#so here we areeee

[nanodevil]

Creation of my TMA ttrpg oneshot #1

I'd been feeling the urge to DM a game for a while, particularly after listening to some of the games hosted by Jonathan Sims on the The Magnus Archives. They occasionally run short horror themed one shots during episode hiatuses- and while listening to the Duskhollow run (episode 3), it dawned on me. I want to do this. I want to do this type of thing for a Magnus Archives setting.

So, as the hyperfixation goes, my brain went to work to figure out the bits. Now, I'm writing this halfway through the process, so the earlier details are fuzzy to me.

My main inspiration was the Duskhollow run, which ran on an adapted version of the Cthulhu hack mixed with elements of the Cthulhu hack 2e. I spent about a day researching different engines to run the game on, mostly from recommendations from friends. Most notably was Candela Obscura by Darrington Press. In the end though, I returned to what inspired me in the first place - the cthulhu hack. It's a rules-light engine, that does away with overly complicated rolls and systems present in D&D that to this day i cant always get my head around. I decided to splurge a little (seriously, like, 3 pounds) on a quick start guide to the cthulhu hack. It was mildly interesting, and gave light to the rules of the system (as well as Jonny's explanation in Duskhollow episode 1).

Now I had a system. I needed players.

The process of recruiting players and adapting the system kind of ran side by side. Of course, I knew exactly who would be interested in this sort of thing. My TMA friend, Circus, who finished the entire series before I even started it, was a big fan of the idea, and was on board immediately. My other friend, Biscuits, got wind of the idea on a group chat we share, and despite only watching up until season 3, was hooked. Lastly was Cap, who also expressed interest. Despite only having consumed a couple canon episodes, he knew a lot about certain spoilers due to online fandom osmosis. I was lucky that these 3 people were already familiar with each other enough that I wasn't too worried about any awkward chemistry - these 3 chronically online weirdos were exactly who I needed as 1. players, and 2. dedicated hypemen.

The players also affected the worldbuilding route I chose. From what I saw, I had several options.

Canon universe, with canon characters, set during the time of the podcast

Canon universe, set in the past or future (I liked the idea of new assistants working for Gertrude)

AU universe, with all new characters, villains, and statements, built in the vague shape of the TMA template

I opted for number 3 - it involved the most work, but I liked the potential and possibilities it opened up. Plus, anything set in canon would contain spoilers for players like Cap, who hadn't finished season 1, who hadnt experienced the emotional plot beats that I'd be relying on the most. Option 2 sounded interesting, but with a story set in the past, any futures of the characters would be set in some sort of stone that I didn't feel would be interesting. Option 3 allowed the most openness for the players to grow and explore, with opportunities for ME to make cool new shit. This would keep the concept fresh for players who HAD listened, such as Circus and Biscuits, and off-canon enough to not spoil anything for players like Cap (and also Biscuits).

I adapted the system itself in small ways. I changed the "sanity" stat to a "fear" stat to keep more in line with the canon. I fuddled with the flashlights stat, went back and forth between calling it the eye stat or the curiosity stat. In the end, I kept it as flashlights, and smokes as smokes. The quickstart guide I purchased didn't help a lot with character building, so I had to fudge things myself from the pre-set sheets. I ended up making my own character sheet for the players to start filling out, and this kickstarted me talking to my players about character creation.

And create they did. I genuinely cannot stress how much I love the characters they created. Before I go on to them though, I want to comment on the character sheets I made.

I didn't like the character sheets that came with the quickstart guide. It didn't appeal to my personal tastes, so I tried to adapt it myself. I loved the idea of the character sheet being a "staff profile" for their employment. I initially was going to fill the character sheets out for my players, to instill the worldbuilding idea that it was the CEO filling it out rather than the employees themselves (to foreshadow the CEO's plans for them). However, I didn't go that route. To be totally honest, I thought it was helicopter-DMing to fill out the sheets for them. Especially so since I know a big reason everyone joined is the joys of character creation and making a lil blorbo to play around with. So I made an example sheet for them to reference and left them to it. 2/3 of my players are artists too, so I was happy for them to draw their characters as THEY saw fit.

My own critique notes: I feel like this template is a little too difficult for those without editing software to reference and edit - ideally these would be printed. The benefit of the quickstart guides character template was that it was an editable pdf. I didn't know how to make this like, well, THAT. I liked the "lofi charm" of the drawn version, but it's not as good for that kind of player interaction.

I did like adding my own adaption things, such as the skills, inventory list, background, and ??? squares, as well as a space for an "employee ID photo". However, my excitement got away from me and I forgot to add a particularly important block to the sheet which was "fears". This was a system I wanted to add to the game, to be able to roll disadvantage fear rolls to those who were predisposed to certain things on a character level. If I redo this template, the fears section will definitely be added. Currently, I have to keep it in my own little template box, and make sure the players are aware of what they chose.

