#interactions // heroic sentinel

[cryogenicmuses]

❝ hey fuckface, are you th'bloke i 'eard revvin' that bike's engine at five in the bloody mornin'? ❞ - from kano to snow cause i couldnt resist when i saw the 'fuckface' lmao

Unfriendly Icebreakers // @mencnfire (Kano)

"Nice to meet you too, fuckface!" Snow couldn't help but quip right back, giving the other man a stare. "So what if I am? Can't exactly go anywhere on my bike if I don't rev it up first, eh?"

[shiyorin]

This came from a joke between me and my friend. And it is heretic :v

#Yandere chapter space marines? Yeah….

#Blood Angels, Flesh Tearers and Lamenters.

#Don't ask me, I don't know what I'm doing.

Blood Angels

You awoke with a start, heart pounding. Another nightmare, yet this one lingered behind closed lids, elusive yet unsettling. Rubbing sleep from eyes, moonlight filtering through stained glass recalled where you lay, guest of the Blood Angels once more. 

Rising, soft slippers padded silent halls as restless feet sought solace. Marble gleamed ethereal, statuesque giants flanking your passage like solemn sentinels. A turn, and shadows shifted, was that movement ahead?

"You should not wander so late, mortal." Brother Varrael's rich timbre sent shivers down spine, lips curving a lover's smile yet eyes hooded, intent. "These halls hold memories better left undisturbed." 

His massive hand enclosed your smaller one with surprising gentleness, leading unresisting to familiar chambers. "Rest, and I will stand guard over you." Lingering kiss upon brow held an edge of desperation you dared not know. 

Days passed in diligent company, recording heroic epics for future generations. Yet unease grew, visions' shadows slipping between waking and dreams. Hands grasped where none should be, voices crooned foreign desires in loved tones warped. 

Heart seizing, you fled, only to collide with Varrael's towering form emerging from shadows. His strong arms imprisoned your struggling form against massive chest as velvet words whispered of dark devotion no lips should know. Livid scars criss-crossing pale flesh spoke of daemons conquering will through flesh alone.

Days blurred into restless nightmares, reality twisting beyond recognition. Every interaction held veiled intimations too intimate to comprehend, too blasphemous to accept. Yet denying the truth invited madness. 

His helm obscured his features, but you'd know Varrael's scent anywhere. Hot breath whispered your name against your ear as his other hand pinned your waist possessively. You shivered, seeing not fury but desperation in his stance. 

"Varrael, please..." Your plea was lost in a needy kiss, tastes of blood and longing upon his tortured lips. 

His mind swam in a crimson sea, torn between devotion and rage's call. Your light soothed the beast within, yet each parting fed its hunger for your touch alone. When next you stood together on the field of battle, survival instinct blurred with a need to shield, claim, destroy. 

Days passed in blissful torment, stolen moments reaffirmed devotion, yet bloodlust simmered nearer the surface for him. Try as he might, control was fleeting against the curse's tide. And when passion overcame his iron will whilst lost in your embrace, fangs slipping to graze your throat in ecstasy.

Flesh Tearers

You knew accepting this assignment with the Flesh Tearers meant danger, yet how could you refuse such a historic opportunity? Now you regretted agreeing as the Astartes' unhinged nature was laid bare. 

The Astartes spared you no glance. Except one, Tahareil especially unsettled you, his ice blue eyes tracking your every move with disturbing intensity. When allies fell in battle, his enraged howls shook the very foundation, an unearthly sound that raised primal fears. 

In coming weeks, your recordings captured noble Astartes in acts of valor against xenos and heretic alike. All performed duties with grim resolve. And Tahareil, who revelled in slaughter's ecstasy with abandon that chilled your soul. His thirst for blood appeared unquenchable, beyond duty's call. 

"Be at ease, mortal." he rumbled softly. "No enemies shall reach you whilst I stand vigil."

His protective claim should have reassured, but an undercurrent chilled your blood. When had a simple recording become so fraught with subtext unspoken? 

When battle was done, you worked alone editing recordings in sequestered chamber provided. Yet lingering unease persisted you were not alone. Sometimes catching fleeting glimpse of shadow beyond the chamber's edge, scent of musk and iron lingering where none walked. Paranoia's creeping fingers closed about your mind, were you truly an observer here, or had another thing found you?

One night exhaustion took hold, dropping guard enough to drift to fitful dreams.There terror's form coalesced, hulking figure looming over helpless prey pinned trembling in grasping claws. Feral grin split nightmare's maw as it dipped to sample sweetness on quivering flesh, revelling in lifeblood's rich perfume.

A gasp tore your throat awake, soaked in cold sweat upon rumpled pallet. But no, the nightmare lingered still, a shadow stirred beyond veil, eyes glinting some primal madness barely leashed. 

"Pretty little thing, almost forgot your scent..." Tahareil's rasp caressed your fears incarnate, large hand capturing trembling wrist to draw you against him. "Tell me mortal, did you use your witchery on me?" 

He inhaled your racing pulse, claws tracing your quaking form with possessive. Lips parted to protest yet words died, transfixed by the scare blazing beneath visored dark. 

"Let me taste it." his growl reverberated, "See what witchery makes me like this." 

His grip was iron, struggling futilely. Gauntleted claws rent flesh baring pulsing artery, raging beat filling bestial senses. Jagged fangs plunged deep, agonizing ecstasy flooding nerves as blood flooded.

Lamenters

You awake with a start, the shadows of another nightmare slowly slipping away. As consciousness returns, you become aware of a light pressure around your wrists and ankles. Panic rises in your throat as your eyes adjust to the dim light of phosphor stones. 

That's when you see him, sitting vigil at your bedside. Chapter master Malakim Phoros of the Lamenters looks exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes a sharp contrast to his pallid skin. But his gaze, as it falls upon you, holds only concern. 

"Forgive me," he rasps, voice rough from disuse. "The others thought it best until you'd rested. They mean no harm, only to keep you safe." 

You struggle to calm your racing heart. Abductions were not unknown, with the Lamenters' curse of ill fortune. But Malakim had always watched over you with a devoted, tender care unlike the others. 

His guilt-wracked smile is gentle as he administers sips of water through a straw. "The night terrors will find you. We could not risk you wandering in such a state.” 

You nod weakly, the adrenaline fading. His haunted eyes hold only relief at your return to lucidity. His love for you is palpable, yet shaded by a darkness borne of endless suffering and self-loathing.

In time your bonds are removed, though Malakim remains at your side. His brothers drift past your cell-like chamber, gaunt faces lighting momentarily at glimpses within. They meant only protection, you know, but their shattered minds leave little room for trust beyond their brethren. 

And you, their one ray of light in an ocean of gloom. Their luck, as Malakim whispers reverently whilst stroking your hair, sent to lift their cursed spirits from the depths of madness and despair. A blessing too precious to abandon to fate's cruelty, whatever the cost.

[elfdragon12]

Elita and Sentinel do feel a sense of guilt for Optimus’ death because he didn’t want to be there in the first place and blamed each other for losing him.

Elita yelled at Sentinel that he can never be as good as nor could ever live up to a selfless and heroic mech like Optimus, that he he doesn’t have what it takes to be a Prime or a hero considering his poor leadership skills and poor ideas.

Sentinel is hurt and snarls at his ex girlfriend, with no love what’s so ever, and cruelly fires back that Optimus could never love a self centre snob like her, that she was too much of a coward to be honest to herself and caused wedges between their friend group. That and how she poked on how Optimus should feed his curiosity that led them to come after them.

This resulted a even bigger argument that couldn’t be resolved without the calming presence of Optimus, the two pulled away and ordered to not interact until the trial day.

Yowch! Both are reeling so much from the pain that just looking at the other feels like a fresh batch of salt. Guilt and pain is a terrible cocktail and neither of them have the experience to deal with it.

[animalsmealbuzz]

Cat Hailed a Hero After Saving Baby From Abusive Babysitter

In a world where heroic stories often spotlight dogs, it's high time to illuminate the incredible tales of feline valor. Cats, known for their independent nature and enigmatic personalities, possess a unique way of displaying affection and, when necessary, safeguarding their loved ones. Enter Zara, a captivating tuxedo cat whose unforeseen bravery emerged as a beacon of hope and protection for a family's beloved baby, unveiling a darker truth about their entrusted caregiver. Mary and Daniel joyously anticipated the arrival of their bundle of joy, welcoming little Ollie into their lives with unbridled love. From the very start, Zara, the family's beloved cat, displayed an extraordinary affection for Ollie. Wherever Ollie roamed, Zara would stealthily follow, providing comfort, companionship, and a watchful eye. As Mary prepared to return to work, the couple sought a caregiver for young Ollie. Turning to a familiar face, Alicia, a trusted family friend, was deemed an ideal candidate to care for their child. Initially, all appeared well, but soon, disquieting shifts in the household dynamics began to emerge. Zara, who had previously been friendly and welcoming towards Alicia, suddenly exhibited uncharacteristic aggression whenever the nanny was around. Alarmed by Zara's unexplained behavior, Mary and Daniel took notice, becoming increasingly concerned for their baby's welfare. Their worries intensified when Ollie seemed unduly sensitive to loud noises, flinching at unexpected sounds. Mary's maternal instincts went on high alert—was Alicia causing harm to their innocent child? With the inability to afford sophisticated surveillance equipment, they ingeniously turned to Zara as an unconventional but invaluable sentry. A discreet recording device was carefully affixed to Zara's collar, aimed at capturing the nanny's interactions with Ollie. What the recording unveiled was nothing short of heart-wrenching. The audio footage revealed Alicia's distressing treatment and harsh verbal demeanor towards the baby. Determined to gather substantial evidence, the family strategically installed cameras around the house, relying on Zara's natural tendency to stay close to Ollie as their covert observer. The incontrovertible footage depicted the harrowing reality of Alicia's mistreatment, confirming the couple's worst fears. Swift action ensued as law enforcement intervened, leading to Alicia's arrest on charges of child endangerment. The court mandated counseling and permanently revoked her ability to provide child care. Mary and Daniel, shaken by this grave betrayal of trust, vowed never again to entrust strangers with their child's well-being. Zara, their devoted feline companion, remained a constant sentinel, ensuring Ollie's safety with unwavering vigilance and an instinctual protectiveness that transcended mere pet loyalty. With the nurturing love and attentive care of his devoted parents, coupled with Zara's unyielding vigilance and feline wisdom, Ollie flourished, embarking on his journey through childhood. Zara, the unspoken hero, transitioned from a cherished family pet to an invaluable guardian angel—a steadfast and silent protector who played an instrumental role in ensuring Ollie's safety and happiness. Read the full article

[quetzalpapalotl]

Would have loved to see Optimus and Tarn interact. I mean, Megatron turned Damus into a con for the sole reason of pissing off OP, saying that if he could be turned then anyone could. Damus probably admired Orion a lot, I mean Orion was heroic and drew people to him plus he would have been nice to Damus. Orion probably felt a lot of affection towards the outliers because they're something Shockwave left behind and were with him while he had to run from Sentinel.

