episode is described in which she is lured out from her sanctuary when Loki mentions he had found better apples than her's, and kidnapped by the giant Þjazi. She was taken to his home, located in the highest mountain peaks. The gods began to age without their magic apples, and having figured out Loki was behind her disappearance, made him spill the whole story. Afterwards, they threatened him with execution if he didn't bring Idun back, and thus he turned into a hawk with the help of some magic feathers from Freyja, snuck into Þjazi's house while the latter was out fishing, turned Idun into a nut, and ran away. Þjazi soon noticed and chased after him, but near the end of the chase the other gods noticed and built a flaming barrier after Loki had passed them to stop Þjazi. Idun was recovered, the magic apples were back, and the gods could be young again - hooray!
In the Poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins, we receive some additional information about Idun -
"In the dales dwells,
the prescient Dís,
from Yggdrasil's
ash sunk down,
of alfen race,
Idun by name,
the youngest of Ivaldi's
elder children."
Basically, that she is a descendant of elves, a sister of the Sons of Ivaldi (famous Dwarven smiths known for making cool stuff like Gungnir), and a dís (a spirit/fairy/ghost related to fate that may like or hate mortals) who dwells in dales (valleys).
In-Game Description
We've got not just one, but an entire four Iduns in Ishtaria!
Original
A forbidden fruit, used to bestow wisdom to the ignorant. A forbidden fruit, that has the power to throw even the gods into chaos. They say whoever eats this fruit will live for all eternity. Does that mean the same girl who watches over the fruit, has tasted its sweet flesh?
That's an interesting description. A veeee~ry interesting one - that is mostly centered on the apple. Apples are associated with forbidden fruits mostly due to the idea that they are the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden...which also happened to give them wisdom [of the knowledge of good and evil]. Whether it was really an apple, we shall never know, but that idea has stuck with the apple throughout time. As for a forbidden fruit that has the power to throw the gods into chaos, that brings up a few ideas - the first being this myth itself (the gods were in quite the chaos without their magic apples) ... as well as Greek mythology. A fight between goddesses over a few golden apples did end up starting the Trojan war! Finally, the apples of immortality - well, we go back to Norse here. Those immortal apples are exactly what Idun's known for - and naturally since all the other gods are eating them she probably is too!
Valentine's
Hints of spring begin spreading throughout the forest. A perfect day for a picnic. Idun, with her sky blue eyes, has everything ready. Sandwiches, fruit, wine... But this picnic will be like no normal picnic. For she has prepared something special for today. Something that she has slaved over, the perfect representation of her eternal love.
The only thing I can think of Idun slaving over are her apples - if we combine that with the heart shaped box, maybe she's made apple chocolate or apple cookies for Knight for Valentine's day! Who knows...
Swimsuit
Idun's favorite new beach ball floated back and forth, swept up in the crashing waves. First to the right.... Then to the left... Just out of her reach, she tried to grab it to no avail. And as the ball floated further, it began to lead her to someone very special.
Someone very special, huh? Theoretically, that should be Bragi, but since it's Ishtaria it could refer to the Knight too! Don't we just love how every female is attracted to the Knight? Quite probably, it could also be referencing SS. Liu Bei in the context of the event SS. Idun debuted in! This description somewhat shows Idun's clumsiness as well - one would expect a goddess to be hard to kidnap, but Idun gets snatched away pretty easily.
New Year's
Idun stood, waiting on that beach. Waiting for the first sunrise of the new year. And although the sun rises and sets everyday, there's something different about the first sunrise of the year... And as the sun showed its face, Idun couldn't help but notice how it looked like her beloved fruit.
I guess gods can get away with staring at the sun. Although it isn't explicitly stated that Idun's apples are golden, Ishtaria's definitely made that generalization.
Images
OG
Base +1 +2
Ah yes, Idun, the fruits of immortality! Not her specifically, but that apple she's got there - note how it turns shiny and golden in her fully evolved form. Idun herself looks a bit like Little Red Riding Hood, which doesn't actually make much sense in context with the mythology. Perhaps it is to show her youth and naivete. The background of the first card is dark and wintry; perhaps a reference to Þjazi's abode in the highest mountain peaks (therefore snow). In the second evolution, Idun's hood has turned yellow! This could be a possible reference to Loki turning her into a nut. By the final evolution, everything has thawed and there are even flowers blooming - wherever Idun is, she's happy and most likely so are the gods.
