#Original Work: Blood of Destinies Rewritten

[theannypetite]

WIP Wednesday #6

Time to Read: 8 minutes WIPs Recently I’ve been posting The Amnesia Tonic, but I had to put that a little to the side for a while. I’ve gotten back to a little bit, but I’ve had to focus on other matters, which has resulted in the posting being temporarily halted. I hope to get the sixth chapter up before the end of the month. I also need to rewrite some chapter to combine them, and shorten…

[jj-lynn21]

Thank you for following...

Thank you for following, reading, liking, commenting ect. Currently I am working on a Roman Godfrey AU x reader called Castle in the desert. Most of my stories are continuation like subtitles like AU Bill skarsgard, Roman Godfrey, Mark from Assignation nation, and Mickey from Villains. There are a few with multiple actors like Tom Holland, Cody fern and other Skarsgards that start with The Charity & the Island. lots of fluff, smut and a bloody good time...18+ for content

Story teller — List of stories updated April 16, 2020

List of stories updated April 16, 2020

Thanks for following. Thanks for reading, thanks for creating. Thanks for sharing.

Warnings 18+ lots of smut, angst, fluff. X-reader, mostly AU Bill Skarsgard & his characters but a few stories include other Skarsgard brothers, Deadpool, Tom Holland and other actors. Feel free to send requests/ideas & reblog. I will try to keep this updated.

Rock star Axel

You Will Remember Things That We Never Said: In this Alternate Universe fiction Axel meets Stephani while he is singing in the local band Zeitgeist. Its set up when he is in college. ch 1 ch 2    ch 3    ch 4  ch 5    ch 6​   ch 7 ch 8

starring Bill Skarsgard: My own stories with original character(s) he could play

The Stay starring Bill Skarsgard as Chris Ryan creepy slight horror genre. All I will say is this character is right in the wheel house of what Bill could play.      ch 1 ch 2 ch 3 ch4

THE CLUB starring Bill Skarsgard as William Casik - Alice is a prim and proper elementary school teacher. Her Husband William owns a company that does business around the world. But he has a secret. When Alice find out about his alter ego, The Sir, her life will never be the same. ch 1 ch 2  ch 4  ch5 ch 6 ch 7  ch 8 ch 9 ch 10

Bill Skarsgard (AU) & X-reader/Princess

The Charity- various fandoms & x-reader This a AU mystery piece that includes most Avengers actors and skarsgards plus a few others I love. Some chapters are  very smutty. used suggestions from readers.  ch 1, ch 2, ch3, ch 4, ch 5, ch 6, ch7, ch 8

The Island: various fandoms, Its a continuation of The Charity. ch1 ch 2 ch3 ch4 ch5

The Dress: Just because I like writing the continuing story of Bill & Princess. This is her first time at an awards show. Also includes Alex Skarsgard, Scarlett Johansson and a few others. ch1 ch2 ch3 ch4 ch5

Bill& X Reader: Jealousy,  You are dating Bill Skarsgard & get invited to a ex’s party.

Early home coming:  Bill & X-reader warnings: angst, slight smut, fluffy. Bill comes home early after an annoying work issue forces him to leave a project. You attempt to help him get over it all before he has to go promote another project.

Bill and Princess/x-reader: long distance Valentine? Bill has to leave the night before Valentine Day for a meeting the next morning.

Bill & Ex-Reader: EVERYONE IS WATCHING sometimes the bedroom isn’t as private as you think.

The Bake off: Bill and x-reader/Princess are quarantined together. A month into their time together they come up with the Bake-off idea. Lots of smut, some baking lol. Ch 1   ch 2

Villains fan fiction

Borrowed time: Mickey & X-Reader . This is a continuation of Villains in a AU. Something like this should happen. ch 1 ch2 ch3 ch 4

Prequel Villains: Mickey and Jules Celebrate Christmas

Mickey’s Valentine’s Day surprises This is only 2 chapters. AU Mickey, Sweetie Pie and Jules several months after the event that brought them back together after the movie Villains. If you want to know how they got to this point read Borrowed time: Mickey & X-Reader. But you don’ t have to. Ch1 Ch2

Mark: Assassination Nation

Assassination Nation Mark and X-reader AU Mark survived his town going nuts and is now in college where he meets you.  ch 1 ch 2 ch 3 ch 4 ch 5 ch 6 ch7 ch8

Assassination Nation Mark and X-reader: Merry Christmas ch 1 ch 2

Mark and x-reader: You’re mine, Valentine. The first in my Valentine’s  themed stories. This is more of the reader and Mark at college several months after what happened in the last story. ( Assassination Nation: Mark and X-reader) Mark is pretty much just horny & wants sex but he will put together some Valentine’s day surprises to get it.

Mark & X-Reader:Party At Greenwald’s A virus is sweeping the county. The University closes. You might make it home but Mark insists you stay with him in Salem. Memories haunt him from this place.ch 1 CH 2   ch 3  ch 4 ch 5 ch 6 ch 7

Castlerock fanfic

Joy and The Angel This is a Castlerock fanfiction

A Castlerock New Year’s Eve party: The Kid & X-Reader This plays off some talk of who the Kid really is in the Steven King Universe. ch 1 ch 2 ch 3

Hemlock Grove Fan Fiction: Roman Godfrey

CLUB VEE This is the first thing I posted on Tumbler. It is a vampire-type romance that I connected to Roman and Princess starting with their Valentine’ s Day plans. So its an origin story for Club Vee. Ch 1Ch 2 Ch3 Ch 4 Ch 5  Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14 Ch 15 Ch 16 Ch 17 Ch 18 Ch 19 Ch 20 Ch 21

It is all in the eyes :Roman & X Reader , A crazy Hemlock Grove alt reality fanfic part 1  part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5

Roman & his Princess Valentine’s Day This story continues the relationship from It is all in the eyes :Roman & X Reader. It will also include characters from VEE. But you really don’t have to read either to follow this story if you don’t want to. ch1 ch2 ch3 ch 4 ch5

A story of friendship: Roman Godfrey & X-reader AU Hemlock Grove. I was in a Roman mood so this is what came out  ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4 ch 5

Roman & his Princess: blood wolf moon eclipse Princess is having a hard time with her hunger. Is Olivia the only one that can really help her?

Roman & his Princess: Life is Just a Fantasy A little role play night out with these characters where Roman is the Dominant more than usual and Princess plays  the submissive role. ch1 ch 2 ch3 ch4

Roman & Princess: Let’s up the game Roman wants to make a sex tape. ch1 ch2 ch3

Roman & Princess: The agreement Princess plays with her dominant personality. Roman decides maybe he could handle the threesome she wants if he looks at it as a business agreement. ch 1  ch 2 ch 3 ch4

Stuck in the Madness with You A virus has found its way to Hemlock Grove driving people to self quarantine. How will this effect Roman and those he cares about? ch 1 ch 2 ch 3

The Dinner Party Roman invites Peter and Letha to a dinner party so Letha can get out a little more since they have all quarantined her to Peter’s trailer.

Deadpool Presents:

Deadpool Presents: Once upon a Zeitgeist this is in and AU after all the stuff in Deadpool 2. ch 1 ch 2 ch 3 ch 4

Deadpool Presents: Axel’s Valentine’s Day special story Axel plans a special Valentine’s romantic over night excursion. With two kids it is difficult to have longer intimate time with his wife.  To read more about how this couple met refer to Deadpool Presents: Once upon a Zeitgeist Axel suggests Deadpool watch the kids which is the last thing his wife really wants ch1 ch2 ch3  ch4  ch5

Fairytales rewritten to include favorite actors/characters

Snow in Hollywood This is a reimagining of Snow White starring all Skarsgards Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Red and the Full Moon This is a reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood incorporating the lyric to the 60s song Little Red Riding Hood. Featuring Bill Skarsgard and Alex Skarsgard.

King Bill and his Queen Genevieve: A fairytale begins original smutty fairytale  where Bill of Skarsgard plans to take a diplomat’s daughter for his own. When he discovers Lady Genevieve is a virgin he still wants to fulfill their destiny in the middle of the forest clearing.

Being part of the film industry in a small way

A  Little Extra for the Extra This is extremely loosely based on my time working as an extra in a Tom Holland and Bill Skarsgard movie. It was great fun. Tom was cool to the extras if you were at the right place at the right time. I only got to see Bill from afar but maybe that was a good thing LOL. In place of Bill & Tom you can easily put in your favorite actor or actress in your mind.

Moroccan Sands: This is Bill Skarsgard and Tom Holland with x-reader. It takes place on a movie set for the most part. Ch1, ch 2 ch3 ch4 ch5 ch 6 ch7 ch8

Santa’s fav ELF Bill & X-Reader You are an extra in one of Bill’s movies and you you get a long very well. ch1 ch2 ch 3 ch 4

The Calling in this extras dream job you will be working with Bill Skarsgard, Tom Holland, Sebastian Stan, Robert Pattinson and a few other surprise actors on a movie that moves through decades 50s, 60s, 70s,80s. Sure your scenes don’t seem to fit together but they rarely do when filming and you just enjoy that you get to do this sort of work. Even though this is same caste as Devil All the Time it has nothing to do with that movie. enjoy this only 1% truth about being an extra. I love it but as of now it never got this good. ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5

Take a seat x-reader & Bill mostly. You are a seat filler at the 2021 Oscars. Its such a unique experience. But since you break some of the rules will you ever get to do it again? And is the out come with it anyway? I think, probably.  ch 1,  ch 2 ch 3 ch 4

[littlemisssquiggles]

Okay, so I was joking around about Cinder with a friend who is very much into Kingdom Hearts (I guess you're familiar). End of the story, I quote: "Aaaaaaand in the end, it turns out she's Summer Rose's nobody, yay!!" Which actually brought me to an idea and I wanted to hear your thoughts about it. Do you think it is possible that Cinder is somehow connected to Summer Rose and if so, how? I'd be very interested to read your thoughts on this.

Hello again Mizu. Hmm, that’s an interesting question but I think I’ve got a decent answer that can best give my point of view on this subject. To be honest, I never considered the possibility of Cinder being connected to Summer Rosebefore. I always figured that Summer happened prior to Cinder joining Salem’sranks. But since you brought it up it makes me consider an alternative to my initial perception.

Do I think it is possible that Cinder is somehow connected to Summer Rose? Well there is one way I can think of. The only way I can fathom Cinder having an unknown connection to Summer if she was her murderer. 

What if…Cinder Fall was the one who killed Summer Rose?

Alrighty, now this is the part where I ask you to hear me out as I explain how this works so saddle up pilgrim and allow this squiggle meister to take you on a wild ride down headcanon lane.

What if…at a very young age, Cinder murdered Summer Rose on behalf of Salem? 

Here’s how I think that could be possible. Since we’re not quite sure what Cinder’s true age is, I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume that Cinder is the type to possibly be in her late twenties but still appears young enough to pass for a young adult of 17-18 years old. I can even use myself to vouch for this cause I’m nearing my thirties and I can still physically pass for ten years younger than I actually am. So let’s say this is same case forCinder.

So for the sake of this hunch of fine, I’m going to peg Cinder at being about 27 years old. That places her about roughly 10-11 years older than Ruby Rose.

Keep that in mind. It was mentioned by Yang in V2 that Summer allegedly passed away when Ruby was still too young to comprehend death. It was also stated that Summer passed away around the time Yang discovered the truth about Raven’s existence and had set out with Ruby in a wagon to find her. In her back story, Yang described Ruby as still being a toddler at the time. So at best, let’s say that Ruby was around 4 years old when Summer died. A child is considered of toddler age when they’re between 1 and 4 years old according to Early Stages of Childhood on Google Search.

Why am I bringing this up you might ask? Well like I said, the only way I canpicture Cinder being connected to Summer Rose is if she was the one responsible for killing her or at least played a significant role in her death.

Going back to my hunch, if Summer died when Ruby was about 4 and assuming that I’m correct about Cinder being about 10-11 years older than Ruby, that would make Cinder about 15 years old when she killed Summer.

This fits perfectly for what I had in mind since 15  is a significant age in RWBY since Ruby Rose was that age  when she first encountered Roman Torchwick (and by extension Cinder herself) when she challenged him on the rooftop before running into Glynda Goodwitch who ultimately took her to meet Ozpin.

15 was the age when Ruby met and firstly impressed Ozpin enough to encourage him to allow her to attend Beacon and train to become a huntress despite not meeting the required age. 

15 is the age where Ruby first started her journey towards achieving her goal of becoming a huntress—a valiant hero who protected the innocent just like the ones in the stories Ruby indulged in as a child. The same stories that were read to her by Yang and before her, possibly even Summer herself.

With that thought in mind, imagine if…15 was the same age Cinder began her decent into become the power-hungry killer we know her to be. Imagine if 15 was the age Cinder was when she took her first life and claimed her first victim—-Summer Rose.

What if…15 was the age when Cinder officially solidified herself into Salem’s ranks and the murder of Summer Rose was part of her sort of initiation process.

I’m not entirely sure how long Cinder has been affiliated with Salem as herapprentice. However I wouldn’t be too surprised if Cinder was found by Salem at a ripe age—possibly when she was just a teenager. Just an impressionable little girl like Ruby was who had her own set of ambitions and desires that she was uncertain she would ever fulfill given her harsh upbringing. At least, before she was discovered by a wicked witch who took pity on her and decided to groom her into her perfect successor under the promise of gaining the power she needed to make all of her wishes come true.

This is why I always liked the analogy of Salem being a twisted version of the Fairy Godmother in Cinder’s Cinderella story.In the original Cinderella fairy-tale, the Fairy Godmother used her magic tohelp Cinderella in attending the royal ball where she ultimately got a chanceto meet the prince with the two falling in love afterwards. 

Thus the Fairy Godmother played a part in making all of Cinderella’s dreams come true. Yet here we have Salem who, just like the Fairy Godmother, possessed magical powers but rather than sharing her magic with Cinder just as how Ozma shared his magic with the first Maidens. 

Instead Salem groomed Cinder to take power from others. She sparkedthe girl’s megalomaniac tendencies and fed into it, ensuring that others payedthe price for Cinder’s greed (or is it gluttony? One or both of those deadly sins). 

This is also why I really like my Grimmoire/Red Queen Cinder Fall headcanon where Cinder grows powerful enough to overthrow Salem after she gets defeated and cleansed of her darkness through the combined power of Ruby and Oscar who share the God of Light’s light within them. This is why I like the twist of Cinder eventually turning on Salem as the monster she helped create; draining her of all of her magic and taking it for herself. Such sweet karma right there but…that’s only my theory for now.

Anyways, again for the sake of my headcanons, I’m going to theorize that Cinder was probably 14-years-old when Salem first found her. 14 when Salem took Cinder under her wing and 15 when she killed Summer Rose—fits well enough for this squiggle meister and her theories.

14 is another significant age in the RWBY narrative since it could now tie Cinder to Oscar in a sense.

 Think about it. If 14 was how old Cinder was when she was discovered by Salem and had her destiny rewritten by the wicked witch then it can parallell how Oz first met Oscar at the same age and how his fate was drastically changed too due to their sudden chance encounter.

Going with this idea, 14 was the age when Salem whisked Cinder away from her old unhappy life to change her destiny and grant her the power she desired. Cause even at such an impressionable age, let’s assume that power was something Cinder had always desired for it’s something she never had. Let’ssay, in the past Cinder used to believe that power was something you were born with. At least until she met Salem who taught her that power is something that could easily be taken away given the right tools.

My theory is that Salem first lured Cinder with the promise of granting her thepower she desired but before Cinder could get her wish, Salem put her through a single test, not to see if Cinder was worthy of power like the young girlpresumed but her drive. If Cinder wanted power, Salem wanted to see just howfar the girl was willing to go to achieve it. How far was Cinder willing to let herself fall for the sake of changing her fate or something to that liking?

