#Fic: Break the Cycle

[coris-horror-corner]

Break the Cycle: Chapter Five

-------------------------

Tori Eliades had always known that her destiny was something no child would ever willingly saddle themselves with. It was her curse and her blessing, to know things and yet know nothing at all.

To her aunt and uncle, though, her abilities were a stain on their reputation- no self respecting men and women of the church would ever be caught dead with a witch in their household- but Mr and Mrs. Davidson craved one thing more than they craved acceptance from their peers- they craved power. Power that Tori could provide for them, or so they thought. Most of the visions she told them about were made up, fabricated stories to placate them and keep them from investigating further.

That had been why she was originally hesitant to alert Michael to her blessings, she trusted Michael, of course she did! But if he let it slip to someone else, and then that person let it slip, and so on and so forth, it could mean disaster.

“Get up Astoria! Mr. Afton's invited you over to their house for dinner and I won't have you showing up late!” screeched her aunt from through the door. Tori gave a low groan as she dropped down off the bed, her feet hitting the wooden floor with a soft thud.

“I'll be out in a moment auntie!” She called through the door, trudging over to her closet and pulling out a light blue dress, a black jacket, and some socks and black boots.

“You can take the bus, your uncle and I have important business to attend to,” her aunt said bitterly when Tori left her room. She just rolled her eyes and went out to sit by the bus stop. The clouds were heavy, she figured it was probably going to rain at some point, something bad. When the bus finally popped up Tori trudged on, flashing her bus pass to the driver and finding herself a seat near the windows.

Michael was sitting out on the stairs when Tori walked up to the house, she gave him a little wave and hopped up the stairs, following him inside.

“We can't go to the park today since the weather's gonna be acting all weird,” Michael said, annoyed.

“That’s ok! I can hang out here with you too,” Tori said, smiling.

“Do you wanna just hang out in my room or something?” Michael said as he made his way toward the stairs.

“That would be nice,” Tori said, grabbing onto his hand and following him up. Michael shut the door behind the two of them when they got to his room and Tori found herself situated on the edge of the bed, eyeing the collection of comic books on the nearby bookshelf, most of which seemed to have pages torn out of them.

“Have you had any new- y'know-” Michael asked, gesturing vaguely. Tori moved to lay flat on her back and looked over at him, shaking her head.

“You figure anything else out about that freaky bear?” She said, picking up the nearby stuffed animal and holding it aloft in one hand.

“Just that I've been having some really freaky dreams since I got it,” Michael huffed.

“Does it still talk?”

“Yeah- it's really freaky- it responds like an actual person sometimes,”

“Do you think it can see us?” Tori asked, suddenly tense.

“I- I don't know- I don't think so or else whoever on the other end probably would've asked about you already after the park-” Michael said, though he didn't sound nearly as confident in the answer as Tori would've liked.

“Yeah- yeah you're probably right. . .” Though there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head, she didn't want to freak him out, so she kept it quiet. “So what's up with all those comic books? It looks like you tore them all up,” Tori said, pointing over to the bookshelf.

“Oh- uh- yeah, Uncle Henry gets them for me, sometimes I rip them up when I'm angry,” Michael muttered.

“Better than most of the people I know, my aunt and uncle just yell a whole bunch and then get more mad when I tell them that doesn't solve anything,” Michael let out a short laugh.

“Sounds like dad and Miss Rose, I hear them yelling at each other at night a lot, after they think we're all asleep,” Tori tilted her head slightly, a few more locks of hair falling over the side of the bed.

“That must be hard to deal with,” she muttered.

“It's ok I guess- dad fought with mom a lot when she was alive too- I think maybe that's just how he talks to people,” Michael said, moving to sit nearby her. There was silence for a moment before he started quietly humming to himself, picking up the loose strands of her hair and shifting them around.

“Your hair smells like strawberries by the way,” he said quietly, Tori smiled.

“It's the new shampoo I've started using, supposed to bring out my curls more,” she replied.

“Oh- I bet they'll look pretty,” Tori felt a little bit of heat creep its way up onto her face, though she wasn't quite sure why.

“Thanks-” she murmured.

The two of them lay there on that bed, the only noise for a while coming from the wind picking up outside, until finally they were called in for dinner.

“I wanted to do something special for tonight since we have a guest,” said Mrs. Afton as she placed the side dish out on the table before taking a seat next to the high chair Evan sat in. Tori took a look at everything that sat out before her, there had to have been at least five things per food group on the whole table- she wasn't even sure a family as big as the Afton's could've eaten it all before it expired.

Well- if they didn't have Michael at least- he'd probably snack on tree bark if he got bored enough.

“Thank you Mrs. Afton- you really didn't have to do all this for me-” Tori said, Mrs. Afton just smiled and brushed her off “oh it's nothing really dear, I like making big meals! It's practically tradition on my side of the family,” she said, letting out a laugh. Tori thanked her again before starting to fill up her own plate.

It was as she was about halfway through her third helping that she was struck with a splitting headache, she excused herself from the table and rushed into the bathroom near Michael's room, turning on the faucet and plugging the drain so she could watch the water. Everything went hazy, and then she was in a forest again. It was always forests with these visions- forests and animals.

