#and for a second i feared that kratos and atreus killed him which would mean no use for sigurd's tale

[arleniansdoodles]

Actually, If you Go to Alfheim and use the sled there, there Will be a story, Mimir Will ask How Freyr becamed adored by the elves and then Freya Tell the story about he and Gerdr, How after she parted away, Freyr tried to gain her heart again, travelling thought the world tree while drugged ( Not kidding, he smoked weeds Just to impress her and understand travel between realms) and soon after he rised Just above the light of Alfheim, making the elves believe he was some kinda of powerfull Divine being, which made them adore Freyr.

Here a link to It, of you want.

https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DcACKW1X-jvA&ved=2ahUKEwiCvejhs7z-AhXEppUCHbxxDWEQtwJ6BAgPEAI&usg=AOvVaw0NRKXgXpvxTgcCWdCthjCP

Interesting! Thanks a lot for this one anon; I haven't heard all of the in-story dialogues, so I didn't know Gerdr was already mentioned! From what I gather, she wasn't married to Freyr in the game ... But that's okay, the bit of backstory I made for her can still work! XDDD

Anyway, this is the trouble I'm having with the GoW games siiigh they've shifted a lot of the myths around, so whenever I think I can use a particular myth, I have to go back and make sure it wasn't already mentioned (and altered) in-game! T_T At least for Gerdr, it just means I have to remove that R at the end of her name, since Freya didn't include it lmaoo

[screechthemighty]

*crashes into your living room* HEY, BESTIES, ARE WE SURE THE GIANTS IN GOD OF WAR IS FORETOLD RAGNAROK BECAUSE I’M STARTING TO THINK THEY DIDN’T (or at least, not the Ragnarok we’re thinking). This is really long so it’s under a cut but hear me out, okay...

Here’s my logic. Most important detail: Mimir mentions that Ragnarok is supposed to happen hundreds of years from now, but they “changed something” and kick-started it early. All of this would line up with what we, the audience, know about Ragnarok, and what Asgard seems to know about it. It’s supposed to be Loki as an adult, having kids with Angrboda (one kid in particular being super important to Ragnarok), and everything kicks off then when he kills Baldur. But that’s not what happens. Loki (Atreus) is twelve when Baldur is killed, and technically he’s not even the one who does it. Kratos is.

This is important, because the giant’s prophecy mural depicts what happens in the game--the wrong version of Ragnarok, the version Mimir says wasn’t going to happen. Young Loki, Kratos actively involved. So they knew that Fimbulwinter was going to happen early, even though that flies in the face of other prophecies and things that seem to be common knowledge outside of Jotunheim.

On top of that, let’s go through that second piece of writing you can read before the mural is revealed.

We foresee Midgard’s fate, overrun, a second Hel. Neither Odin nor his dead may reach Jotunheim. The ways must be shut. - Discussing the events leading up to the closing of Jotunheim.

The serpent and the guardian remained. They alone shall keep our hope. - Faye + Jormi staying behind, serving as pieces in a puzzle that will play out later (Jormi helping Atreus and crew on their quest, Faye as his mother).

When doom befalls the indestructible, only then shall the guardian return. - Again, seems to foretell events in that game; Faye’s ashes are returned home after previously unkillable Baldur dies.

Now none of this points to the giants knowing about a second or differing Ragnarok, as it’s vague enough to apply both to the events of the game, or Ragnarok as we know it (for instance, there’s nothing that says in the standard Ragnarok timeline Faye isn’t still alive and came home post-Baldur, or maybe died but much later). BUT...this last bit caught my attention.

Until then, we await a better world - one without fear, without greed, without war. We wait for deliverance, and justice. - None of this sounds like the end of all creation, as Ragnarok is typically depicted.

We wait for a champion. - Most likely Loki (therefore Atreus).

We will wait for the word that gods grow good. - KRATOS HAS SPENT THE PAST DECADES GROWING AS A PERSON. Who is he, if not proof that gods can grow good? Him and, to an extent, Atreus, who had his brush with darkness but overcame it and seems to be doing well for himself? This could be proof that they accounted for Kratos, who is absent from Ragnarok in more than just the obvious ways of “Kratos not being myth canon” (Mimir probably would’ve guessed by now if he’d been in-game-Ragnarok canon).