I wonder if Optimus misses Damus. He's probably full of rage and blames himself for what he became, but hasn't given up hope that he can be better, as he is. Tarn must be full of disdain, saying he can't believe he ever followed this guy.

[alteredsilicone]

NEW WAR SPOILERS!

Gonna put together a rough post of my thoughts about the quest and such, ALL UNDER THE CUT:

Kahl and Teshin were underwhelming playstyle wise, since they just felt like clunky and unwieldy warframes. Also Kahl's portion was confusing visually because everything was tinted red. :^) I died twice lol, had to get used to the mechanics. Teshin's part was, in his own words, too easy. But not frustrating at least.

Veso was REALLY fun and yes I am biased towards Corpus. He was also really cute and I liked his heroic sacrifice in the end. Using proxies to solve puzzles and fight was a cool step back from our usual gameplay, ngl I hope we can get a summoner warframe or have more NPCs as playable segments in stories or events.

The ending of the prologue where Lotus is thrown into the Void (?), Teshin is killed and then our Operator is "killed" was BOMB, it really set the mood and made me fear that heads are gonna roll.

That said...

Drifter play was fun - I am really glad DE made it not too hard but still fun to play and not too grindy. I am a Chroma main so my usual playstyle is "stand in enemy fire and just blast them with your Vex Armor Buffed Damage" so actually having to time my shots reminded me of when I was newbie and actually played carefully by taking cover. :D

FUCK THE FORTUNA SNEAKING SCENE, that was the only time I felt like ragequitting. Also The song was 12/10, it sent chills down my spine when I realized what it was based on.

I got really scared when Ordis said that Vox Solaris "collapsed" under Narmer, felt better when LD showed up... but you know what? A bit upset there is no real aftermath. I ran to Fortuna after the quest and everyone is just vibing there. LIKE HELLO? Cool that Vallis is permawarm now.

I really really really hoped there would be more input from all the NPCs, which is why I liked the intense start. If they can kill Teshin, that means they can kill more NPCs but... nothing really happened. Like, the stakes were high and then they weren't. Plus we never got any follow-up with Teshin, he is just a hologram and we don't even care. Poor uncle.

Yeah, Erra died too but like... I was neutral about him and then he just dies and I'm like ok bye I won't miss you

Other than that - Unum part was fine, REALLY REALLY liked the Zariman stuff and the Operator/Wally/Drifter stuff.

I am really invested in the Operator character so I was very happy that we were given more personality and acted more human and interacted with the world. Also I chose drifter and my Tenno OC is now perma-drifter story-wise. I'll mold the lore later.

I am on fifty tangents now but...

I really liked everything that came after the second Archon fight so I can't complain.

The ending and callback to the Second Dream brought me to tears.

I chose Lotus because I feel that is what /she/ chose too.

Also really wanted to punt Ballas right in his dickless crotch for calling Lotus a bitch. What a dick. Absolute scumbag. Good riddance!!!

Ps. Ordis as a little sentinel is super precious. We can hug him now. ;_;

[flamestar1031]

basically i just finished up doom 3: lost mission today and i wanted to draw out the doom protags and slap some headcanons i got for them. below the cut is the transcript of the text cause tumblr’s prolly gonna make this crunchy. also will add a few tidbits as well!

Doomguy/Doomslayer, classic doom games + 2016 and Eternal

- most brutal out of the bunch

- also most experienced

- seems to be the most hardened and cold but is really a big soft dork

- considered a god by some but doesnt like to think of himself like that

tidbit for this doomguy is that he’s actually from another dimension on 2016/eternal. my headcanon is that the classic doom games happened in an alt. dimension from the modern ones, and that around a century after doom 64 happens in what I’ve dubbed the classic timeline, the doom 3 games happen

Bravo Marine/Lane, Doom 3: Lost Mission

- Leader of the bravo squad

- lost eye due to being knocked out by the imp

- most strategic of the bunch

- closest related to the martian civilization by blood

- doesn’t seem threatening but can be if the situation demands it

multiple tidbits for this dude! the name lane originates from the cutscene where the bravo squad are ambushed, there are two names spoken, one being lane and the other sam. his appearance is based on the second player doom marine in the xbox port of the game which had co-op! also the blood thing is based on the idea that after the shit on mars went down, martians (sentinels in my mind but ill get to that later) moved to earth and basically became part of humanity. Lane here is the most directly descended from those out of the bunch, minus the Hero.

Doom Marine, Doom 3 Base game

- very aware that most of the demons he fights used to be human

- afraid of becoming a demon themselves and losing his humanity

- not very intimidating and pretty open about emotions

I don’t have any tidbits bout marine, rip

Roe Marine, Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil

- blames himself for the death of his squad

- acts like a dick sometimes

- really interested in the history of the martian civilization

- not really intimidating, comes off more annoying than anything

tidbits bout this dude is he’s just a really abrasive type, and if you put him and marine in a room together they would get into an argument. they do not get along AT ALL

The Hero, the hero of the ancient martiann civilization from doom 3

- a hero described in the myths of the ancient martian civilization

- is a sentinel themselves, the mars society is this  timeline’s version of the sentinels

- the most traditionally heroic out of the bunch

- very little info is known about them

tidbits about them is basically what it says on the tin, just worded a bit better. one of my headcanons is the martian civilization on doom 3 is that dimension’s versions of the sentinels. The Hero is the one displayed in the stone tablets, being the one to wield the soul cube in an attempt to stop the forces of hell. I have this whole thing in my mind about how this dimension’s versions of the maykrs fit into this and its wild and too long for this post. on a design note, since the hero in the stone tablets looks like classic doomguy, i took elements from that armor and mashed them up with night sentinel armor to get the look for them! 

anyways thats the doom protags plus one! I’ll prolly draw them more in the future cause i have ideas on how they’d interact with one another and just... big fun ideas! i hope y’all enjoyed my headcanons!

[tyrantofthefirmament]

Hey, Star, did you have a favorite museum or anything back on Vos?

I had several! Vos's museums were unique on Cybertron, in that they were open to the public. The entire public. You didn't need a special pass is you were low caste. Of course, lower castes from other cities would likely never come to Vos in the first place, but say a courier or someone was sent here - they could visit the museums if they wanted to. It shocked me when I learned other cities' lower castes didn't go to museums, when I would visit the Stellar Galleries in Iacon.

Speaking of Stellar Galleries, Vos had some too. Research-wise, they weren't as extensive as the one in Iacon, where you could set your frame of reference and see the stars from any point in space. Iacon's were a Golden Age institution and they reflected the interstellar scope of Cybertronian civilization at the time. Vos's galleries predated the Golden Age by a lot. The first ones were from Cyberton's Warring States period, right at the beginning of Vos's Classical Period. They were built in the oldest towers of the city, the Spires of the Heavens, as a gift from the lords Corona's Blade and Eclipse to the scholar-lord First-Light-Through-Storms for joining their alliance and essentially creating the Vos we know today. They were largely mechanical circles with some holographical capabilities, and they could be positioned in real time to replicate the observations of the telescopes in the other six towers. They were a real testament to Eclipse's engineers guild's skill.

Once the city grew taller and brighter around them, the observatories there became less useful, and new towers were built nearby in Vos's unversity. Those galleries were similar to the ones in Iacon, with full holographic displays and the ability to zoom in on other star systems. However, the view was locked into an orientation based on observation from Cybertron. It made up for that by being open to the sky and city, so the holograms corresponded to what you actually saw when you looked up, and they were overlaid onto some of the most beautiful views on Cybertron. Even mecha with no interest in astronomy flocked to the Stellar Galleries just to look.

Another museum I liked was the Quintesson War Museum. It had a lot of items from the war, like part of a Quintesson ship's hull, lots of weapons, and some intense holographic simulations of battles. Vos's Armada played an important role in ridding our planet of the occupation, and the museum had some of the most extensive records of those battles and the people involved. It was not a popular museum outside of Vos, because it was accused of stoking nationalism, and it even drew protests and had all mentions of it scrubbed from the Grid feeds when they did a special exhibit on the Quintesson roots of the caste system. They "made up for it" with an exhibit on Sentinel Prime's heroic actions in uniting Cybertron and defeating the Quintessons. Of course, the contrast between Sentinel back then and how he was in the late caste age stood out clearly (and deliberately), but Iacon was appeased. They often didn't pick up on Vos compliments.

My other favorite places that might qualify as museums were Vos's large, outdoor art spaces. A lot of our visual art was meant to fill public spaces and be enjoyed outdoors, sometimes even while flying. We had kinetic sculpture gardens where the wind would create movement and sound. It was very relaxing. The training hall in the Air Command had a walkway along its landing platforms carved with battle scenes that seemed to move as you walked along and the light shifter over the metal. The Artisan District, along with indoor art galleries, had holo-arrays you could fly through, that would interact with you as you flew along. My favorite one was a flock of stratofalcons, since flying near real ones is too dangerous.

I hope it's possible to recreate at least some of those places from records in the archives. It won't be as good as having the originals, especially of the really ancient ones, but bringing some of it back in some way would be a relief.

[yuexuan]

Fic Tag Guide

I’m not the most conscientious when it comes to providing warnings and basic information in my fic recs. So I thought I’ll create a guide about the common tags used for CN fiction summaries/tag systems.

Disclaimer: This is not all-encompassing and most of them are drawn from my reading of danmei novels (although tag application may extend beyond the danmei circle). I tried grouping them under similar tags, but know that these groupings are not set in stone. Feel free to let me know if I’ve missed anything!

Additionally, please check out Link 1 and Link 2 who have also done similar posts.

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古代/古风 (Gǔdài/Gǔfēng) “ancient times/ancient style” - Stories set in historical timeline or contain historical elements

武侠 (Wǔxiá) “martial heroes” - Heroic stories focus on martial arts; may or may not integrate more fantastical elements.

仙侠 (Xiānxiá) “immortal heroes” - Fics falling under the xianxia genre typically draw heavily from Chinese mythology/folklore, Taoism, Buddhism, mixed with some martial arts. The concept of ‘cultivation’ (修仙 Xiūxiān) to achieve immortality is central to this genre. Fics are usually set in historical periods.

