Scare Factor

Written for my 2021 Halloween event.

Pairing: Randall Carpio x Scare Actor!Male!Reader

Prompt: Randall + Scare actor with “Don’t you dare say ‘let’s split up’’ and “Oh, don’t worry. The blood is fake.”

A/N: This was the final prompt for my 2021 Halloween event! I hope that you had as much fun reading the pieces as I did writing them.

—–

When Lilith had suggested that the Knights of Saint Christopher take a little field trip to their local haunted house, Randall had expected it to be much more mild than this. He had anticipated crappy fog machines, guys in cheesy masks, and barely-functioning animatronics- nothing at all compared to the things he and his companions faced on a daily basis.

Except that the fog machines weren’t crappy- they worked well enough to obscure even his wolf-enhanced vision. The animatronics were genuinely terrifying; jolting forward unexpectedly and letting out ungodly shrieks whenever he thought it was safe to look the other way. And the scare actors…

The actors would come out of nowhere, popping around corners and appearing from dense clouds of smoke as though out of thin air. They would yell and swing fake weapons, using their sudden appearance and loud noises to spook the guests passing through.

Randall hated to admit it, but he was quickly finding himself increasingly anxious as he and his friends wound their way through the maze of hallways and themed rooms. He found his heart rate picking up with every jumpscare, a nervous sweat prickling across the palms of his hands and the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

Right as he was considering the benefits of just leaving, their group crossed the threshold into a room so dark that Randall couldn’t see anything even with his werewolf senses and the door slammed closed behind them. A group of actors emerged from the darkness with a scream and rushed the group, which split in the confusion.

At some point Randall’s hand brushed against the soft fabric of someone’s shirt, and he clutched onto it, dragging who he assumed was probably Hamish with him in the direction that he assumed the exit would be.

When he finally found the door and shoved it open, he couldn’t help but gasp in a relieved breath, chest heaving as he tried to get his breathing back to normal.

“So… the exit was actually the other way,” drawled a man’s voice from behind Randall.

Randall whipped around, lurching away as he came face to blood-splattered face with one of the scare actors. His eyes widened as he realized that he must have grabbed this zombie guy instead of one of his friends in all the chaos, “You… aren’t Hamish.”

The stranger huffed out a surprised laugh and Randall was hit by the sudden realization that under all the blood, the (h/c) was actually pretty handsome. “No, no I’m not. The name’s (M/N), actually.”

“Right,” Randall murmured, averting his eyes awkwardly; still embarrassed by the whole situation.

(M/N) grinned, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, don’t worry. The blood’s fake.”

Randall’s lips twitched up into the barest hint of a smile, knowing that he’d have been able to smell if it was real from a mile away. “Right, yeah. Of course it is.”

“Look, your friends took off down the main hallway,” the scare actor said, gesturing off in the direction of the path. “We’re in the back halls right now; I can take you through a couple of shortcuts and get you back with your group, or you can head back through the door and try and catch them yourself.”

“Don’t you dare suggest we split up,” Randall snapped. He faltered as he realized how that had sounded, “Sorry, it’s just- I’m a little bit-” he gestured uselessly back toward the room they’d come from.

“Of a ‘fraidy cat?” (M/N) teased, the corner of his lips twitching up in amusement, “Don’t worry; I already knew that.” He chuckled a little, before tilting it toward one of the ends of the hallway, “C’mon, I’ll take you back to your friends.”

Randall brightened, grinning so hard that he knew his dimples would be visible, “R-really? Thank you!”

The (h/c) smiled, the movement making the fake blood and makeup crinkle a little at the corner of his lips in a way that had Randall itching to kiss it away. He reached out to take Randall’s hand in his and Randall could feel Graybeard preening appreciatively under his skin. “Don’t want you getting lost,” (M/N) explained, though Randall couldn’t help but pick up the faint blush on his cheeks.

“Definitely not,” Randall replied, an answering flush heating his face as he twisted his fingers with the (h/c)’s and allowed himself to be tugged along through the dark scarers-only hallways that ran alongside the guest paths.

Eventually they came to a stop just behind a door disguised as a painting. “Your friends should be entering this room within the next minute, so you can hop through here and meet back up with them.”