Returning to the players, I was beyond excited with the characters they created. They were fun, interesting, and varied enough to not have any repeated concepts. All of my players ran with their ideas, and we had fully fledged characters in less than 4 hours after messaging them.

Those 4 hours began when I completed my homebrewed class system. The original cthulhu hack class system I found didn't really pertain to the worldbuilding of TMA - namely, a lot of them involved combat. While combat in ttrpgs is kind of classic, I didn't feel like it would be a big part of the game as my intention was to make it a mystery. Besides, the archives is an academic institution. There's no way a "ruffian" or a "bruiser" were getting jobs as archive assistants. The point is that theyre all different varieties of NERD. SO, I changed the system. The old system included the aforementioned bruiser and ruffian, as well as the philanthropist, the scholar, and the adventurer.

My classes were based on the given resources of the cthulhu hack, as well as inspired by Duskhollow. The resources, that being flashlights, smokes, sanity, and items, all have ingame uses and systems that I wanted to affect. For flashlights, I added the librarian - they had a background in the archive libraries and would have more knowledge on doing nerd-type research. For smokes, I added the rookie, a new hire to the archives who still had to get to know everybody around. Sanity had the skeptic, my personal favourite class, that had an advantage with fear rolls because of their preset disbelief in the occult. The last was the artfefactor, which is a word i absolutely just made up, who had a background in artefact storage and allowed the player to have access to more interesting items. I was very happy with the list I'd made. Unfortunately, nobody ended up choosing the skeptic, which was fine (im fine. im fine). I also ended up brewing a fifth class for one of the players circus, that was the same as the librarian in all but name (introducing the handyman). By introducing these classes, the characters chose their class and created their character around it.

Cap, as the rookie, made a new hire who was desparate to please everyone. Biscuits, as the artefactor, had a mysterious and absolutely traumatized artefact storage employee. Circus, as the handyman, made a southern country MAN who worked as a book restorationist in the institute library.

The kind of excitement and planning and love that went into these characters all bled into the hype created between these 4 people, and I began to wonder whether this one shot would STAY a oneshot. I love the idea of longer campaigns, but knowing me and my short lived passions, I had gone into this project with the mindset to start something small. The coming session is still a playtest, but plans for a longer campaign started to influence my further world building.

Because next was the writing.

The writing itself was it's own project that I was very looking forward to. The benefits of the cthulhu hack system is that it favours mystery, cosmic horror, and investigations and clue-collecting. That sounded perfect for what I was going for. However, the idea of investigations was beginning to weigh on me. Duskhollow was based around a police precinct that involved solving cases. Now a notable thing about the Magnus Archives is that not every case gets solved. In fact, most cases were just stepping stones to a greater mystery. The question of how to make this an engaging and satisfying mystery while still leaving threads open for a possible larger mystery began to form in my mind. What was the larger mystery going to be? What was the SMALLER mystery going to be?

The idea was to give them a case, a statement, with leads they all had to follow up on. That alone left me scratching my head for an entire weekend (as i procrastinated by making npcs over actual storylines). There are 15 fears in TMA, all with their own preset lore and trends and amalgamous interactions (hows that for a made up word?). The vast scope (lol) mixed with the unending pressure (lol) to make something different to established canon kind of left me stumped for a while. I made villains, but they all had an air of finality to them, something that had to be built up to rather than dealt with in a single investigation (on the players first week no less). I put a pin in this, putting the question to simmer in the back of my bind as I started other missions.

Next was the discord server. The discord server is to host the game itself, and to allow for player interactions and questions. I started off with 3 channels, a "system" channel for info on the game, an "out of character" channel for general talk, and an "in character" channel for players to roleplay in. I wasn't really sure about the last one, I was unsure if it would be used at all. I was inspired by other DM friend Louis, who is big in the LARP scene. His own servers had places for characters to talk in character, and I thought it was neat! I invited the players to chat around about the game, before introducing the purpose of the in character chat. I was not expecting them to take to it so well. I was honestly shocked at the response. The roleplay was funny, engaging, and let the characters practice their voices as they roleplayed on the "Magnus Institute Microsoft Teams Equivalent". The work group chat, essentially. It was amazing. I was beyond overjoyed to witness the players having such fun with an idea i didnt think would take very well. It was a lovely surprise.

I'll continue more of my process in post 2, as this is getting exceptionally long (and i need a break of writing lol). Important points I want to add on is: the homebrew worldbuilding how my archive and the canon archive differ the investigation the marks and encounters system the minecraft thing

[foolbehavior]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[llamahearted]

this is the single most important milfwood I have ever drawn, so... look I just wanted to make sure they had their own post ok

[sea-of-machines]

mind as well post this antique relic here too

[stvivi]

beinghumannatural 6/?

