#*dies and explodes and revives*

[sprinklethetangerine]

Hey, I just watched Dead Poets Society for the first time ever! Now, if you guys don't mind, I'm gonna go sit in the corner of my room and scream!

[watercubebee]

Inside the pit, each step closer and closer.

There are moments when I feel the tug of the rope.

Not from the outside, no, I know the pull feels... near, that strange force coming from mere meters away from me...

Whenever I venture more and more to the core of the pit, so does the pull, losing it's shyness, becoming more forceful, more daring to close the gap between "us".

So I stand there, in the middle of the darkness, no daring to move foward, and not daring to go back either.

I don´t know...I don´t know.... I don't know what might be behind me.

[boygirlctommy]

man i want to make an animatic about my ocs so bad

[kamil-a]

I hope you don’t mind me asking but what’s the backstory for gnat. Why are they in wonderland.

they're a roleholder! they function as a spy that must be hired by a territory while they're in play (which im realizing can set up a fun joke of: even if you really dont want them around. SOMEBODY has to take them in. sorry thats da rulez.)

I am still coming up with some specific details.... i flipflop a lot on their origin thoughts (revived/natural birth/integrated outsider) but tonight let's spin the wheel and say they were created from just a normal fixed clock?

something i also have been rotating in my mind is that maybe they stand for a half-hour instead of a full hour (allowing them on a 12-roleholder board such as the one youd see in game already . by my extracanonical justifications that i have made up.) possible designations ive been rolling around in my head have been 11:45-12:15 or 3:30-4:00 but dont take those as oc-canon just yet.

[chrono-art]

[SPOILERS FOR DOROHEDORO] Uuuuuaaghhh constantly in a state of disrepair over the cross eye gang. Like. they make me so sad. Literally had a dream last night that they somehow got revived during the Central department store arc (😭). Idk like. I Hate that everyone who died is kinda just forgotten about at the end of the story.. but I feel like because they ARE kinda forgotten about makes what happen to them even more sad. Like. In the end. They were all just little kids doing what they could to survive. A bunch of nobodies, Desperately clinging on to the one shred of hope (The Boss) that came along, even caring about him SOMEHOW even though he literally didn't speak OR LOOK at any of them (besides Dokuga) in the time span that they knew him. Trusting him and caring for him because he gave them a place. Not only just to live and survive, but a place by sorcerers, a possible chance that MAYBE, someday they would be respected amongst them..And In the end, the boss didn't even fucking care about them just like anyone else didn't. GRAHHHHH UGHAGH AAAAAAAA

[mintytrifecta]

Thinking about my pookie bear Lenore and how deeply she needs a hug <33

[alliekitaguchi]

one thing I’m hoping is addressed in future episodes is the fact that laudna sometimes acts like she’s the only one who’s ever been through her own trauma. and yes, what she’s been through is AWFUL, but everyone has been through something

- laudna was tricked, tortured, hung, revived, and wandered the world for about 30 years by herself before she found Imogen (though Marisha has stated there was someone before Imogen, but that hasn’t come up in game yet), and then died again, before being revived again. she has delilah in her head, which is Not Great, but laudna consciously brought her back

- imogen was abandoned by her mother at a young age and grew up with an absent father, who revered her as a freak, and was an outcast everywhere she went

- fearne was abandoned by her parents and has had her life be in the hands of others for over 100 years, mainly her “grandmother”, who has been stretching their time together to keep her longer. she’s also been killed, and found out that she was a purposefully made by a villain for some nefarious purposes

- ashton lives every single day in pain, grew up in a cult, died, woke up in a new body that was broken, didn’t know anything about himself, has been alone since he was a child, exploded into a thousand pieces before painfully reforming with new, more “broken” body parts

- fcg was an assassin bot that sat untouched for 2,000 years before being brought to life and thrown headfirst into society with no help or instructions, and then died tragically

- chetney has lived over 300 years by himself because his family abandoned him and he had to come to terms with the fact that they’re all likely dead, and the loss messed him up so bad that he’s avoided making meaningful connections with people ever since, and he literally JUST died, was revived, and watched the person who deemed him worthy of saving sacrifice themself

- orym watched the love of his life and his father figure be cut down in front of him, watched his friend accept a cursed crown that permanently changed her, was killed and revived

there’s no denying that she’s been through something horrendous, but she has to make the conscious choice to get better. to quote matt & marisha both: laudna is an addict, and she digs herself into her grief so deeply that she can’t see the cracks in everyone else.

she was right that orym should’ve talked to the whole group before taking otohan’s sword, but she was a hypocrite because she tried to steal it off of him. the sword is the source of her trauma, but it’s the source of orym’s too. she told chetney to not talk to her about loss after learning just mere weeks ago that he lost his entire family in one day.

i thought dorian put it beautifully: “it’s just a thing.” it only holds power over you if you let it. she’s dead. the blade no longer hurts you unless you let it.

there’s something so riveting about watching the nuances of trauma unfold in juicy, juicy ways

[pixiecaps]

Heres a portion of Maxo’s ending monologue and some meta commentary.

