#i wanted to do a full piece for my paranormal au but got too tired

[iamrizaka]

Lee likes Halloween

[ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa]

Bury Me Face Down

A Max Phillips x Reader BTVS AU One-Shot

Summary/Author's Note: You are a Slayer. One girl born into the world for the sole purpose of hunting down the paranormal and keeping people safe. But what happens when the Order you work for sends you a Vampire to be your mentor?

Okay. I caved. An idea that stemmed entirely from my wife @vaxxildan and was pushed upon me by a few of my favorite people. (/Cough/ Stevie, Rachel, & Ash) so, fuck it-- this is part of my Follower Appreciation Week. I love you girls. This is a ONE SHOT for now. I may do drabbles or another part if inspiration strikes but I have a lot going on at the moment. [Title Song]

Pairings: Max Phillips x Slayer!Reader Word Count: Warnings: R--Blood, language, death, violence, stabbing/staking, sassy douchebag vampire Max in all of his glory, sexual tension/themes

[MASTERLIST] 

"And I haven't seen him in five days! He's a good boy--gets straight A's! He's going to be a lawyer, you know?" She blew her nose into the overused tissue in her hands as you slid the entire box across the desk and she mumbled her thanks.

"What was he majoring in?" You said, trying to connect to the crying mess of a woman in front of you.

"Philosophy." She blubbered out and as she blew her nose the man sitting next to you let out an undignified snort.

You glared at him and he tried to turn the laugh into a cough before motioning to the client. "Excuse me," he apologized with a nod. "Please continue, Mrs. Garcia." 

"Ms." She corrected, batting her big, watery, doe-like eyes at him.  "I'm divorced."

Unbelievable. This suburban soccer mom was crying to you to find her missing son, and she still couldn't resist putting the charm on your partner. You knew this was the effect he had on normal women, but it still never ceased to baffle you. He gave a small smile and another nod, correcting himself and addressing her by the title she offered and asking her once again to go on with her story. 

"Like I said," she put her hands in her lap and played with the pleats of her skirt. "I haven't heard from my sweet Jason since last week." 

"Did anything new happen to him the last time you spoke?" You asked, jotting down a few quick notes on your yellow pad of paper. 

"No, I don't think so. Wait--" she said, abruptly making you look back up. "He met a girl."

"Oooh, nooo," your business partner said next to you, his voice sounding full of utter despair, drawn out just enough that the client would think he was sincere while you knew he was mocking her. You kicked his foot under the table and he bit his lip. 

"Do you think that's important?" She asked hopefully and you made another note. 

"It's hard to tell, Ms. Garcia. Anything else?"

"He said he has been feeling really tired all the time. Like no matter how much he sleeps, he is always so drained." 

"Maybe he has mono."

"Max." You hissed, kicking him again as the woman blew her nose loudly. 

The truth was you knew what was wrong with her son. It was the same thing that had been wrong with five other boys at the community college on the other side of town. All of their parents had sat across from you in this office, begging you to find them and bring them home safely. 

Max cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter in his chair. "Ms. Garcia, does your son play sports?"

"Why, yes," she nodded. "He plays varsity soccer. He's on a scholarship for it."

"Ah, I thought that might be the case," he nodded and you wrote it down. Max never took notes and it drove you up the fucking wall. 

"Is that a clue?" She asked, hopefully. 

"Just trying to find out as much as we can." You looked at the photo that she had brought, and felt a little saddened. Should you tell her that her son was dead? That he wasn't coming home? As you looked at the smiling yearbook photo of such a handsome young man it really struck you that you were tired. So very tired. "May we keep this for your file?"

"Of course. I brought extra." She said, somewhat proudly as she patted her knock off Michael Kors bag in the chair next to her. 

Max glanced at you and saw that you had retreated back into your thoughts. After six months of working together, he knew when it was time for a breather. He looked back to the client and adjusted his suit coat before standing up. 

"That's all we need for now, Ms. Garcia. We will be in touch if there is anything new or if we have more questions." He walked around the table and waited for her to grab her purse before he led her to the door. 

"You have my number, correct?" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes as he towered over her. 

"Yes, it's in your file." He gestured back to the table. 

"Feel free to call me, anytime. And I mean...anytime." She touched his yellow pocket square on his chest and he chuckled deeply. 

"Of course," he said, moving her hand off of him like it was something slimy and undesirable. She didn't seem to notice.

You rolled your eyes as the door clicked shut behind her and Max leaned against it with a heavy sigh. "Really?" You asked and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Do you have to do that?" You ask, gesturing to the door. 

"I was absolutely, one hundred percent, professional."

"Ah, yes, I forgot you cannot control the hordes of lonely women that throw themselves at your feet." You scoffed, gathering your notes and the papers from the Garcia file and stacking them neatly. 

"It isn't my fault that my powers don't work on you. If they did then maybe you would believe that I didn't have any control over that situation," he waved his hand in a circle indicating the woman who had previously been occupying that space. 

Max was right about that. Since the day you met, his telepathic powers of suggestion had failed to work on you, and it wasn't for his lack of trying. You had chalked it up to your natural Slayer resistances. Just another talent in your arsonal to go with the above average strength, extended life span, and ability to get your ass handed to you by the undead and walk away without so much as a limp. 

He shimmied out of his suit jacket, hanging it on the coat rack before moving back to the desk and sitting on it. "Besides," he grinned down at you, letting one leg hang off the table and leaning in close. "She's not my type."

"Get over yourself, Phillips." You rolled your eyes and walked over to the swivel chalkboard, turning it from the blank side that clients got to see, to the side that was full of your current notes on the situation.

"Ouch, back to the last name?" He put his hand over his heart like he was in pain. "Come on, Pookie. I thought we were past this?" 

Six months. Six whole months had passed since the Watcher���s Council had sent the most arrogantly frustrating man you had ever met to your doorstep. Max Phillips was, on the outside, the definition of most of the Watchers you had had the pleasure of meeting. He was intelligent and well read, but he was also vain and meticulously well dressed. His three piece bespoke suits were always pressed and tailored, his tie was always bright and made a statement, and you could have seen your reflection well enough to do your makeup in his leather shoes. His brown eyes sparkled as brightly as his jeweled cuff links, and his charm was only matched by his wit. The only unorthodox thing about him was that he wasn’t human. 

Before Max came into your life you were under the impression that vampires weren’t allowed on the Council. And until Max, that had been true. It went against everything they had stood for for the last thousand years or however long they had been in business. That business being to hunt and eradicate people exactly like Max. But someone on the council had fucked up--and fucked up big time. It was their fault Max was the way he was, and to make good on their transgressions they cut him a deal. Instead of death, they restored his soul, made him a Watcher, and after five years of service, he could be a free man...err, free undead man?

“Why won’t you just cut to the chase and tell her that her son is either dead or a vampire?” he asked and you shook your head. 

“We’ve been through this, Max,” you said thumbing through the file and getting familiar with everything you two had learned from your new client. “If we told them that, it would scare them off--we have to hold out hope.”

“I mean, sure, if you want to give them a nice comfy sense of delusion.” He shrugged and started to turn but stopped on his heel. “I’m still charging her our full rate.”

“You’re heartless.” You looked up from the file and narrowed your eyes on him. 

“Yes, exactly,” he gestured to his chest and said slowly like you were hard of hearing. “V-am-pire. Remember?”

“I meant your lack of empathy for humans never ceases to shock me.” 

“Honey, I was an asshole before I was turned,” he continued to hold his hand to his chest. “I may have died but my personality carried over into the afterlife.”

“Lucky me.” You gave him a large smile that was entirely too much teeth. Everyday with him was exhausting, just once you wished you could find a way to shut him up. Peace and quiet. A Max-less thirty minutes to hear yourself think would have been the best present he could ever give you. 

You moved to the chalkboard and taped Jason’s picture next to the line of other dead college boys. Of course there was a chance that Ms. Garcia’s son was still alive, but you seriously doubted it. By the time they came knocking at your door, most of the time, it was way too late. You had lost count of how many times you and Max had already solved the case before you even got up from the table. The two of you would share a knowing look as the person on the other side of the desk told their sob story, and by then it was all said and done.  

Max picked up a piece of chalk and blew the dust off of it distastefully. “Who still uses chalk? Can we at least get a smart board?”

“We can’t even afford a dry erase board, Max.” You took the chalk from his hand and tried to ignore the lingering brush of his fingers against the back of your hand. 

