#oracle valorant

[maccreadysbaby]

Project: Killcode

batfamily + oc insert

tw: lots of violence, gore, s**cide, emeto, panic attacks, major & minor character death, insane amounts of angst

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

that list of tw's sounds so scary. i'd tell you it wasn't that bad, but... y'know...

CRY, I DARE YOU >:(

part twenty-three

❝ HIGHLIGHT REEL FROM HELL ❞

TUESDAY — JULY 24 — 2:40AM

BENTLEY FLINCHED HIMSELF AWAKE IN HIS BED FOR WHAT HAD TO BE THE FIFTIETH TIME SINCE HE STARTED TRYING TO FALL ASLEEP HOURS AGO. 

He wasn’t sure why he was struggling with it so much that particular Monday night — especially since he and Koa had engaged in lots more physical activity than he was used to. He should’ve been exhausted. He was exhausted, but sleep seemed to be eluding him, just like it always did.

After Summer had healed Koa (thank goodness for her powers.) all seven of them stayed in their room for the rest of the evening, save Valor who was the best roommate ever and brought dinner to the dorm for everyone. Between getting punched, exploding Tyler’s gatorade, and having Koa black out on him, Bentley could confidently say he’d never had a more eventful first day in his life. (Not that he’d had lots of first days.) (He sort of hoped it wasn’t setting the tone for the rest of the schoolyear.)

Bruce called him after dinner to ask how the day went. Bentley told him the bare minimum. (A lie of omission is still a lie, his subconscious oh-so-helpfully reminded him.)

With the realization that he’d technically been lying to Bruce more lately than he ever had before, he tossed and turned in his bed for literal hours. It was edging on three in the morning when he pushed himself upright and glanced around his and Asten’s bedroom. It was pitch black besides the tiny sliver of dim light coming from beneath the door, and when he tapped his phone, it said it was 2:42am.

He had to be up in, like, three hours.

With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes and forced himself out of his bed, glancing at the lump on the top bunk that was sound asleep, unlike him. (Sometimes he envied Asten’s uncanny ability to sleep through anything.)

He moved across their room slowly and opened their door as quietly as he could, stepping out into the living area, and he was on a rooftop.

… And he was on a rooftop?

He glanced backward at what would’ve been the door he’d just stepped through, but was greeted by nothing more than roof and Gotham skyline. It was nighttime, and the sky was cloudy, with tons of stars twinkling through. A bitter cold settled into his bones and he shivered — winter wind howled around him, tugging at his hair and his clothes, and an onslaught of tiny freezing raindrops began pelting his exposed skin.

He tucked his (immediately frozen) hands into the pocket of his red hoodie, and did a spin, glancing across the rooftop as he did so. 

There was someone on the edge of the roof, standing unsteadily atop a very sketchy, slick-looking metal railing, the breeze whipping and tearing at their clothes and hair. They weren’t much bigger than Bentley, and they were… familiar.

Bentley went forwards toward them, but he couldn’t move all that well. Like the cold was sinking into his bones and freezing his blood inside of him — like he was slowly solidifying.

Despite that, it only took a few grueling steps forward for the color of the other person’s hair to catch on the glimmering city lights in the distance.

“Asten?” Bentley questioned softly, a wave of fear surging through him when he realized what exactly was happening, again. “Asten, what… what are you doing?”

Bentley grew nearer to the edge at a glacial pace, having to put every ounce of willpower in his body into moving one leg at a time to get to him. The closer he got, he realized Asten had a paper balled up into his left fist. Similar to the first time this happened. Didn’t he have a picture of his parents, then?

“Asten?” Bentley tried again, continuously forcing himself forward. “Can you hear me? It’s Bentley, Asten. I’m here.” 

He finally got close enough to hear his quiet sobs, and a few more steps revealed that Asten was trembling, though Bentley wasn’t sure how much of it was from the cold and how much wasn’t. Asten’s shaky breaths rose from his mouth in clouds of vapor. Bentley’s did not. Like he didn’t even exist.

When Asten didn’t move, Bentley exhaled shakily, adrenaline burning through his veins like gasoline. “Asten, please. Can you hear me?”

Again, he seemed to be the only one capable of hearing himself just like last time. He glanced around the rooftop for any signs of Nico or Jason or somebody Asten could hear, but Bentley was the only one there.

Asten let go of the paper, and it blew back onto the roof toward him. It was a newspaper clipping, crumbled and haphazardly torn from its original paper.

It stopped blowing in the wind when it hit Bentley’s shoe — he knelt down and grabbed it, flipping it to the backside. There was a list there that said: Gotham Tragedy Casualties. Beneath that heading was a long list of names, hundreds in tiny print just on the small sliver of paper he could see. Right in the middle of the list, circled by a red pen, were five names: Nico Rockefeller, Bentley Whittaker, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne.

Gotham Tragedy. That was the name given to the mass destruction Asten had caused after his uncle died. 

When Bentley stood back up was about the time Gotham came into focus below them. The city lights were shining in the distance, but the closer Bentley looked, the more destruction he noticed. Buildings reduced to rubble, burned into nothing more than smoking piles of ash in a large radius around the building they were standing on. Roads covered from one end to the other in debris and rubble, police and firetrucks and emergency response vehicles still sifting through the long fizzled-out wreckage for survivors.

That’s about when Bentley realized they were back on top of the exact building Asten had taken Jason’s gun on. The one he’d stood on the edge of once before, a long time ago. The one where he’d destroyed… everything. 

“Asten…” Bentley tried again, taking another glance at the boy across the rooftop. He had the sudden urge to cry but fought it down, for the other boy’s sake, on the off chance he started hearing him. “Please get down, buddy.”

Asten turned around unsteadily on the railing, facing Bentley with his back toward the city, but he didn’t look at him. He was looking more… through him. Bentley noticed that his gaze was focused on the piece of paper that was blowing across the rooftop. His nose and cheeks were red from both the crying and the cold, making his green eyes look greener in the same weird way Dick’s eyes looked bluer when he cried.

“Asten, please,” Bentley tried, stepping forward again, though it was no use. He was invisible.

Asten only stared forward, the despair and sorrow that had been painted across his features fading into an expression that was freakishly numb and empty.

Bentley took one last step forward, close enough that he could probably touch Asten’s legs, and he felt his eyes start to burn. “Please get down. What am I gonna do if you’re not here?”

The wind whipped at Asten’s blue hair, and with the city lights behind him, it sort of looked like he had a halo of light. He shifted his weight only slightly, and he took a shaky breath in. Then he closed his eyes.

“Asten!” Bentley shouted, trying to move forward, but his feet wouldn’t lift. “Please, Asten, please, I’m right here. I’m right here, I’m not dead. Please.”

Asten’s hands went from fists to loose by his sides, the tension leaving his shoulders and body. He exhaled a long puff of vapor that floated away in the wind.

Then he let himself fall backwards.

“No!”

Bentley lurched forward, grappling for Asten’s ankle, his foot, his pants, anything. But his hands went straight through his legs like they weren’t even there, and he disappeared over the edge and left Bentley on the rooftop alone. He tried to summon water but he couldn’t feel any. The whole city went quiet.

Bentley stood eerily still, his mouth hanging open, and he didn’t dare look over the edge no matter how close he was to it. He swallowed thickly, his hand drifting up to cover his mouth. He stared blankly at his own feet.

He couldn’t… why couldn’t Asten…

Bentley’s knees hit the rooftop with a thud, and he suddenly felt kind of like he was drowning. Like the world was moving without him. He couldn’t hear, he couldn’t see. He knew he was sobbing now, so hard it actually, physically hurt, but he couldn’t hear it. He couldn’t hear anything.

The world blurred and moved around him, and suddenly, he was somewhere else. On his knees, choking on his own sobs in the middle of a road full of rubble. Smoke was rising in plumes on all sides of him, and everything seemed to be roaring like the day Asten destroyed Gotham.

Bentley couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. What was he supposed to do? His breaths kept getting caught in his throat like there was something blocking the way, and after a few moments of that, he started coughing, which made everything ten times worse. He tried to breathe but all that came out were wheezy, violent sort of half-sobs-half-hyperventilating thingys that left him kind of dizzy. His body wasn’t listening to him anymore. He could feel himself trembling so hard he was probably vibrating across the ground, and he could feel his stomach churning inside of him, but there wasn’t anything he could do.

Asten had…

Asten… his brother… he… he was…

“Come here, you little prick!”

Bentley’s eyes flicked up when a small figure staggered toward him, stumbling and hobbling all over the place. He wiped his eyes and blinked, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was… Nico. He was covered in blood and dirt and ash, his blonde hair no longer blonde but a mixture of colors bestowed upon him by the warzone. He kept trying to use his powers to no avail, the yellow lightning crackling at his feet but only sending him a few yards forward before it stopped and he stumbled, and Bentley quickly noticed why — because his leg was broken.

Like, broken broken. Like part of his left calf and foot was mangled and not facing the right way broken. Bentley could see the strange angles even with his sweatpants on, and his entire left pant leg was soaked through with blood. He was crying, tear-streaks cutting through the rest of the blood and grime on his face and making pitiful little dots all over the front of his hoodie. 

“Nico?” Bentley breathed, nearly inaudibly, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them just like he used to. “Asten, he…”

Nico went straight past him without even a glance in his direction.

So no one could see him.

Bentley just sat. He brought his knees in tighter and stared blankly, hiccuping and spluttering pitifully to nobody but himself. He wanted to glance around but he was afraid he’d see Asten if he did, so he didn’t.

His own voice pierced the air before he could even comprehend what he was saying. All it was was a broken sounding little:

“Dad…” 

There was a shout from behind Bentley that was so shrill he flinched, whirling his head around to check what was going on.

Nico shouted in terror and staggered backwards when a purple portal spun to life ahead of him, The Void stepping out of it right in his face. Her purple hair was still half cut where Damian had gotten it with his katana, and she was bruised and cut up and dirty, too.

Before he could as much as think, The Void grabbed Nico by the head and shoved him into the rubble, hard, face first. Bentley thought about moving toward them, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move, like his body was cemented to the ground.

He shouted: “Nico!” But no one heard.

All he could do was watch as she climbed on top of Nico, who kicked and thrashed under her weight, crying and screaming the names of what seemed to be every person he knew, but finally settling on yelling for his parents again and again. Bentley tried so hard to pick his feet up, to move, to scoot, to crawl, to something, but he couldn’t. He couldn't move. He couldn't think.