“That’s amazing,” Randall grinned, watching through a hidden hole as his friends trailed into the room beyond the door, talking amongst themselves and trying to figure out where he’d disappeared off to.

“I like to think so,” (M/N) grinned, reaching out to press the button to unlatch the hidden door before hesitating. “I don’t know if you’d be interested at all, but, um, if you maybe wanted to see me again, I get off at midnight?”

Randall was surprised to hear that his attraction was reciprocated, but he definitely wasn’t upset to hear it. “Yeah, I- yeah, definitely! We could maybe go to the Blade and Chalice for a drink?”

“That sounds amazing,” (M/N) nodded, grinning widely. “I promise I’ll be less bloody for our date.”

The Knight smiled as he moved to duck through the doorway, “I dunno, I think it’s a pretty good look on you.”

Randall couldn’t quite figure out whether his good mood was from scaring his friends with his sudden reappearance or the sound of (M/N)’s raucous laughter echoing behind him and the plans for tonight looming ahead of him.

Hearts on Fire

Written for my 2021 Halloween event.

Pairing: Ben x Male!Reader

Prompt: Dragon Ben stealing the reader away for part of his hoard.

A/N: This was the fourteenth prompt for my 2021 Halloween event! The final piece will be posted on Sunday, October 31st.

—–

When your day began, you hadn’t expected it to go like this. Honestly though, how could you have? You’d been on your way to your classes at Auradon Prep, the same as every other day, when something huge swooped out of the sky and closed its massive claws around your middle, dragging you off into the sky with it.

As the creature’s grip tightened around you and its wings shifted to begin its descent a large mountain appeared out of the clouds before you, and you realized that the deep fissure in its face must have been where the beast had made its den. You were proven right as it swooped down through the crevasse, landing easily, even with one great paw preoccupied with holding you.

The creature released you as soon as it landed and you were quick to scramble away, watching in a terrified sort of awe as green smoke consumed the dragon (now that you were able to see more than the scaled paw that had snatched you, you were able to be sure) and concealed it from your sight.

When the smoke finally dissipated, you were shocked to see a stunned-looking brunet about your age rather than the massive dragon that had taken you.

“Well,” he said after far too long spent in silence, examining his hands as though he’d never seen them before, “That’s certainly new.”

You raised an eyebrow, trying to force yourself past your shock, “That’s- not a normal thing for dragons?”

He shrugged, a sheepish glint in his warm chocolate eyes, “I wouldn’t know; I’m not exactly a normal dragon.” When you were too confused to respond, he pressed on, “I tried to break up with my ex a few years ago because I didn’t see us working out and cursed me. Ever since then I’d been, well, like that,” he gestured vaguely in the direction he’d brought you from.

“Then how did you change back…?” you gestured toward him, clearly curious about what had happened to him.

“My name’s Ben, by the way.” He let out an amused little huff, grinning at you, “Y’know, the funny thing is that she said that the spell would only break when I met my true love.”

“True love, huh?” you said, an embarrassed flush heating your cheeks. “Let’s start with a date and go from there, yeah?”

Ben smiled widely, pushing a dark curl behind his ear, “As much as I’d like that, how about we start with how to get down since I can’t fly anymore?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, smiling so widely that your cheeks began to hurt. Yeah, you found yourself thinking a while later as the pair of you picked your way down the mountain, if the rest of your relationship with Ben was like this, you were sure you’d be happy.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Written for my 2021 Halloween event.

Pairing: Alex x Male!Reader

Prompt: Alex + “The phantoms and the reader doing a fall photoshoot, and everyone keeps telling Alex how adorable his boyfriend is with his camera and photos and Alex is just like I know he’s a keeper.”

A/N: This was the thirteenth prompt for my 2021 Halloween event! The next piece will be posted on Friday, October 29th.

—–

Alex couldn’t help but smile as he watched you work; effortlessly guiding Reggie and Luke into the proper poses and making sure the sheets that made up their ghost costumes draped in such a way that would make the lighting look even more impressive before stepping back to snap a few photos.

“Is that your boyfriend?” A woman’s voice snapped Alex out of his thoughts and he turned to face her with wide eyes. After a moment, he recognized her as the woman who owned the pumpkin patch that they had come to take photos at.