So, what we’re seeing is that the giants, known for their gifts of foresight, foretold that Ragnarok is going to happen in a way different than what the Aesir know of, and then on top of that foretold a much brighter future (which also lines up with the reality of canon--Odin being alive actively makes things worse, as it’s his meddling that’s caused the Desolation and the slow sickness of Midgard). They seem to account for Kratos’s involvement in a way the Aesir didn’t. And seeing how giant prophecy seems to be on point (on point enough at least that Odin was desperate to know what they knew), I don’t think we can accurately use Ragnarok as a meter for what’s going to happen in game, even if you’re of the opinion (like me) that Kratos can defy fate. I think what we THINK is going to be fate is actually going to be quite different.

Now, this leaves a lot of questions, like for instance “why is this prophecy different than what Groa foretold? Is it that fate and destiny are a bit more malleable and Kratos showing up shifted the balance of fate in a way that only the giants knew, that Odin missed because he was too obsessed with a singular outcome? What does this mean for the missing parts of the mural (in particular the sad parts that I’m trying not to think about)? Can that fate be defied as well? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??” And for that, unfortunately, we may have to wait...but if I’m right, and the actual canon is being put right in front of us, this could all also mean a more optimistic ending than a game called “Ragnarok” indicates. At the very least, it grants them some wiggle room to do so. (Seriously, picture an end reveal where things kinda work out, and then we find out the rest of the mural was the plot of Ragnarok. That’d slap.)

[kraptos]

2, 10, 14, and 17 for Atreus of Sparta and Kratos :D

this one got long, i’m so sorry adfhaskfs

gonna put it under a read more....... :’)

2. Their emotional/moral weak spots

Kratos: not sure how much of a headcanon this is, but imo kratos’s biggest weak spot is his kid! he'd give up anything and everything to ensure his safety and well being, even if it was detrimental to himself. while we're on the topic, he's also a big softie and if little atreus wants something, he Will get it… (andvari!) sad, but i like to think it’s because he knows he hasn’t been the best parent and is trying to compensate :( 

Atreus of Sparta: i think the atreus of sparta’s largest weak spot would probably be kratos! i headcanon their relationship as being fairly parental in nature as he’s someone kratos admires greatly and is basically his role model. so i think this would still stand true even if i WASN’T shipping them (ahaha..). atreus cherishes their relationship and would do all in his power to ensure kratos’s happiness & health ;u;

10. Fears/phobias

Kratos: again, not really a headcanon, but losing his family, for obvious reasons. i know we see plenty of examples of this between him and his son throughout the game, but i think this fear outweighs just about anything else (falling short of seeing little atreus’s behavior reflecting his own, which is another headcanon of mine). anyway, getting back to kratos’s crippling fear of losing his loved ones, i like to narrow it down to losing them in a way that would specifically be his fault and even more specifically by his own hand (i do love the idea of kratos being incredibly distrustful of himself in this regard). so with that in mind i like to think a lot of the fear that came with losing faye was not so much how he lost her (since i guess she died from illness? which is completely beyond his control), but more so the notion of raising a child he has rather successfully ignored for the past decade (due to yet another fear-- failing completely as a father by raising a son to be just like him).

Atreus of Sparta: being alone! i picture atreus as a total extrovert, and thanks to spartan society he doesn’t know how not to belong to a collective unit and exist on his own as just atreus and not atreus of sparta. in Agapē he’s rejected a lot of the fundamentals of spartan culture, yet still takes pride in being spartan. his past is absolutely not as traumatic as kratos’s, but thanks to his moral compass, he has every reason to reject the fact he was born and raised a spartan. the reason he doesn’t is, i think, because he’s afraid of what it would mean to belong nowhere.

14. Ingrained habits/forces of habit

Kratos: putting the blame on outside forces and not himself. i know in 4 we see him at a point where he’s grown past this and now fully accepts the blame for things that are his fault, but it's fun to think about him occasionally falling prey to his old mindsets out of habit. and, even better is if it scares him when he catches himself doing it. 

Atreus of Sparta: biggest thing that sticks out to me is religion. sorry ALL of these AoS headcanons are from my fic but it’s hard to imagine him in any other setting OTL,, anyway, i think this plays into his biggest fear--  religion is one of the last things left from his culture that he feels is moral enough to practice, and if he lets go of it, he lets go of who he is and where he finds his sense of belonging. sure doesnt hurt anything (except kratos’s feelings) to say a prayer every now and again. and though he’s pretty sure the gods dont care what happens to him anymore because he’s a traitor, it doesnt really stop him, its habit and therefore its familiar and a comfort.