“Nico, no!”

The Void grabbed Nico by the hair and started slamming the back of his head into the rubble over and over and over and over and over again until they were both red, and his face was blank, his shouting silenced, eyes open but unseeing.

Bentley turned his head away and closed his eyes, slapping his hands over his mouth, the sudden but powerful urge to vomit taking ahold of him full-force. A sort of strange, stunned numbness sprang to life inside of him. He’d never really felt like that before. Like… like he was so stunned and scared and grieved and enraged and traumatized that it all sort of boiled into one big… nothing. Feelings that were so strong his body just… canceled them out for his own good. 

He coughed a few times that almost resulted in him throwing up all over himself.

“I…” He whispered. Who was he talking to? He didn’t know. No one could hear him. No one could see him. No one could touch him. He was a ghost. “I wanna go home.”

And then a voice came. A voice he recognized from a long time ago, that came from everywhere and nowhere. A voice that made his hair stand up, that made him want to crawl in a hole and never come out again.

“You got lucky, babybird. The choices you made prevented these… unfortunate events from taking place. But what’s the fun in keeping them to myself? After all, no one ever realizes how lucky they are until they see the alternative,”

Bentley was suddenly in a solid white plane of emptiness, still sitting, still unable to move, to think, to breathe, still feeling like he might throw up and pass out and die. He didn’t open his eyes, didn’t move, in fear of her being there. He thought she was dead. He thought she was dead.

“But everything makes a ripple, babybird. You know that better than anyone. Down to the smallest detail — who you say hi to in the hall, where you sit in class. You may have closed the door on the circumstances I just showed you, yes… but now you’ve opened doors much, much worse. Would you like to sneak a peek into your future?”

Bentley didn’t get time to respond — not that he would’ve anyways — because, suddenly, the white was changing and moving around him, smoke swirling and making images, a flurry of scenes flashing in front of him like a highlight reel straight from hell.

First, Rockie appeared in the white nothing with him, crouched next to him, looking panicked. In a split second, there was a BANG! BANG! and though Bentley couldn’t see where the shots came from, two big stains of crimson began to form and grow on the front of Rockie’s t-shirt, and his green eyes blew wide. He opened his mouth to speak and blood came out.

Bentley gasped and shouted: “Rockie!”

Rockie fell. Bentley made some sound of terror he didn’t really hear, but the second he reached for his roommate's body, it disappeared. 

Bentley spun around, hiccuping, wiping the ever-flowing tears off of his face. He scanned the rest of the white. “…Rockie?”

“No! No! Please, don’t — no, Bentley! Help! Help me!”

Bentley whipped around at the voice. The smoke swirled and spun until three people emerged from thin air — two adults in white suits and a small child they were dragging by the arms. It only took Bentley a split second to realize that it was Bellamy.

He was fighting against them as hard as he could with his tiny self, while simultaneously bawling his eyeballs out and screaming as loud as he possibly could. They slammed him into a wall and began to put something on him. Something yellow, and tight — a straight jacket.

Bellamy fought against them hard, sobs wracking his tiny body as his brown eyes flew everywhere they could. “No! Please, No! Bentley!”

“Leave him alone!” Bentley tried, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t take a single step.

There was a shnnk, and one of the people pulled out a massive knife from absolutely nowhere, pressing it to Bellamy’s throat.

He went dead silent. Bentley tried to speak, to shout for him, to move between him and the person, but nothing happened. He couldn’t move. Everything fizzled away instead. 

In their place appeared Valor, who was laying on the floor, facing away from Bentley. His hands were cuffed behind his back and his wings were all curled and folded up in a way that looked immensely painful, secured by thick metal wiring. He was missing a myriad of feathers and the wires were digging in, leaving the platinum feathers stained and splotchy with blood. In fact, all of him seemed bloody — he was wearing a white jumpsuit Bentley had never seen before, but most of it was dotted with crimson. 

Bentley crouched where he was, scanning his bloodied figure with a sniffle. “Valor?”

Suddenly, a person in white showed up and kicked him straight in the stomach, hard, sending him onto his back instead. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and his entire face was bruised and cut and bloody. His nose was pouring blood everywhere, his one open eye was bloodshot, and he was trembling. He hardly even reacted to the kick besides a slight wince and a small noise.

Bentley sobbed. “Stop it! Leave him alone!”

The second kick, and Valor did nothing but curl in on himself pitifully. As soon as Bentley reached out for him, they fizzled away.

“Stop it!” Bentley sobbed, bringing his knees back up and burying his head in them. “Please, stop it. I… I want to go home. Please.”

“Oh my God!”

Bentley couldn’t help but glance up at the distraught voice ahead of him, if only a little bit.

There was someone he didn’t recognize on the ground in front of him, huge, red bullet wounds littering their torso. It was a boy — an older boy, maybe Jason’s age, with tan skin, dark hair, and brown, dull eyes. A puddle of blood was pooling on the white floor beneath him. His chest was still rising and falling inconsistently, but it looked difficult, forced.

And suddenly, someone else appeared — the one who’d yelled. Koa.

He was all scraped and bruised up, dawning a bloody nose and a big gash on his eyebrow. His seafoam green eyes were wide with disbelief as he crouched down next to the boy on the floor.

“Artimi,” He started, his eyes immediately welling up as he gathered the older boy up into his arms the best he could. “Oh my God, you-“

Artimi. 

Artimi’s dull eyes flicked up to Koa, slowly. A look of gentle relief washed across his features. “Koa.”

“They sh… shot you,” Koa stammered, his breathing growing increasingly ragged when he realized his hands were stained red with the blood of his guardian. He sobbed lightly and turned to look into the white abyss. “Summer!”

“Koa-“

“Summer!”

“Koa, Koa, it’s okay,” Artimi reached up as far as he could manage, balling up the front of Koa’s shirt in one hand, turning it red. “There’s not enough time.”

“Don’t say that!” Koa all but shouted, turning to look the other way again. Artimi tugged on his shirt to gain his attention.

“You’re my brother. I… love you,” He forced out between strange sounds, rattly breaths. “I love you.”

Koa shook his head, a few more silent but violent sobs wracking his body. “You’re going to be fine.”

Artimi frowned, managing to bring his hand up to rest it on the back of Koa’s head and leave a bloody print there. “I love you, Koa.”

“I…” Koa blinked, voice breaking when he continued, shakily: “I love you.”

Artimi smiled, and then his expression faded, the shine leaving his brown eyes… empty.

“Artimi?” Koa said, nearly inaudibly, pulling the older boy’s body closer to himself and holding it there, eyes wide and stunned, rocking back and forth in the slightest. “No. God, please, no. Artimi... Artimi, wake up!”

Artimi did not.

“Artimi, wake up!”

If Bentley hadn’t already been crying his absolute eyeballs out, he definitely would’ve been, come Koa’s incessant, heart-wrenching sobbing and screaming that he was forced to listen to for at least fifteen entire grueling minutes. It was all iterations of his previous words -- begging Artimi to wake up, repetitive intervals of no and oh my God and please, please, please that eventually faded into indecipherable and heart-shattering weeping.

Bentley didn’t even try to move that time.

But eventually, that image faded, and was replaced with a new one. 

Varian. He was bloody and beat up and bruised like the rest of them, his skin a ghastly pale, eyes dulling by the second. He was walking -- more like staggering. His entire shirt was stained red, and a knife had been plunged into his abdomen, only visible by the protruding handle. He was leaving bloody footprints on the ground and was having a hard time standing up.

“Varian!”

Varian looked up, sort of past Bentley, realization and recognition crossing his face. “Nightwing?”

That's when Dick faded into view in his Nightwing suit, lunging for Varian. At a good time, too, because the child collapsed directly into his arms. Dick lowered him down to the floor, holding onto him sort of bridal style.

“I don’t want to die,” Varian muttered weakly, quickly, his dark eyes flicking down to the knife, then up to Dick. “I don’t want to die.”

“You’re not going to die,” Dick reassured, glancing around. He would've sounded calm to anyone who wasn’t Bentley, but Bentley was able to catch the underlying quiver in his voice and tremble in his hands. “You’re okay, you’re okay… B, I need medevac at my location now. There's… Varian, he…”

Bentley saw Dick tense when Varian started crying softly. “I don’t want to die.”

“You’re not going to-”

“I don’t want to die!” Varian repeated, a bit louder, his cries increasing steadily in volume. “I just started living, I… I can’t… I can’t die yet!”

Bentley sobbed softly, his hand finding his mouth again, and even though he wanted to look away, he couldn’t.

Dick pushed Varian’s hair back away from his forehead. Bentley heard a voice on the other side of his comms -- it was Bruce’s voice.

“Nightwing, you’re behind the barrier. We… can’t get to your location,”

“What?” Dick questioned, numbly, and Bentley saw the way his expression shifted behind his mask as he looked down at Varian. “Bruce… he’s…”

“Stay with him, Dick,”

“I don’t want to die,” Varian repeated, hiccuping lightly, reaching out for nothing in particular. Dick took his hand.

“You’re okay,” He replied, though it was obvious his voice was thick with emotion. He reached up briefly with the other hand and ripped his domino mask off, tossing it to the side, revealing very watery, very blue eyes. “I’m here with you, Varian.”

Varian just sort of stared at him for a while. “You’re Bentley’s brother. And Nightwing.”

Dick sniffled lightly, nodding. “I am.”

Varian took a deep, shaky breath that ended in a few wet coughs, blood splattering across his chin that Dick quickly wiped off with his own sleeve. 

“You have… to tell my parents. Not… not Batman,” Varian said softly, eyes drifting down to the knife. “Please.”

“Okay,” Was Dick’s response, though it was hardly audible. He reached up and pushed Varian’s hair back again.

“I don’t wanna die,” Varian finalized, shaking his head with a sniffle. “Can you hug me?”

Dick didn’t even say anything. He just sat down comfortably and pulled Varian into his lap like he’d done to Bentley on countless occasions before, slinking his arms around him softly. Varian cried quietly like that for a while, and Dick did, too.

Until Varian fell eerily silent. Eerily still.

Dick just held onto him and cried.

Bentley sobbed and turned away, bringing a hand up to grab at his chest. “Please, let me go home. I want to go home.”

“Poor Bentley,” Her voice came. “Scared to face the truth? Scared to face your future?”