民国 (Minguo) “Republic of China” - Fics with backgrounds set in the time period of the Republic of China/Minguo Era (~1912-1949). Stories under this category tend to include a lot of tragedies, wars, complicated politics, and anti-Japanese sentiments. I tend to avoid minguo fics, but of the few ones I read, the trope of a military officer (军官 Jūnguān) falling in love with an opera actor (sometimes derogatorily referred to as 戏子 Xìzi) is quite popular.

宫廷 (Gōngtíng) “imperial court” - Fics focused on imperial court drama.

玄幻 (Xuánhuàn) “fantasy” - Stories with elements of Chinese mythology/folklore. Note that xuanhuan novels are NOT limited to historical settings.

魔幻 (Móhuàn) “magical realism” - A genre of novels incorporating ‘magical realism’ (think Lord of the Rings). Alternatively, another term 奇幻 (Qíhuàn) is also commonly employed.

西幻 (Xī huàn) ‘Western fantasy’ - This is sometimes used interchangeably with Móhuàn, but can also refer to general stories with Western-fantasy/folklore elements (e.g. vampires/werewolves). Alternatively, the term 欧风 (Ōufēng) - ‘European style’ may be used.

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现代/都市情缘 (Xiàndài/dūshì qíngyuán) “modern day/urban love” - Fics set in the contemporary era/within urban setting.

豪门 (Háomén) “wealthy elite” - Featuring one or more characters originating from wealth. A common trope is the ‘Cinderella’-esque dynamic where a commoner gets noticed by a rich dude and is embroiled into the conflicts of the rich.

娱乐圈/演艺圈 (Yúlè quān/yǎnyì quān) “entertainment/showbiz” - Stories where the characters are actors/celebrities. A common trope is the ‘Cinderella’ dynamic where an unpopular artist (e.g. 十八线艺人 ‘18th-line artist’) gets into a relationship with a top-tier celebrity (e.g. 影帝/一线明星 ‘1st-line celebrity’)

网络/网游/网配 (Wǎngluò/wǎngyóu/wǎng pèi) “Internet/online games/online matching” - Characters in the fic develop their relationship through the web. Entails a lot of chat-speak and web memes. A common trope involves the main pairing meeting each other online and in real life, but not knowing their alternative web ego until the Big Reveal.

军文/军旅生涯 (Jūn wén/jūnlǚ shēngyá) “military adventures/life” - Characters are part of the military, usually involves power couple dynamics.

职场 (Zhíchǎng) “workplace” - Office-setting fics. A related category is 霸道总裁 (Bàdào zǒngcái) “domineering CEO”  featuring the popular trope of a possessive, rich, and popular CEO with his partner

校园 (Xiàoyuán) “campus” - Romantic slice of life stories set on campuses.

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未来世界 (Wèilái shìjiè) “future world” - Fics set in futuristic timeline

末日/末世 (Mòrì/mòshì) “doomsday” - Fics with apocalyptic-settings; usually contain survival-focused plots

丧尸 (Sàngshī) “zombies” - Usually survival-oriented fics with zombies

星际 (Xīngjì) “interstellar” - Fics set in outer space and alien planets. A common plot features the conflicts between the ‘Federation’ (i.e. 联邦 Liánbāng) vs. the ‘Empire’ (i.e. 帝国 Dìguó). May or may not include a third party: the ‘worm/insect species’ (虫族 Chóngzú).

机甲 (Jījiǎ) “mecha” - Futuristic fics where mecha with virtual personalities are prominent features.

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盗墓 (Dàomù) “tomb-raiding” - A specific genre dealing with tomb-raiding adventures and hauntings.

灵异 (Língyì) “supernatural” - Self-explanatory

悬疑推理 (Xuányí tuīlǐ) “mystery” - Suspense and mystery

探险 (Tànxiǎn) “adventure” - Self-explanatory

无限流 (Wúxiàn liú) “Infinite flow/style” - This genre of fics is all inclusive; i.e. including elements from sci-fi, history, religion, myth, game, animation etc. where characters enter into different settings. A common example is where the characters are forced into a game in which they have to pass through multiple levels/settings in order to survive. For more details on this genre and their sub-division, please see here.

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重生穿越 (Chóngshēng chuānyuè) “rebirth and transmigration” - The main protagonist died and is transmigrated either back in time or into another dimension or timeline. Alternative/related tags that you might see include:

穿书/快穿/系统  (Chuān shū/kuài chuān/xìtǒng) “book transmigration/quick transmigration/system” - System specifically refers to the transmigrator having an internal system that interacts with them in their new body. Think RPG style games lol

金手指 (Jīn shǒuzhǐ) “golden finger(s)” - A common trope in transmigration novels where the transmigrator is gifted with talents/powers that allow them to thrive in the new world.

前世今生 (Qiánshì jīnshēng) ‘past and present” - Characters continuing their relationships from their past lives.

破镜重圆 (Pòjìng chóngyuán) lit. translated as “re-rounding the broken mirror” - Fix-it reunion stories

异能 (Yì néng) “special abilities” - Characters with special abilities/superpowers/mutants

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甜文 (Tián wén) “sweet fic” - Fics that are filled with fluff and tooth-rotting sweetness.

种田 (Zhòngtián) “farming” - Piece of life, fluffy stories featuring the main couple; often takes place in rural areas (hence the whole farm image lol)

爽文 (Shuǎng wén) “satisfactory or feel-good fic” - The whole point of this type of fic is that the readers feel good after reading it. A common trope is a revenge style plot where the main protagonist regains what they lost through taking revenge on those who had wronged them.

沙雕文 (Shādiāo wén) “silly fic/crack” - Homonym for ‘傻屌’ (Shǎ diǎo; silly/stupid); these fics are not intended to be serious

美食文 (Měishí wén) “food fic” - As the tag suggest, don't read this type of fic on an empty stomach lol

虐文 (Nüè wén) “angst fic” - Self-explanatory

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ABO “alpha/beta/omega” - Self-explanatory; you can read the fanlore here

哨兵向导 (Shàobīng xiàngdǎo) “sentinel-Guides” - Based on the original Sentinel fandom (see fanlore here).

兽人 (Shòurén) “beast/anthros” - Similar to abo. Males (雄兽 Xióng shòu) are capable of transforming between an animal and a human, whereas “females” (雌兽 Cí shòu) retain the human form and can get pregnant. There may also be the beta, in this case referred to as 亚兽 (Yà shòu) who can neither transform nor get pregnant/difficult to impregnate. Usually set in some prehistoric era and entails the protagonist transmigrating into this world as a “female”. In the same vein, for the interstellar insect species, some fics developed the male, female, and sub-insects trope.

哥儿 (Gē er) - A ge er is similar to an omega, basically men who can get pregnant and are marked by a flower shaped pattern on the forehead. I’ve only come across 3-4 fics with this trope and all of them are set in the historical era where the ge er tends to be very feminine. If anyone has any more info on this trope, let me know!

🌸 🌸 🌸

攻宠受 (Gōng chǒng shòu) “top pampering the bottom” - The top in the relationship will care very well for the bottom. The opposite would be 受宠攻 (Shòu chǒng gōng) “bottom pampering the top”. Alternatively, the writer might just mark it as 宠文 (Chǒng wén) “pampering fic” in general.

年下 (Nián xia) - Younger top and older bottom; one common phrase you might encounter describing the younger top is 小狼狗 (Xiǎo lánggǒu) or “little German Shepherd”, referring to handsome and domineering young man.

On the note of dogs, you might also see 小奶狗 (Xiǎo nǎi gǒu) “unweaned puppies) referring to cute and soft young men, and 二哈 (Èr hā) “dumb husky” referring to silly characters

年上 (Nián shàng) - Older top and younger bottom

As a warning, age gaps in these types of fics can sometimes be large depending on the context, and could overlap with more controversial, dubcon genres 

师生 (Shī shēng) “teacher-student” - Fics featuring the relationship between teacher and student

师徒 (Shī tú) “master-disciple” - Fics featuring the relationship between the master in a martial/cultivation sect and their disciple

[galmaborn]

i want to talk about 𝐌𝐘𝐋𝐀'𝐒 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 because i’m pretty sure i forgot to mention it in her bio, but it’s a really integral part of her story.

her parents did not bother to name her, because they knew from the start that they were going to give her up.    it’s like how parents tell their kids not to name stray animals because they’ll get attached & then want to keep them.    the zygerrians also didn’t bother giving her a name for very similar reasons.    she wasn’t the only unnamed kid on the ship, & they all sort of acquired various nicknames.    some of them stuck & some didn’t.    none of myla’s ever really did, because they were super generic like “kid” or “freckles.”    the closest one that came to sticking was “blue.”

oga also didn’t bother naming any of the orphans that she brought in, but the ones under her “care” did eventually give each other more proper names.    long before myla began working for dok-ondar, she wandered into his shop &, either out of childlike curiosity or being led by the force, became very interested in a lightsaber that dok had.    the ithorian rattled off the few facts about the saber that he knew: that a jedi named myl vlahu had wielded it over a thousand years ago in a war with the sith.

the story really stuck with myla, to the point that she made up all of these fantastical stories in her head about myl & began to idolize the heroic warrior that she imagined the jedi to be.    she dreamed of following in myl’s footsteps when she’s older, not as a jedi but just as a hero, & names herself “myla” after her childhood hero.    she eventually gives up on those dreams & resigns herself to a life in the criminal underworld, but those fictional stories got her through some hard times as a kid & she’ll always be grateful to myl for that.

in verses where she’s a jedi herself, she learns of myl’s heroic deeds as a youngling & similarly names herself after her.    she also really values how the clones have given themselves their own names, even though she doesn’t have much interaction with them as a sentinel.    on the occasions that she does, she really tries her best to remember every single one of their names on the off-chance she ever runs into them again.    she knows how important her name is to her, & she can’t imagine how much more the clones’ names mean to them.

[cryogenicmuses]

❛ don't tell me you got some frost on that heart of yours, snow. i'll provide the heat to melt it away. ❜

unscripted asks // ALWAYS ACCEPTING //@bitterarcs

"Frost?" At first, the Second Class SOLDIER couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then, he burst out laughing. "You makin' a pun of my name there, Reno?"

Snow shook his head, giving the Turk a look with an amused mako-infused gaze.

"Look, if you're gonna go there, how about ya buy me a drink first?" He folded his arms, watching Reno curiously. "I don't go past first base until after a drink."

[laur-rants]

Transfiguration -- Ch 2: Better

Fandom: Doom Rating: Mature, because violence against demons Pairing: Sam/Slayer [eventually] Summary: There’s definitely still some strain going on here. AO3 Link Previous Chapter: Next Chapter

------------

Hayden paces Room 235, his long legs taking him the distance of the extended, decorative table in the center of the room in only half a dozen steps. He looks down at the ingrained wood; in stark contrast to the clean, geometric blue and white of the building, the table was actually two halves of a dark, rust-colored trunk, with the gap between the halves connected and filled with a golden epoxy. His optics traced the intricate designs; every flaw in the wood, every knot, every bore had been filled with the striking gold, making the near-black finish look as if it was bleeding rivers of molten fire. Every imperfection, perfected and made all the more beautiful for it.