Hence the encounter with Summer Rose. The theory I’ve been building up to is…what if… Summer was Cinder’s test from Salem. She wanted her to kill Ozpin’s current Silver Eyed Warrior. The incentive was if Cinder proved she could successfully kill a Silver Eyed Warrior (presumably the last known one at the time) then what was stopping her from killing a Maiden, right?

I think before going after Summer Rose, Salem put Cinder through the ringer—making her endure rigorous training in hopes of making her strong. At first the girl struggled but she ultimately proved Salem’s assumptions about her resilience when she persevered and conquered all challenges thrown in her way, fueled by nothing but her blood lust and hunger for power. 

To Cinder, there was nothing she would not do to get what she deserved. To get what it rightfully hers. Even if she had to claw it out of her victims, she will take what is hers and this is what Salem needed to see from her.

Similar to how Cinder gathered and worked with Emerald and Mercury to take down Amber, what if…long ago, a young 15-year-old Cinder Fall worked beside a younger Hazel Rainart and Tyrian Callows in facing Summer. 

Although, Tyrian and Hazel were instructed by Salem to not interfere. Since this was Cinder’s test, the two were only instructed to support her if things got out of hand and even if Cinder ended up needing the two to restrain Summer, the strict objective was that Cinder was to kill Summer. No one else.

This wouldn’t be the first time one of Salem’s forces ambushed a Silver Eyed Warrior. We saw it with Maria when she was ambushed by Tock and her crew. We also glimpsed this even with Amber when Cinder ambushed her with Emerald and Mercury’s help.

I can even picture Cinder first fighting Summer alone and getting overpowered by her almost instantaneously due to her superior experience in combat as a seasoned huntress. I pictured Summer downing Young Cinder but upon realizingthat her assailant was a girl—just a child, Summer forfeits the fight by sparing Cinder’s life. 

Since Summer was both a Silver Eyes and a mother with two daughters, I doubt she would have the heart to kill a young girl even if she was her attacker. I’d like to think that Ruby gets her good-natured heart and righteousness from her mother and as fans saw with Raven in V5, this could similarly prove to be a thorn in Summer’s side in the face of the wrong people. 

Let’s say…Summer choosing to spare Cinder and walk away was a bold move which enabled her to let her guard down long enough for Hazel and Tyrian to intervene.

Long story short, Tyrian poisons Summer with a toxin which disrupts her mobility. And despite doing her best to combat the poison rushing through her veins, her efforts proved futile especially against Hazel who used his brute force to disarm Summer. 

Similar to how Emerald and Mercury forced Amber to her knees before Cinder, Hazel did the same to Summer. The juggernaut of a man forced theolder Rose to kneel in front of Cinder. Tyrian, then mockingly grunts forCinder to complete her so-called ‘test’ unless she wanted Hazel and him to holdher hand through that as well, much to the girl’s embarrassment.

In a nutshell, Cinder basically stabs Summer repeatedly. Picture it like Cindertrying to kill a chicken but rather than going straight for the kill she keepsavoiding the one area that would end it all and just proceeds to gut the thinggruesomely over and over again while it hollered in agony.

That’s kind of how I pictured it. Cinder knew she had to kill Summer but she just kept stabbing her only in places where she knew she’d lose blood but wasn’t an instant kill. She didn’t go for the heart.

At first she boldly attempted to laugh off her hesitance by claiming she wanted towatch her victim slowly suffer. However Cinder fooled neither Hazel nor Tyrian.Both men noticed her resistance to kill Summer but while Hazel showed sympathy in a sense, Tyrian continued to mock Cinder. Undermine her. Make her feel every bit of humiliation she used to feel from her past, triggering her horrible memories of her previous life. Unbeknownst to Tyrian, he had unintentionally given Cinder the push she needed to make the kill and she goes to stab Summer right in the heart to end her.

This is where I’m afraid my hunch may have to deviate a little bit to feed into twopossibilities I have. The running theory in the FNDM is that Qrow was the one who either found Summer Rose dead and already killed or Qrow was responsible for killing Summer due to his semblance.

Speaking for myself here, I mostly ran with the idea of Summer dying to protect Qrow. 

The idea I had is that Summer wanted to go after Salem herself against Ozpin’s wishes. Fearful that she would do something stupid, Oz tasked Qrow to follow Summer when she went on her supposed ‘final mission’. He never told him why since at the time Oz was still keeping the truth about Salem. All Oz told Qrow was that he was worried that Summer might do something irrational and dangerous that might result in her death and that was all the motive Qrow needed to go after Summer.

Unfortunately for Oz, Summer kind of foresaw that he would try and stop her despite already making up her mind for her sacrifice. So let’s say Summer fed Oz false information on when she was leaving for her mission. By the time Oz sent Qrow to find Summer, she had already long left for her mission. This is where my point deviates:

Either Qrow discovered Summer already killed with the identities of her assailants still a mystery or…Qrow found Summer on death’s doorstep; again with Cinder and her forces already left her for dead. 

Qrow tries to rush Summer to the nearest village for help but…of course; luck wasn’t on Qrow’s side that day. Summer’s killers were smart enough to lure her out to a secluded area far from the awareness of a people. 

Summer had been completely alone. Killed in the middle of nowherefar away from human aid. And the kicker is that she either died alone and was later found by her dearest friend and old teammate— Qrow or she died in the arms of her friend Qrow while he tried to rush her to help but was too late.

Meanwhile the identity of Summer’s killer was never learnt. Even if Cinder was Summer’s true killer, neither Qrow nor Oz nor any of the other members of the Inner Circle would know this. So in a sense, Cinder would be left with ties to Summer Rose that could be later revealed in the story for shock value. Buuuuut…that’s only if it’s canon.

I will admit his though. For Cinder to be revealed as the killer of another important person in Ruby’s life then I think that could easily be used as the final straw to break Ruby.

Cause let’s wrack up the list. In terms of those affiliated with Ruby, Cinder wasresponsible for killing off Penny and Pyrhha who were good friends of Ruby. Cinder also killed Ozpin who throughout V1 and V2 was shown to be the teacher/mentor character that Ruby bonded to the most.

To have Cinder be connected to the death of her mother too would be veryinteresting. It can give Ruby an incentive to challenge Cinder now. Before,Cinder was the one with the beef against Ruby. I would say that instead ofSummer Rose, Cinder is the antithesis to Ruby. The only thing is that Cinderhas no true connection to Ruby at all. We know Cinder has her vendetta againstRuby for taking her eye and all that. But what does Ruby have against Cinder?What does Ruby have as a motive for her to challenge and desire to defeatCinder?

Not much. Sure you can call out what happened at Beacon and the death of herfriends and mentor as good motive however that’s more deep-rooted in Ruby’s ties to Salem. Not Cinder. 

The one with the direct beef with Cinder is Jaune since Cinder killed Pyrhha—his former teammate and closest confidant. Unlike Ruby, Jaune has a reason to directly challenge Cinder which we already saw him do in V5.

There is a reason for Ruby to wish to challenge Salem but not so much Cinder. Yet here we have Cinder going after Ruby. 

I guess as another idea it could be interesting to see Cinder giving Ruby an ultimatum to force her to face her. Hence why I’ve gravitated towards the idea of Cinder possibly kidnapping Oscar and using him as bait to lure Ruby out to fight her and Neo for V7.

I say Oscar over any other one of Ruby’s closest comrades since I have a feeling that V7 may attempt to push Ruby and Oscar’s budding friendship on a stronger level than we’ve seen with them in previous seasons. I’m expecting these two rosebuds to grow closer in Atlas.

Not to mention that in an odd way, you can say that Oscar is somewhat theembodiment of the three people Ruby lost at Beacon. He embodies Penny since similar to Penny, Oscar is often seen as being less of a person than he already is since he’s currently a vessel for Ozpin/ Ozma’s soul.

Ruby is the one person to always treat Oscar as his own person and despite knowing the truth of what he is (and who he might become), she still genuinelylikes Oscar as the farm boy that he is and cares about him as him; NOT just another life for Oz to live.

Oscar embodies Pyrhha because similar to her, Oscar was dealt a tricky choice that he had to choose between as part of saving the world. It wasn’t something he initially wanted to do but rather something he had to more or less accept. Istill feel like there are more moments and choices that Oscar will be forced tomake going forward toward Atlas and this would place him in the same awkwardposition Pyrhha had to endure at some point. Another reason why I think Oscarembodies Pyrhha is cause I haven’t given up on my headcanon of him joining upwith JNR to revive Team JNPR. Still holding onto that vehemently.

And lastly, Oscar embodies Oz cause…well…he shares a body with him. He is meant to be Ozpin’s successor soon inheriting all of his powers in addition to all his mistakes and responsibilities towards humanity. 

So yeah, Oscar embodies Pyrhha, Penny and Ozpin—three people affected by Cinder whose deaths still hold weight on Ruby. Ruby saw both Pyrhha and Penny die before her very eyes. More than that, she failed to arrive in time to stop both of their deaths. 

So if Oscar is unfortunately placed in the same scenario, not only would it mean Ruby reliving the same nightmare of failing to save her friends but Cinder targeting Oscar can bring to light Ozpin’s death as well.

I guess when I explain it like that, it does look like Ruby doesn’t need Cinderto be connected to her to fight her. Not to sound like the big KH nerd I indeedam but…Ruby’s friends are her power. They are her strength. Their love andsupport is what helps her light shining. However Cinder singlehandedly killedthree of Ruby’s friends while she failed to stop her.

I believe this will be the next step in Ruby’s development. I think Ruby needs torelive a moment like what happened at Beacon to have some kind of closure at long last with what happened to Pyrhha and Penny cause as we saw  from V6, it still haunts her psyche. She almost couldn’t summon her powers because of it and you can’t convince me that that’s not going to come up again in V7.

As Jinn rightfully put it, she might have been able to help Ruby that one that time and provide her more time but that’s not gonna happen again. Ruby will need more mental training in summoning her powers (hence more work for Maria to do thankfully) and this is good because it can help her get to the root of what gave her her block in V6. 

Meaning she will have to talk about Pyrhha and Penny. Especially Penny since she was the first friend Ruby failed to help and saw die. And being in Atlas, the home of her former friend is bound to bring that up. ESPECIALLY if my theory about Atlas manufacturing multiple Penny robots and selling them to the public  throughout Atlas becomes a thing. 

Ruby never truly talks about how much Pyrhha and Penny’s deaths affectedher (out of the V5 dojo scene) but we saw how much it still does from the V6 finale. She still is haunted by that stuff and it would be interesting if her friends’ deaths are also connected to her repressed nightmares of her mom’s death.

I dunno. I guess what I’m really trying to say is, I don’t necessarily need forCinder to have a connection to Summer Rose for her to have a connection to Ruby by extension. However I will admit that Cinder being revealed as Summer’s killer who murdered her when she was only 15 as a test given to her by Salem is an interesting concept.

It checks off everything. It can parallel how different and somewhat similarCinder and Ruby were at that age. Heck if the Writers wanted they can even show Cinder being similar to Ruby at 15 but because of her upbringing and how Salem trained her, Cinder turned out the way she was which leaves us as theaudience with the lingering question of…if Cinder and Ruby were so similar atthe same age, does this mean that Ruby could have easily turned out just likeCinder if she went through the same tragedies as her and vice versa?

This can also be an interesting way to further emphasis why Cinder despises Ruby so much—perhaps Ruby reminds Cinder of who she used to be. The weaker part of herself she killed and discarded in order to become who she is now and wants to become and all that jazz.

That’s not a bad idea. But…as always these are just ideas. 

And with that, I think that’s it. That’s all folks XD

This was originally going to be a short answer but…pffft, who am I kidding here? XD You should know how I roll by now, right? Better stop jibberjabbing while I’m still at 4 pages of an answer in MS Word XD

For the most part I hope I answered you well enough Mizu. As always please let me know your thoughts on my thoughts and in the meantime, take care fam.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[invitedeath]

some may have assumed that a rebirth is solely when a person is given new life, a new form, perhaps even vastly different from the original vessel they possessed. but a rebirth can be something familiar; the foundations of a person simply revisited and reconstructed as if one were rebuilding a home from scratch. each bone the walls, each organ the decorative pieces within. 

in fire, ash and blood he was reborn once before, but in this re-birthing he was simply as he always had been. seeming to be whole but still somehow fractured. powerful yet hindered. a mass and mess of contradictions, as per the riddle of his very existence. and as such, his time in spirale was something akin to a metamorphosis which, even to this day, has not truly been completed.

RANK UP DRABBLE REQUIREMENT. 2,368 WORDS. “ write an 800+ word post reflecting on your time on the island and the struggles/revelations you’ve had during your time here “ ( info ) it is my wish that with this drabble, i can attempt to explore perhaps some of the lingering aspects of who he is and was prior to isola canon, as well as the connections, frustrations and revelations which have thus taken place after. i hope any who read this enjoy my development and i want to thank anyone who helped me along this long and very heavily plotted journey! thank you!!  p.s. here’s some music to accompany.

effortlessly he took a step forward, feeling the distance between earth and sky beneath his chest, before ascending into the dark of the swirling clouds of the storm...

initially he has imagined it to be a part of the reunion. as foolish as it was now to look back upon it, it had once felt as if he was simply due to rise again as endlessly so as the sun. but the world he arrived in was not at all like that of gaia; a planet gaping with his onslaught and thus wounded for a time that seemed eternal. it was not a world in mourning, as gaia had been once the remnants of his soul thus summoned him back, but instead an isle far from his world. a different star altogether. but he was not blind nor stupid. the energy... how it had radiated from the very pavement itself upon that first footstep.

it had been then, merely moments after his arrival, that sephiroth would plan to claim that world for one goal in particular. 

he was in need of a vessel. gaia had been worthy enough as a mere tool to achieve the absolute goal, that of a rightful domination and a restart of existence as he knew it. it had been a means to travel, to abscond to the stars and thus begin the work he was born to do. that jenova had promised in the shadowed corners of his mind as he had drifted through the lifestream. 

but spirale felt so much more worthy somehow. gaia, an exhausted and drained world, was not so rich in the same power which throbbed beneath the surface here. although he could not communicate with the planet as per his original ‘purpose’, spirale sung in varied choruses of her strength. how she drew others from distant worlds to her soil. how she commanded all of their ability to null. how was it possible?

but it as not as simple as he thought. much like the others of the island, he was without power. granted only his teleportation magic ( and even then, just brief bouts! ) he was unable to make better use of his time immediately. thus he wandered... meeting an ‘angel’ who seemed enthralled with sephiroth’s nature. it was there, in the depths of the fibonacci ward’s darkest corridors and passageways, that he would begin to investigate the planet’s power. yet it was to little avail. 

if it was not frustrating enough that he did not find much in the way of a source of the island’s power, he was forced into shared housing. not one for socialising, especially with those so unlike himself, he did not venture there often, instead visiting perhaps once, maybe twice, but certainly enough to spend time with the golden witch who shared the abode. so long apart from socialising, it was a lesson in manners if little else; two powerful people conversing like ‘friends’ as they toppled over chess pieces and make light of their lack of strength, but promising a future where that might not always be the case... 

as time passed, more peculiarities of the island made themselves known to him. haunted by the appearance of a hojo-like spectre, he was thus forced to face the man responsible for all of that strife tied to his life. so tightly woven were his threads, it was almost a surprise that sephiroth did not split apart from the pain of it all once the strange event across the island faded. forced to counter such a prominent figure, he who he had learned all about through his journey within the lifestream, had almost entirely orchestrated the events of his life as a puppeteer might his playthings. 

the peace afterwards did not last too long. just as he had grappled with his ‘father’, the woman named lucrecia. tears staining her cheeks, came to her son and begged for his peace. she pleaded that he might forgive, that she was sorry for what she had done. but her nightmares were prophecies and her precious son was a monster after all. how damned she must feel, the mother of humanity’s end. but he did not embrace her. he did not forgive hojo. what was there to forgive, from either of them? mother, father, creator  —  in the end they had aided his ascension. he did not need a place in the world, instead rising high above it. he did not need their pity or worry, he was painless. ethereal. godlike. 