q!Maxo: And what if I stay? At least they won’t have that planned out. How can I be so stupid? Of course, they know about the bomb. They literally know everything, see everything, its an all seeing eye, of course. They already knew about my plan.. But there’s a plan they don’t know. And it’s that I’m going to stay here. It’s over. Besides, I’m a danger to everybody, I’m turning into a code. I know now that I’m not the only one but at least it’ll be one less, right? It’s the desperation of not being able to do anything against the Federation. They always get away with it, man. They always get what they want. I don’t- I don’t know why I’m even still walking. … They’ve taken my bomb and stolen my idea and now they’re exploding it. They don’t care. At least, we found a way to escape. (Timer runs out)

cc!Maxo: (Closes game) And like that is how he dies. “Are you coming back as a ghost?” As of right now I am not thinking about returning as a ghost. (Plays sad music) Rest in peace qMaxo. Rest in fucking peace. I did all I could chat. I did all I could. … If I had reached the boat I would not have gotten on. I think what I would’ve wanted is to reach the boat, say goodbye to everybody, and die. But I suppose due to the timer the bomb blew up before that could happen. … So I’ve died. That is how it goes. This was the only thing I could do that the Federation could really not control. Killing myself.

cc!Maxo: (When a chatter mentioned the people who didn’t reach the boat) Chat I only know that I’ve died, it’s what I wanted for my lore. That I would’ve stayed there with the atomic bomb. In a fantasy world like the QSMP, of course I could revive, finally turn into a code, or whatever but for the moment all I know is that I’m dead. And I don’t have anything else scripted, from this moment on I’m dead and thats final. Thats the reality, and thats why I’m not… happy because I will for sure miss the QSMP. But since I personally take roleplay very seriously, for me there is no going back. I am dead. I cannot return as cubito Maxo. I can return as a spirit that haunts Roier once in a while, periodically, I could, I could but qMaxo is dead. It’s sad, I’m not super happy because obviously I spent a really great time on QSMP but by my own lore, man, I couldn’t do it any longer. I couldn’t handle returning to Quesadilla Island knowing I couldn’t do anything against the Federation. If I made a fucking atomic bomb and the boss of Purgatory goes and says, “Oh you have an atomic bomb? Okay. In fact, that’s a good idea. Let’s explode it, run to the boat, returning again to the island that you were in, because thats likely what will happen, and you’ll continue suffering.” I can’t do it anymore. I’ve lost Trump, my son, I’ve lost- I no longer trust people who can kill each other amongst themselves, by the lore.

cc!Maxo: The players themselves are super fun people and I’ve had a good time. What makes me feel shame is that, that I can’t roleplay with them anymore. To say it one way or another. Well, there could be things in the future the admins offer but as a player it makes me feel shame. Also, while it is true that recently I hadn’t been logging in a lot, the times I did I had a good time. I did a lot of cool things with these people.

cc!Maxo: I lost SOFIA, I lost.. everything. Everything that I’ve done, every idea that I had thought of for myself and others has been taken by the Federation. … I think that the Federation has so much control that is impossible to do anything against them. And everything you do against them they’ll use to further confuse the people. … For me I will no longer play [as qMaxo] because I am dead, that’s serious to me, I’ve decided my character has died in an explosion. Another thing is that I could occasionally log on as a spirit or something. If they allow me that then great! But if dying means not being able to play on the QSMP anymore then so be it. … This was necessary for the roleplay. … I didn’t die thinking, “Wow I found the answer.” I didn’t want to die because I found any type of answer. I died because of desperation. To say, look man I couldn’t find any answers.

Maxo mentioned it did leave him with a sour taste in his mouth that he didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to everybody since he ran out of time. So a chatter suggested he does canonical pre recording goodbye video to everybody. He said he’d likely consider it and do it so that his character gets the chance to tell the other characters goodbye and that he’s gone.

Rest in peace qMaxo, the original founder of the Theory Bros, and someone who gave his all to escaping the island no matter the cost.

[nathaniacolver]

I JUST SAW THIS AND NEEDED IT TO BE ON TUMBLR TOO so let's discuss:

personally this is the take for me right here:

and this:

ok no but fr if there's no kryptonite then kara is unfortunately sweeping bc of the invulnerability to, like, all of the others' attacks AND her superspeed would trounce them all.

unless the sword of protection could cut kryptonian skin? seems like it could. maybe it could also transform into kryptonite? also, isn't shera insanely fast as well, and basically invulnerable?

and maybe the halo can defy kryptonian logic too bc it's literally the manifestation of godlike power? and phasing makes ava essentially invulnerable as well, plus who's to say that the halo couldn't literally explode someone from the inside? but if there's any divinium then she's out, BUT ava already died and was revived by the halo TWICE (@ beginning and also when she fell like 50 ft) so could she ever go down?

i do not think any of korra's attacks could hit kara or shera, unless she could spirit bend them? and would spirit-bending take away their powers? also if korra can bend the spirit energy sizable to a nuclear bomb, would that finally wear through kara's & shera's invulnerability?

ALL have self-healing technically but korra's is the slowest, and they ALL are capable of draining their powers if they fight for too long....

they're all too OP 😭😭😭

okay maybe here:

most powerful attacks/powers:

korra: spirit-bending/bending spirit energy (could spirit bend the other three & remove their powers?)

kara: superspeed-punching them, any of her powers would probably do the others harm

shera: could release the entire destructive power of the universe, could also shift the entirety of reality, also the sword of protection can become anything????

ava: i don't think we have reference for how powerful the halo is, so if it wanted to explode someone, i'm sure it could

most powerful constitution/defense:

korra: as vulnerable as any other human BUT has no inherent weaknesses or vulnerabilities

kara: invulnerable to everything EXCEPT kryptonite

shera: invulnerable ESPECIALLY if she gets a kiss from her cat gf

ava: was resurrected twice (when she gets the halo (after being dead for hours btw!) AND when she falls from like 70 ft), can also phase through any of the others' attacks EXCEPT if divinium is present, she's out

[copperpipes]

I always see people give vlad a Count Dracula kinda design and its cool and all but one time I sat and thought hey, Vlad, doesnt sound like an american name. And isn't Vlad short for Vladimir? Long story short he's Russian now. (In my au! Don't come at me people,,,)

I thought it fit his personality well enough, greedy, cunning, with high education that he is not using enough, and always looking for ways to work as little as possible.