Bentley cried quietly, a sudden feeling of rage blossoming inside of him. (Maybe he wished he killed her when he had the chance.) 

“Let me out!” He screamed.

“Oh, come on, Babybird. What’s the fun in-”

“Bentley!”

Bentley glanced up at the sound of the voice, but it was distant and muffled, like he was underwater. Everything was white and no one was there but Varian and Dick. A sharp pain stabbed through his head like someone was playing with a drill inside of his skull.

“Bentley, wake up!” 

Varian and Dick disappeared, and a person in white fizzled into existence in front of Bentley, with pistol in their hand. Silently, they brought it up to aim directly at his head.

BANG!

Bentley woke up screaming. 

He couldn’t even comprehend his surroundings. He could feel that someone was touching him, maybe even two or three someones, and he could tell everything wasn’t white anymore. He was sitting on his bed, he knew that much. And he couldn’t breathe. And he was crying. And he was about to-

One of the someones shoved something in his hands, and he hardly even recognized that it was their little trash can before he retched miserably into it.

One of the someones had their hand on the back of his neck, and another one had their hands on both of his knees. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t hear.

It had to have been ten minutes until he became coherent enough to vaguely comprehend what was going on around him. He was in his and Asten’s bedroom at Redwood Academy. Sitting on the edge of his bed. The lights were on, and the door was standing slightly ajar. It was raining outside — he could hear it pecking on the window. He was crying. Hard.

Asten was kneeling on the floor ahead of him with an alert, worried expression on his face. He was the one who was holding onto Bentley’s knees, watching intently as his brown eyes flicked about the room. The other someone was Valor, who was sitting on his right side, supporting him by holding onto the back of his neck. He could feel the slight weight of his big wing getting draped around his shoulders.

There was a third and fourth someones in the room Bentley hadn’t noticed because they weren’t touching him — one was Varian, crouched down next to Asten, eyes watery and looking kind of terrified, and the other was Rockie, who was standing behind them. Shadows were moving in the light beneath the door that indicated others were outside of their room.

“There you are,” Asten said softly, taking the nasty trash can from Bentley’s hands and putting it back in the floor. 

Asten. Asten. He wasn’t… and Varian, he…

“It was just a nightmare,” Asten continued. Bentley hadn’t noticed how much he was trembling until Asten reached up and put a hand on his shaky shoulder. “You’re okay.”

Bentley put his head in his hands and rested his elbows on his knees so he was folded over on himself, tucking his face away so he wasn’t crying in front of everybody. He wasn’t sure how much use it was, given he was sobbing so violently it was shaking his entire body. (At least he was managing to keep it silent.)

He felt Valor’s hand move to rub circles on his back, and Asten’s took its place on the back of his head. “You’re awake now. You’re okay.”

Bentley shook his head lightly. “It was her.”

He couldn’t see Asten, but the way he fell eerily silent for a few moments let him imagine the closely bridled shock that crossed his face.

“No it wasn’t, B. She’s dead,” Asten said lowly, coming in closer to Bentley’s head so Valor and Varian couldn’t hear him.

“She-“ Bentley hiccupped lightly, shaking his head again. “She showed me… stuff. I saw you…”

“Bentley, she’s dead. Bruce saw it with his own eyes. She’s dead,” Asten replied, smoothing down the hair on the back of his head. “It was just a nightmare about her… about what she used to do.”

Bentley said nothing, but dipped his head down until it was resting on his knees, and he cried there. 

After a few moments, he heard Varian say something to Asten, and he heard Asten say yes. Then a second later and he was being gently hugged by someone else who was also crying. He didn’t hug Varian back, but he did let his head rest on his shoulder.

If she was really dead, why did it all feel so… real?

--

tag list that never works lmao

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun

@xiaonothere

@skylathescholarly @flyrobinflyy

[antonvmph]

Found in an abandoned lab, scientist Grace Melnoe displayed signs of deep trauma inflicted upon her due to experiments on the limits of manufactured abilities mimicking the Radiants.

It's been said that during her time as a researcher, she discovered secrets that weren't meant to be found and her curiosity was punished.

She spent months being tortured and years being locked and abandoned after the lab was breached and everyone left.

Found by Sage on an expedition Breach issues based on rumors about the research Grace found, she was taken into the Protocol for information and to monitor.

She works alongside them as the Agent ORACLE.

[g1nu00]

DISEÑO DE LOS LOCOS AAAA

Smiling Critters DESIGN FOR THE AU

DESPUES DE DÍAS ARMANDO ESTO LOCO, por fin lo termineeeee WAAAA

///////

AFTER DAYS DRAWING THIS DUDE, finally I ended up WAAAA

GRUPO DE DOGDAY!/DOGDAY'S GROUP

Acá tenemos básicamente a Dogday o el loquito del curso al que lo iban a mandar a la correccional y termino yendo a un mundo donde estA PEOR

Pero equis, el niño es feliz

Acá pueden ver su forma humana y el collar :D

El collar tiene magia de Ilusión, es básicamente como los collares que usaban Emira y Edric

[Eng]

Here we basically have Dogday, or the "crazy kid" in the class who was going to be sent to a Camp and ended up in a world where things are EVEN WORSE.

But whatever, the kid is happy

Here you can see his human form and the collar :D

The collar has Illusion magic; it’s basically like the collars Emira and Edric used.

El grupito de amigos!

CraftyCorn es la primera a la que conoce Dogday en su forma humana, junto con Hoppy, antes de que le den el collar de Sol. Gracias a Dogday, Crafty paso de la clase de Oráculo a Ilusiones

Hoppy a pesar de interesarle el mundo humano como a Gus, no es tan "Emocionada" sobre ello, mas que nada lo que le llama la atencion es sobre los deportes del mundo humano, por lo que al ver que Dogday estaba escualido pensó que no había mucha diferencia al Reino de los demonios (mentira)

Picky es este caso que tenemos con Matt en The Owl House, solamente que sería una competencia sana con Hoppy sobre que tiene más valor, si los deportes humanos o la Gastronomía humana-

A este parche le decimos, los loquitos del psiquiátrico, y de normal siempre son Dogday, Hoppy y Crafty

[Eng]

The Friend Group!

CraftyCorn is the first one Dogday meets in his human form, along with Hoppy, before he gets the Sun Collar. Thanks to Dogday, Crafty switched from the Oracle track to Illusions

Hoppy, despite being interested in the human world like Gus, isn’t as ���excited” about it. Mainly, what catches her attention are human sports, so when she saw that Dogday was scrawny, she thought there wasn’t much difference from the Demon Realm (not true)

Picky is like Matt in The Owl House, but here, she has a friendly competition with Hoppy about which is more valuable: human sports or human gastronomy.

We call this bunch the “psych ward crazies,” and it usually includes Dogday, Hoppy, and Crafty.

GRUPO DE CATNAP/CATNAP'S GROUP (and enemy/rival)

Con Catnap tenemos una dinámica mas rara, ya que su grupo se conforma de solo sus únicos amigos más cercanos. El solia ser amigo de Craftycorn pero al ver que a su padre y su tutora no les gustaba ya que ella no sabía controlar su magia, le dijeron que se aleje de ella, basicamente lo mismo con Willow y Amity

Cuando obtiene la maldición de la Bestia, su magia se Oráculo se potencia, ya que está tiene que ver con el futuro y un plano psico-mental, así que le metemos el tema de los sueños y pesadillas

Si, este también se pone como tomate de la vergüenza

1006 no lo deja llevar ropa que no sea con mangas largas o cubriéndose, más que nada por las cicatrices de entrenamiento que tiene el pobre chiquito

[Eng]

With Catnap, we have a more unusual dynamic, since his group is made up of just his closest friends. He used to be friends with CraftyCorn, but when his father and tutor noticed she couldn’t control her magic, they told him to stay away from her, basically the same as with Willow and Amity

When he gets the Beast curse, his Oracle magic intensifies since it’s connected to the future and a psychic-mental realm, so we add the theme of dreams and nightmares here

Yes, he also blushes like a tomato out of embarrassment.

1006 doesn’t allow him to wear anything that isn’t long-sleeved or covered up, mostly to hide the training scars the poor kid has.

Bobby y Kickin vienen a ocupar el lugar de Emira y Edric, pero siendo los amigos mas íntimos de Catnap, quienes saben todo de el y en quienes el emperador "confía" si su hino no esta en el castillo

Bobby es la mayor de los 3, siendo la que más sentido de responsabilidad tiene y la que conoció a Catnap en su edad más temprana (y la que lo socorre cuando se entera que al loquito le gusta Dogday)

El caso con Bubba es complicado, si bien formaría parte del parche a la vez no, la forma en la que sabes que fueron amigos con Catnap es que llevan collares o dijes.

La rivalidad con bubba se originó debido a que ambos querían demostrar que podrían servirle a 1006, existiendo está dualidad de "El príncipe" y "el Guardia Zafiro"

[Eng]

Bobby and Kickin take on the roles of Emira and Edric, but as Catnap’s closest friends. They know everything about him, and the Emperor “trusts” them when his son isn’t at the castle

Bobby is the oldest of the three, with the strongest sense of responsibility, and she met Catnap when he was younger (she’s also the one who comforts him when she realizes he has feelings for Dogday)

The situation with Bubba is complicated. Although he’s technically part of the group, he’s also kind of not. The way you know he was friends with Catnap is by the collars or pendants they wear.

The rivalry with Bubba began because both wanted to prove they could serve 1006, creating this duality of “The Prince” and “The Sapphire Guard.”

Ah y si, cambie el símbolo del emperador y me diseñe uno propio JAJSJS

////

Ah yes, I changed the symbol of emperors coven and I designed an own one AHSHHSH

And that's all, The # for this au is #SCHiddenWorlds so, yeah

Y si ya se que son como las 6 de la mañana en donde vivo pero no me importa chupenla todos

[deconstructthesoup]

I've seen some good ones floating around, so here's my take on a Fantasy High Swap Class AU:

Adaine: She's a College of Creation bard, something that stemmed from needing something to keep herself sane growing up in the Abernant home. She channeled her studies of the cosmos and magic into songs, and she actually managed to pass herself off as a Conjuration wizard... until she got found out and sent to Aguefort. Luckily, it's the perfect place for her to hone her craft, and she winds up becoming an incredibly well-known songwriter---more on the indie folk side of things than punk rock, but still. (And she does also become the Elven Oracle, if only by accident.)