as time passed, sephiroth became acquainted with various beings from other worlds. some hailed from the same star, a place where the lifestream was but a common name similar to gaia  —  that of hydaelyn. though he did not witness it, he felt a great mass of energy pertaining to some of the beings whom hailed from such a realm and thus made it his intention to seek them out over time. he did not know of it at the moment, but as those seeds were sewn, thus did he break apart little by little from his former lonely status. he talked, even going as far as to enjoy the company of other people almost frequently, as well as plot and plan, discuss and destroy. 

but his plans were cut short by... another life? a world where he did not have ties to godhood at all, but instead existed as a simple being of authority amongst ‘fellow humans’. as vile a dream as it was, it had been the closest which sephiroth had ever come to belonging. he had a family ( the cetra as a sister for some gods be damned reason! ) and... friendship? he was admired but not in the starstruck manner as he had been at soldier. but loved. wholly. he had a place in people’s lives not as a mere hero or token of strength, but because they wanted him there. he was needed. 

once the dust had settled of that strange affair, sephiroth had felt an almost ( ALMOST! ) kinship for those he had been ‘friends’ with before. whilst he had no burning desire to repeat the events of that life, he did however investigate as to the true identities of those people. he followed a few; stalking them from the shadows before vanishing into nothing but mere feathers. but he needn’t wait long for something akin to his better brand of friendship to rear its head. 

a man, cloaked entirely in black, became something of an ally... something of a nuisance. though he was far too cryptic for his own straightforwardness, the two found themselves wandering beneath the spirallian stars, night after night. confidant to confidant. it was with this stranger that he found a type of amusement he had otherwise lacked. a sense of understanding bridging two realms whereby sephiroth could converse in a manner he best enjoyed. until the man faded away, much as they often do in spirale it seemed. but despite him not being present any longer, still the angel’s mind does wander to the what if’s and where’s... of that man robed in black. 

perhaps it was in that unconscious yearning he still had, but could not quite admit to, that he sought after people more readily for conversation. that he, beneath the falling snow, charmed an elezen who was better off not confronting such gods alone by himself. it was almost fun to toy, to tease with as much power and knowledge as he did. for the elezen ate from whatever palm they offered; sampling the fruits of sephiroth’s mind until his cheeks tinted crimson.

days continued into the warmth of summer once again. it was fast approaching a year since his arrival to the island and it seemed to have slipped away so quickly. since his arrival, he had been given back the wing of midnight black, his ability to fly high above the city, as well as the energy infused within every stroke of his sword which he also had had returned to his side. little by little, he was becoming whole again.

one may have assumed that with those slight changes to his life, namely how he actually conversed with others and often spent time engaging in interesting meetings, that his goal may have changed. but all he did, despite these revelations, was work harder. his goal remained the exact same; to find the source of the island’s great power and use that power to master the destiny of each world the citizens hailed from. he assumed that with each world combined, he might rewrite reality after reality, as well as simply planets, that existence itself would be rewritten. made into something pure and bright. one lifestream for him to absorb.

as it neared a year since his arrival sephiroth arose into the sky masked by black, dark storm clouds, only to ponder as to the extent of the power at play beneath him. though he could certainly soar high above the world, he knew there was always a ceiling. always a cap to whatever he had at hand. but the difference was that he no longer cared. whereas before, it was a challenge to go about his usual plans or way of life, now even without his full strength he was almost content with who he was and what he could do. black materia or not, he surpassed spirale’s people in nearly every regard. that belief had only ever grown stronger over time. 

perhaps the most recent example of sephiroth’s slight shift in activity however came about during the fantastical war waged in the warped world of spirale when it was plagued by mythical and romantic visions. as if plucked from a fairy tale, the world was a topsy-turvy sort, thus the making of his life there was... odd to say the least. but past the days of when that strange life came to an end, the war certainly took him by surprise. there he witnessed the strength of the spirallian citizens, how they clamoured together to fight. even he himself threw blade into battle and thus slaughtered his own share of enemies. even attempting to best a beast from the heavens, he fought. 

he fought for spirale. 

not out of some kinship for its people. not out of some change of heart, nor a character revelation. he was determined to use the world for his own means  — he could not allow its sundering.

but who was he now? a vengeful god having attempted to strike down that image of professor hojo? the spiteful son who did not answer the calls of his mother’s ghost? the traitor to jenova who fought for spirale instead of reducing it to ash and dust? a friend, a brother, a hero? 

he had been all of those things. a many-faced coin but who always fell the same face up; sephiroth the one-winged angel. still detesting humanity and all it might offer. still yearning for the destruction of a loneliness he had always felt but had not always understood. he wondered, as he trailed so far above the world that the lights of the buildings below were almost non-existent, whether the black materia would find its way back to him. it wasn’t a necessity, not at that moment, but surely its return would change the course of spirale forever. or so he thought.

should such a magic be unleashed upon spirale, would it split as gaia was fated to? would it come apart thus seek to remedy its wounds by mass repair via its own lifestream? and with that lifestream, what could he achieve? he yearned for that answer. he was desperate to know. and how it was that the island could indeed pluck people from across the fabric of reality... he still had questions to be asked. but with the destructive magic of meteor, he might at least find an answer to one of them. 

this was to be his final rebirth. there would be no more of his demise and ascension, no more lingering as a concept before materialising whole. he was there, the living and breathing omen of life and death itself. the bringer of peace and the rightful ruler of the entire star, and even beyond that. when the day came that he might feel that strength return to him, he would make good of his vows. he would bring forth all of his might to challenge the very laws of that world, to tear it asunder if only to see its making and thus use it to take him further.

free of pain, free of loneliness, spirale may be the foundations of his work.

or it may become engulfed in the chaos and thus be nought but a shell for him to use as merely a vessel.

he had no love for the people there, save for perhaps a handful who would perhaps even yearn for that same destruction he desired, thus he had no qualms with imagining their removal. a blank slate for him to do with as he pleased. for he deserved it. as was his right. as was the legacy his true mother jenova had blessed him with those many years prior. that he might become god. that he might destroy in order to create.

whatever suffering he might have felt would only ever be a distant memory.

[lj-writes]

It really is time for the Jedi to end

Morality, Trust, and the Force--toward a new model of Force instruction

What went so fatally wrong with the Jedi Order?

It’s a recurring and fundamental question. Through the prequel, original, and now sequel trilogies we’ve watched the Jedi Order fall, rise, and then fall again. Unless they can end this cycle the end of Episode IX won’t be an end, but rather a prelude to a new tragedy.

I believe the old Jedi Order’s reliance on inborn Force power became warped into blood worship in Luke’s new Jedi Order, and Kylo Ren was a product of this repugnant and ahistorical belief. To overcome the mistakes of the old and new Orders, a new model of Force instruction must arise: One that does not rely on inborn talent and certainly not on the nonsensical idea that a lineage confers a special destiny or rights. Rather the new model must recognize and nurture the Force powers inherent in everyone, and instruction itself should be a horizontal process where the students teach each other.

Below I will lay out these ideas in more detail. First I will explain the progression from the old Jedi Order to the new one, and how discontinuity in history led to Luke’s mistakes and Kylo Ren. Then I will lay out the new model that I believe must take the Jedi’s place in order to prevent new Kylo Rens from arising, or at least minimize their damage, while also avoiding the mistakes of the old Jedi Order.

The Old Jedi Order: Meritocracy and forced obedience

We know quite a few details about the workings of the old Jedi Order prior to Order 66 and the fall of the Order. When it comes to selecting and instructing students for the way of the Jedi, they followed two main tenets:

First, select naturally strong Force users.

Second, induct them young before they form lasting attachments with family.

Jedi in the old Order, in other words, were skewed toward individuals with strong and inborn Force powers that manifested young. In order to ensure that these unusually talented people would not go astray and turn to the Dark Side of the Force, they were taken young enough that the attachments they would have formed with their families could be transferred to the Jedi Order--more specifically, the padawan’s own Master--the better to make them obedient to the Order’s will. The First Order would later on explicitly copy the second part of this model for their Stormtrooper program.

The most obvious failure of this model is the case of Anakin Skywalker, who failed the secod test and ordinarily would not have been made a Jedi. Some might even use his case to argue that the fault was not in the Jedi model itself but in the deviation from it.

The failure of the Jedi, however, was much more profound than the individual case of Anakin. The problems of the Republic and the Jedi preceded Anakin and were bigger than him, and the Jedi were complacent in these problems including the militarization of the Republic and the decline of its democracy. They did nothing about the plight of enslaved persons like Shmi, and they actively led the armies of clones created and enslaved for war.

The Jedi Order model worked for its intended purposes. In fact, it worked too well. It had become an entire order of powerful beings who were discouraged from independent thinking, who participated in and amplified the injustices of the Republic. Palpatine and Anakin may have ended the Republic and the Jedi, but they were able to do so because of the deeper failures of both institutions.

The New Jedi Order: Blood supremacy without safeguards

Though we do not have many details about Luke’s new Jedi order, we probably saw the beginning of his instruction methods with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s and Yoda’s teaching of Luke himself. The second part of the old Jedi Order’s selection model was no longer workable at this point, with the tattered remainders of the Jedi being in no shape to take in children and raise them to be Jedi.

Both Kenobi and Yoda were products of the old Jedi Order, however, and they still hung on to the first part of the model: the selection of Jedi for powerful inborn talent. Because they were unable to roam the galaxy looking for child talent, hunted as they were, they used the novel method of relying on a known Force bloodline--Anakin’s own children. They pinned their hopes on Luke and, should he fail, Leia, because they were out of options and certainly not because it was the traditional Jedi way. Out of these circumstances was born a pernicious belief that poisoned the future of the Jedi and brought about its destruction yet again.

Though we do not know much about Luke’s own Jedi school, Luke is likely to have applied the teachings he received to his own students. He probably did not put much stock in starting Force instruction young, having started training as an adult himself. One thing he did seem to have believed in, however, was the power of the Skywalker bloodline, in a jarring line from The Last Jedi:

My nephew with that mighty Skywalker blood. In my hubris, I thought I could train him; I could pass on my strengths.

As many have pointed out, this is a blatantly ahistorical vision of both the Jedi Order and the Skywalker line. The Jedi Order never selected candidates by lineage, but by individual merit. There was no mighty Skywalker blood, a family whose matriarch was an enslaved woman who lived and died on a backwater planet.

Is it so implausible that Luke himself at this time believed this manufactured myth, though? Kenobi and Yoda had died before they could teach him the full history of the old Order, and even if they spoke to him afterward I doubt they were completely candid about its failures. The fable about Skywalker blood was Luke’s own story of involvement with the Jedi Order, and one of the few things he knew--or thought he knew--about the Jedi. Kenobi and Yoda’s desperate plan may well have turned into a Skywalker myth in a universe where history itself was irreparably broken from massacres, terrors, purges, and outright rewritten pasts. The Empire’s own fixation with supermen and heritage may have been an influence as well, since Luke after all was a good citizen of the Empire for twenty years before he turned rebel.

So not only was the old Jedi’s belief in inborn meritocracy continued in Luke’s Jedi order, it took on an unbelievably more sinister form with the added layer of the Skywalker myth and all it implied--that certain bloodlines and people from those lines were special and were destined to save the universe. The proof was in recent history, after all, with three people who were born into or married into that line having freshly saved the galaxy.

Now imagine what this ahistorical yet powerful belief had on the mind of young Ben Organa-Solo. Imagine what it’s like to believe that you are born to a holy line and are destined to save the universe. All it would take is a little bit of entitlement, a little bit of arrogance, a little bit of narcissism. Combine these with your considerable personal power and the privilege you enjoyed your entire life, a welcome word whispered in your ear about how special and exalted you are, and there would be nothing to stop you from believing that you are, indeed, destined to be a god. Your power and desires are paramount values and the lives of lesser beings are nothing but kindling for your ambitions. There will always be some conflict because your parents and their friends loved you and taught you better than this, but these petty concerns of morality are fetters meant for lesser beings, bonds that you must break on your triumphant way toward your manifest destiny.

The stirrings of Kylo Ren were growing in the belly of Luke’s new Jedi Order, spreading to other students in what would become the core of the future Knights of Ren. Without even the weak and imperfect bonds that tied the Jedi to the old Order, there was nothing to restrain this new faction that would bring a new whirlwind of destruction. Luke was very right to see that the practice of taking children from their families was morally repugnant and ultimately futile. The problem was that he had failed to recognize the real need that had given rise to that practice, and had come up with nothing to take its place. His imperfect instruction in the ways of the Jedi, and more importantly its failures, had taken its toll and brought about tragedy and new war.

Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. It's the only way to become what you're meant to be.

Kylo Ren wasn’t entirely wrong when he said all the old edifices had to be destroyed. He is completely wrong about both the means and the endpoint, of course. The way to overcome the mistakes of the past is not to build an empire on a mountain of corpses, which is just a repeat of yet more crimes from the past. Rather, the way forward is to create something new that refutes the wrong beliefs that led to these mistakes in the first place.

So what is the way forward? If the Jedi must end, what should take its place?

A new model of Force instruction: Morality and democracy

What really needs to end is not the idea of Force instruction per se, but the whole idea of inborn Force meritocracy. Why not flip the whole idea of the Jedi on its head? They don’t have to be people with some special inborn talent. They most certainly don’t have to be from some special bloodline, which as explained above was never true of the Jedi in the first place.

If the Force is truly in everyone, there’s no need to select people for their power in the Force and then either try to restrain them (the old Jedi) or fail to restrain them (Luke’s new Jedi). Why not take on people who don’t need restraint in the first place, who don’t need to be treated like bombs about to go off?

Why not, in other words, take on already trustworthy people regardless of their level of Force powers, and instruct them in the ways of the Force?

The belief that only a select few people with special inborn powers can handle the Force has failed miserably and multiple times. It is irrational to keep trying the same thing when it plainly doesn’t work and has never worked.

What’s more, the method of Force instruction doesn’t have to be a vertical master-apprentice relationship, and there is no one left to be a Jedi Master anyway with most of them dead and Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren emphatically disinvited from all study sessions. Rather than Jedi academies the new model of Force instruction would be more like Jedi study groups, out of sheer necessity if nothing else. Obedience to the Order will no longer be a virtue. The new Jedi will have to seek a way forward together, seeking the meaning of the Force and the ethics of using it.

Yes, the individual users might not be as powerful as those of the old Jedi and Luke’s new Jedi. Classically powerful Force users like Rey would still have a place and play a major role, though. What’s more, there would be many more Force users of more diverse powers to meet potential evil Force users and other threats. If @themandalorianwolf‘s theory that Finn is a wound in the Force who awakens other Force users is true (link), more characters could awaken to their Force powers.

In sum, the Jedi model of meritocracy has been an unqualified failure and it is well past time to try something new. A new, democratic model of Force instruction would be a way to move toward a new future instead of repeating the mistakes of the past.

[annyinacastle]

Snippet (Swedish + English)

On Friday evenings I take the time and effort to, instead of writing, translate Blood of Destinies Rewritten into my native language, Swedish.

In part, this is because I want all of my work to be available in both languages (and I'll send the Swedish editions to publishers, while the English editions are going to be self-published, generally speaking).

It's also helping in making edits because I need to rethink sentences and sentence structure. I always originally draft in English these days. I'd probably do that for things like essays and such as well, even if I had to translate it later. (Note that I'm a translator though.)

So here's a snippet from this week's translation, in Swedish first, and then in English. The Swedish snippet is in its baby stage and is unedited and does need some work, lol, while the English got through some work once before I started my translation project, but obviously needs work too.

Swedish

Beröringen var förvånansvärt försiktig och häpnadsväckande kall, lindrande och smärtsam på samma gång. Trots detta var flickan fast besluten att inte visa någonting, för att inte inte förolämpa kejsarens klan. Prinsen tog hennes haka och lutade hennes huvud för att kunna se henne bättre.

