#oh shiiiit

[coldbug]

hey wait…. i do pottery… i can literally make myself custom keposha beads for bracelets…. waiiiiit a minute

[blackjackkent]

So, battle against Zara is definitely not difficult on easy (I'm actually going to go ahead and kick back up to medium after this fight until I get stuck on something again). It mostly involved her hanging out in her blood pool and summoning a bunch of Venatori adds (who may or may not have also been also hanging out in the pool?) to help her.

I more or less tried to keep Helena out of the blood, but Lucanis had no such qualms and went charging straight in at Zara.

Didn't take long to beat her down, and once we did... her tune changed dramatically.

"So serious, Lucanis..." she wheezes, her blood-caked hands leaving smears on the column as she tries to steady herself against it. "Why don't we talk?" She makes a weak attempt at an ingratiating smile. "I can tell you much about Venatori... and our pet Crows."

"No..." hisses Spite inside Lucanis's head. "I want. Her heart. Quivering. On our knife."

Zara sneers. "You want to know who betrayed you, don't you? Who sent you to the Ossuary?"

"Talk." Lucanis's voice rasps painfully.

In spite of her wounds, Zara laughs. "I knew you were--"

A lithe, dark form drops from the room's rafters and lands lightly on the stone floor.

Illario straightens up, a dagger from his belt clutched in one hand.

Lucanis's head snaps around. "Illario!" he cries.

Illarios's lips purse tightly. "I told you. This is Crow business," he says coldly.

Then he turns to face Zara.

"Amatu--" she starts to say.

And Illario sinks his dagger into her chest.

(A/N: Yo whaaaaaaat.)

Everything suddenly happens at once. Light flares around Lucanis's whole body, the magenta energy of Spite within his body. His eyes glow with it, and the demon screams. "NO. MINE!"

He screams, and Spite's wings burst outward from his body, knocking Illario and Helena both off their feet. Helena's head smacks smartly against the stone floor and she lies there dazed for a moment, dimly aware that Lucanis (or his body at least) has surged forward to pin Illario to the ground, his own dagger lifted to strike.

Illario barely manages to get his hands up to push the blade back, and for a moment the two of them are locked together, neither one able to gain the upper hand. Lucanis's head twists and he gasps out to Helena, his voice his own for a moment--

"Get... Illario... out..."

"What?" Helena mumbles, staggering unsteadily to her feet. "No--"

"Rook, I can't--" Lucanis screams in agony as he struggles against himself.

And then Illario clutches at something on his chest with one hand. "That's enough!" he barks.

Another sudden burst of energy knocks Lucanis back and onto his rear. His eyes clear, the wings fading, and for a moment silence falls except for the two men gasping raggedly for breath.

Helena, still a little dizzy from her impact with the floor, watches them both warily.

Slowly, Illlario clambers to his feet, and reaches out the palm of one hand towards Lucanis.

"Relent..." he hisses.

Lucanis, on the floor, shudders and says nothing. His eyes are wide and staring past Illario's shoulder.

"What did you do to him?" Helena asks, slowly steadying herself, easing her hand from her own dagger on her hip.

"Nothing," Illario snarls in her direction, backpedaling a few steps. "I don't know what happened any better than you."

Helena frowns slowly. He's lying - or at least she's almost certain he is. And he's a very good liar, one of the best she's ever seen, but she knows what she saw. He did something to knock Lucanis back, to silence Spite.

And she knows what she heard, too. In the moment before Illario's dagger found her heart, Zara was starting to say the word amatus. She doesn't know if Lucanis knows the word - but Helena does. It's a Tevene word.

And it means lover.

Illario doesn't give her time to argue, though. He turns at once, stalking away into the shadows and disappearing like a wraith. "You have to get him out of here, Rook," he says in a low growl over his shoulder as he goes. "Keep him away - from Treviso, from the Crows. He's a danger to the family."

-----

Back at the Lighthouse, Lucanis disappears into his hideaway in the pantry and stays there for a long time. To Helena's surprise, the first time she tries to check on him, she finds him sleeping, fitful, restless. But when she goes back later, he's up on his feet and comes to meet her.

"You're awake," she says, watching him noncommittally.