[bluberimufim]

My nemesis, college, has kept me from writing the ending of DoS when I am literally one scene away so, out of spite, here's a snippet of the thing (derogatory) I have to write for my history of contemporary architecture class:

Colour is an often neglected theme, but one that is undoubtedly necessary in architecture. It is intrinsically linked to the expression of a work, being, sometimes, a recognizable characteristic of a style or language of architecture (some obvious examples would be the modernist architects and their use of white or the great presence of gold in many Baroque works). It is a theme from which it is impossible to escape, even if one does not make the active choice of painting (as an example, Giorgio Grassi said to have only chosen materials which already had a colour of their own, like brick, to rid himself of the decision) - all materials have colours and textures that will, inevitably, affect the reading of an architecture project. Fernando Távora was an architect of great influence in the realm of portuguese architecture, in regards to his writings and his built projects as well. His work is marked by the search for an architecture capable of combining the best aspects of modern and traditional in a new style adequate to his ideals. Much of this search involved the use of different materials and, of course, colour. Colour, on its own, means very little. What matters is the context in which it is found: the placement, the language, the material. For example: the residential neighbourhood of Ramalde, the convent of Santa Marinha, and the tennis pavilion in Quinta da Conceição all utilize white stucco on their exterior, but it would be erroneous to claim that this colour should be read the same way in these three works - something which, of course, will be explored in the present essay.

Fuck u. I wanna write about my two codependent besties having a terrible time in a fantasy land. And you force me to write about a guy I barely care about. Why u gotta make me do this?

[partysheart-archived]

hi, i’m rarely here but mike is the little spoon no matter who he cuddles with, thanks!

[helennorvilles]

my pms is being such a cunt like i am doing something fun tonight and i Know i will have fun but im SO anxious about the entire evening like dudeeeeeeee

[yeowvng]

i just wanna save every single frame sukuna shows up and admire them for hours

[verstarppen]

haiii plz ignore this if your requests are closed 🙇🏻‍♀️ but I'm begging you to give us george who's totally in love with someone from the camera crew and the drivers start making fun of him for it but it's all fluff ♥️

summary; mercedes have a strict policy regarding office romance, but that can't stop Totally Spies because they can't read

pairing; george russell x fem! camera operator! reader [ no faceclaim ]

a/n; im so sorry if this isn't as funny as usual im rusted and dusted from exam season anyway HERE WE GOOO HERE WE GOOO ON A MISSION UNDERCOVER AND WE'RE IN CONTROL HERE WE GOO HERE WE GOOO WE'RE TOTALLY SPIES SO WE'LL GET ON WITH THE SHOW

liked by charles_leclerc, landonorris, lilymhe and 625,801 others

alex_albon He's going to look back at this post and curse my entire bloodline isn't he

view all 100,384 comments

georgerussell63 Alright then, what's all this about

alex_albon It'll all be revealed in time... georgerussell63 Your old wizard impression is serving

scuderiayummy the f1 gc must be booming rn bc what does this even mean, alexander.

charlielecunt If I see "breaking news: george russell found dead in a ditch" in 30 mins I'm gonna lose it

pierreleftsock "time to take george to football, live up the bugatti weeee"

liked by alex_albon, landonorris, charles_leclerc and 755,105 others

georgerussell63 I won in the name of the people

view all 200,005 comments

miss.sainz55 this is better than 95% of the enemies to lovers books i've read

typicallyleclerc what happened to the original plot of the movie

applenorizz bitches be like "can't stand her fake ass" 10 minutes later "me and the bestie"

landonorris i feel the urge to bash your head in a wall

georgerussell63 Digital footprint

liked by 36rg, britney_alex_clover and 15 others

ynusername on a mission undercover and we're in control

view all 5 comments

36rg Alexa, play "They Don't Know About Us" by One Direction

ynusername THEY DON'T KNOW HOW SPECIAL YOU AREEEE

britney_alex_clover Now all you have to do is avoid being spotted together by the public eye, your boss, all of your friends, your family and also the entire human population

britney_alex_clover also please stop flirting on promo vid sets that shit is cringe as fuck britney_alex_clover I find it adorable britney_alex_clover no one cares what u think charles britney_alex_clover Wow. britney_alex_clover Guys britney_alex_clover Sorry britney_alex_clover Hello 👋 britney_alex_clover alright who let maximilian in 36rg Who let any of you menaces in britney_alex_clover careful loverboy, i've got HR on the phone 36rg And I know what you did with the trophy after Vegas britney_alex_clover OKAYYYY LET'S ALL JUST CALM DOWN britney_alex_clover what the fuck 36rg Eyes and ears everywhere, Norris britney_alex_clover Wait, is that why I still can't get it to light up? Did you break another one??? britney_alex_clover can someone ban max off this account thank you

britney_alex_clover and while you're at it can you tell the trophy company to start making trophies that look less edible

pic credits: instagram and pinterest

blog taglist: @coffeehurricanes @iifloweringnightsii @jsjcue @lanando4 @fastcarsandshit @christianpulisic10 @allygatcr @marshmummy @ravisinghs-wife  (happy race week everyoneee im so glad to be back)

[badboysupr]

‘  how’s  your  head  ?  ’

@kismetwright || Misc Sentence Starters || accepting!