There was a white fox, one with nine tails like the kitsune fox spirits in Asian myth. The fox seemed content with something, sniffing around at the ground, only for a red fox to bound up to it, dropping its forelegs as if inviting the white fox to play. Tori watched as the two of them bounded off further into the woods- and then she watched as the white fox fell when its leg was caught in a small bear trap- something that might have been more suited for hunting rabbits. . .

When Tori snapped out of her vision she heard footsteps approaching the bathroom. She checked to make sure the door was still closed and locked, and then pressed her ear to the wall.

“What do you mean he quit! He was supposed to be finishing up the new suits so we could open up the new locations!” William was talking on the phone with someone- and he sounded furious.

“This could set us back years! Did he tell you why?” There was a long silence, and then something that sounded like a fist making contact with a wall.

“Of course, of course I'm sorry that David's dead Henry! But that was months ago! He's had plenty of time for final arrangements and getting our projects done! We've given him far too many extensions at this point. Have Benson send someone out to get our stuff back. We may have to fall back on those toy designs of yours if we can't get those prototypes out soon. God- this could set us back years!” There was another pause, some mumbling of words Tori was pretty sure she wasn't allowed to say- and when she finally thought she heard William leave whatever room he was in, she opened the bathroom door.

Only to find him barely a few steps from his office.

“Oh- I didn't realize you were still in there Astoria- or- do you still prefer Tori? I know that's what Michael always calls you at least,” William cleared his throat and adjusted the tie he was wearing, purple, like most of his clothes.

“Tori- Tori's fine- thanks,” she replied awkwardly.

“Listen- Tori- I'm sorry about anything you might have heard me say over the phone- just a little business spat, I'm sure you and Michael will learn all about them when he inherits the company, I just- don't want you to think low of me alright?” There was a strange look behind the cold gray eyes Tori saw looking down at her, that nagging feeling in the back of her head making a sudden resurgence.

“N-no of course not Mr. Afton- I- I barely heard anything-” she responded, trying to ignore the implication of her being involved with Michael inheriting the company somehow.

William crouched down so that he was at eye level with her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Let's keep this between us ok? I wouldn't want the rest of the family to worry, and I know you care very deeply about Michael, I doubt you'd want to hurt him either, yes?” Tori nodded, then watched as he stood up. Just then there was a lightning flash and a loud bang, almost on instinct Tori found herself grabbing onto William's pant leg. His arm found its way onto her shoulder again.

“I think perhaps it's best we give your aunt and uncle a house call and let them know you'll be spending the night then hm? Michael should have some spare pajamas in his room, you can borrow the house phone to call if you'd like,” he said calmly

“Th-thank you- Mr. Afton-” Tori said quietly.

She absolutely despised thunderstorms.

She made her way to the house phone in the kitchen and dialed her family's number.

“You've reached the Davidson residence, home of Hurricane's youngest psychic wonder, how can I help you?” Her aunt's voice responded back.

“Uhm- hi auntie- I- I wanted to let you know that I won't be making it back home tonight since it's uh- storming- and all- Mr. Afton said it was ok for me to spend the night- so I’ll be back when the weather clears up-” Tori said quietly.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Astoria? You can't walk back home in some rain? Find a bus stop? This weather could last for the whole weekend! Do you know how much business we could be losing out on with you off playing hooky with a boy!” Tori bit her lip to suppress the urge to flinch.

“I'm sorry auntie it doesn't look like it's safe outside and I-”

“No! You'll be finding your way home one way or another, I'm not canceling your appointments and losing on good valuable customers because you're afraid of little water you spoiled little piece of sh-” the line cut off before her aunt could finish berating her, Tori looked up to see William placing the phone back on its station.

“Well, she sounds like a lovely woman doesn't she?” he said, rather looking like there was a pungent taste of bile in his mouth.

“Well it's either deal with her or go back to Greece and never see my friends again. . .” Tori murmured, shuffling her feet. William scowled slightly.

“Is the psychic she seems to be running a fraud scheme off of you, my dear?” William said, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

“It's uh- yeah- she- she and my uncle make me give out these pretend fortunes- it makes them a lot of money,” Tori said.

“And this is against your will I assume?” William continued, vaguely gesturing for her to keep talking.

“I- yeah- my- my family’s very devoted to our household gods- my aunt and uncle mock them a lot- every time I give out one of those phony prophecies it feels like I'm betraying my faith- I guess-” she continued. She really didn't know why she was telling him all this- he didn't need to know anything about her.

“I see. . . Well, you just keep your head up, you're a very strong-willed young lady, I can tell, you can stay here for as long as you like, and we'll see about those nasty relatives of yours,” again, she was a little off put by the phrasing of that last sentence, but she was too tired from shaking over the thunder to question it- so after the phone call she headed up to Michael's room and got some of his spare pj's.

“Hopefully you won't have nightmares, I'm sorry if you do, though,” Michael said as they tucked in for the night.

Tori gave an incredibly skeptical glance to the stuffed bear perched on top of the shelf in Michael's open closet.