How he got to America is fairly simple, his parents born in the soviet union didn't agree with the communist party so they fled to America where Vlad was born, that’s all.

In his design i have only taken a little inspiration from slavic royal attire, the rest is from how ectoplasm naturally settles combined with Vlad's preferences in how he looks. (Yes he has black teeth, yes his mouth is glowing from the inside.)

How Vlad died is much more interesting tho, radiation poisoning.

*description of a long and painful death, read at your own volition, skip the paragraph if you rather not*

!

It started shortly after the portal exploded on his face, with skin ulcers (his 'ecto acne' ,  Is one major symptom of radiation poisoning), continued with organ failure, and ended with a series of seizures with the last one on his bathroom floor while bleeding from every hole in his body. The whole metamorphosis lasted about a year.

!

What happened is that he didn't die quickly like Danny had, he didn't shift to a ghost form right away because he didn't have one yet. He hasn't died yet. Without the huge amount of ectoplasm Danny had the suit that kept him together Vlad's ghost-half formed gradually and so slowly that he couldn’t tap into it while in the 3rd dimension for another year after he died and came back.

His death has formed a core, the electric shock from its awakening is what revived him. The poisoning stopped, he already died, the core kept him alive until the body recovered enough to function on its own.

Damn

That's a lot of angst 

Uh, um, he also less cares about Maddie herself and more about taking everything from Jack which is who he blames for his death.

So yeah, poor guy :'o his hate for Jack is now very justified.

[mangaken]

Create this one shot Au where Jimmy befriended a weird kid named Timmy.. As they grew closer, he learned that Timmy was abused by his babysitter daily and ignored by his parents.. Jimmy doesn't want to see his friend hurt, so he tries to take this matter into his own hands..

He did succeed, driven away the babysitter by putting her out of commission indefinitely (ruined her reputation & almost killed her too). Timmy's parents decided not to go anywhere n started to care bout Timmy more.. But that's not what Timmy wants...

If his abusive babysitter isn't there anymore to torment him and his parents started to care, Tim will lose his fairies because he's not miserable enough.. Tim doesn't mind to suffer the abuses just to have his fairies.. Having his fairies taken away will cause him to lose his memories and undo one important wish he have made.

A year ago, Tim & Jim did a science project together and create a drivable rocket ship out of junks just so they could have an adventure..

When they set off, it was going well for the most part until Jim started to lost control of their ship as it beginning to fall apart.. Jim managed to eject Tim but he wasn't fast enough to save himself and he died instantly as the ship exploded..

Tim doesn't even have enough time to wish them back to safely .. he's survived thankfully, because of Jim's quick thinking .. but he also lost a person he considered as best friend.

He tried to revive Jim back using his wishes but it was impossible as the fairies magic cant bring back a deceased person.. so he wished that Jim is 'alive' in his mind. That's the important wish he made to 'keep' Jim alive.

Jim doesn't realized that he's dead. For a year, he existed in Tim's mind, playing and talking to Tim as like nothing is happened. Jim do have his suspicion, but Tim always divert his attention and change the subject every time Jim asked him about it. Jim put his suspicion at the back of his head since Tim is so adamant for not telling Jim about it.

Eventually, the jig is up when Tim's life is getting better.. all thanks to Jimmy.. he really cares/loves Tim and doesn't want Tim get to get hurt from the constant abused.. His desire to make Tim have a better/happy life has transcended beyond Tim's mind and he is able to take over Tim's body and drive his babysitter away by trigger her allergy. It almost killed her and it render her unable to babysit for quite some time, in the same time Jim also ruined her reputation so no one would hire her anymore.

As Tim's life not so miserable anymore, he will lose his fairies soon. Jim doesn't understand why Tim doesn't feel happy and wants to continue to suffer. Tim eventually told Jim the truth, that Jim died a year ago, he made the most selfish wish, and if he doesn't have his fairies anymore, the wish will come undone, he will lose Jimmy again, not only the Jimmy in his mind but all the memories he spent time with him when he's alive too.

Jim was shocked when Tim's confessed it to him. He couldn't bring himself to hate Tim for keeping this secret for so long. Instead Jim felt at peace knowing Tim was safe and sound after their last tragic adventure. At the end, Jim told Tim to let go of him but Tim refuses.

After a lot of comfort from Jim, Tim finally let him go. Thus, Tim will loses his fairies, his selfish wish and his memories with Jim.

On the bright side, Timmy now have a better life, he's not getting abused daily and his parents started to care his well being but he lost the memories of his best friend, Jimmy.