    At the moment, Leo was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that this supremely badass lady found the time to care about him, but— He’d say, given that, he had to be doing pretty well, right? Even if his head still vaguely ached and the bump likely would not be going away anytime soon... Kassandra was concerned! She was going out of her way to check on him. That always meant something.

    Gods, how pathetic did he have to be to get so excited about someone worrying about him?

    “Wh— Me? Psh. It takes a lot more than falling hundreds of feet to get rid of me; I’m like a cockroach.” Which was insanely flattering; well done, Valdez. “I-I still think Festus took more of the damage there.” Speaking of, he really needed to get going on those repairs. The poor dragon had been out of commission while Leo was forced to nurse his injuries; he couldn’t keep lying around like this.

    Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, “I’m good, though. Sorry for getting you all worried over nothing.”

[ribbittrobbit]

what do you wear as a wizard cleric?

@cloudmancy + @emiuli made outfits for their fhsonas and so here we areeee

fully this is just what i looked like as a teen w/o glasses + these are my actual clothes (except the ceremonial cleric clothes bec i was never an altar server)

(also peep the filipino barong-shirt lol i am deeply opposed to the baro't saya butterfly sleeve so ive always wanted a barong)

[slvt4em1lyprenti2s]

Protective

Originally posted on my Wattpad @MayaBishop_is_myWife

Jackson Avery x reader

Jackson POV:

Today was a slow day, crap. Never say it's a slow day when your covering the ER. 

Bailey - "Incoming trauma, multiple vehicle collision and cyclist vs vehicle multiple crush injuries everyone be ready!"

What did I tell you? Anyway I go to get a trauma gown on and y/n comes up next to me.

Y/n - "If there's any open breaks I call dibs." Jackson - "Hey! No fair, whoever gets to them first gets it, okay?" Y/n - "Pleaseee, I haven't been inside an OR for days and I think I'm going insane. I pissed off Derek by accident and now he's letting Lexie scrub in and not me." Jackson - "Fine." Y/n - "Thank you so much!"

She exclaimed and then walked off to go wait for the ambulance. See, if it was anyone else, I would've stood my ground but, it's not just anyone it's y/n/n (your nickname) and it's obvious to everyone but her that I like her. But, oh well, she'll get the hint eventually right?

I walked outside just as the first ambulance arrived.

Paramedic - "Male, 31, crush injuries to the chest and lower abdomen, broken right leg and lacerations to the upper left abdomen!"

I see y/n face light up at the mention of a broken limb, she wants to do ortho so, she's into that kinda stuff. It's adorable to say the least.

We wheel in the guy on the stretcher and transfer him to the gurney. We begin to look at the chest to see if there's any liquid in the cavity and thankfully there isn't but. the abdomen began to swell so we knew he had free flowing liquid in there so we went straight to the OR.

Time skip to when they're finished and the guy's in post-op:

Y/n POV:

I'm currently waiting for this guy we just operated on to wake up. Jackson is bedside me, we're leanig against the nurses station as his eyelids begin to flutter. We make a b-line for his room. 

Guy - "Where am I?" Y/n - "Sir you're in the hospital. You werew involved in an accident involving 3 cars and yourself, you were on your bike. Other than your broken leg, which means we will need to keep you in here for another couple weeks to monitor it and so Dr. Torres can look you over and plan your recovery, your other injuries were fixed in the OR. You had some crush injuries that ruptured your spleen but, because we got in there quick we managed to repair it. The other injuries were superficial. For the sutures we will get Dr. Sloan to come in and check up on them ever other day to make sure it's all healing properly. Forgot to mention, Dr. Sloan is a plastic surgeon and Dr. Torres is an orthopaedic surgeon. Any question?" Guy - "Not about the medical stuff but I do have a question for you sweetheart." Y/n - "Go for it." Guy - "You free tonight? Such a pretty girl like you shouldn't be without a boyfriend." Y/n - "Oh, that's very sweet of you but unfortunately I'm on call tonight." Guy - "That's fine, just come visit me sweetheart. A young thing like you could make any man feel better." Y/n - "We'll see, maybe I'll come see you maybe I won't. Goodbye sir." Guy - "Bye sweetheart!"

