#occult!au

[birdy-boogaloo]

Here have the semi-final update for the lads for HBHL, yeet

[normakuhlings]

“You’re a bad liar, did you know?” for reesker in bloodletting au?

“You haven’t visited me in days,” Ava’s words were not accusatory, merely a statement of facts. She held no grudge, if the way her arms tightened protectively around the human’s body was any indication. Sarah’s posture stiffened at first, yet then she remembered where she was, who she was with, and relaxed into the comforting smell of lilacs.

“I have been busy,” Sarah said quickly, not wanting Ava to think she had been avoiding her. She hadn’t been, she reasoned with herself. On the contrary, all she had ever wanted was to retreat to the beautiful ivy covered mansion that her favourite vampire called home. She couldn’t bring herself to, not for days, but that was beside the point.

Ava had known she was there before she even climbed the final hill towards the house. This time it had not been because her daughter was eavesdropping, hopping through trees like she thought she was a squirrel, rather just instinct of her own. That’s why she had met Sarah on the front porch, still clad in a long and far too formal gown for the middle of the woods in Chicago.

“You are a bad liar, did you know?”

Sarah shrugged, hiding her face in Ava’s shoulder. The red satin she wore was cool against her skin, easing the burning of her cheeks as the vampire so obviously read her like a book.

“My cherished one,” Ava continued as she led them to sit on the porch swing, “Where are you been? Not literally, of course; I know you haven’t left the cottage.”

Sarah almost laughed a little at her words, the way the vampire made herself clear to ensure she knew exactly what she meant. She sighed a little as she settled down on the rough cushion of the swing, surrendering to the promise of comfort as she leaned back into Ava’s cold frame.

“The Unseelie,” she murmured after some time, “That cat.”

“Damned mongrel,” Ava cursed, “What has he done now?”

“Still watching me, all the time. Since you told me he was Fae I figured he would lose the act but… he still lurks in his cat form. His eyes, Ava, he is so unnerving.”

“He won’t hurt you,” she promised, “He wouldn’t dare. Not on Seelie land and certainly not on my land.”

Sarah paused, eyes darting around as if looking for the creature in question. April had said his name is Crockett, an Unseelie Fae from New Orleans. Her brother had befriended him early on but the rest of the forest residents hadn’t been so welcoming. He brought a promise of chaos, being a lone Fae of another court, and his demeanour did not convince otherwise. The way he watched Sarah had seemed almost primal, stalking her as if she might attack him at any moment.

“He’s not here,” Ava promised, “He won’t come too close to my grounds. He may be brash but he’s not stupid. If you are afraid of him hurting you, beloved, I can have a word with the devil.”

“What if… what if my dad has sent him.”

“Oh, Sarah. I promise he has not. The Unseelie, while not bound by human or fae morals, do not answer to anyone. Crockett is merely being a pest, he will not hurt you.”

“You promise?”

It broke Ava’s heart, hearing the fear in her human’s voice. That’s what made her pull Sarah closer, using a bit of her inhuman strength to ensure the woman felt secure. She pressed a kiss to Sarah’s temple before speaking, “I promise, as long as I live your father will never lay a hand on you. If he even steps foot in our forest I will deal with him myself. As for that Fae, he is nothing more than a nuisance.”

“Okay…”

“You are safe, my cherished one,” Ava spoke the words like a vow as she repeated herself, “As long as I live.”

[lansizhuis]

Modern AU where Wei Wuxian is interested in the occult with Mo Xuanyu and they reguarly try to summon demons or spirits. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli regulary try to stop them because "what if you actually summon a demon?" Wei Wuxian: "Then it'd be awesome!" And Lan Wangji is from an exorcist family and regularly shows up in Wei Wuxian's vicinity to get rid of a demon or spirit that was summoned. Lan Wangji would like Wei Wuxian to stop, but if he did, Lan Wangji would have no excuse to see him.

YOOOOOOOOOOOO THIS IS SO CUTE??? im here for JC facepalming 24/7, JYL stress cooking whenever WWX and MXY does their thing that she ends up having so much cooked food that has to be given to their entire street, LWJ having a WWX radar, MXY being amazed by his senior, and WWX at the center of it all cackling like a maniac

[birdy-boogaloo]

Hellish Blights and Heavenly Lights

Ch 1: Genesis

You are a priest. You give people guidance and reassurance, making them feel safe in a dangerous world of unknowns.

At least, that's what you used to do. Ever since the inventors William Afton and Henry Emily came overseas, the world has turned on its head. New technology let people do more and feel safer than ever before, so why would they need you? And now they claimed they had an invention that performed literal miracles:

Bringing people back from the dead.