And for a moment, she could swear that the bear was staring back.

[mysterycitrus]

tim drake college fic — back in action

[shamrockqueen]

Omega retreat chapter 11

Pairing : Alpha Bucky x Omega reader

Warnings : R18, breaking boundaries, references to sex, Bucky being bad, breaking Bucky

Word count : 1716

First chapter : Previous chapter

Bucky masterlist

Summary: As an unmarked and lonely omega you find a flyer for a service called The Omega Retreat.

You are paired with a compatible alpha to spend your heat or just a week at a luxurious cabin at a forest resort. Amenities and Utilities included. Enjoy the beautiful scenery, fresh air, as well as the company of an alpha of your choosing. What could possibly go wrong?

This pairing felt so right. It was a gut feeling that Bucky had, taking root, growing quickly, and overtaking any of the few doubts that had buzzed around like annoying little gnats. Now his certainty was thick and lush, like intruding ivy, digging into grout to burrow its little rootlets further into his frontal lobe, and throwing him further and further in love with you.

He waited, watching you nearly drift to sleep and happily disrupting your onset of slumber with a small tug of his hard knot until it began to go down and he could reluctantly pull free.

A small caress to your cheek, the brush of his dry knuckle along your damp skin as he trailed it down your neck. For now he’d won, successfully wracking your body through a joint-bending orgasm and staving off a whirlwind of heat.

His fingers trailed down the warm plains of your bare body, reaching for your shaking hands before locking them in his grasp to pull you from your perch on the small dining table.

You cling to his chest, grappling at the loose buttons of his flannel from where you tried to claw it from his body. You nearly missed a soft purr that rumbled from his hard chest as you cuddled against his neck as he two-stepped you towards the soft bed in the adjoining room. There wasn’t any other place more comfortable for you to crawl onto except to be blanketed by him.

It’s another pang against his weakened defenses, but even as his arms tightened around your smaller body and he groaned against your hair, he fought again to remain in control. You feel his shoulders stiffen but remain oblivious to the way his face seemed to darken. That edging of his body lingered, leaving his back tense as he pulled you from the table. You brush it off as his muscles flex as he lifts you up and carries you away to the bed to curl you into the blankets.

You reach out to grab at him and pull him to the bed with you, but he needs to attend to something first. He smiled down at your deepening pout, pulling at your wet lips, humming back dirty sentiment.

“Not afraid of fucking raw then? I wouldn’t have expected something like that from such a shy omega.”

He pinched at your reddened cheek, only to be met with a missed bite towards his retreating digits. It was a hungry fire he hadn’t expected to see but was very excited to find.

When your flames seemed to dim to a soft glow, you smiled up at him and spoke sweetly.

“We don’t need to worry about that, Alpha.”

Things can be said in the heat of the moment, something rumbling from a baser instinct. You’d spoken of protection over the phone, but you had a feeling it would fall by the wasteside. The chalky little contraceptive in your belly would serve to suit that purpose instead.

Bucky’s eyebrows were quirked before he asked, “Oh, why’s that?”

“I made sure to take the pill.” You said, lazily lowering your head to his shoulder as you began to drift.

Like a star, you burned furious and bright, only to fizzle and cool against your new lover’s body. Your brief moment of clarity would be his absolute undoing.

"Such-a smart girl, thinkin ahead like that.” You missed the subtle grinding of his back teeth as he whispered against your hair.

“Mm, thank you, Alpha.” You purred back, oblivious and happy.

He should have known better that this instant connection would have to be dragged along more slowly than he’d hoped. He’d lost his patience, and you’d made him believe that maybe you hadn’t had any either.

Everything had been allowed to move so quickly, nearly break-neck speed, and Bucky was more than willing to welcome it. Maybe too willing. Clearly there was more to you than he had originally learned, and your agenda quite possibly didn’t match his own.

His aggression is lidded, letting the steam fill every chamber as he digests your last few words. He tries to think, but each thought is racing around his head with a pulse of pain. Until he has one single thought that speaks aloud above all others.

He leaned in, standing over you to give you a soft, demanding kiss, wet lips locking as his tongue tapped your teeth before he pulled away and padded off towards the bathroom. Your hands grappled with him at first to keep him by your side, only relenting when he gave you a few reassuring words.

“Just a minute, Omega. I’ll be right back, ok?”

You nodded lazily before letting your head fall back on the soft pillows.

He’s shaking by the time he pushes past the threshold of the small bathroom, barely maintaining his much-needed restraint. Surely it was only the alpha that rattled its chains within him that was angry at this news. Surely, his true self would let you dance with him at your own pace instead of demanding submission.

He prided himself on being a loving man, an understanding man, a respectful man. He was still in control, not the Alpha inside.

He’d closed his eyes so as to center himself, his face pulling into a pinched expression. He let his surroundings fade in as he slowly cracked his eyes open, taking in the dim light of the bathroom before his narrowed pupils landed on a small floral bag perched on the granite sink.

It was the only piece of luggage to have been carried this far into the cabin. A little hygiene bag that was, no doubt, filled with toiletries, makeup,...and medication.