17. Regrets

Kratos: EVERYTHING. just kidding. ahaha… or am i? i like to think the root of kratos’s regret is asking for ares to spare him in the first place (vs when he killed callipoe & lysandra). he’d been happy and successful and if he had died, it would have been with honor and as an esteemed member of spartan society. and while we’re in this vein, it sure is fun to think about kratos considering himself a coward for not accepting fate when it was his time, esp fueled by his self-hatred at knowing it would have eventually spared his family their lives in exchange for his own. hindsight sure is 20/20, isnt it, bud

Atreus of Sparta: i like to headcanon atreus as being the opposite to kratos in this regard. he’s incredibly religious and believes the gods/fate have orchestrated/predetermined his life and future, as well as that for those around him. because of his beliefs, he doesn’t really harbor regrets for his actions, since he views the outcomes as being outside of his control. (BUT i will say as far as agapē goes, he sure as heck regretted leaving sparta for a hot second, though he doesn’t anymore)

[everythinggodofwar]

The Treasure of Koninsgard (part 2)

Atreus climbed up on the statue base with the girl and tried shaking her to wake her up. “Hey!”

“That may not be the best idea, little brother.”

“Oh... sorry.. She’s still breathing; that’s good right?”

“Well.. yes! But we should get her out of here as quickly as possible.” Mimir suggested. “Let’s find someplace safe to take a look at her.”

Kratos said nothing, but he made his way over to her and cautiously felt her forehead.

“What are you doing?”

“She doesn’t have a fever. That is good.”

“But what’s wrong with her? Why was she cursed? Who did this to her?”

“Can’t say, little brother.. Perhaps when she wakes up she’ll be able to shed some light on the situation.”

“It does not matter.” He reached up and took the limp little girl in his arms; she barely weighed anything. He moved with caution; who could know what kind of traps would await them now that they had freed the child, and he had no idea who or what this child was. If she was trapped there because she was dangerous, they were in for trouble; he would have to be ready for anything at that point.

“Is she sick?” Atreus asked as he picked up her wooden toy bear and hopped off the pedestal.

“She seems about as healthy as she can be, all things considered...” Mimir observed. “But we should certainly keep an eye on her.”

“Yeah...”

“Brother, look! An Yggdrasil gate!”

Kratos looked to see the classic blue glow of the portal by which they could quickly travel back to the dwarves’ shop. “Hmm.”

“Let’s go!” Atreus hurried off towards the gate.

Kratos carefully laid the girl over his shoulder and activated the gate with his free hand.

“Do you think Brok and Sindri will be dissapointed that we didn’t find any treasure?” Atreus wondered as they stepped into the portal and were transported onto the tree of Yggdrasil branch.

“We did, laddy! For is there anything more precious than the life of a child?”

“True..” Atreus laughed. “Still, I think fathers a little disappointed that he didn’t get a new set of armor.”

“Ha!”

“In any case-” Kratos interjected. “The combat was good practice for you, Atreus.”

“Well there’s always that isn’t there.” Mimir said with a hint of playful sarcasm.

Atreus almost jumped when another portal suddenly appeared right in front of him. Funny, they always seemed to appear once they were done with their conversations.

“We’re here!” He exclaimed as they walked through the portal and found themselves in the dwarves shop.

“Well if it ain’t the ol’ meat sack and his seed spawn!” Brok greeted before looking up from his work. “Did ya find anything worth talkin about?”

“You could say that.” Atreus said.

“Who is that?” Sindri pointed out the child in Kratos’ arms.

Brok looked up from what he was doing and cocked head. “Ya got another one?”

“She’s the ‘treasure.’” Atreus explained.

“Ol’ King Motsognir had a kid locked up?”

“Kind of... She was trapped in a statue- or she was a statue? Either way I think she was cursed.”

“How did you free her?” Sindri asked; he was clearly quite curious about it, but Brok seemed indifferent.

“I just.. touched her hand.”

He gagged. “You *gag* touched it? Why would you do that?? You had *gag* no idea where it’s been!”

“So what you’s is sayin..” Brok interrupted to ask Kratos. “She ain’t yours?”

Kratos rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Just askin!”