Hayden runs two of his right arm's four spidery, cybernetic fingers along the table, testing their sensitivity. He detects the smooth finish, the work of the expert who designed the furniture-- but also, there is the imperceptible sensation of the tree's rings, the story of its life laid bare under the sealant. He brings those same fingers back up to his chin, resting them there in a thoughtful manner-- a painfully human thing to do, Hayden decides, and his hand drops unceremoniously to his side.

It's five minutes past the hour (and 47 minutes after his original message was sent) when the sealed and reinforced glass doors to the meeting room finally slide open with a hiss. Hayden's attention turns from the table instead to a person he hasn't seen face to face in over a decade: the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, the Doom Slayer. A reputation that preceded someone who was, in reality, just a single man, cursed millennia ago to face Hell alone, blessed by angels to make sure his rage was honed into the deadliest spear. The imperfect… perfected.

Today, however, he just looks tired and maybe a touch annoyed that Hayden called him here.

"Ah, Slayer," Hayden starts, his voice cool and unbothered. "Thank you for making it on short notice. I had figured you'd get tired of that hospital bed soon enough; did the doctors treat you well, at least?"

Slayer says nothing, as expected. He appears to have only brought half of the Praetor Suit with him, perhaps due to the tender bandages covering his body. His arms and torso and head are exposed, but his Praetor boots and belt remain. At the mention of doctors, Slayer's lip curls and he looks away. He decides against moving from the doorway, instead allowing the huge table to act like a chasm between the him and Hayden.

"I'll take the bandages as a good sign, then," Hayden continues, ignoring the strained atmosphere. "Nobody goes up against the Icon of Sin without retaining a few injuries along the way. Not even the Destroyer himself."

Slayer's face distorts in disgust, as well as another, hard-to-place emotion (is it confusion?). The cyborg tilts his head a half a degree, studying the man as analytically as possible. Hayden's HUD calls up Slayer's vitals; aside from the re-stitched and bandaged lacerations, he was perfectly healthy. Nothing to worry about, per usual. When Slayer shifts, Hayden refocuses on his face, anticipating a response-- instead the man just leans against the door frame, arms crossed, eyes bored. Hayden sighs; of course Slayer's being stubborn as always, so he takes the initiative, walking around the conference table in the middle of the room, tapping a button at the corner closest to Slayer. It brings up a hologram of what appears to be Earth, with demon hotspots zones marked, though they all look dramatically reduced in size.

"I am glad you're up and about, though. You may not care, but there's much to be done that you could still help with. This Earth has barely begun to heal itself but luckily it is, just like humanity, extremely resilient."

This Earth. Hayden keeps an eye on him, but Slayer doesn't even flinch at the clear distinction. He breathes a sigh of relief that neither of them feel like beating around that particular bush today.

A few more button presses bring up the Moon, and, more distressing, a shattered image of Mars.

"Luna and Mars are both of another issue. With the Icon gone, most forces are being called back to Hell on the Earth's surface meaning humanity can recolonize. Anyone directly connected to the Deags or UAC's Tier 3 recruitment are being located and incarcerated. But Luna remains dust in space, and personnel on Phobos are still scrambling with the remaining demonic forces and the new gigantic scar quite visible on Mars' surface. Luckily for you--" Hayden tilts his head in mild irritation towards the Slayer for emphasis "--your heroic actions means you won't be charged nor will you be pursued for the permanent damage done to the red planet." Hayden says that last part with dripping annoyance, and the Slayer has enough gall to grin in response, as if to say "who would be stupid enough to try and pursue me, anyway?"

"Don't give me that look, Doom Slayer," Hayden chides, but the sly smirk doesn't falter. "Mars will never be the same. Perhaps it is for the better… Argent energy is, for the most part, gone. It can still be manufactured here in a man-made capacity, but it will soon require the Crucible to make the process continuous; however, it is still powering the Fortress of Doom. It is possible humanity could regain access to Argent by reforging your blade on Argent D'Nur. I'm sure the Fortress can access that world, when you are well enough to we can--"

The Doom Slayer clears his throat.

The sound cuts Hayden off completely. He looks over, hearing that ragged noise without really registering what it meant, not really, not until Slayer rumbles out another sound before--

"Samur. Shut up."

The silence hangs as Hayden appears to obediently listen to Slayer's command. He stands up straighter, rocking back on a mechanical heel, but Slayer's gaze doesn't waver. Hayden breaks the contact first, a weakness he is sure Slayer will use to his advantage. But what else could he do but take a moment? That was a name he had not heard spoken in millennia. It was a title lost to time, a title Hayden had nearly forgotten, and almost wished he hadn't remembered in the first place.

It left him suitably silenced.

"Ah, of course." He starts, recomposing himself. "I should have expected you to realize, given enough time and interaction, who I was, or used to be." It wasn't a true facade-- this name, this body, the escape to this planet --but he wasn't fit to discuss it, not yet. Not when Slayer had already figured the truth of the matter, and he wasn't clear of all the details himself. That didn't stop images flashing by-- of racing stars, of violent dismemberment, of feeling his atoms pull apart and back together again and again--

"Information on Urdak," he continues, his even tone belying his passing internal turmoil, "is limited on this planet, if not completely non-existent outside of unreliable religious text. For us to finish our mission you needed to know everything I knew, and being directly connected to Maykr technology only enhanced what I already knew, gave greater clarity." The robot shifted on his legs, acutely remembering how he had been without those specific limbs not too long ago.

Slayer, however, shakes his head, grunting in annoyance. Even being most of the way out of his armor, even when more than three feet of height separated Hayden from Slayer, that did not stop the man's physique from radiating power and intimidation.

"Before," the Marine manages, his voice still a ruined mess. Perhaps something happened to it in Hell, Hayden hypothesizes. There's no way it was from back then, with the Sentinels. They enjoyed your war cry far too much to ever... Hayden pushes those intrusive thoughts from his mind as, somehow, Slayer continues. "Back when I woke up." His eyes dart to Hayden, look him over, and his expression goes steely.

"Liked you better, before."

Something in Slayer's tone hits Hayden personally. Before. Back when he was still Samur Maykr, back when maykr and demon called him Seraphim, back when Argent D'Nur wasn't destroyed for the sake of energy and power. It was filled with a strange nostalgia, one that pulls at a string in Hayden that was long-since cut and left to fray. Still, he manages a leveled response.

"I only wanted to help them, you know," Samur -- no, he was Samuel now, and never before had he misstepped on his own name, not until Slayer had said it himself, in that accusing tone -- retorts, holding ground. Hayden's voice is still rough and mechanical, but the defensive edge laces every word. "I found an Earth, I saw what they discovered, and I knew it was only a matter of time before it led to demons as well as to you--"

Slayer heavily frowns and he coughs out a rough growl before looking away. He's quick to head back out the door he came in from, gaining physical distance from Hayden as his Praetor boots thudded heavily against the surgical tile.

A feeling of panic strong enough to spike a system warning message overcomes Hayden's HUD and his cyborg body begins to follow Slayer of it's own accord.

"This world-- you are not a constant, Slayer," He argues. "They were doomed to be swallowed whole, just like your Deimos, just like parts of Argent D'Nur, just like countless nameless realms and worlds. I had to stay, emulate you while I searched, while I tried to do better than--"

Slayer stomps away, faster now, but Hayden's longer, tireless legs are moving, closing the gap quickly as Hayden makes the cardinal mistake of reaching out to touch an exposed shoulder.

Slayer snarls, grabbing Hayden's hand and twisting it. His eyes are flashing as the hand the Slayer crushes spurts electricity, the long metallic fingers crunched in his palm. The same sensors trained to register the subtle changes in wood grain now scream in a form of pain, lighting up his visual array. The fire in Slayer's eyes burn with anger and Hayden realizes too late his egregious miscalculation.

"Using that energy… I would have never…" Slayer can barely get the sentence out before his vocal cords are working against him, causing a cough so strong he has to look away. The menace soon returns, however; the hand is mangled again, shoved away from the accosted shoulder so hard it nearly falls off Hayden's arm. The cyborg just stares, watchful and expressionless.

"You are not better, not anymore," Slayer rasps, only getting the spitting rebuke out on a whispered exhale. Then he's turning away, his throat roughly clearing, before resuming his march. The doctors and technicians he passes all turn to stop and look at him but he pays them no mind as he stomps off towards his room. Many of them soon rush to Hayden, still standing in the hallway outside Room 235.

Why had he even called Slayer there in the first place? Surely it wasn't it have this sort of outcome take place. Hayden's systems scream at him, flashing red in his peripheral. His arm was losing functions; Slayer must have cut a fuel line to the lower limb. He's dimly aware of a technician nearby, already running diagnostics, already saying something along the lines of "are you ok sir, let us just check this over, we'll have a replacement ready for you in--"

He waves off the ARC employee and turns to walk away.

Better. What did the Slayer mean, saying he wasn't 'better'? His actions have saved this Earth, saved humanity, and in time, would free his own people of corruption and let them be born anew. Wasn't all of that the outcome Slayer wanted, too? Doesn't this make all of those sacrifices worth it? Hayden wasn't looking for praise, no, but was a little acknowledgement for what they'd both accomplished too much to ask for?

He should've known the Slayer's trust wasn't so easily won over.

------

[Taras Nabad, ??? Years ago]

He is standing on the outer wall of Teras Nabad (one of the greatest Sentinel cities, he's come to learn), watching on as the inner wall begins to burn. A huge, hulking form relentlessly attacks the city, lit in the darkness of early morning by the fires of its own destruction. It tosses it's giant, horned head, the Hell essence falling from its eyes like molten tears, and the roar it emits pierces the very heavens.

The man known to the Argent people only as Slayer clenches his fists at the sight before him. His hands are begging for a demonic throat to close around, if only to calm the torrential wave of memory-induced anger threatening to drown him. Of all the fights, of everything that he has borne witness to, living a hundred lives in a personal purgatory…

That Titan. He could not defeat it. For the first time, his rage alone was not enough.

He had seen Titans in Hell before, of course, but it was always in passing, and always from a distance. He dreamt (if one could call the feverish vision he had, dreams) of ripping them asunder with his own fists, of finding creative ways to murder them, just like the rest. Perhaps he would end up being swallowed, fighting his way out, bursting with his shotgun with huge guts flying asunder. Or perhaps saw off their horns, drive in the spikes ruining their body, crashing them down into the Hell energy they themselves created. No matter the fashion, there was always a way. He reveled in the challenge of actually finding it..

