Anime Recommendations

Here lies even more shows that are worth watching

Demon Slayer (2019)

A family is attacked by demons and only two members survive - Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko, who is turning into a demon slowly. Tanjiro sets out to become a demon slayer to avenge his family and cure his sister.

My Rating: 8/10

Death Parade (2015)

After death, there is no heaven or hell, only a bar that stands between reincarnation and oblivion. There the attendant will, one after another, challenge pairs of the recently deceased to a random game in which their fate of either ascending into reincarnation or falling into the void will be wagered. Whether it's bowling, darts, air hockey, or anything in between, each person's true nature will be revealed in a ghastly parade of death and memories, dancing to the whims of the bar's master. Welcome to Quindecim, where Decim, arbiter of the afterlife, awaits! Death Parade expands upon the original one-shot intended to train young animators. It follows yet more people receiving judgment—until a strange, black-haired guest causes Decim to begin questioning his own rulings.

My Rating: 8/10

Noragami (2014)

In times of need, if you look in the right place, you just may see a strange telephone number scrawled in red. If you call this number, you will hear a young man introduce himself as the God Yato. Yato is a minor deity and a self-proclaimed "Delivery God," who dreams of having millions of worshippers. Without a single shrine dedicated to his name, however, his goals are far from being realized. He spends his days doing odd jobs for five yen apiece, until his weapon partner becomes fed up with her useless master and deserts him. Just as things seem to be looking grim for the god, his fortune changes when a middle school girl, Hiyori Iki, supposedly saves Yato from a car accident, taking the hit for him. Remarkably, she survives, but the event has caused her soul to become loose and hence able to leave her body. Hiyori demands that Yato return her to normal, but upon learning that he needs a new partner to do so, reluctantly agrees to help him find one. And with Hiyori's help, Yato's luck may finally be turning around.

My Rating: 9/10

Yona of the Dawn (2014-2015)

Princess Yona lives a life of luxury and ease, completely sheltered from the problems of the seemingly peaceful Kingdom of Kouka; however, the sudden murder of the king and betrayal of her beloved cousin Su-won places Yona's life in mortal peril. Forced to escape only with Son Hak, who is both her childhood friend and bodyguard, the naïve princess soon discovers that Kouka is not the idyllic place she envisioned it to be. Poverty, strife, and corruption run rampant, making reclaiming the throne nothing more than a wishful fantasy given the kingdom's current state. With only a mysterious legend to guide her, Yona must discover a way to restore Kouka to its former glory while being pursued relentlessly by the forces of the new King of Kouka.

My Rating: 8/10

Haikyu! (2014-Present)

Inspired after watching a volleyball ace nicknamed "Little Giant" in action, small-statured Shouyou Hinata revives the volleyball club at his middle school. The newly-formed team even makes it to a tournament; however, their first match turns out to be their last when they are brutally squashed by the "King of the Court," Tobio Kageyama. Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama, and so after graduating from middle school, he joins Karasuno High School's volleyball team—only to find that his sworn rival, Kageyama, is now his teammate. Thanks to his short height, Hinata struggles to find his role on the team, even with his superior jumping power. Surprisingly, Kageyama has his own problems that only Hinata can help with, and learning to work together appears to be the only way for the team to be successful.

My Rating: 9/10

The Devil is a Part-Timer (2013)

Striking fear into the hearts of mortals, the Demon Lord Satan begins to conquer the land of Ente Isla with his vast demon armies. However, while embarking on this brutal quest to take over the continent, his efforts are foiled by the hero Emilia, forcing Satan to make his swift retreat through a dimensional portal only to land in the human world. Along with his loyal general Alsiel, the demon finds himself stranded in modern-day Tokyo and vows to return and complete his subjugation of Ente Isla—that is, if they can find a way back! Powerless in a world without magic, Satan assumes the guise of a human named Sadao Maou and begins working at MgRonald's—a local fast-food restaurant—to make ends meet. He soon realizes that his goal of conquering Ente Isla is just not enough as he grows determined to climb the corporate ladder and become the ruler of Earth, one satisfied customer at a time!

My Rating: 9/10

The Promised Neverland (2019-Present)

Surrounded by a forest and a gated entrance, the Grace Field House is inhabited by orphans happily living together as one big family, looked after by their "Mama," Isabella. Although they are required to take tests daily, the children are free to spend their time as they see fit, usually playing outside, as long as they do not venture too far from the orphanage—a rule they are expected to follow no matter what. However, all good times must come to an end, as every few months, a child is adopted and sent to live with their new family... never to be heard from again. However, the three oldest siblings have their suspicions about what is actually happening at the orphanage, and they are about to discover the cruel fate that awaits the children living at Grace Field, including the twisted nature of their beloved Mama.

My Rating: 8/10

Toradora (2008-2009)

Ryuuji Takasu is a gentle high school student with a love for housework; but in contrast to his kind nature, he has an intimidating face that often gets him labeled as a delinquent. On the other hand is Taiga Aisaka, a small, doll-like student, who is anything but a cute and fragile girl. Equipped with a wooden katana and feisty personality, Taiga is known throughout the school as the "Palmtop Tiger." One day, an embarrassing mistake causes the two students to cross paths. Ryuuji discovers that Taiga actually has a sweet side: she has a crush on the popular vice president, Yuusaku Kitamura, who happens to be his best friend. But things only get crazier when Ryuuji reveals that he has a crush on Minori Kushieda—Taiga's best friend! Toradora! is a romantic comedy that follows this odd duo as they embark on a quest to help each other with their respective crushes, forming an unlikely alliance in the process.

My Rating: 9/10

Hypnosis Microphone: Division Rap Battle - Rhyme Anima (2020)

In a world overtaken by war and conflict, "Hypnosis Microphones"—devices through which a user channels lyrics that can affect the listener's brain and even cause physical damage—were introduced to the masses by the Party of Words. Revolutionizing warfare, Hypnosis Mics have transformed words and music into the sole weapons used by gangsters, terrorists, and the military, with physical weapons having been banned from use. As a result of swooping in during the chaos, the all-female Party of Words rules over the Japanese government. Women in Japan now live in Chuuouku, while men battle over surrounding territories outside the ward through rap battles. With intentions unknown, the Party of Words begins to gather the former members of the now-disbanded legendary rap crew The Dirty Dawg to fight not for territory or war, but for their respective crew's pride and honor in the greatest rap battle of all time. The first Division Rap Battle is about to commence, and practice isn't something these rappers are going to need.

My Rating: 6/10

Kamisama Kiss (2012)

High schooler Nanami Momozono has quite a few problems of late, beginning with her absentee father being in such extreme debt that they lose everything. Downtrodden and homeless, she runs into a man being harassed by a dog. After helping him, she explains her situation, and to her surprise, he offers her his home in gratitude. But when she discovers that said home is a rundown shrine, she tries to leave; however, she is caught by two shrine spirits and a fox familiar named Tomoe. They mistake her for the man Nanami rescued—the land god of the shrine, Mikage. Realizing that Mikage must have sent her there as a replacement god, Tomoe leaves abruptly, refusing to serve a human. Rather than going back to being homeless, Nanami immerses herself in her divine duties. But if she must keep things running smoothly, she will need the help of a certain hot-headed fox. In her fumbling attempt to seek out Tomoe, she lands in trouble and ends up sealing a contract with him. Now the two must traverse the path of godhood together as god and familiar; but it will not be easy, for new threats arise in the form of a youkai who wants to devour the girl, a snake that wants to marry her, and Nanami's own unexpected feelings for her new familiar.

My Rating: 7/10

My Roommate is a Cat (2019)

Subaru Mikazuki is a 23-year-old mystery novel author, major introvert, and an awkwardly shy person. He would much rather stay home to read a book than go outside and interact with others. Further exacerbating this life of solitude, his parents tragically died in an accident many years ago, leaving him alone in the world. One day, while giving offerings at his parents' grave, Subaru runs into a small black and white cat named Haru, which he ends up taking home with him. Subaru, however, has never taken care of anyone else in his life—can he even take care of a cat? Haru is grateful toward Subaru, as he gives her all the food she wants—a luxury for a cat who is used to a rough life on the streets. But she notices that Subaru can't even seem to take care of himself! Will she be okay with this dunce?

My Rating: 7/10

Here are some great bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of May. We really hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Louis Punishments | Mature | 1759 words

Just a bunch of punishments Harry has given to Louis.

2) Hoping To Discover A Certain Kind Of Lover  | Explicit | 2353 words

He knew the basic idea of what was supposed to happen. It was the entire point of the film Zayn was working on. To match up unmated alpha and omega strangers and to film them as they kissed for the first time. The two of them shuffled awkwardly back and forth, unsure of what to do.

Enough was enough. “I’m gonna just go for it, yeah?” Harry suggested, and Louis nodded quickly, already leaning closer to him.

Everything was hesitant at first. Tender lips met, and all of it was soft and new, neither of them wanting to overstep. A little zing of anticipation and something unfamiliar shot down Harry’s spine as he swallowed the tiny sound of surprise Louis made. Neither alpha nor omega were pushing, but that was the point of all of this, wasn’t it? To see what happened when people let go and let themselves be? Harry figured he would try. For the sake of the experiment, of course.

Gently, so, so gently, Harry slid his hand up the side of Louis’s throat, cupping his jaw to hold him as close as he could. Their lips finally, finally, finally parted, and Harry could taste the hint of tea and honey lingering on Louis’s tongue. Suddenly and all at once, he couldn’t get enough.

3) Irresistible | Mature | 2380 words

Louis goes into his first heat at school and no one is able to resist him. Harry - who's been in love with him since forever - fucks and bonds him in the toilets.

4) Signed, No Name | Mature | 4647 words

Harry doesn’t know Blue, he just knows that he leaves random notes in the corners of the books he checks out, and he’s head over heels for him.

5) It Could've Been Worse | Not Rated | 4949 words

The one where a pandemic happens, harry is obssessed and louis hates apps made for 15 years old.

6) Take Me To The Stars | Explicit | 5840 words

Staring at his darling daughter, in the middle of the pasta aisle, Louis found himself on the edge of a neurotic breakdown.

"It’s your birthday tomorrow! And your papa better not do anything to muck it up! Because your dada worked very hard to organise it! And all of your aunties and grannies and granddads and friends will be there!” Louis continued in a sweet sing-song voice that seemed to get increasingly frantic as he continued. “And if your papa is in rut, then what? What’ll we do, honey girl? Your dada will be too busy! And your papa will be too horn-”

“Louis,” Harry interrupted, touching Louis’ arm. “I’ll be okay. It’s probably not even my rut. I can appreciate you… all of you… even when I’m not in rut.”

Louis looked at him skeptically, imagining the shitshow that would be Harry in rut, surrounded by family and friends, at their child’s first birthday party. “I hope you’re right, H.”

7) Kiss Like Fire | Explicit | 9093 words

Harry watches as his uncle's new omega walks around the backyard, serving canapés and drinks to all of the family members gathered. Harry is surrounded by his cousins, all sat together, too young for the adults but too old for the kids and teens. He lifts his beer to his lips and takes a sip when the omega crouches down by one of Harry's younger cousins and hands her a small cracker, sending her off with a sweet smile.

He watches as his uncle comes out of the house, sliding the patio door shut behind him and quickly making his way over to his omega. The omega looks up at him when he wraps an arm around his waist. His pretty lips move with soft-spoken words. Harry has to fight to keep his alpha in check when his dirty old uncle's hand dips down, grabbing at the omega's ass and making him jump.

"Dude," one of his cousins says, "Uncle Darron's new omega is such a milf."

8) Waking Up Alone | Mature | 10060 words

"Nothing makes you hurt like hurting who you love"

Love shouldn't hurt, loving somebody with everything you have shouldn't make you feel like you're dying. Louis feels like he’s drowning. He should have known where this was going from the start, he should have been prepared. Now he’s waking up in an empty bed, some days he doesn’t want to even wake up again. There's a hole in his heart; it's in the shape of Harry. Nothing he does can fill it. Drugs, alcohol, pouring out his heart into songs that Harry probably won't ever hear. When Louis is with him, he feels like he’s in heaven. Being alone, that's what he feels he deserves, at least Harry can be happier without him.

Maybe if they met at a different time, under different circumstances, he could have saved them. Louis had to do what was best for Harry, but it kills him a little everyday. Louis sees his smile everyday, but he knows it's no longer for him. Someone else makes Harry happier, but Louis wanted it to be him. They could have had forever. Louis would have given Harry everything.

"Forget what I said, it's not what I meant" Harry had tried to say, but Louis knew that wasn't the truth. After everything they’ve been through, Louis still loves him.

9) To The Beat Of My Own Drum | Explicit | 10285 words

A collection of drabbles.

10) Alone Too Long | Explicit | 10371 words

By the time The Temptress finally reached bay, the Captain only had one thing on his mind, and that one thing was Louis Darling.

11) Straight Boy | Explicit | 12251 words

Young, brunette and handsome, Louis attracts unwanted attention in prison. When his cellmate offers him protection, Louis accepts the offer, even though he doesn’t trust the guy. Little does he know how much it will change his life.

When he’s released from prison, Louis finds himself needing and wanting things he shouldn’t want. Louis is straight. He is. He has a girlfriend. What happened in prison stayed in prison—or so Louis tells himself.

Until he meets his former cellmate again. Harry. The guy he hates and craves.

12) Beautiful Crime | Not Rated | 13282 words

Note: This fic contins no explicit smut but since it’s a/b/o we’ve decided to include it in this monthly roundup. 

Louis is keen to defeat the one and only Alpha Harry Styles who has a notorious reputation in the entire country for his ruthlessness but a turn of events brings them on crossroads which deviate from their havens of war.

13) Anticipation | Explicit | 14156 words

Louis' a stripper. Harry's the new club owner. Louis decides he wants to get in his new boss' pants fairly quickly, but it might take more work than he thought to do that.

14) Strong Enough | Explicit | 20787 words

“So…” Liam starts, and Louis instantly knows where this is going. He’s actually glad it’s Liam that's dragging the subject out from the shadows and into the light. Louis turns to face him, mirroring his position on the couch and nods, ready for him to continue. Liam takes a deep breath. “Have you spoken to Harry recently?”

Five years after Vertigo goes on hiatus, the band comes back together for a benefit concert. Can Louis and Harry work through their complicated past, or are some wounds too deep to be healed?

15) Alpha and Omega | Not Rated | 22270 words

Note: There is no smut where someone bottoms in this fic, but it contains omega Louis, so we’ve included it in this monthly roundup. 

Louis finds a new sense of self when the son of the werewolf leader, Harry Styles, comes to town to quell unrest in the Chicago pack and inspires a power in Louis that he never felt before.

Not my own work but rather a reimagination of the book Alpha and Omega with Harry and Louis.

16) Amazing Grace | Mature | 24290 words

Harry’s a dedicated pastor who's happily married, Louis is the troubled youth that stumbles into his life.

17) A Trail Of Honey Through It All | Explicit | 27083 words

The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him.

18) Just a Bit Twisted | Explicit | 30548 words

Professor Harry Styles is hated and feared by all of his students. Strict, reserved and ruthless, he doesn’t tolerate mistakes and has little patience for his students.

Louis Tomlinson is a twenty-year-old struggling to provide for his younger sisters after the death of their parents. On the verge of losing his scholarship, Louis becomes desperate enough to go to Professor Styles.

Everyone says Styles doesn’t have a heart. Everyone says he’s a ruthless bastard. Louis finds out that everyone is right.

He strikes a deal with Styles, but unexpectedly, the deal turns into something so much more.

Something all-consuming and addictive.

Something neither of them wants.

19) Like It's A Game | Explicit | 32223 words

There is little harry hates more than truth or dare.