[livingproofoftbd]

list of awesome manhunt plays

because i always forget which plays are in which videos. figured i'd put it here if anyone else wanted it

2v1

the OG pearl clutch when sapnap dies and he gets his stuff

3v1 round one

covering the water with planks so the hunters die when they jump (MY FAVORITE) (its the first i ever watched :,D )

hunters lava trapping the end portal

3v1 rematch

he drinks the fire res as he jumps into lava and bad dies falling after him

tricks the hunters into thinking his fire res is more strength

as bad and sapnap turn back, he shoots an arrow from a mountain and hits bad from ~100 blocks away

3v1 finale

building a new nether portal to trick bad

splashing an invis pot so no one knows who anyone is

he sets up an end crystal trap in the stronghold and kills them all

bad sneaks up on him and kills him when he’s on half a heart after just killing the other two in the end

3v1 finale rematch

wearing bad’s skin

building his nether portal in a tower

dropping his sword just in time to land on a horse after being knocked from his portal with no water

3v1 grand finale

placing boats under him to cross a lava lake

dropping tnt into the end portal and putting the hunters in the void

4v1 round one

using leaves to tower up and hide in the nether cieling

snd promptly use a fishing rod to pull ant and bad up and kill them from fall damage

we all know it, we all love it. Towering up in the middle of a lake and using frostwalker boots to kill the hunters when they fall

the hunters using end crystals to heal the dragon

4v1 rematch

ant jumping down in the temple with him and setting the tnt off

he kills sapnap and ant with a tnt minecart

the hunters getting prot 4 armour

building a portal on the nether roof and trapping them there with no flint and steel, leaving them to kill themselves to escape

he digs under the end stone and hides in the middle, exploding bed after bed under the dragon as it perches

4v1 finale

ladder clutching when sapnap knocks him down off a tower on the edge of a mountain

trapping sapnap and george in cobwebs and blowing them up

hunters getting full enchanted diamond armour and building a huge castle around the nether portal that dream combats by drinking an invis pot

entity cramming george with minecarts and getting his gear

he lands an MLG on the side of an ISLAND when the dragon hits him

4v1 finale rematch

half a heart and no hunger but still chasing the hunters

the western showdown between dream and sapnap

the under-lava duel between dream and sapnap

ant killing dream with a splash potion

4v1 grand finale

scaffolding glitch

setting off fireworks and killing all the hunters in the portal room

5v1 round one

the boat clutch of all time after sapnap hits him off the tower

stealing sapnap’s enchanted diamond axe and diamond pick

stealing ant’s look and dropping tnt when the hunters dig down

the hunters revive the dragon

5v1 rematch

jumping off the mountain into a village water source

the second boat clutch of all time when he lands on a ghast

rearranging tnt to blow up under the hunters instead of under his portal

visiting the end city

5v1 finale

falling as the tree grows and breaking a leaf at the last second

covers the portal in the nether and overworld in lava

that daylight sensor pearl trick where he disappeared hundreds of blocks from the stronghold

the ender dragon glitch with the water really high above the main end island

5v1 rematch finale

enters the nether within 2 minutes

building a hole to the void to trap the hunter in

sam punching him into his own trap while invis

THE SOUNDBOARDS

the hunters covering the last crystal in obsidian

bad having god-like reflexes, placing obsidian, an end crystal, and exploding it all in like one second

5v1 grand finale

stealing sapnap’s bucket as it falls

trapping the hunters in an ocean monument

bow boosting

throwing a pearl, bone-mealing saplings, and landing on the fully grown tree

building another flying machine

sapnap stopping him by breaking a slime block and sacrificing himself

basically this whole end, dude

dropping tnt and instantly killing four of the hunters, slime clutching and bouncing down to george

fishing his pearls and surviving (perfect throwback to 2v1)

hope you find this helpful if you are like me and can never remember which video the clutch you wanna watch is in

[cherryandsugar]

Corpse

Pairing: Spawn!Astarion x Redeemed!Durge!Reader

Genre: Angst w/ a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort

WC: 3,688

Warnings: MAJOR DURGE SPOILERS, blood and death, canon level violence, magical sedation, slight canon noncompliance, Y/N used exactly once

Requested by @gourmetcheese24 "Can I make a request where Astarion goes down during a fight and dies and Tav stays with his body for several days - the rest of the party unable to remove her. Maybe at this point Withers is away from camp. But when he returns he revives Astarion… super super angsty but with a sweet ending please!"

Bhaal’s will was clear. Only a one on one duel, a fight to the death, with Orin the Red would satisfy him. A battle for his favor, not that you wanted it, could free you from his grasp. But Orin had gone too far. She had taken your one and only love, your Astarion. And she would pay. Even in her monstrous slayer form, nothing could shake your resolve as you faced her down in the bowels of her disgusting temple. Shadowheart, Karlach and Lae’zel stood at your back as a wall of magic encircled the central platform. And just as Orin’s metamorphosis ended, and her massive insectile body towered over yours, the battle began.

Everything you’d done, all the lives you had saved  since surviving the Nautiloid crash had led to this moment. Fighting your Urges, discovering your true origin and your part in the creation of the Absolute, had led to this moment. Not only were you fighting to free Astarion from your wretched sister, but you were also fighting for yourself. Fighting to free yourself from Bhaal’s clutches, so that you and Astarion might live. The only thing standing between you and your happy ending was Orin (and an all-powerful Elder Brain, but that could be dealt with later).

Her offense was impressive, using her many appendages to rake your flesh and draw your blood. But rage is a weapon in itself, and no claws could match the sharpness of your fury. You met her every strike, cleaving limb from thorax as your friends looked on with bated breath. With a cruel swipe, her claws rend your legs and you fall beneath her, blood pooling beneath you. Faintly, you hear your companions shout at you to get up, to keep fighting. Orin raises her arms above her head, ready to land a killing blow. With your last ounce of strength you thrust your sword up into her stomach, halting her attack. She reels backward, and when her final breath is stolen, and her form collapses, she begins to… laugh? 