But now, the challenge is before him and it is a difficult pill to swallow; Slayer, the unstoppable force, could not budge this gigantic immovable object.

He turned from the sight, finding it hard to witness another city he called home fall to demons. As the Night Sentinels he fought with found a moment of sleep, he remained restless, constantly on alert, the wheels turning too loudly in his head to bring him peace. For the first time in so many realms and so many worlds, he felt… despair. It left his mouth tasting like cinders and ash.

"You sure do take the title Night Sentinel to heart," drones a deep, ethereal voice, and Slayer turns to his right. He is startled but unsurprised to see the hooded figure of the Seraphim watching him from the shadow of the bridge tower. Slayer manages to roll his eyes and beckons the Maykr over; the Seraphim only hesitates a moment before finally relenting. He is robed in red, a robe he donned specifically for moments like this, the hood obscuring his face and his intentions. As he nears Slayer, he hesitates again, pulling the hood back only when the coast is deemed clear. The Seraphim's face was slightly different from the others of his kind, more individual than the angels and their militaristic uniformity. No, his metallic Maykr mask gleams softly even in the dark, four eyes sharp and glowing, the crescent of energy upon his forehead reminiscent of the orb held within the Mother Khan herself. Though he was close to the same height of Slayer, he floated a few feet above the ground and his body whirred softly as mechanical armor worked in perfect tandem with the tentacled flesh hiding just underneath.

Slayer smiles. It is brief and does not reach his eyes. "And you really need to shut up, Samur."

The name prompts a grin from the Maykr, as if the line is a long-standing joke between them. Samur watches Slayer, carefully, unblinking, then turns to observe the monster befalling the city. Such a huge set piece, it almost felt unreal. Here was the end the world, and at the rate the titan was moving, it would claim it by morning.

There is a silence that hangs between man and angel for a while before Samur turns to Slayer and says plainly, "I do not have much time. You know this."

Slayer nods, then swallows. "I cannot kill the beast," he confesses, and it sounds so much worse aloud than in his head. "All my tricks, my weapons… I can't rip this beast asunder. It sees my rage, my fury...and ignores it."

Samur is quiet, listening to Slayer, with an unmoved expression, but even his alien calculation appears to register the Slayer's bittersweet emotion. There is something else there, and it maykr turn and watch Slayer carefully.

"You can't possibly be considering defeat?" Samur asks, near incredulous.

"No, not like that. I can't run... I will… I will die fighting it. There is nothing else for it." He looks down, his muscular frame deflated. "This was an inevitability, Samur. I knew in my heart this would happen. I will go down fighting these monsters and my dying breath will be the final assault. It will be an end I will be proud of. I just…" his eyes soften.

"You just what?" asks that graveled whale song, followed by that imperceptible head tilt.

"I just need to be better," he mutters softly. "But I'm only a man. I'm mortal. And no single mortal can bring down something like that."

Samur remains silent and Slayer grows impatient as the helpless seconds tick by. He paces the wall, watching as the beast screams out in tormented defiance.

"I do have a plan of attack," Slayers gets out in a rush as his body pumps him with frenetic adrenaline. "But the sentinels all know it's just a suicide run at this point. We've all agreed and accepted it. We will flank in the morning, and hope to divert it's attention while the western parts of the city evacuate. Then--"

"Slayer."

"--we will do out best to swarm it, and herd it. It can ignore me, but it cannot ignore a coordinated strike. Pushing it towards the center of the City will crowd it, and allow people to escape to--"

"Slayer!"

The Slayer stops. He looks back at this creature, this otherworldly angel, and frowns in confusion, then worry. The maykr's face is expressionless as ever but there is a glaze to his wide eyes; wherever Samur is looking, it is nowhere in the present.

Maykrs were, in many ways, ridiculously alien compared to humans, but not even this weird stunted behavior was normal. Panic grips at the Slayer's heart and he steps forward.

"What?" Slayer asks, suddenly concerned, his fists closing, eyes darting and body sharpening as he prepares to fight. "What's wrong?"

It is a few long moments before Samur can even get close to responding. The metal of his body shines with an unseen light as his fingers twitch and his tentacles thrash from under his robes. Slayer makes a brave decision and touches the maykr, hoping to calm the creature and surprised to find his breath syncing with the maykr's own. He let's go, startled, but the contact seems to be enough to Samur to come to. He focuses on Slayer, his four eyes wide and shining.

"I know what to do." Samur's breathing continues to come fast, and suddenly his clawed hands are shakily pulling his hood back up. "I-- we-- Slayer, it can be done. I can give you what you seek."

There's a stunned silence between them. Slayer's blue eyes narrow as he looks skeptically at the maykr. Then Samur reaches out for him, a strong metallic grip on his shoulders.

"Slayer, I am -- I have seen -- please, do you trust me?"

There is a fraught energy about Samur, an individual usually so composed he could be emotional opposite to Slayer's perpetual energy and intensity. The marine searches Samur's glowing eyes, seeing the thinly veiled terror there, and remembers his earlier words: I don't have much time.

Right now, none of them did. And the clock was still ticking.

Slayer nods. "Yes. I do," he responds. "Tell me, what needs to be done?"

[thesevenseraphs]

Bungie Weekly Update - 9/5/19

This week at Bungie, Mars is on the mind.

A few weeks ago, we forecast our first Community Challenge. Our destination of choice: Mars. With a unique emblem and additional Menagerie loot to earn, we knew you’d take this on… but we didn’t think you’d prosecute the Hive this quickly. To say we’re impressed with your progress is an understatement. Here’s a quick snapshot of how far you’ve come in so little time:

Remember, to qualify for the exclusive Community Event emblem, you'll need to complete one Nightfall before next Tuesday at 10:00 AM Pacific. Luckily, it looks like there's some work to be done in the Nightfall department. Don't forget, we have the Find Fireteam feature on Bungie.net and the Destiny Companion App if you're in need of some team mates. We'll be sending out emblems to qualifying players next week, so be sure to stay tuned for updates.

We’ve got some exciting news on the docket this week. A Bungie Bounty, upcoming Crucible changes, Sandbox ability tuning, and a fashion show of upcoming armor. Let’s get to it.

JOIN THE STRIKE TEAM

Next week, we’re assembling a special strike team for another Bungie Bounty—and, like we always do, we’re leaving a seat open. In keeping with our streaming tradition, this is your chance to find us in the wilds of matchmaking and engage in live combat with the hopes of winning an emblem as your reward. On this occasion, we’re putting a price on the heads of whichever strike bosses the fates choose.

Bungie Bounty—Strike Team Edition

Destiny 2 on Xbox Live

Heroic Strike Playlist

Tuesday, September 103–5 PM PDT

www.mixer.com/Bungie

If matchmaking chooses you to play on this fireteam, your fellow Guardians will be two titans of industry (even though one of them plays as a Hunter). These are two old friends who have recently been reunited by Cross Save. They’ll be live at Bungie to stream their session.

 If you get matched up with these Guardians, and they decide that you held up your end of the fight, they’ll award you an emblem you can use to prove it—so be sure to back them up on the path to victory. Look alive and play your best game. This will be your first chance to win the Destiny 2 Year 3 Bungie Bounty emblem. Check it out!

 They’ll launch as many strikes as time permits, with a different Guardian from the community as the third player. If you’re watching and participating in chat, there will also be some prizes for you to win as a spectator. We’ll have seven Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Collector’s Editions to award—and those are otherwise sold out.

Our friends at Xbox also have some special prizes up their sleeves, so tune in to watch or queue up to fight alongside two of the biggest Destiny fans we know.

========

SHAKE SHAXX

Many of you have been asking how the Crucible experience will change on October 1. While we outlined some changes in the Director’s Cut: Part III article, we wanted to put the magnifying glass on a few more upcoming changes.

Director Update

When Shadowkeep launches, your Crucible Director will look a bit different. Here’s a quick rundown from the Director’s Cut:

We’ve removed the Quickplay and Competitive nodes from the Director.

If you’re looking for an experience like Quickplay, we’ve added Classic Mix (a connection-based playlist [like Quickplay today]). Classic Mix includes Control, Clash, and Supremacy.

Competitive is replaced by 3v3 Survival (which now awards Glory).

We’ve also added a Survival Solo Queue playlist that also awards Glory.

We’ve added 6v6 Control as its own playlist.

With the potential influx of new players this fall, we want to have a playlist that signals to new players where to start.

We feel like 6v6 Control is the right starting place when introducing new friends to Destiny.

We’ve added a weekly 6v6 rotator and a weekly 4v4 rotator.

These rotator playlists are where modes like Clash, Supremacy, Mayhem, Lockdown, and Countdown will appear.

We want to create some variety in the PvP experience from Season to Season, and one way we’re doing that is to bench some maps for the Season. While they’re out of rotation, if time allows we also hope to improve how they play by tweaking spawn areas, ammo spawns, and overall structure so they return better than before. The first four to be removed from all playlists are:

Dead Cliffs

Legion’s Gulch

Retribution

Solitude

We also made a pass on all playlists, removing some maps from playlists where they don’t shine.  Equinox is now only in Scorched, Mayhem, and Breakthrough, and Firebase Echo is only in Supremacy, Mayhem, and Breakthrough. While we are removing a few maps, we are also introducing Widow’s Court, Twilight Gap, and the new map, Fragment. Think Dreaming City meets Infinite Forest.

Elimination is also making its return to Destiny 2 via Crucible Labs. We’ll be testing out multiple variants of Elimination rulesets and settings to see how the mode plays with the new weapons and abilities of Destiny 2.

Heavy Ammo Sharing

Heavy ammo is shared only in all 6v6 modes, and those crates have a sparkling effect to denote this. Once a player picks up Heavy ammo, their teammates have a limited amount of time (currently 7 seconds—this is something we can tweak between Seasons based on community feedback) to interact with the same ammo crate to get Heavy ammo. If the other team picked up the crate, it will turn red to indicate you cannot pick it up during this period. When the time window expires, the crate despawns.   Each player gets less Heavy ammo from shared crates than they do from unshared crates in 4v4 and 3v3 modes. The amount of ammo you receive from a crate is static and does not change based on how many teammates share the crate.

Rank Systems Update: Streaks and Floors

Glory, Valor, and Infamy streaks have been made more resilient. Instead of resetting your streak, losses will now reduce your Valor and Infamy streaks by 1, and your Glory streak by 2. You can still lose Glory, but if your rank is at or below Fabled, you can’t lose Glory if doing so would drop you below that rank (each rank through Fabled acts as a floor for Glory).

