#there it is

[blackjackkent]

Narrator: The device is strange, made of taut flesh and pockmarked metal. It waits for something.

"The zaith'isk," Lae'zel murmurs reverently at Rakha's side. "Vlaakith's purity, distilled. My duty. My right."

Does she sense, as Rakha does, that something is wrong here? Surely she must. But Lae'zel is clever and knows far more of the world than Rakha herself. She must be right, surely... they cannot have come all this way for nothing...

[INVESTIGATION] Examine the device.

Narrator: The device is an ingenious synthesis of illithid anatomy and metal alloys. It hums with psionic energy, hinting at paths into unknown minds and unseen planes.

"Stand aside," Lae'zel insists sharply. "My time has come."

Of course, what else can she do but agree? They came this far. An intuition without any basis is not reason enough to change the plan that has brought them this far...

"Go ahead, Lae'zel," she mutters. "You've earned it."

Lae'zel's back straightens and a relieved smile flashes onto her lips. "Praise Vlaakith," she murmurs. "Let it be done."

She moves with swift, confident steps to climb into the zaith'isk's metal seat. The doctor smiles, watching her.

"Sit, child. Let the zaith'isk end your suffering."

-----

"I don't like this," Wyll mutters next to Rakha. "That woman smiles like a jackal."

"If she removes the parasite," Rakha says curtly, "she may smile as she pleases."

Shadowheart, on Rakha's other side, is watching Lae'zel climb into the mechanism, her eyes narrowed with unreadable intensity. "And if she doesn't? What then?"

"Then I will tear out her throat," Rakha growls, very low.

Shadowheart snorts softly. "Well. Glad to hear we have a plan, at least."

-----

Lae'zel settles herself in the seat of the zaith'isk and peers up warily at its strange, taloned "mouth" as it closes around her.

"You must focus on the parasite at all times," the ghustil instructs. "The zaith'isk will do the rest."

Rakha sees Lae'zel nod, open her mouth as if to ask a question - and then the machine activates with a burst of intense white light like a supernova.

Lae'zel lets out a hoarse shriek and Rakha and the others stagger as agony crashes through them, as if cords of molten iron bind their brains together and have suddenly pulled taut.

Narrator: An unseen blade cleaves your mind in two. Impossible pain sears your bones and body in concert with Lae'zel's.

Narrator: [PERCEPTION] The zaith'isk's psionic forces batter Lae'zel's thoughts. There is no chance she will survive this unscathed.

For a moment the world feels whited out, silent, blinding, and there is nothing but the pain. Rakha staggers, clutches at her temple, trying desperately to ground herself in her body. Dimly she becomes aware of Lae'zel's voice - but the words it speaks are nonsense, a chant without meaning.

"Vlaakith tavki na'zin. Vlaakith tavki na'zin!"

"Yes, child!" the doctor calls in gleeful encouragement, her eyes locked on Lae'zel's form writhing within the machine. "Speak the Tla'ket! Meditate on its verses!"

Narrator: You feel Lae'zel's mind rip and rupture. Is this purification? Is *this* the cure?

Rakha's heart is thundering in her chest, the beast roaring in her skull at the assault of excruciating pain. She can't think, can't focus - there are no words, nothing left to her except the vague, inarticulate understanding that something is terribly wrong. Her mind reaches out where her words cannot, finding Lae'zel's, the connection still tight and strong between them.

[WISDOM] Call on your parasite. Show Lae'zel what she stands to lose.

(A/N: DC30. Literally unpassable without a Nat20. Uh oh. D: )

For a moment their minds connect. For a moment she is inside Lae'zel's thoughts, trying to pull her free - and then a new pain, a blow from Lae'zel herself, lashing outward, knocking Rakha back on her heels as if she's been kicked in the gut.

"OUT OF MY HEAD!" Lae'zel roars.

Rage litters the lingering strands of connection between them. You would deny me in all other things, but would invade in this of all moments? How dare you? HOW DARE YOU!

Rakha flinches, lets out a hoarse breath like a sob as the pain closes around her mind again. There is nothing left to her but confusion and fear and that terrible, terrible light...

Narrator: You share in Lae'zel's agony. Every cell within her bursts into a constellation of fragments, sorted and reassembled. Lae'zel will die if she remains.

"Yes, child!" she hears the doctor call, audibly thrilled by the way this is playing out. "Ch'mar zal'a Vlaakith! Call to your Queen!"

Lae'zel spasms in the machine, her fingers clawing in vague motions at her face. "My Queen, hear me!" she shrieks, full of mad and desperate devotion that masks equally mad and desperate terror.

Clutching his head, Wyll staggers next to Rakha and falls to his knees. "That thing's killing her!" he gasps out hoarsely. "Do something, damn it!"