"Yes." He looks at the ground next to her boots with a heavy breath out. "I've been trying to figure out what to say to you," he adds quietly after a moment. "And there aren't words enough to apologize." His gaze lifts to hers, and she's surprised to see a trace of fear in it. "It's never been that bad before."

Helena sighs. She'd like to be able to give him a sympathetic pep talk, but the truth is - seeing him like that was distinctly worrying. They're supposed to be working towards more stability, not less. "The way you're dealing with Spite," she says flatly. "It's not working."

"I know," he says quietly. A pause. "We need to talk about Illario."

Helena shrugs. "He wants you to stay away from the Crows. He... thinks you're a danger to your family."

(A/N: Why why WHY can I not comment on the amatus thing????)

"He's not wrong," Lucanis says bitterly. "If I cannot stay in control..." He trails off, and his throat works as he swallows. "He used blood magic to control Spite."

Helena blinks. That at least answers the question of what Illario did, more or less. But it doesn't explain why he lied about it. And also-- "What? How?" she demands. "He's not a mage."

"I don't know," Lucanis mutters. "But something's not right."

Helena hisses a breath out between her teeth. The clues are starting to add up to a picture that she suspects Lucanis is not going to like. "The night you were captured," she says carefully, "did Illario know you were boarding that ship?"

Lucanis doesn't meet her eyes. "Yes."

"And..." Nothing else for it, she has to just say it. "If it turns out he betrayed you?"

A very dark, very bitter anger sparks for a moment in Lucanis's eyes. "Then Maker help him," he growls.

Helena nods slowly. About the response she expected. About the one she'd have in Lucanis's place, probably. The Shadow Dragons have had no shortage of turncoats - and they never last long.

"Rook," Lucanis says abruptly, after the silence has stretched for a while, "you did not need to come with me on this. But I'm grateful that you did."

Helena gives him a slight, cautious smile. "Are we... good? Or better, at least?" She knows Lucanis has blamed her at least in part for what happened at Treviso, and knows too that it likely contributed to his preoccupation at Weisshaupt. And if she's honest, that's been bothering her, too.

He nods slowly. "You and I, yes," he says quietly. "But Spite and I... we cannot go on like this. I have to find another way."

[benbamboozled]

You know how I know Jason Todd isn’t a cop?

Because he kills rapists and abusers.

Everybody knows cops protect their own.

[penandinkprincess]

Hi Pen! Just wanted to say I fucking love your fics and I'm so glad you're a part of the tlou community, ever since I got obsessed wtih this damn game/show I've been reading fics like crazy and I get SO excited every time I see you have updates!! You are the fricken backbone of this community and omg I swear you're one of the best authors out there, I don't know how you do it but everything you write is amazing and you write joel and ellie so beautifully 🥺 you are an absolute gem!!! I just wanted to ask, would you ever consider writing an au where joel is taking care of a baby or little ellie 👀 I'd love to see her have a happy childhood its what my bby deserves 😭

thank you!!

and so to the idea, it's never off the table! i make no promises or guarantees, but i'm now thinking about the idea of joel and tess like. smuggling things from fedra to another source and one of the bags?? starts fucking wiggling?? what in the FUCK?

and joel unzips it and out pops like. a little four year old ellie who snuck into The Fun Forbidden Bags when no one was watching her bc her nursery attendant was part of packing them and lost track of her.

and joel is like "nope. not even gonna look at her. she's going back right now." but it's late and there's no easy way in now so FUCK. fine. FINE. she stays until tomorrow evening when they reverse prison break a fucking tiny child. jesus.

and then the next day there's a MASSIVE thunderstorm and ellie's used to being in the concrete walls of fedra nursery where it's all muted so it's LOUD and it hurts her little ears and she's SCARED. and it's all practical-stop fucking smiling like that tess--to just keep her another night, alright? a crying child in a thunderstorm will get them caught. he doesn't give a FUCK she's going back. no he ISN'T cuddling her. he just doesn't want to explain to the neighbors why they hear a child crying in the childless apartment (and he doesn't feel ANYTHING about a tiny hand fisted in his shirt or a little head against his shoulder or the feel of a bitty body curled up against him so trustingly) (he feels nOTHING)

but then there's a firefly bombing and fedra is out in full force and the FUCK are they going to do if they get caught with a small fedra orphan in hand? that's a fucking hanging offense. fine. FINE. she gets a weekend so it'll settle down.