Competitive Matchmaking Updates: Skill and Glory

Destiny has always tracked player skill behind the scenes, taking into account things like kills, damage dealt, and so forth. These factors all contribute to a player’s skill rating. In Season 8, we’ve mapped skill ratings to Glory ranks, with the lowest end of the scale mapping to Guardian I, and the high end mapping to Legend. Most players are somewhere between these extremes.

As you play in the Survival playlist, the Glory system will accelerate you to the rank that corresponds to your skill rating. If your current rank is below where your skill rating says you should be, you’ll earn extra Glory based on the criteria above so you can get to your expected rank faster and lose less Glory so you don’t fall farther away. Once you reach your “expected” rank, Glory gains and losses will normalize.

Meanwhile, your skill rating is continually adjusting based on your performance, shifting the system’s understanding of your “expected” rank, and causing the Glory system to respond by pulling you toward that rank. The result should be that over time, your Glory rank will become an accurate reflection of your skill. It also means that teammates of different skill will experience different Glory adjustments from the same Survival match.

When it comes to Crucible, matchmaking and hopper nodes are only half of the puzzle. Over the next two weeks, we’ll be detailing Sandbox changes, which directly impact the meta that you’d find in our PvP environment.

SHADOWKEEP SANDBOX UPDATE: ABILITIES

As Destiny 2 continues to evolve with the upcoming release of Shadowkeep, many of the tools in your space magic toolbox are receiving a tuning pass. This week, we’ll be focusing on subclass changes, as the list is fairly hefty. Below, we’ve paired developer commentary with upcoming patch notes to paint a picture of how your abilities are being updated—and, more importantly, why.

Buffs

Nightstalker Way of the Pathfinder (Bottom)

Goal: We want to lean into the fantasy of a speedy disruptor. Pathfinders need more tools to scout the battlefield and a skill based way to engage with that gameplay more often. We should reward this scouting and battlefield control gameplay, executed well, with more opportunities to do the same. At the same time shadow shot needed some quality of life improvements for long standing frustrations.

Vanish: Smoke bomb grants invisibility to allies

Gives 1 stack of Heart of the Pack (newly revamped) to all allies hit

Grants +34 to armor, recovery, and agility

Gives weapon reload speed and handling

Max 3 stacks

Increased invisibility duration from 7 > 8 seconds.

Provision: Killing tethered enemies creates super orbs and increases agility, armor, and recovery for allies

New Perk (old perk benefits moved to be part of Mobius Quiver)

Damaging enemies with your grenades reduces the cooldown of your smoke bomb (6% per damage tick)

Making allies invis gives you grenade energy (17.5% per ally)

Moebius Quiver: Fire super multiple times and deals massive damage to tethered targets

Added the old Provision perk to naturally be part of Mobius Quiver

Killing tethered enemies creates super orbs and grants stacks of Heart of the Pack for allies

Expanded the range of Heart of the Pack from 20 > 30 meters.

Shadowshot Super (Top and Bottom path)

Damage increased from 150 > 250

One shot kill in PvP

Improved tether accuracy near obstacles

Suppress on hit is more consistent

Sentinel Code of the Protector (Top)

Goal: This path is the main support role for Titans and focuses heavily on melee kills while staying near allies. We want to focus more heavily on buffing allies so that players care about the timing of their buff usage. With a loop which allows players to get their melee energy back more quickly this will be a more engaging path to play. Additionally, Ward of Dawn is currently not up to snuff, and needs a buff that ties in to the fantasy of buffing allies.

Defensive Strike: Melee ability that creates an overshield for nearby allies

All kills while the overshield is active grant melee energy for the player with the shield (works for all allies you grant a shield to)

This is based upon enemy threat level from 5% (minors) to 25% (players and bosses)

Rallying Force: Melee kills heal nearby allies

Heal buffed from 10 health and 10 shields to 10 health and 20 shields (50% increase)

Ward of Dawn: Alternate super that creates a shield bubble

Increase ward health versus supers

Most supers will require the whole thing to be dumped on the ward to destroy it but will (usually) not kill the players inside.

Ward grants weapons of light buff when passing through it (35% weapon damage for 15 seconds)

Grants an additional super orb (3)

Auto-generated orbs now grant the same amount of super energy as regular super orbs (previously the orbs gave less super energy on par with masterwork orbs)

Sentinel Code of the Aggressor (Bottom)

Shield Bash: Shoulder charge that disorients nearby enemies

Now suppresses the target hit and any enemy within 2 meters (have to be basically right next to them)

Voidwalker Attunement of Hunger (Bottom)

Vortex: Nova Bomb leaves behind a damaging AoE pool

Initial explosion damage increased 15%

Lingering damage increased 15%

Dawnblade Attunement of Grace

Well of Radiance: Alternate super that creates a healing/buffing field for allies

Grants an additional super orb (3)

Auto-generated orbs now grant the same amount of super energy as regular super orbs (previously the orbs gave less super energy on par with masterwork orbs)

Nerfs

Nightstalker Way of the Trapper (Top)

Shadowshot: Fires an arrow that damages enemies and debuffs enemies nearby

Damage sharing for the Nightstalker player specifically reduced from 100% to 50%

Now all allied players have 50% damage sharing on tether

Nightstalker Way of the Wraith (Middle)

Flawless Execution: Headshot kills while crouched grant invisibility and truesight

Truesight now lasts 3 seconds (down from 9)

Shattering Strike:

After performing a Flawless Execution, your melee attacks have a longer lunge range and weaken enemies

Advanced warning: When we made the change to Flawless Execution this also unintentionally nerfed this ability to only last 3 seconds (it was directly tied to the truesight). We have prepared a fix for the 4.6.1 patch to restore the weaken and lunge range increase to last the entire 9 seconds regardless of truesight and invisibility status.

Instant Reloading

Goal: In the beginning, Lunafactions and Rally Barricade did exist, but they were clunky to use. They still had dramatic impact on gameplay even in that state, but eventually we decided to make their effects easier to handle. The problems they introduced always existed in the game, but over time these have become magnified due to new abilities, perks, and weapons introduced into the Destiny 2 sandbox. The impact of something that takes all reloading out of the equation means that other perks or effects like the Hunter’s Marksman Dodge or the Sealed Ahamkara’s Grasps can simply fall to the wayside – Even swords take a hit in comparison, being one of the few weapons that naturally never needs to reload.

Reloading is one of those mechanics that are simple, but have wide ranging consequences. Because the effect on gameplay of removing reloading is inversely proportional to the size of your weapon’s magazine and how slow your general reload animations are, weapons like Rocket Launchers and Shotguns can benefit greatly compared to other weapons. This, alongside the increase in general access to damage bonus effects like Well of Radiance left us with the decision to remove this effect from these two sources, as they were causing things to quickly snowball out of control.

Titan Rally Barricade

This ability now provides a large increase to reload speed for the duration of the effect

This ability no longer automatically reloads your weapons from reserves

Warlock Rift/Well of Radiance

Lunafaction Boots now provides a large increase to reload speed for the duration of Well of Radiance

This exotic no longer automatically reloads your weapons from reserves

Super Energy Regeneration

Goal:

These changes will reduce the speed with which players are able to earn their super which supports difficulty and reduces the current ability to trivialize certain content through excessively chaining supers. Systemically, we want to reduce base sources of supers on a large macro scale without diminishing the feeling that your actions are gaining you a worthwhile energy boost. By reducing the speed at which you gain super we can make mods and perks feel more worthwhile. We still want it to feel like you can make meaningful progress not only through normal play but by augmenting super energy through teamwork, class choices, gear, and skillful play.

New Energy Granted by Super Orbs:

Super Orb: 7.143% (50% reduction)

Masterwork Orb: 2.5% (50% reduction)

Kills: (25% reduction)

Minor: 0.6%

Elite: 0.96%

Mini-boss: 1.8%

Boss: 3%

Player: 3%

Assists: (25% reduction)

Minor: 0.3%

Elite: 0.48%

Mini-boss: 0.9%

Boss: 1.5%

Player: 1.5%

Damage Multipliers

Goal: At Destiny 2 launch, damage buffs were fairly sparse – There was Empowering Rift for a small increase, and you could combine it with a weakening effect such as Hammer Strike, but very little else. As time has gone on, we introduced Well of Radiance, Weapons of Light, Guiding Flame, Frontal Assault, etc, and combining these effects has resulted in player damage output far beyond what was previously available. Even with just a small amount of them, a player can go from 1x damage to 3x and beyond, causing there to be an extremely large gap between standard player output and theoretical output. By preventing the larger effects from stacking, we are able to keep each of them around without having to do something in response like raise boss health to compensate for these tactics, as well as create more of them. As an example, Lumina would not have been created in world where the damage bonus effect of Noble Rounds stacked with other damage effects, and these changes are simply an extension along those same lines.

While the weakening effects never stacked, we also took a look at them and adjusted their values as many of our more powerful units would simply evaporate when touched by one of them, but we compensated for that in other ways, such as either extending the duration of the effect or in the case of Shadowshot, making it affect power weapons.

Player Damage Buffs

Player Bonuses

Bonus damage effects that apply to all of a player's weapons simultaneously no longer stack multiplicatively. The highest applicable bonus will be used instead.

This does not affect single weapon buffs such as Rampage, Kill Clip, or exotic weapons that increase their own damage. These will still stack multiplicatively.

Buffs that provide bonus damage will still exist simultaneously on the player, so in the event that the one with the highest multiplier wears off the next highest will be used instead.

This change affects the following weapons/abilities (Empowering Rift, Frontal Assault, Guiding Flame, Sun Warrior, Inertia Override, Well of Radiance, Lumina/Noble Rounds, Weapons of Light)

Notable exceptions: Vengeance (One Eyed Mask)

Frontal Assault

Bonus damage is now +20% (Previously +25%)

Sun Warrior

Bonus damage is now +20% (Previously +25%)

Well of Radiance

Bonus damage is now +25% (Previously +35%)

Weapons of Light

Bonus damage is now +35% (Previously +25%)

Enemy Debuffs (Weakened)

Shadowshot

Incoming PvE damage is now +30% (Previously +35%)

Incoming PvP damage is now +50% (Previously +55%)

This effect no longer excludes power weapons

Tractor Cannon (Repulsor Force)

Incoming PvE damage is now +30% for all elements (Previously +33%/50% for Non-Void/Void damage respectively)

Incoming PvP damage is now +50% for all elements (Previously +33%/50% for Non-Void/Void damage respectively)

Hammer Strike

Incoming PvE damage is now +30% (Previously +50%)

Duration increased from 6 to 10 seconds in PvE

Shattering Strike

Incoming PvE damage is now +30% (Previously +50%)

Duration increased from 6 to 10 seconds in PvE

Reduced Super Damage Resistance

Goal: Since the launch of Destiny 2 we have slowly introduced buffs to supers, especially roaming supers. While we believe supers should be powerful they should not be mindless. We want supers to be more risky in both PvE and PvP. We want players to think about positioning and timing more. Not so long ago we experimented with Spectral Blades by lowering the damage resistance substantially. These changes were generally well received and improved the experience of the super for both the person running it and the person who was running from it. In PvE players shouldn’t feel like their super makes them invulnerable and casting one should call for situational strategic thinking. In PvP players need to feel like they can challenge a super and that with skillful play there’s a chance they can beat it.