She drags her half-corpse backwards on her arms, screeching with each step as she mounts the sacrificial platform. Astarion lays helplessly beneath her. You struggle to get up, slipping on your own blood and falling back to the ground. You can’t even follow her on your ruined legs as you watch in horror. She raises her arm, and plunges her dagger into Astarion’s chest before exploding into a puddle of gore. Astarion seizes for a split second, his body waking only to die. You try to drag yourself to him as he gasps… and goes still.

“...no,” you whisper, as the magical barrier that surrounded your arena dissipates and your companions rush to your side. Karlach helps you to stand and you try to stagger over to Astarion. She halts as Scleritas Fel climbs over his body to address you, and you slump against her. You can only stare at Astarion’s lifeless corpse as he begins to speak.

“He… is near… He comes for you,” your butler gasps before a dagger erupts from his chest. His body is lifted from the ground, as even more phantom daggers pierce through him and he floats before you. A fresh puddle of blood gathers on the floor at your feet. His reflection in the blood stands upright, it’s eyes glowing a punishing red as they land on you.

“Child of slaughter…” it growls, “I come to give you your inheritance…” you blink back at it, trying to back away. Karlach holds you firm, not because she wants to force you to confront your father, but because she knows it must be done. She squeezes your arms in reassurance. You do not face your father alone, no matter how isolated you might feel.

“I have a gift for you Child… You will use it to lacerate this world,” he commands. But you want no gift from him. The only gift you could possibly want at this moment is Astarion, returned to you. Tears well in your eyes as you try to find your strength. You swallow the lump in your throat before you tear your gaze away from Astarion to meet the eyes of your father.

“I need no further gifts,” your voice shakes, “You have tainted me enough,” you whisper. This defiance may be your last act, but your life has already been damned. What difference does it make if you are damned in death?

“You refuse me?” Bhaal seethes, “You are my spawn, your veins course with my unholy blood. Your life is mine. Accept your inheritance or I will reclaim it.”

You bow your head, Karlach squeezes your side again and you nudge her back as you regain your footing and stagger to stand on your own. If this is to be your fate, then so be it. Who were you to think you could deny Bhaal and live to tell the tale? Without Astarion, would you even want to? Grief and pain cloud your judgment as you raise your head to speak your final words, “I don’t need any of this. I don’t need you. The only family I know are those that fight by my side.” 

And as soon as you reject him, a tingle in your arm erupts into a burning, searing pain. Your breath constricts as he speaks again, “You were made to conquer. To devour,” he growls. You fall to your knees as your breath fades, unable to draw in fresh air as your ribcage tightens around your organs. Your lungs scream as your heartbeat races, trying desperately to keep your body from shutting down. A searing headache blazes across your skull, but your arms are useless at your side as you try to hold your head against the pain.

“You reject my blood, so I will reclaim it.”

Your body rises from the ground, levitating in Bhaal’s cruel grasp. Before you can desperately cry out for help, you feel your bones shatter. It begins in your limbs, your legs and arms twisting into cruel, unnatural shapes before your ribs finally crack and shatter. And it ends with your skull, caving in on itself. The last thing you hear before the light fades is your father promising, “I will make another who is worthy…”

~~~

When you wake, Withers stands above you. You heave and cough as the breath returns to your tired lungs. You look up at him from where you kneel on the unforgiving stone of your former temple, “What… are you?” you gasp.

“Most of the time, a mere observer. But thine circumstances are extraordinary, and so art thou. Mine intervention is rare, and shall be dealt with,” he begins to glow with a golden light, “And now I must answer for my defiance, just as thou hast answered for thine own…” 

The glow intensifies until it reaches a blinding peak. You shut your eyes against the onslaught, shielding them with your arms before the light flashes and disappears. And when you open your eyes, Withers is gone with it. 

But Withers is the least of your concerns. Your Urge is gone, but so is your love. On freshly healed legs, you scramble to your feet and rush over to the altar. Astarion had been a corpse for a long time. About 200 years in fact. Longer than you’ve known him. But in all that time you’d never thought of him as a corpse. How could you, with his witty remarks and self-assured smirk? 

But now, before you, he’d never looked more dead, despite his two centuries of undeath. It had all happened so fast, before you could truly process it. And now, your love was dead before your very eyes. Well and truly dead. Stabbed through the heart by Orin’s cruel red dagger before you’d managed to stop her. You grasp at his cold hand, turning behind you.

“Shadowheart! Please, do something!” you beg, nearing hysteria.

She wastes no time, joining you at his side as a soft blue glow envelops her hands. She places them over his unbeating heart and whispers a prayer. You watch the magical energy pass from her into him, but nothing happens. You hold your breath as you wait, watching as she furrows her brows.

“I don’t understand, that should have worked,” she sounds unsure of herself before trying again, this time with a scroll, reading the incantation over his body. The scroll glows and disintegrates, just as they have when used in the past, but Astarion still does not rise.

“What’s going on?” your breath hitches as you look wildly between your three companions. In your desperation you didn’t notice the crowd of Bhaalists observing your distress until they began to cackle and laugh around you. The one closest to you catches his breath for a moment to torment you further.

“You know what this is,  you fool. That blade was once yours after all,” he taunts as his laughter bubbles up again. “The lash of Bhaal!” he shrieks, “You cannot be revived from its strike,” he chokes out through his smile.

All words are lost to you as a desperate cry strangles you. The Bhaalists laugh harder at your anguish, but you don’t hear them. You don’t hear Shadowheart try to revive Astarion once more, despite its futility. You can’t feel Lae’zel try to pull you away from his corpse as Karlach moves to unshackle his body and carry him away. Even as you struggle against her, heaving sobs tear themselves from your chest. Hysteria has truly claimed you this time. It was not the Urges that drove you to madness, but the loss of the person who helped turn you away from them. As you grasp and grab at Astarions hand, begging him to wake up, you feel a wave of calming energy pass over you before you once again lose consciousness, and the world fades to black.