Valentine's
Base +1 +2
Idun's lovestruck this time, but not much has changed about her actual design. She still has a red hood, and the outfit hasn't really changed, except that the apron evolves into a skirt and she has a new flower on her waist. She's also swapped out her stockings for ones with hearts on them, for Valentine's day. Little details like the flower petals point to her status as a fertility goddess, and we can see some golden apples in the far right corner in her +2 form. As for what's in the heart shaped box - it's a mystery! Most likely, it's something made with golden apples.
New Year's
Idun is now the The Sweetest Fruit (still an apple reference), and also possesses a scepter like every good goddess should have (although I don't think I've heard anything about Idun having a scepter). The scepter is naturally topped with a golden apple. As a side note, most fertility deities have some kind of phallic imagery associated with them. I wonder if Ishtaria is trying to suggest something with that long shaft- I'll stop there ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) . Idun's swapped out her usual clothing for more wintry ones, under the assumption that the New Year's is cold, I suppose! The flowers everywhere point to her status as a fertility goddess.
Swimsuit
The only null Idun. Makes sense, since fertility goddess would naturally = earth. We've got our flower-covered Idun in a pink bikini frolicking on a beach somewhere with a red hood for no apparent reason and an apple float under her arm. Yup, makes complete sense. There's nothing too noteworthy about this one - it's basically Ishtaria in full swimsuit waifu mode (did they think we wouldn't notice the heart-shaped petals?). Maybe her null element is related to this iteration being nonsensical in terms of the actual Idun. The apple is cute though (and not golden!). But her necklace, surely enough, does bring those golden apples back to mind. And it might just be that the other artwork didn't draw attention to it, but I think her chest in this form is a little bigger than in the others.
Skills
OG
Active: Golden Glory (multi, 25%)
Passive: Aureate Apple (heal ally, inc. self def, 35%)
Cure All II
Valentine's
Active: The Glory of Love (rush, 25%)
Passive: Golden Apple -> Golden Apple X (Heals all status ailments, boosts team ATK, CTA L 25%)
Earth Boost III
Swimsuit
Active: Beach Ball Barrage (multi, 35%, reduces foe's atk)
Passive: Glorious Summer (100% inc. team skill chance and dec foes' skill chance)
Flurry Boost III
New Year's
Active: Bring in the New Year! (rush, 30%)
Passive: Sweet Sanctuary (Chance to reduce damage received from enemy attacks, 30%)
Overdrive III
Seeing a pattern? I am, at least for OG and Valentine's Idun - glory and apples! Null Idun and NY Idun are a bit weirder, but at least NY Idun mentions a sanctuary! It is interesting to note that none of the Iduns have major offensive power, and are all probably used mostly for their passives.
Power Plays
New Year's Words- Bragi and Idun (New Years)
Ishtarian 2017- Idun (New Years), Mihira, and Ianos
Early Valentine- Amethyst, Suserihime, Metatron (Valentine's), Rusalka (Valentine's), Idun (Valentine's), and Cupid
Early Summer Fun!- Ampelus (Swimsuit), Liu Bei (Swimsuit), Clytie, Idun (Swimsuit), Grimm (Swimsuit), Ruprecht (Swimsuit), Soma, Erishkigal (Swimsuit), Andvari, Tiamat (Swimsuit), Kiyohime (Swimsuit)
Apples & Peaches- Liu Bei (Swimsuit) + Idun (Swimsuit)
Golden Apples- Eris, Idun (disambiguation), and Atlanta
Red Riding Hood...?- Grimm + Idun
Wow, Idun has a lot of power plays! That Golden Apples one is pretty interesting... for those who are curious, Eris offered golden apples to the fairest of three goddesses (Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite), with Paris as the judge! Paris chose Aphrodite, who rewarded him with the love of Helen of Sparta, who was at the time married to King Menelaus. He took her back to Troy, and that chain of events basically caused the Trojan War. Atlanta (Atalanta) was a huntress who refused to marry and took an oath to Artemis. After an event known as the Calydonian Boar Hunt, her father (who had abandoned her as a child because he wanted a son) rediscovered her, and tried to force her to marry. She agreed, but only if it was to a man who could beat her in a footrace. Anyone who lost got killed! This continued until a suitor named Hippomenes asked Aphrodite for help. He received three golden apples, and rolled them in front of Atlanta during the race. She chased after them (because oooh, shiny golden apples! cool!) and he won the race and married her.
Thanks for reading! There will be no poll this time, since I think Eliffer was up next! *tosses ball back to Esdeath*
Mythological/Historical Information
As previously stated, Idun is a Norse goddess. She is a goddess associated with fertility and youth, and she is also married to Bragi (who, by the way, is supposed to be an old man with a long beard). Although she is associated with youth, it is not because she is a loli, but rather because she tends some very special fruits - apples that grant immortality and reverse aging. Something interesting to note is that while they are assumed to be apples, the actual word usually used to describe her fruits, epli, can refer to many types of fruits and nuts. As Scandinavia did not have apples as we know them until they were introduced by the Christians, it is likely that the "apples" in the original story were not apples at all.