20) We'll Be the Fine Line | Not Rated | 32474 words

“…Hey, Harry. It’s Louis…… um, yeah. Listened to the album tonight. It’s real good mate. Um, yeah, just real, impressed. I was kinda putting it off, ya’know, didn’t know if I wanted to listen to it. Saw you went on James and, uh, Saturday Night Live. Couldn’t watch you, have a hard time watching you on these things……. Anyway, mate, just thought I would drop a line. Don’t need to call me back. Alright.”

Louis listens to Fine Line, and, drunk, he leaves a voicemail for Harry after months of not speaking. This reminds Harry of a time before everything fell apart, slowly, painfully, a time when the two of them were still in love. And he desperately wants to go back.

21) The Space Between | Explicit | 33074 words

Living in East Verona was a privilege. One Prince Harry only found out when he decided to cross the borders into The Zone looking for entertainment, a temptation, a distraction, anything that would allow him to escape his boring, mundane life of luxury.

But what he found was something he never could have expected - poverty, destruction, chaos, but most importantly, a blue-eyed boy.

Together, they embark on a journey plagued with hazards and risks and twists and turns.

Can these two star-crossed souls fight for their freedom and keep each other safe at the same time?

22) Yes, Daddy, I Will | Not Rated | 33510 words

Where Harry is a dom and Louis is his cute little sub.

23) Last Blues For Bloody Knuckles | Explicit | 34241 words

Styles was a name everyone knew. It had evolved into something of a fairy tale, a far away problem that normal people didn’t have to deal with. Louis never thought he’d find himself falling in love with him. When he finds himself pregnant with Harry’s child, he knows he has to leave the life, and Harry, behind. For her sake.

He never expected Harry to show back up on his doorstep five years later.

24) Before We Knew | Explicit | 39593 words

Or Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed into his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

25) Hit Me With Your Sweet Love | Explicit | 39690 words

Powerful people only end up with powerful people. The rest are just playthings in their lives. Louis Tomlinson was many things, but he wasn’t anybody’s plaything.

26) Stole My Heart | Mature | 51343 words

Louis doesn't want much. A warm bed, and people who care about him.

Harry has everything he needs, despite his mother insisting he needs a mate. Money, status, and any omega he wants, why lock his heart down.

Until Louis comes along, and steals it.

27) No Going Back | Explicit | 56102 words

Sales reps Harry and Louis are bored with their jobs and their lives. After meeting at a conference in Cardiff they hook up, have a few too many drinks, and jokingly apply to become remote lighthouse keepers. Six months, just the two of them, looking after the southernmost lighthouse off the bottom of Australia. It’s not like their applications will be accepted. Right?

This is the story of how one choice - a left instead of a right, a go instead of a stop, a yes instead of a no - can change the future forever and that sometimes, taking that leap of faith, is worth the risk.

28) Royal Desires | Mature | 66207 words

When Prince Louis falls into an early heat, his new personal guard Harry Styles is brought in as his heat partner for the time being until Louis finds a suitable royal prince to bond and take the throne with. The only problem is that Harry is everything Louis wants but can't have. Freedom, tattoos, individuality...and quite possibly love.

29) How To Break A Heartbreaker's Heart? | Teen & Up | 67447 words

Harry is straight.

Louis is gay.

Harry happens to be homophobic.

Louis has a dark past.

Harry had a dark childhood.

Will Louis and Harry unite and defy their past? Or will homophobia win for the umpteenth time?

30) Lavender Dreams | Not Rated | 77888 words

Louis is an outgoing person that goes to school for educational psychology and Harry is a biology major who happen to run into each other... a lot.

31) Be My Omega | Mature | 138372 words

It all started when the alpha laid eyes on the short curvy omega and he knew at that moment that his life would never be the same, in a good way of course.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

Catriona Astoria Elspeth Canonach-Fenharrow 

(Usually, and especially professionally, just Astoria Fenharrow)

character reference sheet by @hirodraga

bio sheet format by @arcanecadenza

Meaning of name: 

Catriona - Greek origin. Gaelic variant of Catherine, meaning “pure”.

Astoria - English origin. Variation of the name Astor, meaning “hawk”.

Elspeth - Scottish origin. Variation of the name Elizabeth, meaning “chosen by god”. 

The use of their name is a little funky, so to say. They prefer Astoria, and have gone by their middle name for as long as they can remember, but they aren’t necessarily opposed to being called Catriona. It would be surprising for them to hear you call them that casually, as it’s not how they typically introduce themself, but you can find their name in plenty of places. They sign all official documents with Catriona Canonach-Fenharrow, as it is their legal name and it is additionally hard to duplicate that signature, but they will still sign letters and casual correspondence as Astoria Fenharrow. 

That being said, this isn’t a ‘true name’ situation. Astoria prefers being called Astoria to Catriona in all situations. To them, it feels more like who they are - the archaeologist with a love for bones and old books - rather than who they were expected to be as Catriona of Kintyre. Both names are a part of them, they acknowledge all sides of themself as the person they are, but Astoria is free to be as they wish to be. 

Family: Senga Canonach (mother), James Sinclair (stepfather), Malcolm Canonach (maternal half-brother) Riordan Fenharrow (father), Myrna Catriona Canonach (maternal grandmother), Astor Canonach (maternal uncle), Sachairi Canonach (second cousin), Grace Canonach (first cousin once removed)

Astoria’s family tree is rather large, but the family that will be mentioned frequently throughout their story were listed above. 

The direct family tree is included below, including their relationships in regard to Astoria. 

You can find more about Astoria’s family, Clan Canonach, and Rosinmoor in this post here.

Catriona was born at the family estate of Balgaire’s Rest in Kintyre, a province that makes up the southeasternmost point of the nation of Rosinmoor. At the time of their birth, their great aunt Malvina Canonach held the Barony of Kintyre, along with her wife, Lady Consort Lorraine Tolmach. 

Senga Canonach was nineteen when she met Riordan Fenharrow, who at the time was getting ready to take over his father’s fleet of merchant ships when he would eventually retire. They fell into a whirlwind romance, and by the end of the following summer, Catriona was born. They stayed together for a time, even going as far as to plan a wedding, but Riordan quickly came to learn the deeper he fell in that Senga was after more than what he had bargained for. 

He was not unaware of her position as a Canonach. Senga was the niece of the standing Baroness, newly welcomed into Rosinmoor society as a lady of high station, and he thought himself privileged to be the apple of her eye. But Riordan was a clever man, and over the years, began to piece together a larger picture. Senga was possessive of their child, rarely letting them out of her sight, and seemed to bask in the recognition their child gained as the firstborn of a new generation in the Canonach family. 

Catriona was born a mere four months before their cousin, Sachairi, landing them securely in the position of heir to the Barony when the time would come for their turn to take the crown. Senga had been distant after 

No longer was Senga the woman he’d fallen in love with. Riordan had every intention to leave and to take Catriona with him, hoping that he could give his child freedom away from the life they were born into, but Senga stood between him and that goal. She threatened him, saying that if he took their child he would never know peace, no matter how far they went from Rosinmoor to try and start over. Catriona was her child, her legacy, and she would go as far as she had to in order to defend that. Senga had wanted a child she could raise as she wanted, to influence so that she could have a hand in how Rosinmoor was ruled given she was third in line for the title herself, and now that she 

So when Catriona was four, Riordan Fenharrow left, taking his merchant’s fleet north to Glenarden to put some distance between himself and Senga in hopes that perhaps with time, he could be a sort of sanctuary for Catriona to turn to when they were old enough to understand. 

The following two years would leave Catriona drifting. Senga, then between the ages of 23 and 25, had little in the way of maternal instinct, but their grandmother Myrna and their uncle Astor both stepped in to care for them without a moment’s hesitation. Astor had always been frail, but he was the first ‘father’ figure they could remember, and Myrna has been a constant figure in their life even as an adult. 

Astor passed when Catriona was six, but Myrna continued to care for Catriona, though as they grew older their mother found it easier to care for them than she did when they were a child. But they were rarely allowed to leave home, even to go to Rosafearn a few miles away, and they craved some sort of change and to explore all the places they read about in the books they devoured in and out of lessons. 

When Catriona was eleven, Baroness Malvina chose to step down, but the line of succession became a little scrambled. 

Malvina had an older brother, Ualan, who had abdicated and passed her the Barony - but his children were the oldest of the next generation and had first claims to the title. 

Grace and Quinn both abdicated. At 44 and 41 respectively, with families of their own, they thought it best to not disrupt the lives they’d always known when they’d never intended to take the Barony for themselves. As the next living eldest, Senga took the Barony, and became Baroness Canonach of Clan Kintyre. She was thirty then, and Astoria, merely eleven. 

Senga had always hoped to claim power in one way or another - if not herself, then through Catriona, as the heir apparent to the Barony when Senga would one day step down. Myrna, however, who had spent more time parenting Catriona than her own mother, had been a constant defender of their say in the way they got to spend their days. 

At thirteen, Catriona learned the truth, learned that their mother had only wanted them so that she might get her hands on control, on influence, for no reason more. They’d never felt close with their mother, but to hear it confirmed was heartbreaking. They ran to Myrna, who realized her daughter was beyond reasoning by then, and Myrna decided that it would be best for Catriona to get some distance and to see the world beyond the boundaries of Rosinmoor. 

This would become Catriona’s first journey, taking them to Prakra, where Myrna was assigned to work at a dig site in the Prakran jungle among a team of archaeologists. It was their first breath of fresh air, and they remember sitting on the edge of the dig pit with notebook in their lap, taking notes their grandmother dictated as she sifted through the artifacts that had slowly come to surface. This pattern would continue for years, with visits back to Rosinmoor to keep their mother appeased as they fell in love with the world and with travel. 

At sixteen, Catriona’s life came to a crossroads. Based on the line of succession and their position as the oldest of the children of the Canonach clan, they were of the age to officially be recognized as heir apparent. No longer were they simply Catriona Canonach - they were therefore Luxe Catriona Astoria Elspeth Canonach-Fenharrow of Clan Canonach, descendant of Cliamon the Great and heir to the Barony of Kintyre. No longer could they be just themself, but they felt they had to fulfill a role, to shape themself in a way a future Baronet should be. 

The realization, with the diadem upon their brow, was absolutely terrifying. 

On the night of their coronation ceremony, Catriona ran from Rosinmoor, packing a bag and leaving their home in the company of their grandmother. They didn’t care where they went, they just needed to get away from it all, refusing to go back despite the scandal that arose from their disappearance. 

Sixteen and full of hope, they chose then to go not by Catriona Canonach, but by Astoria Fenharrow - a name they could make their own, rather than the identity that had been forced upon her by her mother. 

Their journey across the continent took the pair to the Bulan Mountains, where Myrna had once again been tasked to survey a possible historical site by the Republic of Galbrada. It was Astoria’s first time officially titled as an assistant, and they were eager to survey on their own, ready to start a new path for themself. 

Until they fell in a hole.

Astoria had stumbled upon the site in question, through part of the ruins which had given way once their weight had come upon it and revealed the catacombs beneath it. And while they were thrilled in hindsight at their accidental discovery of the Bulani Labyrinth (which is credited to them, fortunately and unfortunately), there was a very desperate situation at hand: they were trapped.

The walls were stone, and given their grandmother’s tendency to want to take notes at sometimes the most random moments, they had chalk in her pack - so they began to walk, marking the turns they’d taken as she went. They thought it’d be smart to be able to find their way back out if they ended up not finding an exit like they hoped, but alas, things would not go as planned. 

They found their way into an antechamber, decorated with lavish murals, and a simple jump from being startled by a spider they weren’t expecting meant they dropped their lantern and shattered the only source they had at that point in the labyrinth. They stumbled blindly until they came to a pool of liquid, and in a moment of relief, drank deeply from it under the impression it was water. 

It very much was not. 

The thing about the people of ancient Bulan was that they’d struck a bargain - specifically, their king did, asking for power from the Devil in exchange for a sacrifice. When the bargain was struck, the magic in question was tied to a pool of blood that was so heavily laced with magic, keeping it preserved until the day Astoria drank from it more than eight hundred years later. 

(There is an extensive history of Bulan tied to this post here, but given that that alone is quite long I’m hoping to save you some reading time unless you really want to go on a lore deep dive.)

They don’t really remember much after the pool.

The next memory they have is waking up, being attended to by Myrna, and spending multiple days being absolutely fucking terrified of the nightmares they were having until it got to a point they were staying awake as much as possible. 

And, well, when you aren’t sleeping, you begin to learn. And when Astoria realized that in the emptiness of the night, when all were asleep, that they could hear the pounding of every heart in the encampment...they thought they were losing their mind. But this was the earliest days of their sangromancy coming to being, and though Myrna didn’t know how to help her grandchild, she did know somewhere that could. 

Their grandmother took them to the Republic of Galbrada, where Astoria enrolled at the academic facilities of the Whitethorn Citadel and found themself under the close mentorship of their tutors. 

They stayed there from the time they were sixteen until they were nineteen, and the longer they spent there, they realized that they were nothing more than a creature to study in the perspective of their peers. They felt themself growing more and more withdrawn, and eventually left, realizing the only path they would be offered was one not unlike the one they’d been trying to escape from: a life where all choices were made for them, rather than considering what they might have wanted. The Galbradans feared what they might become if allowed to learn about their curse, but Astoria 

Rather than return to Kintyre, Astoria went to Auchmara on High, a safe haven for magicians like themself who needed help finding their way. It was a sanctuary, a place for them to find their way, and slowly they began to learn how to control their sangromancy rather than suppress it like they’d been forced to all along. 

After reconnecting with their grandmother - though they’d been communicating, it had been years since they’d seen each other in person - Astoria began to travel again, getting roped into some misadventures involving pirates and cursed artifacts that allowed them to come into who they were meant to be rather than who they were born to be. 

Astoria moved to Vesuvia only within the last few years, taking up a position to preserve and collect items for the collection at the Palace - and, hopefully, they’ll be able to sweet talk Nadia (or Lucio) into founding a museum for the history of Vesuvia that they’ve been planning for pretty much since they took the job and found out how full storage is. However, they still do a fair amount of traveling, and it’s unlikely they’ll stop anytime soon. 

Favorite meal: Sticky toffee pudding

Favorite drink: Chamomile tea

Favorite flower: Harebells

Birthday: September 6th

Age: Thirty-one

Zodiac: Virgo Sun, Scorpio Moon, Sagittarius Rising

MBTI type: ISTP

I wanted to live the life - a different life. I didn’t want to go to the same place every day and see the same people and do the same job. I wanted interesting challenges. - Harrison Ford

Patron Arcana: 

Major - The Devil

Upright - The Devil knows there is power in perception. He binds those who cannot see their path to freedom. Shake off his veil; you are not trapped. There is always a way out of even the darkest places. 

Reversed - The Devil loses influence over his flock as the chains of bondage drop from his tight grasp. It is time to clean house; purge the things that harm you from your life. Take back your power. 

Minor - Eight of Pentacles

Upright - Your attention to detail and willingness to learn make you an ideal student. Your raw talent can be honed - it may be time to embark on a new venture or learn a new skill if you have not already begun. 

Reversed - You have become mired in the details, unable to see the big picture. Your focus has become a detriment. Take a step back and look at all you have accomplished. Refocus yourself on the things that matter. 

Gender: Nonbinary

Uses they/them and she/her pronouns

Prefers gender neutral terms (Mx., partner, grandchild, etc)

Would normally ask you don’t call her your girlfriend if you’re dating but there is a big romantic soft spot for ‘lover’

Orientation: Demisexual

Languages spoken: Moorish (the language of the people of Rosinmoor), Galbradian (from the Republic of Galbrada), Prakran, Zadithi, Vesuvian, and Scourge fluently - they can read the language of the Kokhuri and several dead languages for the sake of transcription, but their speaking prowess is all guesswork. They think it’s fun to try and speak Old Galbradian or Bulani, and while she thinks she’s close, she doesn’t have anyone to really chat with, since...they’re dead languages. 