It took him a moment to process what she’d asked, and then another to determine whether it was a genuine question, but Alex finally managed to respond after what felt like entirely too long. “N-no. We’re just, uh, just friends.”

The woman laughed, her amusement making her eyes crinkle up at the corners ever so slightly. “Maybe you should think about asking for more,” she suggested with a grin, “The way he was looking at you when you were getting your photos has me thinking that you’re not the only one thinking this would’ve been a fun place to come on a date.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment you turned and shot him the most brilliant smile and the setting sun caught your eyes in a way that made them seem to glow and he could feel his heart seize in his chest. “Yeah, I think maybe I should.”

“He seems like a keeper,” the woman said quietly, nudging Alex forward. “Best of luck, dear. And bring him back next year; we’re going to have a corn maze.”

Alex stumbled forward at her push, grinning sheepishly as he got closer.

“Oh, good, I was just about to ask you to come over here,” you said, gesturing with your camera toward a cluster of large pumpkins, “I need you to sit on this one, kick your legs out in front of you, and tip your head back a little like you’re laughing.”

Alex hesitated, shooting a glance back at the woman before steeling his nerves, “Hey,” he started quietly, as he moved to the spot you’d directed him to, “Um, would you maybe wanna go get hot chocolate with me after this?”

“Yeah, we can all head over once I get these last couple shots of you,” you responded, clearly distracted by getting the right lighting and framing.

“No,” Alex said slowly, flushing a little as you finally looked up from your camera and met his gaze, “I meant just you and me. Like… as a date?”

“Oh.” You said, visibly surprised. “Oh! Yeah, definitely!”

Alex grinned widely at your response, a light blush dusting across his cheekbones as he looked up at you, pointedly ignoring the excited whoops from Reggie and Luke, who had de-ghosted themselves when they realized what they were witnessing. “Okay, sweet.”

After that, he was more than happy to let you take as many pictures as you wanted, because when you were done taking your pumpkin patch pictures, he finally got to take out the guy of his dreams.

Home Safe

Written for my 2021 Halloween event.

Pairing: Ben x Male!Reader

Prompt: Ben + “Good luck explaining your new fangs to the dentist.”

A/N: This was the twelfth prompt for my 2021 Halloween event! The next piece will be posted on Wednesday, October 27th.

—–

While you had always known that Audrey was a bit of a bitch you’d never expected her to actually turn evil, let alone for her to be able to command Maleficent’s scepter and take over the school. You’d been with Mal, Evie, and Uma when Audrey had trapped you inside, and you had known that you were in a dangerous situation, but you couldn’t help but worry more about what was happening to Ben; after all, you hadn’t seen your boyfriend since this whole mess had started.

You supposed that was why you felt such a rush of relief when the girls broke the spell on the cottage and Celia looked out the window, turning to face you with a grin, “Hey,” she’d said, “It’s your bae!”

You’d rushed out of the cabin without a second thought, hurrying to embrace him. “Oh god, I was so worried about you,” you murmured, wrapping your arms around him and holding him close. “I wasn’t sure what she would do to you and I-” you trailed off, arms tightening around Ben’s waist reflexively.

“I’m okay,” he replied softly, hugging you back and tucking his face against your shoulder. “She- um, she turned me into a beast. Like my dad. I’m only okay because Jane and Carlos had water from the Enchanted Lake.” He took a shaky breath, and the movement made you notice the odd texture of his jaw against your skin- like he hadn’t shaved in a few days.

You pulled back to look at him, eyes widening as you took in his altered appearance. You took his face in your hands, remaining quiet for a long moment as you studied him. “It’s kind of a good look for you,” you said eventually, trying to coax a smile out of the forlorn brunet.

It worked, and the sight of his amused grin was enough to help ease the tension in your chest.

“What about those?” Uma asked from behind you, gesturing to the newly revealed fangs protruding from your boyfriend’s lips.

You paused, a little stunned at the new additions, “Well, those are new.”

Ben’s grin widened and he bared his fangs at you playfully, “I kinda like them. I’m sure we could put ‘em to good use.”