Times had been tough. You had opened this little detective business out of necessity for money, not many places were hiring someone with your specific background and skill set. But there had been an alarming increase in the amount of vampire related deaths in this small town, and that was something you could help with. 

“You asked if Jason played sports,” you said, writing your notes neatly next to the boy’s picture. “Was there a point to that question?”

“There is always a point to what I say.” He grinned, unclipping his cuff-links and starting to roll up his sleeves. 

“Max.”

“Okay, okay,” he held up his hands in surrender as he leaned his ass against the desk and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Write this down. The first kid played football--”

You started a list at the top of the board and wrote down each sport as he ticked them off on his fingers.

“Then we had lacrosse,” he tapped a different picture on the board. “Track. Swimming. And then--” he tapped his finger on the last boy in the row and bit his lip. “What was this one?”

“Ultimate Frisbee.”

“Right!” He snapped his fingers and shook his finger at you in conformation. “The one you thought wasn’t a sport.”

“Because it’s not.”

“And that’s where we disagree.”

You rolled your eyes and finished writing the list of sports off to the side. Crossing your arms, you shook your head. This wasn’t much to go off of--all victims had been junior or senior boys, all played sports and had the reputation for being stereotypical jocks. But despite what little they all had in common, so far they had all met the same end--left in the middle of the woods, completely drained of blood. 

“Look on the computer,” you said. “See if there are any cemeteries close to the university.” Max sat behind the desk and opened up your laptop, typing in the password and clacking away at the search engine. You looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “How do you know the password to my computer?”

“The same way I know you’re wearing that t-shirt bra for the fifth day in a row,” he mumbled without looking up. “I’m observant.”

You looked down at your chest on instinct before glaring back at him, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. “Well, cut it out.”

“As you command, sugar tits,” he smirked and before you could say anything he turned the lap towards you and pointed to the map of the university. “There are four cemeteries within hunting distance--but I say we start with this one.”

“Why?”

“It’s the only one with a mausoleum. Doesn’t matter the flavor of vampire--we all gotta sleep somewhere when the sun comes up.” He smiled, looking somewhat proud of himself and the expression almost made him look endearing. Almost. 

“Good job, Max.” You nodded before moving to write the address on the chalkboard and put it in your phone for later. 

“Oh, say that again--but slower.” He pouted his lips and pretended to give a full body shudder and you contemplated punching him. 

“Get some rest,” you tossed him the manila folder to put in the filing cabinet. “Eat,” you nodded to the mini fridge that contained his snacks from the local blood bank. “Be ready to go by nightfall.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, giving you a small salute after catching the folder. As you grabbed your car keys off the hook and your jacket off the coat rack, you could almost feel his eyes on your ass. Nothing in the world could have made you give him the satisfaction of letting him know though, but you did slam the front door a little harder than normal on your way out. 

--

The cemetery on the other side of town was just like every cemetery you had ever been in since you took on your role as a Slayer over a decade ago. You thought things were simpler back then, but looking back you weren’t entirely sure how you had lived this long. Slayers were notorious for burning bright and dying fast. They were an intense flame that danced with danger so often the odds were never stacked in her favor when it came to living to see the next sunrise. 

It was these odds that took your first Watcher from you. He was everything Max wasn’t. He was soft spoken, kind, and he cared for you. Against the Watcher’s code, he became the father you never had and in the end it had gotten him killed. Maybe that’s the reason they sent you Max in the first place, you needed someone to look after you that was a little more sturdy--a little less human.

You shined your flashlight on the ground as you and your partner walked another line of gravestones. This was your third lap around the plot lines and thankfully Max had been quiet for most of it. 

“You think she’s going to show?” he asked, putting his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

“She?” you looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Call it a hunch,” he shrugged.

“Oh, I gotta hear this. Please share your theory, Detective Phillips.” You tried to scoff but it turned into a laugh as he smiled sheepishly. 

“All the victims are male. All of them are jocks--most likely douchebag muscleheads--”

“Are you familiar with the type?”

He ignored your quip at his expense and continued talking. “I’m guessing we are dealing with a female vamp, scorned by an ex boyfriend and now that she has the power to do something about it, every poor sap that resembles him is getting the ax.” He drug his thumb across his Adam's apple and made a ‘ack’ noise in the back of his throat. 

“Solid theory,” you nodded, having to hand it to him.

“I’m also guessing she’s freshly turned by how messy the kills are and the tearing on the bite wounds.”

“Tearing? The police reports didn’t say anything about tearing.”

Max nodded and looked down at his shoes as the two of you turned the corner of a new row of gravestones. “Vampire fangs are like hypodermic needles--hollow on the inside. Let me show you.” You both stopped and he turned to face you. He held up his first two fingers and curved them down to imitate fangs, placing them on the side of your neck. “If done correctly and you bite straight down, then pull straight back up once you’re done,” he mimicked the action with his hand, pressing the blunt edges of his nails against your tender skin, making your arms break out in goosebumps. “The bite is hardly noticeable.”

“And if you pull out too quickly or to the side, it tears the skin?” You asked, swallowing hard and letting your shoulders relax as he moved his hand away from your neck. 

“Exactly,” he nodded. He held your gaze for an extra moment before clearing his throat and the two of you continued the path down the middle of the road that led to the mausoleum. “Unless you’re an experienced vampire, you don’t have the control to keep the bite that clean.”

“Charming,” you grimaced and he chuckled.

“What? Does a big, bad slayer like you not enjoy talking about fangs and blood?” He teased and you stayed quiet. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t like talking about those things, you lived those things, fangs and blood were a part of your daily life. It was that you weren’t particularly fond of hearing him talk about those things. Lately the moments it became increasingly apparent that Max was undead had started to make you uncomfortable. But like all thoughts and feelings you didn’t fully understand, you pushed them down and compartmentalized them until they faded away. 

A crash of glass came from the back of the stone building and you thanked the universe for saving you from having to answer Max. The two of you looked at each other and you dropped your shoulders to let your leather jacket slide off into your hands. 

“Show time?” you asked, putting the jacket over a small statue of an angel with outstretched arms. 

“Absolutely.” Max mirrored you with his suit coat. He left the cuff-links at home to make it easier to roll up his sleeves. He adjusted his tie and tucked it into his vest for dramatic effect and you fought not to roll your eyes. He cracked his neck and if you weren’t staring at him you would have missed the flash of yellow amber that engulfed his normally brown irises. You were never going to get used to that.

You had a wooden stake in the holster on your thigh, freshly sharpened and ready for whatever was about to come around that corner. You hoped this was the vampire that had been killing all of those boys. You hoped this was the night that the two of you could finally stop this string of murders and crying parents.

“Take right, I’ll take left,” you nodded your head in each direction and watched as Max returned the motion before disappearing into the shadows on his side of the building. 

With eyes and ears straining for any sign of movement, you were careful of your steps. Your boots found easy purchase on the soft, marshy ground as you scanned the treeline on the other side of the pointed wrought-iron fence. Freshly turned baby vamps were your least favorite. There was a certain level of feral-ness to them that made them more dangerous. They lunged, they fought, they bit and scratched without abandon. Their actions were unpredictable and sporadic as they literally fought for their life with about as much coordination as a baby deer with too many teeth. You knew the myth that baby venomous snakes were deadlier than their parents--well, it was actually true when it came to vampires. 

Another sound came from the back of the building and you quickened your pace. Just as you topped the small hill at the back of the crypt a blur of white hit you at full speed like a freight train. Your back hit the ground hard. The dull pain of a stone or something blunt on the ground blossomed  between your shoulder blades and took the air from your lungs. Whatever had hit you landed on top of your chest, making breathing more difficult than it already was.

“Fuck!” you gave a strangled gasp and threw your forearms up to cover your face and neck. 

Just like you expected, it was a vampire. If it was the one you were looking for, that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was getting it off of you. 

It’s blonde hair fell around you as she hissed and spit and flashed her fangs. Her face was grotesque, pinching in the middle towards her nose, her cheekbones sat way too high up on her face, and the curve of her eyebrows arched in an almost cat like way that made her skull look perpetually angry. Her yellow eyes looked sickly and diseased, the black of her pupils forming into an elongated slit.

You pulled your fist back the second she closed her mouth and punched her in the jaw. She reeled back a bit but it didn’t get her off of you. “Have you been killing those boys at the university?”

“They got what they deserved,” she snarled and you nodded. 

“That answers that.” 