~~~

When you wake in your bed at the Elfsong Tavern you are not alone. Jaheira sits beside you as she has done on so many nights before, guarding you and your friends from the Urges that tried to rule you. You sit up slowly, and rub your eyes, trying to sort through your memories. 

So much had happened since you last slept in your bed, but nothing could erase the cold dread that settled in your stomach when you remembered what had befallen your love. Your breath hitches, and Jaheira places a firm hand on your shoulder.

“Easy now,” she soothes, “You are safe.”

“No, no forget that,” your voice scratches on your throat, “Astarion, where is he?” you demand.

Jaheira takes a measured breath, considering her words before responding, “His body is resting in Stelmane’s room. We are waiting for the skeleton to return, to see if he can revive him.”

“If!?” you shout, “No. No, I need to see him, there must be something we can do,” you rip the blanket from your legs and scramble off of your bed. Jaheira tries to push you back, but you brush her off. She follows at your heels as you tear through the common area of your suite, drawing attention from your other companions on the way. Wyll tries to grab your arm but you shake him off harshly, barreling towards the door before Karlach blocks it, standing directly in your path, arms crossed and face pained.

“Trust me, Soldier, you don’t want to see him like this,” she reasons.

“What do you mean?” your voice shakes, fear settling in your gut like a stone.

“You’ve been out for two days. He’s not…” she begins.

“He doesn’t look like himself,” Jaheira finishes.

“Two days?” you cry, “And Withers hasn’t returned?” a headache begins to form behind your eyes as the inconsistencies start to build up, “How did I even get back here? Why did I sleep for so long?” you all but beg.

Your friends share worried glances between each other, which confuses you even more.

“What aren’t you telling me?” your voice is a whisper. Shadowheart sighs as she takes your hand. Against your better judgment, you allow her to lead you to the seating area around the fireplace. The party follows close behind as you all find seats on the couches and chairs in the center of your suite.

Shadowheart sits right beside you, continues to hold your hand as she begins to explain, “Back in the Temple, you were inconsolable. We had to leave, so I did what I needed to do. I used Feign Death so Lae’zel could carry you here. Karlach took Astarion and we returned.”

You shot her an icy glare, “Feign Death doesn’t last two days,” you bite.

“No,” she admits, “But you needed to heal. Withers may have revived you, but Bhaal destroyed your body. That kind of damage doesn’t repair itself overnight. So, I kept you sedated, I placed you in a healing sleep while I tended to Astarion.”

“But you said he was…” your voice cracks and fails before you can finish your thought. Before you can say the word… dead. 

She rubs soothing lines on your back before replying, “He is. But if he is to be revived, we have to maintain his body. Gale and I have been using our magic to prevent his… decay.”

Tears well in your eyes as a crushing pressure grips your heart, “Then why can’t I see him?” you choke out as the tears begin to fall in earnest. As soon as the words leave your mouth your head droops and silent sobs rack your body. Your group is silent as you weep, the only noise coming from your sniffles and gasps for breath.

“I… I can’t do this without him,” you cry to no one in particular. “So much of me is missing, I can’t even remember who I was before him,” you begin to babble through your tears, I– I can’t… I,” you trail off.

Shadowheart shushes you, bringing you into a hug as she tries to comfort you. 

“Please, can I just sit with him until Withers returns?” you beg them, hoping against hope that they won’t take that from you. Not after so much has already been stolen from you.

Gale is the next to speak up, “Time passes differently in the Outer Planes, we can’t know for sure how long it will be before Withers returns.” he warns.

“Please” you whisper, crying softly to your friends. They look around at each other once more, communicating silently before coming to a decision.

“Very well,” Shadowheart whispers, standing up with you, never once removing her comforting hold from your shoulders. Gale holds the door for the two of you as you walk across the hall to the room Duke Stelmane was murdered in, now the home of your murdered love. The rest of your group stays behind so as not to crowd you. At the sight of him, your quiet sobs devolve into full-blown wails of grief.

His chest in bare, shirt removed to expose the singular stab wound just above his heart. It has been thoroughly cleaned, but it will not heal… not until he is brought back to you. The circles under his eyes are somehow darker, a purple so deep it is practically black. His fingers are blue as stagnant blood pools beneath the skin. You fall to your knees before him, grabbing his hand, but startling at how stiff it sits. The joints resist your movement as you pull it towards your chest, only forcing you to sob harder. Never has he been so still. But in that moment, you decide, you will not leave his side until he wakes. And maybe not even after that.

After a while, a few minutes… or maybe hours, Gale and Shadowheart try to pull you to your feet, remove you from his side and return you to bed. But you refuse. You shake your head, and plant yourself down. You will not budge, and you tell them as much. You will not leave.

They sigh, almost in unison, before quickly discussing a solution. Gale will watch over you tonight after casting a freezing spell to preserve Astarion’s body. And Shadowheart will take his place in the morning.

This alternating schedule continues for days. Shadowheart and Gale take the majority of the watch shifts, occasionally replaced by your other companions when they return from adventuring in the city. You don’t eat, you barely sleep, only occasionally nodding off from your place on the floor beside him. When Wyll brings you a plate of fruit to snack on, served with a concerned glance, it sits untouched beside you. The only thing on your broken mind is Astarion.