»Vad obarmhärtigt.» Prinsen uttryckte sitt missnöjde och studerade den rött svullna kinden. »Sade fader kejsaren åt dig att du ska slå de vackraste flickorna? Att slå dem tills de är gräsliga att se på?»

»N-nej, självklart inte, Ers Nådiga Höghet. Det var ett misstag, ett misstag.»

Prinsen släppte flickans »Så bråttom han har att förklara att det var ett misstag.»

English

The touch was surprisingly gentle and astoundingly cold, simultaneously soothing and painful. Yet the girl was determined not to show anything, lest she offended the Imperial Clan. Taking her chin, the Prince tilted her head to get a good look at her.

“So ruthless.” The Prince tsked while studying the red and swelling cheek. “Did Father Emperor instruct you to hit the prettiest girls? To beat them until they’re ugly?”

“N-no, of course not, Your Royal Highness. It was my mistake, my mistake.”

The Prince let go of the girl. “So quick to declare it was a mistake.”

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing Apr 1st - Apr 7th

Another week, another roundup! Special thanks to all who submitted works, both for themselves and others. 

As a gentle reminder, we’re here to highlight any new content from the previous week. If we missed a submission, we’ll be happy to update our post or carry it over to the next week, but if we tried to include everything beyond a week, we’d never get a post finished!

Thank you so much!

--Mod Rem

Fanfiction:

A Little Piece of Gundam Wing

The archive is being ported to AO3! Check it out!

AerisEithne

The Snow Queen 

Days after the incident that nearly sparked a new war, Relena returns to the Sanc Kingdom to contemplate her future. She can’t help but wonder which path the perfect soldier will choose… and whether their destinies will continue to collide.

Pairings: 1xR

Warnings: Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop, Preventers (Gundam Wing)

 @the-indomitable-bhg, Morbidbirdy

Animus

A ghost of Heero's past takes possession of his life, relationships and his identity.

Pairings: 1x3, 2xH

Warnings: Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Post-Canon, Psychological Torture, Blood and Violence, Explicit Sexual Content

@claraxbarton , @kangofu-cb

Bad Company 

"The only hell and the only paradise are the ones we build ourselves." - Unknown

Years after the wars, Preventers has decided to tackle one of the most powerful and oldest of all the Terran crime syndicates. Embedded dangerously deep in an undercover operation targeting the violent and bloodthirsty Sinaloa Cartel, Trowa Barton is pushed beyond even his flexible morals - and when his new "partner" arrives in the very unexpected and unwelcome form of Duo Maxwell, the one person he'd been trying to protect at all costs, both men must deal with the realization that preserving peace for humanity is turning into a bloodsport.

What follows is race against time to uncover the evidence they need to bring Sinaloa, and its beautiful but deadly leaders, down - all while keeping each other alive in the process

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Violence, Post-Canon, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Human Trafficking, Gang Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Moral Dilemmas

CosmicAether

Untitled GW Resistance AU 

When their communicator breaks down, Duo and Trowa must survive the night before attempting to rendezvous to their extraction point. Duo confronts Trowa about their relationship that night and vow to be more honest with each other, they need only to make it home first.

Pairings: 2x3

DarkDanc3r

April Writes Playlist Challenge 

30 days, 30 songs from a Spotify playlist. Characters and pairings will be at the start of each chapter.

Warnings: Tumblr Prompt, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Fix-It of Sorts, Damnit Prowl Lives

GlassAlice

The Pictures He Drew 

Hiatus is over! Last chapter will be up in two weeks. Re-write of a fic posted to 1x2 yahoo groups I wrote forever ago and lost. Only the bare bones of this fic have anything to do with the first one. Hopefully this one is a bit better. Originally posted under name Duos_hallelujah. Simple get together fic with Duo being an artist.

Pairings: 1xR, 1x2

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Song Fic Kinda, Rape/Non-con Elements, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, these boys are messed up, they need therapy, after war, the pilots trying to live their lives, 1x2, 2x1 - Freeform, 1x2x1, 1xR non con, 1x2 end game, we're back from hiatus, boys just trying to figure shit out, relena is kind of the bad guy, Sorry Not Sorry, i'm anti relena, so expect her to be treated badly, bullied duo, attempted suicide, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, language trigger warnings, a bit dark, Angst

Lithle

Like Oxygen 

Five years after the war, Wufei seeks Duo out for one more mission. But Duo has his reasons for wanting to be left alone. As Wufei and Duo grow closer, so do Duo's memories of the war, and with them, the old scars and dangerous thought patterns that make even breathing seem difficult.

--Note: Originally published on FF.net, this is my 'Editor's Choice' edition. It's been edited and slightly rewritten for flow and cohesion.

Pairings: 2x5

Warnings: Unhealthy Relationships, Post War Trauma, Suicidal Thoughts, no EW, Post-War, Post-Canon, POV Duo Maxwell, Explicit Language, Sex, Duo is Broken, Wufei is Pretty Broken Too, Gritty, Get Together

Luvsanime02

Just One Day 

Relena gets a surprise on her birthday.

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Light Angst, Family Issues, Cocktail Friday

Maldoror

The Source of All Things

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.

Pairings: 3x4, 2x5, eventual 1x2x5

Warnings: Violence, alternative universe, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Plot Twists, fairly graphic depiction of sex, Mild description of self-harm, Mathematical Magic, weird science, crones - Freeform, Magic and Technology brawling and eventually screwing, Eventual Threesome, Kinda, Insanity of arcane origin, The universe is a pile of marbles and other dubious allegories

Two Halves

The two kingdoms of Sanq and Lin were at war for years; a conflagration involving magic, armies and political murder. The conflict left both nations devastated and strewn with refugees. The king of Sanq finds his infant son, lost at birth, among the death and the ruin, a miracle he barely dared to hope for. But there isn’t just one boy, there are two, clinging together like two halves of a whole that cannot be separated. Decades later, the truth behind that second child’s existence will put a hole in the world, or possibly save it.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Fantasy AU, medieval setting with magic, starts with our heroes as children, Cousin Incest, sort of, eventually, being royalty this is in fact the norm and rather expected of them, Canon-Typical Violence

Margaret_Armstrong

Queen’s Rook 

Rook; definition:

1. a gregarious Eurasian crow with black plumage and a bare face, nesting in colonies in treetops.

2. a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands.

Queen's Rook; definition:

(chess) A rook on the queen’s side of the board at the start of the game.

Truly, a female bodyguard is just what the Vice Foreign Minister needs. There are dangers about.

Pairings: Canon Relationships, 3x4, 2xH, 1xR

Warnings: Violence, Women Being Awesome, brothers in arms, everyone protects Quatre except Quatre, L2 forever!, The Past Never Stays Buried

 @noelleian

The Pact 

After seducing Quatre, the other four ex-pilots brave the uncharted waters of their new abilities and learn to cope with the unintentional gifts they were given. But as always, power requires responsibility and the humbling acknowledgement of humanity's weaknesses. The struggle to stay true to themselves becomes a dangerous and terrifying endeavor as they skirt the boundary where conscience bleeds into chaos and the dark abyss of temptation.

Pairings: 1x2x3x4x5, 3x4, 1x4, 2x4, 4x5

Warnings: Smut, Porn With Plot, OT5, Fluff, Humor, Fivesome - M/M/M/M/M, Angst, Newtypes, Possessive Behavior, Alternate Universe - Dark, Non-Graphic Violence, Alpha/Omega, Omega Verse

Green Olive

Duo's had a rough day and needs to unwind, but this time he's in the mood for some company.

Warnings: Friendship, Bromance, Underage Drinking

@noirangetrois

Cocktail Friday

This will be a collection of my Cocktail Friday snippets.

Pairings: Various

Warnings: Cocktail Friday, Alcohol

The Story of Wrong 

Duo recounts his experiences during the war in order to explain... well, why he was wrong.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Violence, Major Character Death, Duo POV, Angst, Drama, Tragedy, slight AU, Spoilers, very dark, Heero and Duo don't die, I promise, Yaoi, slowburn, Mental Instability, Mental Health Issues, Mental Breakdown, If those are in any way an issue for you then go ahead and skip this, Eventual Smut, VERY eventual, this is mostly canon-compliant but I've changed a couple things here and there

Outrightmight

MCU One Shot Series: After Colony 195 

"It took Bucky a split second to get his bearings. The portal had spit them out into an aircraft hanger. The make and model of the one and only small jet was unfamiliar. He would have said it was of Soviet make, but the 50-foot robot idly standing in the middle of the hanger was making him second-guess himself."

Warnings: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Duo Maxwell, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Heero Yuy, Canon-Typical Violence, One Shot

@remsyk-blog

Souls for the Bayou 

For Trowa Barton, exploring the bayou is the ultimate adventure. Drawn to its borders since before he could walk, he spent his childhood learning its paths and uncovering its secrets.

But a chance encounter sets him on a path that spans across time, challenging everything he thought he knew, plunging him deeper into its mysteries than he ever thought possible.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Supernatural - Freeform, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Bayou, Cajun, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Mystery, Slow Burn, Technically Speaking, Young Love, Use of accents, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, I don't want to give it all away at once, Fandom Trumps Hate, Time Jump, Suspense, Quatre is a great friend, Mentions of Children Disappearing

Shenanigans

A Collection of my shitposts from Tumblr.

Enter looking for a good time. Expect the tags to change as more installments are added

Warnings: chat fic, shitpost, Professor!Trowa, Cooking, Pinterest, Pancakes, Exercising, Tumblr Prompt, Originally Posted on Tumblr, In depth analysis of riding dick, New Year’s Eve, Jenga, Stupid Dares, Just Heero Things

ShenLong

Bound, Bonded and Betrayed 

Heero is the eldest son of the King of Colonia. His 21st birthday is approaching and as tradition dictates his betrothed is soon to arrive. However he is also bound by tradition to select his own personal slave. The events that unfold lead him down a path that not only tests his sanity but his humanity and love as well.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR, 3x4, 13x11

Warnings: sap, Angst, Bondage, Slavery, Yaoi, Lemon, Lime, Het, Violence, Fluff, AU, OOC. - Freeform

@softnocturne

P.S. I Miss You

Quatre is missing Trowa who is off on a month-long mission.

Pairings: 3x4

Warnings: Fluff, Angst

StarLove18

Believe in Yourself

Children will live what they learn. Pain is costly, until one incident sparks a new flame of hope and a promise to persevere.

Pairings: 1&2&3&4&5

Warnings: Original Character(s), Bullying, Comfort/Angst, School, Minor Violence, Loss of Parent(s), Alternate Universe, AO3 FB Challenge

Thai_tea_addict

Abyss

Duo's not in a good situation when he falls in love with the man next door, and it goes downhill from there.

Pairings: 1x2, 2x3x4

Warnings: Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-con, Alternate Universe - Dark, Dark Character, Abuse, Stalking, Murder, Sadism, Infidelity

Warnings: DARK – please don't read if you think any of the following subject matter could hurt you: depictions of abuse, sexual assault, stalking, murder, sadism (not the fun kind).

Whenpigsfly84

Doormat Babe

A mysterious child is left with Duo one morning. As he seeks for answers he'll have to face his past and prepare for a haunting future he'd never expected. Will he be able to reconnect with old friends or will he lose all those he loves?

Pairings: 1x2, 2&H, 1x2x5, 3x4

Warnings: Violence, Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Swearing

White_fox

Life is a Highway 

On an impulsive plan to travel from California to New York City to propose to his longtime girlfriend, Heero Yuy did not plan to pick up a hitchhiker in nowhere Texas. Faced with some setbacks and a growing attraction to his passenger, Heero goes through more challenges than he planned on facing.

Pairings: 1x2, 1xR

Warnings: light slash, Fluff, Road Trips, Dubious Morality

Snippets:

@lifeaftermeteor

Duo’s Apartment

@noirangetrois

Ladies Night

@weiclown

WIP  

Headcanons / Meta / Discussions:

@remsyk-blog

Gundam Wing on Ao3 - Breakdown of Fanfiction stats 

 @terrablaze514

Ladies of Gundam Wing 

Secret Magic Heero Yuy 

Four Months after Mariemaia 

Fanart:

@noelleian

Zero Three Zero Four

Hipster Quatre 

@remsyk-blog

Duo Maxwell Hip Hop

 @showtime-eric

Trowa and Quatre, Sandrock and Heavyarms

 Crackposts:

@the-indomitable-bhg

BDSM 

Calendar Events:

Cocktail Friday

https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/

A new prompt every Monday!

Submissions should be posted Fridays between 3 and 5pm EST, and tagged with @gwcocktailfriday

Interview with a Creator by @remsyk-blog @interview-with-a-creator

Remsyk has created an online interview for fandom creators to fill out and then she features one each week so that everyone in the fandom can learn a bit about each other.

This week features @scacao

If you haven’t filled out her interview, go! do! now!

[kalinara]

I saw a list like this for another character (with admittedly, some very valid points) so I thought I'd do one of these for Rip Hunter.  Because while he is definitely not as hated as he used to be, he still tends to get scapegoated or overlooked a bit too often for my entirely unbiased taste.

So, this is a friendly reminder that:

Rip Hunter lived on the streets at the age of five, suffering explicit starvation and implicit violence.  ("I knew what I'd do if someone tried to harm me.")  We don't have many details, but we can guess that it was bad considering that even after he has started living in a comparatively safe place with a supportive parent figure, his instinct is still to stab an adult who threatens him.  (1x12, Last Refuge).

From the age of ten onward, Rip was raised in a hidden, isolated orphanage by the Time Masters, an organization that, we know now, is pretty fucking messed up.  (1x12, Last Refuge).

At some point in his early career, Rip went to a place called Calvert, where he befriended a man named Jonah Hex.  He ended having to choose between remaining a Time Master or staying with Hex, with the knowledge that Calvert would be destroyed after he left.  (1x11, Magnificent Eight.)  There are implications of other unpleasant missions in his past, going by his “I have seen Men of Steel die and Dark Knights fall, and even then, I accomplished my mission, no matter what” speech.  (1x03) Blood Ties.

The Time Masters so strongly disapproved of interpersonal relationships that, upon discovering that Rip and Miranda were in love, subjected them to a fairly brutal public humiliation and forced one of them to leave the Time Masters entirely.  (1x07, Marooned).

Rip Hunter came home to Whitechapel, England, in 2166, to find the corpses of his wife and child after having been brutally murdered by Vandal Savage during the 2nd London Blitz.  Of special note: Jonas Coburn/Hunter had been shot in the fucking face.  (1x01, Pilot.)

Rip Hunter, in a desperate attempt to save his family, shot straight back to Ancient Egypt in order to kill Vandal Savage before he became human.  He hesitated at killing his defeated enemy, and was captured and tortured for his trouble.  (1x03, Blood Ties.  The torture is discussed in 1x14, River of Time.)

Rip Hunter then attempted to save his family “countless times” by trying to rescue them before their murder.  He watched them die. Countless times.  (1x13, Leviathan)

Rip Hunter begged the Time Masters, his employers and FAMILY for most of his life, for help and was denied.  Moreover, they sent ASSASSINS after him.  And his most trusted mentor tried to lure him into an ambush!  (1x01, Pilot.  1x04, White Knights).  Oh, and they’re working with Savage, and actually ORDERED the murder of his wife and child.  (1x14, River of Time/1x15 Destiny).

Rip Hunter has demonstrated numerous symptoms of trauma and mental illness throughout the course of the first season (detailed here), the most dramatic being a week long self-isolation in which he did nothing but watch images of his dead family.  He received no support from the crew at this time, except for Martin eventually telling him that the crew was bored.  (1x07, Marooned).  -- to be fair, there are other occasions in which many of the crew members have shown sympathy to his loss.

Rip Hunter has yet to receive a hug or really any form of physical comfort that was not a hallucination from his dead family (1x16, Legendary) or his imaginary human incarnation of his AI. (2x13, Land of the Lost)

Rip Hunter subjected himself through “temporal electrocution” to try to protect his part of the Spear of Destiny.  (2x1, Out of Time/2x09 Raiders of the Lost Art.)