Magical Specialties: Sangromancy, otherwise known as blood magic. Astoria’s branch of sangromancy does cover the manipulation of blood, both inside and outside of the body, but toes the line of other life-based magical practices. They are usually extremely aware of the presence of others, particularly the sounds of beating hearts, and their blood makes magic cast with it particularly potent. They’re very well versed in curses and countercurses as a result, which has been useful when obtaining objects with possibly shady backstories. 

This is a magic that has its roots in their arcane patron, the Devil - not a bargain struck by them, but one struck in Bulan many years before, as previously stated.

Familiar: Nathaira, a Shetland Sheepdog. Holds the title of world’s best girl (in Astoria’s humble opinion) and acts as Astoria’s canine PA. Usually, if you see one, the other isn’t far behind. 

Tagging Game: About the Writer

Rules of the Game: Answer these questions and tag 10 blogs you’d like to know better.

I was tagged by @maybeillwriteit thank you so much!! 

1. Nickname: for my real name it's El, Ele, Lele and Lefie, I have a cousin who calls me Blue Girl (bc I had dyed my hair blue the summer she met me and I completed the Aesthetic™️ with blue swimsuits). My friends also call me Raccoon cause I have very noticeable black circles under my eyes and my boyfriend calls me Gemheart 

2. Zodiac: Sagittarius

3. Height: Smol™️

4. Time: 00:20

5. Favorite Band/Artist: aaaa I hate favorite questions, um. Panic! At the Disco, BTS, grandson, Unlike Pluto, Fall Out Boy, Daughtry, The Score, Illenium, Thomas Bergersen and generally Two Steps From Hell, audiomachine, Monsta X, OneRepublic, Royal Deluxe, Lady Gaga, probably more

6. Song Stuck in My Head: Legends Never Die from LoL, thank you random guy in the train for having it as your ringtone and for that contribution to my head

7. Last Movie I Saw: I think it was called 4th Man Out? Idk it was one on Netflix that I put on as background noise to go through all the goodies I got at a con I went to

8. Last Thing I Googled: dwarven forge

9. Other Blogs: my main is @adastreia-12 and I have a bookblr under construction that I don't really use yet ( @a-library-of-wonders for the curious ones)

10. Do I Get Asks?:  Nah not here cause I'm not active myself yet, I just reblog stuff and not really on my main either but when I do get them I also get anime heart eyes

11. Why This Username?: Sing in me muse is the first line of the Odyssey in the translations I found and I'm a mythology geek so I'm all about the lore of the writer asking the Muses for their divine inspiration that Homer had going at the beginning of his epics and this entire blog was originally meant to be an archive for stuff that inspire me or resources so I'm also invoking the Muses. Sadly, sing in me muse was not an available username. So yeah. Sing to me muse.

12. Following: 233 but most of them are inactive tbh

13. Average Amount of Sleep: Around 6 hours? Wish it was 8 but noo

14. Lucky Number: Don't have one, my luck is pretty rotten too lol

15. What Am I Wearing: Baby pink chocker shirt, black jeans and a white denim jacket with black Vans

16. Dream Job: Professional author but realistically, editor in publishing

17. Dream Trip: I want to save up a lot of money and do what a cousin of mine's doing and go on a year+ long trip around the world and visit every continent, visit my relatives abroad too in the process. Alternatively, I want to get a boat with my boyfriend and travel around Greek islands.

18. Favorite Food: Greek, Mexican, Italian and Asian food in general. Really like tortellini carbonara.

19. Instruments I Play: None tbh but I did guitar for 2 years and piano for a semester

20. Eye Colour: Hazel

21. Hair Colour: Dark brown and various hues of magenta at the moment (need to redye it)

22. Aesthetic: the night sky, bookshelves and old libraries, neoclassic buildings, renaissance and baroque paintings, golden and blue hour, city lights, fairylights, fireworks, the ocean, bridges, mist, different colored hair, pastel colors, color coding, printed manuscripts and printed manuscripts with red corrections all over them, crystals, seashells, lightning and storms, the clacks of the keyboard keys, Victorian houses and clothing, and the sound of a piano playing in a minor key

23. Languages I Speak: Greek, English, basic Italian and I'm slowly going through learning some Korean

24. Most Iconic Song: Either Back In Black or Highway to Hell by AC/DC

25. Random Fact: I've got 5 pets: 2 dogs and 3 cats. 2 of the cats and 1 of the dogs are actually in the house bc parents and also the second dog is huge so he gets miserable inside the house. Their names are Malu, Ti, Loki, Hector and Nero. We had two more cats but one of them, named Ginger unfortunately died, and her son, Simba, ran away (ironically given his namesake, now that I think about it)

I don’t know a lot of people on here actually so I’ll just tag @smudged-glasses-writing and @darkside-cookies-913

i have a lot! * do you like your name? why?* how would you describe your style?* how tall are you?* how many pictures do you have on your phone? * what color looks best on you? * do you miss anyone right now? * what is your phone background?* do you like it when people play with your hair?* favorite lyrics right now* who was the last person you cried in front of?

4. I like Annie as a nickname I’ve sort of reclaimed for myself in adult life. My given and/or Vietnamese name is usually reserved for family these days, which is how I prefer it.10. My style is usually comfortable over anything else; any fall layers/beanies/boots vibe is what I’m most confident in. I aim for classic looks lol but I dunno if I succeed.20. four eleven and a half, give or take.60. there’s like 5k in my camera roll. 76. I like myself in darker tones – navy blues, oxblood/maroon reds, olive greens. I get compliments in a particular mustard yellow dress which is nice. 77. I do miss a lot of people right now; moving continents on a return journey was a lot harder than I ever thought it would be.86. my phone background is a random wallpaper photo of a fox. 88. who doesn’t like people playing with their hair, honestly. 94. “you’re not a curse/you’re not too much/you are needed here/you are enough” 100. last person I cried in front of is my cousin, I think? we were watching Coco. (ask me more of these or any other assortment of questions)

A Family Test

Silently, the black clad Shadowstalker moved through the Orcish encampment in the mountains of Thousand Needles. The man sought out one person: Rykur Stonewallow, an Orc known for his large manufacturing of arrows, bows, and swords. The Orc and his operation amounted for 40% of the Horde’s arrow munitions, and 70% of arrows for the Kalimdor continent.

Sleight thoroughly scouted the encampment, he saw seven Orcs, three trolls, and five tauren. Five large huts spread a 2,000 square foot camp. Everyone there was hard at work, creating arrows and weapons at an impressive rate. Their products lined the walls, and several crates of arrows were filled by the hour.

The undead Elf eyed what was in front of him silently. He contemplated how he would complete his mission. A skilled assassin, the Elf prepared his weapon of choice: a steel dagger with a gold hilt. He pulled out a vial with a blue liquid, uncorked the vial, and poured it on the blade. The dagger began to glow a dim blue hue; Sleight held the dagger in his right hand and began to make his way towards Rykur.

One slice, that was all that Sleight had to complete his mission. The more natural or random he could make Rykur’s death, the better for him. The goal was that no one could tell a shadowstalker had assassinated him from the shadows; a feat that previously seemed impossible.

The Elf approached the large Orc and came up behind him. With an arm of experience, he raised his dagger, and brought the tip to the back of the Orc’s neck - inserted the blade into his skin, and pushed down to the Orc’s waist. The blade tore through his skin with ease, puncturing and ripping organs inside and breaking ribs as Sleight strongly pushed down.

Rykur suddenly let out a yell of pain and then fell dead. His hands were reaching for his back, yet his back seemed fine. There was no blood, no evidence of a wound, yet the Orc was dead. Sleight quickly left the scene and watched from 50 feet away. He watched as the other members of the camp quickly made their way to check on Rykur. He watched as they desperately tried to figure out what happened to their boss. Sleight smiled, they would never figure it out.

***

Orolian smiled as he relished in the success that he had created for his business. As the leader of a Military House, Orolian was given priority to provide arrows for the Sin’Dorei, and with the Reagent-Lord’s permission, a large part of the Horde and other Neutral Factions in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. He grinned as he thought of this fact, eyeing the inside of a man-made cave in the Netherstorm that he had paid for. Soon, he would use his large influence of gold to further other operations he had in mind.

With him, was an Orc Warlock Female named Lithia of the Shadowmoon Clan. An experienced and powerful Warlock who Orolian took a liking to when he witnessed her power during the exploration of Dreanor. He recruited her and now uses her to create new techniques to help expand his market. The other was Alerion, or Sleight as he now liked to call himself. Thanks to Lithia, Sleight was there to accompany them. He doesn’t speak, and his face was rotten; like a forsaken, he had been brought back to life, but instead of having freedom, Sleight has to serve his older cousin.

“Lithia, I have to say, I am impressed.” Orolian spoke as he held a dagger in his hands, “Your alchemy skill is incredible, people still have no idea how all of these fletchers suddenly died. Healers are confused as to how someone can have their insides ripped apart, yet have no outside wound. Some are suspecting shadow magic; which I guess they aren’t entirely wrong.” Orolian grinned. In front of him, a table full of a variety of daggers, all neatly lined up in a row, with a row of vials with blue liquid on top of each dagger. “My question is, is there any way we can make this last longer?”

Lithia grunted as he watched Orolian muse. He wanted an even stronger version of her creation? What was he planning to do? Lithia had originally agreed to help Orolian do this when he told her he only needed to expand his market. It was a win-win situation, Orolian grew more rich, and Lithia got to explore and experiment new alchemy formulas, but Lithia had learned not to trust Orolian: the man was a sociopath. She walked closer to him and picked up one of the vials with blue liquid, “Perhaps. This isn’t easy to create, Flamearrow. But I can see what I can do.”

Orolian grinned, “Good! Then we can get my dear ol’ cousin over here to try it out.” Orolian looked back at Sleight and gave him a wink, “He’s been doing very good at following orders. I don’t know what you did to him, Lithia, but he’s probably stronger than me now.”

Lithia narrowed her eyes, “Exactly. So you’d best be more considerate of his situation.”

Orolian laughed, “Oh, I’m not afraid of him attacking me. Please, he wouldn’t. He knows I know too much about his personal life to do anything stupid like that.” Orolian smiled as he eyed the dagger from top to bottom. He grabbed one of the vials and removed the cork and placed the liquid on the blade. The liquid seemed to infuse itself with the blade; soon, there was a dim hue of blue that surrounded the entire blade of the dagger. He turned to Sleight and walked over to him, “Here, cousin. Try this on for size.”

Sleight took the dagger from Orolian and narrowed his eyes. He stood up and walked deeper into the cave, where their test subjects waited.

Deep inside of the cave was a holding area for Dreanei and Worgen test subjects that Orolian, Sleight, and Lithia had gathered. The prisoners were dressed in simple clothing that was easy to rip off, and they were all chained to the walls. Sleight walked up to one of the Dreanei females, and readied his blade.

Orolian chimed in, “Alright, I put more of the liquid on the blade this time. Slash her 3 to 4 times, I want to see how many times it’ll work.”

Sleight didn’t say a word, instead, he went ahead and slashed horizontally across the Dreanei’s chest. The female screamed in pain, but just as quickly as she was wounded, her skin healed. Sleight then sliced her twice, three, and four times. The first two slices skin healed immediately, but the third and fourth slice were very evident. Blood pooled beneath her, as she continued to yelp and cry out in pain. Sleight payed no attention to her sobs, he didn’t seem to mind it at all. He took a step back and held on to the dagger.

Lithia walked up to the female and placed a hand on her cheek, “Rest now child.” Her palm began to glow a dark green hue as she began to suck out the Dreanei’s remaining life force. In ten seconds, the Dreanei fell dead, soulless. Lithia examined the dead Dreanei, she ran her fingers on the wounds that externally healed, “Internal bleeding. It is working as intended.”

Orolian walked up to the corpse and examined the damage. “Mmmm, two slices only. I guess we can work with that.” He looked over at Lithia, “And this is as strong as you can make it?”

Annoyed, Lithia gave Orolian a nod. “Probably. Manipulating the body is no easy feat, Flamearrow.”

“Blah, that’s no good. Oh well, guess we will take what we got.” Orolian walked to Sleight and took the dagger from him, he turned around and looked at the remaining prisoners, “Three Dreaneis and Two worgens, five total; three males and two females. We may need more.” Orolian mused out loud.

Lithia and Sleight said nothing as he spoke, why would they? Orolian wouldn’t listen anyway.

“Let’s take a trip to Silvermoon. We have some business to conduct there.” Orolian walked back to the laboratory and picked up three vials and three daggers. He gave two of each to Sleight, and kept one of each for himself. He gave Sleight a nod.

Sleight walked forward and pulled out an engineering portal device, he picked the coordinates for Silvermoon, and opened up a portal.

The three of them walked through the portal and came out into Silvermoon City. They ported in the Bazaar, and surprisingly, it didn’t seem busy this time of day. The entire armada must be preparing to join the assault on Argus. Orolian pulled out the dagger and uncorked the vial, prepping the dagger again like he previously did. He gave the dagger to Sleight, “Alright, I want you to kill two of the auction masters. Apparently this liquid is strong enough to kill two people, so you should be able to pull this off. Make it as fast as possible, and try not to get seen.” Orolian handed them off to Sleight and began walking, “Lithia and I will wait out next to your grave. Come to us when you are done.”

Sleight took the weapon and then eyed Orolian silently. He never understood why Orolian liked to go to Alerion’s grave whenever they came to their home place; he figured it was to mock him, or make him remember his past life. Regardless, Sleight tried not to think about it, and instead did as he was told. Without a word he vanished into the shadows and made his way to the auction house.

The auction house was emptier than usual, but there was a fair bit of civilians attending the daily auctions. Many of these civilians were trying to buy food for as cheap as possible, others wanted to buy weapons in case some demons came into Eversong. None of them were soldiers, but they all knew how dangerous the Burning Legion is.

Sleight used his abilities to move undetected; he chose his two victims, and quickly used the shadows to teleport himself behind his first victim. With no remorse or hesitation, Sleight quickly reached in front of him and gave a clean cut across his throat, and just as quickly teleported behind his second victim and did the same thing.

Both Auction Masters reached up and gripped their throats, choking on blood as the insides of the throats were severely damaged, yet the outside didn’t seem hurt. They both spat out blood and fell to the ground. Everyone at the Auction House yelled in terror, the Silvermoon Guards alongside a few Farstriders arrived on scene quickly.

Sleight stood in the shadows and watched.

“This is Ranger-Lord Yelberos, what happened?” A confident, highly armored Elf arrived. He sprouted a beautiful bow, and Sleight assumed he knew how to use it.

“Sir! We are unsure. The Auction Masters suddenly fell, spitting out blood.” One of the Farstriders on scene quickly responded. The Silvermoon Guards started on crowd control and began calming down the citizens. The Auction House was quickly evacuated and closed.

Yelberos eyed the bodies and narrowed his eyes, “Perhaps Warlock magic?” He looked around, trying to find anyone who could stick out.

A different Farstrider responded, “Sir, Ranger-Captain Shalbalam here, I don’t believe so. The Arcane Guardian stationed right outside here detected no magic use. They were clenching their throats, as if they were being choked, or they had been wounded there.”

Sleight smirked. This was turning into quite the scene. He wasn’t entirely sure at what Orolian planned with this; causing panic didn’t seem to benefit him, but Sleight knew exactly how to turn it against him. He made sure to remain undetected, and dropped a dagger in front of the Farstrider group. He revealed himself for two seconds before vanishing again.

The Farstriders all came to attention at once, “Track him down!” Yelberos yelled, all the Farstriders immediately sprang to action, and ran towards where they believed Sleight had ran to.