It takes a total of five days for Withers to return from the Outer Planes. He tried to explain where he was when you presented him with a small bag of coin, but he may as well have been talking to the wall. It doesn’t matter to you why he was gone, but you can tell that Shadowheart and Gale are listening with rapt attention as he explains. The four of you stand around Astarion’s body, and you cast your eyes downward as he begins his chant, striking Astarion’s name from the archives and commanding him to rise. A gust of wind passes over you, the curtains swish softly and a faint gasp sounds from the center of the room. You raise your eyes just in time to see Astarion jerk and shoot upwards, grasping at his chest and coughing violently.

You’re with him before he can utter a word, rubbing his back in an effort to soothe his panic. He flinches away from your touch. You recoil, holding your hands up beside you to prove you mean no harm, “Sorry, I’m sor–”

He cuts you off, “What… the bloody hells happened?” his voice is hoarse as he demands answers. He pats himself down as if to prove to himself that he still draws breath, looking around frantically, eyes wild. Your mouth hangs open, trying to find a way to explain what had happened before Shadowheart steps in. She really had been your rock throughout this whole ordeal.

“Y/N should be the one to explain. The two of you have a lot to catch up on,” she murmured, patting your back before directing Gale to follow her out of the room. And then you were alone. Astarion was alive and well before you, and you struggled to find the words to express what you had been through. It must have shown on your face, because his agitation was quickly replaced with concern as he takes one of your hands in his own. Briefly, you recall a similar moment, days ago, when you grasped his cold, stiff hand and wept over him.

As tears begin to gather on your waterline, you take a deep breath, attempting to compose yourself. He waits patiently for you to begin, trying to provide as much comfort as he can muster.

“You were dead,” you begin in a whisper, “You died, and so did I.” His grip on your hand tightens at the mention of your own death.

“Orin took you… she used you as bait, to force me to fight her. It was… a fight to the death for Bhaal’s favor, and I won,” you breathed, pausing for a moment.

Astarion speaks up softly before you can continue, “If you won, then why did we die?”

You shudder at the memory, “In her final moments, she crawled over you and killed you with her dagger, and you can’t be brought back from that, not by the normal means,” a steady stream of tears began to fall down your cheeks. Astarion uses one of his hands to wipe them away, silently encouraging you to continue.

“Once she was dead, Bhaal appeared to us in the temple. He tried to name me his Chosen, but I refused him, I turned down his power just like you turned down the Ascension. I wanted us to be free, together,” the last word was a sob, ripped from your throat.

“Shhh, shh, it’s okay love,” Astarion soothes as he pets your hair, bringing you closer to him and wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You lean into him, tucking your head into the space between his neck and his shoulder.

“But… but he said I was his, and he killed me for rejecting him. Withers brought me back, but he said he had to ‘answer for his defiance’ and he was gone. Shadowheart put me to sleep for two days. When I woke, Withers was still gone. He has been gone… for five days.”

The arm around your shoulder rubs up and down your arm as he processes his own death. You can practically hear the cogs turning in his head before he whispers, “I’ve been dead for a week?” he asks.

You sniffle and nod against his shoulder. He laughs for a brief moment before trying to reassure you, “It certainly doesn’t feel like it, I feel quite refreshed actually.”

You laugh silently against him before he continues, “You, however, look like you’ve been trampled by a tarrasque. Tell me darling, when was the last time you slept?”

“I’m not sure,” you admit.

He chuckles, and you relish the feeling of his chest rising and falling beneath your head. He pauses for a moment before reassuring you, “Truly darling, I feel just fine. But you clearly do not. Let’s get you some food and a nice long nap, hmm?”