Rip Hunter was captured by the Legion of Doom and tortured, while amnesiac and helpless.  (2x10, Legion of Doom.)

Rip Hunter had his brain rewritten to become a monster, attack and murder his friends, and turn over the spear pieces that he specifically lobotomized himself to try to protect.  (2x11, Turncoat, 2x12, Camelot, 2x13 Land of the Lost.)  

The single shred of Rip’s original personality spent an unknown amount of time as a prisoner in his own mind, imprisoned and tortured, by mental fragments in the form of his friends. (2x13 Land of the Lost.)

Likely less than a week after he’s saved from brainwashing, he learns that a teammate has turned the Spear of Destiny over to the very people he had suffered for a full season to protect it from (2x15, Fellowship of the Spear).  As a result, he spends a year trapped in solitary confinement, aboard a powerless ship with only his AI as company, with no knowledge of his team’s survival.  (2x16, Doomworld.)

Rip Hunter has shown signs of alcohol abuse (various points of season 1, 2x01 Out of Time) and has never been shown to eat or sleep during the run of the show.

Rip Hunter has attempted to commit at least passive suicide more than once.  (Flying into the sun, 1x16, Legendary; taunting Jax to shoot him, 2x11 Turncoat; Suggesting and volunteering for the hatch thing, 2x14, Moonshot.)  And he has taken pretty insane risks with a very likely result of death additional times.  (Flying the Waverider in front of a Nuke, 2x01, Temporal Electrocution, 2x01, appearing as “Rip” to confront the Legion, 2x09, Raiders of the Lost Art.)

Rip Hunter has now left the ship that has been his only home for his entire adult life, and the being who has been his partner for about that long, believing that he is useless and has nothing to contribute to the group.  (2x14, Moonshot, 2x17, Aruba.)

At the end of season 2, Rip has: 1) no wife and kid - they are still dead, 2) no biological family for support.  3) no adoptive family, as the fucked up space/time cult that raised him is dead, 4) no mission, 5) no home (Whitechapel is destroyed, Vanishing Point is destroyed, and he’s left the Waverider), 6) no partner, 7) no ship, 8) no team, and 9) no confidence

These are just a few things that it’s worth keeping in mind about Rip Hunter.  Feel free to add your own, if you like.  :-)

[dracox-serdriel]

The Flash/Legends Theory

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for all episodes of The Flash through 03x18 Abra Kadabra and Legends of Tomorrow 02x16 Doomworld.

This post got really long, really fast. So I’ll post the theory points here and then explain things below. Everything is under the cut for length and spoilers. (See above for full spoiler warning!)

The Flash/Legends Theory (in brief) Basically, the Flash and Legends will have cross-over impact on one another this season beyond the direct cross-over episodes.

Barry has certainly learned his lesson about traveling through time to change the past. He won’t make that mistake again.

However, the other speedsters in this story might not be so certain about the lesson... or perhaps they’re willing to risk it. Or perhaps they do it by accident. Whatever the case may be, it’s possible that one or more of the hero!Speeders (Jesse Quick, E-3 Jay Garrick, Kid Flash) will be the ones to return to the point of Nora Allen’s murder and influence the history between that moment and “the present” this season.

Eobard Thawne brought back Eddie Thawne in Doomworld in order to prevent himself from becoming a time remnant that will constantly be hunted down by the SpeedForce.

Should the Legends succeed in their time-travel-to-fix-the-alternate-reality-thing, Eobard Thawne will somehow “bleed” Eddie Thawne back into reality the way that Wally West and the other Flashpoint metas received their powers from Flashpoint’s reality, even though by all technical accounts, Flashpoint didn’t happen.

While this will not be Season 1 Eddie Thawne, he will be very similar to the man, given that the entire point of bringing him back was to ensure he remained the man he would’ve been without Eobard’s shenanigans in history. All we really know is that Eobard somehow steered his own ancestor off course during his time in the past. It could have been as simple as when Barry Allen received his powers (given that he spent 9 months in a coma and that’s when Iris and Eddie started dating--had Barry gotten his powers as he did in the original time line, then perhaps he and Iris would’ve started dating). So Eddie Thawne might still be a police officer in Central City. He might even be at the same precinct. Or maybe he transferred to Keystone (nearby city) where he is fated to meet his wife...

If one of the other speedsters manipulates time outside the Nora-Allen-murder-hotspot, then it will to go back in time and make Barry forget seeing Iris murdered in the future. [Even better if it’s NOT one of the speedsters... what if Cisco figures out a way to Vibe himself into his past self?]

So when Barry returned to the SpeedForce to save Wally West, we learned that the SpeedForce really wasn’t pleased with these time traveling shenanigans. I personally think they’re being a little hard on Barry, what with Eobard Thawne still on the loose.

Everyone keeps saying that Barry created Flashpoint, but Eobard probably had more of a hand in it than “opps! something cosmic and awful happened and conveniently means this time remnant of me is still kicking!” Does the universe throw villains a bone every now and again? Sure. But this one seems a little too good to be true.

Then, in Legends of Tomorrow, the Legion of Doom manage to recreate reality by using the Spear of Destiny. Oddly, all the villains end up in the same time period, along with the (mind-blocked and powered-down) Legends. Eobard Thawne spent over a decade trying to return to the future, to his own time period, yet we find him as the new leader of STAR Labs in the very time and place he wanted to escape so badly.

We know that it’s the same time period because Thea, Tommy, and Rebecca (Malcolm’s wife) are all mentioned as alive, and on top of that, Damien’s hobbies include killing every hero he can find (so he can decorate his creepy Wall of Hero Masks--where we see evidence of the Arrow, Black Canary, and the Flash dying at Damien’s behest).

This begs the question... why is Eobard in this time period? Wouldn’t it have been much easier to either re-write reality and either grant himself the ability to time travel without consequence or to simply write himself as returned to his own time period? Technology would be significantly more advanced, which means he could’ve destroyed the Spear of Destiny on Day 1 of the so-called Doomworld.

I think that, even though Eobard could’ve rewritten reality so that time wraiths didn’t exist or so that he alone could time-travel free of consequence, he instead chose to keep it simple. Rewriting the laws of something like the SpeedForce could incur unintended/unwanted consequences that might not become apparent until years later... that would be fine, except he planned to destroy the Spear of Destiny as soon as possible. The longer he kept it, the more danger of it being stolen and his work being undone. Thus, he decided not to rewrite the laws of the SpeedForce and time-remnants but to remedy his own timeline.

In short, he brought Eddie Thawne back to life, and set his ancestor on the path of marrying the right woman (whoever his great-great-grandmother was). This way, he is no longer an evil time remnant running for his life. The SpeedForce might have other quarrels with him, but it’s likely that the Flash Reaper (aka Black Flash) will be called back to the SpeedForce Waiting Room for his next assignment.

From the events of Season 3 of the Flash, we already know that stuff from other realities can “bleed” into this reality. Somehow Alchemy and Savitar were able to connect people with no meta-powers in this timeline with their powered counterparts from Flashpoint, including Wally West, aka Kid Flash.

So is it so impossible for something (or someone) from Doomworld to bleed into this timeline, too? (This question is based on the assumption that the Legends successfully prevent Doomworld from ever having occurred to begin with by using time travel. Hmmm... isn’t that exactly what happened to Flashpoint?)

Finally, there is something that has bothered me about the moment Barry keeps returning to in his past.

At the end of Season 1, he returned and waited, hidden, until the “battle” was over and the two speedsters left before he comforted his mother. (Hereafter known as S1!Barry.)

At the end of Season 2, he returned and stopped Eobard (Hereafter, known as S2!Barry), and S1!Barry, who had been waiting/not intervening, vanished into thin air.

At the beginning of Season 3, to undo Flashpoint, Barry (Hereafter known as S3!Barry) takes Eobard (hereafter known as S3!Eobard) back to that same moment so events will happen as they did before.

Okay, so here’s the thing. Both S1!Barry and S2!Barry would not have been in the house at all, had it not been for a currently unknown future!Barry battling future!Eobard and preventing him from killing young Barry. We know it’s a future!Barry because of the blood samples Cisco found in Season 1, which matched Barry’s metahuman/Flash-ified blood--not his childhood blood.

S3!Barry and S3!Eobard can’t be the future!Barry and future!Eobard battling it out -- Eobard himself admits that he killed Nora, Barry’s mother, because he was angry that young Barry had escaped his grasp, which means the future!Eobard didn’t know that he was going to fail. Thus, S3!Eobard wasn’t the same as future!Eobard, who had traveled to Barry’s childhood from the far future, specifically to kill the Flash before he acquires his powers.

So far, we have young Barry and Nora (who are supposed to be there, time-wise) at the house. Then we have the yet-unknown future!Barry and future!Eobard show up. Then we have three separate time incarnations of Barry (S1!Barry, S2!Barry and S3!Barry) as well as one additional time incarnation of Eobard (S3!Eobard) turn up to join the fray. That’s 2 Eobards, 4 Barrys (5 if you count the young version), and 1 Nora. We can safely assume that the future!Barry is the one who races his younger self away to safety... a few blocks away.

That seems a little weird, doesn’t it? I mean, epic Speedster battle, and you save your childhood self by moving him a few blocks away... without the evil Speedster following you. Eobard didn’t know his time travel had blown out his powers--he doesn’t find that out until after he has “failed” to kill Barry. So if his quarry was whisked away, why didn’t he follow?

The answer is simple: someone prevented him from following. Since Barry’s Flash-ified blood turned up in the house, we can safely assume that 1 of the 3 Barry’s kept future!Eobard busy while future!Barry raced off with his childhood self. The trouble with this is that we saw S1!Barry see a version of himself (future!Barry?) giving him the “nod, wink, stop here” look. Before S2!Barry and S3!Barry showed up, this would’ve been an ideal time for future!Eobard to go after young Barry. Even without his powers, the man could easily overtake a child and kill him.

This suggests that future!Barry did not come from the future alone.

In Season 1, young Barry recounts the “lightning man” and describes yellow and red lightning. It’s easy enough to assume that this means the Flash and the Reverse Flash were facing off together. But young Barry only describes seeing one man, which would be an easy enough mistake, given that these are Speedsters. They blur.

We also know that (so far) all incarnations of Barry work on a team of some kind. I think it would be highly unlikely for him to go on a mission like this - one that would define not just his fate, but so many others - without a little backup. And even if he would (you know, “to preserve the timeline” or whatever nonsense he comes up with...), is it likely that none of his team mates would defy his wishes (and time-law) to save his life? Probably not.

So what if future!Barry didn’t whisk young Barry away? What if that was Wally West, Earth-3 Jay Garrick, or Earth-2 Jesse Quick? Anyone with red or yellow lightning could’ve pulled this off.

Heck, it could have been Doomworld!Eobard or future!Future!Eobard correcting his error--for all we know, he learns that, without Barry Allen as the Flash, Eobard Thawne never amounts to anything. So he goes back in time to save himself from making the worst possible mistake. It’s not like he’s the only speedster doing that. (Though the yellow lightning left in the wake of whoever-saved-young-Barry suggests that it wasn’t Eobard. It’s just a fun thought.)

Anyway, let’s assume it’s not Eobard, but one of our known speedster heroes. Future!Barry would probably be really pissed, right? Especially if they broke the laws of time to help him. It might’ve been just enough to distract him from his fight with future!Eobard -- just enough to cause his mother’s death before he can chase Eobard out. It would also explain why future!Barry failed to catch up with Eobard minutes later, when his powers failed him and he could so easily be captured. Future!Barry was too busy trying to save his co-hero from a time wraith or something.

Seriously, there has to be a reason (besides a massive plot hole) that future!Barry just left Eobard in the past when he could’ve easily been detained and brought back to the correct time period. His powers had blown out, and he would’ve been easy to find given the yellow suit and the fact that he was one of the few living metahumans on the planet in that time period. Future!Barry should’ve had him hog tied and in a jail cell seconds later. Instead, Future!Barry seems to go back to the future, leaving a very dangerous Eobard in the past, where he proceeds to screw up history, even without his Speedster powers.

So maybe future!Barry only had a narrow window he could remain in the past, or maybe he was trying to keep the timeline as in tact as possible. But it would  be much better if future!Barry was forced between seeking and punishing a weakened Eobard Thawne and saving one of his friends. Or if said friend whisked future!Barry away in order to stop him from capturing Eobard (in order to preserve the already way-too-freaking-complicated timeline!)

Okay, so we have Eobard-Doomworld weirdness. Check.

We have unknown future events still yet to unfold that directly affect the Nora-Allen-Murder-hotspot. Check.

We have a reason to suspect that alternate realities undone by time travel can (and do) leave echoes, traces, and other markers that impact this reality. Check.

We have one hero (and probably one villain, too) who knows traveling to the past to change things is NOT a magical undo button. Check.

Let’s put all of that aside for a moment, though, and ask the question everyone has been asking about Season 3.

How can the Flash save Iris West? Barry has a date, time, and a location. He also has friends who can jump into other universes (Cisco, Gypsy), acquaintances who can shapeshift (J’onn from Supergirl), and friends in the multiverse who could help him hide Iris not only in another universe but on other planets, too (Kara from Supergirl springs to mind, but I am sure there are others).

Savitar might try to kill her, but does he possess the means to travel to other planets in the same universe? He can clearly jump universes--but traveling the multiverse on the “same” planet isn’t the same as space travel. So why not hide with Iris on Earth-28′s moon? Or Earth-37′s Mars? Or Earth-2′s Venus? He’d only have to avoid Earth-1′s Central City for a day. Problem solved.

But instead Barry becomes obsessed with changing events between then and now, convinced it’s the only way. The obsession leads to a number of bad decisions a la self-fulfilling prophecy, including Wally West throwing the last bit of the “Key” Savitar required to escape his SpeedForce prison.

It could be argued that, had none of them known that Savitar would kill Iris, that they would’ve made drastically different choices... and Savitar would still be locked up in his SpeedForce cell.

For example, Caitlin might’ve squirreled away that tiny bit of the Philosopher’s Stone (the “Key”) for years and years before mentioning it, since Iris’s life wasn’t on the line (as far as they knew). And that would mean that Wally wouldn’t’ve known where it was, and therefore Savitar couldn’t manipulate him into throwing it into the SpeedForce.

The best way to save Iris’s life is... to forget that she will die. Erase or remove that foreknowledge.

I think that Earth-3 Jay Garrick already knows this. Not because he’s from the future, though. Because he bumps into someone from the future trying to change the past---and he begs whoever it is to give him the chance to make things right without time travel... to convince Barry to have faith and do the right thing (forget about the possible future he witnessed--don’t obsess over it) without being manipulated.

He fails, leaving the time-traveler with no choice but to complete the original mission: either make Barry forget what he saw or prevent him from seeing it to begin with...

The Flash/Legends Theory - Recap

No more traveling to the past to change things for Barry.

Everybody else on the show is exempt from the above statement. It only applies to Barry.

Eobard Thawne has kept things simple, bringing his ancestor back to life (and on track) in Doomworld.

Eobard Thawne can and will keep said ancestor alive, even if Doomworld goes poof and begone thanks to time travel.

Eddie Thawne will not only be very similar to his Season 1 version, someone from Team Flash is bound to run into him not long after Doomworld undone. Confusion will ensue.

The best way to save the day would be for someone (anyone) to go back in time and either prevent Barry from seeing Savitar kill Iris or to wipe his memory of it before he tells anyone and they all become obsessed with “saving Iris.”

Thus, a Flash/Legends cross-over impact.

[joiedecombat]

100 Days of Writing: the List

Since it seems there is some interest, why not? List of works (nominally) in progress, old unfinished fics, and Stuff I Want To Write below the cut. Feel free to ask about any of these.

Works (nominally) In Progress

Fanfic

"Reason or Rhyme" (Time Princess - Gotham Memoirs). The Vittorio expansion/fix-fic, because I will be forever disgruntled at how little romance content was actually included in the Mafia romance route.