I walked out of the room with Jackson close behind me. That man is very flattering but kinda creepy. I'm going to put away his chart when Jackson stopped me. 

Jackson - "Hey, what the hell was that?" Y/n - "What do you mean?" Jackson - "Don't bullshit me y/n. In there with the patient." Y/n - "Oh my god Jackson, I was reciprocating emotions it's basic patient care." Jackson - "Yeah comforting them and sharing concerns. Not flirting with them!" Y/n - "Okay wh- Jackson.." My voice calmed down a lot at this point and I looked him directly in his mesmerising green eyes.  Jackson - "What?!" Y/n - "You're jealous." At this point I was giggling at him. His face contorted into a shocked almost offended face but I didn't care because the blush that covered his face made it obvious that I was right. Jackson - "Wha-what, no I am not." Y/n - "Yeah you are don't deny it." Jackson - "I am not."  Y/n - "Yeah you areeee"

At this point he had accepted defeat and took the chart out my hand and grabbed my hand. I didn't question his actions and just followed him like a lost puppy. We came to a stop outside an on-call room and he opened the door and pushed me inside.

Y/n - "Jackson wha-"

I was cut off by his lips on mine. His arms snaked their way around my waist and pulled me close. My hands were around his neck as his soft lips moved against mine. He turned us around and gently pushed me against the door and pulled away briefly to speak.

Jackson - "I was jealous. Okay? I really like you  y/n/n." I tried to speak but he cut me off. "Don't say anything unless you want me to stop."

He pulled me back in and locked the door. He walked me over to one of the beds and gently laid me down. 

Let's just say I didn't get to go back to the patients room that night.

[hewhostrikes]

The Pup (Kratos)

A/N: Hello! This is my very first GOW mini fic/one shot/thing and I’m so nervous honestly, especially considering I’ve never written or posted anything serious on Kratos. Anyways, this was requested and honestly, I had a huge debate in my head whether to write this out or keep to bullet points. I settled for writing in the end, and I’d like to apologize for the short wait. I had a few things pop up irl and had to deal with them. But here we areeee. Also IM SORRY THE GIF JUST WORKS SO WELL.

WARNINGS: none! fluff, especially towards the end! ^^, a tiny bit of angst I guess? But like you gotta squint real hard. Old Kratos being old Kratos.

Summary: After hunting, you find a wolf cub not far from what you can assume is it’s deceased mother. Clearly you couldn’t simply leave it to die. The challenge here, however, is convincing Kratos to believe the same.

Holding back the shiver that threatened to take ahold of you proved difficult as the cold and harsh wind bit through your skin, chilling your very bones and surely freezing your brain. You’d been warned not to come along on this hunt, for Kratos had anticipated it to be rather long. At the thought of his name, you held back turning in the sled you currently sat on to look at him, knowing either he or Atreus would ask what’s on your mind/if you were alright. Hell, you were lucky Atreus didn’t notice how red your nose was despite sitting right next to you.

Instead, the boy seemed troubled, brows knit together in slight confusion as he subtly began looking around. You weren’t sure how he would manage to catch sight of anything given how Speki and Svanna were plowing through the snow at near light speed. You had to give it to them- those wolves worked hard. After a moment of watching Atreus become increasingly worried, you did your best to speak up.

“Atreus, are you alright?” Your teeth threatened to chatter as you spoke, though you managed to keep your composure- and gaze- hidden from plain sight. Suddenly, the sled came to a stop, and both you and Atreus looked back to find a tentative Kratos awaiting an answer. It seems your tone came off a bit too worrying. You and Atreus opened your mouths to speak, one intending to correct yourself and the other intending to provide an explanation. Thankfully, Atreus didn’t seem to notice your attempt and beat you to it, assuring his father that it wasn’t anything important.

“I just heard something, that’s all.” He explained, to which his father replied.

“What did you hear?” His voice, deep and true, rumbled about the silence that hung between everyone.

“A cry for help,” Atreus pointed ahead, right where you all were heading. It seemed it was on the pathway home. “If we keep going, we should find it!” His tone sounded hopeful, and it didn’t take a genius to figure what the boy’s plan was. Kratos continued on, however, indulging in his sons wishes.

Every second that passed only proved to inspire the cold to slowly poke through your exposed skin, almost making you regret your words just then. But, you knew that the suffering would be worth it, if this made Atreus happy. Besides, by this point you could hear the faint howling, one that caused Kratos to hesitate.

“Aye, lad… I don’t suppose this wolf would appreciate visitors at this time.” Mimir chimed in. You’d almost forgotten he was with you all.