You nod again, your eyes already beginning to droop in the comfort of his hold. With his body seemingly returned to full strength, he stands before you, offering his hand to help you. You take it gratefully, and he squeezes your hand, almost as if to prove that he is real. He pulls you up and together you walk back into your party’s shared suite, eager to spend a night wrapped in each other’s arms, able to truly rest for the first time in a week.

~~~ A/N: HI! This is my longest published fic yet! Super special thanks to @gourmetcheese24 for the request, and to those who also sent in requests, fear not! I am working on them! As always, if you enjoyed please be sure to let me know! Reblogs and comments mean the world to me, I love reading each and every one. If you find any mistakes please let me know, I have been working on this with all my spare time for two days straight now and I just want to hit the little post button I'm so excited. Anyway, bye bye, x

[gooperts-gunk]

a whole bunch bbh easter egg caption comments (as far as im aware)

"don't let him get up don't let him wiggle his way up" "he can't get away from the angst train there's a train and it's full of angst" "i love angst" "im going to be honest this has been a very wholesome night but it is a lot of angst"

(i think the eggs downed richas then revived him) "crazy people oh my gosh giving me a heart attack right now" "oh my gosh they actually just tried to kill him in front of me" "that's crazy" "oh my gosh just let him die finish him now"

"that'd be the worst time for a creeper to just slither it's way in and explode right next to them" "like actual nightmare fuel"

"you're going to give me a heart attack" "he's going to be fine chat like if we don't see the death and no one else is online does it really happen" "it's like if a tree falls in the forest and no one's around to hear it does it make a sound"

(the eggs down richas again) "oh my gosh they're going to actually kill him" "i need to make sure to look away before he dies" (they revive him) "there we go okay"

"oh my gosh please just don't do it" "he's going to drown" "no richas don't do it drowning underwater will kill you instantly" "stop" "bro really said im going to- we may die someday instead and that's going to be today" "he's crazy chat oh my goodness"

"im sorry i've been wearing pants this whole time" "if someone doesn't have their cosmetic armor off they'd just see pants walking around"

[q-nihachu]

A play-by-play of the fight with the eye workers, from Bagi's perspective, ending at Empanada's death:

1h 47m 57s - Bagi sees five eye workers on the tab list and gasps. She messages in chat warning the others and runs to the Favela beach where an attack is taking place. She immediately jumps into the fight.

1h 49m - Bagi: What are you doing here?! We don’t have Luffy! We don’t have the fucking Luffy!

1h 50m - She dies but quickly returns to the fight.

1h 50m 45s - She sees Ramón and begs him not to fight, but he stays and gets downed. She manages to get him back up and begs again for him to leave. He does, and the fight continues.

1h 54m - Bagi: Why are you destroying the Favela? It doesn’t even make sense…

1h 55m - Bagi: Please explode the TNT next to the snowman. I would be grateful for that.

1h 56m - She sees Empanada and screams for her to go home.

1h 57m - Bagi dies for the second time.

1h 59m - Empanada shows up at the fight again and gets set on fire. Bagi screams again for her to leave.

Bagi: You leave my daughter alone!

2h - Empanada is downed, but Bagi gets her back up.

Bagi: Empanada, fucking leave this place!

Bagi dies for the third time.

2h 1m - Bagi sees in chat that Ramón has been downed for the second time and yells his name, but doesn’t know where he is.

2h 3m 56s - Empanada is downed for the second time, but Bagi continues to fight the eye workers, not knowing where she is.

2h 5m - The last worker tries to run away, and Bagi taunts them, but they succeed. The fight on the beach is over, but chat clearly shows that fighting is still happening elsewhere.

2h 6m 50s - Ramón is downed for the third time.

2h 7m - Bagi teleports to spawn. Pac is already down, and several eye workers are there. Bagi sees Empanada fighting, but Bagi is downed before she can get to her. Empanada is downed for the third time. Thankfully, Pac respawns and manages to save Empanada.

2h 7m 50s - Bagi dies for the fourth time.

2h 12m 11s - Bagi dies for the fifth time.

2h 13m 4s - Empanada is downed for the fourth time. Bagi runs for her, but is downed too. Pac is downed immediately after. A Federation worker revives all of them, and they start to breathe for a moment.

2h 13m 24s - The eye workers reappear, downing Pac and Empanada in quick succession. Bagi opens her inventory to grab another totem, and Empanada dies.

26 minutes. Three times Ramón was downed. Four times Empanada was downed, and a final fifth. What a fight.

[wishsparkleemoji]

Sky iceberg tier 3: Revival ult

Full iceberg

Sky: The Two Embers: In August of 2023, a trailer was released for a TV show for Sky about two early skykids before the downfall and the King. It’s speculated that it will be very lore-heavy and show what life was like both before and after the war and the corruption, but it could also just be a story about two skykids. Not much is known.

Ancestors: The term used for now-spirits before they died, or in other words, the people of the kingdom before the downfall.

Eden crystal explosion: It’s a popular theory that at some point, possibly due to darkstone, the real final nail in the coffin for Sky’s kingdom was the Eden crystal exploding, causing all or most of the ancestors (spirits when they were alive) to die, Eden becoming what it is today, the dark creatures becoming dark, and generally causing the way the world is now.

Beta cape: This was a gift given to people who participated in the Sky beta before the live release, and it gave access to the Office the same way the office cape does now. The two capes looked nearly identical, except the office cape has a black interior while the beta cape’s was white. Given how long ago the beta was, the cape is near obsolete today.

Cat hair controversy: In the beta version of Days of Mischief 2022, the cat hair was originally an IGC cosmetic, but during an update was switched to be an IAP. Beta testers really loved this cosmetic and interpreted this change to be TGC trying to make more money off them, and got OUTRAGED. They then switched it back to IGC because of all of it, where it remained into live release.

Second performance quest: During the second Season of Performance quest, you are tasked to tell a story through selecting multiple choice questions. All the options lead to different outcomes and endings depending on what you choose, most of which seem to be based around lore in some way (particularly the silent child routes). Here’s the flowchart of all the results you can get:

Notably, the ending at the bottom of the right side seems to be referring to the King/Prince.

Color lights: In early seasons, there seemed to be an emphasis on color lights. Enchantment had you restoring the ark with them, and Prophecy had murals on the wall featuring what appeared to be some of the same lights.

Eden elder can’t be saved anymore: Speaks for itself.

Manta poaching: During the concert, specifically Warrior, you fly through memories of mantas being captured in nets and cages. After containment, they might be transported to the Citadel for manta racing (as seen in Aurora quest 3 and the backflipping champion’s memory), or to what’s now Treasure reef to be used in the creation of darkstone.

Mass migration: Particularly in Isle, there are signs that point to at one point there being a mass migration of the ancestors. The pointing candlemaker’s memory, the boats lodged in the ground, and Runaway during the the first Aurora quest and the concert are examples of this. The why is unknown.

999 heart cape: In the beta version of Sky, one of the elder gifts (the kind you get when you finish a constellation and go to Orbit) is an invisible cape that costs 999 hearts.

Old opening: Open game: As of now, in the first part of Isle, there are some candles that, when lit, reveal some murals and a couple basics of Sky lore. The text used to be slightly different though, and used to only show right when you opened the game for the first time. And before that, in Light Awaits, it was different: “In the darkness, lays a kingdom covered in clouds where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of light. Back then, light and dark lived in harmony, but as time went by, a kingdom prospered and had fallen. The prophecy promised its children would return to restore the light. For those were the days of winged travelers…”