Galactic Date Night Shenanigans aka "The one where everything is Balkar's fault." (SWTOR - Theron Shan/Jedi Knight). Theron "disaster spy" Shan is goaded into trying to take his wife out for a nice date for once, and it goes like every other plan these two have ever had anything to do with.

#3: [I] trusted [you] (SWTOR - Theron Shan / Jedi Knight). A post-Nathema prompt fic I swear I will finish one of these days.

Original

super secret short story/novella project - Okay it's not that super secret, but it is something I'm mostly keeping under my hat for now as I work on it because of reasons, and is actually (inconveniently, for 100 Days of Writing purposes) the main thing I've been working on lately. I expect to be able to say more about it later. Maybe even within the 100 days! We'll see.

southern gothic urban fantasy procedural romance - Faerie Animal Control Warden meets FBI Elf during investigation of a suspicious death out in the kudzu. A little bit of Bright, a bit Mushi-Shi, a drop of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Stuff I Want to Write

Distinct from works in progress in that I have not actually gotten past the planning stage on any of these - if that. A few of these have been rattling around in concept for long enough to have gone through several distinct evolutions without ever getting any writing done on them. Still, hope springs eternal and ideas are never wasted.

Fanfic

the rival bands AU / the rock opera playlist fic (Sailor Moon - Makoto Kino/Nephrite). Currently exists entirely as an incomplete playlist.

space opera Pride and Prejudice retelling - exactly what it sounds like on the tin. Do y'all know I have yet to encounter a futuristic/space AU? Surely there's one out there somewhere, but I have yet to see it. If you know of one, for the love of God don't tell me.

"Ten of Swords" - (Archer EMIYA/Minako Arisato). fate/stay night + Persona 3 Portable crossover what's even wrong with my brain.

Original

the Regency fae story - a Regency-era fantasy in which a lot of the needlessly complicated and restrictive social rules followed by the upper classes are actually an attempt at defending against the Fair Folk. Sort of Pride and Prejudice vs Changeling: the Lost vs Labyrinth. Could turn into a whole Pride and Prejudice retelling, I guess?

drinking games - fantasy imperial court intrigues involving a romance between a court poison taster and a master spy/assassin.

untitled - East/southeast Asian-inspired Beauty and the Beast retelling in which the Beast is a mountain god whose appearance is based on a tiger. I'm probably too white to write this.

untitled - Private investigator hired to investigate local bad-boy-made-good for insurance fraud, turns out it was actually an ill-advised teenage deal with the devil coming due. Might fit in with that other southern gothic urban fantasy idea, I am not sure.

the ciphered letter - This one started off as a combination of a Mage: the Awakening campaign and a really, really weird spam email I got one time. Orphan gets mysterious ciphered letter, meets snarky Welsh mage, awakens to magic and maybe almost gets made a human sacrifice to an eldritch abomination.

Forfeit - Regency/Victorian-esque fantasy involving reincarnation, a race of immortals, and a half-immortal teaming up with a mortal who sacrificed his future reincarnations for pseudo-immortality to uncover and stop the sinister secrets that power a colonizing empire. It makes more sense in my head... probably?

untitled - Slow burn enemies to lovers between the world-conquering emperor and the rebel leader who's opposing him, over the course of a time loop. AKA Lord of Heroes Kartis/Monarch with the serials filed off. Or I guess I could just write Lord of Heroes fanfic?

low fantasy Magnificent Seven Samurai - Farming village scrapes together a group of starving mercs to protect them from marauders, drama ensues. That's it, that's the whole idea.

Unfinished Fics

Distinct from works in progress in that these are all old enough I can no longer claim I intend to finish them. Some of them I may come back to, especially the few that had substantial progress made before they fell by the wayside. Most will probably be left abandoned, either because I have lost interest in continuing to work on them or I have just plain forgotten what I was planning to do with them.

dreameater - A very old, loosely Forgotten Realms-inspired concept involving an aging half-elf, his fully elven partner, and a mysterious magical threat that's devouring people's dreams.

"Fortune Favors the Brave" (Baccano! - Luck Gandor/Eve Genoard). The Luck/Eve shipping fic.

"Intermezzo" (Blood+ City of Nightwalkers). Follow-up fic to an obscure manga prequel/side story for the vampire anime Blood+, involving Hagi and the Hong Kong cop who semi-adopted him that one time.

"The Art of Losing Everything" (Dragon Age: Origins - Alistair Theirin/f!Cousland). An Alistair/f!Warden fic with themes of loss, duty, and sacrifice.

"In Pieces" (Dragon Age II - Fenris/f!Hawke). A terrible horrible no good very bad AU where Hawke actually turned Fenris over to Danarius and then came back to try to fix her mistake, which I can never finish because I can't make that initial decision make internal sense no matter how hard I try.

"Pas de Deux" (Final Fantasy VIII - Squall Leonhart/Rinoa Heartilly). Exploration of how Squall and Rinoa's relationship could develop after the events of the game.

"With Good Intentions" (Final Fantasy VIII - Squall Leonhart/Rinoa Heartilly). An AU in which Rinoa discovers that technically you can change the past, it's just that if Squall has an actual decent childhood the world ends. Way too ambitious for me to ever actually finish, probably, but I can't quite give up on the idea.

"I've Loved These Days" (Gundam SEED - Mu la Flaga/Murrue Ramius). One of several partly-written Gundam SEED fics kicking around in my files.

"The Last Night of the World" (Gundam SEED - Mu la Flaga/Murrue Ramius). Another Gundam SEED fic, one that began as a prompt in ye olde LiveJournal days. "I've Loved These Days" might have been a prototype, though they don't appear to have any text in common. Could in theory still get finished, maybe.

Valentine's ghosts (Gundam SEED Destiny - Andrew Waltfeld/Murrue Ramius). I'm just saying, Andy/Murrue would have been so much more interesting than the whole Neo thing in Destiny.

"Lion Passant" (Kingdom Hearts). Something something Leon as a failed Keyblade Bearer. The Kingdom Hearts franchise has rewritten its own lore at least three times since I originally had the idea, I can't imagine I'll ever continue it now.

"Vigil" (KotOR - Carth Onasi/f!Revan). Carth/Revan retrospective somewhere around the tomb of Naga Sadow on Korriban.

"Semper Fidelis" (KotOR/KotOR II - Carth Onasi/f!Revan). Post-Sith Lords Carth/Revan resolution fic.

"Clarity" (KotOR II). Atton Rand backstory study from the POV of that one nameless Jedi.

"A Simple Game of Cards" (KotOR II - Atton Rand/Jedi Exile). Spoilers: it is never a simple game of cards. Turns out someone already did it with more or less the same twist I had in mind.

the besieged base fic (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). A fic rendition of the "Besieged Base" mission from the first Mass Effect.

"Get Up, Jonah" (Mass Effect). I woke up thinking about Turkish drummers. Didn't take long; I don't know much about Turkish drummers. Virmire, before the other shoe drops.

"Long Night" (Mass Effect). Ashley on Virmire.

"My Heart Dances" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). Liara POV of Shepard/Kaidan.

"No Way Out" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). Heading up the Citadel during the ME1 endgame.

"Right Here, Right Now" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). An ME1 epilogue / pre-ME2 sort of fic.

"While the Night is Still Young" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). Shepard/Kaidan en route to Ilos.

Apparently I had approximately a million little Mass Effect shortfic ideas I never finished and in some cases never started. Apparently they're all for the first game. (I think there was a Thane idea or two for ME2 that I just never started on at all. RIP.)

"To Absent Friends" (Tiger and Bunny). Sad, sad futurefic of an elderly Pao-Lin reflecting on the deaths of all the other heroes over the years.

[finalfandumpxv]

Chapters of the First Chosen

The story of Ardyn Lucis Caelum’s life was retold and rewritten many times in many hands. Some pages fell out and new ones were stuffed in their place, and one day it will be a story of destiny for gods and mortals. Ardyn character study of sorts with a twist. Crossposted from AO3

At first there was nothing for Ardyn, but anger and pain when he came to Angelgard. His world was the dark and the hooks sunk into his skin. He had not existed before, and nothing could exist after. Then the memories came back, and with them the shame. At first, the self-styled Healer King embraced good and bad, reclaiming what made him human with the desperation of a man lost for days in the desert gulping at an oasis pool. He repeated memories of Aera and of the plague, of growing up with his brother playing games of climbing trees that then morphed into playing games of commanding swordsmen against one another, of everything that made his life a life in the hopes that he could reclaim the sanity that was lost before he even started counting the years in his prison and remain human. He created his own oral tradition, his own one-man history of the world, a cyclical story that started in the beginning Ardyn Lucis Caelum was born in the nest of a Zu ten minutes past midnight while his father kept watch for enemies or the return of the mother Zu who had abandoned her eggs and his mother entreated the astrals for safe passage and a better life for her son, and ended Somnus Lucis Caelum begged the forgiveness of the astrals for striking their chosen king and of his brother as his sword struck true and Ardyn Lucis Caelum died only to be reborn at ten past midnight under the light of a full moon on Angelgard.

As most oral history, details were added or struck from the record over time. Generations romanticized or misinterpreted parts, then swore their version was the true history. Ardyn and Ardyn had long debates, that were only settled by intercession of Ardyn, the true authority.

A self-flagellating breed of despair caught him at one point. Ardyn saw a reflection of himself in his mind that was far from human, felt burning tar in his vein instead of blood and viscous ooze staining his cheeks when he tried to cry, and when he thought of the life before becoming a monster only remembered himself demanding the love of the people, calling himself chosen, bolstering his own power, and making sure every plague victim he healed knew it was by his grace. During these days, he taught himself the lesson that his wretched state, his bondage, and all other suffering were the results of his own hubris, and his brother naught but the vessel of the gods meting out the punishment for believing himself better than they.

Of course, within five years, the past was rewritten again. Had he called himself chosen or had the people, his people, called him so and thrown himself at the feet of his chocobo, hailing him as the king he never asked to be? Hadn’t he modestly rejected their claims and praise, humble wanderer he was, only to have them keep forcing greater and greater mantles upon him? It seemed the light around him had been golden like the noonday rays of the sun and not the amber to red of dying light. He had not forgotten the astrals were the ones that blessed him and worked through him. They were the ones who had forgotten him when their names had been forever on his lips. Gods of light save us from darkness blight was the mantra he’d healed under, not his own name. He had never said he was more than the gods. He had never taken the scourge into himself on purpose for his own gain, to extend his own life. He had only meant to heal and that was the only way.

He had only done what was asked.

The astrals had trapped him.

They made him fall.

If he ever fell.

He never fell, yet they punished him anyway.

It was Somnus. His jealousy. Somnus was the monster. Somnus had subverted and twisted the will of the Six and the crystal and they had let him.

All had turned their back on the chosen.

It was a slippery slope. The anger came back and the truth, what small portion of it remained after the first million retellings and the years of casting himself as the monster when that wasn’t the full story either, was lost.

Then came Laurent Izunia, the first new chapter in the book of Ardyn, a story in his own right, assimilated into the larger narrative of The Accursed Savior when Ardyn lay his hands upon his chest to subdue a threat (reached into his chest and ripped out his soul to leave a snarling monster behind?) when his prison was opened to a new world.

Then came dozens more like Izunia–or more like Izunia than like Ardyn, all men of the future, of cars and airships and new languages–hand fed to him by a bright-eyed Verstael Besithia who took copious notes he crowed about over lavish dinners. They became Ardyn and Ardyn became them. He was Izunia’s bored apathy at a life wasted but too late to change. He was a Niflheim soldier’s burning hate of Lucis. He was a former lab assistant’s affronted fashion sensibilities. He was a homeless man’s addiction to wine that Ardyn couldn’t taste enough in his current state to enjoy like he remembered. Rarely, he was himself and when he was he didn’t fully recognize it.

That was even before the Infernian was introduced and turned him fully to a need to destroy. What man, even immortal, could subjugate a god? The god subjugated the man and set him to turn the world that called them both betrayer into ruin.

Or perhaps that was just another story Ardyn told himself to avoid taking responsibility.

He may have been legion but only one voice spoke and it was not Ifrit’s.

Not externally at least, but all memories, all chapters, except the original Books of Ardyn were filled only with hate, sadness, and human vice. Every new acquisition showed no happy memory for long, just more reasons all should die in darkness if they weren’t slowly taking themselves there already. Someone had to be controlling that, Ardyn thought in some lucid moments. Aera was goodness personified, but not all light, laughter and virtue could have left the world with her.

Then again, voices whispered that Aera had lied to him and manipulated him for years. She spoke to the astrals and they to her. She had known what was to come. She was a tool of Bahamut–willing participant, willing temptress, willing sacrifice. Ardyn knew only lies, no truths.

When their daemons were killed, the memories and influences belonging to other voices in his head left Ardyn. Most times he didn’t realize it. He took more into the legion than left. The loss of the Infernian made a difference, but it was too late. The world was dark, too late to save the innocent, and The King was at the door, just in time to punish the guilty.

Most of the legion that was left loved The King, had lived and died waiting for and trusting in The King. As he ran his sword through The King and The King fell limp, prophecy unfulfilled, that love reached Ardyn and as a laugh of victory withered and died on his lips it was with tears of ichor that Ardyn consumed Noctis Lucis Caelum’s story, feeling the regret that he’d outgrown decades even before the Infernian. Noctis tore through the legion, and Ardyn fell as if he had been the one mortally injured.

There was no hate in The King. There had been once, a beautiful, burning need that even then screamed justice and an end to pain, righteous rage more than anything else. And there was so much love and selflessness. Noctis had the story Ardyn had once told about himself, if not the story he had once had. Ardyn had always known. He had, under the influence of Ifrit or the legion or his own warped mind, once taken pride in orchestrating fitting parallels, his own stage play where he stole crown and home, snuffed short the Oracle who loved him, and burned towns to the ground when the son of many sons of Somnus could only get there too late. He saw things differently now, felt them so keenly it felt as if the sun had risen after all, his healing powers had left him, and he was being slowly prised apart.

Noctis opened the door and love continued to rush in, a million voices or more with their own stories Ardyn had already thought he knew but the rest of the legion could only voice in that moment. Last of all was a story that started in an abandoned Zu nest with a young refugee couple that carried the blood of kings and destiny. It was the story of a man both monster and savior and also neither of those things.

Ardyn moaned and writhed on the ground, and for the first time in longer than the memories of any in the legion, he begged the astrals for favor, knowing he wasn’t the owed party. Bahamut took pity and gave his boon in a way typical for the Draconian. Ardyn was returned to battle The King again, to die and make way for The King’s sacrifice. The prophecy was proclaimed fulfilled and rest granted.

But it was still not right.

Ardyn rejected his rest. It wasn’t made for him after all these centuries anyway. The King folded easily into the glowing afterlife, but Ardyn Lucis Caelum was a healer that hadn’t healed and a savior that had not yet saved. The monster could rest, job done, but the light could not.

“There is more for me to do.”

He didn’t ask for blessing he was not worthy of. He begged for atonement and to meet the destiny he had perverted even before Somnus and Bahamut had done their part. Bahamut declared it too late. The circle was closed, and The Accursed wasn’t the only one who was owed rest.

Leviathan, however, was sympathetic to Ardyn’s wishes, as far as she was sympathetic to any whelp that had been born human. The Accursed had made many knees bow and hearts tremor with fearful reminder of their mortality and smallness. In the Tidemother’s estimation, that made him worthy of her boon. She cared not for prophecies or of saving more humans, even knowing it would mean more worship, but it could be amusing to see what the First Chosen of Too Many Names would do with another chance.

He would not change his fate, what he changed was fate in the first, that was the rule of human lives, all astrals agreed. So Ardyn was allowed to ride the Tidemother’s fin back to Altissa to before the light of the last Oracle faded, a new last chapter soon to be written for many of the astrals’ chosen.