Super Damage Resistance removed from masterwork armor

Inherent Super Damage Resistance lowered by category (see below)

Low- 54% → 49% 

Nova Fission

Thunder Crash

Blade Barrage

Nova Bomb

Well of Radiance

Medium - 56% → 51%

Hammer of Sol

Daybreak

High - 60% → 53%

Fist of Havok

Burning Maul

Sentinel Shield

Arc Staff

Arc Lightning

Shadowshot

Other (unchanged)

Spectral Blades - 52% / 54.4%

Golden Gun - 0%

Chaos Reach - 40%

Next week, we’ll be taking a look at how your arsenal of weaponry will be changing.

=======

ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION

Over the weekend, we were boots on the ground at PAX West. A few attendees helped themselves to a preview of some upcoming armor coming in Shadowkeep. This week, we’d like to showcase more upcoming sets, giving you a fashion show of sorts. Here are the fall collections, arranged by their sources.

Dreambane Armor Set Acquired from activities on the Moon.

Garden of Salvation Raid Armor Set Acquired from the Garden of Salvation raid.

Substitutional Armor Set Acquired from Seasonal activities, free Season Rank rewards, and premium Season Rank rewards.

Phenotype Plasticity Universal Ornament Set Acquired from premium Season Rank rewards.

Iron Will Armor Set Acquired from participating in Iron Banner.

Empyrean Cartographer Universal Ornament Set Acquired from the Eververse store.

In addition to all this, the currently available armor sets will drop as Armor 2.0 versions when Shadowkeep launches.

Armor 2.0: Reprisals

Crucible: Year 1

Includes Year 1 ornaments

Vanguard: Year 1

Includes Year 1 ornaments

Black Armory

Forge

Gambit

Gambit: Forsaken

Gambit Prime: Season of the Drifter

Menagerie

All Menagerie armor

Raids

Leviathan

Eater of Worlds

Spire of Stars

Last Wish

Scourge of the Past

Crown of Sorrow

Destinations

European Dead Zone

Titan

Nessus

Io

Mercury

Mars (Vendor and Escalation Protocol)

Tangled Shore

Dreaming City

There will also be additional world drops that can be found in Legendary engrams which have been updated to Armor 2.0.

DEPLOYMENT COMPLETE

Destiny 2 Update 2.5.2.2 is live, and players have flooded Reckoning for increased chances on their desired weaponry.

Destiny Player Support has kept a finger on the pulse of this update, looking for any missing pieces that may have fallen off the ship during its journey.

This is their report.

Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.5.2.2

This week, we deployed Hotfix 2.5.2.2 to Destiny 2. This hotfix made several targeted quality-of-life improvements to the Destiny 2 experience, including changes to the quests for the Wendigo GL3 and The Mountaintop pinnacle Grenade Launchers.

For the full list of changes made in 2.5.2.2, please see our Destiny 2 Update 2.5.2.2 page. Players who have observed issues after the deployment of this hotfix should report them to the #Help forum.

REMINDER: Moments of Triumph End Date is September 17

With Shadowkeep fast approaching, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind players that Moments of Triumph ends at the weekly reset on Tuesday, September 17.

At that time, the 2019 Moments of Triumph and the MMXIX Seal will no longer be available to players who have not completed them.

PC Silver Purchases—Log In to Claim by October 1

In preparation for the upcoming Destiny 2 PC migration to Steam, this week all Destiny 2 game and Silver product listings were disabled for purchase on Battle.net.

Players should be aware, however, that all in order for recent Silver purchases to successfully transfer to Steam, players MUST log in to Destiny 2 on Battle.net before October 1 to claim their purchased Silver.

The option to purchase Silver will be re-enabled on Steam on October 1 when Shadowkeep launches. For more information on the move to Steam, please visit our PC Move page.

Cross Save Issues

We are aware that some players have entered an undesirable Cross Save state due to Silver purchases on their account prior to the launch of Cross Save. To help mitigate these and other player issues, we have created a Cross Save Contact Form. All tickets regarding Cross Save issues will be addressed at the discretion of Destiny Player Support during regular business hours.

[fuckyeahjean]

Chris Claremont in X-Men Companion II (1982)

Sanderson: Then let’s get on to the other original member, Jean. There is some criticism, as you are probably aware, that Jean could not have evolved from the character she was in the early issues to the character she became in your issues. Do you feel like becoming the Phoenix created that radical change in her personality or do you think she was becoming more independent and attractive before you made her Phoenix?

Claremont: First, Dave and I deliberately set out to make her more independent and attractive before we made her into Phoenix. I saw no reason why a young, intelligent, attractive, courageous, heroic young woman should look like a Republican frump. I told Dave, “let’s jazz her up” - visually jazz her up, changing her hairstyle, giving her slightly flashier clothes - and when he became attracted to her, he liked drawing her and we liked using her again. I told him to do something with her along the lines of what Neal did with the Sentinels story - big effects - which we did in #98, against the Sentinels. 

And partly because there was all this talk about Ms. Marvel, we felt some pressure to get rid of the Marvel Girl name...

Sanderson: Not to mention the fact that her name was “Girl”.

Claremont: Yes, that always bothered me. And neither of us liked the costume, which was a bit dated. [...] So Dave and I sat down and he drew about two hundred sketches and we evolved the Phoenix costume. We wanted something that was a new Jean, and Phoenix was it. We had originally envisioned that she had a power level that was equivalent to Storm’s, and that the saving of the Univse was a one-time only stunt, that it was Jean achieving her full potential for that one moment...

Sanderson: Possibly because she was in the M’krann Crystal at the time.

Claremont: Yes. And she was drawing on the other X-Men for help. The ramifications were something we didn’t really consider when we started it. But I don’t see [our changes] of her as a violation [of her characterization in past issues]. Jean was always a very vibrant, lively character. She was courageous; witness her first fight with Magneto in the Savage Land [#63].

She was sexy; witness the danger room sequence with Lorna Dane in the first Sauron story - Neal drew those two fantastic head shots [#60].

She evolved into a somewhat more flashy woman than she was, but the key words there are “woman” and “evolved”. So I don’t see it as a violation of her original character. I see it as a growth of her original character.

Sanderson: Could you explain the references to the Kaballah when Jean saves the Universe in #108? 

Claremont: Well, the reference to the Kaballah was that my wife Bonnie and a friend John Warner and I discovered that after we’d been building the X-Men towards the climax in #108, that the eight X-Men all had aspects that related to the tree of life, the Kaballah, the seraphim, the divine angels of Jewish mythology, and Jean specifically related to Tipherath, who is the core, the centerpiece. Colossus was the base and Xavier was the crown, and each X-Man related in very specific ways - I’ve got it written down here somewhere - and Jean was the catalyst that held it all together, the centerpiece that gave it all meaning. I wanted to expand on the idea that the X-Men have a function in life, in the scheme of things, greater than themselves.  The whole of the X-Men is far greater than its eight parts. This was all supposed to relate to the conflict between the sephiroth and the clipeth, the bright side and the dark side, good and evil, and her salvation was supposed to come out of it. Jim [Shooter] didn’t understand that so he made us take it out in #136, which actually made for a more effective ending. There was a lot of talk. There were a lot of captions in the sequence where the Phoenix effect is getting bigger and bigger and actually it works much better with just a couple lines here and there, but it kind of rendered the first reference back in #108 [irrelevant] and not terribly sensible. I may go back to it; I don’t know.

Sanderson: So, after the saving of the universe, she was meant to be stuck at Storm’s level of power.

Claremont: One of the storylines Dave and I discussed was the possibility of turning her into a power junkie: the idea was that the more power she used, the more she wanted; the more she wanted, the more she got; the more she got, the more out of control it got. And she was scared, because she didn’t think she was ready for it, so she would deliberately not use her power, and then we’d deliberately put the X-Men in situations where she had to use her power. I wanted to give Jean an internal conflict, through which she could constantly demonstrate her heroic nature by overcoming it.

Sanderson: If you hadn’t had to do the Dark Phoenix storyline, would she have stayed at the level of power she exhibited in the Magneto story [#112]?

Claremont: I don’t know. I really don’t. Because much of it is an outgrowth of how John felt and how John and I interacted and how John and Roger [Stern] interacted, because that was part of it too. I felt Roger had a strong bias toward John’s opinions on the book.  Whereas Dave [Cockrum] and I were of one mind about what we wanted to do with Phoenix. It’s impossible to say what would have happened if Dave hadn’t left the book. 

[monstersdownthepath]

Spiritual Spotlight: The Forsaken

Forgotten Demigods of the Plane of Shadow

Domains: Varies Subdomains: Varies

Pathfinder Module: Cradle of Night, pg. 63

Zon-Kuthon and his merry horde of Kyton Demagogues weren’t always the great powers in the Shadow Plane. When the Eldest emerged in the First World, so too did the Forsaken emerge from the darkness in the Shadow Plane, but when the vile god Zon-Kuthon moved in, all of them were booted from their respective thrones and cast so far and so deeply into the darkness that no one has seen them since.

No one but their prophets.

The mysterious Owb can sometimes manage to commune with the Forsaken, gaining immense power as they align with their distant demigods. On Wednesday we’ll see what sorts of power that allots them, but for now, what happens when a normal mortal makes contact with these creatures? ... Well, nothing, because you can’t. ... But what if you could?

Boons are gathered slowly, typically being obtained once you achieve 12, 16, and 20 Hit Dice. Through the use of the Evangelist, Exalted, and Sentinel Prestige Classes, one can achieve the Boons as quickly as levels 8, 11, and 14 instead. The Forsaken do not have a dedicated Prestige Class (yet), so you must enter the mentioned classes to advance them quickly.

The Forsaken do not have Obediences or Boons at all, actually, but how about we change that?

Because they’ve been weakened by the loss of their followers, further sabotaged by greedy prophets, and are separated from Golarion by immense distance, they only grant one set of Boons, which are not particularly complex.

------

FEAT: Forsaken Obedience

Prerequisites: Knowledge (Religion) 3 ranks, Knowledge (The Planes) 3 ranks, must worship one of the Forsaken.

