ghost stories.

"Are you really that easy to please?" Vicente laughed, genuine curiosity in the question. If Devi was excited over booths, maybe he was getting ahead of himself here, but it felt like he had this in the bag. Settling into his seat, he didn't pick up the menu yet, his eyes locked on hers. She didn't seem put off by the idea of him already considering a second date, so hopefully Vic wasn't coming on too strong. It had been awhile since he'd taken someone on a real date, honestly. He realized then, not since his failed proposal. "I think it's far more likely you'll only have me wrapped around your finger by the time we leave here." Placing his hand on the menu cover, he still hesitated to open it, his undivided attention on Devi. "In fact, I'm willing to bet on it."

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. devi ramachandran #𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢 / ft. vicente mendoza

"Well, when you say it like that..." Devi scoffed, still laughing even though there was an insult in there somewhere if she wanted to look for it. But she didn't. She was easygoing and always had been, did that make her easy to please? More often than not, yes, and there was nothing wrong with that, thank you very much. "Oh really?" This was some new territory for Devi. She'd dated, been million first ones that never went anywhere, but she didn't think there's ever been a time when someone was wrapped around her finger. Or self-professed to be. It was kind of nice. It almost felt too good to be true. "If you're betting on it and you're the one deciding if it's true...is that a real bet?" She asked, teasingly as she pulled the menu towards her and opened it up, although it was hard to tear her eyes away from his. "Not that I'm complaining, I should say, it feels very nice."

As he rubbed her arm, she moved her other hand to his hair, raking her fingers through it before letting it fall by his neck again. She knew that he worked hard, and she didn't want to be needy if he was genuinely busy, but she also knew that he needed a break. And she was more than happy to give him one. Really, it was a win/win. "Mm, depends," she matched his tone to hum in response, pressing her lips to the skin of his neck before speaking again. "Is me doing all the work a bad thing?"

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. rafael santos de oliveira #𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐞𝐥 / ft. tala bautista

To be honest, it was far from a bad thing as long as she did it right. And, if he knew where this was going, that wasn't something Raf had to worry about. If there was one person who was enthusiastic about learning exactly what he liked, it was Tala and he couldn't say that wasn't a big reason as to why he kept her around. And alive. Dark eyes fluttered shut as her lips pressed against his neck, his muscles tightening before relaxing as he gave into the need for a break. A distraction, it wouldn't be so bad to get back to work later. "You're right," he sighed, lifting a hand to stroke her forearm. "Alright, baby, how about you take the lead this time...see what happens."

"If you're offering," Scarlett smiled back at the man. Not being closely linked to any of those who had gone missing throughout her time in town, she didn't do much research — if she was meant to find answers, she felt God would supply her with them. But God had been rather quiet as of late, and she wasn't sure what to do about that... aside from an insane amount of mushrooms. "I would love to." Settling into the empty seat, she offered Wells a smile that emitted warmth. "I'm not interrupting, am I? You looked busy."

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. wells afzal #𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 / ft. scarlett shaw #;; once again jumping a bit in the timeline to post bodies found

"Not busy, not anymore." Wells sighed, wishing that the information in the folder in front of me mattered anymore. It might have, it probably did - especially if he wanted to figure out who did this - but at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to care about it. It was too late. "You know, I thought I could come here and get answers and I did...just not the ones I wanted." Not the answer that his brother was dead. That was the last thing he'd wanted. Yes, it was some kind of closure but was it worth the truth?

veiledmeolody

“I’m honored.” Dilan told him with a laugh, in reality she actually enjoyed his company. She laughed a bit at his question, slowly shaking her head. "Nope, that treatment is specifically reserved for special circumstances." She looked at him for a moment, wondering if he'd actually think she'd judge him for not doing well. "Not at all, given everything lately I'd say it's more than okay. Is something on your mind?"

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. rafael santos de oliveira #𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐞𝐥 / ft. dilan sahin

"Something? You could say that." Rafael knew that as a loving son he should have been at his father's side, trying to figure out what was happening and what that effigy meant, asked how he could help fix the fallout, but...he wasn't a loving son. He could act like it though; he knew people might have been expecting at least a little concern from Raf for Miguel. "The air feels ominous, more so than usual, maybe it's because my father's name - they burned something that was supposed to be him and then that body was found. It was charred, burned...it's hard not to take that as a threat, you know?" God damn, it was easy to fall into the concerned son mask, easier when this town was so full of danger.

veiledmeolody

"Yeah it doesn't ring any bells for me either." Dilan tried her best to think of something but nothing was coming to mind. "The initials at the bottom?" She questioned, not realizing the first time that the letters could of meant something. "You're right, do you remember any of the people's names? If they match up we might be onto something..."