In the Prose Edda, an episode is described in which she is lured out from her sanctuary when Loki mentions he had found better apples than her's, and kidnapped by the giant Þjazi. She was taken to his home, located in the highest mountain peaks. The gods began to age without their magic apples, and having figured out Loki was behind her disappearance, made him spill the whole story. Afterwards, they threatened him with execution if he didn't bring Idun back, and thus he turned into a hawk with the help of some magic feathers from Freyja, snuck into Þjazi's house while the latter was out fishing, turned Idun into a nut, and ran away. Þjazi soon noticed and chased after him, but near the end of the chase the other gods noticed and built a flaming barrier after Loki had passed them to stop Þjazi. Idun was recovered, the magic apples were back, and the gods could be young again - hooray!
In the Poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins, we receive some additional information about Idun -
"In the dales dwells,
the prescient Dís,
from Yggdrasil's
ash sunk down,
of alfen race,
Idun by name,
the youngest of Ivaldi's
elder children."
Basically, that she is a descendant of elves, a sister of the Sons of Ivaldi (famous Dwarven smiths known for making cool stuff like Gungnir), and a dís (a spirit/fairy/ghost related to fate that may like or hate mortals) who dwells in dales (valleys).
In-Game Description
We've got not just one, but an entire four Iduns in Ishtaria!
Original
A forbidden fruit, used to bestow wisdom to the ignorant. A forbidden fruit, that has the power to throw even the gods into chaos. They say whoever eats this fruit will live for all eternity. Does that mean the same girl who watches over the fruit, has tasted its sweet flesh?
That's an interesting description. A veeee~ry interesting one - that is mostly centered on the apple. Apples are associated with forbidden fruits mostly due to the idea that they are the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden...which also happened to give them wisdom [of the knowledge of good and evil]. Whether it was really an apple, we shall never know, but that idea has stuck with the apple throughout time. As for a forbidden fruit that has the power to throw the gods into chaos, that brings up a few ideas - the first being this myth itself (the gods were in quite the chaos without their magic apples) ... as well as Greek mythology. A fight between goddesses over a few golden apples did end up starting the Trojan war! Finally, the apples of immortality - well, we go back to Norse here. Those immortal apples are exactly what Idun's known for - and naturally since all the other gods are eating them she probably is too!
Valentine's
Hints of spring begin spreading throughout the forest. A perfect day for a picnic. Idun, with her sky blue eyes, has everything ready. Sandwiches, fruit, wine... But this picnic will be like no normal picnic. For she has prepared something special for today. Something that she has slaved over, the perfect representation of her eternal love.
The only thing I can think of Idun slaving over are her apples - if we combine that with the heart shaped box, maybe she's made apple chocolate or apple cookies for Knight for Valentine's day! Who knows...
Swimsuit
Idun's favorite new beach ball floated back and forth, swept up in the crashing waves. First to the right.... Then to the left... Just out of her reach, she tried to grab it to no avail. And as the ball floated further, it began to lead her to someone very special.
Someone very special, huh? Theoretically, that should be Bragi, but since it's Ishtaria it could refer to the Knight too! Don't we just love how every female is attracted to the Knight? Quite probably, it could also be referencing SS. Liu Bei in the context of the event SS. Idun debuted in! This description somewhat shows Idun's clumsiness as well - one would expect a goddess to be hard to kidnap, but Idun gets snatched away pretty easily.
New Year's
Idun stood, waiting on that beach. Waiting for the first sunrise of the new year. And although the sun rises and sets everyday, there's something different about the first sunrise of the year... And as the sun showed its face, Idun couldn't help but notice how it looked like her beloved fruit.
I guess gods can get away with staring at the sun. Although it isn't explicitly stated that Idun's apples are golden, Ishtaria's definitely made that generalization.
Images
OG
Base +1 +2
Ah yes, Idun, the fruits of immortality! Not her specifically, but that apple she's got there - note how it turns shiny and golden in her fully evolved form. Idun herself looks a bit like Little Red Riding Hood, which doesn't actually make much sense in context with the mythology. Perhaps it is to show her youth and naivete. The background of the first card is dark and wintry; perhaps a reference to Þjazi's abode in the highest mountain peaks (therefore snow). In the second evolution, Idun's hood has turned yellow! This could be a possible reference to Loki turning her into a nut. By the final evolution, everything has thawed and there are even flowers blooming - wherever Idun is, she's happy and most likely so are the gods.