Unconvinced, you decide to take matters into your own hands, peering deeper into the lives of the two inventors to find the source behind these "miracles" and expose their charade. But as you dig deeper, you may unleash something even worse.

And only Heaven can help you now.

EYYYYY I finally finished this! >:D I've been working on this for quite a while now in the background, and I've got one heck of a plot lined up for this one. I really hope you guys like it!

Features:

Male/AMAB Reader

Occult AU with angels, demons, monsters (vaguely Castlevania inspired)

Horror, Mystery, Blood/Violence

Very slow burn romance

Religious and morality discussions

[normakuhlings]

Bloodletting | Occult!AU

Prompt: Strawberries (from @purple-dahlias’s July challenge)

CW: none

Sarah was sat on her back porch, brush in hand. She had been staring at her canvas for what felt like hours, trying to find some sort of inspiration in the endless woods beyond her. Natalie had left her alone, though she could feel her presence in the cottage regardless; which was a comfort now more than creepy.

She dipped her paintbrush back into her water cup, sighing as she wondered if she should give up for the morning.

“Sarah~” a familiar voice singsonged as she heard rustling in the trees, “Oh, you’re outside.”

The human nodded and gave April a smile, seeing that the Fae had a basket woven from dried reeds in her hands. She hopped up onto the wooden deck, holding out the basket to her friend.

“Wild strawberries,” her sharpened teeth showed proudly as she grinned, “For you, Rosebud.”

[normakuhlings]

📸!

Autumn | Bloodletting

CW: survivor’s guilt, mention of Sarah’s trauma, mention of family death, catatonia

One thing Sarah’s psychiatrist asked her had stuck around for months, clinging to her mind. It had been the end of a particularly gruelling session, where the patient refused to say much but was clearly worked up about her memories. The other woman left her with some homework then, something to think about until their next appointment.

“What part of all of this is the hardest for you?”

The expected answer was probably something along the lines of “the memories” or her fears. Some might even think the nightmares were the worst part, leaving her unable to sleep out of fear of her own subconscious. Still, Sarah couldn’t say for certain those were the hardest thing to handle. She was an ex-medical student; she knew insomnia and fear like the back of her hand and could handle it in time.

All of those things were hard, sure, but she couldn’t say they were the worst. All things considered she was pretty good at coping with them, mainly because Natalie hadn’t recently had to drag her away from the water’s edge at four in the morning. It wasn’t until one early morning that Sarah realized the answer, immobile on her lumpy mattress as the sun rose behind the canopy of trees.

The worst part of all of it was the guilt. The sinking feeling in her chest that came with every sliver of memories was enough to suffocate her, though it was not fear like everyone would expect. Instead, it was the heavy reality that she was alive, but not in a suicidal sense.

Survivor’s guilt. She remembered it from a behavioural therapy book she had read ages ago. She was suffering from a textbook case of feeling culpable for her mother’s death. The logical of her was aware that none of it was her fault; she couldn’t have known her dad would show up, much less what he would do. Still, Sarah’s brain had long since convinced her that she was somehow responsible for it. Maybe she just hated that she was still alive when her mother didn’t have that luxury anymore.

Regardless, it left her feeling pretty shitty, especially after a particularly good day. There was something despicable about the way her brain worked, convincing her that she was doing something wrong by healing. Any time she was enjoying herself, whether it be spending time with Ava or relearning how to live life, she felt a nagging feeling in her gut. Sometimes it would overwhelm her, leading to meltdowns that ruined her good mood. For some reason Sarah believed that she was selfish for moving on or trying to heal, which sounded utterly ridiculous when she spoke the thought out loud.

“Your mother would want you to keep living, darling,” Ava had told her one evening, gentle fingers dancing through her curls. Sarah knew she was right, Ava was always right, but it simply couldn’t change her mental process. Not when she was alone; not when the memories overtook her and she could only see her mother’s terrified face plastered over her mind’s eye.

Sarah tried to move, reaching for her phone to type out a message. She needed to tell her doctor the answer to her question, before the thought slipped away until the next moment of clarity. She couldn’t, though, the mental decision to reach out not quite meeting her hand. She felt frozen in place, as if she had been pulled from reality in her sleep. Wiggling her toes, Sarah concluded that she wasn’t suddenly paralyzed or dreaming. She couldn’t get her arm to do what she wanted, but she was able to move her fingers slightly. Her brain was foggy, almost trapped in that fuzzy, half asleep haze between reality and dreams. The more aware of these things she became, the more suffocated Sarah felt.