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. devi ramachandran #𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢 / ft. dilan sahin

Okay, at least she wasn't the only one a bit lost. Although, it made sense considering she'd only been in town for a few months now and had barely gotten a grip on where things were in town. Names and history were still far out of reach at this point. "Mmhmm, I think...okay one of the people was definitely the mayor, wasn't it?" She stared down at the card, the writing upside down now as it faced Dilan before something hit her. "Wait, that's probably his, isn't it? The M G... d O? Isn't his name Miguel?"

elodie's insanity wasn't as easily masked when it found itself in the company of someone who almost seemed to inspire it — the way the man's eyes shifted from eyes of dark copper to that of pits of tar making her stomach whir with motivation. his gaze was cold, harsher than any winter she had experienced in this godforsaken state, and yet she felt at home in the emptiness she found there as she narrowed her lids into thin slits. breath instinctively hitched in her throat as he tightened his hold on it, fingers pressing pads into the cool metal handle of her switch blade still burried in kayla's pocket, knowing better than to present it but relying on it for stability as she tried to mentally navigate the complexity of his words. the way rafael smiled was so unsettling she almost wished he'd snap her neck so she couldn't have to bare witness to the sight of it any longer. yet, at the same time. . . " interesting ?? " she echoed, words strained , windpipe pinching beneath his grasp.

the unsettlement didn't deflate with his following words, brows now creasing together. was that an implication of him claiming to know where she was or . . . testing if she was being truthful about her statement ?? " people already think she's dead , " she found herself saying without thinking, feeling manically inspired by the amusement rafael seemed to find in the declaration she had made. " — might as well let them be right about something. besides, it's hard to live in a shadow when there's no body to cast one. "

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. rafael santos de oliveira #𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐞𝐥 / ft. elodie mcneil

"Interesting." Raf repeated. It might not have been the word others would choose, he had to assume revolting and horrible would have been their choices, but the idea of murder had never bothered him. And sororicide on top of just basic murder? That was frowned upon even more. But not for him. If anything, crossing the taboo lines even among the killers was something that he would always find intriguing, drawn to it even though he'd never been blessed with a sibling. Perhaps to avoid this very situation. However, now a perfect chance had been handed to him, dropped in his lap, in the form of a psychotic sister who would much rather see Kayla dead than returned. He was starting to think interesting wasn't a strong enough word. "You make a good point," he agreed, nodding slowly as he loosened his grip on her throat, hand sliding up the side of her neck, long fingers splayed over her jaw and cheek while his thumb rest on her bottom lip. "Would be easy to make sure she stayed gone." If he knew where she was, that is, but considering Raf didn't actually know, this whole thing would remain a fantasy. One he should have realized Elodie was harboring but hadn't.

a cruelly amused smile lilted on the younger mcneils lips, a scoff sounding as she shook her head almost in disbelief. if only it had been named that way . . . and even if it had, elodie didn't know which was worse. either way, helltown lived up to its namesake — and yet, she wouldn't leave. she couldn't. all elodie knew, and ever cared to know, existed right here in town. " right , " elodie found herself saying, drumming impatient fingers on the pages she had open in a book she hadn't really been reading.

she was curious what the card would look like . . . and once it was presented, a deep pit opened up in her stomach. she tried not to let the recognition show in her face, lips twisting, reaching forward to take the card from her. the exact same one that had been left in the box she had been given; the one with kayla's name on it, the jacket she had been wearing when she went missing folded inside. . . " what did you say your name was again ?? " elodie inquired, noticing now how familiar the other seemed. trying to distract from the card, give herself more time to feign a comment that would convey she had never seen it before.

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. devi ramachandran #𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢 / ft. elodie mcneil

Devi tried to read her face as she handed over the card, but it was hard to tell if Elodie recognized it at all, maybe because she didn't know her at all and therefore had no idea what her giveaways were. Like if it were Maya, Devi would know immediately if she was trying to hide something. But almost ninety-nine percent of this town? Could get away with never telling Devi a single true thing and she would have no real idea that they weren't being honest. It didn't feel great while trying to figure out all of these fucking wild mysteries. "Me? I'm Devi but not that important to be honest. I'm just a visitor which was why I was so surprised to get one. Because, let's be honest, I'm not exactly the most important person around here nor am I connected to anything."

𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 …

𝐭. 𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐲 : MAEVE

#𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 /. nsfw #usfw #𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. maeve liu gentile #𝐦𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 / ft. thomas ortesky

𝘮𝘢𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 & 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙠𝙮

Here was unequivocally the right answer. Even after suggesting moving, Maeve had regretted the idea, at least they could agree on that. Her hips continued to move against his hand, wanting more than anything to speed up to the good part ( not that this wasn't good but come on, his fingers weren't his dick ) and Maeve had a problem with being patient. Kissing him back hungrily, she reached one hand to his face, pulling his glasses off and putting them safely on the dashboard where they weren't in any danger to breaking...she couldn't say that it hadn't happened before. Honestly, it was a small miracle that she had remembered to do anything about it at all and, even though his vision wasn't great, it wasn't like he needed twenty-twenty to know where to put his cock. Plus, she could always help him if he needed it.

Smirking at the thought, Maeve dragged her teeth along his bottom lip as he pulled away, his attention sliding down to her neck then collar bone until it landed on her breasts once more and her pussy clenched at the feeling of his lips around her nipple while his other hand busied itself with the other stiff peak. "Are you just going to tease me?" she managed to murmur, her thighs tightening as his thumb brushed against her clit, fingers running through her folds but never getting quite where she wanted them. Her back dug into the steering wheel as her hand moved back into his hair, gripping it tightly as a guttural sigh slipped through swollen lips.

complexicn

tagging: @havntedhouses

With her husband claimed as a traitor, her oldest child away at college and her three younger ones being troublesome by the change in dynamics within the household, Evelyn had felt almost adrift. Having spent her whole lifetime knowing who she was and what she was meant to do, the sudden loosened foundation unearthed very real but previously hidden doubts. As such, perhaps it wasn’t a surprise to find herself back within the company of Audrey — she was, against her initial contemplation, a boon to her anxieties. As strangers turned to friends in that new turn of life, Evelyn met with Audrey alone, chewing on her lower lip with a frantic energy. “How are you doing?” She asked, unsure how to approach the matter at hand.

#𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐲 / ft. evelyn adams hernandez #𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. audrey castillo

Audrey grabbed her coffee from the countertop, grabbing a couple random packets of fake sugar before joining Evelyn outside, further away from the crowd than might have been necessary but it felt right. Their conversations these days weren't always meant for anyone else's ears. "Better than you are, I expect." She said quite bluntly but was there another way to say it? Between the two of them, everything happening in this town had a lot more to do with Evelyn and her husband than Audrey and her own. "Anything else happen lately? You know, besides the body being found and the whole bonfire sacrifice?" She remembered seeing Samson's name on there, wondering what that had meant to the woman next to her - what that had meant for their future.

closed starter: @havntedhouses !!

" mornin' baby , " emilio greeted, voice rasped, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand as the other reached to brush through the sleep-tangled tresses of his wife's hair. the man then leaned down to press a doting kiss atop her head before clumsily making his way over to the coffee pot, a yawn pushing past his lips as he blinked, adjusting to the glow of the morning as it poured through their kitchen window.

" you're up early, " he commented, making himself a cup of coffee , not looking over his bare shoulder to look at her as he tried to find some kind of casual conversation to be had. with everything going on in town, it felt like there were too many things to talk about and yet . . . nothing to talk about at all. " you uh . . .you hear about that woman they found ?? the one scooter reported ?? y'know i uh . . . i didn't know when we moved here how . . . encased in tragedy this place really was. thought the name was just a bit to get tourists in."

#𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐲 / ft. emilio castillo #𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. audrey castillo

Audrey was never one to rise early, that wasn't her style and her line of work hardly called for it. She barely ever left the club before three am on a good night so the face she was up before noon right now was a miracle. Or a curse. Seeing the sunrise as a daydream and whenever someone suggested it, they both knew it would only happen if they stayed out the entire night beforehand. God, they were still so fucking domestic after so many years, after the divorce papers were delivered and left on Emil's desk - she wished she cared more about that. She wished it had felt wrong, but it didn't. It never would with Emilio. "Hear about it? Baby, it's the only thing anyone's talkin' about." Even at Hellcat's which was strange since most people normally only talked about wishing they could look and touch. "Turns out when we were lookin' for somewhere to start over, we couldn't have picked a worse place."