“Good luck explaining your new fangs to the dentist,” you teased with a roll of your eyes, but you leaned in to press a light kiss to his cheek.

Ben just laughed, tucking himself comfortably against your side and grinning up at you. He knew that your teasing was just your way of showing that you loved him, and that you were relieved that he was safe. He really couldn’t fault you for that though; with you he was finally home, safe and sound.

Strange Events

Written for my 2021 Halloween event.

Pairing: Jack Morton x Male!Reader

Prompt: Jack and Scooby gang!Reader + “You’re about as scary as a golden retriever. You know that, right?” + “You’re gonna have to try harder than that to scare me.” + “Sane people don’t go into abandoned houses for a reason and this is it.”

A/N: This was the eleventh prompt for my 2021 Halloween event! The next piece will be posted on Monday, October 25th.

—–

There was something strange going on at Belgrave University. The first few weeks of your new college life had been relatively normal, but recently people had been dying terrible bloody deaths and then the stories seemed to have been rewritten into simple, easy-to-digest mundane endings like bike accidents and overdoses by the next morning with no one to remember what happened but you and another freshman by the name of Jack Morton.

“So,” you started, swatting a tree branch out of your way as you trailed after Jack through the woods surrounding the university. “A werewolf hunt is really what we’re going with here?”

Jack shrugged, stumbling a little over a root. “Got any better ideas?”

“Honestly? No.” You huffed, hesitating as you heard something rustling through the bushes behind you. “I mean, a magical underground society makes more sense than most of my previous theories. I just wouldn’t have pegged it as a werewolf society initially.”

Jack turned to shoot a grin over his shoulder at you. “At least it’s a lead, right? It’s something-” His voice cut off, eyes widening as they locked onto something behind you. “(M/N), run!” he called, already beginning to stumble backward.

You rolled your eyes, chuckling a little at what you assumed was nothing more than a practical joke, “You’re gonna have to try harder than that to scare me, Jack. We might be hunting mythical creatures here, but I’m not a coward-” you were interrupted by the feeling of hot breath ghosting over the back of your neck and a low growl echoing behind you. The sound had you scrambling forward after Jack, too focused on getting away to worry about looking at what was trailing the two of you.

You ran for what felt like hours but was likely only a few minutes, eventually breaking through the tree line and onto the front lawn of a somewhat dilapidated house. You shared a brief look with Jack before the sound of thundering footsteps behind you spurred the both of you forward once more, sending you crashing through the front door of the house.

With your panicked state, you barely had time to glance around at your surroundings (What kind of shady house in the woods had a rock climbing wall?!) before the sound of another of the creatures upstairs had the two of you fleeing down the basement stairs and into a small room with five large chests, barricading the door behind you.

Almost immediately two of the chests began to shake, rattling within their chains and finally snapping open- releasing a swirling mass of fur from each, which quickly engulfed both you and Jack.

—–

When you finally came to you were naked and covered in blood, tangled in a mess of limbs with Jack where you lay sprawled across the floor of the living room in the creepy old manor house in the woods and surrounded by strangers.

“Wha’ happened?” Jack murmured from beside you, turning over to curl closer to your side.

You huffed out a laugh, gaze flickering from the brunet to the group of people standing before you, “Sane people don’t go into abandoned houses for a reason and this is it.”

Jack’s eyes cracked open at the sound of your voice and he tried to take in his surroundings. “What the hell?”

“Dude, it’s me; Randall,” said one of the strangers, stepping forward and crouching down in front of Jack, “Your R.A.?” He rolled his eyes, shooting a disbelieving look at you, “Anyway, I’m Randall. This is Hamish and Lilith, and together we’re the Knights of Saint Christopher. We’re werewolves,” he grinned widely, like he was just excited to have the opportunity to make a new friend.

You huffed out a quiet laugh, grinning in embarrassment when everyone’s eyes drifted to you, “Sorry,” you said, by way of explanation. “It’s just- we were looking for werewolves. I guess I just didn’t think we’d find them by joining the pack,” you chuckled, your amusement plain to see.

“I’m just glad you weren’t afraid of us,” Randall said, plopping down on the ground in front of you with his legs crossed in front of him, “A lot of people tend to have reactions a little more like Jack’s.”