As the Farstriders made their way to the entrance of SIlvermoon, they found an empty vial there, purposely left by Sleight. Yelberos stopped them, “He��s leading us somewhere. But why?”

Shalbalam narrowed his eyes, “An ambush?”

Yelberos growled slightly, “Perhaps.” There were currently seven Farstriders total, “Ranger-Captain, gather your squad. That should make 15 of us.”

Shalbalam saluted him and immediately pulled out a pendant and began saying orders. Soon after, his assigned squad was there with the others.

Yelberos gave him an approving nod, “Good. Let’s move out.”

---

Sleight had purposely left a trail that the Farstriders could follow. He soon made it to Lithia and Orolian and unsheathed the two daggers and vials and gave them to Orolian.

Oro smiled, “So I take it, it worked?”

Sleight simply gave him a nod.

“Good, good.” Orolian laughed, “Oh light, I can only imagine the panic in their faces. Fel, you did good, dear ol’ cousin.” Orolian sheathed the daggers and put away the vials. They were currently standing on a platform that was in the air due to magic; Orolian walked to the edge of the platform and looked over the horizon. “Lithia, Sleight, you are free to do as you wish.”

Sleight quickly looked at Lithia and grabbed her arm, beckoning her to follow. Lithia tilted her brow curiously at him but followed him. As they made their way out, Sleight provided a cloaking field that made both of them temporary invisible. Lithia became more confused as Sleight did this, but something told her to stay quiet and follow him.

They climbed up a mountain and made it to an area where they could see Orolian but remain undetected from anyone else coming. Lithia tapped into Sleight’s mind and spoke to him, “What are we doing, Sleight?”

Sleight looked at the platform where Orolian was out. “He deserves to be caught.” He said simply.

Lithia narrowed her eyes at Sleight but then smiled. “I agree.” She said simply as she sat down and watched. She had come to learn that the Flamearrows were very cunning and clever; she sat back, and waited to see what Sleight had planned.

Orolian stood eyeing the horizon. He took a deep breath and exhaled, “I am being betrayed.” He muttered out silently. He turned and walked to the other side of the platform; 15 Farstriders were making their way to him. He narrowed his eyes and walked out to meet them.

“Ranger-Captain Flamearrow! This is Ranger-Lord Yelberos. We are looking for a shadow stalker dressed in black. He murdered two Auction Masters at the Bazaar. We’ve managed to track him this far.”

Orolian looked up proudly at the Farstriders, he gave Yelberos a salute, “Ranger-Lord, I haven’t seen anyone.”

Shalbalam eyed Orolian curiously. His eyes immediately went on the daggers that looked exactly like the one he found earlier. He leaned in and whispered at Yelberos.

Yelberos narrowed his eyes, “Are you sure?” Shalbalam gave him a nod. The Ranger-Lord hopped off his hawkstrider and grabbed onto his bow, “Ranger-Captain Flamearrow, you are under arrest.”

Shalbalam and the rest of the Farstriders hopped off their Farstriders as well, each pulling out their bows, “Be careful. Flamearrow family members are bred to fight.” Shalbalam muttered as they walked towards Orolian.

Orolian sighed, “So my hunch was correct.” He muttered, but why would Sleight betray him? Was he testing him? Orolian was testing Sleight, so maybe this was his way of returning the favor. “Mmm, I’m sorry Ranger-Lord, but that isn’t happening.” He looked around; 15 versus 1. He clenched his fists, he did not like his odds. He eyed everyone in front of them; the majority of them looked like rookie Farstriders, Ranger-Lord Yelberos was a good fighter, and Ranger-Captain Shalbalam was laughable. He eyed the rookies quietly, Orolian could see fear in their eyes. He would use that.

“You aren’t going to arrest me. However, if you keep on trying, I will retaliate. Are we understood?” Orolian crossed his arms and tilted a brow. They were far enough where Orolian could vanish if they tried firing, and too far to arrest him just yet. His eyes were locked on their bows, none of them seemed to be preparing to fire. “Ranger-Lord, how often have you seen me fight? You know what I’m capable of. Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Yelberos shook his head, “You murdered two civilians in Silvermoon. You will not be allowed to leave here without facing justice. I don’t care who you are, Flamearrow, you are a wanted criminal now.”

Orolian laughed, “Wow, you sure escalate quickly. I thought you said you were looking for a shadow stalker dressed in black? Last I checked my chainmail armor is red. Come on, Ranger-Lord, you’re getting old.”

Yelberos let out a low growl, “Rangers! Knock!” All 15 of them quickly knocked an arrow into place, “Aim!” They all aimed at Orolian, “This is your last chance, Flamearrow.”

Orolian grinned, “Fine.”

“Fire!”

As soon as the arrows flew, Orolian launched himself backwards and activated a temporary cloaking field that instantly made him vanish. None of the arrows hit him; instead, Orolian fell. He fell, and fell, and landed at the bottom of a canyon, but was relatively unharmed. Instead, he pulled out his bow and arrow and began firing arrows.

Orolian was still invisible as he launched arrows up the canyon, and skillfully hit three Farstriders, killing them instantly. The group began to panic; they had no idea where he was, and they were being picked off.

“Spread out! Keep your arrows ready, kill him when you see him!” The group spread out, but the arrows kept on coming.

Now, arrows were infused in fire and arcane magic came at them, the arcane ones erupting upon contact and the fire arrows burning the insides of the Farstriders. Five more fell. Eight Farstriders fell just like that.

Orolian finally became visible and he began to run for cover, it took the remaining Farstriders ten seconds to see him, and soon they began to launch arrows at him.

Orolian had managed to make enough distance to where the arrows were missing him. Not to mention the majority of the squadron were rookie Farstriders, Orolian didn’t feel threatened at all.

He found a tree and fled behind it, quickly activating a camouflage field and then he sat and waited.

----

Lithia and Sleight stood up on the mountain watching. Sleight smirked, he expected nothing less from Orolian, but part of him wished he would die. That would make life much more easier for him.

“He’s good.” Lithia muttered, “I always knew he was good, but not this good. Your cousin is a dangerous man.”

Sleight grunted but kept quiet; Orolian was not family to him, but he is a dangerous man.

“Should we help?” She asked as she crossed her arms and watched.

Sleights shook his head, Orolian could handle this by himself.

---

The Farstriders quickly caught up to Orolian’s location. “Spread out! Find him!” Yelberos shouted as he watched the surrounding areas; he had to be here, and he would get him.

The rookie Farstriders all spread out, but some of them seemed reluctant to leave the big group. This man had wiped out eight of them, and they all feared they were next.

Orolian leaned against the tree and watched as the rookie Farstriders all walked right past him. Yelberos and Shalbalam were the farthest from him, which was perfect. Orolian took out the two daggers and moved out of his camouflage; he ran up to the closest rookie Farstrider and stuck the blade into the middle of his back, pushing it in as deep as he could, before quickly running to a second one and doing the same. As they both fell, Orolian took out his bow and quickly fired two flaming arrows at two other rookie Farstriders, they fell just as quickly as well.

Orolian then ran behind a tree and hid again. There were only three left.

Yelberos looked around at the carnage, “Who are you!!” He yelled out, “You are no Sin’Dorei, you are a demon! How can you do this to your own people?!”

Orolian grinned but kept quiet. He enjoyed toying with them, and he could feel their fear building up.

Shalbalam picked up Orolian’s location and motioned to Yelberos. He was behind a tree. Shalbalam took out a sword and walked towards Orolian’s location, he would try to strike him as stealthy as possible.

---

Lithia grunted, “Mm, he doesn’t need us, it seems.”

Sleight smirked, he stood up and removed two sheathed daggers. Lithia looked at him and lifted a brow, “You’re going to help?”

Sleight gave her a nod. He then vanished and began running down to Orolian’s location.

---

Shalbalam, Yelberos, and the other Farstrider all struck at once at where they believed Orolian was, only to find it empty. “Shit!”

The last rookie Farstrider yelped in pain as he was impaled by a long polearm, Orolian then appeared quietly behind him, as he placed a foot on his back and pushed him off the blade. He grinned, “Come on, no bows, fight me with your melee weapons.”

Yelberos narrowed his eyes at him, “This isn’t a game Flamearrow. You’ve killed 13 Farstriders today, you will be brought to justice!”

Orolian smirked, “How? You are the only ones who suspect it's me. Shala-shit over there has the evidence, and you are all going to be dead after this. So, honestly? I think I am a free man.”

Shalbalam growled, “Fuck you!” He ran forward with his sword. Orolian stood at the ready, a savage grin on his face. He enjoyed fighting. So much.

Shalbalam suddenly fell before he could make it to Orolian. A black throwing blade impaled his  throat, and he fell down, dead.

“No!” Yelberos threw down his bow and pulled out his sword, he looked around and found Sleight behind him.

“Sleight! I had this handled!” Oro yelled out with an annoyed roll of his eyes. “Whatever. Kill him.”

Sleight smirked and shook his head, he began to walk to Yelberos, two daggers in hand.

“Step back! I will retaliate!” Yelberos desperately yelled out, sweat began running down his temples.

Orolian laughed, “Oh please, you couldn’t beat me, you will never beat him. He’s better than I am, so good luck, Ranger-Lord.”

Yelberos growled, as soon as Sleight came into distance he lunged forward and swung his sword.

Sleight vanished from sight, dodging the large sword, and appeared behind Yelberos. He stuck two daggers on his back and pushed them down. Blood gushed from his back as Yelberos yelped in pain and soon fell lifeless.

Sleight removed his daggers from Yelberos’s now corpse and sheathed them. Lithia began doing rounds on the dying Sin’Dorei, sucking the remains of their souls and keeping them for herself. With each soul she drained, she felt herself become stronger.

Orolian walked to Sleight’s side, “You did this, didn’t you?”

Sleight gave him a nod.

“Why?”

Sleight smirked but didn’t answer, for obvious reasons.

Lithia walked down and met the pair, “Because you’re an asshole.”

Orolian scoffed, “Please. Am I an asshole because I care about my family’s well being?”

Lithia laughed, “Well considering you just say that, and really you are a selfish prick, yes, I think you are an asshole.”

Orolian grumbled but didn’t say anything. He sheathed his weapons and sighed, “Alright then. Back to work.” he smirked.

Under my Skin

This was inspired by this prompt on @doctorroseprompts.

Ten x Rose, Soulmates AU, ~2600 words

John had been traveling the world for years, looking for his soulmate, the person who bore the other half of his soulmark tattoo. He eventually gives up and plans to have his soulmark covered, when it finally completes itself.

AO3

John had been anxiously waiting for his soulmark to appear all day. It was his eighteenth birthday, the day a person received half of a tattoo that would never be complete until the found the person—or persons—that bore the other half.

While he knew the soulmark wouldn’t appear until his actual birth minute, he kept glancing at his arms and legs, hoping to see a flash of ink. But it wasn’t until 11:49 that night that the skin above his heart seared white-hot, and John knew his soulmark had appeared.

He eagerly stripped off his shirt as he ran to the bathroom, ready to inspect his soulmark. But he was confused and disappointed when his soulmark was an odd, amorphous blob on his chest. It was in the shape of a triangle, if a three-year-old had attempted the triangle. The corners were rounded, and each of the sides were slightly concave. If John squinted, it  kind of sort of had the outline of one of those fidget-spinner things that exploded into popularity recently.

Inside of the awkward triangle-esque shape was what appeared to be a detailed tattoo of a rose. The petals spiraled outward with beautiful detail and precision, and despite it being inside of that shape John didn’t quite have a name for, he thought it was a rather lovely tattoo. Now, to find the person with the rest of it.

Maybe then it’ll make more sense as it what it’s supposed to be, John mused to himself.

And so John began looking for his soulmate. Knowing that it was incredibly rare for soulmates to be living in the same country, John immediately packed a bag and wandered to the airport, and he boarded a flight at random.

His first stop was Germany, and he spent a few weeks there, traveling and sightseeing, but mostly looking for the person who would cause his skin to pinch and burn, indicating his tattoo would be as complete as his life would become.

Germany was a bust, though, and after three weeks of touring the country, John hopped on another plane.

Again and again, John wandered the globe, looking for his other half. He called home to his friends to check in every couple of weeks, but with no parents and no job, there was very little that tied him to that damp little island he’d called home for the first eighteen years of his life.

He found odd jobs to help pay his way through his nomadic lifestyle, because he didn’t want to burn through his inheritance money too fast. How humiliating would it be to find his soulmate, but be utterly penniless and homeless?

He eventually made his way through the entire European continent, but he was still alone, and still only had that weird mass of a triangle on his chest, and nothing more.

But that was okay. He didn’t expect it to be easy, or quick. Nothing in life was easy or quick, and he didn’t mind expending his time and effort to find the person who would be his other half.

He celebrated his nineteenth birthday in Japan, watching the cherry blossoms bloom and staying with a family who cooked him the biggest birthday dinner he’d ever had.

His twentieth birthday was spent in Africa, where he spent the day by himself, hiking and exploring.

He was in the Americas for his twenty-first birthday, and he spent it at an American bar, where he was finally old enough to buy himself a drink in the country.

Three years. Three long years he’d been looking, and yet he was still no closer to finding his soulmate than he’d been when he’d left London the day after his eighteenth birthday. Maybe it was time to give up. He’d visited every single continent, and almost all of the countries within each continent, and yet he was still alone with that stupid rose within a blob on his chest.

After spending another three months in North America, John finally decided it was time. He’d already had to tap into his savings account, which he had been trying to avoid as much as possible. And his cousin had just phoned to tell him she was getting married, and that she would traipse across the pond to drag him to her wedding, so he might as well come on his own volition.

“All right, all right,” he’d conceded, “I’ll be there, Donna.”

“You’d better,” she snarked. She was quiet for a few moments, then said, “Still no luck?”

The softness of her voice made a lump well in his throat, and he swallowed it down.

“Nah,” he said, infusing cheer into his tone. “But I still haven’t visited all of the countries in the world yet! Still got plenty to see. They’ve got to be somewhere there!”

He had ended the call soon after, not wanting to hear any more of the pity in her voice. Donna had happened upon her soulmate at an airport by sheer luck. She was leaving for Egypt and he was off to visit family in Italy. They’d decided to get a coffee before their flight left and they’d got to talking, and when they shook hands before departing, they’d each dropped their drinks when they felt their arms burn with the completion of their tattoo.

When Donna had called him a few months ago to tell him her good news, John had tried to be happy for her, but he knew his enthusiasm had fallen flat. It wasn’t fair. All he wanted was to find his soulmate, his best friend, and to spend the rest of his life with them. Was that too much to ask for?

Apparently it was, and John’s spirits were as low as ever as he got on a plane bound for London.

The wedding was beautiful. Donna was as radiant as he had ever seen her, and John really was happy for his cousin.

After the wedding, John decided to stop traveling. What was the point, anyway? He could travel for the rest of his life, and there was still no guarantee that he would find his soulmate. He was just fated to die alone, and be one of the poor, unlucky sods that went their whole life without ever knowing their soulmate.

That prospect depressed him, and to take his mind off of his eternal loneliness, he enrolled himself in uni, taking classes in physics and astronomy as he did his best to ignore his incomplete soulmark. He didn’t need a soulmate, he told himself. He could find happiness and completion in other parts of his life.

The years continued to fly by. John finished uni at the top of his class, and he went on to further his education by working towards a doctorate degree in astrophysics. He had friends, and had even dabbled in dating, but nothing ever lasted longer than a few months. There was never a spark, it seemed, no matter how much John willed there to be one. But he knew that spark would only come if he met his soulmate, but by now, John was sure his soulmate didn’t exist.

He hated soulmates. He hated the entire institution of it. Why would he be given a sign that his other half is out there somewhere, but not be given any help in finding them?