Kristen: She starts out as a Zealot barbarian under the Church of Helio, but it doesn't take long for her faith to waver, and she eventually falls into the unpredictability and beautiful chaos of the Path of Wild Magic---and eventually multiclasses into an Oath of the Ancients paladin, inspired by claiming Cassandra as a deity. She's got a lot of righteous fury and craziness at her disposal, and she's never gonna back down from a fight.

Fig: While still keeping her rebellious attitude, she decided to still accept the girly side of herself when her horns grew in and be more pastel-punk (kinda like K Tanaka), and she embraced her devil side by becoming a Trickster Domain cleric---specifically, a cleric of Asmodeus. She's still a lover of disguises, a shameless flirt, and has a shaky relationship with the truth, but it's cranked up to eleven due to her serving a deity of all that. She does eventually multiclass into being an Alchemist artificer, which is... just as chaotic as you might expect.

Riz: He's still a detective at heart, of course, but he winds up using his smarts and sneakery to become a School of Illusion wizard. This actually makes him perfectly suited to being the guy who's always trying to figure out the truth, even if his disguise habit is almost as bad as Fig's sometimes, and he takes on his secret-agent style way earlier than in canon. He's not strictly lawful---he's a big fan of finding out loopholes---but he's definitely the team's designated "smart guy."

Gorgug: His subclass was the hardest to figure out, but I decided he would be good as a Cavalier fighter---his martial prowess is still focused on helping and supporting his friends, regardless of whether it's through rage or skill. Eventually, though, he gets inspired by Adaine's creative ways of using magic and multiclasses into a College of Valor bard. And yes, he uses these skills in part to become a band member of hers. Fig is also part of the band.

Fabian: And last but not least, our Fabian got inspired by both Cathilda and a much more sober Hallariel to become a Swashbuckler rogue. His story is kind of an inverse of canon, with him learning from his mother and mother figure more than his father---partly due to the fact that Bill died before canon in this---and gaining a lot more pride from that (and yeah, that includes him introducing himself as "Fabian Seacaster, son of Hallariel Seacaster, the greatest swordfighter who's ever lived!"). But after his Bad Day, he realizes that there's worth in appreciating what his father has to offer, and he becomes a Fiend warlock of Old Bill---Pact of the Chain, of course, so the Hangman can be his familiar.

So, uh... yeah!

[foreststarflaime]

More people in the dragons au bc I am still thinking about it :) Kunsel, Aerith, and Tifa my beloveds, the not-quite-dragons

Kunsel: There is a dragon whose hoard is of knowledge, a currency far more valuable than gold for those who know how to spend it. For those resourceful enough to find his well-hidden lair, he offers a trade of knowledge for knowledge—but one must speak carefully, lest they give up more than they realize. No one has seen any eyes under the impenetrable plate helmet the scales of his head have grown into, but there is no doubt that he can see just as well as he needs to. The oracle, they call him in hushed whispers, for there is a sense that he is always watching, even far from his lair. There are rumours that he may not even fully be a dragon, for a figure helmeted and cloaked has been seen going to and from the valley he calls home around times when the dragon vanishes or returns. The figure in the corner of the tavern smiles a sharp-toothed smile, unnoticed, hearing just as much as he needs to.

Aerith: There is a dragon whose soil-brown scales can hardly be seen beneath the wealth of greenery that cloaks her—for she is not quite a dragon, but a nature spirit that can take many forms, dragon being one of her favorites. A crest of weeping willows are her horns, their drooping branches braided together carefully. Her wings are cherry blossoms, stretched high towards the sky. Wildflowers of every color adorn her like jewelry, though most beautiful among them are a type of yellow lily that grows nowhere else. It is said these lilies can grant miraculous healing, if she offers them to you freely.

Tifa: There was a knight whose valor was great, a warrior princess from a remote kingdom whose kindness matched her skill in battle. In her youth, she showed kindness to a young dragon with coal-black scales; years later, her kingdom was razed in the flames of a red dragon with a silver tongue, and with nothing to tie her down she roamed across the land, learning to fight to protect those who couldn’t. She found the little coal-black dragon again (yet now his scales were of diamond), and through him came to know the dragon with the yellow lilies. She fought valiantly for many long years, and when one day she finally breathed her last, the dragon placed a flower on her lips, and she was changed, granted more time. Now, there is a dragon whose silvery scales were once steel plate, whose sharp claws were once the weapons of a knight, whose kindness is just the same as it always had been.

[aryamistwood]

NEW HORSE NAMES

This morning, SSO releases a bunch of new options for first and second horse names. I've tried to sort through and pull which are new.

Did I find out when I was 70% done that SSO had already made the list public and that all of my time was wasted? Yes, but I refuse admit my efforts were in vain.

FIRST NAMES:

All Amaryllis Any Arcane Archer Ardent Arrow Aster August Aura Banana Bard Baron Baroness Bell Bill Bolt Boogie Box Bravado Briar Brittle Bulwark Captain Carousel Challenger Champion Charger Chivalry Cinnabar Circus Clash Conqueror Corporal Count Countess Covenant Cow Coyote Creed Crucible Daffodil Dahlia Dauntless Dear Destiny Dino Dryad Earl Element Emperor Empress Enchanted Enigma Epic Errant Eternal Euphoria Even Expedition Express Fabulous Fawn Fear Forest Foxglove Frenzy Frozen Gallant Gargoyle General Genie Glacier Glimmer Goblin Golden Grace Harmony Hazelnut Heart Heliodor Herald Hermit Hill Honor Hope Hyacinth I Impress Inferno Ink Innocent Iris Ivy Jadeite Jasmine Jester Jinx Jolly Joust Justice Karma Knightly Lace Lance Laurel Leaf Lizard Loyalty Mac Mad Maiden Malachite Mandrake Maple Marigold Mars Max Mc Memory Mercury Merry Minstrel Mocha Moose Muffin Musing Nephrite Newt Niccolite Nimbus Nixie Nougat O Oath Olde Oracle Oz Pancake Pandoria Papaya Paradise Patch Peanut Pegasus Peony Pineapple Pixie Pledge Pluto Polo Pony Precious Pretty Puff Puffin Queen Questing Radiant Reindeer Ring Rising Risk Rite Rover Sacred Safe Saffron Sage Shield Sire Slow Smoky Snap Snowball Soda Solar Sorcerer Sorceress Sour Space Sparrow Sprinkles Steed Stellar Super Swan Sword Tango Tanzanite Teak Techno Teddy Tektite Tempest The Tie Torch Tourmaline Tower Trick U Valiant Valor Venus Verdant Virtue Vow Wanderer Warm Watcher Wraith Wyvern Y Yoga Youth Yule Zeppelin Zircon Zoisite Zoom

SECOND NAMES:

Able Abyss al ala Alarm ana Arrow ax ay ba Badger Bard Baron Baroness Bearer Blight bo Bravado Brooke by ca Captain ce cha Challenger Charger Chivalry cie Circus City Claw co Coast Cone Conqueror Count Countess Covenant Creed Crucible cy da Dauntless Day Dear Delight Dinosaur do Doria Double Dryad Dutchess dy e Earl ed el Element Elf elle ember en energy enigma er es ess est et ette Euphoria eus Expedition Express ey Fable Flare Flip Forest ful Gallant Gargoyle Genie Giant Goblin Heliodor Herald Hermit ia ian ic ica id ille im ing Innocent ios is ist ite ive ix ja Jadeite jar Jarl Jester Jinx Jolly Joust Justice Karma Kelpie ko la Lace Lance Laurel let ley Lizard lot Loyalty Maiden Malachite Max Minstrel mir mo Moose mor Musing my n na Nephrite ness Newt Nimbus Nixie no Noble nom Nougat ny Oath on one or Oracle ox oz Papaya Paradise Pegasus Pixie Pledge Polo Pony Potato Puff Puffin Questing ra Radiant Reindeer rey ria Rite ro ros Rover Ruler ry s sa Sacred Sage Serpent Shield Soda Sorcerer Sorceress Squire Steed Stellar Sword ta Tale Talon Tango Tanzanite Teak Tech Teddy Thunder tie to ton Tower Trick Trot Trotter ty u us ute Valiant Vixen Vow Wanderer Warlock Well West Wraith Wyrm Wyvern ya yo yx za Zircon zo Zoisite Zoom zy

[horsegamergirl]

Game master Jess shared lists of all First and Second options for names, that were added to the game, total of 439!

Written down under the cut ↓

First options (total: 211)

A - All, Amaryllis, Any, Arcane, Archer, Ardent, Arrow, Aster, August, Aura B - Banshee, Bard, Baron, Baroness, Bell, Bill, Bolt, Boogie, Boots, Bravado, Briar, Brittle, Buddy, Bulwark C - Captain, Carousel, Challenger, Champion, Charger, Chivalry, Cinnabar, Circus, Conqueror, Corporal, Count, Countess, Covenant, Cow, Creed, Crucible D - Daffodil, Dahlia, Dauntless, Dear, Destiny, Dino, Dryad, Duck E - E, Early, Eld, Element, Emperor, Empress, Enchanted, Enigma, Errant, Eternal, Euphoria, Even, Expedition, Express F - Fabulous, Fawn, Fear, Foxglove, Frozen G - Gallant, Gargoyle, General, Genie, Glacier, Glimmer, Goblin, Golden H - Harmony, Hazelnut, Heart, Heliodor, Herald, Hermit, Honor, Hope, Hyacinth I - I, Impress, Inferno, Ink, Innocent, Iris, Ivy J - Jadeite, Jasmine, Jester, Jinx, Jolly, Joust, Jupiter, Justice K - Karma, Knightly L - Lace, Lance, Laurel, Lizard, Loyalty M - Mac, Mad, Maiden, Malachite, Mandrake, Maple, Marigold, Mars, Max, Mc, Mercury, Merry, Minstrel, Mocha, Moose, Muffin, Musing N - Nephrite, Newt, Niccolite P - Pandoria N - Nimbus, Nixie, Nougat O - O, Oath, Olde, Oracle, Oz P - Pancake, Papaya, Paradise, Patch, Peanut, Pegasus, Peony, Pineapple, Pixie, Pledge, Pluto, Polo, Pony, Precious, Pretty, Puff, Puffin Q - Queen, Questing R - Radiant, Reindeer, Risk, Rite, Rover S - Sacred, Safe, Saffron, Sage, Shield, Sire, Slow, Smoky, Snap, Snowball, Soda, Solar, Sorcerer, Sorceress, Sour, Sparrow, Sprinkles, Squire, Steed, Stellar, Swan, Sword T - Tango, Tanzanite, Teak, Techno, Teddy, Tektite, Tempest, The, Tie, Torch, Tourmaline, Tower, Trick U - U V - Valiant, Valor, Venus, Verdant, Virtue, Vow W - Wanderer, Warm, Watcher, Wraith, Wyvern Y - Y Z - Zeppelin, Zircon, Zoisite, Zoom