“No, no, it’s a pup.” The boy replied simply, and, to your surprise, you were the only one to raise concern, at least outwardly. Kratos appeared stiffen up a bit, yet he remained silent.

“A pup? You do know approaching one of those is like stepping right into its mother’s mouth…” you tried to counter, but Atreus only sighed. If Kratos had any complaints by now, he didn’t express them, instead continuing on, albeit slowly.

“That’s the issue, there’s no sign of its mother anywhere. It’s alone and in pain.” He spoke with such confidence that you didn’t bother to press further. Kratos surely trusted Atreus, as did Mimir. It wasn’t that you didn’t, no, but it was in your nature to express at least some concern. Kratos now seemed less tense at the mention of a mother not being present.

It wasn’t long after that you had found it- a wolf pup off to the side, crying more than it was howling, pushing its nose against the neck of its deceased mother. You felt your heart shatter to pieces at the sight, though Kratos remained unmoved. Atreus seemed to be in your boat, leaving the sled, crouching down some, and attempting to approach the child.

“I… what can we do?” He asked, looking back to you and his father for an answer. Kratos attempted to take a step forward off of the sled, but by now the cub had noticed you all and nearly fell backwards trying to keep its distance. Clearly it didn’t want to leave its mother. After all, that was all it had…

“Why don’t we take it home with us?” You suggested, to which Kratos immediately cut in.

“No.” It was harsh, a statement nailed to the ground. You wondered why he would let you all stop here if he was only going to let it die. Atreus opened his mouth to argue, but Kratos spoke up once more. “Nature will take its course, this isn’t our concern.” You and the boy frowned and spared each other a glance, though Atreus seemed to give in easier than you were going to, taking a few steps towards his father.

“We can’t just leave it here..” You trailed off, looking over into the panicked eyes of the cub. It struck a cord in you, unleashed something that would not be swayed. Kratos seemed displeased with your answer, taking another step forward, towards you this time. But you cut him off before he could speak. “We can’t abandon it! There’s plenty of room at the house, and it won’t be too much of a leech regarding food, especially not now.” Your frantic pushing to change his mind earned you a drawn out grunt from the god.

“We cannot save every living thing we encounter. It is a deadly habit.” He argued, standing tall before you now. To this, you scoffed, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly.

“You saved me.” This garnered no response, and at that moment you knew you’d at least done something to make the gears in his head start turning. Atreus was standing a ways away from you two, cheeks puffed out as he quickly looked to his father for the reaction. A moment passed of pure silence, the breeze blowing past you four having long been tuned out from adapting to such weather. Kratos moved to look at the whimpering pup that still cowered next to its mother, then at Atreus, and finally back at you. “Let me take it with us, just this one. I promise you, you won’t regret it.” Another minute passed, as Kratos now looked into your eyes, and it felt as if your soul was constricting and simultaneously being pulled apart and looked at.

Whatever it is Kratos saw in you, it seemed to soften him just slightly, and he gave a curt nod. You and Atreus could barely contain your excitement as you both turned to face the shivering wolf. Atreus was about to approach, when Kratos put a hand on his shoulder. A silent way of saying, ‘this is her life to save.’ Atreus smiled up at him and nodded, noticing how you had already made it over to the pup. It looked awful, patches of fur matted and physique far from ideal.

“Hey, shhh, it’s ok little one…” you gently held out your hand, allowing the animal to sniff. Once it seemed to relax a bit, you turned back to Atreus. “Am I doing this right?” Your words made the boy laugh a little before he nodded and offered you a smile. Standing up straight, you took a few steps back and patted your thigh. “Come on, come with me. I’ll help you.” You explained, and the cub hesitantly began to follow you, stopping once to look back at its mother one last time before continuing on its new path.

“Enough to make a grown head cry.” Mimir chimed in as you now wandered past them in the direction of the sled. That earned a chuckle from Atreus as the three followed along behind you, as did the pup. You slowed down enough to walk beside Kratos, a habit you’d had from the beginning of your journey with him and Atreus. He didn’t seem to mind by now, though you recall a time where he made you walk in front. You teased him about how it was a chance to “check you out,” to which he gave a disapproving grunt and nothing more. You were happy to see him slowly trusting you more and more. Hell, you’d even argue that he seemed fond of you now.

It wasn’t anything grand, the things he did for you. To anyone else it may just come off as kind gestures. But you knew that it meant so much more to Kratos. What started as a simply providing for you so you could be useful became going out of his way to provide not just necessities, but small comforts as well. It was clear now that this little side quest was mostly to spend time with you and Atreus.

“You’re lucky he likes you, lass.” Joked the swinging head at the god’s side, earning a giggle from you, a huff of laughter from Atreus, and silence from Kratos. It was something the god could neither confirm nor deny. For his feelings were complex, especially considering his past love life. Perhaps, however, he would open up his heart to love eventually. His mistake, however, was assuming it would take ages. As you all settled down on the sled, you allowed yourself to open up a bit.

