YMMV / Aesir: Cross Wars

• Adorkable: Oz, oh so very much. He's a shy, cute young man with No Social Skills, but is such a Nice Guy anyway that he can't not come off as this. Especially when he starts punning.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Abaddon is perhaps the best example of this regarding his whole “atonement” deal. At the end of the day, it is ambiguous to what extent he is being honest about his intentions and to what extent he's just trying to make excuses to himself.
  • On one hand, he did spare Siegfried back at the fall of Hrafnkelsdal, and goes out with dignity after losing to him, accepting that the swordsman's grudge against him is justified. He clearly does feel a degree of remorse for all he's done, so it's not unlikely that he would want to atone. It is also worth noting that while Siegfried offers the interpretation of Abaddon sparing him and Hilda as being Cruel Mercy, he's quite an unreliable source, so this imagining must be taken with a grain of salt.
  • However, as the story points out, for all his big talk about redeeming himself, he doesn't seem to be actively making much of an effort to actually do it. He continues to act like a stubborn Jerkass, and continues to carry out Hel's orders without any real objection. We only have his own word that he wishes to redeem himself, as well. Noticeably, this is the stance that Freya, and to a lesser extent, Oz, seem to take.
• Breather Level: Rather fittingly, the Sloth Arc comes in between the emotionally charged Wrath and Pride Arcs. Anwin, while still powerful, poses absolutely no danger to Oz (aside from maybe urinating on his body if he loses), and the boss battle can be best described as a friendly spar between brothers, unlike Abaddon and Yuri, the antagonists he's sandwiched in between, both of whom directly threatened the lives of the heroes.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Loki is this trope personified. A good example of this in action is his attempt to kill Leon in Backstory 2. Ignoring the fact that a slip up on Leon's part could result in the poor young boy exploding, everything else about the scene, from how casual Loki is about it, to the reasonably comical music playing, to the fact that it ends in Loki gibbing Leon's house is pretty funny.
• Moral Event Horizon: After showing sympathetic sides to her at the end of the Introduction and Wrath Arcs, Hel reminds the reader that she's still the villain at the end of the Sloth Arc, when after Anwin announces his resignation based on their deal being fulfilled, Hel goes back on that, ordering his execution, and forcing Mardas to do it by threatening him with execution, too. Noticeably, Mardas' loyalty to Hel becomes incredibly shaky after this.
• Narm: The song “Those of Us Who Blossom!” is a calm yet exciting piano melody that is used to set the stage for battles against the boss of the current arc, and it usually works pretty well; Freya introduced the track incredibly, and for her and Anwin, it maintains the peaceful, friendly atmosphere of the situation while still warming the reader up for a fight. For Fenrir, it carries a tragic undertone to it, which helps establish the Jerkass Woobie nature of the boss in question. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't fit quite as well on Abaddon, making for a rather awkward effect in the pre-battle scene against him.
• Narm Charm: This book is a massive parody of both Norse Mythology and of fantasy video games, and as such, it really doesn't take itself seriously outside of some major moments. This arguably works in the book's favour, as it makes villains like Svafrlami all the more intimidating, while making many of the villains redeemable - and the ones who aren't are all the more surprising for it.
• Obvious Judas: A rare heroic version, but it's pretty easy to tell, even on a first reading, that Anwin is pulling the strings in Oz's favour behind Hel's back. In his very first appearance, he is quick to establish himself as a team maverick and somewhat incompetent at his job, which combined with his overly blase attitude regarding this, causes one to suspect that he may be more competent than he lets on, or is otherwise intentionally fucking up his job. It comes to a head when Anwin (rather pushily) suggests that Abaddon carry out his mission in Ine Castle, then when Oz gets there, he receives the aid of Siegfried, who is explicitly shown to have received a letter inviting him there.
• That One Boss: Abaddon, who took three whole chapters to be put down after turning red in the first, and he very nearly succeeded in killing both of the heroes.