“We are leaving.” Kratos turned around and headed back to the gate.

“Bye Brok! Bye Sindri!” Atreus called out as his father used his key of Yggdrasil to activate the portal.

“Best be careful!” Brok warned. “Ol’ Motsognir kept things locked up for a reason.”

With that ominous word of warning, Kratos and Atreus stepped through the gate and headed back to their home.

“Father?” Atreus began once they had come out in the front of the cabin.

“What?”

“What if she is dangerous? What are we going to do with her once she wakes up?”

“I... do not know.”

“Let’s just see what the lass has to say when she comes to..” Mimir suggested.

Atreus held the door open for his father and, after closing it behind them, ran ahead to start a fire to give them warmth in the cold weather. He sat down next to the fire pit and set the toy bear on the ground. “She can sleep in my bed!” Atreus suggested just as Kratos was about to lay her in his own, probably planning on laying on the ground himself that night.

“Where would you sleep?”

“I mean.. there’s room for both of us in your bed.”

“Is there?”

“Well.. it’s just one night, right? It’s not that big of a deal is it?”

“... no.. I suppose not.” Kratos agreed and moved the girl to Atreus’ smaller, more appropriately sized bed. “Do not kick me.”

Atreus laughed. “Yes sir.”

“Was that a joke?!” Mimir exclaimed. “From you?!”

“Quiet head.” He unhooked Mimir from his belt and tossed him on the table.

“Ow!” He exclaimed. “Ya know? Someday I’m going to get a splinter and you’re going to have to deal with it!”

“I get the feeling Father would make me deal with it.” Atreus pointed out.

“I’d rather it be you anyway, little brother.”

“Atreus.”

“Yes father?”

“Fetch me the rodents you killed. I will make us dinner.”

“Yes sir.” Atreus jumped up, having just got the fire started, and ran outside to grab the two squirrels he had hunted earlier in the day that they had left outside to freeze. He picked them up by the tails and went back inside. He helped Kratos skin them and skewer them over the fire. “It’s not much is it?” Atreus pondered. “If she’s hungry I’ll-”

“If she is hungry she will have mine. You will not go without dinner.”

“But I-”

“It is not up for discussion.”

“Okay..”

Suddenly, the girl began to groan painfully.

“Father..”

“I know.”

Atreus stood up from his spot next to the fire and ran to the bedside.

“Nnnnnn.” She groaned.

“Hello?”

“Boy..”

“She’s waking up!”

Her eyes fluttered open a small bit, but closed almost immediately. “Mother?” She muttered quietly.

“Hey..” Atreus gently nudged her shoulder.

She opened her eyes just a bit and blinked a few times; she stared blankly at the ceiling.

“What’s your name?”

“Best not to bombard her with questions just yet, laddy.”

”Right.. sorry.”

Her eyes slowly scanned the room. “Where am I?” She asked, her voice timid and weak.

“This is our home. We saved you.”

“Where’s my mom?” Fear began to rise up in her.

Everyone stayed silent, not knowing what to say to her.

“Where’s my mother?” She began to panic, and tears started to fall down her cheeks.

“I don’t know..” Atreus admitted sadly.

“She said she’d come back for me.”

“Do you remember anything?”

She tried to sit up, but found that she was still too weak to move much. “She said she’d come back.” She began to cry, her breaths getting shakier with every passing second.

Atreus wanted to make her feel better; he felt her sadness - her fear. He could feel it all. He reached out and took her hand in his. Her eyes darted down to their hands, and then to his eyes. He gave a her a small, reassuring smile, as if to tell her everything would be okay.

After a minute she calmed down. Atreus could still feel the same sadness and fear coming from her, though.

“I’m Atreus. What’s your name?” He whispered softly.

She looked at him for a moment, unsure if she should trust him. Mother always told her not to trust anyone she didn’t know. Mother wasn’t there, though. She didn’t know him, but he had saved her; she knew that much. He was the first person she saw when she woke up. He was the one who had broken the curse that wasn’t supposed to be breakable - him and the grim man with the red tattoo that sat at the fire pit behind him.

She made her decision; she would trust them. “Sigyn.. I’m Sigyn.”

[screechthemighty]

FRICK I WAS GONNA WRITE THAT ESSAY ABOUT KRATOS AND VIOLENCE IN THE COMICS...this is going to be disjointed as hell, but @starlightbebright here you go. Under a cut for length as usual.