It held your betrayal, your means of evading him. He glared down at the insignificant tote as if it had the capacity to mock him.

The back and forth with these young omegas was a game Bucky used to play willingly, but times have changed. He wasn’t a young man anymore, and some more drastic measures may have to be made so he could finally settle down. He wanted to be a good man to such a wonderful woman like you, but he was done with being disappointed.

He couldn’t risk letting you slip through his fingers, and he wouldn’t let a pill the size of his pinky tip stand in his way.

He hooked his nail onto one of the zippers, pulling it open just a slit to be easily widened by his fingers. He carefully invaded your unsuspecting border as you slept, slipping his hand into the bag while pushing the sides further open for him to see into deep black fabric.

He felt the guilt and the regret each second he spent to find your source of power against him, his stomach tightening when he had them between his fingers.

His knees tried to lock, keeping him from moving away from the bag as he stared at the little white pills.

He could ask himself as to how he fought not to bite her, while at the same time he isn’t able to defeat this. His inner alpha had become a familiar opponent. Denying himself the things he’d desired the most was far too commonplace, and those would be the straw that broke his back. Your subtle betrayal.

Maybe if he kept you satiated, acting as a riptide barely keeping you afloat long enough for a breath of air, you wouldn’t notice your contraception was missing.

You’d be none the wiser if anything took, blissfully unaware of the seeds he may have planted.

The higher pitch of your needy whine cracked through his brain fog. The sound of you calling him back to bed, no doubt sweaty and ravenous like you had been before. It gave his conscious self time to peak through, only for his inner monster to squeeze past it towards your sweet siren call.

“Just a minute." He growled back, his teeth clacking together tightly as he gripped the sink with one hand, and that little silvery pack crinkled in the other.

He tore his hand from the sink and grabbed at the lid to the latrine before flipping it up with a clatter of porcelain.

His thumb pressed against the little white menace before it popped out of the foil and fell to the still water below. He stared at the empty bubble, feeling a better part of himself tear away and fade into obscurity as he chose to push another pill out. Then another, and another, 5, 6, 7, 8, until all the little pills were left floating precariously in the water.

He looked down at an irreparable offense as the little white souls seemed to cling to one another before their sterile lagoon began to swirl and swish, sucking them down into its whirlpool with a sputter as the commode was flushed.

Bucky hadn’t seen his arm move towards the trigger; he hadn’t noticed that he’d pushed the handle down until all your birth control was sucked away, out of sight but no further out of his mind. He’d successfully knocked away a barrier he’d found between you, feeling all the more lowly for having done so. Would you forgive him if you knew what he’d done only a second ago?

After the short amount of time you spent getting to know one another, moving quickly in terms of relationship wants, needs, and desires. Yet, he still held secrets, and he was sure you did as well. There would always be more to learn, and he wanted every morsel of your mind and soul now.

You made him so greedy that even this small amount of yourself he was denied made him throw this awful fit.

Once he’d left the bathroom, foil packet crumpled in his fist, he’d tried to justify his previous actions to himself. He did his best to hide the evidence under some food garbage in the kitchen, all while you blindly scented the air in search of him.

Your whimper calling for him was like a hard hammer coming down to crack his heart, and as he returned to your embrace in the twisted blankets, he had to bury his face against your sweaty skin to better busy his mind.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, tell me what you think. I’m trying to get my mojo back after what feels like forever since I last posted anything. I’m trying to find time to write…key word trying😅

Chapter 12

Tags : @meowmeowyoongles @black-cat-2 @cjand10 @bethyruth @scott-loki-barnes @wintrsoldrluvr @buckysdoll85 @lendeluxe @meowmeowyoongles @magnoliamermaid @heletsmelovehim @mcira @buckysbaby-doll @serendipitouslife90 @unicornicopia1 @animegirlgeeky @matchat3a @darkdemeter @iwudbutnah @winterslove1917 @daddytonysgirl17 @jvanilly @kandis-mom @onyxwolf @thebuckybarnesvault @nicestgirlonline @jbuckybarnesfan @val-writesstuff @ozwriterchick @mandab44 @cringeycookies @ragin-cajun-fangirl @bohemianrhapsody86 @lillianacristina @cadencejames87 @teambarnes72 @ashychangeling @samuelkwinchester @nightofthesea @blackbirdwitch22 @mizunogamii @snapcapquartet @openup-yourmind @ashychangeling @krissydclayton93 @rivernell @futuristiczipperpeachcash @toomanyfandomsshreya @spn-obession

Tags added in comments (50 is the cap) : @whumptastic-world

[yardsards]

there's such an interesting extra layer to amity and her relationships (especially w luz) that gets revealed when you learn that not only is she an abuse victim herself, but she is also the child of an abusive marriage

like not only was she personally abused/neglected and taught that she doesn't deserve to have her boundaries respected and won't get positive attention unless maybe she "earns it" by being useful and overachieving, but also her main example of a romantic partnership involved one partner exploiting the other and treating him as an expendable tool

in all of her relationships (platonic, romantic, familial), amity learns to give and receive kindness, learns to respect and set boundaries, learns that the value of herself and others aren't dictated by achievements or usefulness. she's breaking the toxic patterns that her parents taught her via their treatment of her.