[theannypetite]

WIP Wednesday #5

Time to Read: 5 minutes WIPs What can I say about August? Well, I sure didn’t play DRAMAtical Murder and I didn’t finish Peach Blossom Debt, but at least I have started a draft for the latter! In terms of writing, I have mostly worked on… Well, I think that might be quite obvious, as I’ve started serialising the author’s fic The Amnesia Tonic. I haven’t worked on much else in the past two…

[barbosaasouza]

Heroes, Classes, and Factions - For Honor

Gamers who like to get down and dirty with a mix of tense brawling and surprisingly accurate historical warriors will no doubt be interested in For Honor, the hard-hitting hack-and-slash game from the folks at Ubisoft Montreal. For Honor gives gamers the chance to duke it out in a variety of gameplay modes that see heroes slicing down soldiers, holding battlefield capture points, or even just eliminating other powerful fighters. Of course, getting the most out of the game comes down to understanding the title's various hero types and classes, which is why we're here to break down all the essential information regarding each faction's different heroes as well as their distinct weapons and play styles.

For Honor Hero Type Strengths and Weaknesses

As it stands now, For Honor features 18 different possible hero classes for players to utilize, the likes of which will align with one of four different hero types as well as one of three different factions. Of all these different options, hero types will have the most effect on how players actually play the game.

Vanguards are the more balanced hero type on offer, generally having a solid amount of both defense and offense, but not really excelling in either. These are best for beginning players or for those who prefer to provide the biggest possible help to their teammates.

Assassins are the hero type of choice for players who prefer to sneak in, deal massive damage, then slip away unnoticed. They're a good choice for players who like to help manage the battlefield, both in taking out stragglers as well as bringing in distant control points, but can come into trouble with crowds or with multiple enemy heroes.

Heavies fulfill the tank role, being able to both take and deal large amounts of damage. They're formidable warriors in just about any battle scenario, though players will have to practice careful restraint and timing in one-on-one battles. Heavies are also great at defensive actions and holding control points.

Hybrids blend elements of other hero types, meaning they can either be awful choices or perfect choices depending on the player. They can be a mix of power and versatility, such as with the Nobushi, or a mix of defense and agility, such as with the Valkyrie. As such, their strengths and weaknesses depend on the strengths and weaknesses of the hero types the class is based upon.

Since each hero class as well as each hero type finds representation within each of the game's factions, we'll outline all of the possible combinations based on the game's three factions, then detail their individual weapon or weapons and provide some flavor text via the in-game descriptions.

Knight Faction Hero Types, Classes, and Weapons

As may be expected, the Knight faction in For Honor focuses on warriors of sword and shield, often donning plate armor and driven by a divine goal. Though most of the game's knights align with the Iron Legion, some prefer to follow their own paths.

Class: Centurion Hero Type: Hybrid Weapon: Gladius Description: "Some fight for warlords. They fought for an empire. Their might inspired generations of soldiers and struck fear in the heart of their enemies. They are Centurions. Their confidence radiates out to all those who follow them. With their gladius as an extension of their arm and their fist as strong as their conviction. Once the pride of a glorious dynasty, their legend is soon to be rewritten."

Class: Conqueror Hero Type: Heavy Weapon: Footman's Flail Description: "In desperate times, conscripted criminals refill our ranks. Sometimes, however, you find a diamond in the rough. The most elite earn their name: Conquerors. Strong as a battering ram, resilient as a fortress gate, their flail is as dangerous to the wielder as it is to the enemy. But in the right hands it becomes... unstoppable."

Class: Gladiator Hero Type: Assassin Weapon: Trident and Buckler Description: "The roar of the crowd can be intoxicating. It can give you the edge you need to defeat an opponent. It can also seal your fate should you lose favor. The arena is not a battlefield. The thrill of the fight has waned. But how will they fare in all-out war? Gladiators have risen the ranks of fighters and have run out of challengers. With their trident and shield, they charge into the fray. Their armor minimal and their bravado staggering. It is now time for gladiators to fight for something greater than themselves."

Class: Lawbringer Hero Type: Hybrid Weapon: Poleaxe Description: "Where order has broken down, where cruelty and lawlessness rule, Lawbringers are justice. They go wherever they are needed, and they come prepared. Their armor has no equal, its construction a secret of their order. And they carry the most versatile weapon ever invented: the poleaxe. Pray that you do not need them. And when they arrive, pray that you have done no wrong."

Class: Peacekeeper Hero Type: Assassin Weapon: Sword and Dagger Description: ""When wars end, it is the silent blade that keeps the peace. But when wars rage, a Peacekeeper's work is never done. Quick, lethal, they can win a fight before the enemy even knows they're there. Dancers of death with dual blades for dancing partners. Selected from the desperate, the humble, or the devoted. Sworn to secrecy by unbreakable oaths; what they know could destroy legends... or create them."

Class: Warden Hero Type: Vanguard Weapon: Longsword Description: "The Wardens: members of an ancient order... fallen into dust. Sworn to defend the weak, masters of the longsword. Their origins lost to history; still they fight for what is right. Driven by duty, devoted to their people... but only a few may join their order."

Samurai Faction Hero Types, Classes, and Weapons

The Samurai faction, also known in-game as The Chosen, represent Eastern warriors that have been driven away from their homes after the fall of their empire.

Class: Aramusha Hero Type: Hybrid Weapon: Dual Katana Description: "Some must fall from grace. But when Samurai fall, they also free themselves from their masters. Aramusha: brash enforcers for the most prestigious houses. Once noble fighters, now mercenaries. Their dual katana may have killed to satisfy their own ego, but those crimes belong to the past. They join this war not out of duty or command. They join because they are elite warriors in search of their own destiny, a destiny stained red with the blood of those in their way."

Class: Kensei Hero Type: Vanguard Weapon: Nodachi Description: "Every army needs warriors whose specialty is victory. Kensei-sword saints: the guardians of our people. Every great ruler since the fall has trained as a sword saint... every one. And they are formidable. The nodachi was long thought too long too large for use in real war. They proved them wrong. Their armor is the strongest of our people... as is their will."

Class: Nobushi Hero Type: Hybrid Weapon: Naginata Description: "Villages far from the safety of our castle still need protection. But how can our armies protect the people when we samurai are so few? Nobushi: elegant, aggressive fighters with the lightest of armors and the most exotic of weapons: the naginata. They seem hardly battle ready, but looks, in this case, are profoundly deceiving. They keep our wilds safe and we don't even know who they are."

Class: Orochi Hero Type: Assassin Weapon: Katana Description: "We samurai are outnumbered. Each of our warriors must be the match of ten of our enemies. Each Orochi is a match for a hundred. Swift, strong, truest masters of the katana, they move like shadows with lore taken from the ninja clans. Their armor; a perfect balance of flexibility and strength. Orochi: they are the finest warriors the world has ever known."

Class: Shinobi Hero Type: Assassin Weapon: Kusarigama Description: "Theirs was a secret society. Even we Samurai were not sure if they even existed or if they were just a myth... until they came out of the shadows: Shinobi. Their weapon, the kusarigama, is like no other. It echoes through our past and proves they are indeed from our blood. Trained in secret, their presence on the battlefield can be felt before they are even seen. We now know they are always close, waiting for the right moment to strike. They have now entered this war and won't leave until their job is done."

Class: Shugoki Hero Type: Heavy Weapon: Kanabo Description: "We are far from home, we samurai. Each new land teaches us new things. Each new ally makes us stronger. The Shugoki: once our guardians, they have become as family. And what more fierce protectors could we ask for? The kanabo is an unreasonable weapon; clumsy, dangerous... unless you possess the strength of a demon and an unbreakable will."

Viking Faction Hero Types, Classes, and Weapons

Also known as The Warborn, the Vikings are the faction of choice for players who find a certain appeal in the fighting styles of the famous Nordic warriors.

Class: Berserker Hero Type: Assassin Weapon: Viking Hand Axes Description: "The vast forests of our lands are said to be filled with the spirits of beasts. Sometimes those beasts join us on the battlefield: Berserkers. Wild, free, and utterly without fear, they fight with twin axes but their true weapon is their passion. There is an ancient riddle: what is stronger than steel? Blood is our answer; blood and fury."

Class: Highlander Hero Type: Hybrid Weapon: Claymore Description: "Like the rocks that break the waves, Highlanders have weathered many storms. Ancient alliances kept their lands but their owes have come due. They join our war out of obligation but they are not to be underestimated. Their claymore is the heaviest sword ever wielded. It can cut down even the most armored warrior. The elements battering their lands have made them strong. War has made them deadly."

Class: Raider Hero Type: Vanguard Weapon: Long Axe Description: "Sometimes a viking is born who carries the spark of gods: Raiders, we call them. It is a name that can summon armies. Ruthless, fearless, made for battle. The Dane Axe was the mightiest weapon of our ancestors; they wield it without mercy. The moment of a viking's death is chosen by fate. So what use have they of armor? Or of fear?"

Class: Shaman Hero Type: Assassin Weapon: Hatchet and Dagger Description: "Do you hear them? They are always whispering. Just out of reach. But when the red spills, she can hear them louder. They shout excitedly when bones break. Do you hear them now? They scream of war. They scream the name of those next to die. She will use her hatchet and dagger to cut bodies down and then she will use her hands. They are louder now. The voices overwhelming. They won't stop. They won't stop until all lay dead."

Class: Valkyrie Hero Type: Hybrid Weapon: Spear and Shield Description: "Valhalla: our reward for dying in battle. But what of those who die elsewhere? The Valkyries - a warrior order who have made a deal with the gods. Each one can earn glory for our fallen dead. In time, they can win a place for the deserving. But they alone decide for whom they fight. Masters of the spear and the shield, scouts, trackers, and perhaps your only hope for salvation."

Class: Warlord Hero Type: Heavy Weapon: Gladius and Shield Description: "There are traditions among our people that run deep as stone. Their shields are as versatile as they are strong. Their swords are lethal. Simple. An ancient design. And a leader who does not lead the charge is no leader at all. They are called Warlords; a name that is earned: another ancient tradition. To become a Warlord means service to all who need it, for life. They are the shield of our people... and they will not fall."

It's worth remembering that these are the 18 hero types on offer in the current version of For Honor. However, it's entirely possible that Ubisoft could release new heroes in future updates, or even potentially an all-new faction. Until then, players still have plenty of heroes and hero classes to master.

Heroes, Classes, and Factions - For Honor published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[evilandskanky]

Lost Girl Rewatch:  Origin

This whole episode, everybody should be just being there for Kenzi.  She’s hurting.  But it’s always been about Bo from day 1.  Bo’s problems have always taken precedence over anything going on with Kenzi.  Kenzi is feeling more and more like just a claimed human.  And nobody is there for her in her time of need.  She’s not pushing them away, she’s silently screaming for somebody to care.  Instead, it’s all about Bo once again.

Bo’s learning more about the Pyrippus and her “destiny”.  Things are being rewritten now that Rainer’s re-entered the mortal plane.  There’s a prophecy telling of Bo and her various compatriots.  he dark lord will rise from Hel.  And it’s becasue of Bo.  It’s nearly time for Bo to meet her father.  But it may not be worth the price.

Stray Observations:

Kenzi is now an unclaimed human, forcing Bo’s selfish ass to unclaim her

So Lauren had this grand plan to turn the very powerful Evony, human.  And it worked

Also Massimo is Evony’s son and he ate the origin seed because he is the worst.

The prophecy reads: One with eyes both brown and blue/one who shifts, a Valkyrie too/One with blood that rules the world/one who sings his life unfurled/a warrior to be her guide/a healer always by her side.  No mention of the very human Kenzi...or is there?

The pyrippus is officially Bo’s father

Vex’s middle name is Chauncey

Who’s ready to meet Bo’s father?

[nazih-fares]

A while ago, I finished an interesting written by my colleague Jason Schreier over at Kotaku called Blood, Sweat and Pixel, telling the stories and problems of 10 different AAA and indie developers faced when creating their games. One of the chapter was all about Destiny, and it got me realize how much one of the biggest commercial successes of recent years, was a flawed title that took almost three years to get on solid grounds, numerous studio creative changes, but yet became something that involved a huge community of players all around the world including myself (proud hunter right here). Despite somewhat lukewarm criticism and negative feedback from early adopters, this shooter like no other has found its way, after a series of free updates, 2 DLCs and 2 expansion packs (The Taken King and Rise of Iron). Now almost 3 years after its first release, comes the sequel, Destiny 2, a way to fix many core issues from the original and hopefully start off fresh.

To say that the first Destiny was criticized by the press and players is something lots know already. This merge between MMO and FPS had lots of flaws during the past three years: a story badly written and incomprehensible unless you visited the Bungie site (to read Grimoire cards), grindy, too expensive with all the DLCs, and let’s not forget about the plethora of bugs that whether were abused for good intention or not is a different story (I’m looking at you all Raid cheesers). Nevertheless, players stuck around, and devout Guardians continued to voice their discontent at the game, in hope that Bungie will listen, but it seems they had other plans: create a sequel that will become a fresh start for everyone. Now clocking more than 35 hours of play in Destiny 2 (a shy number in comparison to my 923 hours on the first Destiny), trying a plethora of activities, finding new loot, I’m pretty sure there is still much to discover, but at least I can say one thing: Destiny 2 deserves your time, because it finally fixes some of the core issues of its predecessor.

Throughout my reading of Blood, Sweat and Pixel, I learned the main issue behind Destiny’s rather lack of story. Months before the first planned release of the game, Bungie studio executives had asked that the script be rewritten, due to a lack of clarity from the original one. Too linear, according to them, this new change of order had consequences on the development of the game, as one could imagine, and sadly Bungie gave birth to game that was praised for its shooting mechanics but pretty much nothing else. As sad thing, coming from the studio that create epic stories of challenges and rise to power (the Halo series), but throughout the 3 years of the first Destiny, The Taken King and Rise of Iron became a testing ground to put some sense in the lore of the game and its rich story (and plus we got amazing content creators like My name is Byf decrypting and explaining the lore better than the game makers). With Destiny 2, the studio had the chance to start on a good foundation, almost reminding us of the days of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, a clean wipe for everyone, so they build upon what worked and what needed to be fixed.

Destiny 2 takes place a small year after the SIVA crisis introduced in Destiny: Rise of Iron. Crota and Oryx are just bad memories (or good memories for you accomplished raiders), and the game recounts a short summary of your past exploits in the previous version, if you played it. It recalls the date of your rebirth on Earth Cosmodrome; the day you triumphed over the Darkness in the heart of the Black Garden, your first victory in the Vault of Glass raid; the day you reached the Lighthouse on Mercury; when you became an Iron Lord; and so on. It is also an opportunity to remember with whom some of these accomplishments have been done, and like many Destiny players around the world probably believe: the experience is not necessarily to know how you play, nut with whom you play. This small introduction was therefore quite moving, I must admit, enough to almost shed a tear among those who spent hundreds of hours on the first opus. The newcomers though, will be introduced to the universe of Destiny by a summary of the previous events in a well done, if not better than actually playing the first game. Destiny 2 did well to differentiate between the veterans and the beginners, adapting the numerous dialogues of the game; incorporating the enormous – hidden – lore of the series in an easier way for new Guardian, who can thus discover a brand new world. The others, who have known the horrors of The Dark Below, fought the blight of the Takens and saw the snowing peaks of Felwinter are treated as they should: as Destiny Veterans.

The script of Destiny 2 is finally quite simple in its own way. The last city on earth, still standing since its creation, is suddenly attacked by the Red Legion, an elite faction of the Cabal Empire. Encountered in the first game, the Cabals had until then constituted only a vague threat; a few outposts on Mars were filled with exhausted troops, but never truly a representation of the terrible power of this military empire. The Guardians are rapidly outnumbered and the city falls into the hands of the invader; the player, in a final desperate attempt, tries to attack the mothership and falls head-to-head with Dominus Ghaul, the leader of the Red Legion. You then understands that Ghaul’s aims is to seek out the power of the Traveller, a divine entity that has been dormant for centuries, after protecting humanity and to whom the Guardians owe their powers. What happens next is that Ghaul encloses the sphere god in a sort of gigantic harness, which has the effect of depriving all the Guardians of their Light, becoming vulnerable and mortal, and are eliminated one after the other, while the few survivors are forced to retreat.