Max had been right and you were never going to hear the end of it. You pulled your knee up and tried to press it into her chest. With the right amount of leverage, she toppled backwards and you held onto her letting the momentum pull you to your feet. You stumbled and caught yourself on a gravestone catching your breath before she grabbed you by the hair and slammed you into the marble wall of the crypt. You bit your lip, refusing to cry out and instead said through gritted teeth, “Where's Jason? Where’s your new boyfriend at?”

“Dead,” she smirked, pinning your arm behind your back and leaning in to whisper against your hair. “Where’s yours?”

“Right here!” Max said as he barreled into her and took her to the ground over one of the benches intended for visitors and mourners. He grabbed her by the base of the neck and snarled in her face as he bounced her skull off of the sidewalk. 

His face was contorted much like hers and as you slowly got to your feet, you forced yourself not to look away from it. That was the real him and you didn’t see it as often as you probably should in order to remember that. You pulled the wooden stake from its holster and started walking towards them.

“Max!” You called and he looked over his shoulder and caught your eye. 

He looked at the stake before giving a short nod and flipping the two of them over. He braced his arm as he held the snapping, snarling woman away from his face and you stood over her. With a raise of your arms and a quick line of sight to make sure you hit the heart, you brought the sharp piece of wood down into her back and felt it go through to the front of her chest. 

She screamed, jaw widening before her entire body exploded in a cloud of black dust that quickly dissipated into the night air leaving no trace of her existence. You let out a hard breath and held out your hand to help Max stand up. 

“Thanks,” you said, as he took it and got to his feet. 

“Any time.”

“She got the jump on me. I’m off my game.” You shook your head and silently cursed yourself for letting it happen. 

“I see that.” Max motioned to your cheek and you watched as his pupils dilated like a great white shark. His face was once again the smooth perfection that it always was, but his eyes stayed that alarming yellow.

You touched the apple of your cheek and it felt wet, the bright red drops of your own blood sat on the tips of your fingers. “Shit.” It was as if bringing your attention to it made a dull ache settle on the side of your face. “I guess she got me against the stone.” You nodded back to the pillar of the crypt and went to wipe it off on your jeans.

“Wait,” Max said curtly as his hand shot out and wrapped around your wrist. The muscles in his neck twitched and if he had a working heart you were fairly certain you would have been able to hear it from where you stood. His tongue licked his bottom lip slowly.

“Max--” you cautioned, starting to pull your wrist back but his grip tightened. 

“Tell me to stop,” he said, flatly.

It wasn’t a command, it was a challenge. If you wanted him to stop, he would, but he was banking on the hunch that you didn’t want him to stop. He knew that after months of back and forth, of testing each other, and pushing one another’s buttons, it was bound to come to a head eventually. If you were being honest with yourself, Max fucking Phillips was the only constant thing in your life recently, and that should have scared you to death. 

“Even I know--it’s a shame to waste a single drop of Slayer blood.” He brought your fingers to his mouth and held your gaze as he wrapped his lips around them, hollowing his cheeks gently and sucking the small amount off your skin. You bit your lip and blushed as he freed your fingers with a gentle pop and hummed. “Just like I thought.”

“What?” You asked, hating how breathy and soft your voice was.

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted.”

The groan that came from the back of your throat was downright shameful but you wanted to do anything in your power to wipe that look off of his face. If you looked insufferable up in the dictionary, you knew there would be a picture of Max, but that didn’t stop you from raising up on your toes, putting your hand behind his neck and crashing your mouth against his. He closed those unnerving yellow eyes and dropped his head slightly so you didn’t have to stretch as far. When you felt his large hands settle on your hips, you knew it was game over. 

Max tasted just how you thought he would, like expensive liquor and a twinge of copper, the latter not being something you particularly wanted to dwell on. You gave up control of the kiss and let his tongue slip inside your mouth and taste you as well. Fair is fair. When you tried to pull back his head followed you like a dog on a leash and you gripped his hair to keep him at a distance. 

“Oh, boy--” you said, any anticipation you felt was mixed with the regret and trouble that would undoubtedly come with kissing Max Phillips. 

He chuckled deeply and wet his lips again with his tongue, the action plucking the chords of things low in your body. “Oh, boy, is right, sugar tits.”

“Shut the fuck up,” you sighed heavily and shoved him back against the concrete before devouring his mouth with your own again. Maybe if he didn’t speak you could pretend like whatever was happening wasn’t the end of the world as you knew it. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled against your lips as he bent his knees slightly and put both hands under your thighs. As he lifted, you jumped and wrapped your legs around his waist. Once your arms securely around his neck, another moan bubbled out of you when he flexed his hands on your ass. 

You thought you would never hear the end about his theory being right about the vampire, but this--this was a whole new level of trouble. And trouble was never something you wanted or particularly went out of your way to seek, and yet, it always seemed to find you.

--

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[toothpastecanyon]

Noie’s Trip

After four long, uneventful years, highschool was finally over. Noie was going to make sure her and her brother had a better time in college together - she just had to make sure he picked the right one.

This piece was for the 2020 Transcendence AU Zine! There are many other awesome artists and writers who participated; go check out the full PDF here!

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

It had been a year since nothing happened. Noie was seventeen years old, and life was coming up fast. She couldn’t wait to be done with high school, couldn’t wait to get out of here…

    It had been a year since nothing happened, and Noie had taken her brother on a road trip to tour around one of the state universities. It was a bit of a drive through lonely desert roads, and Noie had the whole weekend set up - she’d booked a motel for a night, filled up her gas tank, queued up all the music and audiobooks they could possibly need… it was gonna be great.

“Isn’t it… a little far from home, Noie?”

“Yeah! I mean, it’s not out of state, but it’s still pretty far out! No one’s gonna bother us out here.”

“But SASU’s so much closer.”

“Oh, you… wanna stay closer to them?”

“Yeah! And I’ve been looking it up, SASU has a great paranormal maths program…”

    It had been a year since nothing happened, and this road trip was going to go great. Dipper was going to be impressed. They stopped at a gas station, and continued south, into the darkness.

    “What does that light mean?”

    “Oh… oh, shoot, we got a flat tire.”

    “What?! We’re in the middle of nowhere, how are we-”

    “Don’t panic! I’ll just change the tire. Gimme one second, bro bro!”

    It had been a year since nothing happened, and Noie stared at the slashes in her tires. She watched a plain truck pull over in front of them, and felt her blood run cold.

    It had been a year since absolutely nothing happened. Noie was a normal teenager with a normal brother, touring universities like any normal person would do. She’d never been involved in any demonic stuff in her life.

    So why was she now being bound and gagged and dragged into the desert by cultists? Why were they asking her brother about some kind of demon fight in a convenience store? What was going on?

    “Tell us how you banished the Dreambender! Tell us now, or else!”

    Noie felt the knife’s edge press into her skin, and she could only gulp.

    She had no idea what they were talking about. Oh god, they were going to kill her, weren’t they? And they were going to kill Dipper.

    Oh god.

    Oh, god.

______________________________________________________________

    Dipper’s head pounded. His heart raced. He could hardly even concentrate on the cultist interrogating him; his eyes only fixed on the circle being drawn before them. The magic coming off it… stars, his brain felt like it was coming out of his ears. 

    “How did your sister do it? How did she bind our Lord? Tell us!”

    “Lord?” Dipper squinted to the side, where he could make out a blobby figure. “Noie? A-are you-”

    “Do not speak to her!” The slap barely registered in his mind; Noie’s gasp did. “Just tell us how she banished Alcor, and we won’t kill you. We need only one sacrifice tonight. Tell us what happened at the convenience store, and it won’t be you.”

    Alcor. That name rang strangely in Dipper’s head. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the circle still seemed to draw his gaze. His head was killing him… and the shouting wasn’t helping.

“He doesn’t know anything! Don’t hurt him!”

    “Be quiet-”

    “But we didn’t do anything! You think I know how to banish a demon? I’ve never seen one in my life!”

    “You lie! I saw you after the convenience store exploded - you and that vampire banished him!”

    “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

    “I saw you banish him from the world, from our circles! He hasn’t answered our summons in years! I know he yearns for freedom; it was clearly his wish that I witnessed what I did, his wish that I find you and set him free! Now tell me how you did it!”

    Noie said nothing - if Dipper could think, he’d assume she was stunned into silence.

But he couldn’t think. He couldn’t even try. The circle… his eyes were closed, but the lines burned themselves into his retinas regardless. He watched as the Twin Star was traced in the centre, and grit his teeth as the pressure in his head swelled to an unbearable pain. His whole body felt like it was going to burst out of his skin.