but with her romantic relationship with luz, not only is she learning all of the above, but she's also breaking the toxic patterns of a romantic relationship that she would have learned from watching her parents.

when she shows kindness to luz, loves luz wholeheartedly even when she makes mistakes or causes problems, respects luz's privacy and boundaries, she is treating her girlfriend in a way that opposes the way her mother treated her own husband.

when she learns that she doesn't need to be useful or else risk abandonment/punishment, she's learning that she shouldn't accept or expect to be treated by her girlfriend the same way that her father was treated by his own wife.

i just. i love stories about characters breaking cycles. and i love luz and amity's relationship so much. it's very much not the kind of relationship i'm invested in the same way i am invested in with ships between adults. but rather like, it's a relationship between these two young people who are learning to healthily navigate this kind of relationship for the first time in their lives and it's really sweet.

[irondadfics]

hi!! im looking for fics that are focused/related to tonys trauma with howard and how he wants to break the cycle. thank you sm for all you guys do!!!! my fav account on here ❤️

Do these fit for what you are looking for?

5 Times Tony was Nothing like Howard and 1 Time he was Exactly like Maria by Baymax_13

"Tony swore to himself that if he ever had the privilege of being a father, he would be nothing like his own dad. He would try to embody his mother instead, her warmth, her kindness, her love." Or Tony Stark is an incredible father, and his secret is essentially do the exact opposite of whatever Howard would have done.

Howard Stark and The Grandson by inkinmyheartandonthepage

Peter drops by the Tower and walks in on some interesting guests.  *  “Anthony,” Maria’s voice broke up the moment. Tony shifted to stand beside Peter, throwing an arm around his shoulders and dragging him close. Maria looked curious as she gazed at Peter. “Who is this?”  “Mum, my apologies. Seems I forgot to tell you that Peter would be dropping by this afternoon,” Tony said, squeezing Peter’s shoulder.

The Sweet and the Poison by Emily_F6

Tony tries to break the cycle of shame, nearly (accidentally) killing Peter in the process.

Stars, Hide Your Fires by YellowDistress

Starks didn't create beautiful things. They created weapons that destroyed beautiful things. That was the way it had always been. But when the four-year-old's wide eyes blinked at him, Tony was struck with the sudden realization that maybe that had been a lie.

A Foreign Feeling by imgoingtocrash & savvysass

Faced with impending fatherhood, Tony Stark has multiple emotional crises, realizes he needs to make some life changes, gets to know the mother of his child better, bonds with his makeshift family, and finds unconditional love in his son.

Happy Hogan Never Forgets A Face by Jen27ny

Happy Hogan never forgets a face. And suddenly he remembered where he knew that face from. The blood in his veins turned cold and for a second his lungs forgot they need oxygen to function. He counted back the years, hoping it would calm his racing heart. Hoping it wouldn’t match. But it did.

this is my kid by iron_spider

Pepper sighs heavily but doesn’t look away from him. “There is a woman on line one, her name is Mary Fitzpatrick—” Tony feels like someone breaks an ice cold egg on the top of his head. Frozen yolk spearing down the back of his neck.  “—and she says she had your baby, Tony. Two days ago, she’s still in the hospital. She’s one hundred percent sure it’s yours.” Tony stares at her.  Yeah, he’s had this happen before. It’s never panned out, always been a cash grab, and if he does have any biological kids out there, the mothers haven’t contacted him. All the ones that tried their hands were bullshitting. But he remembers Mary Fitzpatrick.  And without picking up the call, without taking a test, without seeing the baby—he knows.

[rated-r-for-grantaire]

Love love love how in Midnight (a scene that comes right after the 11 o'clock number, btw, but that's a post for a different time), Pearl/Gelsey describes Rose as her sister, lover, child, and best friend. And never once as anything negative. Rose and Pearl ruined each other across several different timelines, and it's implied that they'll continue to do so, but Pearl still loves Rose. She never says "you're my enemy" or anything along those lines. She only uses positive terms to describe the relationship.

They never hated each other. Even when they did.

[mari-thesapphic-lady]

Not me seeing agathario fandom start making fanfics in ao3 where Rio gets trapped in the Hex with Agatha and thinking innocently: "Wow, it would be very, very extremely psychologically painful and so fucking full of cuteness if Wanda's spellwork gave them, idk, like, maybe, DAUGHTERS, wouldn't be?!"

[pencilofawesomeness]

“I made her feel powerless, I knocked her down and— and she still makes me feel scared.” —Satoru, So Find One And Seize It, Chapter 5

So a consequence of rereading Chapters 4 and 5 of SFOASI from The Odyssey series by the utterly incredible HotCocoaaa ( @biscaanii ) and then listening to Hawk in the Night by Maddie Buckley soon afterward is getting immediate brainrot for the most depressingly brutal piece I could start 2024 with. It worked too well for the Gojo Clan, especially Cocoa's rendition of Satoru and his grandmother, Akemi. She's a terrible woman and she fascinates me.