He grew to resent the ink on his chest. He hated that his soulmark looked like nothing, and he hated the sight of roses, and he hated that he had wasted so much of his time and money looking for someone who he would probably never meet.

A few weeks before his twenty-eighth birthday, John decided he’d had enough. He was sick of seeing his incomplete soulmark every day, and he was sick of the reminder that he had failed in finding the one person that was meant for him. He never wanted to see that shape or that rose again.

Steeling himself for what he was about to do, John took in a deep breath and stepped into the tattoo shop across the street from his flat.

A little bell dinged above the door, and the shop’s only occupant—a blonde woman—looked up. She was younger than he expected. She barely looked old enough to be out of school. But she was extremely pretty, and just John’s type, and he found himself walking closer.

“Hi,” she said brightly. “I’ll be with you in just a mo’. Just finishing up. You here for a tattoo?”

“To get one covered, actually,” John said, wandering around the little shop. The walls were covered with drawings of tattoos, and he suspected that was what the woman was working on.

“Oh?” she asked.

“Yeah, I have a tattoo on my chest,” he said. “And I want to cover it up with something.”

“Can I see it?” she asked, setting her pen aside. “So I know what I’m working with.”

John nodded and unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his soulmark. The woman sucked in a sharp breath, and went pale enough that John feared she might pass out.

“Why-why do you want to cover it?” she asked faintly. “Isn’t that your soulmark?”

“So what?” John snapped defensively. He had already had to endure his friends’ disapproval when he told them of his plan to cover up his soulmark. He didn’t want to hear it from this stranger, too. “It’s stupid anyway. It’s not even a real tattoo of anything.”

“Because it’s incomplete,” she argued.

“As it has been for the last ten years,” John said coldly, beginning to get angry with this girl. “Besides, the whole idea of soulmates is just mad. I don’t need someone to complete me. I’m perfectly fine on my own! And if you’re going to be such a cow about covering it, I’ll go somewhere else!”

“No, don’t!” the woman begged, and she staggered up from her chair.

She stumbled over her feet, and John immediately reached out to steady her. As soon as his hands touched her bare forearms, a burning, aching pain stabbed at his chest, making his fingers dig into his woman’s arms. She whimpered, and she reached up and pressed her fingers to her chest, rubbing at the skin below the fabric.

John’s head felt dizzy as the pain receded as abruptly as it came.

He was still grasping the tattoo shop worker’s arms tight enough that his knuckles were white, and he let go immediately. Her skin was red in the shapes of his fingers, but he was too busy looking down at his bare chest to verify what had just happened.

Please, please, please, he begged, and he felt weak with relief when he saw his tattoo had changed. Above the triangular blob that had been there were four neat little ovals, each with a comma-shaped spike at the tip. Inside those ovals were more perfect little roses.

“Oh!” the woman gasped, and she unbuttoned her own blouse to expose her chest.

Just above her left bra cup was the same shape, but looking at it properly instead of upside down, John realized it was the shape of a paw print. A wolf’s paw print.

“You… you’re my… we’re…”

“Do you still think your soulmark is stupid?” she asked, her voice quivering with nervousness.

John shook his head desperately, willing her to believe him.

“No,” he whispered. “No, it’s the most beautiful soulmark I’ve ever seen. And it’s on the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Oh, God. I’ve found you! I’ve really found you!”

John swept up and wrapped his arms around the woman whose name he still didn’t know, and he crushed her tightly in an embrace. All of the anger and frustration and heartache he’d felt over the years seemed to melt away as he held his soulmate in his arms.

“You were so rude to me,” she murmured, even as she held him just as tightly.

“I know,” he said, hating himself and wanting to go back in time and punch his past self in the mouth. “I know, and I’m so sorry. I’ve just been so angry and disappointed, but that’s no excuse for me to talk to you—to anyone—like that. Please forgive me, love. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you’ll let me. Please.”

The woman sniffled and giggled into his shoulder.

“My name’s not ‘love’,” she teased, pulling back to look at him.

Her eyes were red and watery, but she had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. They were a gorgeous hazel and had little flecks of gold in them, and they seemed to shine from within as she smiled at him.

“Well,” he drawled, “seeing as I don’t know your real name, I had to use the next best thing.”

“Rose Tyler,” she said. “My name’s Rose Tyler.”

“Rose Tyler,” he repeated, letting the name flow through him and warm him from the inside. “Rose.”

He chuckled then brushed his fingertips across her soulmark, and around the rose within the paw print.

“I should’ve known,” he said.

“Well, assuming your name isn’t Pawprint,” she said with a tongue-touched grin, “there’s no rule that your soulmark has anything in common with you or your soulmate.”

“Are you saying Pawprint isn’t a good name?” John pouted. “I think it’s a fine name. Had it my whole life. Was planning on passing it down to my children one day.”

Rose snorted. “Not to my children, mate.”

John giggled giddily, and said, “No? Shame. I guess we’ll just have to give them the name John, then.”

“John,” she repeated softly. “As lovely as Pawprint is, I think I like John better.”

“Me too,” he said happily.

They both slipped into silence for a few moments, still basking in the joy and surprise of having found each other. John was absently tracing Rose’s soulmark, and as he ran his fingertips across the toes of the paw print, he asked, “You knew straightaway that I was your soulmate, didn’t you?”

Rose nodded. “I’ve had those toes on my chest for a couple years now. When I saw the pad of the foot on your chest, and the rose inside it, I knew.”

“I never knew what my soulmark was,” John admitted. “I thought it was just some silly shape. Or that maybe my soulmark was broken or something. That’s what I told myself when I hadn’t been able to find you.”

“You said ten years,” Rose whispered, sounding heartbroken. “I’m sorry you’ve had to wait that long when I only had to wait for three years.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” John said firmly. “We’ve found each other, and that’s the important part.”

Rose nodded, and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck again. John shivered when her bare torso met his. Her skin was soft and warm, and it seemed to make his skin tingle where it pressed together with hers.

“I’m sorry for how I treated you earlier,” he whispered. “I really, really am.”

“I forgive you,” she said in his ear. “On one condition.”

John pulled back to look her in the eye.

“Anything,” he said earnestly.

A mischievous twinkle sparkled in her eyes and she smiled at him again with that tongue-touched grin as she said, “You buy me chips.”

John blinked.

“Chips?” he repeated, sure he heard her wrong.

“Yep,” she said. “Chips.”

A slow smile spread across John’s face, and he leaned forward to press his lips to her forehead.

“All right then, Rose Tyler,” he said. “One great big basket of apology chips, coming up.”

He quickly buttoned up his shirt and watched her do the same before he reached out and wiggled his fingers. She threaded her fingers through his, and stepped close to him so she could hug his arm to her chest as he led her out of the tattoo shop and into the busy London street beyond.

The Villain’s Path to the Power of Love

So, look, this is what happened.

I couldn’t tell you how many lives were lost when we fought the Alliance that day. I don’t remember how many times we narrowly dodged a civilian casualty, how many buildings we toppled, how many heroes and villains were lost. When it all came to a head, only seven stood on each side.

I remember scanning over the rows of heroes, ready to pounce at whichever so much flinched. But then King Chrome stepped out of line.

That flashy suit he was so proud of was dented, scratched and burned to shit, he hid his limp as best as he could, and his eyes didn’t waver from the line of heroes in front of him.

I looked across the battlefield to my nemesis, One, the Last of the Atlanteans. He once claimed that when they broke the laws of nature, had their country drowned in the depths of the Atlantic, and had their history wiped from the collective conscience of all humanity, that their spirits remained and amassed into a great power.

One had that power. His memories, his strength, his moral code, all of it was from the collective will of a dead continent.

I had been proud to call him my rival for the past five years.

But, as his eyes were fixed on whatever King Chrome’s next move was, I held my breath and pulled my eyes over to the boss, waiting to see what he was planning, hoping he wouldn’t lay a hand on my nemesis.

Then, King Chrome removed his helmet.

He gave his name and age, where he worked, and what he fought for.

Everyone was stunned into silence. After all, King Chrome, the Silver Devil, the genius philanthropist behind the Pitch Brotherhood, was a twice over college dropout who worked as an intern in the Mayor’s office.

He said that he had friends and family and a wife at home worrying about him. He pointed out all the destruction around us and proposed a ceasefire. Everyone was tired, everyone needed to make sure their loved ones were okay. He argued back and forth with the heroes for an hour, debating why they shouldn’t just arrest him on the spot, declaring that they were still strong enough to take him, claiming that the destruction around us was our fault and not theirs.

Then Evernight stepped up from the hero’s side. And he revealed his identity.

The tightening in my chest stopped. There was finally some leverage on both sides. We could all actually walk away from this peacefully.

And then fucking Hoplite stepped forward and revealed his identity, which drove me crazy for two reasons.

First, we could always see his stupid fucking face through his stupid fucking helmet, so the reveal added nothing to anything going on, except maybe to suck off his own ego.

Second, it encouraged another hero to step up and reveal their identity.

At the end of the day, seven heroes, seven villains, all fourteen of us, knew exactly who the others were. Everyone had leverage.

Each side, holding power over their specific side of the law, was sworn to secrecy.

And everyone went home.

A month had passed and there weren’t any big-name heroes or villains running around. Some folks thought the heroes stopped their patrols because there weren’t villains to capture. Others thought the villains were committing crimes because there were no heroes to challenge. Sometimes a shitty C-list villain would try and rob a museum dressed as a giant chocolate bar or something, and then a shitty C-list hero dressed as a toothbrush wielding a dental floss lasso would stop him.

Otherwise, it all went back to cops and robbers.

Me and a few members of the Pitch Brotherhood met up a few times over the next few weeks. We couldn’t believe what had happened that day. And you know how things get. You’re drinking, you see a crime on the TV in the bar and talk about how you would’ve done it without getting caught, and then you have an epiphany.

See, the heroes were always open and honest about what it was they loved, believed in, and fought for. And those same things were always recited by the press when they’d get in the news. Somehow, we came to the conclusion that maybe we’d get a better reputation if we found somethings to love and care about.

And that’s how I ended up spending the next three days of my life glued to dating apps.

I downloaded Blaze. I loved all the sex, but didn’t feel like any of the girls were dating material. Especially the one that stole my wallet.

I downloaded Cross-Shaped Heart, but religious girls weren’t really my thing. And they didn’t put out like girls on Blaze. I went back to Blaze for a bit.

I downloaded Wedding Bells. The girls on there were even more intense than the ones on Cross-Shaped Heart. So, naturally, I went back to Blaze.

I downloaded The Cave at Hoplite’s suggestion. I learned two things from that experience. One, I learned what a bear was. Two, I learned that Hoplite thought I was gay.

Things finally settled down when I downloaded Venus. The girls seemed like actually people, interested in a decent commitment without being super clingy, and may or may not be down to fuck; if yes, great, if no, maybe on date two. And after heading back to Blaze for a bit.

I talked with Sophie for two months before she agreed to go on a date with me.

Meeting her outside of La Nourriture for dinner, I had to admit I lucked into a better girl than I expected. She was one of the prettier girls I’d met through online dating, she was friendly and funny, wasn’t afraid to disagree with me, and could actually keep a conversation going. She also had a habit of asking you to explain things in a way that made it seem like she really cared about what you had to say.

I’m not so macho that I can’t admit that when she greeted me with a kiss on the cheek my heart melted a little.

We’d just walked in and just sat down. Hadn’t even met our waiter yet, when some random broad approaches and screams Sophie’s name and comes running over to our table. I’m about to get pissed when Sophie got up and hugged her, apparently it was her cousin Dalia.

If Sophie was a nine than Dalia was a thousand. Long hair, thick lips, huge tits, and a cool tattoo on her shoulder.

A familiar tattoo.

A familiar tattoo of five woman intertwined going from her elbow to her shoulder.

That’s when it hit me. I knew who Dalia was. And when I managed to pull my eyes from her boobs and saw her staring me down, I knew she knew who I was too. And that she knew that I knew who she was. Even without touching me.

She was Muse.

Muse’s ability, by the way, is that she’s able to telepathically like with something by touching them. And if she opens a conversation, then you can talk back.

Also, a strange aside of her power was enough physical strength to punch a hole in an adult rhino from tip to tail. I’d seen it before; it was fucked up to watch. It was one of those rare white ones, too.

She quit the Pitch Brotherhood the previous year, deciding to settle for a life that didn’t explain all the blood to her drycleaner, and got the tattoo to remember her time with us. There were tears and hugs and well-wishes and an orgy of blood-filled chaos as we decimated the streets in her honor and cake.

And right now, she saw that I was on a date with her cousin, glaring at me with those icy green eyes. God, I wanted that bitch to step on me.

And when she called her boyfriend over to the table, I nearly shat myself.

He looked a few inches shorter, wore his hair differently, and had on a super thick pair of glasses, but I could tell who it was. If not for the unmasking three months before, I’d never recognized One in public.

She introduced him as Darryl, an elementary school teacher who was writing a screenplay in his free time. The fact that he was a teacher was made clear at the reveal, but he’d never said anything about writing a screenplay. That pissed me off. If he had the idea to recount his adventures as a hero and pass it off as some sort of creative masterpiece, he had another thing coming.

That asshole Hoplite demanded my only copy of my screenplay about my adventures as a villain that I wanted to pass off as a creative master piece last year and hadn’t returned it yet or even given me any feedback. I know that bastard lost it, and it would take forever to replicate because I couldn’t control my burgeoning genius and handwrote all eight-hundred pages on specialty paper that cost roughly four-fifty a sheet.

I got pretty nervous when One looked down at me.

He shot me a charming smile, we exchanged greetings, and he extended his hand.

I hesitated. I fought him constantly for the last five years and he’d finally seen me unmasked just a few months prior. What if he used this as his chance to take me out? I gingerly grabbed his hand and shook it.

He chuckled, told me I had the limp grasp, and muse playfully smacked him.

And then the waitress came to us, finally, and then made the assumption that we’d all be eating together. So of course, they joined us so that Dalia could catch up with her cousin.

Admittedly, One was good at keeping a conversation going. He kept probing me with questions, obviously; I was apparently the only stranger at the table. But the way he asked questions left plenty of room to expand on. And he was courteous enough to kind of facilitate the flow of my date in a pretty good direction. It was pretty nice.

Or it would have been if I couldn’t stop focusing on how Muse kept holding his hand. I knew she was talking to him about me. I could see it in her eyes.

Then, it happened.

I cracked a joke to make Sophie laugh. Sophie giggled. One chuckled. Muse, apparently, found it so fucking hilarious that she burst out laughing and reached a mile across the table to tap my arm.

The music in the restaurant got quiet, the interior grayed, and time ground to a stop. I could hear Muse in my head. And she wasn’t happy.

I explained, honestly that I was just on a date and hadn’t gotten up to anything. That Sophie was nice and I felt there was a genuine connection. Muse was skeptical, but accepting.

I pride myself on not being a snitch. I once lost a leg because I refused to snitch—luckily, it grew back. Were this a normal conversation, and were I able to control my mouth, I wouldn’t have said this. But, because she was directly in my mind and able to hear anything that was at the forefront of it, I uncontrollably asked if she knew that she was dating One.

I was stunned. She said yes.

He also knew that she was formerly Muse. They knew what each other’s powers were. They were talking about me the entire night. And, probably because she could hear all my thoughts about her breasts, she said that she knew she would leave after dinner the main course so that she could go back to his place and eat dessert off each other.

Moving past clouds of erotic imagery, and the inevitable truth that I’d be jacking off to it later, she found the question I had about what specifically they were saying about me. She told me that I seemed like a nice guy, if a bit too ugly to be dating Sophie.

I asked if that was it. She said yes.

I was confused and asked if he knew who I was.

She said he had no idea who I was.

I went blank. My mind itself went silent at what she’d said.