He wasn’t just being torn apart, he was being pulled.

Towards the circle.

                The circle.

                    The circle…

    “Dipper!”

    Dipper barely felt the hands that were lifting and dragging him. He was feeling other things; feeling little rips form in the fabric of his mind, feeling strange tidbits of information trickle in like fire on his brain.

    “This is your last chance, girl. Tell us how you banished him, or we’ll send his soul to the Dreambender!”

All of a sudden he knew that that cultist’s name was Rodney Smith. He worked at a car dealership, and none of his employees liked him. He had a warrant out for his arrest - a contempt of court charge for that DUI hearing he skipped.

“No! Don’t kill him! Don’t kill him, I’ll do anything! Dipper!”

He knew Naomi Faybelle Argenta desperately wanted them to go to the same college, even as it was becoming clear they had different needs. She’d booked this whole trip for him, even though she’d already made up her mind. She only queued up his favourite tunes for the ride over, because she knew he didn’t really like her louder music.

He knew how many times she’d cry in her life. He knew she was going to get dementia like her grandmother. He knew the day she was going to die.

He knew. He knew. He knew heknewheknewheknewheknewohgodstop stopithurtsheknewhe-

He knew there was blood on the circle. His blood… on his circle.

The bubble of his mind popped then, and suddenly Alcor knew exactly what was going on. He let out a rumbling groan, and then stretched out his wings. It felt good to throw off that meatsack, to let magic crackle over his form.

    “M-my lord! You’re here! You’re back!” 

Them. He cracked a golden eye open to see the humans who had destroyed his human body. They were approaching - nervously? Reverently? Some were nervous. The one in front was revenant, its hands extended out like it wanted to touch Alcor.

“I can’t believe it! I freed you! I freed you, my lord!” The human laughed maniacally. “I followed all your signs, and now, now you’re here to reward me!”

Alcor growled as it approached, making it stop short of the circle. Still, there was an earnestness to this one’s aura; he could have fun with this.

“A̸̲̹̠̞̥̱̪h̹̪̱̹̼,̷͎̲̘͈̣ͅ ̼̹͙̗̙͓͔s҉͈̝̫̲o̸̭̘ ̜̥̖͇y͏̙̥̝o̮͖͈̦u̮̹̺̻͔̝͞ͅ ̨̹̝̪̩w̞̣̭̣̻̳͠o̦̥̫̥̻ṵl͇d̷̘͕̺̻ ̜̪̺̖̙l̫̥̞͕̟̭͡ͅi̦̻̗k̢̮̫e̤͎̘̱̥͉ ̧͉̙̤̰̤̩a͢ ̼͙̤͔f̮͓ì̯t̲͔̭ṯi͜n͎̦̝̮̝̫͞g̼̯͇͢ ͈̘̩̻r̞͇͠e̶͓̞̱̻ͅẉa̭͇̦͚̙r̥̯͉̬̼d̖͈͍̣͇.” Alcor stepped out of the chalk lines, his smile going wide and jagged. “Ș̴̻t҉̙e̘̙̯̫̥͕p̳͚͖̺̥ ̢̭ͅfo̴rw̢̠̰̦̻̜̞a̮̲ͅr̛̺̰̺̜̰ͅd͙̰͎͙ͅ,̖ͅ ͔̩̬͈t̳̪͇̼͙̮̘͜h̝̣͍͎ęn̜͈̠̯͍̲͙,͈͝ ̤̣̣a̧͍̙͍͎͙͉͈n̙͖̺̞͎̙̺͠d̯͇̟͔̮̹ ͎͈͇r̵̜̻̭e͙̭̺ͅc͔̭̱̰̣͔e̯̝͖͡i̬̝͍͟v̥̜̤͍e̟̳̺̘͕̯̕ ̩̭͇̬w̢̻͖̻̜h̪͈̺̭͍̣a̪̠t͚ ͠i̸͔̪͇̬s̪͔ ̠̯͇̖̲o̙̕ẃ̺̟͎̗̻͔e̟͈̭͉͉̲d̴̲͍̮̯͎͙ ͔̯̜͉̬̪̕ͅt̻ͅo̗ ̥̖͝y͔̞̮͍o͚͔̫̪̙u͔̙͖̝.”

The human stepped forward with a wild shine in its eyes. Alcor looked it up and down. Then he chuckled, unhinged his jaw, and went for the throat.

The screams from the other cultists tasted as sweet as the blood bubbling into his mouth. He stopped a moment to savour it, and then he chewed down further, biting through bone and sinew and a soundless scream to get to… The soul.

Alcor gave a full-body shudder as his teeth scraped it; stars, it had been too long since he’d eaten something so delicious. He dug his claws into the body’s shoulders, clamped his teeth around the soul, and ripped it out.

It tasted like wonderful pain. Alcor gulped it down in seconds, then set his eyes on the other cultists running into the desert. There was no moon tonight, but none of them escaped his gaze. None of them would escape him.

With a dark chuckle, he rose up from the ground, letting shadows descend onto the land, letting the blue fire dancing across his fingertips burn hot on the fear in the air, and-

He felt it.

Just above his ankle.

A silver knife - the same one that had slit his meatsack’s throat - was embedded in his form. The enchantments stung a bit, and he looked down, confused, to see who dared challenge the Dreambender… and ohh shit, ohhh no-

“You killed him!”  His own Mizar stared him down with murder in her eyes. Her hands, shaking and still tied with rope she’d cut, were grabbing at his shirt, dragging him down. “I’m gonna kill you! I’m gonna kill you!”

Alcor felt his stomach drop. He reached out a hand. “Mizar-”

“I’m gonna kill you!” 

Mizar wrenched down; in his shock, he only watched as she tackled him to the ground and stabbed him in the chest. He felt it go in and out, then in and out again and then he caught her arms.

“You can’t hurt me, Mizar.”

“I don’t care!” She tried to wiggle free of his grip. “Let me go!”

“Mizar-”

“Just let me go! Just let me go!”

Alcor watched her struggle against him for another moment, the pit in his stomach deepening as he remembered the person this soul had formed around. He watched Noie give one final tug, then sniff and gasp and choke and dissolve into a moaning sob over her hands.

The knife fell onto the dirt, and when Alcor let go, she sank down to lay beside it. He stood, and stared at the black despair of her aura…

And the red blood on his hands. Blood was everywhere; blood was all over his front, and blood was crusting around his mouth, and blood was leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. And where there was no blood? There was void, and there was teeth, and there was not a hint of the Dipper Argenta that Noie wanted to see.

He looked like a demon, devouring a cultist’s soul over a circle of candles… he looked like a monster.

The thought caught in his throat, and his hand went to where she’d stabbed him. He hesitated, there, for a moment, and the only sound to be heard was the buzz of crickets and the broken sobbing of his sister.

Then Alcor swallowed his thoughts. Right now, Noie needed her brother back. She didn’t need a monster. She didn’t need him.

So with an arm that trembled, he raised his fingers and set about bringing everything back to normal.

Snap.

______________________________________________________________

“Nearly - ugh - done with the tire, bro!” Noie beamed at her brother as she tightened the lugnuts. “This oughtta be enough to get us into town! I’ll look up tire places once we’ve got service again - don’t you worry about anything!”

Dipper Argenta could’ve lied to himself and pretended the strain in her smile was only from changing the tire, but Alcor knew better. He tried to smile back, tried not to see the panic simmering in her aura.

“And we’ll still make it to the motel before check-in time! This is still gonna be the best trip ever!”

“I’m sure it will be, Noie.”

“You better believe it! And in the morning, we’ll get up, and - and apparently there’s this really good tea shop in town, we’ll check that out and then go look around! It’ll be amazing!”

“I’m sure it will be, Noie.” Dipper looked out into the darkness, and sighed. “I’m sure… I’m sure it will be.”

“Dipper? You, uh… okay?”

He looked back to her, and smiled. “I’m okay. Everything’s okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Yeah, just…” Dipper rubbed his neck. “Once we get into town, I need to go to the bathroom, or something. I need to clear my head.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” She stood up. “Is it a magic headache?”

“Yeah… let’s go with that. I just need a few minutes, though. Then I’ll be fine.” He looked down at his shoes. “Then everything will be back to normal, and… we’ll have fun.”

Dipper stood there for a moment in silence. Then, he felt an arm come and wrap around him. Noie smiled at him, and patted his shoulder.

“Alright.” She motioned to the car. “Well, the tire’s changed, so we better get a move on, huh?”