Go read this series guys it's so great—

[smolstarthief]

Here's a W.I.P. of the first official chapter of New Life, New Rebellion's prologue entry! I feel like people have moved on too quickly from how traumatic Jayce's experiences from dealing with what's basically a freaking bombing from Jinx's missile hitting the council building must have been (or even accuse the writing of how he deals with everything in the aftermath of "character regression" when I can actually see it as a bit realistic tbh (rushed and imperfect as it was) and I could go on about that but that'll just lead to a tangent). Hopefully I'm doing it justice! Also Viktor is still a sweetie and I adore the HC of them learning how to deal with and adapt to their anxieties accordingly should a panic attack of sorts happen! But also to be clear: Viktor does have a form of angst of his own, he just decided to prioritize helping Jayce through his own first at least (for now anyways). I also try to keep the twin's and Igor's commentary to a minimum too (that and this Igor is actually Yaldy by this point so it makes sense for him to consider earning their trust through understanding their own bond).

[likeasecondself]

Summer Paradise

“Your feet don’t lie flat on the stairs when you go up them.”

“What has that got to do with the carpets on the stairs?” Adam asks.

“I don't ever remember these carpets being changed. Which means it’s had 20-odd years in the house and was getting thin. I didn’t want your feet to hurt using them, so I got us softer ones.”

Or

It's the summer before Adam leaves for college, and whenever Adam is not working or Ronan is not dreaming, they spend together. Ronan visits Adam at work; they argue over poisonous vegetables, and Ronan changes the Barns for Adam's comfort.

AO3 link

Tags as below:

[coris-horror-corner]

Break the Cycle: Chapter Four

-------------------------

Michael was at that age where he could get really angry at a lot of things, but he could also remember very clearly that time not so long ago when he wasn't angry at all.

It was all Evan's fault- he took away their mom and now Miss Rose was here instead and father was insisting they all call her mom instead. But Michael wasn't stupid, he knew she wasn't his mother, she wasn't any of his siblings’ mother either. She was just a woman who was nice most of the time and who worked with their father- even she didn't look comfortable with this whole thing, he could tell. He really wasn't looking forward to school starting up again in a few weeks either- the teachers were bad enough about mom dying, he couldn't imagine how much worse they'd get now.

“I just don't get it- he didn't even wait a year!” Michael spat.

Rose had taken the kids to the park today, said it was good for exercise, and building up Evan's allergy immunities.

“Maybe he was just lonely- people get like that sometimes and don't always want to wallow around in it,” Tori said from the swing set next to him.

“I guess- it just seems like he doesn't even care! It's like my stupid brother showed up and now everything sucks!” Michael groaned.

“Evan's just a baby Mike, you can't place all the blame on him- he can't even speak yet!” Tori said, hopping off of her swing to give him a hug. Michael just sort of sat there for a moment, resting his head on her shoulder.

He liked hanging out with Tori, she smelled like lavender, and she actually liked to play games with him, unlike the kids at school.

But she was also way too serious sometimes- talking to her felt like a toss up between a fun conversation and a lecture.

“Do you wanna talk about something else to get your mind off things?” Tori asked quietly.

“We could go talk in the old treehouse nearby?” Mixhael suggested. Tori nodded and followed him off into the wooded area nearby.

“So- what'd you wanna talk about?” She said when they finally managed to figure out somewhere comfortable to sit in the old wooden thing.

“Hmm. . . How come you're always wearing those necklaces? I don't think I've ever seen you without them- even at mom's ballet classes,” Michael asked, pointing at the bird and snake charm necklaces Tori had on.

“Oh- they're part of my family heritage- we have a long family history with the goddess Aphrodite- and I've started worshipping Apollo because of a gift he gave me,” Tori replied. “This one-” she pointed to the bird “is a dove, which is part of Aphrodite's symbolism- and this one-” she pointed to the snake “- is a python, which is part of Apollo's connection to the gift of prophecy,” she said. Michael kind of just stared at her for a while and blinked a few times.

“Well- that's cool- but what'd you mean ‘gifts’ does he send you like presents or something? Like Santa?” Tori laughed.

“No- no I mean magic, silly, it's been in our family for centuries, take son different forms, although occasionally we do get repeated gifts- it's from my father's side- usually we attribute it to Aphrodite, like my father has this sort of uncanny ability to convince others of anything he wants- he's got a very high position at his job back in Greece because of it- but I got something else, prophecy- which is why I started working with Apollo,” Tori said.

“Woooaaahhh- so you're like- a witch or something?” Michael said.

“I mean- I guess so- just- don't tell anyone else ok? It's technically supposed to be a secret- but I trust you,” she smiled at him when she said it, and Michael felt this odd fluttering sensation in his stomach.

“I promise- I won't tell anybody- never ever.” he said.

“Michael! Tori! Come on! It's time to go home!” Tori's face dropped when she heard Miss Rose's voice.

“It'll be ok, I'll see if you can come over tomorrow too- I know how much you hate it at your aunt and uncle's place,” Michael said, taking her hand and helping her down from the treehouse.

“You two should be more careful- I don't know that that tree is very safe,” said Miss Rose when they approached her.