Muse took that as the end of the conversation and pulled her from me, finishing her laugh a bit more robotically than it started.

One didn’t know who I was? We saw each other unmasked. It was only three months ago, there were only seven fresh faces to remember. Did it not even click back into place for him when he saw me again?

Who the fuck did he think he was? I was his nemesis. Not some bank robber he’d down with a one-two combo, toss in a jailcell, and never see again. I was his nemesis! I devoted two to three days a week to messing with him for the last five father-fucking years. And this is what he thinks of me? Nothing? Fucking nothing?

Was it because I wasn’t writing him some lame limericks and dropping them all over the city to solve like some sort of asshole C-lister who got the short straw on the day when he had to pick a theme? Is it because I didn’t stalk him and know literally every facet of every action he took in every crime he ever stopped; because I didn’t know the exact number of times his heart had beat or how many hairs were growing out of his fat ass?

Was he staring at King Chrome, or should I say Orville, the whole time during our exchange?

I guess it’s my fault for not being a freak of nature science experiment with the strength to punch Washington’s face off of Rushmore. I guess it’s my fault for not being some tragic basket case with perfectly fine mental health. I guess it’s my fault for not inheriting a trillion dollars from my dead grandad and using it to building a gaudy silver suit, flying over cities on a jetpack and launching rockets from my cock.

What was I supposed to do now? Rob Fort Knox? Blow up the Vatican? Eat a baby? Fuck the elderly woman who adopted him?

That was the bullshittiest bullshit I’d ever heard. What a fucking asshole!

Apparently, I was a little too quiet for a little too long. Muse took the time to reach across the table and shake me back to reality.

When the world grayed again, she took the time to tell me that if I fucked her cousin, she’d grab me by the throat, leap into the air, and toss me into the turbine of a passing plane.

And that’s why I went back to Blaze.

 [WP] After repeatedly losing to the powers of love and friendship villains have decided to try to harness that power for themselves. They started a dating site and you're on your first date. Things are going well, until your arch nemesis barges in thinking this is another one of your plans.

The Best Free MMORPGs Available to Play Now!!! (2020)

All gamers know that the only thing better than an awesome MMORPG is a free awesome MMORPG.

MMORPGs have always been a mainstay of the gaming industry. They have captured audiences for years and allowed players the world over to connect and display their love of a genre along with some creative flair.

MMORPGs are now widely available across a variety of platforms, and free-to-play MMOs are ever-increasing in their popularity. They also come in a variety of sub-genres, from warcraft games to space games to shooters.

Many regular MMO games also offer extended trials, which allow players plenty of time to decide if a game is perfect for them. Here are our picks for the best free MMORPGs currently available.

Note: While some of these games are free to play, they do charge for in-game currency, so you might want to check out our guides on earning free gift cards and getting paid to play mobile games. 

The Best Free MMORPGs

War Games

World of Tanks

World of Tanks

World of Tanks is one of the most massive military-style games on the market. With over 100 million players, there is no shortage of battles. It showcases several hundred tanks and military weapons. The campaigns revolve around tanks and allow players to control multiple tanks. The battles focus on heavy back and forth between individual players. There are six modes for gamers to choose from: team-training, tank-company, team, stronghold, special, and random battles. Players also get to play in platoons and small teams of two or three players.

The game doesn't require tons of work into strategizing about armor and vehicle formatting. World of Tanks gives players the addictive, fast-paced gameplay that players find in arcade games. The rate of play and ease of use make it one of the most popular war games out there.

Play Word Of Tanks

World of Warships

World of Warships

World of Warships takes World of Tanks and gives it a more realistic approach. The warships are large, slow, and extremely powerful. The fact that the ships are large and slow alters gameplay, making World of Warships a game of technical strategy. Gamers get to play in P vs. P or P vs. E challenges. There are also two seasonal competitive modes.

The gameplay is dynamic and highly strategic. Players can choose between four different types of ships: aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and battleships. On the plus side, it also gives players ample time to enjoy their lovely graphics.

The game is available for play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Play World of Warships

War of Warplanes

War of Warplanes

So far, we've covered land and sea war games, and now we move onto the air. War of Warplanes gives players the ability to make all of their Top Gun fantasies come to life if Top Gun took place in World War 2. Choose between multirole fighters, heavy fighters, bomber, fighters, and ground attack planes. There are tonnes of upgrades and over 4600 aircraft configurations, which can be combined with other customization options. War of Warplanes also does not have caps on ammo. Instead, players must make sure that they don't overheat their weapons so that they don't lose accuracy.

The war play is all about scrappy adrenaline-pumping combat. It also doesn't hurt that the skies are gorgeous and that flying, in general, is lots of fun.

Play War of Warplanes

War Thunder

War Thunder

Planes, tanks, and warships, oh my! War Thunder is a war game that combines all others. Realism is the name of War Thunder's game. Players get three modes: simulator, arcade, and realistic. Arcade is the least realistic mode of War Thunder, and simulator is the most realistic, with a first-person shooter perspective. Aircraft can be found in all battles- air, land, and sea- but in air battles, no ground support or naval support is possible. Players can focus on P vs. P or P vs. E battles, but may also create custom battles, which can be made private.

The gameplay is as real as it gets, with a focus on ballistics and armor that reacts in-game, like their real-world counterparts.

Play War Thunder for Free

Vikings: World of Clans

Vikings: World of Clans

Vikings: World Of Clans is a game of strategy and cooperation. Players must band together to achieve victory in this game: The gamer requires gamers to join together and form a clan. Clans must have a hierarchy, and each player must adhere to their place in the clan structure.

Players must then try to capture other clans' sources of power, which are located in the center of each clan's territory. Players increase their levels by developing their settlement and tribe and conquering other territories.

Kingdom Under Fire II

Kingdom Under Fire II

Kingdom Under Fire II is, in my opinion, a war game. It is rather unlike the other games in this portion of our list, as it feels more like a combination between a traditional MMORPG and an RTS.

Kingdom Under Fire II allows players to be a hero who commands an army. The purpose is to wander the continent Bersia and battle your way through wars between three factions, Dark Legion, the Human Alliance, and Encablossians.

Space & Sci-Fi Games

Dreadnought

Dreadnought

Dreadnought is precisely what we've come to expect from space games, as in you look cool while flying in your own highly customized space ship. Much like the name implies, Dreadnought features large, powerful ships, and regardless of which class of ship you select, you will have to remember that you're a commander of a fleet, not Han Solo on the Millenium Falcon.

The best part is, there is no need to spend hours of grinding to master the five vs. five combat system with a specialized fleet of vessels. Dreadnought still requires strategy, but it is by no means a grind-heavy game.

Play Dreadnought for Free

Fractured Space

Fractured Space

If Dreadnought is classic space-age gameplay, then Fractured Space is its tactically strategic cousin. The game offers multiple modes, from a solo P vs. E and a Conquest mode. Fractured Space really comes into its own with its stunning fight scenes and tactical awareness.

Fractured Space gave fans of Dreadnought a chance to be both space pirate/treasure hunter and fleet commander. Players could band together to take over and defend bases. Fractured Space was an immensely fun game, and if you can play it, I recommend that you do.

Note: Featured Space is no longer officially supported; however, thanks to diligent Reddit users, you can still play Fractured Space on private servers. 

How to Play Fractured Space

Star Conflict

Star Conflict

Star Conflict is the fleet builder free MMORPG that takes Dreadnought to a new level. The thing that truly separates this game from Dreadnought is that pilots get to hunt down treasures throughout the galaxy.

This game is a wildly fun open-world space game, which means it's massive since the open world is space itself. Players have the option of exploring this open world in traditional P vs. P or P vs. E modes. As a bonus, players can also choose to complete missions, conquer sectors as a team, and even create their own custom battles against NPC or each other.

As a bonus, Star Conflict is one of the few MMOs that can be played in VR.

Play Star Conflict for Free

Traditional MMOs and RPGs

Neverwinter

Neverwinter

Neverwinter is one of the oldest online MMORPGs, its been around since 1991. Its early combat is often compared to Diablo, and it is set in the lore of the wildly popular Dungeons and Dragons. This means that gamers can choose between different Dungeons & Dragons. The thing that really sets Neverwinter apart, however, is its storyline. It is so heavy on the storyline that one of the game designers, Jack Emmert, said that Neverwinter was meant to be played more like a story-based game (think Dragon Age), than a traditional MMO.

Newer versions of Neverwinter have a combat style more reminiscent of Darksiders. It is a hallmark of free MMORPGs and is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The only downside is that in-game purchases are incredibly expensive.

Play Neverwinter for Free

Defiance

Defiance

Defiance is a classic MMORPG, which was initially released on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Defiance is most well-known for its relation to the Destiny franchise and the companion show, which aired on Syfy. Much like the show, characters are either humans or humanoid species of aliens that have inhabited the recently terraformed Earth after a prolonged human and alien war.

The combat is the traditional third-person shooter. Newer versions of Defiance 2050 have since been released on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Play Defiance for Free

Lord of The Rings Online

Lord of The Rings Online

This one is an oldie but goodie. Everyone and their mother has heard of the Lord of the Rings, and while the Shadow of Mordor was fun, this is less gritty orc battles and more like a traditional MMO. Characters get to own homes and mounts, and complete quests all across Middle Earth.

Players get to choose a race and class straight from the world of J.R.R. Tolkien. That's right folks; you can be a hobbit, dwarf, man or elf, and explore all the things that the Jackson movies didn't.

Play Lord of the Rings for Free

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic

One cannot talk about free MMORPGs without referencing Star War: The Old Republic. It is a truly iconic game, and it is what all other MMOs are compared to, which isn't surprising given how expansive the gameplay and world-building are in the game.

The setting of this MMO right after the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic made peace. Players get to choose between the Republic and the Sith while choosing a morality on the light to dark scale. Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the biggest MMOs ever.

BioWare has outdone itself with this comprehensive MMO.

Play Star Wars: The Old Republic 

Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online is a pretty solid alternative to Star Wars The Old Republic. Players get to revive their Star Trek nostalgia since the challenges play out as though they're actual episodes. Players get to engage in both space and planet-side run and shoot combat. Planet-side combat is affected by player class.

Crafting in Star Tek Online is definitely easier than in most games. You get to set up a project and then initiate it. Once initiated, the project will be completed after a set amount of time. No actual crafting needed.

The character creation is similar to Dragon Age, meaning you can fully customize your character's features.

Play Star Trek Online

DC Universe Online

DC Universe Online

DC Universe Online started as a paid MMO but has since gone the free-to-play route with in-game purchases still available, of course.

Players do not get to be actual comic book characters, like Wonder Woman or Batman, but they do get to base their characters and powers off of them. There are plenty of quests, and while it's not an open-world MMORPG, it's still pretty expansive. Players get to choose a hero- Wonder Woman, Batman, or Superman- or villain- Cersei, Joker, or Lex Luthor- to be their mentor. Their mentor gives them missions in either Metropolis or Gotham.

A fun feature in this game is getting to customize a lair and take side missions with other gamers.

Play DC Universe Online for Free

Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy has been around forever, and it goes without saying that the franchise is popular despite some issues with some of the franchise's launches. True to form, the first version of this MMO was rough, and then they redid it, and now it's amazing. Players have a lot of options with this game. Characters come from five different races, and each race has its own deity, which gives gamers unique abilities. There are two kinds of quests Levelquests and Story Quests, both of which are vital for players to unlock new abilities and gain favor with different factions.

In other words, it's normal Square Enix stuff. It offers a unique combat and skill tree system and allows for cross-play with Playstation.

Play Final Fantasy XIV for Free

Secret World Legends

Secret World Legends

Secret World Legends is one of the few free MMORPGs that is set in the real world. This game gives people a real-world look at MMOs.

Gone are the ways of magic and spellcasting, and instead, you get to fight supernatural monsters with real-world fighting tools. Secret World Legends uses a variety of myths, legends, and lore as a supply for their monsters and challenges. Gamers get to trot across the globe as either a Templar, an Illuminati, a Dragon faction member. Secret World Legends is definitely less a fantasy MMO and more a supernatural horror one.

Play Secret World Legends

Runescape 3

Runescape is a veteran in the MMO sphere. It has a massive player base with millions of registered players. Runescape holds the world record as the most extensive free MMORPG, ever. It is also one of the few free MMORPGs known for having a friendly atmosphere.

Runescape is a truly magnificent example of everything that gamers love about MMORPGs. It is an open world, with classic MMO lore, crafting, and combat capabilities. The game is truly fantastic.

Runescape offers a free version with plenty of content and a paid version for further exploration.

Play Runescape 3 for Free

Dungeons and Dragons Online

Dungeons & Dragons has had a difficult time breaking out from its tabletop origins. It launched back in 2006, and it definitely left room for improvement. However, the game has come a long way since its initial launch, and fans of the tabletop icon cannot help but be charmed by both the familiar D&D lore and the setting of Stormreach.

This game has some unique features, which definitely adds to the allure. D&D Online is one of the few games that allows players to toggle between third and first-person angles. It also has a unique leveling up system. Players don't raise their levels through combat, but through the completion of quests. Players are also discouraged from taking quests that are too far above or below their characters, which is a nice way to keep challenges available for players of all levels.

Play D&D Online for Free

Tera

Tera

Tera is another free MMORPG giant and with good reason. Tera is fantastic and is one of the most action-heavy RPGs ever. The open-world setting is nothing short of gigantic, and every inch of it is full of questing and crafting options.

The really interesting thing about Tera is its lore. It is entirely unique and super cool. Essentially, the entire world is based on the dreams of two titan-esque creatures. The land itself is the bodies of the two titans, and both the world on which Tera takes place and the creatures native to it are actual manifestations of the titan's dreams. The lore alone makes this game worth playing, in my opinion, and I'm always excited to see where each update of Tera will lead us.

Players get to enjoy a heavy dose of action MMO that is unlike anything other games available.

Play Tera for Free

Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming

Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming feels nostalgic, and even though players don't get to be one of the beloved characters from Game of Thrones, they do get to ally and command them during the course of the game. Conquest is the purpose of this MMO, and gamers are meant to raise a castle and army to conquer the land and claim the iron throne.

This game is pretty good, and the combat is interesting, especially if you have any Game of Thrones characters under your command. Characters from the show have special abilities which you can unlock in certain situations, like combat.

League Of Legends

League Of Legends

League of Legends is a significant player in MMOs, although it really is more of a freemium than a genuinely free MMORPG. There have been plenty of expansions on this already expansive platform, and it is definitely a fun game to play.

League of Legends is an arena-based MMO, which means that there is minimal grinding and a lot of combat. Players can form teams and battle one another to gain experience points, level up, and make money.

Play League of Legends for Free

World Of Warcraft

World Of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is another freemium, although it caps you at level 20. The game is so big; however, I think the free option is worth mentioning.

WoW is famous for a reason, and it is evident in the gameplay why. The combat is fun, and it embodies the things we all love about classic RPGs. World of Warcraft is well-known for its expansion packs and massive open world. Gamers level up the traditional way, by clearing dungeons and fight monsters, other players, and in battles.

Play World of Warcraft for Free.

Unique MMOs:

NosTale

NosTale

NosTale is an engaging free MMORPG. It features an anime graphic style and 3-D graphics. An exciting feature in this game is that characters don't choose a class until they reach level 20. After that, the characters may choose a specialist class.

There is also an extensive pet system. Characters get to explore a forest full of monsters, magic crystals, and capture pets. Pets can be trained and used in battle, and there is no limit to how many you can find and capture.

NosTale also allows players to enter special dungeons inside of crystals. These crystals vary from timed missions, raids, and server-wide fights.

Eudemons Online

Eudemons Online

Eudemons Online is another free MMORPG that focuses on pets called, you guessed it, eudemons. Unlike NosTale, players don't travel around to capture the pets. Instead, they hatch them, raise, train, and evolve them and then use them in battle.