Second options (total: 228)

A - a, able, abyss, al, ala, alarm, ana, arrow, ax, ay B - ba, badger. bard, baron, baroness, bearer, blight, bloom, bo, bravado, buddy, by C - ca, captain, ce, cha, challenger, chivalry, cie, circus, city, claw, co, coast, cone, conqueror, count, countess, covenant, creed, crucible, cy D - da, dauntless, day, dear, delight, dinosaur, do, doria, double, dryad, duchess, dy E - e, earl, ed, el, element, elf, elle, ember, energy, enigma, er, es, ess, est, et, ette, euphoria, eus, expedition, express, ey F - fable, flare, flip, forest, ful G - gallant, gargoyle, genie, giant, goblin H - heliodor, herald, hermit I - ia, ian, ic, ica, id, ille, im, ing, innocent, ios, is, ist, ite, ive, ix J - ja, jadeite, jar, jarl, jester, jinx, jolly, joust, justice K - karma, kelpie, ko L - la, lace, lance, laurel, let, ley, lizard, lot, loyalty M - maiden, malachite, max, minstrel, mir, mo, moose, mor, musing, my N - n, na, nephrite, ness, newt, nimbus, nixie, no, noble, nom, nougat, ny O - oath, on, one, or, oracle, os, ox, oz P - papaya, paradise, pegasus, pixie, pledge, polo, pony, potato, puff, puffin Q - questing R - ra, radiant, reindeer, rey, ria, rite, ro, ros, rover, ruler, ry S - s, sa, sacred, sage, serpent, shield, snap, soda, sorcerer, sorceress, squire, steed, stellar, sword T - ta, tale, talon, tango, tanzanite, teak, tech, teddy, thunder, tie, to, ton, tower, trick, trot, trotter, ty U - u, us, ute V - valiant, vixen, vow W - wanderer, warlock, well, west, wraith, wyrm, wyvern Y - ya, yo, yx Z - za, zircon, zo, zoisite, zoom, zy

[breadcheese444]

Code name: Oracle

Valorant Lily!

ⓒ kakiclo6

[utilitycaster]

yes I've played Veilguard all day yes I will do so for more time, tomorrow is my errands day. ANYWAY. This one does legit have spoilers beyond me fucking around, and I have spoiler tagged it as well, so you've been EXTENSIVELY warned.

Rook is not interested in whether Solas and Mythal were fucking. I, however, think they were.

Treviso quests were very fun and not too difficult!

Taash's companion quest, also very easy and enjoyable!

I have bought gifts for all companions except Harding (more later) because I don't know where the fuck the Black Emporium is. Dock Town baby I'm sorry. Anyway I'm a good team leader.

I didn't realize the Hall of Valor wasn't like, a real quest and just consists of Isabela, yelling NEVE GALLUS, THE WINTER FROM TEVINTER while you fight darkspawn. This rules and I think I'll go there later after Weisshaupt.

Morrigan has the memories of Mythal. I am putting off continuing this until I've done all the stupid questions in the stupid terrible Hossberg Wetlands but also, I recognize this might be blasphemy, but Morrigan babe you wish you were Neve Gallus The Winter From Tevinter. I hate to pit two bad bitches against each other which is why I'm doing this, because Morrigan seems to think she is a bad bitch and it's like girl I'm a nobody from Nevarra, why are you out here in your Victoria's Secret Valentine's Day Sale getup cocking your hip at me in the crossroads. Are you trying to impress me? it is not working.

the Solas memories really did a fucking number on like, most of the team, but in particular Bellara and Harding are going THROUGH it. Bellara's doing a bit better because like, she's got a PhD in Dalish history (hilarious that Davrin is like yes I am Dalish but I don't care other than avoiding discrimination against elves; I get that, man) but Harding...oh honey. sorry for doing this as a big movie night in which your religion was disproven, it was revealed that the ancient elves corrupted and destroyed the titans and this is tied to blight, AND you learned that Solas knew all this the whole time and didn't say shit to you. And THEN I did Harding's second companion quest where the Oracle doesn't answer her questions and the codex at the end literally ends with her writing "how loudly can I scream without everyone hearing me." Anyway Harding please go to Taash's room, they look like they give incredible hugs, and just. have a good long cry on their unbelievably huge shoulder. You will feel better. I gotta go to the stupid-ass Hossberg Wetlands with two beautiful men who want to murder fuck each other. At least your musical theme is incredible and my bond with you is higher than with anyone else because I felt so bad for you and because no one else's companion quests unlock until later. I will find you that goddamn tree. maybe I won't though because, as you probably know, Dock Town's fucked.

[roseamongroses]

nothing in the world belongs to me, but

Shuri/Riri Williams

[Major Character Death] [Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses] [Apocalypse] [Period Typical Attitudes] [Goddess!Shuri] [Astronomer!Riri] [Hero's Quest] [Rebirth]

Summary: Her. It was all for Her.

- SHURIRIWEEK2024 - day six - "song fic/ song inspo" - loosely inspired by My Love Mine All Mine

@shuririweek

ao3

----

Oh-- The Earth. It waned.

Dark clouds bore down on the countrymen below. Winds picked up, sharp against their skin--warning them of the storm to come.

Days prior, The Oracle warned The King of the devastation. A disaster brought forth not by man nor nature.

Under the Sea God’s might, entire nations would sink.

Was it for revenge? Indulgence? No one knew for certain why such a curse had befallen the lands. At least, that’s what The Crown had claimed. Tucked behind stone walls draped in ivory and gold. Lofty, safe from the encroaching beast below.

Troops were rallied. Songs of conquest and valor sang. Banners swung, legs marched on.

All clamoring forth into battle--all drowned.

A wrath like no other rising to swallow them whole.

Ships were sent and sank. Cargo barreled into the docks. Sailors dumped onto the rocks. Churches filled-- tithings offered with muddied, waif hands. Prayers went unanswered as the sea levels continued to rise.

No other God was willing to intervene.

Bodies piled up--The King was desperate. A draft was enforced despite the uproar from the people. Nobility scattered, abandoning the towering lights of the sea-side cities for the darkest crevices of the country-side. All who were left--the desperate, the needy, the ill-begotten souls of this cursed land would bear the folly of the crown and his noblemen.

Riri did not cry for her country's plight. She’s cried enough. For her mother she left behind, for her father, friends who left her. If she must grieve this wretched earth, it will be for the hands who toiled it. Never The Crown.

And yet, here she was dying for that Bastard King.

Blood seeped into her mouth. The taste of iron and salt squeezing her lungs. She swam on, limbs heavy even as she discarded her overskirts and bodice. Now she faced the cold with only left in a thin chemise and cap. Another wave swelled, pushing her against the wall of the cave. Riri’s body shuddered, a throbbing pain overtaking the fatigue and numbness.

Eyes weary, she cast her gaze up as darkness threatened to take hold. Even a mind as sharp as hers would falter in these conditions. No one would understand why she’d taken on this quest. She was no Knight. She had no armor. No land, no power to her name.

Only her mind kept her from the pits of irrelevance in a society this cruel. No one could interpret the stars like she could. She spent many nights in the Royal Observatory, hunched over an assortment of lenses. She poured over notes, calculations, renderings--deciphering the distance between earth and those endless depths above.

A fever for knowledge--a sign of madness to others. Smarts did a woman no good afterall. Rumors would speculate that her position only existed to keep her close to the King’s bedchamber without alerting the church.

Riri didn’t care. At the end of the day, her ceaseless research was an act of prayer. Not meant to be understood by others. To dare cast her sights above, to dare know the unknowable. Between the moon’s craters, the stars fading lights, and that space that never ended.

She’d see traces of Her everywhere.

Reverently, she’d write through the night catching glimpses of the Goddess’s presence. A breeze over her shoulder in a windowless room. Shadows that stretched like slender fingers, tracing the curved, ink numbers.

Oh--her Goddess of Moon, of Stars. She who kept the secrets of creation just out of sight--teasing her lowly worshiper.

It was a frantic night of discovery--like many others--that her Goddess finally answered.

It led her here. The bloody depths--her inevitable tomb.

And yet, drifting between consciousness, Riri smiles.

Above, through the cracks of the cave ceiling, the moon shined. Its light cool against her face--a caress like no other.

Around Riri, the water retreated. An arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her upright

Cool lips brushed against her ear-- Riri trembled.

“My curious astronomer…” Shuri whispered, watching a trail of water trickle down the human’s throat, “So bright, so fragile--Will you give up?”

Riri exhaled, squeezing her eyes tight, “Never,” she promised, “If I die…”

Kingdoms would fall--man would crumble--but most importantly--

“How else will I prove you wrong?”

Shuri laughed, surprised by her arrogance, “Oh? About what?”

“That I can never know you,” Riri said, head falling back, “That I can never reach you,”

“But I’m right here, aren’t I?” Shuri teased, a featherlight touch tracing Riri’s temple, “There’s nothing else to find. You’ve see it all,”

“I’ve never seen you,” Riri sighed, relishing the brief relief Her touch brought. She knows if she opens her eyes, if she dares to look back, there will be nothing but moonlight to greet her, “My everything, my eternity… I will not rest until I see you again.”

“Again?” Shuri echoed, lost.

Riri has never seen her in this lifetime. Ever.

Riri didn’t seem to take notice of the strangeness of her words. The prayer, it's promise, so natural on her lips.

Shuri let it pass, “If you insist,” she said, “But you must endure far greater pain,” she kissed Riri’s temple, then cheek--just shy of her lips, “No human can return from where you must go,” she murmured, words reverberating against Riri’s soul.

Shuri’s embrace slipped away.

Clouds covered the moon, marring its face.

Riri was alone again.

And the water rose, eager to swallow--to reduce her body to a corpse desperate for shore. Riri braced herself, taking a moment before she she let her fingers slip. She let herself get dragged down, down deeper.