“Yeah. You’re right. No point in hanging around.”

Noie gave him a squeeze, and then with a laugh she pulled him towards the car. She started the engine, and the audiobook they’d been listening to started talking once again. Dipper tried for a smile at that, but it didn’t stick.

Things felt almost normal as they got back on the road... but he already knew the ending.

[maaaaaatryoshka0325]

As Above, So Below - Kim Seungmin Paranormal Investigator Au Part 5

(<- Previous Part) (Next Part ->)

Warnings: pretty intense ghost scene

Seungmin had stopped humming as you both pulled up to a massive building. Your eyes scanned in, the hairs on your body stood up as you got closer, and somehow Seungmin could sense your anxiety.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah.. Just a bad feeling about this place.” You said, your eyes taking in every detail.

The building was yet to be completely worked on, as a series of events kept happening, making the workers too afraid to work on it. The new owner had contacted Seungmin, showing videos and pictures of the place, pleading for help.

“It’ll be okay, okay? We’re all here, we won’t let anything happen to you.” Seungmin said in a reassuring voice.

You gave him an appreciative smile and nodded, following him out of the van. Felix and Hyunjin approached you both as they walked out of the building, the owner following close behind them. He was quite young, maybe about ten years older than you, but his eyes held an extreme amount of fatigue.

“Are you Seungmin?” He asked, stretching his hand out with a bow.

Seungmin bowed and shook his hand, a smile on his face.

“I am, are you Mr. Hong?” Seungmin asked.

Mr. Hong nodded, a smile stretching across his tired looking face. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Mr. Hong turned to you and gave you a polite bow. “It’s nice to meet you Ms..?”

“Y/N.” You introduced yourself with a bow.

“Pleasure to meet you Ms. Y/N.” He said with a kind smile.

“Likewise.” You said, mirroring the same kind smile.

“We’re gonna set up the camera’s, then we’ll have you tell us what’s going on, okay?” Felix said.

Mr. Hong nodded, giving you all space to get ready. You began to fumble with the mouthpiece, feeling your nerves wracking. There was something sinister and sad about this place, and it gave you the chills. Your shaky fingers kept messing up the clip, when a pair of slender fingers slid over your own.

“Relax, okay?” Seungmin said softly, hooking the mouth piece to your shirt gently.

“Thank you.” You whispered with a blush.

He gave you a reassuring smile before turning to Felix, Haru, and Hyunjin.

“Haru and I will ask the questions and give the interview, Felix and Hyunjin obviously have the camera’s. Y/N, I want you to walk with Mr. Hong as we go through the building, and keep a close eye out for whatever you can find.” Seungmin instructed.

You all nodded as Hyunjin and Felix finished setting up the camera’s, and Haru and Seungmin talked about what questions to ask. Mr. Hong gave you a smile as he walked over to you.

“Ms. Y/N, was it?” He asked.

You nodded with a kind bow.

“You’re a clairvoyant, right?” He asked.

“That’s what they call me, yes.” You answered.

“Aren’t you ever afraid?” He asked.

You stood there for a moment, your eyes fixing on Seungmin and the others. Were you ever afraid? Of course you were, but there were things and people you wanted to protect. You wanted to make yourself useful in people's lives, and you had found your calling.

“Of course there are times where I’m afraid, terrified even. But there are people I want to protect, things I want to prove to the world. Those people over there,” You said with a smile. “They make me feel like family, and I know I’m safe with them.”

His eyes sparkled at your words, and he gave you a soft chuckle.

“That was sweet, I see what you mean.” He said.

“Are you two ready?” Seungmin asked, walking over to you both.

You both nodded and Mr. Hong went over to his car, grabbing a few flashlights and such.

“What were you two talking about?” Seungmin asked.

“He was asking me if I’m a clairvoyant and such.” You explained.

“Ah, okay.” He said, walking to the others with you beside him.

“We still need to fix the lighting in some rooms, it’s not all dark but for the rooms that are, here are some flashlights.” Mr. Hong said, handing the five of you flashlights.

“Have you worked on anything in the building?” Haru asked.

“The workers were able to fix up a lot of the floorboards and such, but with everything going on, everyone’s too afraid to work on anything now.” Mr. Hong said, looking nervous.

“What exactly happened?” Hyunjin asked, pointing the camera at Mr. Hong.

“One of the workers died.” 

“Hey guys, Seungmin here with Haru, Y/N, Felix, and Hyunjin.” Seungmin began. “Today we’re here with Mr. Hong, who is in the process of refurbishing an old mental hospital to turn it into a retirement home.”

Felix closed up on Mr. Hong, who gave a polite bow.

“Mr. Hong, can you tell us about yourself and what’s going on?” Haru asked.

“I came to South Korea from China when I saw this large amount of land for sale, and I’ve always loved working with the elderly and helping them. The place is a fixer upper, but I couldn’t imagine letting such a huge building and plot of land go to waste, and I have so many ideas still. The workers had started about two months ago, and they all kept giving strange reports of unexplained things happening.” Mr. Hong explained.

“What kind of unexplained things have been happening?” Seungmin asked.

“Well, it started off with the workers saying some of their items have been moved from different spots, and things have gone completely missing. People were hearing and seeing things, then one of the men reported he had scratches along his arms and his back.” Mr. Hong answered.

“Did anyone do anything?” Haru asked.

“Well, my business partner took it as the men being paranoid and lazy and never took it seriously… Until what happened a week and a half ago.” Mr. Hong said nervously.

“What happened?” Seungmin asked.

“One of the men seemed to be yelling at someone, or something. Another worker went to check on him, and when he walked into the room, the other worker flew through the window and fell three stories.” Mr. Hong explained.

“What do you mean flew?” You asked.

“The surveillance videos showed him yelling at someone or something not in the shot, then he flung through the window… When two workers got to him, he was dying. He told them he didn’t slip or fall…. He was pushed by one of the old residents.” Mr. Hong said grimly. 

Silence fell over your group, fear made your stomach turn as you searched his eyes; he was telling the truth. He took out his phone and played a video, a middle aged worker was arguing with someone not in the shot, then he suddenly flew through the window. You and Haru both gasped, and Felix covered his mouth with his hand. Seungmin and Hyunjin had grim looks on their faces as Hyunjin zoomed the camera in on Mr. Hong’s phone, capturing the video.

“Did the worker die on the scene?” Seungmin asked.

“Yes, he did…. I had to tell his family what happened. I compensated all that I could at the time. I fired the business partner for not telling me or taking it seriously.” Mr. Hong said with a sad look.

Hyunjin rubbed his shoulder, a reassuring look on his face.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault.” He reassured him.

Mr. Hong gave him a small grateful smile before sighing. “Are you ready to go in?”

Walking into the building made every hair on your body stand up again. Right when you had taken two steps into the building your gut churned. Your eyes scanned the barely lit building, some lights flickering, making it look like a cliche horror movie. You stood close to Mr. Hong as he flicked on his flashlight, the rest of you turning on yours too.

“I’ll show you guys around, and I’ll show you the room where the worker was pushed out the window.” Mr. Hong said.

The first few rooms you walked by were almost empty, scattered old furniture sitting in the rooms, full of dust and mold. The hallway lights flickered as nothing but your group's footsteps could be heard. A mouse ran by your feet and you jumped, bumping into Mr. Hong.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, sorry.” You said with a small bow.

“You’re really jumpy today Y/N, having second thoughts?” Haru asked with a smirk.

“Is she always a menace?” Mr. Hong asked.

“Excuse me?” Haru gasped with a glare.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Hyunjin snapped, looking at Haru.

Haru was about to say something, when Seungmin glanced over at her, giving her a nasty glare. She pursed her lips and fell silent as Mr. Hong continued to lead the way through the empty corridors. You stopped while passing by a certain room, your body shuddering as you turned your head and looked inside of it.

Sitting by a window was a little boy, black blood dripping from empty eye sockets as he stared at you. He had blood all over a black cardigan and over his small hands, a huge wound on his chest, puncturing his pale skin. 

“I’m scared.” He whispered to you. “She’s gonna keep hurting me. I want my mommy.”

Your body shook, your lower lip trembling as tears filled your eyes. You felt someone touch your back and you jumped, and Felix looked at you with wide eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asked. 

You slowly nodded and swallowed hard, looking back to the spot the little boy had been at. The spot by the window was empty, and he was nowhere to be found. Your breathing was ragged as Felix gently pulled you towards him, his hand releasing your arm to rub the back of your shoulder.