Experience is easy to gain in this game, and raising your levels by grinding through enemies is a snap. There are over 100 different eudemons, so players will always have something new to train.  Players can enjoy P vs. P duels and tournaments, open-world battle royale style events, and group dungeons.

Eternal Fury

Eternal Fury

Eternal Fury is not a traditional MMO by any means. This game is one part turn-based RPG and another part strategy. Players must create a character, build a castle, hire mercenaries to raise an army, study technological advancements, upgrade equipment, and summon heroes to fight demons on your behalf.

Luckily, this MMORPG doesn't make that list boring or tedious. Eternal Fury will keep you entertained for hours with its cross-server P vs. P and its dynamic P vs. E modes.

Skyforge

Skyforge

Skyforge is one of the most beautiful free MMORPGs I've ever seen. The graphics are complete eye-candy. Players get to be immortals with mindblowing celestial powers.

The only thing better than Skyforge's graphics is its combat mechanics. Skyforge does not offer a leveling system; instead, players must gain prestige. This system means characters advance based on the total of their stats and progress. The top-level of progression turns players into gods, where they can access a second progression system.

Players can master multiple combat styles and skills and switch between them effortlessly amid battle. It is an MMO that I never get tired of exploring.

Play Skyforge for Free

ArcheAge

ArcheAge

Archeage is one of the only ship-based MMOs. Traverse the seas as a pirate and relive all of the fun from games like Assassin's Creed Black Flag, just, you know, for free. Crafting is a major part of ArcheAge because players must craft their own ships and raise their pets from babies. ArcheAge also contains a judicial system, which is unlike anything I've seen in any other game. Players run the courts, summon juries, and determine sentences for crimes.

A bonus is that Archeage also provides dragons for players to ride, and need I say more about how awesome the game is than that?

Play ArchAge

Smite

Smite

Smite is an excellent alternative to League of Legends, and unlike League of Legends, Smite is entirely free. Smite is pretty big in esports circles with several tournaments and the yearly Smite World Championship that's worth one million dollars.

This game features a slightly different take on third-person shooters, and the altered angle is kind of refreshing. Smite is an arena-based MMO and showcases a combat style similar to that of Dota 2. Players control either a god/goddess or a mythical creature, which grants the user and the user's team powers. These gods/goddesses come from a variety of mythoi like Norse, Japanese, Arthurian, Hindu, Chinese, Mayan, Celtic, Polynesian, Greek, Slavic, Egyptian, Yoruba, Roman, and Voodoo.

Play Smite for Free

Albion Online

Albion Online

Albion Online is similar to Runescape and is heavy on grinding, which makes it unusual in today's landscape of less grind-heavy free MMORPGs. The unique thing about Albion Online is the fact that there are true character classes. Meaning players can choose to be warriors, farmers, merchants, or even craftsmen.

It makes for customizable gameplay, but it means that players have to build their characters from the ground up completely.

Play Albion Online for Free

Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 is one of the most highly ranked games available. It essentially works as a combat fluid, less teamwork required version World of Warcraft. Gamers have the option of in-game purchases, but it's not required for game mastery or leveling up. Guild Wars 2 is unique in that the storyline is effected by players' actions, which is something unusual for multiplayer RPGs.

Players get to choose between five races and eight professions. The professions determine your armor class; professions range from scholar to soldiers.

The challenges are dynamic, which is a challenge unto itself. The best part is that the game doesn't require a monthly subscription fee like WoW; instead, it's completely free.

Play Guild Wars 2 for Free

Life Is Feudal

Life Is Feudal

Life is Feudal is a unique MMO because it is not combat-focused. Instead, players need to develop the area around them. Everyone needs to work the land and tailor it to their needs.

Characters can band together to own more land and control it by forming a guild. Gamers will have to cooperate to make commerce and resource distribution work.

Crossout

Crossout

Crossout completes our list and deservedly so. It is a completely unique RPG. Crossout is the game that fulfills all of our collective Mad Max fantasies. This game is set in the same universe as Ex Machina. The gameplay is slightly realistic, meaning players must take into consideration the weight, center of gravity, and recoil of their weapons. Battles involve two teams, and battles are won when a team is eliminated, and their base is captured.

Customizable apocalypse-ready vehicles, a desert landscape, and looting for everyone. This game is loads of fun, and everyone should try it at least once.

Play Crossout for Free

The Bottom Line

Video games are so much fun, every time I play them, I'm reminded of how creative people are and how cool it is to share an interest with so many people across the world.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to play the games and drop a line to the developers to tell them how amazing a job they did.

The post The Best Free MMORPGs Available to Play Now!!! (2020) appeared first on Your Money Geek.

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Visit Paris

Ever because the allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy this space of France has had particular that means for a big multitude of males and their families. Earlier than Schengen settlement, folks from some international locations have been required to have separate visas for every nation in Europe they wished to go to. The Statue of Liberty, the image of all things optimistic in the land of the brave and the home of the free was also, just like the providers of Lafayette, a gift from our French Cousins. With the Schengen Agreement, border posts have been closed between taking part international locations. After that I've tried to discover a single automotive without scratches on bumpers - I did not find a single one. It is also great to visit this space just to see how the opposite half stay! Savor the breathtaking views from the top of the Eiffel Tower, stroll hand in hand alongside the Seine - whereas stealing a French kiss or two, or simply sit side by aspect in a small cafe and watch the town go by. Spain: The Spanish Embassy, Pretoria, telephone 012-460-0123. You should definitely order wine with your meal, since France additionally produces the perfect wines - whether or not pink, white, or glowing wines. France: French Consulate-General, Rosebank, cellphone 011-778-5600. The Eurostar trains are almost four hundred metres long (1300 ft) and once as much as full pace, will go each other in seconds! There are quite a few locations to see in place together with the Arc de Triomphe, the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur, the Champs-Elysées, the Eiffel Tower, the Grande Arche, the Invalides, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée Nationwide d'Artwork Moderne, Notre Dame cathedral, the Opéra Garnier and the Panthéon. The area is understood for producing a wide variety of different wines, which means that whether you favor your white sweet or dry or if you like a totally-bodied red moderately than a light-weight one, you might be certain to seek out something that pleases your taste buds. In 4 or five weeks you can take in the beauty of the continent, with all of continental Europe out there to you - the rail hyperlink between France and Great Britain means that a visit to England is perfectly doable as part of your rail journey. Visitors to Spain tend to opt for either Madrid or Barcelona. The European motorhome expertise is an thrilling one and one of the most secure, most economical methods to cross a continent. Nicely adorned cities, scenic locations, great wine, scrumptious delicacies, thrilling opportunities for out of doors activities, effectively preserved traditions, charming Christmas markets and lots of things to do are ready for you. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is positioned within the city of Pisa, roughly 1 hour from Florence by prepare and involving a journey by means of the countryside of Tuscany. After looking inside these two castles, head over to Ambroise and visit the house where da Vinci died. Although touring the wine cellars and sampling their delights could appeal to adults, these with youngsters could also be questioning learn how to preserve them occupied while mum and pa enjoy the wine. Europe travel gives you a possibility to see varied tourist destinations that may refresh your thoughts and will certainly make your tour unforgettable. If you're traveling with children, they are going to certainly love the Christmas parades, the folks art workshops and the normal dances. Listed here are the top five reasons why individuals from all over the world visit France - the exact same reasons you should be planning your individual French holidays, too. The authentic magnum opus of art maestros like Renoir, Sisely, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Degas and Pissaro can be gazed at the Musee d'Orsay museum that additionally has. Provencal traditions say that Christmas vacation season lasts forty days. Montmartre itself is well worth a visit if you wish to see what Paris was like within the final century. The Eurostar and TGV trains (each are electric) are wonderful, they travel at over 300km/hr (almost 170mph) and their suspension methods make it seem that you are hardly moving at all. In historic times, it was a city that was without electricity or automobiles. Though there may be low menace from terrorism, the tourists ought to still watch out about the random international terror assaults. The place others journey to stand in awe of the good pyramids or China's nice wall, a wine lover is drawn to the famous names of Margaux, St. Emilion, Gevrey Chambertin and Montrachet. For example, if you're visiting Germany for 3 days, France and the Netherlands for 2 days every, you'd apply on your Schengen visa on the embassy or consulate of Germany. Paris is the best place on the earth for procuring, so if you wish to store observe the locals. If you want to stay in a household villa in France then one can find that the Loire Valley provides lots to keep the youngsters busy, as well as the adults. For extra unique finds and better bargains, do not be afraid to attempt the Saint Ouen Flea Market and other flea markets in Paris and other cities, although you should be aware to come back early and be on guard in opposition to pickpockets. Many of the trains say that 'small canines in carriers' are allowed, but we've typically traveled with our canine on a lead without drawback. On a Sunday afternoon, loosen up a little and take a bike trip to go to other elements of this areas. Buying tickets is easy, you possibly can look up Eurostar, TGV or Rail Europe on the internet. Choose a spot frequented by the locals and it will not cost you an arm and a leg. In Strasbourg, you possibly can discover the oldest Christmas market in France. Château de Versailles, Fontainebleau, Giverny, Musée Claude Monet, Pont d'Avignon, Chenonceau Fort, Mount Saint Michael, Arc de Triomphe, Maison Victor Hugo, Champs Elysiées, Disneyland Paris are additionally vacationer points of interest to be visited. Europe has a beautiful historical past, because it has performed a major position on the earth's events and also has a strong relationship with art, reflective in its unmatched architecture and unique mix of the previous with the current is so lovely that it typically appeals to those on the lookout for a romantic vacation. Netherlands: The Netherlands Embassy, Pretoria, cellphone, 012-425-4500. Switzerland: SA passport holders do not want a visa to enter Switzerland for a visit not exceeding three months. Many of the espresso drank in France though is a mix of Robusta and Arabica. Saumur should be on the high of any wine-lover's checklist of locations to go to while staying in a villa in France. While there are some nice wine shops within the city, I was saving myself for visits to the wineries. And when booking your adventure vacation, you would usually be in a reasonably small, informal group of around three to five families, or a social group of around 15 to 30, which might be headed by a trained tour chief and representative. Though I did not meet any hostility myself personally from the locals, but they are saying that it's quite easy to bother a Frenchman from Paris just asking something like «The place can I find the Eiffel Tower here?». Finland: The Embassy of Finland, Pretoria, telephone 012-343-0275. Fortunately, you should purchase a Litre of fine wine in bulk for less than the worth of a sequence store espresso. While the French nation has adopted a kind of extra luxurious and fashionable life-style, their companions in Belgium are a lot more into the informal way of life. In addition to a Schengen visa, South Africans travelling on a short lived passport must have their SA identity books to show as proof of residence. The driver of the minibus will require a Full Passport and a formal 'Permission to Drive' letter from the automobile's owner, except they are the registered keeper of the minibus. Take a tour of the quite a few vineyards and see how the wine in this beautiful region is produced. Properly the plain answers would be scenic magnificence, wealthy historical past, gourmet food and wine, perfume and vogue. It's amongst one of many famous and largest church buildings on the planet which is legendary for its art and sculptures too. Strasbourg's historic heart was categorised as a World Heritage Website in 1988 by Unesco - a novel honor in that it was the primary time this designation was given to an entire city. The locals are quite calm although and I would say - not pretty fond of the tourists. The world is bedecked by the Sacre Coeur Church, that has almost scaled to the peak of the Eiffel Tower. The winery and cellar was right beside the house and the owner's home was a short distance away. Spain has many major cities which you could think about visiting. Visiting the Louvre Museum offers you an insight into the past, as many treasures from the entire world are kept there inside. The primary piece of advice that I can give is that you should purchase a European train travel cross. They are not required to get separate visas for all of the (Schengen) European nations they want to visit. Travelling outdoors these member states requires an International Driving Allow (IDP). Regardless of its name, this fashion of making espresso is just not essentially a French invention. Nearly all the espresso obtainable like that is fairly finely floor, though there are some packages of entire beans as well. To begin the trip, the Eiffel Tower is a great choice and selection that may make you marvel in surprise. Trying at the splendid shows and opulent surroundings - both inside and exterior - it is hard not to see why the French Monarchy suffered a collapse. France has one among Europe's most in depth rail networks - you may get from nearly anyplace in the nation to simply about anywhere else. cheap flights barcelona Although you may think it's a summer season resort, you can visit Good at any time of the yr and nonetheless have a great time. In addition to being house to one of the nation's prettiest castles, the underground cellars will no doubt be of curiosity to all who get pleasure from a refreshing glass of wine. You can get contact info at wineries web site, or the vacationer bureaus are also helpful in getting you the knowledge. Greater than the star therapy, privateness (a typical French barge cruise solely has six to ten passengers) and leisurely tempo, however, a French barge cruise presents a travel experience unlike another - bringing even essentially the most experienced traveller a brand new perspective of beloved sights and locations. August is the time for Carcassone, a medieval pageant held in the Carcassone Fortress, one of many world's most peculiar and interesting events. Openly gay people or couples who plan a typical vacation need to be mindful of the culture and societal environment at all times once they visit new locations.

The Best Free MMORPGs Available to Play Now!!! (2020)

All gamers know that the only thing better than an awesome MMORPG is a free awesome MMORPG.

MMORPGs have always been a mainstay of the gaming industry. They have captured audiences for years and allowed players the world over to connect and display their love of a genre along with some creative flair.

MMORPGs are now widely available across a variety of platforms, and free-to-play MMOs are ever-increasing in their popularity. They also come in a variety of sub-genres, from warcraft games to space games to shooters.

Many regular MMO games also offer extended trials, which allow players plenty of time to decide if a game is perfect for them. Here are our picks for the best free MMORPGs currently available.

Note: While some of these games are free to play, they do charge for in-game currency, so you might want to check out our guides on earning free gift cards and getting paid to play mobile games. 

The Best Free MMORPGs

War Games

World of Tanks

World of Tanks

World of Tanks is one of the most massive military-style games on the market. With over 100 million players, there is no shortage of battles. It showcases several hundred tanks and military weapons. The campaigns revolve around tanks and allow players to control multiple tanks. The battles focus on heavy back and forth between individual players. There are six modes for gamers to choose from: team-training, tank-company, team, stronghold, special, and random battles. Players also get to play in platoons and small teams of two or three players.

The game doesn’t require tons of work into strategizing about armor and vehicle formatting. World of Tanks gives players the addictive, fast-paced gameplay that players find in arcade games. The rate of play and ease of use make it one of the most popular war games out there.

Play Word Of Tanks

World of Warships

World of Warships

World of Warships takes World of Tanks and gives it a more realistic approach. The warships are large, slow, and extremely powerful. The fact that the ships are large and slow alters gameplay, making World of Warships a game of technical strategy. Gamers get to play in P vs. P or P vs. E challenges. There are also two seasonal competitive modes.

The gameplay is dynamic and highly strategic. Players can choose between four different types of ships: aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and battleships. On the plus side, it also gives players ample time to enjoy their lovely graphics.

The game is available for play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Play World of Warships

War of Warplanes

War of Warplanes

So far, we’ve covered land and sea war games, and now we move onto the air. War of Warplanes gives players the ability to make all of their Top Gun fantasies come to life if Top Gun took place in World War 2. Choose between multirole fighters, heavy fighters, bomber, fighters, and ground attack planes. There are tonnes of upgrades and over 4600 aircraft configurations, which can be combined with other customization options. War of Warplanes also does not have caps on ammo. Instead, players must make sure that they don’t overheat their weapons so that they don’t lose accuracy.

The war play is all about scrappy adrenaline-pumping combat. It also doesn’t hurt that the skies are gorgeous and that flying, in general, is lots of fun.