Fear gripped her--it always did. Riri let it rush over, body jerking as brine spilled into her lips--lungs convulsing.

Riri kept swimming deeper, even as her body bloated to the surface.

Burning clarity pulled her from despair. Every atom buzzed into her awareness as she cast herself down deeper until the water scorched.

Riri gripped the sword buried in the core.

Oh-- The Earth.

It trembled as she became a little greater.

[maccreadysbaby]

Project: Killcode

batfamily + oc insert

tw: vague emeto

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

heyo! b’s still here! and so are all the inconvenient things in his life, like tall blondes, jealous rich boys and diabetes!

part twenty-four

❝ SAVAGE ❞

TUESDAY — JULY 24 — 4:10PM

“BENTLEY, IT'S TIME TO GO,”

Bentley peeled his eyes open, blinking rapidly in an attempt to bat away the foggy fatigue that had been taking up residence in his brain for the entire school day. Varian was sitting in the chair next to him at their two-person desk, watching with wary brown eyes.

Bentley glanced up, cataloging the US History classroom. Students were filing out, and Dr. Ray was sitting at his desk on his phone, looking pretty disinterested, like always. Bentley blinked a few more times to right himself, lifting his head from the desk and rubbing his eyes.

“He saw you, but I guess he didn’t mind to let you sleep,” Varian replied with a shrug. “You definitely need it. I can give you the notes later.”

Bentley stretched slightly, grabbing his bag off the floor. “Thanks, Varian.”

“Hey, no problem. I’ve had my share of long nights. Especially with this,” He tapped the insulin pump on his arm. 

Bentley didn’t really know what to say to that, so he didn’t. Instead, he stood up and threw his bag over his shoulder.

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, really — but after staying up until one a.m. in the living area with his roommates and then waking up from the most horrifying nightmare he’d ever had at three (and not going back to bed after), he was pretty much running on empty. He’d fallen asleep in art, too, and his teacher smacked his table with a yardstick.

Varian was doing much better than he was, which was surprising, considering he’d stayed up just as late and then insisted on being up with Bentley after the nightmare instead of going back to bed. He tried to brush him off and tell him he needed to get sleep, too, but Varian didn’t care. Which was kind of nice, he guessed. He got someone to talk to and Asten got to go back to bed. (After arguing about it for, like, an hour.)

So all in all, Bentley was very tired, and he had a lot of notes he needed to copy after he and Koa practiced for soccer tryouts. (Yay?)

For right now, his main goal would be making it to his dorm without falling asleep standing.

“Have a good day, Dr. Ray,” Varian called as the two of them made their way through the classroom door and into the hall. They were the last ones out — even Layla had gone and disappeared before them.

Bentley sighed lightly as they walked, tugging his back further up on his shoulder. 

“Y’know, I’m practicing with Koa too today, if you want to rest. He won’t be alone,” Varian said lightly, and Bentley felt his eyes on him from his spot to his left. “The only reason I missed yesterday was because the decathlon team had a meeting. From now on they meet during free period instead of after school, so I’ll be able to practice.”

Bentley hummed. Not having to run around for three hours kicking a ball sounded heavenly right about then, but he also didn’t want to leave Koa out to dry. They just started practicing yesterday, he couldn’t bail yet.

“I think I’ll go. Might wake me up some,” He suggested, and Varian smiled faintly.

“In that case, I can’t wait to see your moves,” Varian said with a smirk. “Koa talked all about how you were a natural yesterday. Even better than I was when I started, according to him.”

Bentley made a pfft sound. “I highly doubt that. I’ve never played a sport in my life.”

“Neither had I, when I started,” There was a sudden trio of beeps from Varian’s insulin pump, and Bentley glanced over at him as he slid his arm out of his blazer and checked the little screen. “Ah. I knew I was starting to feel a little like death.”

Bentley blinked as Varian slid his blazer back on. “You gonna be okay?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been worse. The walk back to the dorm shouldn’t be too bad. It really only feels like the flu — if you were, like, about to die from it. I didn’t eat much at lunch trying to keep the number stable but… now it’s kinda dive-bombing.”

“That doesn’t sound ‘not too bad’ to me,” Bentley muttered as they made a left at the next hall, toward the entrance of the building.

“Nah. I’d tell you if I was about to, like, barf or pass out or something. Luckily we’re not there yet,” Varian replied with another shrug.

“Hey, Wayne!”

Bentley and Varian both pivoted on their heels when a fluttery falsetto called out from behind them. Unsurprisingly, a familiar blonde that made Bentley cringe was coming to meet them from an adjacent hall.

Varian blinked twice, and Bentley saw the willpower it took not to roll his eyes as Chloe Singh caught up with them in the hallway. Her blonde hair was pin-straight today, reaching nearly to her waistline. She was wearing sparkly gold eyeliner that made her brown eyes pop, and had on a Redwood Academy sweater vest with her skirt instead of the typical blazer.

“… Hey,” Bentley replied, sharing a quick glance with Varian. Chloe came up to rest on his right side, falling into step with them. (No matter how fast they kept walking, she stayed right there next to them.)

“Hey there,” She smiled when she reached them, and Bentley wondered if she brushed her teeth with bleach, as white as they were. “I have a question for you.”

“Me?” Bentley inhaled sharply (and thankfully, softly.) “Okay?”

“Since I’m rich, and you’re rich, and I’m hot, and you’re hot, I think we should go to the dance together,” She said, turning to go through the glass front doors of the building. Bentley and Varian quickly joined her, the warm air all but knocking into them. It blew Chloe’s hair behind her shoulders, and it was so long it hit Bentley in the face.

“That wasn’t a question,” He replied curtly, swatting her hair away from him and continuing to walk up the sidewalk next to Varian. The sky was gray instead of blue, and storm clouds were threatening to drop rain on them at any moment. Sidewalks and endless green grasses were laid out before them, their building visible but far off past a sea of students. Chloe kept up with them begrudgingly well.

“Well, I didn’t assume I actually needed to ask you,” She replied with a funny sounding giggle. “I mean, who’d pass up going to a dance with someone as hot as me?” She questioned, her expression serious as ever as she ran a hand through her hair and glanced over at Bentley with big doe eyes. “So?”

Bentley sent a glance to Varian, who was watching the cracks in the sidewalk pass and offering zero help.

“Someone actually already asked me,” He replied shortly, with a shrug. (And honestly, thanks to Summer.) “So, no.”

He didn’t miss the way Chloe’s expression shifted, and she scoffed, falling a step behind before she caught up with them again. “Are you kidding? Who?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” He replied, glancing up at her. A tinge of regret stabbed through his chest at the expression that rippled across her face — something almost like hurt, masked haphazardly by feigned offense.

“Jesus, who pissed in your cereal this morning?” She questioned with the shake of her head. “I’d at least like to know the name of the lucky girl who got to you before I did.”

Bentley only glared over at her, but instead of looking upset, a smile started to tug at the edges of her mouth. “Oh… I see what’s going on here. You’re lying because you don’t want to go with me.”

“No, I’m not,” He replied. He saw Varian glance at him from the corner of his eye, a strange expression crossing his features. “Someone else asked me already.”

“And did you say yes?”

Bentley hesitated on that one, much to his demise. (No, he hadn’t said yes to Summer, but if he told Chloe he had, then she’d expect them to show up together, when really, neither of them were going at all. But if he told her he said no, she’d keep shooting and keep shooting until the backboard fell off.)

“See? You’re lying,” Chloe said, her cocky grin curving into a frown accompanied by angry, fiery eyes. “Who would you rather go with, Layla? Am I not ugly enough for you?”

Bentley heard their heartbeats when a sudden wave of anger came about him. He inhaled and glanced over at her, brown on brown eyes meeting, each with a different kind of fire. “I’d rather go with someone who isn’t a jerk.”

For a moment, he and Chloe shared tense eye contact, and she scoffed again. “Bentley-“

“Look, Chloe,” He started, pausing in his stride and turning to face her directly. She paused, too, uncomfortably close to him, resting her hands on her hips. “I had a really bad night, I’m having a mediocre day, and I feel kind of like shit. Yes, someone asked me, but I didn’t plan on going anyways. And even if I was going, it wouldn’t be with a girl like you,” He snapped with a curt huff. “So can you just… go away?”

Chloe opened and closed her mouth a few times to no avail. Then, with a noise that was supposed to be a scoff but sounded more like a squeak, she huffed and walked off without them at a breakneck pace.

Varian made a sound akin to a snicker. “Remind me not to cross you when you haven’t slept.”

Bentley exhaled heavily with a shake of his head, starting back to a steady stride across the campus. “I don’t like her. She makes me uncomfortable.”

“Oddly enough, lots of guys are into that kind of thing. Her kind of, y’know… way of… getting into your space and trying to sell her hotness to you,” Varian replied with a shrug as he started walking again. “Dunno why. Also I think I might throw up.”

The switch in conversation was so quick Bentley’s wheels had to turn for a solid five seconds before he turned to him with a: “What?”

“My BS. It’s going down more. Dive-bomb, remember?” Varian replied, making an ick face and slowing to a stop. (He looked very suddenly unwell, which was kind of freaking Bentley out, because he hadn’t looked that way two minutes ago.) “Starting to feel like falling over dead. M’ kinda dizzy.”

“I… don’t think I have any food on me,” Bentley replied with an exhale, slowing to a stop again. “I can call Asten and have him bring something. Do you want to sit down?”

He half expected Varian to disagree and tough out the walk, but instead, he just said: “That’d probably be good.”

Bentley pulled his phone out of his pocket and navigated to Asten’s name, watching Varian excruciatingly closely as he gingerly sat himself down on the sidewalk. His phone only rang once before he picked up with a: “Hey.”

“Hey,” Bentley replied, kneeling down ahead of Varian. “Are you close to the room? Varian’s blood sugar is tanking and he needs something. Me and him are on the sidewalk close to the history building.”

A few seconds of quiet passed. “Yeah, I’m pretty close. What’s the number?”

Bentley glanced over at Varian, who, upon hearing Asten, worked the little machine out of his sleeve again. Bentley glanced at the little screen. “Forty-seven.”

He heard Asten inhale. “Jesus, okay, you weren’t kidding when you said it was tanking. How is he even conscious right now? Nevermind, I’m coming. Just hang tight for a few.”

“Okay,” Bentley replied, and a few silent seconds later, the call ended.