“We were fine R- mom-” there was a flicker of sadness in Miss Rose's eyes, but her smile barely faltered.

“I know sweetheart, I just want to make sure you stay safe,” she chuckled, walking toward the car.

“Your father has something special for you at home Michael, so I'd check your room before dinner ok?” said Miss Rose as she loaded his siblings into the car.

“Well that's a first,” Michael said bitterly, Miss Rose just gave him a pitying look.

Sure enough, when he got home there was a box waiting on Michael's bed with a note from his father.

“Dear Michael, I'm sorry I've been busy lately- here is something to keep you company while I'm working, From William,” Michael read the note aloud before crumpling it up and tossing it into a nearby trash can. Turning his attention to the box, white and wrapped in red ribbon like the present boxes at Fredbear's, he tore it open- only to find a stuffed plush that looked like a mini version of the Fredbear animatronic.

“Great- another stupid stuffed toy.” Michael groaned, tossing the bear to the side and throwing away the box.

“Hello Mike!” Michael stopped in his tracks and whipped around to see where the sound had come from.

“What the hell. . .” he muttered, picking up the stuffed bear and turning it over a few times to see if there was something in it.

“That's not a nice word Mike!” said the bear.

“What'd you know? You're just a toy.” Michael hissed.

“I'm not a toy! I'm your new best friend!” The bear continued on in its chipper voice.

“Ugh- whatever,” Michael tossed the bear back on his bed and stormed out of his room.

“Did you get your present?” asked Miss Rose, who was buying herself in the kitchen, probably already working on dinner.

“Yeah- it was just some stupid talking bear,” Michael said.

“I want a talking bear!” Elizabeth said from where she lay on the couch with one of her picture books.

“You can have mine,” Michael said.

“I don't want yours- I want one that's pink! Pink and white with a bow tie and a top hat like Fredbear!” Elizabeth said, Michael just rolled his eyes.

“Mike sweetheart- can you go check on your brother? I need to keep this sauce under control for dinner,” Miss Rose called from the kitchen. Michael didn't say anything in response, just stormed off into the nursery.

Evan lay there in a crib, seeming content staring up at the baby mobile attached to it- until he caught sight of Michael and started crying.

“Son of a- shhh- hey- I'm just checking on you because- mom- said to- you can go back to bed!” Michael whispered, trying to figure out what exactly he was supposed to do to keep the kid's mouth shut.

Then he got an idea.

He ran to his room and grabbed the new bear off his dresser before running back to the nursery and dropping it in the crib with his brother.

“See! Look- you've even got a new friend! Everything's fine!” Michael said, waiting patiently to see if that was enough to get his brother to stop crying.

And sure enough Evan was asleep again not too long after.

For about five seconds, before he woke up and started wailing louder.

Then Michael heard the unmistakable thundering footsteps of his father.

“How hard is it to keep a baby quiet, Michael! And get that bear out of his crib! That was a present for you! Be grateful.” his father spat, shoving him out of the way and tossing the stuffed bear into his arms. Michael glared back up at him from the floor before silently slinking back to his room.

That night didn't exactly improve anything, Michael had one of the weirdest dreams he could remember in ages.

He ‘woke up’ in a weird room with two doors on each side, a bed, a closet, and some toys he recognized from Evan's nursery- and his, he was pretty sure.

And if that wasn't weird enough- what really freaked him out was when he turned around toward the bed to find a bunch of mini versions of the Freddy character from the new cartoon his dad and Henry were working on- mini versions with beady eyes and sharp teeth.

And it only got worse after that- more of the freaky things showed up- all based on the characters from the show. Michael tried his best to keep them out of the room- but eventually he'd made a mistake- and the nightmare Bonnie managed to get him. Michael half expected to wake up in whatever afterlife he was supposed to end up in- but instead he just woke up in bed. He checked his alarm, and it read 6:00am in big red lettering.

“Ugh. . .” he went back to bed, and the process repeated itself over and over again until he finally managed not to make any mistakes until his alarm went off for real.

“Are you ok sweetheart? You look exhausted!” Miss Rose said when Michael walked into the dining room for breakfast, hair sticking out at odd angles and eyes darkened way past the point they should have been for a kid his age.

“Didn't sleep well,” he muttered, taking his seat at the table.

“Oh poor thing, I'll be sure to add some extra sugar to your breakfast- we're going to the park again, I've already made plans with Tori's aunt and uncle so she'll be coming with us again,” Miss Rose said, planting a kiss on his forehead and placing a stack of pancakes in front of him, covered in whipped cream and sprinkles- sort of like a birthday cake.

When he got to the park he and Tori ran off for the treehouse immediately, he wanted to show her the weird bear and tell her what happened last night.

“So you felt like you were dying and everything?” Tori said as Michael finished recounting the nightmares he'd had.

“Yeah- like it bit me or something-” Michael nodded.

“That must've been really scary. . .” Tori said, he noticed her wince slightly and reach for her forehead.

“Are you ok?” Michael reached out to grab at her face- a knot in his chest forming at the idea of finding a bruise or something.