The brunet looked a little like he was about to hyperventilate, but he looked up at the sound of his name. Some color crept back into his face when you reached over to take his hand and lace your fingers together.

“I’ll be honest with you, Randall,” you said, grin widening as you felt Jack squeeze your hand gently, “You’re about as scary as a golden retriever. You know that, right?”

He laughed, leaning forward to shove you playfully, and in that moment, with Jack’s hand in yours and your new packmates laughing with you, you knew that you would be happy here. Your college life definitely wasn’t what you had expected, but some mysteries were even better once they were solved.

Capitol Costume Parties

Written for my 2021 Halloween event.

Pairing: Cato x Male!Reader

Prompt: Cato + “You have a tail. And ears. Pleasetell me those aren’t real.”

A/N: This was the tenth prompt for my 2021 Halloween event! The next piece will be posted on Saturday, October 23rd.

—–

In the time since Cato had won the Hunger Games, he had started to get used to the specific brand of extremism that came with a visit to the Capitol. He’d grown… not comfortable, but accustomed to the dyed skin and hair that was popular with the Capitol’s citizens. The odd beings had always made him a little uncomfortable, but with the discomfort of their presence came the blessing of yours.

You’d been the escort sent by the Capitol to accompany Cato and Clove on their way to the Games and in the days leading up to entering the Arena and in the weeks on the Victory Tour, Cato had grown close to you. You’d been a breath of fresh air; virtually untouched by the all-around weirdness of the Capitol- normal, despite having lived your whole life in the city.

Cato supposed that was the reason that seeing you across the room at a crowded Capitol party was so shocking. Well, seeing you wasn’t so surprising, he mused, Those were.

Emerging from your (h/c) locks were a pair of pointed wolf ears, which flicked and jolted at the varying noises of the party. At one point, you turned to speak to someone behind you and Cato caught a glimpse of a matching tail swishing behind you.

Eventually Cato managed to catch you when you were on your own, over near the bar lining one edge of the room.

“Oh,” you’d said, eyes widening as you turned to head back to your companions and came face to face with Cato. Your expression brightened as you recognized him, “Cato! It’s been ages since you’ve come to visit! How have you been?”

Your pleased reaction had a small smile teasing at the edge of Cato’s lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to focus on anything but your new… appendages. “You… have a tail. And ears. Please tell me those aren’t real?”

A bright laugh bubbled out of you, eventually settling into a fond grin, “No, Cato, they’re not real. A stylist friend of mine made them; they’re programmed to respond to sound. You realize this was meant to be a costume party, right?”

Cato blinked, and then again, turning to look around him. After a moment, he shrugged and turned back to you, “If I’m being honest, everyone here looks just as weird as they always do.”

“Do you think I’m weird too?” you asked, a teasing glint in your eye as you looked up at him.

He blanched, trying to figure out how to respond in a way that wouldn’t completely blow his chances with you.

You laughed, waving off his silence and setting a hand on his shoulder, “Look, I chose to live in the Capitol instead of taking a residentially stationed job in one of the districts. I know I’m not normal.” You trailed your hand down his arm until you could lace your fingers with his and tug him after you onto the dance floor, “Let me show you that being strange isn’t so bad?”

With you looking up at him like that, Cato was sure that there wasn’t anything you couldn’t get him to do.

Under the Canopy of Trees

Written for my 2021 Halloween event.

Pairing: Werewolf!Riven x Male!Reader

Prompt: “werewolf riven x male reader were the reader is walking through the woods and one day Riven corners him. Reader happens to be his mate and they kinda fall in love after he changes back to human form”

A/N: This is the ninth piece for my Halloween event. The next piece will be released Thursday, October 21st.

—–

The road home from Alfea College had always been a little eerie with towering pine trees boxing you in on all sides and making the trail seem dark and isolated. You’d made the trek through these very woods for the last several years as you worked towards your degree, but in the last few weeks you had begun to feel as though you were being watched whenever you came too close to the treeline. A few times you had thought you’d caught sight of a large animal, but it always vanished too quickly for you to be sure.