He glanced back over at Varian, who was sitting on the ground, looking sort of dazed. He had his legs criss-crossed and his elbows resting on them, with his head dipped down into his hands.

Bentley sat down on the sidewalk, too. “You okay?”

“Hanging in there,” He replied with a faint shrug. “Did… someone actually ask you to the dance?”

Bentley shrugged, too. “Kinda. Not really. Summer heard that Chloe was going to ask me and asked me first, just so I could tell her I was already asked. But we didn’t actually want to go with each other.”

Varian nodded in understanding, though didn’t lift his head. “Who do you want to go with, then?”

“No one. I don’t think I’m going at all,” Bentley replied with a shrug. “Are you?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m… having a hard time focusing on what you’re saying,” Varian replied with a shake of his head. Then he muttered to himself: “Bozhe, mne seychas tak plokho.” (God, I feel so bad right now.)

Bentley wasn’t sure what he said, but he did know that Asten only spoke Portuguese when he was really mad or really scared or in so much pain it just sort of happened. So he assumed Varian speaking Russian wasn’t a good thing. 

“Asten will be here in just a minute,” Bentley tried, glancing up at the sidewalks as if Asten would suddenly appear there. “Are you doing okay?”

“Nauseous. And I only understood, like, half of what you said,” 

Bentley said nothing, but brought a hand up to rest on his shoulder. (Varian had mentioned he wasn’t very good at keeping his blood sugar at a safe level, but Bentley didn’t realize that meant he’d have a dangerous low, like, every day.)

(…At least he hadn’t fainted like he had on Koa the day before. Bentley wasn’t sure he could handle much more fainting.)

“Wow, what’s the matter, soccer players gotta take a breather on the way back to their room?”

Bentley huffed out an extravagantly loud breath, flicking his gaze up to the boy that was approaching on the sidewalk that was very not Asten.

Tyler seemed to already be on his way to the fields, because he was wearing cleats and workout clothes instead of his uniform. He was looking at Bentley and Varian like he was some sort of deity and their entire existence was a mistake.

Bentley did a good job at ignoring him as he walked by, keeping his attention on Varian, who kept looking more and more out of it. It kinda seemed like he was about to faint, which would not be good in the slightest. But to Bentley’s surprise, he didn’t.

He just threw up all over the sidewalk instead.

Bentley hid his grimace and squeezed his shoulder in silent support.

“Ugh, Jesus,” Tyler called from ahead of them. “Your dorm catch the plague already?”

Bentley glanced up at him, taking a breath. Tyler’s stupid hair was sticking up all stupid on his head, looking like he took twenty minutes to make it just messy enough to practice in, and everything from his jersey to his cleats were squeaky clean. His eyebrows were resting on his forehead as he waited for an answer; an expression that made it very appealing to, like, punch him in the face or something. (Seriously, Varian was, like, sick, and that’s what he said? Whatever happened to natural human decency?)

Bentley huffed. “No, he’s just allergic to assholes — so you should probably keep walking.” 

Tyler, with a deadpan face, flipped Bentley off. “You’re a little shithead, you know that?”

“I’ve been told,” Bentley replied with a faint smile. “Bye.”

Tyler turned with a dramatic huff and walked away, flipping him off one more time for good measure.

“We should disturb your sleep more often. You’re being… quite the savage,” Varian muttered with a snicker, wiping his mouth on his blazer sleeve. “I also have a sneaking suspicion I won’t be practicing today. Dr. Koa is going to murder me.”

Bentley, with a sigh, patted Varian’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll pick up your slack.”

“That’s a lot of slack to pick up,” Varian said with a faint smile, glancing back up at him with dull eyes. “I’m pretty good at standing on the field and pretending I know how to play.”

Bentley snickered lightly, and patted his shoulder again.

(Varian did not practice that day.)

--

tag list that never works lmao

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun

@xiaonothere

@skylathescholarly @flyrobinflyy

[thethyri]

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐈❟ 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐬 & 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬

STICKY NOTE *𖧧₊‧ All the originals Gods are mine, which are Belyx, Melyx, Narrax, Valyx, Torghos, Tyxes, Verraxes and Vormion. Please be respectful and do not steal these names, as it took me a lot of time to find and create theses names (with the help of this Reddit post)

THE SERIE MENU. + French Ver. + Archive Of Our Own. + THE GUILD OF DRAGONLINGS SERVER. + Playlist. ₊‧ 

𝐈.𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒. ⊰‧₊˚･ the primary deities of the valyrian pantheon.

𖦹. VORMION❟ God of Consolation, of Protection and Honesty. Husband of Shrykos. 𖦹. BALERION❟ God of Death, of Doom and Gardien of the Souls. Brother of Morghul. 𖦹. CARAXES❟ God of Envy, of Chaos, of Misfortune and of Vengeance. Brother of Meraxes. 𖦹. VERMAX❟ God of Health, of Youth, of Glory and of Abundance. Son of Syrax. 𖦹. ARRAX❟ God of Hope, of Charity, of Luck and of the Sun. Son of Syrax. Husband of Belys. 𖦹. MORGHUL❟ God of Judgment, of Justice, of Honor and Winter, brother of Balerion. 𖦹. MERAXES❟ Goddess of Mercy, of Loyalty and of Triumph. Sister of Caraxes. 𖦹. BELYS❟ Goddess of Miracles, of the Stars and the Moon. One of the Three Wielders Of Fate. Weaver of The Yesterdays. Servant of Tessarion. Wife of Arrax. 𖦹. TESSARION❟ Goddess of Oracles, of Prophecies and of Destiny. 𖦹. NARRAX❟ God of Prosperity, of Blessings and Fortune. One of the Three Wielders Of Fate. Weaver of The Todays. Servant of Tessarion. Husband of Terrax. Father of Verraxes. 𖦹. VERMITHOR❟ God of Thunder, of Storms and of Heavens. Son of Vhagar. 𖦹. SYRAX❟ Goddess of Virtues, of Matrimony, of Fertility and of Love. Mother of Vermax, Arrax and Tyraxes. 𖦹. VHAGAR❟ Goddess of War, of Valor, of Strategy and of Victory. Mother of Vermithor. 𖦹. MELYX❟ Goddess of Wisdom, of Mercy and Clairvoyance. One of the Three Wielders Of Fate. Weaver of The Tomorrows. Servant of Tessarion. Twin of Valyx. 𝐈.𝐈𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒. ⊰‧₊˚･ a few of the lesser deities of the pantheon.

𖦹. VERRAXES❟ God of Chivalry, of Bravery and of Summer. Son of Terrax and Narrax. 𖦹. SHRYKOS❟ Goddess of Harvest, of Hunt and Dawn, wife of Vormion. 𖦹. TERRAX❟ Goddess of Mead, of Pleasure, of Peace and of Autumn. Sister of Urrax. Wife of Narrax. Mother of Verraxes. 𖦹. TYRAXES❟ God of Mountains, of Valleys, of Meadows, of Fields, of Forests, of Winds and of Dusk. Son of Syrax. 𖦹. VALYX❟ Goddess of Poetry, of Chants, of Riddles and of Music. Twin of Melyx. 𖦹. TORGHOS❟ God of Resurrection, of Funerals, of Death, of Hells, Judge of the Souls and Gardien of The Fourteen Flames. Servant of Balerion. 𖦹. TYXES❟ God of Rituals, of Prayers, of Offerings and of Sacrifices. Servant of Balerion. 𖦹. MELEYS❟ Goddess of Rivers, of Oceans, of Rains and of Spring. 𖦹. URRAX❟ God of Volcanoes, of Fire, of Magma, of the Hearth, of Warmth and of Growth. Brother of Terrax.

©TheThyri. All rights content belong to @thethyri. Do not repost, translate or plagiarize my works in any way or on any other platform without my permission. Gifs rightfully belongs to @daenerys-stormborn​. 

[glassmarcus]

Sony's Z Targetable Weak Spot

As someone who has been playing Sony games for 20 years, it's weird how little attachment I have to their brand. I got a Playstation 2 so I could play Kingdom Hearts, but bought plenty of other games for it because that console is the Greatest of All Time. I've gotten every one of their consoles since then, yet I don't consider myself a Sony fan like I consider myself a Nintendo fan. I love Sly Cooper, I like Uncharted, I adore Bloodborne. On paper I should be a Sony pony, but I’m in no way ride or die. I think there's three reasons for this.

1) A lot of Sony properties aren't actually Sony properties. When I think early PlayStation, I think Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Spyro, Parappa the Rappa and Crash Bandicoot. Sony owns none of these. They had exclusivity initially, but after 20 years of being multi-platform/those franchises not existing anymore, it's hard to link any association to Sony. Though I still do think of Final Fantasy 7 as a Sony game due to the recent remakes. Even Kingdom Hearts, a game I bought a PS2 to play, stopped being a franchise exclusive to Sony within like 2 years. Their early reputation ends up feeling like stolen valor because they just happened to be only 3rd party friendly console available at the time.

2) Most of their franchises are dead. The last Sly Cooper Game ended on a cliff hanger and was never seen again. Naughty Dog would rather make The Last of Us for the 4th time than craft another Uncharted or Jak game. Bloodborne will never be on a modern console because we simply can't have nice things. This makes brand association much harder to maintain. No one really cares about what Intellectual Properties you own if you do nothing with them. I'm not a Zelda fan just because I played Oracle of Seasons when I was 4, I'm a Zelda fan because Nintendo groomed me to be one by releasing games regularly. No Sony franchise other than maybe Ratchet and Clank operates this way.

3) A lot of their IPs during 7th gen were just not for me. Kill Zone isn't my kind of game. Resistance isn't my speed. Little Big Planet is a game that is my speed, but it's a bad game so I never got into it. This is all very personal taste based, but it's why most of my PlayStation 3 collection is overwhelmingly 3rd party.

For all these reasons the Sony brand is a bit weak. Which is why the premise of Astro Bot is perplexing. Astro Bot as a franchise exist to display Sony tech. The Astro Playroom games are primarily tech demos for PlayStation Camera, PlayStation VR, and Dualsense technologies. The Astro Bot games are the ones which are full stand alone games. I haven't played Astro Bot Rescue Mission, but it seems to be very similar in structure to Astro Bot and doesn't have any proof of concept it needs to show off. But its still a VR, game so I can't comment much on that as I have yet to accept VR as a real way to play games.