Okay, so, what brought this to mind was me reading the synopsis for the next (final??) issue of Fallen God. The description reads as follows (emphasis added by me):

For as long as he has been the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos has been a tool of violence for others. In a desperate attempt to reclaim control of his future and find peace,  he led far from the lands of his ancestors only to find himself exactly where he was foretold he would be. How does one escape the torment of predestination? Does Kratos rail against the inevitable or once again embrace fury to fell his foes though it means he will be forever damned? What will be the fate of the fallen god?

So, the stuff about fate all makes sense to me. Yes, it does suck for the guy who doesn’t want to be violent anymore to be dragged back into violence over and over. It’s the insinuation in the highlighted line--that killing a giant monster that is actively threatening people would damn him again. Like it’s on the same level as revenge-killing an entire pantheon or being so caught up in bloodlust that you accidentally murder your wife and daughter. And this isn’t the only time this has happened, either. In the other tie-in comic (same author, BTW), Kratos regularly tests himself by seeing if he can avoid fighting in threatening situations, including letting himself get mauled by wolves (something I bet Faye is real thrilled about) and hesitating to intervene when a beserker is actively murdering someone...then being pissed that the guy being mauled had the audacity to be in danger around him, therefore making him commit acts of violence out of pity. There may be more, but I was too lazy to re-read the whole thing, so those are two instances early on.

(Kratos also says “damn you to hell” in that comic too, which, I’m just gonna say it, is a whack-ass thing for an ancient Greek to be saying IMHO, bUT...)

Now, some might think, “But, Screech, this fits with his character, right? He came out to Midgard to avoid violence and live a more peaceful life and all, right?” Yes, definitely true! But here’s the thing: in the game, the main source material, the thing by which I measure tie-in canon, Kratos has no problem with violence. He actively tells Atreus that he might have to kill to survive, and when he’s killed Magni, his response is not morose self-flagellation. It’s simple and, in my opinion, a correct assessment of the situation: “I defended us. Nothing more. I fear no judgment.” The issue Kratos has is excessive violence, like when Atreus stabs a wounded and unthreatening Modi in the neck out of anger, not to defend them. Or when Atreus continues attacking the already-dead troll and loses his temper. You know, the kind of behavior that got Kratos into trouble in the first place.

Okay, so, maybe it’s because he’s relying on his Spartan Rage? That would make sense; after all, it’s the state that gets him into such a frenzy that he could lose control and do something stupid. I’d call that fair enough too, except neither comic clarifies it’s about the rage, only the fighting. Maybe I’m supposed to intuit that it’s the rage he’s specifically avoiding but there’s two problems. First, again, Kratos is avoiding all violence in the comics, not just his rage. Second, from what I remember, there’s really nothing in the art style to differentiate enraged Kratos from regular Kratos, so as far as I can tell, he’s just doing all of this without going super saiyan, so he’s not even using his rage. And again, going back to the game, he’s perfectly fine using his Spartan Rage. It’s a constantly usable gameplay mechanic and he never seems to beat himself up for using it when it’s prompted for plot reasons (like the Baldur fights). Atreus has even seen him do it before, and Kratos treats it as a dangerous but useful tool when talking to him at the house (”Anger can be a weapon, if you control it”). And you could argue that maybe it’s something he grew more comfortable with by the time Faye died, but comics!Atreus doesn’t seem to be too much younger than he is in the game, so there’s way he got over that distaste in like...a year or two at most.

There’s only one time in the game canon where Kratos seems distressed by violence he’s actively committing, and that’s the fight against the bridge keeper in Hel. I assume this is because he started a fight against an enemy who had done nothing to him and ended up violently mutilating him rather than simply defeating him, all while using the blades that murdered his family. It’s understandable that he’s visibly shaken the whole scene because while his reasons for killing the bridge keeper are legitimate, it’s the closest he’s come to being his old self in a long time. All of those elements make sense...and they are also almost entirely lacking in the Midgard-era comics. The Blades are basically a passive antagonist in Fallen God, but that’s only one element of many, and it still doesn’t fix my other issues.

tl;dr: The comics utterly lack a line between acceptable violence and unacceptable violence, which is not only just kind of a weird way to treat violence (and I say this as a borderline pacifist), but it also makes no sense with Kratos’s character as we see him in God of War 2018.