Dr. Donald Blake & Thor Odinson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ifwebeworthy) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2024-09-16 09:27 am
ifwebeworthy) wrote in fandomhigh2024-09-16 09:27 am
The Various Gods & You, Monday, First Period
Today, Don began their lecture by telling the students, "Pretty much every god you might be dealing with is the god of something. Unless you're dealing with a monotheistic religion, of course, but I've never met one of those guys so I don't worry about them." Solid plan, Don, no flaws.
"And you'll see that there tend to be set... things that are the domains of gods all across the globe that match up," Jane added. "Sometimes due to just the basic human need for an explanation, sometimes because cultures exchange stories, sometimes... because that's just the gods having their roles."
"And when you're dealing with actual gods," Don continued, "it's really important to know what their domain is, because that is going to tell you a lot about who you are dealing with. Weather gods, little shakier, although I don't think anyone who's met Thor would be surprised that he's the god of thunder. But, for example...well, let's take Loki again." Look, with Thors it always came back to Loki. "Loki is the Norse god of mischief. So when he yanks the metaphorical football away yet again, you can't really be that surprised, because you knew that all along." Thor. "Or Ares!" Jane knew Ares, right?
"Is he a thing too?" Jane whispered. Because no. Not yet he wasn't.
Don was learning about other universes today! And giving Jane a faintly incredulous look, because seriously, her universe was weird. "Where I'm from, Ares, the Greek god of war--well, one of them--is very much a thing. How he thinks and acts is very much informed by the fact that he's a war god. He doesn't want peace. He wants conflict. That's his nature." And this was very rude of Don considering that at present Ares was a construction worker single dad who wanted to be left alone. "So if you keep those things in mind, understanding his actions and motivations starts to make a lot more sense. The point is that gods aren't necessarily motivated by the same things mortals are. The same logic or reasoning might not apply to them, but once you center things around their particular nature, you can start to understand them a little more."
And Jane was learning how complicated his world seemed. "So, today we'll be playing with that idea and asking you all to decide what you'd be the gods of."
"Be sure to explain your reasoning," Don said. "And think about how centering that one thing would affect your thinking and worldview."
"And you'll see that there tend to be set... things that are the domains of gods all across the globe that match up," Jane added. "Sometimes due to just the basic human need for an explanation, sometimes because cultures exchange stories, sometimes... because that's just the gods having their roles."
"And when you're dealing with actual gods," Don continued, "it's really important to know what their domain is, because that is going to tell you a lot about who you are dealing with. Weather gods, little shakier, although I don't think anyone who's met Thor would be surprised that he's the god of thunder. But, for example...well, let's take Loki again." Look, with Thors it always came back to Loki. "Loki is the Norse god of mischief. So when he yanks the metaphorical football away yet again, you can't really be that surprised, because you knew that all along." Thor. "Or Ares!" Jane knew Ares, right?
"Is he a thing too?" Jane whispered. Because no. Not yet he wasn't.
Don was learning about other universes today! And giving Jane a faintly incredulous look, because seriously, her universe was weird. "Where I'm from, Ares, the Greek god of war--well, one of them--is very much a thing. How he thinks and acts is very much informed by the fact that he's a war god. He doesn't want peace. He wants conflict. That's his nature." And this was very rude of Don considering that at present Ares was a construction worker single dad who wanted to be left alone. "So if you keep those things in mind, understanding his actions and motivations starts to make a lot more sense. The point is that gods aren't necessarily motivated by the same things mortals are. The same logic or reasoning might not apply to them, but once you center things around their particular nature, you can start to understand them a little more."
And Jane was learning how complicated his world seemed. "So, today we'll be playing with that idea and asking you all to decide what you'd be the gods of."
"Be sure to explain your reasoning," Don said. "And think about how centering that one thing would affect your thinking and worldview."
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In