“What was it? What did you see?” Felix asked.

“A little boy… He died here.” You whispered. “He was murdered.”

Felix’s eyes widened, but he kept himself calm as he slowly led you away from the room, catching up with the others.

“Are you okay?” Mr. Hong asked as you and Felix approached. “Did you see something?”

“Y-Yeah…” You said shakily.

“Talk about it later, okay? Just calm down for now.” He said softly.

You nodded as he led everyone up the stairs and onto the second floor, and you felt almost sick knowing the building was six stories, which means you had four more to go after this floor. The next floor had old dark brown stains, and you instantly pin pointed them as blood stains. The whole atmosphere felt heavy, and you stuck close to Seungmin’s side as the group continued along the dark hallways.

“What was this floor?” Seungmin asked. 

“More rooms for the patients to live in, the next floor is the infirmary.” Mr. Hong said.

The rooms had an eerie feeling to them, and you shivered as you made your way up the stairs to the next floor, the floor the worker was pushed out of. The halls were lined with small hospital rooms, and you felt as if you couldn’t breathe.

“This is the floor where most of the patients died, and where the old owner killed herself… And where the worker fell out of the window.” Mr. Hong said grimly.

Your hands began to tremble as you could feel a dark aura coming from a specific room, and you slowly approached it. Fear made your whole tremble, your stomach twisting as you slowly approached the room. You slowly pushed the door open, and saw the taped off window, and the blood that was still sticking to the shards of glass. Something swinging in the corner of your eye caught your attention, a lump forming in your throat when you slowly turned around. 

It was her, the old owner. She was hanging from the ceiling, blood on her tattered, white night dress, her feet decaying along with the rest of her flesh. Your whole body shook as she dropped from the ceiling and landed on her face, the sound of her body hitting the ground making you jump. Horrible cracking sounds filled the room as her arms began to reach to support herself, her withering hair pushing out of her face, her eyes completely black. Tears of fear filled your eyes as you backed away as her bones snapped as she finally stood up, her back cracking as it straightened. She began to slowly limp towards you, and you let out a choked whimper as you backed up.

You felt soft fingers go over your eyes, and warmth was pressed against your back. The touch made you feel safe, and you knew it was Seungmin. His one hand covered your eyes, his chest against your back, his other hand gently rubbing your shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m right here.” He whispered in your ear. “I’ve got you. I need you to reach into this place and see what you can.”

You could feel the woman right near the both of you, and you knew she was staring at Seungmin. Seungmin could feel her, you knew, but he couldn’t see her the way you could.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He whispered softly, his hand staying over your eyes. “Relax, I’m right here.”

You allowed yourself to relax then felt around the room, picking something up. Images flashed in your mind, the women killing her patients, the children screaming, the people dying and killing themselves, the devil of a woman killing herself after the authorities were notified and were coming for her. All of the abuse, all of the death, it made you reach back and clutch Seungmin’s shirt tightly. His hand that was rubbing your shoulder dropped down to your own that was clutching his shirt, and engulfed your hand in his own. 

“She killed them.” You whispered. “She killed her patients and herself. She pushed the worker out the window.” 

Seungmin gave your hand a reassuring squeeze as he slowly backed you out of the room, not taking his delicate hand off of your eyes. Mr. Hong approached you both, a confused look on his face.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Y/N was able to see what happened, and now we have to build or case and get raw footage of it all.” Seungmin explained, slowly lowering his hand from your eyes.

You saw Felix and Hyunjin give you sympathetic looks, feeling bad you had to see all of that, and you had to do it alone.

“So, what happened?” Haru asked, eyeing you.

“The woman who owned the building killed her patients, then herself when the authorities found out. She’s the one who pushed the worker out of the window.” You explained.

“We can’t catch a break from these scary cases.” Hyunjin sighed.

Seungmin turned to Mr. Hong, his eyes looking around.

“It’s getting dark now, we should come back tomorrow when it’s not as dark so we can get good footage.” Seungmin suggested.

Mr. Hong nodded, agreeing with Seungmin. 

“Is 10 am good for you?” Mr. Hong asked.

“Perfect.” Seungmin agreed.

You followed them out of the building, sticking close to Seungmin. He led you to the van and when you got in, he gave you a soft look.

“I’m sorry you have to go through that all by yourself, are you okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” You sighed.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yeah.” You said with a small smile.

He stroked your hair for a moment, making your heart leap through your chest. 

“You’re very brave, Y/N.” He said softly. “And I’m here whenever you need, I promise you that.”

[hiding-under-the-willow]

EMH/Stan Frederick AU (kinda) Full Explanation

Okay, so

Basically I was thinking a lot about the Stan Frederick episode where they're trying to find out more about the rake and they're going through boxes and boxes of old research and at one point Susan pulls out a binder marked with purple duct tape, which she claims has a lot of info about the rake in it, an obvious homage to EMH. Stan immediately shuts Susan down when he sees what binder she's looking at, and the specific line "If we're ever that desperate..." just really stuck in my head for one reason or another. It got me thinking about Stan and Habit interacting, and while I thought that was interesting enough to go off with as an idea, but obviously we need a context for that interaction, that's where the AU comes in.

It takes place in an alternate iteration, one in which the majority of the story is the one that we have experienced alongside the EMH crew. We've made it all the way up to 'Sleeping dogs lie.' and it is the first iteration with this format in which Habit has managed to make it this far. He's furious that Vinnie has ruined the plan by going off to follow the leads presented by the Princeton tapes and is convinced that by following those leads Vinnie will end up dead. Deciding there's no fixing the iteration in its current state, he decides to fuck with it in a way that he finds entertaining, pulling someone else into the fray and trying to get them to go along with his plan the way Vinnie was meant to.

He thinks for a bit about who he could have the most fun messing with. Noah seemed like a fun choice but that was almost sure to start a fight with Firebrand and he wasn't exactly in the mood to fight that war, there was Micheal/Patrick but he still didn't know where they were (a fact he was fairly salty about considering the lengths he went to to lure Shaun to him as bait). This brings him to wondering "Hey what about that Stan Fredrick guy? The paranormal investigator Firebrand used to complain about, what ever happened to him?"

He looks into it and is honestly kinda excited by what he finds. This Stan guy, he's real entertaining to watch and looks like he would be great to mess with, and they share a common enemy, that old stick-in-the-mud. He's also fairly curious about the concept of corruptelams and since Stan is one after the events of '40. Amendments' he could do some research. He decides that if he's able to manipulate Stan just right, with promises of defeating slender, a happy ending where he gets to go back to a normal life with his wife, maybe even hinting at the possibility of being able to bring Stan fully back to life from his state as a corruptelam, he might just be able to have a bit of fun with this collapsing iteration, and he figures, just maybe, Stan could be powerful enough to complete his plan the way Vinnie was supposed to.

Stan on the other hand, is doing fairly okay, well, kinda. After the events of '40. Amendments' he basically went into hiding, traveling around the country to avoid staying in one place too long while also avoiding places like Maine, New Jersey, Florida, and Alabama, all to avoid being found by the monsters again and being pulled back into the fray, because he knows that as soon as his moster realized it missed a piece it'll come back to collect the rest of him. He's managed to stay safe, but he's become uncomfortable with his existence as a corruptelam, hating having to use the word to describe himself, and is depressed by his lonely existence, traveling from place to place in fear, never being able to see the people he cares about or get close to anyone. He's tired, but completely restless at the same time.

Habit brings Stan to his base of operations 'Severence' style while Stan is asleep, one of the few human comforts he's able to still enjoy as a corruptelam. Stan's sure at first that he's having a nightmare when he awakes in the unfamiliar house but quickly realizes that he's very much awake when confronted by Habit, who is very real and very much a threat. Stan is forced to confront the lack of humanity brought about by his existence as a corruptelam and the discomfort that that existence brings him. Habit, having done all of the possible research he could before hand, is perfectly prepared to emotionally manipulate Stan into joining him, and despite everything Stan has aligned himself with all these years and Habit's obvious pension for dishonesty he somehow allows himself to fall victim to this very blatant manipulation and joins Habit to defeat Slender in the hopes of returning to his old life with Susan without monsters and death looming over his shoulder the rest of his life.

Habit is absolutely ecstatic that his plan is working so easily, and even goes as far as agreeing to a couple of ground rules Stan wants set before they start working together (not actually planning on following them of course). They form a kind of symbiotic relationship while living under the same roof and planning their attack on slender, slowly learning more about eachother and the world around them from eachother. Stan learning more about the monsters that inhabit their world and the magic that surrounds them, Habit learning more about the psychology of humanity and Stan's general mindset in his strange situation. Habit comes to respect Stan in a strange way, and Stan gets to a point where he almost trusts Habit, at least not fearing him quite as much as he did before.