Play War of Warplanes

War Thunder

War Thunder

Planes, tanks, and warships, oh my! War Thunder is a war game that combines all others. Realism is the name of War Thunder’s game. Players get three modes: simulator, arcade, and realistic. Arcade is the least realistic mode of War Thunder, and simulator is the most realistic, with a first-person shooter perspective. Aircraft can be found in all battles- air, land, and sea- but in air battles, no ground support or naval support is possible. Players can focus on P vs. P or P vs. E battles, but may also create custom battles, which can be made private.

The gameplay is as real as it gets, with a focus on ballistics and armor that reacts in-game, like their real-world counterparts.

Play War Thunder for Free

Vikings: World of Clans

Vikings: World of Clans

Vikings: World Of Clans is a game of strategy and cooperation. Players must band together to achieve victory in this game: The gamer requires gamers to join together and form a clan. Clans must have a hierarchy, and each player must adhere to their place in the clan structure.

Players must then try to capture other clans’ sources of power, which are located in the center of each clan’s territory. Players increase their levels by developing their settlement and tribe and conquering other territories.

Kingdom Under Fire II

Kingdom Under Fire II

Kingdom Under Fire II is, in my opinion, a war game. It is rather unlike the other games in this portion of our list, as it feels more like a combination between a traditional MMORPG and an RTS.

Kingdom Under Fire II allows players to be a hero who commands an army. The purpose is to wander the continent Bersia and battle your way through wars between three factions, Dark Legion, the Human Alliance, and Encablossians.

Space & Sci-Fi Games

Dreadnought

Dreadnought

Dreadnought is precisely what we’ve come to expect from space games, as in you look cool while flying in your own highly customized space ship. Much like the name implies, Dreadnought features large, powerful ships, and regardless of which class of ship you select, you will have to remember that you’re a commander of a fleet, not Han Solo on the Millenium Falcon.

The best part is, there is no need to spend hours of grinding to master the five vs. five combat system with a specialized fleet of vessels. Dreadnought still requires strategy, but it is by no means a grind-heavy game.

Play Dreadnought for Free

Fractured Space

Fractured Space

If Dreadnought is classic space-age gameplay, then Fractured Space is its tactically strategic cousin. The game offers multiple modes, from a solo P vs. E and a Conquest mode. Fractured Space really comes into its own with its stunning fight scenes and tactical awareness.

Fractured Space gave fans of Dreadnought a chance to be both space pirate/treasure hunter and fleet commander. Players could band together to take over and defend bases. Fractured Space was an immensely fun game, and if you can play it, I recommend that you do.

Note: Featured Space is no longer officially supported; however, thanks to diligent Reddit users, you can still play Fractured Space on private servers. 

How to Play Fractured Space

Star Conflict

Star Conflict

Star Conflict is the fleet builder free MMORPG that takes Dreadnought to a new level. The thing that truly separates this game from Dreadnought is that pilots get to hunt down treasures throughout the galaxy.

This game is a wildly fun open-world space game, which means it’s massive since the open world is space itself. Players have the option of exploring this open world in traditional P vs. P or P vs. E modes. As a bonus, players can also choose to complete missions, conquer sectors as a team, and even create their own custom battles against NPC or each other.

As a bonus, Star Conflict is one of the few MMOs that can be played in VR.

Play Star Conflict for Free

Traditional MMOs and RPGs

Neverwinter

Neverwinter

Neverwinter is one of the oldest online MMORPGs, its been around since 1991. Its early combat is often compared to Diablo, and it is set in the lore of the wildly popular Dungeons and Dragons. This means that gamers can choose between different Dungeons & Dragons. The thing that really sets Neverwinter apart, however, is its storyline. It is so heavy on the storyline that one of the game designers, Jack Emmert, said that Neverwinter was meant to be played more like a story-based game (think Dragon Age), than a traditional MMO.

Newer versions of Neverwinter have a combat style more reminiscent of Darksiders. It is a hallmark of free MMORPGs and is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The only downside is that in-game purchases are incredibly expensive.

Play Neverwinter for Free

Defiance

Defiance

Defiance is a classic MMORPG, which was initially released on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Defiance is most well-known for its relation to the Destiny franchise and the companion show, which aired on Syfy. Much like the show, characters are either humans or humanoid species of aliens that have inhabited the recently terraformed Earth after a prolonged human and alien war.

The combat is the traditional third-person shooter. Newer versions of Defiance 2050 have since been released on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Play Defiance for Free

Lord of The Rings Online

Lord of The Rings Online

This one is an oldie but goodie. Everyone and their mother has heard of the Lord of the Rings, and while the Shadow of Mordor was fun, this is less gritty orc battles and more like a traditional MMO. Characters get to own homes and mounts, and complete quests all across Middle Earth.

Players get to choose a race and class straight from the world of J.R.R. Tolkien. That’s right folks; you can be a hobbit, dwarf, man or elf, and explore all the things that the Jackson movies didn’t.

Play Lord of the Rings for Free

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic

One cannot talk about free MMORPGs without referencing Star War: The Old Republic. It is a truly iconic game, and it is what all other MMOs are compared to, which isn’t surprising given how expansive the gameplay and world-building are in the game.

The setting of this MMO right after the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic made peace. Players get to choose between the Republic and the Sith while choosing a morality on the light to dark scale. Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the biggest MMOs ever.

BioWare has outdone itself with this comprehensive MMO.

Play Star Wars: The Old Republic 

Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online is a pretty solid alternative to Star Wars The Old Republic. Players get to revive their Star Trek nostalgia since the challenges play out as though they’re actual episodes. Players get to engage in both space and planet-side run and shoot combat. Planet-side combat is affected by player class.

Crafting in Star Tek Online is definitely easier than in most games. You get to set up a project and then initiate it. Once initiated, the project will be completed after a set amount of time. No actual crafting needed.

The character creation is similar to Dragon Age, meaning you can fully customize your character’s features.

Play Star Trek Online

DC Universe Online

DC Universe Online

DC Universe Online started as a paid MMO but has since gone the free-to-play route with in-game purchases still available, of course.

Players do not get to be actual comic book characters, like Wonder Woman or Batman, but they do get to base their characters and powers off of them. There are plenty of quests, and while it’s not an open-world MMORPG, it’s still pretty expansive. Players get to choose a hero- Wonder Woman, Batman, or Superman- or villain- Cersei, Joker, or Lex Luthor- to be their mentor. Their mentor gives them missions in either Metropolis or Gotham.

A fun feature in this game is getting to customize a lair and take side missions with other gamers.

Play DC Universe Online for Free

Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy has been around forever, and it goes without saying that the franchise is popular despite some issues with some of the franchise’s launches. True to form, the first version of this MMO was rough, and then they redid it, and now it’s amazing. Players have a lot of options with this game. Characters come from five different races, and each race has its own deity, which gives gamers unique abilities. There are two kinds of quests Levelquests and Story Quests, both of which are vital for players to unlock new abilities and gain favor with different factions.

In other words, it’s normal Square Enix stuff. It offers a unique combat and skill tree system and allows for cross-play with Playstation.

Play Final Fantasy XIV for Free

Secret World Legends

Secret World Legends

Secret World Legends is one of the few free MMORPGs that is set in the real world. This game gives people a real-world look at MMOs.

Gone are the ways of magic and spellcasting, and instead, you get to fight supernatural monsters with real-world fighting tools. Secret World Legends uses a variety of myths, legends, and lore as a supply for their monsters and challenges. Gamers get to trot across the globe as either a Templar, an Illuminati, a Dragon faction member. Secret World Legends is definitely less a fantasy MMO and more a supernatural horror one.

Play Secret World Legends

Runescape 3

Runescape is a veteran in the MMO sphere. It has a massive player base with millions of registered players. Runescape holds the world record as the most extensive free MMORPG, ever. It is also one of the few free MMORPGs known for having a friendly atmosphere.

Runescape is a truly magnificent example of everything that gamers love about MMORPGs. It is an open world, with classic MMO lore, crafting, and combat capabilities. The game is truly fantastic.

Runescape offers a free version with plenty of content and a paid version for further exploration.

Play Runescape 3 for Free

Dungeons and Dragons Online

Dungeons & Dragons has had a difficult time breaking out from its tabletop origins. It launched back in 2006, and it definitely left room for improvement. However, the game has come a long way since its initial launch, and fans of the tabletop icon cannot help but be charmed by both the familiar D&D lore and the setting of Stormreach.

This game has some unique features, which definitely adds to the allure. D&D Online is one of the few games that allows players to toggle between third and first-person angles. It also has a unique leveling up system. Players don’t raise their levels through combat, but through the completion of quests. Players are also discouraged from taking quests that are too far above or below their characters, which is a nice way to keep challenges available for players of all levels.

Play D&D Online for Free

Tera

Tera

Tera is another free MMORPG giant and with good reason. Tera is fantastic and is one of the most action-heavy RPGs ever. The open-world setting is nothing short of gigantic, and every inch of it is full of questing and crafting options.

The really interesting thing about Tera is its lore. It is entirely unique and super cool. Essentially, the entire world is based on the dreams of two titan-esque creatures. The land itself is the bodies of the two titans, and both the world on which Tera takes place and the creatures native to it are actual manifestations of the titan’s dreams. The lore alone makes this game worth playing, in my opinion, and I’m always excited to see where each update of Tera will lead us.

Players get to enjoy a heavy dose of action MMO that is unlike anything other games available.

Play Tera for Free

Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming

Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming feels nostalgic, and even though players don’t get to be one of the beloved characters from Game of Thrones, they do get to ally and command them during the course of the game. Conquest is the purpose of this MMO, and gamers are meant to raise a castle and army to conquer the land and claim the iron throne.

This game is pretty good, and the combat is interesting, especially if you have any Game of Thrones characters under your command. Characters from the show have special abilities which you can unlock in certain situations, like combat.

League Of Legends

League Of Legends

League of Legends is a significant player in MMOs, although it really is more of a freemium than a genuinely free MMORPG. There have been plenty of expansions on this already expansive platform, and it is definitely a fun game to play.

League of Legends is an arena-based MMO, which means that there is minimal grinding and a lot of combat. Players can form teams and battle one another to gain experience points, level up, and make money.

Play League of Legends for Free

World Of Warcraft

World Of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is another freemium, although it caps you at level 20. The game is so big; however, I think the free option is worth mentioning.

WoW is famous for a reason, and it is evident in the gameplay why. The combat is fun, and it embodies the things we all love about classic RPGs. World of Warcraft is well-known for its expansion packs and massive open world. Gamers level up the traditional way, by clearing dungeons and fight monsters, other players, and in battles.

Play World of Warcraft for Free.

Unique MMOs:

NosTale

NosTale

NosTale is an engaging free MMORPG. It features an anime graphic style and 3-D graphics. An exciting feature in this game is that characters don’t choose a class until they reach level 20. After that, the characters may choose a specialist class.

There is also an extensive pet system. Characters get to explore a forest full of monsters, magic crystals, and capture pets. Pets can be trained and used in battle, and there is no limit to how many you can find and capture.

NosTale also allows players to enter special dungeons inside of crystals. These crystals vary from timed missions, raids, and server-wide fights.

Eudemons Online

Eudemons Online

Eudemons Online is another free MMORPG that focuses on pets called, you guessed it, eudemons. Unlike NosTale, players don’t travel around to capture the pets. Instead, they hatch them, raise, train, and evolve them and then use them in battle.

Experience is easy to gain in this game, and raising your levels by grinding through enemies is a snap. There are over 100 different eudemons, so players will always have something new to train.  Players can enjoy P vs. P duels and tournaments, open-world battle royale style events, and group dungeons.

Eternal Fury

Eternal Fury

Eternal Fury is not a traditional MMO by any means. This game is one part turn-based RPG and another part strategy. Players must create a character, build a castle, hire mercenaries to raise an army, study technological advancements, upgrade equipment, and summon heroes to fight demons on your behalf.

Luckily, this MMORPG doesn’t make that list boring or tedious. Eternal Fury will keep you entertained for hours with its cross-server P vs. P and its dynamic P vs. E modes.

Skyforge

Skyforge

Skyforge is one of the most beautiful free MMORPGs I’ve ever seen. The graphics are complete eye-candy. Players get to be immortals with mindblowing celestial powers.

The only thing better than Skyforge’s graphics is its combat mechanics. Skyforge does not offer a leveling system; instead, players must gain prestige. This system means characters advance based on the total of their stats and progress. The top-level of progression turns players into gods, where they can access a second progression system.

Players can master multiple combat styles and skills and switch between them effortlessly amid battle. It is an MMO that I never get tired of exploring.

Play Skyforge for Free

ArcheAge

ArcheAge

Archeage is one of the only ship-based MMOs. Traverse the seas as a pirate and relive all of the fun from games like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, just, you know, for free. Crafting is a major part of ArcheAge because players must craft their own ships and raise their pets from babies. ArcheAge also contains a judicial system, which is unlike anything I’ve seen in any other game. Players run the courts, summon juries, and determine sentences for crimes.

A bonus is that Archeage also provides dragons for players to ride, and need I say more about how awesome the game is than that?

Play ArchAge

Smite

Smite

Smite is an excellent alternative to League of Legends, and unlike League of Legends, Smite is entirely free. Smite is pretty big in esports circles with several tournaments and the yearly Smite World Championship that’s worth one million dollars.

This game features a slightly different take on third-person shooters, and the altered angle is kind of refreshing. Smite is an arena-based MMO and showcases a combat style similar to that of Dota 2. Players control either a god/goddess or a mythical creature, which grants the user and the user’s team powers. These gods/goddesses come from a variety of mythoi like Norse, Japanese, Arthurian, Hindu, Chinese, Mayan, Celtic, Polynesian, Greek, Slavic, Egyptian, Yoruba, Roman, and Voodoo.

Play Smite for Free

Albion Online

Albion Online

Albion Online is similar to Runescape and is heavy on grinding, which makes it unusual in today’s landscape of less grind-heavy free MMORPGs. The unique thing about Albion Online is the fact that there are true character classes. Meaning players can choose to be warriors, farmers, merchants, or even craftsmen.

It makes for customizable gameplay, but it means that players have to build their characters from the ground up completely.

Play Albion Online for Free

Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 is one of the most highly ranked games available. It essentially works as a combat fluid, less teamwork required version World of Warcraft. Gamers have the option of in-game purchases, but it’s not required for game mastery or leveling up. Guild Wars 2 is unique in that the storyline is effected by players’ actions, which is something unusual for multiplayer RPGs.

Players get to choose between five races and eight professions. The professions determine your armor class; professions range from scholar to soldiers.

The challenges are dynamic, which is a challenge unto itself. The best part is that the game doesn’t require a monthly subscription fee like WoW; instead, it’s completely free.

Play Guild Wars 2 for Free

Life Is Feudal

Life Is Feudal

Life is Feudal is a unique MMO because it is not combat-focused. Instead, players need to develop the area around them. Everyone needs to work the land and tailor it to their needs.

Characters can band together to own more land and control it by forming a guild. Gamers will have to cooperate to make commerce and resource distribution work.

Crossout

Crossout

Crossout completes our list and deservedly so. It is a completely unique RPG. Crossout is the game that fulfills all of our collective Mad Max fantasies. This game is set in the same universe as Ex Machina. The gameplay is slightly realistic, meaning players must take into consideration the weight, center of gravity, and recoil of their weapons. Battles involve two teams, and battles are won when a team is eliminated, and their base is captured.

Customizable apocalypse-ready vehicles, a desert landscape, and looting for everyone. This game is loads of fun, and everyone should try it at least once.

Play Crossout for Free

The Bottom Line

Video games are so much fun, every time I play them, I’m reminded of how creative people are and how cool it is to share an interest with so many people across the world.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to play the games and drop a line to the developers to tell them how amazing a job they did.

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