Catatonia is a symptom of panic and mood disorders. She remembered that clearly from her psychiatry training. She was surprisingly aware given the situation, since these episodes often came with agitation and confusion. Instead she just felt trapped, almost in a similar way to how she felt watching her mother die at her father’s hand. Her remaining movements were twitchy, almost as if her body was glitching. All she could do was track things with her eyes, a pained sound escaping her as she realized she may be stuck like this for some time.

A sudden weight on her hip would have made Sarah jump out of her skin, though she wasn’t exactly able to react. A flash of orange fur was all she saw before whiskers tickled her cheek, sighing inwardly. Not enjoying the lack of response from her owner, Autumn pushed her nose against Sarah’s face. The cat could probably smell her frustration, she realized, or just sense her shift in mood and loss of coordination.

Even when she tried to move her hand to rub gently over Autumn’s head, Sarah couldn’t quite get there. She gave up with a huff, which startled her cat a little. She didn’t jump down, though; instead she settled down to lay on Sarah’s chest. She couldn’t push her off if she wanted to, but Sarah had to admit the pressure was a reassuring comfort despite her situation. Sometimes touch would make her more agitated during catatonic episodes, but Autumn was trained to respond to these things and knew what the woman needed most.

With paws folded under her, her wise green eyes kept close watch over her owner. The gentle hum of her purr filled the room, a familiar sound that was meant to relax them both. It certainly didn’t hurt, helping keep Sarah’s mind from wandering back to her previous thoughts. She could count the amount of times Autumn blinked slowly at her or the number of breaths each purr lasted for. Repetitive mental processes had always kept her memories at bay for some time, thankfully.

If she was going to be stuck living a life she didn’t feel like she deserved, at least Sarah could find comfort in the tiny orange creature who only wanted to see her live.

[normakuhlings]

Bloodletting | occult!au

Prompt: lonely (from @purple-dahlias’ July challenge)

CW: N/A

One thing no one really talked about was the crippling loneliness that came as a packaged deal alongside immortality. After the first fifty years, as one approaches the end of their human lifespan, the effects of not ageing begin to set in rather harshly. In such an unforgiving world where the vampires are vindictive, other creatures don’t trust them, and humans die fast, one begins to lose their life despite it never progressing.

Ava was no stranger to loneliness, not after 150 years, even with Estia’s company and love she felt as though she would never truly be able to form relationships again. Growing up in the 1920s and watching how the world changed over a century would drive anyone insane, though Ava thought maybe she overthought it all too much. She was just lonely, left alone in the world with the glaring knowledge that everyone she once knew or would meet will die eventually; even Sarah.

The thought of losing her beloved hurt Ava more than the thought of being lonely for eternity again, yet it was far too late to turn back as she had already become attached to the pretty human who had begun to feel like home to her.

[normakuhlings]

“What is that white sponge?”

“Tofu. It’s tofu.” + reesker?

Ava didn’t often come to the cottage, rather is was Sarah who visited her. It was comfortable for both of them and the giant house on the hill was a good escape from her tiny secluded cabin. However, Ava did want to see her beloved human in her natural habitat, for a lack of a better word, and she was interested to meet Autumn too.

When she suggested she come visit her cottage, Sarah was taken aback. It’s not that she didn’t want to spend time with Ava or felt uncomfortable with her in her home, she was just nervous. Ava’s mansion was so well kept and impossibly beautiful; Sarah felt her little home would be embarrassingly plain and messy. Not to mention the ghost with whom she cohabitated, she was unsure how a visit from the vampire would go over.

Still, Sarah couldn’t say no to Ava in this case. She wanted to spend every waking moment with the vampire and she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity due to her mundane worries. That’s why she found herself preparing dinner with dark red eyes tracking her every move.

“Darling?” Ava’s low voice spoke up from her perch on the counter, the crimson fabric of her skirts covering the granite almost completely. She had been admiring the way Sarah looked in that moment, her curls pulled away from her face with a haphazardly placed clip and her focus on the food in front of her. Still, curiosity got the better of her.

“Yes?”

“What is that white sponge?” Ava’s brow was furrowed, watching as Sarah pressed the curious thing between two sides of a towel to get the water out of it. It was an odd practice to her and seemed out of place during the middle of cooking.

Sarah couldn’t help but laugh, “Tofu. It’s tofu.”

“Tofu?”

“A meat substitute,” she supplied to the other woman, “Made from soy. I don’t eat meat, remember?”

“Ah, I see. That’s strange, the shape of it I mean. It looks spongy.”

“I guess it does look odd, huh?” Sarah stopped her movements to look at Ava with a playful smile, “A hundred and fifty years and you’ve really never seen tofu before?”