Stan finds himself surprised by how seemingly normal everything around them seems. They live like normal people, talk like normal roommates. If it wasn't for the fact that they were both supernatural creatures planning to take down a god like monster Stan might've almost found their situation comforting. But then, as always, there are those small things that remind him that things are, infact, not normal. The static behind Habit's voice, the way the air around him sparked with static electricity, the supernatural forces at play in the house, the feint smell of blood that stuck to Habit or certain rooms of the house at times. All of them would bring him back to reality and remind him of who he was working with and why he was doing so in the first place.

This all comes to a head with the release of 'The Drive West' and then 'Finding Fairmount'. Habit is struck with the realization that Vinnie is very much alive and has found the North Star, and now he has two very good candidates to finish the job and take down that old stick-in-the-mud.

Habit brings Vinnie back the same way he does in the iteration we witnessed. To say the least, Vinnie is surprised and a bit unsettled by Stan's presence. He encourages Stan to leave as soon as they get a second alone without Habit, he's noticed something different about the creature that's been inhabiting his friend and is worried about what exactly he has planned and what's going to go down. He knows this battle is his to fight, not Stan's. Stan isn't persuaded, he's determined to reap the rewards he has spend months working towards. There's no way he abandons everything now and goes back to his lonely existence empty handed after all this time he's spent dealing with Habit to get this far.

I don't want to spoil anything further than this because I have some plans for this AU in the future, but I will tell you that, to say the least, things do not end well.

[nerdlife0612]

Dragon Bound Part 6

Author Note: Reminder – ‘Dragon Bound’ is merely a code name for this work at the current time. Reminder numero dos - for the time being, this is going to be an original work set within a WWE-Paranormal/AU type of setting.

That means original male characters and original female characters as the leads with occasional appearances of already established ‘characters’ (a la Triple H, Stephanie Mc., Roman Reigns, etc).

Part 6 is a little shorter than I wanted but I’m tired and we got some pair bonding here as well as an introduction to a complication that is well on the way. So I’ll live with it.

Let me know what you think!!

Tag List: @evilangel84 @empress-with-the-crown @misadventuresofathot @thedevilnisworld @bigpixiefoot @littledeadrottinghood @ballins-princess @princess3733 @sugasfatgf

(Uhh I hope I didn’t forget anyone… Lemme know!)

And away we go! --------------------------

Dragon Bound: Part 6 Word Count: 1,181 or so for the actual story Rating for P. 6: PG13

David lay on his bed in his plaid boxers, arms crossed under his head and staring up at the ceiling. He couldn’t keep his mind from straying to Elizabeth at every little thought. On the human side of things, he knew they barely knew each other and had to build a foundation between them before things get too far. But The Dragon side…

The Dragon side roared her name over and over, knowing that she belonged tucked into his side, safe and warm. Rolling his head slightly to the left and casting his eyes to the ribs on the left side of his body where his Dragon mark resided, he heaved a great breath. This was going to be anything but easy. But her well-being came first and foremost ahead of everything else. And hell be damned if he was going to lose sight of that. ‘Sweet dreams, baby.’ Closing his eyes, he did his best to try and sleep.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth had been asleep for a little while already. But it was an uneasy sleep. Tossing and turning, something in her head screamed that something was watching her. In fact, it felt like more than one set of eyes that were dark beyond measure were lurking over her defenseless body. ‘Wake up…’ She was trying to wake up from the nightmare that was plaguing her, but she couldn’t find that way out.

Little did she know that a pair of shadows was indeed lurking over her and exchanging a competitive look – white eyes meeting black ones. “Back. Off. This little one is mine.” A gravelly voice emanated from the black-eyed shadow. The white-eyed beast grinned ear-to-ear, eerily white teeth shining in the dark.

“We shall sssee…. May the besssst one win, demon.” And just as Elizabeth leapt up, awake, the two disappeared into nothingness. Rubbing her eyes, she reached over and switched on her bedside lamp. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d swear my nightmare actually happened.’ Flopping back on her pillow, she groaned in annoyance knowing that sleep would evade her for the rest of the night. As she struggled to decide what to do now, her email dinged. Yanking the comforter off her smaller frame, she stumbled over to the laptop to find it was an email from David:

You awake? -- David

Shaking her head, she couldn’t believe his sense of timing. Clicking of her keyboard filled the silence in the room:

Yep. Sure am. Woke up from the damnedest dream. Well, it felt more like a nightmare. And I could have sworn when I woke up there were two people in my room but they vanished when I turned on the light. So now, I can’t sleep.

What about you? -- Liz

David snarled when he read her email. He had heard rumors of such creatures being among the roster and if it was the two he had been told about – to say his level of concern for their situation just leapt up into the sky:

I hate to break it to you but… I had heard rumors about creatures with the shadow walking ability being among the roster, Elizabeth. And it seems like that might have indeed be true. And worse yet – you’ve somehow managed to draw their attention already. You have no idea how bad I am fighting The Dragon right now.

I’m going to request to have my room moved closer to yours in the morning. -- David

Her laptop dinged, and she went through the roof at his response. Typing furiously, she shot off a response:

Hell to the no. That’s not necessary. Isn’t a little bit of distance needed in our situation? Didn’t you basically hint at that yourself? -- Liz

Slamming his fist on the bed next to him, he growled. This woman was trying every nerve in his being: Yes. That was before two of the darkest beings on the roster invaded the room of the missing piece of my fucking soul. Hell be fucking damned if I stand by and leave you vulnerable. -- David

He received a quick response from her:

There’s no arguing with you on this is there? - Liz

He grinned, knowing he’d won this fight:

Exactly. Now. Please, for me, try and go back to sleep. -- David

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck, brushing the mark on the back of her neck. David shivered, a feeling of a small hand on the back of his neck. He quickly typed out a new email:

Stop that. - David

Elizabeth frowned in confusion:

What? - Liz

He huffed, half in annoyance and half in temptation to cave to The Dragon’s insistence request to go to her room. Shaking hands met the keyboard one more time:

Keep your hands off the back of your neck right now. Yes, before you ask – I can sense that shit. And in the mood I am in, The Dragon is gaining more control and damn if the temptation to come to your room isn’t overwhelming. Especially given the fact that I can’t get out of my mind how it felt to have you up against me or how you tasted… Fuck I gotta stop. Just go to sleep, please. I’m begging you.

I’m trying to be a good boy here. - David

Elizabeth bit her lip, rubbing her legs together a little bit. She couldn’t forget the events from earlier either. But, she knew he was right. ‘Damn it…’ She decided to bid him good night one more time:

Very well. I appreciate the sentiment. I do. I have meetings tomorrow but I’m free for lunch if you want to meet up to go over our ideas. Text me tomorrow around 11 A.M, okay? Good night David. - Liz

In their respective rooms, the pair laid back down – careful to avoid their bond marks. But neither would be able to sleep for the rest of the night.

The next day passed in a blur. Partially because of exhaustion but partially because of how busy everyone was prepping for Sunday. Elizabeth couldn’t contain the grin when right on the 11 A.M. buzzer her phone sounded off.

~~ Meet me in the lobby? –D

She swiped her response:

~~ Be right down. : ) – E

While she was focusing too much on her phone, she walked head on into a sturdy body – falling backwards as a result.

“Might wanna watch where you’re going sweetheart. Here.” A male voice that she recognized very well offered her a hand. She laughed, internally trying to squash her fangirl tendencies a bit, and accepted the hand up.

“I’m sorry Mr. Hardy. I was focused on making lunch plans. My bad.” He shot her a full tooth – bright white – smile. She blanched as he walked away. His smile reminded her of one of the ones from her nightmare last night.

Swallowing hard, she beat a hasty path to the elevator wanting nothing more than to get to David’s side again.

She hated to admit it but David might have been right.

------------------------------------ Author’s Note: Okay so yeah that went differently than I expected for sure. But I blame some of y’all for sharing certain things on Tumblr a.k.a Fumblr. LOL

[unholyhelbiglinked]

The Attic | Hartsquared

[A/N: Part of this is from an AU account, but most of it is not!]

The sun moved through the space in a on odd way, almost seeping through the wood as it highlighted dust that pressed against the air. It looked almost artistic, the way the boxes stood out from the rest of the monochromatic backdrop of the attic.