ghcstlimbs

"Given the summer solstice, I wouldn't blame you if I did scare you." Samson's attempts to act aloof in the face of that terrible nights had been ill-gotten; no one who came in contact with him, could forget his name etched upon a wicked effigy. His poor attempts at self-preservation had evolved into naming the events first, a pathetic desire to hold dominion over his own reckoning. "Helltown has always been different -- but this? The fact we can be coy about one person and possibly mean so many others.... what are we becoming?" The answer was clear, weighing heavily upon Samson's shoulders; once more he gazed at the corpse of St. Michael's, and felt the rot seeping into his shows. Helltown was not devolving -- it was coming sharply into focus. "She is -- she's a tragedy. It's Kayla who's haunting me now. Plenty of people run around snooping; she wouldn't be gone if she didn't know something." He could not recognize his own voice; not the cowardly tremor reciting each word, nor the credence he gave to what he would once have proclaimed as utterly blasphemous. "You my friend, are a far braver man than I am. Because who are they? If they were those people at the solstice -- I don't know what comes next for me."

#𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 / ft. samson hernandez #𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. wells afzal

The summer solstice had been something and his name being involved in the effigies, the effigies being figures in the Eternal Brotherhood...it raised some questions and Wells wanted to ask them but since he didn't have anything conclusive himself, it was better to keep them to himself for the time being. For now. "No, she wouldn't." Wells agreed easily, a stark reminder that he was treading into dangerous territory. He kept his notes close but he also was not the best at hiding the fact that he was digging. If he found something out, something these people didn't want him knowing, Wells knew that the Afzal name would not protect him, even if it did stretch back to the very beginning of Helltown. Nothing would protect you here unless you were on the inside and he most certainly was not. "I -" Wells paused, glancing at the ruins of the school and back to Samson. "If I were you, I would be worried. I don't know how you play into all of this but if you're name was on one of those effigies along with the others...I can only imagine it's a warning of some kind." A warning and a reveal of who this man might actually be; someone who knows more than they're letting on and someone who might know where Anthony is.

complexicn

tagging: wells azfal / @havntedhouses

Devin Williams had been, or rather was, her older brother. Intelligent and productive, he had taken the job at the bowling alley in order to fund a college fund, to be the first of his generation within the family to actually get to higher education was a big fucking deal; and Kitty had always been proud. Her first memory was chasing his coattails, clinging off his knees to play games or begging him to show her how to do a trick on his bike… In fact, she had pretty much idolized him. So ever since his disappearance, his loss had been gnawing at her insides, something wicked and rotten devouring her from within like a virus, a haunting or a possession. Before the bonfire and the events that had played out at the festivities, Kitty had kept her pain to herself, holding it behind a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes in order to protect what she had left, her recently disabled father… But the time for isolation had seemingly gone, and what was leftover was the company of the common folk. She had found his address by mutual connections, wandering to his doorstep like a lost thing scrambling for leftovers — knocking with the intent of asking if he too, had received the like of which had continued to give her nightmares.

#𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 /. wells afzal #𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 / ft. kitty williams

Wells had not slept well since the envelope had showed up at his door. Most of his time had been dedicated to that goddamn blog, all the codes, the ciphers - it never seemed to end and so far he'd been able to break through it but no matter how many threads he pulled, he couldn't find the center of it. No matter the hours he sat there trying to figure it all out and organize the clues, there was always something else. He couldn't figure out why. Why had they taken them? Something to do with immortality but how did they know the employees were the ones to take? Was it blood? Was it purely random? Those thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock on the door...unexpected considering the hour and that he had a doorbell. But he put his nerves aside and strode to the door, to throw it open. "Can I - are you alright? You lost?"

LOCATION: atlas tap house FOR: @havntedhouses

He wasn't nervous — in all honesty Vicente couldn't recall once in his life that he had been nervous — but he was dedicated to this date going well. Devi was a fun person, and she was cute... and, most importantly, she was one half of a known crime podcast. If there were any clues he'd missed around town or simply didn't think to look into, someone that made similar cases their livelihood was a good backup. Besides, he had to find something to do with his time before he lost what was left of his mind pinning red thread lines to photos. "Sorry it's not fancier," he said as he opened the door for her, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile, "as you know, non-deli options are pretty limited around here. But maybe, we can go somewhere a little more bougie next time. I mean, you know, if we haven't run out of cold cases to talk about or anything."