(A/N: I know I'm the player character, but objectively this is kind of brutally funny. YOU do something, Wyll, if it's that important. XD )

Narrator: Your vision narrows. You sense myriad specters of githyanki past. This is their fate. This is their anguish.

Rakha feels a chill go through her gut. Everything clicks into place at once and for a moment the pain is replaced with a thrill of exultation that comes from beyond her own thoughts, from the beast of the dark urge in her. How many souls have died within this machine? How many minds have been torn asunder in its grip?

[WISDOM] Seek answers within the zaith'isk. What is this vision?

Narrator: Lae'zel's life is laid bare among those that came before. her thoughts are turned to silver thread and relayed to the Astral Sea. The voices of the dead cry out as one. The zaith'isk collects memories from the infected - and executes them. It is not for curing. It's for killing.

(A/N: Last time with Hector I had him in the device instead of Lae'zel. It's actually interesting - from this external perspective, Rakha is given a much more explicit explanation from the narrator of how fucked up this is than Hector received while he was inside it. Which makes a certain amount of sense, I guess.)

It all makes sense now - all the strange behavior of the other gith, the doctor's nonchalant pleasure in Lae'zel's torment, even Rakha's own intuitive fear. In fact only one piece is out of place - Lae'zel's own confidence.

Lae'zel, who Rakha has trusted so deeply as a beacon of knowledge, has been wrong from the very beginning.

The beast keens with pleasure in her head as she feels the killing power of this machine. So many dead, snapped necks and broken minds... let her be the next, let her spinal fluid drip puddles on the floor as the light burns her from the inside out...

For a moment, Rakha feels the beast's rage consume her. She has been misled to come here. It was all a mistake. A trap. She should destroy them, all of them, even Lae'zel caught in the machine's jaws. She should kill and kill and kill until there is nothing and no one left...

But Wyll is at her side, on his knees, broken and battered by the pain flooding them all. With one hand he grips spasmodically at her arm, holding on tightly.

Do something, damn it, he said...

[PERSUASION] "I've seen the truth, Lae'zel..." she rasps out, feeling as if she pushes the words one by one past a wall the beast and the agony have erected together in her mind. "This device doesn't cure. It kills."

Lae'zel's eyes open very wide and Rakha can see every facet of the pain in her face - physical pain, yes, but also betrayal and grief and animal terror. "What?!" she howls. "Tsk'va!" She struggles in the grip of the light around her...

And Rakha feels it, deep in her mind - the stir of the artifact, the guardian's presence flooding up through her and outwards into Lae'zel, gripping her, pulling her free. The light recedes almost imperceptibly, and the noise of the zaith'isk takes on a sudden rattling whine as if some key piece has come loose within it.

As if fired from a cannon, Lae'zel bursts forward out of the seat, staggering out onto the floor in front of the device. And then...

...the zaith'isk erupts.

The explosion knocks Rakha entirely off her feet and onto her back, all the breath blasted from her lungs. For a moment she lays there, stunned and silent. The pain is gone and even the beast has gone silent - but her own rage, the true rage that sits outside the dark urge, is not so easily silenced.

This was a trap. This was all wrong. This has all been wrong, from the very start.

#bjk plays bg3 durge #rakha the dark urge #WELLP #THERE IT IS #this is such an intense scene and i love it

[hibiscera]

i feel like i'm viewing a landmark

#THERE IT IS #comic sillies

[incandescentwarmth]

Clara Bow but its Harry being told by everyone how much he reminds them of his parents and Sirius

#there it is #my taylor post #harry potter #marauders #james potter #lily evans #sirius black #taylor swift #clara bow

[the-travelling-witch]

Psst Holly.. it’s the voice inside ur head give us a little taste of this au <33

i wonder what i could share without sharing all of it, since the world building is very connected in its different aspects…

on an unrelated note, i hope you guys like pokemon as much as i do ^^

#┊✩彡 divine correspondence ♡ #┊✩彡 unsigned letter ♡ #there it is #the major spoiler #if people show excitement for it maybe i’d be more motivated to work on it than i already am #now i only need some time to sit down and properly work on this…

[rollinpinwheel]

@rainbowfireworksprincess || cont. from here

❃ "BUSINESS. VOXTEK STUFF."

It was a little more complicated than that. VoxTek and Loo Loo Land were collaborating and churning out new commercials for the park, and Pinwheel had found itself strolling the streets of the Pride Ring more and more as of late.

Vox kept an awful long leash on him... he just let him out there when break came around. He could fend for himself! And he could get some pent-up emotions out on sinners who just came back to 'life' again after you killed them anyway.

Pinwheel was actually starting to like it here... the chaos was thrilling.