Even now, as you were on your way home from a study group that ended far later than normal, the weight of eyes on you had the skin on the back of your neck prickling uncomfortably. You found yourself walking faster than you typically did and wincing whenever you heard a bush rustle or a twig snap.

After the third false alarm, you finally forced yourself to ignore the sounds of the forest and focus instead on making your way home before night fell. Your plan seemed to be going rather well actually, until a hand caught you by the strap of your backpack and tugged you to a stop just before you crossed the treeline.

“And where do you think you’re going?” A deep voice murmured, deep and smooth and far too confident, warm breath ghosting over the shell of your ear as he spoke.

You tensed at the sensation, heart sinking as you realized that all those suspicions of being followed had been correct. “I’m going home.”

“Then you’re going the wrong way,” the voice teased, grip shifting from your bag down your arm to take hold of your wrist and tug you around to face him.

Your eyes widened as they locked with a pair of dark chocolate ones before taking in the rest of the stranger’s appearance, from his wild brown curls and pale skin to the way his clothes seemed to have been torn and mended many times over to the light dusting of stubble across his jawline. He was undeniably attractive and you felt a strange sort of pull toward him, though you weren’t sure why.

Your brows furrowed as you glanced over your shoulder in the direction that you’d been heading, “I’m pretty sure that I know the way back to my own home,” you retorted.

“I don’t know that you do,” he said, grinning widely as he looked at you. You tensed as his smile revealed the sharp points of a set of fangs where a normal person’s canines would be. “Because you seemed to be under the impression that you’d be able to leave this forest.”

If the appearance of his fangs hadn’t been enough to set you on edge, his words certainly were. You less-than-subtly tried to pull your hand away, and his hold tightened reflexively. “Trust me,” you said, hoping that your voice sounded more confident than you felt, “I will be.”

“Trust me,” he echoed, smirk deepening as he looked at you, “You won’t be,” the words escaped him in a low growl.

Your eyes narrowed and you jerked your hand away, a rough breath hissing out of you as a sharp claw tore through the skin of your wrist.

“Fuck-” The stranger jerked forward reflexively, taking your hand in his and examining your wound. “I’m sorry- This wasn’t supposed to happen.” He huffed releasing you with one hand in favor of digging through one of his pockets and eventually pulling out a bandage.

“You say that like you had a plan?” you murmured, raising an eyebrow pointedly as he began to loop the fabric around your forearm.

He let out an embarrassed chuckle, dark eyes flitting up to meet yours, “I did.” He was quiet for a moment as his gaze dropped back to your wrist, “I thought I’d come up to you and say something suave and you’d fall for me.” He huffed out a despondent laugh, “Hell, if I hadn’t been watching you long enough to know that whatever this was wasn’t going to work.”

You were understandably confused, eyes darting between the brunet and the careful way his fingers were dancing over your arm. “Why were you watching me?”

He opened his mouth as though to say something before thinking better of it. “You’ve already noticed that I’m not… normal. People like me- werewolves- tend to find people that we’re drawn to. It’s kind of like fate, y’know?” He kept talking, like his question was more rhetorical than anything, “I think you’re that for me, but I just hadn’t gotten up the nerve to talk to you until today.” He glanced up at you with a flustered blush clouding his cheeks, fingers still toying at the end of the gauze, though he’d finished tying it off several moments prior. “I kept telling myself ‘tomorrow, Riven; you’ll talk to him tomorrow’ but then today you were so late that I was scared I wouldn’t get the chance at all.”

You couldn’t help the small grin that tugged at the corner of your lips, “You could’ve just asked me out for coffee,” you teased.

The stranger- Riven, you figured- looked up at you, shocked. “Would you have said yes?”

“Dunno,” you shrugged, a sudden playful mood striking you, “Maybe you’ll have to ask me on my walk tomorrow and find out.” With that you tugged your hand out of his grasp and turned back down the trail, shooting him a wink as you left the forest and a dazed werewolf behind you.

There was no way you could’ve known it, but as Riven stood there for a few long minutes after you took your leave, he came to realize that meeting you had firmly cemented what he had long suspected; that you really were the one he’d been Meant to meet. He had already begun to count down the seconds until he could see you again by the time he turned to head back to his own home deep under the canopy of trees.