Everything was different shades of grey and brown, the deep scent of mothballs in my lungs just doing more to further the fact that I knew exactly here I was. A generic attic. One that was filled with old clothes and odd's and cracked Christmas bulbs.

Deep blue eyes met mine in annoyance as I drew in another breath of hot air, my knees throbbing and bac aching. Hannah and I had been here for a few hours, just trying to figure out exactly what we should do with all the stuff in the attic that was left for us to sift through.

"What about this?" Hannah asked, she was behind me- going through an old trunk of clothes. My family had left a lot behind in this place, stuff that needed to be cleared out before we put the house on the market.

A deep blue scarf was warped around the girls neck, she modeled it like she was in vogue, a bit of dirt swiped across her cheek from god knows where. She was trying to entertain herself after hours of sitting in here making a pile for goodwill.

"It's cute," I laughed slightly "really brings out your eyes."

"Why thank you," Hannah threw the scarf back in the bin, quick to dig her fingers back into chest full of old clothes. None of them had any real meaning, just a few odds and ends that we hadn't had time to donate.

We dug around for a few more minutes, my main focus on a stack of old photos. No matter what I would keep them. They were aged polaroid's; the once white borders now a deep yellow that was so prime it looked gold. Every image had a brown filter on them- something that had to do with exposing the film before it was loaded into the camera.

There were a few scenes of my grandmother and grandfather with my mom. They looked happy- going to the beach, the waves captured in one still moment as they grinned towards the lens. They were a cute family years ago, and still kept in contact with us no matter what.

"Hey Mames," Hannah spoke again, my back was turned to her at this point, eyes moving up from the pictures I was scrutinizing. Hannah held an old flashlight in her hand- one of those clunky ones that you had to charge with an outlet. It was buried beneath the clothes, her eyebrows knitting together as she shook it- it rattled.

"It's a flashlight?" I spoke slowly, confused on why she had drawn my attention to it.

"yeah," She said dumbly, like it was obvious "You think it still works?"

"Probably not," My whole body groaned as I stood, I had been knelling for a while, the attic floor creaking under both of our weights as we shifted. The closer I got the more it looked like metal instead of plastic, the setting sun casting an odd golden glow off of the material that was painted pitch. "I don't know why it's up here, though."

"Hm," The shorter girl shrugged as she clicked the plastic coated button once- it made an odd noise, almost hollow, but it wasn't a battery charged piece of equipment. It was supposed to be plugged in- and hadn't been for years.

"See?" I raised a brow "dead, just like my resolve for actually cleaning out this place."

"Right," Hannah tossed the flashlight into a pile of clothes that had been scattered against the rough wooden floor. It was loud, like a bowling ball hitting an empty ally coated in thick paint. We both stared at the spot for a few seconds before I let out a small sigh, running a hand through my sweat soaked hair.

"Would you be completely opposed to making better use of the rest of our day?" She placed her hand lightly on my hip, her fingertips cool against a bit of exposed skin under the hem of my shirt. She was freezing despite the heat- despite the rough conditions of a half a day spent in an attic.

"Depends on what you had in mind?" My chin lifted slightly, a small grin playing at my lips. She was blushing, the color blending nicely in contrast with the color of her crisp eyes. We stayed there for a few seconds, just staring. The sun was close to setting at this point, the space a deep turquoise.

There was a slight shift in atmosphere as the flashlight flickered on, taking both of us by shock. The glow was dark, as low as a yellow could go. It highlighted every single inch of the floor in a cylinder-shaped beam. The edges of Hannah's sneakers were caught in the crossfire, the both of us glancing nervously at one another.

"weird," Hannah breathed, getting down on one knee to pull the light from the pile of scarfs and old coats. The beam moved against most of the room as I focused on her movements.

"You're not kidding," I scoffed, scratching the back of my neck as she stood, taking the light and sweeping it across the length of the room. There were parts of the attic that were untouched by light even in the early morning hours. Pitch corners that I dreaded going into incase of spiders or other shadows.

"It's hot." Hannah mumbled, testing out the weight of the light, it brushed across the edge of a standing mirror, my eyes following the circle that scanned the room. Everything was quiet for a second, both of us frozen in place as the light hit something neither of us had seen in the room before.

There was one area where the shadow didn't surrender to the light, one place where it seemed to pass right through, highlighting a figure- highlighting something that made my heart press against my throat and pound against my wrist.

My breath was short, stomach churning. Part of me dared Hannah to raise the light a little higher, dared her to show what had been in this room the whole time- even though I didn't know exactly what that was. I could only see a solid figure, one that was dripping murky water against the hardwood floor.

"Han,"

"I see it."

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

We breathed a few minutes, the only sound in my ears happened to be the blood rushing past them; heart loud and deafening as I took a step back, standing next to Hannah who refused to move her eyes away from the feet illuminated by the light.

I blinked a few times, my eyes burning from the light- my nails digging into my palm as the thing that I had just seen in the corner disappeared before my eyes, vanished like that. Somehow the two of us let out a breath of relief- one mixed with fear and conviction.

"What the fuck" Hannah spoke, her voice rough as air hitched in her throat "was that?"

"We need to leave," I took a step back, my foot crunching against something that made both of us jump. It was loud, almost deafening. My gaze snapped down, a paper resting under the sole of my boot. Hannah knit her eyebrows together, my hands shaking as I grasped the edge of the paper.

The words on deep parchment paper I struggled to make out the words in the dark area, my gaze kept flicking towards the closed hatch that lead so skillfully to the ladder. Part of me wanted to leave now, wanted o never go into the attic or the old house again- but I knew I needed answers. Not just about the flashlight, or the attic, but about my grandmother. Something was off here. Something was wrong.

"What does it say?" Hannah whispered, her words hot against my collarbone as I tried to keep my hands still enough to read the paper.

"Light shows what is connected by a door, use this carefully to create a window." I mumbled, sweat dripping off my nose as I continued to stare at the words "That's it."

I flipped the paper over, panting slightly as I moved my thumb against the grain of the parchment. Hannah continued to stare at me, her jaw clenched as she kept the light weighted in her hand.

"So what? It shows you the other world?" Hannah questioned, skepticism in her voice.

"You saw that too," My voice shook, "We need to leave. Really, Hannah."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow, pressing her free hand against my side softly "Because I just think the two of us have been trapped in this hot attic all day, and your grandmother had a taste for the paranormal."

"Right," I swallowed roughly "You're right. I know you are. Nothing was there. We're just tired and hungry. Which is why we should leave. Now."

She laughed slightly, passing the flashlight my way as she pulled away from me. Hannah shook her head as I stared at the still lit object. It was heavy, and hot. Just a flashlight, nothing more or nothing less. It was silly to think that something was going on.

The heat hot gotten to the both of us, dirt and dust filling our lungs for hours as we sifted through stuff my grandmother had hoarded over the years. That odd feeling in my stomach was lack of food, not something tugging at my conscience.

"Just a flashlight," I chuckled, sweeping the beam of light across the side of the room with the hatch. A bit of it caught Hannah as I knelt down, grasping the metal hook that lead to the exit. "Wanna get down here and help me out, huh?"

I aimed to light her way, Hannah raising her hand to cover up half of her face. The glow was bright, making her blink rapidly as a shadow stretched across her features. Her jaw was clenched as I continued to stare at her. "Wow, harsh Mames. That thing is bright."

The silence was strong for a few moments, the light still pressed against her as she chuckled slightly, one side of her lip turning up in a half smile. Her teeth were a stark white against the deep gold of the beam.

"Babe," She blinked again, lifting her chin. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I shifted the flashlight as soon as I lifted the hatch without her help, the cold air raising from the house down below made my hair stand up against the back of my neck. I continued to stare at her.

"Mind turning off the spotlight then?" She smiled again.

I nodded, drawing my gaze away from her crisp eyes; eyes that had always shined a vibrant blue. The same eyes that would crinkle at the edges whenever she smiled. The same eyes that would light up every time she saw something she loved- every time she saw me.

But somehow under the deep glow of the flashlight, those familiar eyes flickered a blood red, face pale and features shadowed in a way that I had never seen in her before. My jaw was clenched, my throat tightening as I slowly lowered the beam.

"Thank you, babe" She said, dropping her own hand to her side. "Leave that up here, will you? It makes you nervous. Doesn't it?"

"It does," my mouth was unbelievably dry as she placed her palm lovingly on my shoulder. "It really does."