But he didn't think about all that right now. He was distracted by the cat-thing.

❃ "RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—"

Mimicking the weird fucking noise coming out of the cat, the robot holds out its rusty claws towards the creature, the whole situation reminiscent of somebody coaxing an animal.

He finally snatches the thing from Charlie's arms, holding it up as they both make a racket together.

#charged up and ready [ ic ] #rainbowfireworksprincess #arts & crafts [ my art ] #there it is #we've come full circle #cat alastor

[lookslikethatsallthetimewehave]

WWhat's Amelia's last name?

Earhart.

They never refer to her last name in the game. But her initials are on her plane.

#there it is #ask #poptropica #poptropica amelia #amelia earhart #monkey wrench island #home island #poptropica analysis #poptropica creators blog

[a-little-home-in-hauoli]

...

There's. A number of accounts pertaiming to...him floating around here...

I know I should just keep to myself- nothing good comes from messing with a beedrill's nest, is what I'd say-

But why can't I just get what happened out of my head?

#there it is #the cain instinct #francis posts #rotumblr #rotomblr #pokeblr #pokeblogging #pokemon irl

[industrations]

Ice cream date 🤍

#there it is #the ice cream date #no mint chocolate in sight #but know #before this #sirius was having TWO scoops of mint choco #enjoying them so well #fem wolfstar #wolfstar #sirius black #remus lupin #art tag

[sweetestofbelles]

and now we wait for the sugar crash.

Snooooooooooore. . .

#there it is #ic #askbox #drakowulf36579

[hugheses]

Devils Provide Medical Update on Jack Hughes | STATEMENT

The New Jersey Devils provided the following medical update on center Jack Hughes.

In recent conversations with Jack, his family and representatives, the Devils’ athlete care staff, and Devils’ Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow, it was determined that Jack should be held out of game action for the rest of this season and proceed with shoulder surgery.

He will undergo the surgery on April 10, which will be performed by Dr. Peter Millett in Vail, Colorado.

Hughes is expected to make a full recovery to be available for 2024 New Jersey Devils Training Camp.

#there it is #jack hughes #news

[caycaydreams1skytte]

Solar eclipse at school, sorry I have a weird voice

#McKinney Texas #solar eclipse #sun and moon #Collin college #there it is

[miraclemaya]

BLAMO

#there it is #could not for the life of me think of a better name #i am bad at those

[softshuji]

Just something going on at a unit, sending any available people over there now.

Anyway I'm ready now

-Izana

Something going on? *Frowns* well is everyone ok? Haru, hanma, all the others? What is it exactly?

#hals character anons #aha!!!! #there it is #but isn't that like #something elde is going on too??????

[trickstercaptain]

@shadowcovcn sent a meme: [ lingering ] bootstrap ᐅ [ lingering ] a long, slow kiss filled with emotion and desire

       “ That was absolutely, unequivocably not what happened. ” And yet, despite the protest, Jack was laughing as he threw his coat over his chair and meandered over to the pantry in the corner of the room. He wasn't sure what he was looking for — another bottle so that he could pop the cork and the two of them could keep going, maybe? Jack didn't want Bill to leave, not yet, not after his attempts to negotiate himself some female company tonight had ended in characteristically dire fashion and he'd been forced to return to the Pearl instead of waking up bleary-eyed but warm next to someone else the following morning. He whirled around with said drink in his hands, cocking a conspiratorial brow at his ship's carpenter where he was stood in the archway. Bill was better conversation and overall company, anyway.

       But if he'd looked closer, he might have noticed something else reflected in his friend's eyes tonight. Something that had been burning for some time. Jack put the bottle down on the side, looking for cups to pour the liquid into, and he felt Bill's presence beside him. It took only a fraction of a second, when their eyes finally met, for him to duck his head and take his chance.

       The kiss started slow, tentative, uncertain — and while Jack was initially frozen in place as their lips met, the feeling of it wasn't necessary unwelcome. It was pleasant enough for him to lean in and let himself be kissed, letting whatever felt pent up and restrained in his companion to wash over him, reaching out to grasp hold of his shoulder, his shirt sleeve, keeping him close. Jack chose not to break the kiss himself, but to let Bill pull away when he was ready. “ How much have you had to drink? ” If he sounded a little surprised — and bemused — then that was because he was. Jack searched his companion's gaze a little more thoroughly. “ William. ” A little sterner, trying to draw the man's attention. “ You're my friend. Forgive me if I'm reticent to be your home-wrecker. ”

#shadowcovcn #shadowcovcn: bootstrap bill turner #&. and you want to turn pirate yourself. is that it? ( answered. ) #there it is #jack the homewrecker lmaooo