Benefit: Each Forsaken requires a different Obedience, but each Obedience takes only 1 hour to perform. Once you’ve performed the Obedience, you gain the benefit of a special ability or resistance as indicated in the “Obedience” entry for that Forsaken. If you have at least 12 Hit Dice, you also gain the first Boon granted by your patron upon undertaking your Obedience. If you have at least 16 Hit Dice, you also gain the second Boon. If you have at least 20 Hit Dice, you also gain the third Boon. Unless a specific duration or number of uses per day is listed, a Boon’s effects are constant. If you ever fail to perform a daily Obedience, you lose all access to the benefits and Boons granted by this feat until you next perform the obedience.

SPECIAL: This feat is considered to be Fiendish Obedience for the purposes of entering the Evangelist, Exalted, or Sentinel Prestige Classes.

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THE FORSAKEN

NOTE: All (sub)Domains are best guess. All Obediences and Boons are homebrewed, based on what little detail is given to us in Cradle of Night. Feel free to suggest/make your own because some of these were tough for me to figure out/balance.

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Enkaar, the Malformed Prisoner Neutral Evil Forsaken of Fetters, Lethargy, and Physical Corruption. Domains: Darkness, Destruction, Evil, Void Subdomains: Shadow, Torture, Corruption, Isolation

Obedience: Wear chains, shackles, a metal collar, or another such restraint that is tight enough to bruise you or cut into your skin. Wearing the items for 24 continuous hours counts as meeting the terms of the Obedience. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on saving throws against effects which would cause fatigue, exhaustion, or ability score damage.

Boon 1: You may cast Excruciating Deformation 3/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 2: You gain supernatural immunity to paralysis and petrification. Once per day, you may cast Black Tentacles as a spell-like ability, but the tendrils are replaced with enormous, filth-crusted chains. Boon 3: Gain the ability to cast Wither Limb 2/day as a spell-like ability. Creatures do not gain a saving throw against this spell.

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Eyes-That-Watch Neutral Evil Forsaken of Feelings of Inferiority, Felines, and Strangers Domains: Animals, Darkness, Evil, Trickery, Subdomains: Fur, Shadow, Fear, Innuendo

Obedience: Watch other creatures from the shadows, and whisper to yourself of your own superiority over such pathetic beings. If you are seen, you must relocate elsewhere to continue. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on Stealth, Bluff, and Sleight of Hand checks.

Boon 1: You may cast Deeper Darkness 3/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 2: You gain supernatural blindsight out to 60ft and can see in darkness, including magical darkness, out to 60ft. If you already have Darkvision, it is extended by 60ft. Boon 3: You may cast Prediction of Failure 1/day as a spell-like ability.

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Grasping Iovett Chaotic Evil Forsaken of Accidents, Parasites, and Reckless Lust Domains: Charm, Darkness, Destruction, Evil Subdomains: Lust, Shadow, Catastrophe, Plague

Obedience: Perform a sexual act with a creature that is attracted to you, while you are infected with a transmissible disease. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on Charisma-based checks when interacting with a creature that could be sexually attracted to you.

Boon 1: You may cast Contagion 3/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 2: You are no longer negatively affected by diseases and take no ability score damage or drain from their presence. Your sicknesses do not manifest physically, and their presence is entirely hidden from both magical and mundane examination. They may still be transmitted to others. Boon 3: You may cast Epidemic 1/day as a spell-like ability. A creature that fails its saving throw against this spell is also affected by Unnatural Lust, 

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Husk Neutral Evil Forsaken of Emptiness, Loneliness, and Narcissism Domains: Darkness, Evil, Glory, Void Subdomains: Shadow, Fear, Hubris, Isolation

Obedience: Seclude yourself somewhere where you cannot see or hear other beings, and observe your own reflection in a mirror, praising all of your feats and power while ignoring your flaws. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on saving throws to avoid any effect which would charm you or control your actions.

Boon 1: You may cast Silence 3/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 2: Your body becomes papery, and you appear hollow when cut. You are immune to bleed, disease, and poison. Boon 3: You become immune to mind-affecting effects. Creatures attempting to read your mind or alter your thoughts must succeed a Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your Hit Dice + your Charisma modifier) or be affected as if by Charm Monster.

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Lady Razor Neutral Evil Forsaken of Family Strife, Suspicion, and Vengeance Domains: Darkness, Destruction, Law, Nobility, Subdomains: Shadow, Hatred, Legislation, Aristocracy

Obedience: Work to corrode the bonds and loyalty of a family. This does not have to be a family by blood; it can very well be a group of strong allies. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks.

Boon 1: You may cast Keen Edge 3/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 2: You gain proficiency with all slashing weapons, and gain the Two-Weapon Fighting and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feats. Boon 3: You may cast Vengeful Outrage 1/day as a spell-like ability. If the target you designate is a creature your spell target considers its ally, the spell target does not receive an initial saving throw to avoid the spell.

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Reshmit of the Heavy Voice Chaotic Evil Forsaken of Broken Things, Forgetting, and Unexpected Violence Domains: Chaos, Darkness, Death, Destruction Subdomains: Entropy, Shadow, Murder, Catastrophe

Obedience: Swiftly and suddenly destroy an item belonging to someone else. At no point must you admit to this act, feigning ignorance when pressed. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus to saving throws against sonic effects.

Boon 1: You may cast Shatter 3/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 2: Your spells, weapon attacks, and unarmed attacks ignore half the Hardness of any object they strike. Boon 3: You may cast Greater Shout 1/day as a spell-like ability.

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Thalaphyrr Martyr-Minder Lawful Evil Forsaken of Failed Heroics, Imprisonment, and Squandered Time. Domains: Darkness, Law, Madness, Protection, Subdomains: Shadow, Tyranny, Insanity, Fortifications,

Obedience: While toying with a pair of manacles, a length of chain, or some other restraining device, mock aloud all the fools who stood before you and failed to stop you from achieving your goals, preferably in front of any of them that are still alive. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on CMB checks to grapple, pin, or restrain another. 

Boon 1: You may cast Slow 3/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 2: You may cast Wall of Iron 1/day as a spell-like ability. Boon 3: You may cast Binding 1/day as a spell-like ability; you can only select the chaining or hedged prison modes, but you do not lower the save DC because of it.

[taffystake]

This Week in Taffy Comics (AKA I Have A Busy Week But Still Wanna Talk About The Comics I Read)

As the title says, its time to write another batch of quick reviews for each comic.

Amazing Spider-Man #27: Picking up from last issue, we get to see the all-female Syndicate on their first opting: capturing Boomerang to torture him to death for how much he has screwed all of them over in the past/been generally scummy. And Boomerang is hanging out at the FEAST center to help Peter and May when they show up. So we get to see as an extremely well-coordinated Syndicate just brutalizes the extremely less-capable Spider-Man and Boomerang duo before taking Boomerang back to their base, where we see Beetle is planning to sell Boomerang back to Kingpin rather than the offers to let the others dictate what happens she told the rest of the Syndicate. And also, when Spidey goes to get his gear to track down Boomerang, he finds out that Randy Robertson, his roommate, is dating Beetle. So yeah, tons of fun little intriguing bits at work here. The art from Kev Walker is a ton of fun, if a little weak in some of the facial expression work. And this comic is still showing the small tie-ins to the villain Kindred from issue 25, with how Beetle (as an employee of Kingpin) won’t harm Spider-Man due to Kingpin’s deal with the centipede villain.

Absolute Carnage Separation Anxiety #1: Well, its time to see how the LIfe Foundation symbiotes that formed into Hybrid are managing out in the world. And how they are....is basically as a stray dog who comes across a young girl doing her best to avoid going inside to her about-to-be-broken family. So, in its Knull-crazed state, Hybrid decides to help out by ‘fixing’ the family and letting each family member get a symbiote. And so we get to watch as a young girl and boy essentially deal with the monster from The Thing, and all of the horror that entails. The art really helps to sell it, with everything looking nice and normal up until the moment Hybrid emerges, which is when the art just takes off with very tense paneling and crazy new models for the symbiotes. Its honestly a ton of fun and I recommend it as a read.

Silver Surfer Black #3: After getting smacked by Knull, Silver Surfer is now hanging out with a very young version of Ego and is trying to get the living planet to help him fight Knull. Except Ego has a massive pain and Silver Surfer offers to take care of it in order to let Ego help him and hopefully get Silver Surfer back to a place and time where he won’t be slowly dying due to using his powers. So he dives in, gets past the organic defenses that this living planet has and reaches Ego’s core. A core that is currently occupied by Lifebringer One, the cosmic incubator of Galactus. Still a lot of fun, definitely interesting to see Silver Surfer on the back foot for this comic run and can’t wait to see where we go from here. The art is definitely a lot more psychadelic and abstract than some people might enjoy but I find it a great time.

Ironheart #9: Riri is in Wakanda to find the Wellspring of Power that the Ten Rings is after and her only help is Shuri. Unfortunately, Shuri and Riri initially mix like oil and fire, at least until a lot of heroic action against shadow monsters that are likely a result of this wellspring occurs, letting Riri and Shuri establish something resembling a rapport. Luciano Vecchio is an amazing artist and really sells a lot of the characters and actions extremely well, the fact that Riri and Shuri drive each other nuts due to their similarities rather than just automatically clicking as a team because they both do hero things is fun and gives the whole story its own little arc instead of simply being all about the Ten Rings stuff. I am having a lot of fun with this series and hope the rest of y’all are as well.

Powers of X #2: Four stories that once again begin showing small details. In this case, it shows how Professor X and Magneto united due to Moira’s interactions with them, a reveal to the House of X crew about the Mother Mold that is orbiting the sun and preparing to launch Master Mold Sentinels towards the Earth, the crew with Rasputin and Cardinal showing their leader to be Apocalypse and preparing for what seems like a suicide mission to get information, and finally the robot world preparing itself for integration with a massive robotic collective from space. All are a lot of fun, but the small hints of information and the fact that this could be read separately from House of X and still get a great story (if requiring House of X #1 to understand things). 

Gwenpool Strikes Back #1: Gwenpool is desperately avoiding being retconned or removed from the Marvel Universe. So she will get herself powers from the radioactive bits of Spider-Man. How you ask? By robbing a bank and waiting for Spider-Man to show up to ask. Cause damnit, Gwenpool wants to remain relevant as a character. So she threatens Peter with revealing his identity, falls into the gutter space between panels and ends up seeing she is about to be retconned. So instead she decides to abuse a bit of reality-warping to become even more relevant....and also be irradiated as hell.

So yeah, fun week this week. Nothing will top Absolute Carnage for me for a long while but dang if this wasnt as least a fun attempt.