Astro Bot is a follow up to the PlayStation 5 pack in game, Astro's Playroom. Instead of being a large tech demo, it is a fully realized platformer that is solid across the board. The game is near perfect as far as 3D platformers go. Each level has fleshed out ideas with unique level mechanics and set pieces. The motion control gimmicks are reigned in, unlike Playroom which got a little nuts with it. There is whimsy and charm in every corner of the galaxy in the world of Astro Bot. As a game I have very little to complain about and endless things to enjoy about it. Based on the presentation, structure, and polish, you could give Astro a Mario skin and skint your eyes to fool yourself into thinking it's Mario Galaxy 3. It's that good with really the only difference in design philosophy being that there are more collectibles in Astro Bot. As someone who prefers the Mario Galaxy games over the Sandbox Mario games, but still likes collecting things, this is the platonic ideal.

As a game, this is the most impressed I've been in years. The way Astro Bot used the PS5’s SSD should be required study for anyone developing on that console. It's doing everything right. But it's not just a game. It's Sony's 30th anniversary game. As such tries it's best to display Sony's rogues gallery of IPs and partners. Astro does a wonderful job in that display. Over a hundred unique costumes are given to the robots you collect, all of them being references to Sony and Sony adjacent characters. These robots both look and act the part and it's fun going through the game seeing which of them you can recognize. In addition to that, there are 5 stages which are dedicated entirely to a certain franchise, one for each of their past consoles (except the Vita because I guess it didn’t sell enough). Ape Escape represents PlayStation 1. God of War represents PlayStation 2. Loco Roco represents the PlayStation Portable. Uncharted reps the Playstation 3, and Horizon reps the Playstation 4. These are all delightful levels which show great reverence to the series they are parodying. These levels and the game entirely ended up feeling like a glorified advertisement for their IPs. And you know what, that's great. I'm completely down with the Astro Bot franchise existing to be phenomenal games that shill other games. If this could be the Lego Movie of video games, I'd sleep perfectly fine every night.

But what actually are they advertising here? Most of these franchises aren't Sony franchises. Most of these Sony IPs haven't seen the light of day in decades. There are still glaring omissions here. There needs to be way more RPGs here if we want to represent PlayStation accurately. The more I think about it, the sadder I get. It's like we're throwing a house party at a funeral. It's like we're being peddled mythical goods which have vanished from history a millennia ago. You can't show me Jak, remind me he has been dead for 20 years, and then just move on. They haven't even rereleased the Jak games. How am I supposed to confirm that I still don't like Jak 2 if you don't give me an avenue to play it Sony? It all just amounts to embarrassing false advertising. Say what you will about Super Smash Bros, most of the those games are proud supported IPs which have games I can play right now, and I say this as a Kid Icarus and Punch Out fan.

This in no way ruins the game or makes it lesser by the way. I think think it's perverse how Sony decided to fund a game that pointed out exactly how it has been slacking in regards to its IP management.

[itsneilcochrane]

2025 TBR

Goal: Catch up on/read/dismiss all the series that have been languishing in my TBR

Beginning with ones I started recently, followed by ones that will include at least one re-read, then complete and new-to-me ones, and last but not least, incomplete and new-to-me.

This doesn't include books I must read for my book clubs, or the several manga series I'm following, lolsob.

List (in a rough but quickly deteriorating order) below the cut!

Reread Owned/have access to Currently reading (as of 2-20) Read

A Restless Truth (The Last Binding #2)

A Power Unbound (The Last Binding #3)

A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan #2)

Infinity Alchemist (Infinity Alchemist #1)

Chaos King (Infinity Alchemist #2)

Sir Callie and the Dragon's Roost (Sir Callie #2)

Sir Callie and the Witch's War (Sir Callie #3)

Sir Callie and the Final Stand (Sir Callie #4)

The Daughter's War (Blacktongue #0)

The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates #1)

The Thousand Eyes (The Serpent Gates #2)

The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1)

The Angel's Game (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #2)

The Prisoner of Heaven (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #3)

The Labyrinth of the Spirits (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #4)

The City of Mist (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #5)

Godkiller (Fallen Gods #1)

Sunbringer (Fallen Gods #2)

Faithbreaker (Fallen Gods #3)

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1)

Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries #2)

Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries #3)

Exit Strategy (Murderbot Diaries #4)

Network Effect (Murderbot Diaries #5)

Fugitive Telemetry (Murderbot Diaries #6)

System Collapse (Murderbot Diaries #7)

Necrotech (SINless #1)

Nanoshock (SINless #2)

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1)

A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan #2)

The Thread That Binds (The Eternal Library #1)

The Tale That Twines (The Eternal Library #2)

The Outside (The Outside #1)

The Fallen (The Outside #2)

The Infinite (The Outside #3)

Dust and Light (The Sanctuary Duet #1)

Ash and Silver (The Sanctuary Duet #2)

The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns #1)

The Shadow Throne (The Shadow Campaigns #2)

The Price of Valor (The Shadow Campaigns #3)

The Guns of Empire (The Shadow Campaigns #4)

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls #1)

Shadow of Night (All Souls #2)

The Book of Life (All Souls #3)

Time's Convert (All Souls #4)

The Black Bird Oracle (All Souls #5)

Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1)

Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky #2)

Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth and Sky #3)

My Heart is a Chainsaw (Indian Lake #1)

Don't Fear the Reaper (Indian Lake #2)

The Angel of Indian Lake (Indian Lake #3)

The Four Profound Weaves (Birdverse #1)

Cemetery Boys (Cemetery Boys #1)

City of Strife (City of Spires #1)

Fathomfolk (Drowned World #1)

Iron Widow (Iron Widow #1)

Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow #2)

Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders #1)

An Accident of Stars (Manifold Worlds #1)

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon (Mead Mishaps #1)

To Shape a Dragon's Breath (Nampeshiweisit #1)

The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms #1)

A Master of Djinn (The Dead Djinn Universe #1)

Thornfruit (The Gardener's Hand #1)

The Half-Drowned King (The Golden Wolf Saga #1)

The Halves of Us (The Halves of Us #1)

The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1)

She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor Duology #1)

He Who Drowned the World (The Radiant Emperor Duology #2)

Witch King (The Rising World #1)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle)

The Witch Boy (The Witch Boy #1)

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1)

We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire #1)

Dawn (Xenogenesis #1)

The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming (The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming #1)

Empire of Sand (Books of Amber #1)

[deconstructthesoup]

Decided to finally revisit my Fantasy High class swap AU, Closer To Fine, and I've ironed out their journey to fit with Junior Year:

Riz: Stays a School of Illusion wizard throughout the story, though his thing of being a wizard in part to prove a point comes to a head in JY, when he's the only person in class who doesn't have the money to afford spell components---and he also has to worry about scholarships on top of that. Not only is he joining every school activity, but he's also doing whatever job will take him, and he's definitely stretching himself too thin.

Adaine: Stays a College of Creation bard throughout the story, but she does take two levels of wizard in JY due to her finally accepting that she's the Oracle---not the Elven Oracle, just the Oracle. (Adaine's Furious Fist is a bard and wizard spell in this story, btw!) She also struggles with inspiration and writing songs due to how stressful school has become---not to mention, she also has to worry about her own financial troubles---which leads to her both falling behind in class and having a hard time with her label. Knowing that she's a bard and has Fig's fame in this story, I figured it would be interesting to balance learning how to be a kid after leaving a shitty situation with the pressures of being in the public eye, especially when you're still struggling with anxiety.

Fabian: Stays a Swashbuckler rogue throughout the story, but becomes a Fiend/Pact of the Blade warlock in Sophomore Year after he meets Bill in Hell. His arc in JY is about how he's struggling to balance wanting to make his own name for himself while still showing his father that he's beginning to appreciate what he did for him, and his warlock pact and powers reflect that---his spells are more unpredictable if he's feeling in conflict with Bill, and they're easier to manage when Fabian thinks that he's doing something that'll make Bill proud... and yeah, he definitely feels some self-esteem issues when his spells get better the more he acts like a Seacaster. I always love it when a warlock's patron is their estranged parent.

Gorgug: Starts out as an Eldritch Knight fighter in Freshman Year, switches up to be a Samurai fighter in Sophomore Year after he reconnects with his birth parents and stops letting his fear of not being good enough get in the way of what he does, and multiclasses into a College of Valor bard in the middle of Sophomore Year with Adaine's help. His JY arc was harder to figure out, since the canon one is so specific to him being a Barbarian/Artificer, but I decided that it's still about him learning how to be his own kind of adventurer and combining the skills that come from his biological and adoptive parents, just in a different light. No longer just a protector, now something that's freer and wilder and more him. (Also, I just love the idea of him having enchanted drumsticks that can turn into swords. And him fighting with a magic drumset that he can summon at will. Fighter bards are so cool.)

Kristen: Starts out as a Zealot barbarian in Freshman Year, switches up to Wild Magic barbarian after trying out Yes!/? and realizing that it doesn't work for her (almost rejecting religion entirely), and multiclasses into a paladin once she makes the decision to have Cassandra as her deity---specifically, an Oath of Redemption paladin. Her arc in JY is not only learning how to properly deal with a god that works for her while balancing her own mental health struggles (ADHD queen, we stan), but also about balancing her own rage and deciding to lean more into a pacifist stance of reaching out and finding comfort in the unknown and unpredictable... which is difficult to do, seeing as she's Porter's student and he's in charge of her MCAT, and he wants her to be an angry Zealot instead of what she's got going on.

Fig: Starts out as a Trickster Domain cleric in Freshman Year, multiclasses into an Alchemist artificer in Sophomore Year after becoming close with Ayda and realizing that she likes experimentation and learning way more about how truly weird and wonderful magic is, and switches to a Light Domain cleric in Junior Year. She still gets the Gilear curse, though it's her Blesses that have a backlash and not Bardics, and I think she decides in part to worship Ankarna because, well, as an Archdevil, she's a peer of Asmodeus now, and the time in her life when she really needed them has passed. They're cool with it, though.

[officermaddie23]

@mellowwolflady Grand Oracle Azadalian of Crescent Reach says that because of his close friendship with Demonitius Sly`Tor he supports the flock in their efforts to take down William Afton once and for all here is a quote from his speech. He also sends the blessing of his god Lord Mithanal Marr the god of valor to the flock

"As I have heard that 5 brave kids escaped from their tormentors I support their cause. May the strength of Lord Mithanal Marr be with them" Grand Oracle Azadalian