“Gah, It’s a bit cold, huh?” This time your teeth did chatter, but before you could process their reactions a heavy fur coat was being wrapped around you. Looking up, you saw Kratos, who then scolded you slightly for not saying anything earlier before taking his position at the back of the sled once more. The warmth that bloomed in your heart combined with the equivalent to a weighted blanket was almost enough to make you immune to the cold. Atreus merely grinned beside you, though he remained silent.

Again, it wasn’t anything grand, what he had done for you. But you knew it meant so much more than that to the god, and that was enough for you.

-

BONUS

“What do I call you?” Kratos says, stonefaced as he gazes down at the wolf cub currently panting at his feet.

[missamyrisa2]

Could you maybe send some tickles for chubby lees? They deserve the love too, and their royal buttons could perk up over time...~

Oooh my goshhh yesss alwayssss alwayssss I alwaysss have ticklesss for you~~ youuu adorable fluffyyyyy giggleeeee~!! You're just soooo lovely and exquisite and I'm sorryyyy but I'm gonna have to kisssss kisss everyyyy bit of your curvyyyyy curvy cutenesss~!! And it's oooh yes gonna start riiiight on this sideeee mmhmmm just buryyy my lips in here and kisss raspberry to get you wiggling so sweetlyyy! Aww does someone have a fluffyyy soft cute tummmyyy? Mmmh? Sooo perfect for thumb rubbiesss oooh yesss rubbing rolling these thumbs up and downnnn and mmmh ~ mmhmm yesss my wiggly soft tongue is gonna just dip in and see what we've got going on down hereeee ~

Hmmmhmmhmmm ~ a giggle button huhh? Yesss we'd better dip in and out and in and out with my tongue tongue and get alllll those giggles outtttt~ and nooo we're not stooopping thereeee! I see those quivery thighs oooh yesss I dooooo yes I doooo doooo~ And don't worry your bouncy selfff I'll just oooh ~ I'll work these lovelyyyy elegant hipsss with my rubbies while I kiss kiss kiss everyyy bit of these gorgeouslyyyy full thighsss~

Mmmhh you're soooo luxurioussssly ticklyyyy ~ darling I could spider my fingers and kisss and nibble lick your lovelyyyy ticklish legsss allll dayyy oh yes I couldddd and I just adoree how your bellyyyy wiggles for meeee~ and don't think I don't seeee what's happening with those regal chest buttonsss ~ ooh I know exactlyyy what my tickles are doing to youu~ and I thinkkkk you neeeed buttonyy kissesss mmhmmm~ lets get the ol triangulated ticklesss going shall weeee? My wigglyyyy wriggly scrunchy fingers are gonna getchaaa mmhmm yes they areeee~ gonna get those pittiesssss! Arms up sugar, keep them upppp~ and then we tickle these extra soft exquisite pittiessss and your upper riiiibss and the oooh yesss the sideboooooob!

My my my look at how you squirm for meeeee~ ooh my tickles reallyyyy work huh? Awwww does it feel good hun? My fingers digging into these cute pitssss and working your ribs and those edge boobssss? Are you just my gigglyyyy cupcake huhhhh? I think you've earned some buttonyyyy kisssiesss!! Muuuahh right on your button hereee and one hereeee tooooo!! Don't you worry your gigglyyy self I'll tickle you alll the way through you just let it alll out nowwww! Ticklesss on the sides heree and pitss thereee and kisssiessss muahhh on your royal girly chest buttons mmhmm~ good thing I have this silly big lower lip huh? It's sooo perfect for brushing ticklish buttons~

And speaking of buttonsssss~ ooh yesss I think you're plenty prewarmed oh yes I dooo yes I doooo~ soo let's just see hereeee hmmm what do we have hereee ~ open those thighs nowwww mmhmm and here's kissiess for those gorgeoussss inner thighsss~ you're sooo lovely my darlingg~ mmmh ~ and don't worryyy I'm not stopping the ticklesss we'll tickle tickle tickle those thighssss with my fingers and oooh look~ a feather duster! Dustty dustyyy dustyy on those thighssss and you can bounce yourself silllyy because I'm kissying down to that regal girly pearlyyyy oooh yes I amm~ and there's nothing you can dooo to stop meee!

I'm gonna getttt ittt! I'm gonna getchyaaaa I'm gonna gitchy gitchy goooo on your pearlyyyy~ mmmuahhh kissiesss riiight there ~ aww ever the volunteer for tickles and teases huhh? Soooo needyyyy so sweeettt~ but oooh just the liiightest of kissiesss and lip brushiesss for your button buttony while alll these tickles fluff and stroke on your thighsss and up to your hipppsss and ooh yes all the way to your bellyyy toooo!