Valentine's
Base +1 +2
Idun's lovestruck this time, but not much has changed about her actual design. She still has a red hood, and the outfit hasn't really changed, except that the apron evolves into a skirt and she has a new flower on her waist. She's also swapped out her stockings for ones with hearts on them, for Valentine's day. Little details like the flower petals point to her status as a fertility goddess, and we can see some golden apples in the far right corner in her +2 form. As for what's in the heart shaped box - it's a mystery! Most likely, it's something made with golden apples.
New Year's
Idun is now the The Sweetest Fruit (still an apple reference), and also possesses a scepter like every good goddess should have (although I don't think I've heard anything about Idun having a scepter). The scepter is naturally topped with a golden apple. As a side note, most fertility deities have some kind of phallic imagery associated with them. I wonder if Ishtaria is trying to suggest something with that long shaft- I'll stop there ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) . Idun's swapped out her usual clothing for more wintry ones, under the assumption that the New Year's is cold, I suppose! The flowers everywhere point to her status as a fertility goddess.
Swimsuit
The only null Idun. Makes sense, since fertility goddess would naturally = earth. We've got our flower-covered Idun in a pink bikini frolicking on a beach somewhere with a red hood for no apparent reason and an apple float under her arm. Yup, makes complete sense. There's nothing too noteworthy about this one - it's basically Ishtaria in full swimsuit waifu mode (did they think we wouldn't notice the heart-shaped petals?). Maybe her null element is related to this iteration being nonsensical in terms of the actual Idun. The apple is cute though (and not golden!). But her necklace, surely enough, does bring those golden apples back to mind. And it might just be that the other artwork didn't draw attention to it, but I think her chest in this form is a little bigger than in the others.
Skills
OG
Active: Golden Glory (multi, 25%)
Passive: Aureate Apple (heal ally, inc. self def, 35%)
Cure All II
Valentine's
Active: The Glory of Love (rush, 25%)
Passive: Golden Apple -> Golden Apple X (Heals all status ailments, boosts team ATK, CTA L 25%)
Earth Boost III
Swimsuit
Active: Beach Ball Barrage (multi, 35%, reduces foe's atk)
Passive: Glorious Summer (100% inc. team skill chance and dec foes' skill chance)
Flurry Boost III
New Year's
Active: Bring in the New Year! (rush, 30%)
Passive: Sweet Sanctuary (Chance to reduce damage received from enemy attacks, 30%)
Overdrive III
Seeing a pattern? I am, at least for OG and Valentine's Idun - glory and apples! Null Idun and NY Idun are a bit weirder, but at least NY Idun mentions a sanctuary! It is interesting to note that none of the Iduns have major offensive power, and are all probably used mostly for their passives.
Power Plays
New Year's Words- Bragi and Idun (New Years)
Ishtarian 2017- Idun (New Years), Mihira, and Ianos
Early Valentine- Amethyst, Suserihime, Metatron (Valentine's), Rusalka (Valentine's), Idun (Valentine's), and Cupid
Early Summer Fun!- Ampelus (Swimsuit), Liu Bei (Swimsuit), Clytie, Idun (Swimsuit), Grimm (Swimsuit), Ruprecht (Swimsuit), Soma, Erishkigal (Swimsuit), Andvari, Tiamat (Swimsuit), Kiyohime (Swimsuit)
Apples & Peaches- Liu Bei (Swimsuit) + Idun (Swimsuit)
Golden Apples- Eris, Idun (disambiguation), and Atlanta
Red Riding Hood...?- Grimm + Idun
Wow, Idun has a lot of power plays! That Golden Apples one is pretty interesting... for those who are curious, Eris offered golden apples to the fairest of three goddesses (Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite), with Paris as the judge! Paris chose Aphrodite, who rewarded him with the love of Helen of Sparta, who was at the time married to King Menelaus. He took her back to Troy, and that chain of events basically caused the Trojan War. Atlanta (Atalanta) was a huntress who refused to marry and took an oath to Artemis. After an event known as the Calydonian Boar Hunt, her father (who had abandoned her as a child because he wanted a son) rediscovered her, and tried to force her to marry. She agreed, but only if it was to a man who could beat her in a footrace. Anyone who lost got killed! This continued until a suitor named Hippomenes asked Aphrodite for help. He received three golden apples, and rolled them in front of Atlanta during the race. She chased after them (because oooh, shiny golden apples! cool!) and he won the race and married her.
Thanks for reading! There will be no poll this time, since I think Eliffer was up next! *tosses ball back to Esdeath*