“I uh- yeah- just- remember that stuff I told you yesterday?” Michael thought back, looked at the python necklace around her neck, and then he nodded. “One of those prophecy things?” he asked.

“Yeah- just- give me a minute-” Tori said, leaning up against the back wall of the treehouse. Michael watched her in fascination as the icy blue of her eyes seemed to take over the sockets entirely, her mouth hung open and a strange fog-like substance fell out of it, he couldn't really make out any of the shapes it was making- he thought he saw a yellow rabbit and a white fox- and then another fox, but red this time- but he wasn't really sure. Tori stayed that way for an unsettlingly long time before she finally blinked a few times, the fog cleared up and her eyes turned back to normal.

“Does that happen a lot?” Michael asked, subconsciously grabbing for her face and checking her eyes.

“Yes, Mike- it happens at least once or twice a day- you- let go of my face, please, I promise it doesn't hurt me- it's just kind of like getting a headache,” Tori laughed as she brushed him off.

“Well headaches still suck,” Michael said matter-of-factly. “What was that one about? All I saw was a bunch of animals,” he continued.

“Most of my visions are very symbolic- I think this one had something to do with some kind of warning- like something bad was coming and I need to be prepared,” Tori responded. There was a long bit of silence after that before he and Tori got back to playing, spinning on the carousel until they both felt sick mostly, and then it was time to go home again.

“So how was the park today Michael? Did you and your little girlfriend have fun?” his father asked over dinner.

“Tori's not my girlfriend dad, she's just my friend who's a girl that I like hanging out with,” Michael said.

“Well- I've been thinking- you should invite her over this weekend, it's been a while since she's been at the house,” William said, Michael had a weird feeling that told him that might not be a good idea- but he also didn't really like telling his father no.

“Oh uh- sure- I guess I can ask-” Michael said. He finished up dinner and made his way back to his room, where the stuffed plushie he refused to give a name to sat on his bed, staring directly toward his pillows.

“Is it really safe for her to come here? I think dad was acting kind of weird about her coming over- and if she does that thing again. . .” Michael said to no one in particular.

“Why wouldn't it be safe? You're here aren't you? If anything it would be safer for her to go through this in a closed area, what would've happened if someone else had tried to use that treehouse?” came a reply from the bear. Michael gave it a weird look- what the heck was this thing even programmed with?

“Yeah- I guess she would be safer inside. . . I hope. . .” Michael muttered, throwing himself back onto the bed.

He just hoped that golden rabbit didn't mean what he thought it might. . .

[lana7779]

Hey @okamigamer1 ! I was so excited to be your secret Santa this year!

I was inspired by your omagevrse prompt as well as Gil bullying Break (sexually) prompt, and since the fic was a bit short I made some fanart to go along with it! Hope you like it! ✨️

Happy holidays to you! 💖

(Shout out to @i-prefer-the-term-antihero for hosting the secret santa event, thank you so much!)

[ninyard]

hiii, for the ask game!

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

~ @rekikiri

hmm. if i were to say something that involved andrew + his relationship with kids would you guys cancel me. i don't personally see andreil having kids/fostering/whatever and while i think andrew would love his nieces/nephews i don't know how good he actually would be with kids

[wisteriagoesvroom]

😵‍💫 snippet pls 🙏🙏

omg sorry this took me a while to reply anon. i thought this was in reference to the “lestappen bondgirl au without the genderbend” wip but it was actually the “landoscar-literally-fuck-around-and-find-out” fic aksjsksks. there’s a snippet here but here’s another one if you care… idk that i’ll ever get round to publishing this one cus it feels weirdly ooc rn, but anyway.

————

��Sotter volchay.” Lando says.

“What’s that?”

“Like, quiet. Like you.”

Oscar stifles a laugh, and runs his hand through Lando’s hair. Lando practically purrs.

“Sotto voce, Lando.” Oscar says. Back to this. The formal name, as if nothing has happened between them, as if both of them didn’t have their mouths stuffed full of each other mere minutes ago, whimpering and needy and pathetic in a way they aren’t with anyone else.

“You–” Oscar starts, before he shakes his head, and Lando gets the signal. He scoots down the sofa, under him, and a latent part of Oscar’s logical brain that is behind the sex fog goes that’s gonna fuck your back.

But then Lando’s glorious mouth is on his again, possessive and pressing, and the thought completely disappears.

————

from that “guess my wips” game from a few days back, like so far back i don’t even think i could find the post because clearly i post way too much on here 😭

[nothoughtsjustmhaandotherthings]

okay but in all seriousness Shuǐ using her pirate career (that her father actively forbade her from) to aid women and girls in need (something her mother did not do for her) makes me sooooooo happy for her. her calling is not just swashbuckling and treasure-hunting it is sharing her freedom with others

[jbm04]

I wanna write a pile of TLT AUs where they all end with Harrow and Gideon realizing in different/interesting ways that things aren’t quite right. A (technically) post-series TLT fic where Harrow and Gideon are stuck traversing multiple river bubbles like different past lives. Always finding each other. Always going through it. And then always realizing that they aren’t home. And then BAM! Next bubble.

It’ll be about breaking that cycle. Maybe this is what it is to cross the river?