Oh darling my lovely fluffy tickle bugg~ you can ticklegasm alllll you likeeee just gigglemoan it out for meee and I'll tickle you and tease you and work your royal button allll the way through~~<33

[the1975attheirverybest]

Matty, ATVB, Simulacra and Simulation

responding to a question that someone asked ( which @abiiors has been kind enough to pass on to me). Here’s a brief explanation that I hope makes some kind of sense. ( please easy on my friends yall. Their blogs aren’t means of contacting me🩷)

it’s all very ✨meta✨ and ✨postmodern✨ I’m not really joking this is the kind of philosophy that Matty is referencing when he calls things “postmodern” or “meta.” So, strap in. Grab a snack or a drink or a joint.

ANYWAYS!

The relationship between art/ media, and “reality” has been a hot issue of contention for philosophy going alllllll the way back to Ancient Greece where Plato argued that artists are “liars” who “copy” reality and try to pass it off as real. 

This obviously brings up questions regarding imitation, invention, recording, copying, representation, transcribing, etc etc etc. 

the book that Matty is referencing Simulacra and Simulation takes up these issues in the context of our current society (postmodernist, late stage capitalist society). 

The book argues that we have become sooo obsessed with media that we have replaced “real life” with it. We treat images, recordings, video, memes, etc as real as the things that they are based on (real life). 

In this way, what we know now as reality is actually a simulation of reality. 

According to the book, this did not happen overnight. It’s something that we moved towards over centuries. The real move likely started in the 1600s and it took until the 20th century to get us to the point where we are now. 

“Simulacra” is all the excessive media that we have used to replace the real world. Signs, symbols, ads, billboards, video, sound bites, etc. 

simulacra are NOT “pretending” to be real or “hiding” the truth. They have simply BECOME THE TRUTH because we treat them as true.

The book refers to this phenomenon as “hyper reality.” Like more real than the real. The thing that we started off simply recording or copying (“real life”) has turned into “less real” than thecopy of it (the video, picture, movie, insta post, etc).

The book makes a dramatic analogy of this by telling a hypothetical scenario where someone decided to make a map of a giant empire that is soooo detailed and accurate that it becomes as large as the empire itself. So people start to treated as if it ISSSS the empire. Not a map of it. 

Fun fuckin fact: this book came out in the 80s lmao. So before social media. Imagine how wild it would be today?

Why is Matty referencing this book? 

Well, let’s take a look at his Instagram posts (pause for a moment to consider the irony that he’s posting an Instagram story of a book about how everything is basically an Instagram story of reality. Peak Matty Healy? I think so. )

The first quote that he posted is

 Simulating is not pretending: "Whoever fakes an illness can simply stay in bed and make everyone believe he is ill. Whoever simulates an illness produces in himself some of the symptoms.”

As I said above, simulation is not meant to “trick you” its not covering something real underneath. It IS the thing now. It’s acquired the status of being real. So, if someone goes so far as to act sick, stay in bed, make themselves sneeze, cough, stay up all night so that their eyes are red and they haven’t slept and they’re super tired, they might as well BE SICK. in fact now they AREEEE SICK they’re not pretending. 

2. The second quote is 

Therefore, pretending...leaves the principle of reality intact: the difference is always clear, it is simply masked, whereas simulation threatens the difference between the "true" and the “false,the real" and the imaginary 

“Pretending” would be considered lying. Like there is a truth distinct from what you are portraying and you seek to hide the truth by portraying it differently. “Simulation” however doesn’t leave any difference between what’s true and what you show publicly, the two collapse into one another. 

What does this have to do with ATVB?

Well, Matty is taking us back to “If it’s method acting but what you’re acting is actually your real life then what’s acting and what’s real?” Right?

There are, of course, other ways to extend this conundrum in light of 2023. That is, what’s rhetorical difference between “Truman Black” and “Matty Healy”? What’s the difference between the public perception of Matty Healy and the “real” Matty Healy? (Is there even such a thing?) If he commits to a joke or a bit AI HARD is the “bit” even a bit anymore? If not, does it lose its effectiveness? Cuz obviously people do acts  BECAUSE they’re acts. They’re not reality. Except we now live in a world where all “acts” can and are indeed real. 

Furthermore: is there a difference between the first and the second halves of the show? During SATVB NA the answer was no most of the time. Because they blended the setlist. BFIAFL and greatest hits were no longer clearly separated. They played bits of both at the same time. 

If all of this is true, what then does it even mean to be “sincere” or “earnest” in a world where everything has an equal degree of reality all the time?

DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE TO ANYBODY AT ALL OR AM I INSANEEEE