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In short, Destiny 2 tells the story of the Guardians’ long struggle to get back their City, free the Traveler, and triumph over the Red Legion while getting back their lost powers. Without telling you too much, know that the adventure will lead you to four corners of the solar system, like the first episode, but this time to organize the resistance or counter-attack. Overall, the game has some solid good writing and offers some of the most epic moments of the series, probably because of a switch in creative writing leads, including Senior Narrative Lead Jason Harris. Well served by numerous cinematic and plenty of dialogues with new and old characters, the plot progresses at a good rhythm and remains clear, from the beginning to the end. Screenwriters also had the good idea to include the point of view of the other side; with a set of cinematics that show what’s going on with Ghaul while you progress through the story, and obviously helps understand the Red Legion’s intentions, and their final goal. If it never really surprises, this campaign has the merit of being straight to the point and even emotional, recalling what the studio did better back in the early 2000s, as we remember the epic stories of Halo to Halo Reach. The first moments of this defeat against the Red Legion reminded me of Halo Reach’s eight campaign mission New Alexandria, in which the Noble-6 landed wounded and almost unarmed, in a city invaded by the Covenants forces. Destiny 2 however, retains its own identity, avoiding to pour the theme too much into the suffering of humanity, with dramatic moments, well served by an excellent soundtrack done by Skye Lewin, Michael Salvatori and others… Some tracks are fit of epic movies, and I can’t stress on how amazing they are in terms of composition but also variety, so I’ve included a sample of one of my favorite one which you can hear below. Plus, I’d like to thank whoever was in charge of the sound effects this time, as the weapons aroused my senses, like the low throbs of the Graviton Lance pulse rifle, or the volley of rockets coming out of the Wardcliff Coil rocket launcher.

While Destiny 2 is all about a fresh start, the game still uses key characters known to fans, such as the trio of Zavala, Ikora and Cayde-6, but also introduces some new ones, all rather well done, starting with my personal favorite called Failsafe. The latter is an AI, one of the only survivors of a golden age mission on Nessus (roughly 500 years before the event of Destiny), which now suffers from a multiple personality disorder that makes it rather amusing. Sometimes jovial and helpful, Failsafe can be more squeaky and sarcastic without any logical transition. On Io, the player will meet Ashar Mir, an awoken scientist whose personality is closer to your grumpy uncle than a helpful nerd, then on the EDZ (which we’ll explain more later on), you’ll meet one of Bungie’s first ever gay characters, Devrim Kay. These characters aren’t just there for show, but important to each planet as they give the player many information about the places but also dedicated quests. In the end, the Destiny 2 campaign finds a certain balance here, with its epic clashes, its moments of doubt and its hard blows, without taking itself too seriously. It’s a formula that may not please everyone, but the regulars of the studio production will recognize the Bungie tone, which likes nothing more than drop fun jokes even when the end of the world is near.

Dominus Ghaul, leader of the Red Legion

It easily took me around 10-15 hours to see the end credits of Destiny 2, which followed a sort of linear path that is at the choice of the player. Technically, Destiny 2 guides the player to concentrate on key story quests, but you have the choice to do other things like sidequests called Adventures. On the other hand, since some story missions are only accessible when the player has reached a certain level, it was necessary for me to go into PvP or Strikes (matchmaking cooperative missions with three players) to get enough experience and obviously better gear and weapons.

While the first Destiny was finally quite simple in its unlocking system, players gradually unlocked new planets, and from space he could choose a mission, whatever it was, or go for a stroll on the planet of his choice to do patrols or just farm for ressources. Bungie has thoroughly reviewed the way its game was built, and now every Destiny 2 planet has several landing zones, but also different missions and quests, which are all up to the player to decide what to prioritize. Story missions are even located on the map, so you have to go there to activate them, but you’ll end up finding other things to do on the way, such as Adventures, which act as smaller scripted set of missions, or explore Lost Sectors, (secret zones which house mini-bosses and loot boxes), or a plethora of public events that guardians in the area can join, and of course returning patrol missions. Destiny 2 broadly resumes the basis of what its predecessor did, but constantly enrich the experience, like The Lost Sectors, for example, are only an evolution of these small dark caves in which sometimes there were no real interest in discovering.

The planets themselves follow the same logic of evolution of Destiny 2. Larger in size, they are also richer, with vast areas filled with varied visual elements, enemies, secret chests and all sorts of loot to discover. The game makes the effort to propose even more complex levels to invite the player to explore each planet, and succeeds on all front with some interesting verticality notably on Nessus and IO. If the first Destiny had us visit Earth’s Cosmodrome, the Moon, Mars and Venus, Guardians in Destiny 2 will visit previously mentioned IO, Nessus, and Titan, one of Jupiter’s satellites. Gone are the Russian plains of the Cosmodrome, as we discover the lush forests of the European Dead Zone, well known to PvP enthusiasts; in fact, several maps of the first Destiny were located precisely in the EDZ, like the Widow’s Court. In general, each destination has its own identity, almost making it a character of its own: Titan is a hostile planet, abandoned by humanity, home of methane research centers and arcologies.

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The latter have unfortunately been invaded by a well-known enemy of the players, the Hive, which almost gives a sort of Alien movie side to Destiny 2. Nessus on the other hand reminds me of Venus, full of warm colors and impressive alien vegetation, home to vast vex ruins. IO finally is know as the last thing the Traveller touched before the Collapse, a “religious” place for Warlocks, and home of the biggest vex building you’ve ever seen.

You will spend plenty of time on these new planets as the game offers many missions. If I liked them to be higher in count in comparison to the first Destiny, I must admit that the developers have learned the lessons of the past. Destiny 2 stands by itself with the current content, even though expansions are planned for the months to come. With a total of 35 hours of play with the core game, I still have a lot of things to do and endless grinds, as the most hardcore of us fans will seek to reach the highest power level of 350, and without the need of replaying missions and other tedious tasks from the original game. Because yes, if anything, Destiny main problem was this weird cycle of having to replay story missions with different modifiers such as harder difficulties (Heroic missions). Numerous games do the same like the Diablo franchise, but these mechanics were not something that players really liked, and throughout the Destiny cycle these were pushed to the side. Instead the Destiny 2 introduce different weekly and daily activities that surely will have you venture in the same locations of the games, but without a feeling like you’re doing the same thing every time, namely Milestones and Challenges. The later are small secondary tasks that are dependent on either the game mode you are playing, or which planet you’re on. For example, it could be a task to kill 75 Fallen enemies on Titan, or maybe kill 5 Guardians with heavy weapons in the Crucible. There’s basically 3 challenges per activity (Crucible, Raid, Strikes) as well as per planet, giving you the chance to build XP and rewards faster. The other more important tasks are Milestones, which are usually more complicated, but will give you larger rewards such as powerful gear (usually higher power level than the one you have), and usually are linked to the most challenging part of the game like finish the Raid, Nightfall Strikes, newly introduced Flashpoints and Lord Shaxx’s Call to Arms (I’ll get back to all these later in the review)

All this mention about loot made me realize that we should probably talk about its new system, and especially how it affects the character that adorns and wields it. Like in the first Destiny, players will be able to pick one of the three classes: Titan, Warlock or Hunter, which will each have, after several hours of play, three different sub-classes. While most expected a new class or at least sub-classes to be added in the game, Bungie’s choice makes sense as it would be too random to add it at this point. Instead Bungie introduces redesigned subclasses, especially on the front of the starting ones like the Titan’s Sentinel, Warlock’s Dawnblade and the Hunter’s Arcstrider, which ultimately are an evolution of respectively the Titan’s Defender, Warlock’s Sunsinger and the Hunter’s Bladedancer.

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This does not mean that the subclasses haven’t really changed since the original Destiny, but on the contrary, have completely different skill trees. While the logic is still to have a cooldown ability of a grenade, your subclass skill, and a Class Ability Modifiers on top of your Super, the changes are dramatic for Destiny veterans, which will need to revisit their strategies. In my case, as a Hunter, I had to learn the hard way that gone are the invisibility perks of the Arc class, but instead, the Arcstrider is an agile high-risk subclasss with numerous tricks to lower your cooldown timers for all abilities. On that front, cooldowns are no longer subjected to the stats of your armor, since the trinity of Discipline, Strength and Intelligence have disappeared, instead relying on your nodes activated in your skill tree. This is a great thing for skilled players, especially when it comes to PVP, as they will be able to reload their skills fairly quick and inflict more damage because of the way they play, instead of betting on the armor stats like in the previous Destiny.

On the other hand, improving your character still depends on your loot and gear. The good news at least is that the system is much clearer than in the first game (and trust me, I’ve seen numerous changes in the past three years). In Destiny 2, loot can be found almost everywhere and in all activities, with revised drop rate on all front, so it won’t take you days before you find a legendary engram. The same thing applies in crucible, where I got my first exotic after a mere 8-10 hours of. On top of that, the original Destiny reputation system has been scratched, in favor of a system of tokens that are more interesting. The Vanguard have their own led by Zavala, Shaxx for Crucible, but also each planet’s key character has their own “ranking” system. Basically, the more you do task that help each person, the more you get token which you can hen redeem and level up your “allegiance” to eventually unlock Legendary Engrams, which decrypt into a series of themed weapons and armors (shaders and other cosmetic loot as well). Plus you can now join actual clans with all your friends (the old groups), which has its own reward system on a season basis, as well as buffs throughout period of time.

The new loot system is redefined to reduce endless grind

In short, the possibilities of the new loot system are numerous and if you were already addicted to that in the first Destiny, then the sequel will probably eat all of your spare time as you hunt for the best. There is however a small change that will not please all Guardians and especially devotees of the RNG gods: the rolls on weapons are no longer random. If in the first Destiny you could have three completely different scout rifles for example, with their own perks, and the most hardcore of all Guardians would keep on playing until he gets that god-roll. With a fixed roll for each weapon, this hunt is over, but at least we don’t need to spend a bunch of glimmer (the in-game currency) and farm for resource to upgrade everything anymore. Another small detail that also makes a big difference in terms of weapons and gear, is the addition of the mod system. First of all, since weapons now are split into kinetic (non-elemental weapons), elemental weapons and heavy slot, your loadout is now more strategic than before, since you can literally equip anything in all three spots. Are you more of a long range shooter? Then put on a Kinetic scout rifle, an elemental one in the second slot, and maybe a sniper rifle in the heavy slot. The choice is yours, and once you start playing around with the mods, which can drastically alter a weapon core to the point of turning an Arc rifle into a void one, the possibilities are endless. Finally I’d like to end a note on the front of the weapons with the simple fact that I’m glad to see that overused original Destiny weapons like Sniper Rifles and Shotguns are now considered heavy weapons, which changes drastically the way Guardians have been playing online competitively, and I welcome the new weapon types which are the submachine guns and grenade launchers (Machine guns on the other hand are gone).

Speaking of competitive gaming, Destiny 2 offers its dedicated PvP game modes, known as the Crucible. At launch, it allows the player to choose between two dedicated playlists: Quickplay or Competitive. The first is undoubtedly the more casual, with a compilation of classic game modes like Control and Clash; while the Competitive playlist focus on more complex modes. It’s thanks to the latter that two new game modes have been introduced. The first is directly inspired by Counter-Strike, known as Countdown, requiring a team to place a bomb on one of the two spots on the map; while the other team must either defuse the bomb or kill their opponents. The second game mode – Survival – pits two teams in a classic death match, except each side has a limited number of respawn.

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Even though it’s lacking custom games, or the ability to just play specific modes, Destiny 2’s crucible marks a real good evolution when compared to the first game. The first reason is that since weapons have fixed rolls, it brings an easier way for developers to put balance in the game, even when it comes to each class strengths and weaknesses. If, at first glance, the Striker Titans or the Warlock Dawnblade seems dangerous, they are counterbalanced by weaknesses and key changes which shouldn’t be overlooked. For example, a Titan Shoulder Strike does not kill instantly, but actually can slightly imbalances its wielder, who must yet quickly chain the charge with a headshot in hope to defeat his enemy. Very often, the defending guardian has enough time to respond even before the Titan may have deal the fatal blow.

The other important change in the game’s crucible is the change to a 4v4 system, which is closer to what competitive shooters are opting for nowadays (with the exception of Overwatch of course). This decrease of set teams has helped Bungie to shrink the size of their Crucible maps, but turning them more complex and full of key clash area

The bravest of all guardians can now try their skills in the Trial of the Nines

All this would be a real pleasure if there were no defaults, and sadly the first one is important for me: when it comes to design, some maps seems like they were done better than others. Without really being bad, Vostok is a map located near the Iron Temple, which is too large and sadly constricts Gaurdians to clash in the middle area, within the corridor path in the mountain. Players are also scattered away from each other at each respawn, which often results in a second, fast but painful death, alone against two enemies that are going in a rotation. The second issue is that even though weapons are rather balanced on paper, auto rifles seems to be everywhere, due to their higher than normal reach and unbelievable accuracy that makes the use of slower weapons such as Scout Rifles or Pulse Rifles obsolete (unless you have the Mida Multi-Tool). Yet, I’m not worried on that front, as Bungie has always been very responsive and quickly balancing the Crucible, so I’m pretty sure it will happen soon.

Back in Destiny, the Trials of Osiris was the ultimate test for PVP, pushing guardians to go through an intense challenge of winning 9 games in a row of elimination mode, to eventually be granted access to the lighthouse on Mercury for some of the hottest armor and weapon loot (all themed after ancient Egyptian mythology). This time in Destiny 2, our challenge is the Trial of the Nines, which change every week, with a challenge to pass through 7 consecutive wins, and discover some strange prophecies from mysterious Nines.

The new Levathian Raid bring all the best from the previous edition in one package

Before we wrap this up, shouldn’t I talk about the raid? This ultimate test of teamwork still requires squads of six players, in order to overcome the numerous events in a large scale mission and eventually beat the final boss. This first raid – since I assume more will come with the upcoming announced two DLCs – is really well done. Directly linked to the lore of the Cabals, the Leviathan raid took the best of the four previous original Destiny raids and merged them into one. This raid is staged with relay systems as was the case for the Oryx one, and even a stealth phase like the Gorgons Maze of the Vault of Glass. The game also added two features that makes the job harder for those used to cheese things around. First of all, the Raid are now free of checkpoints, meaning there’s no way of coming back to any part of it after returning to orbit. The second key thing added is on the front of respawn mechanics. Each player has one resuscitation token for each area in the raid, and once the token has been used, he cannot revive anyone else. This makes things complicated, because if one member of your party stays dead for more than 25 seconds, then the whole team is wiped.

Finally, take the time to thoroughly explore the raid as it seems that the developers have hidden many secrets and some of them have yet to be discovered. Note that it is now possible to use a matchmaking system, and join another squad to do the raid via something called guided activities, led by “shephards” which should allow solo players to do all activities more easily.

Destiny 2 was reviewed using an Xbox One digital copy of the game purchased by the writer. The game is also available on on PlayStation 4 and coming soon on PC via Battle.net. We don’t discuss review scores with publishers or developers prior to the review being published.

Without aiming to revolutionize the recipe, Destiny 2 does exactly what you’d expect of it: to correct the numerous defects of a game which had the base of becoming a legendary experience. A while ago, I finished an interesting written by my colleague Jason Schreier over at Kotaku called…

[theannypetite]

WIP Wednesday #4

Time to Read: 4 minutes I’ve seem to be able to somehow manage this things with WIP updates. Now I’ll just need more reviews too… WIPs ln the month of July, I ended up doing less than I had planned. I did finish writing an article for my Wiki for the world of Blood of Destinies Rewritten. I am still working on some related articles to that. But I’d say I’ve been more researching this time…