then FINALLY comes the day they can take her back. and he doesn't care AT ALL. this was ALWAYS the plan.

and then they get there and elie sees a fedra guard she's scared of and whimpers and turns her lil face in against joel's throat and is like "that's a bad man"

and joel DOESN'T CARE ALRIGHT. he just forgot something at home that's ALL. they'll just do this another night. (meanwhile tess is like. actively looking into how forge a birth certificate bc She Knows)

and he gives it another shot. she's going back. she's going BACK.

and he turns her over and ignores the way she cries and holds onto him and how he has to peel tiny fingers off of him (and grits his teeth against the much less gentle hands that help him do it). but then the minder does something like slap her or shake her for getting them in trouble and joel just goes NOPE

oh MAN. very calmly walks over, goes "give her here a second," the confused minder does, and then joel hands her to tess, goes "close your eyes for a second, baby," gets tess to cover her lil ears, and then MURKS THE FUCKER WHO DARED HURT HER

AND WHABAM

HE FINALLY STOPS THIS "she's not mine" CHARADE

SHE IS YOURS, MOTHERFUCKER

SHE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE YOURS, FOOL

[midday0nightmares]

hii !! for the yandere prompt , can i request for 4 , 8 , 9 for nomin ? 🥺

here you go, enjoy 💕

✨ tw - violence, kidnapping , death, abuse, language, mature themes✨

m.list

4. “you’re flinching like i hit you already today”

8. “you’re so dramatic. the bleeding should stop soon”

9.  “scream at me one more time and say goodbye to your vocal cords.”

for nomin..

you gathered your legs, your hip joints ache.

your hair is in knots stuck to your tears stains face..

jeno gets up after he had finished on your stomach, you can finally breath after his heavy weight was off of you.

you were naked, bruised, and violated. no dignity left.

you sniffled, and a pathetic hiccup escaped you, you still cried even though you should have gotten used to it.

jeno reached to remove the messy hair from your face, your heart dropped when you saw his hand coming towards your face, you involuntary flinched to protect yourself.. "you’re flinching like i hit you already today" he complained unhappy with your attempt to retract from him and deny him.

he looked at your wet eyes, to your red nose, to your rated lips.. his thumb wiped a stray tear off of your cheek, the same cheek he just marked with his teeth almost ripping a chunk out of it.. what an animal?

he whispered “you’re so dramatic. the bleeding should stop soon” and ruffled your already messed up hair before he walked away leaving you laying on his bed.

you try to get up, you body refusing to cooperate with you, fighting you with all sorts of pains.. you groaned.

your struggling was taking as an invitation to mock you by non other than jaemin, like you weren't humiliated enough already. he sat in the corner of the dark room watching jeno break you again.

"shut up shit face"

"oh oh" he laughed amused, "should I remind you of your place? ah ah jeno please.." he repeats to you your sicking moans, flickering his eyebrows.. he knows he won, he will always win.

"shut up! I said shut the fuck up!" you screamed at him, although you meant it for the tape of the recent memories that was playing itself inside your head.

you kept shouting until you noticed his lack of response, he was looking at you.. no looking into you, his eyes pierced through you, it was eerie, the way his eyes were shinning even though the room was dark.

you decide to shut up yourself and slow whatever is left..

he stands up and puts his hands in his pockets, completely unfazed with the fact that his boner is very clear.. shameless.

“scream at me one more time and say goodbye to your vocal cords.”

[badmiitopiaideas]

cool warriors will occasionally try to do a trick with their sword to impress a teammate. it has a 50/50 chance of success. upon success, the warrior's relationship with the teammate will improve. upon failure, the warrior fumbles the sword in such a catastrophic manner that they instantly one-shot themself.

[fluffomatic]

Sure it is Varras, just look at that cute little button. *lifts his shirt up* You're entire belly wants me to tickle you. How should I begin? Should I scribble my fingers all around and pinch at your ribs? Should I put this electric toothbrush in your navel and let it buzz? Oh, I know! A big o'raspberry is what you like. *takes a breath to go for the raspberry but fakes out at the last second* Of course I won't start until you tell me how adorable you are.

Varras: FUUUUHUHUHUCK! F-Fihihiiine...I-I....*squeaks* I'm ado....adorable.....pl-please just do it alreadyyyy

[fentybucky]

OMG MASOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!