vanillalime

Title: Revenge of the Prag
Main Character: Tobias Beecher
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 993
Creature Prompt: Werewolf
Summary: Beecher comes back to Oz a changed man.
Notes: Set during Season 666. Written for the 2023 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3 and Livejournal. The artwork prompts sent to me are included at the end. This story was also inspired in part by the following piece of fanart I created several years ago:




( Revenge of the Prag )

Despite a general dislike for horror movies, I LOVE the original Halloween (1978) movie. (I think it helps that I've watched it so many times now, I know every scene practically frame-by-frame and it no longer scares me. Well, it still scares me, but in a good way, not a traumatic way, if that makes sense.) It's without a doubt in my Top 10 list of all-time favorite movies. It's simply a masterpiece in filmmaking--the pacing, the camera work, and OMG the MUSIC. John Carpenter is a genius, and it's remarkable what he accomplished, especially considering the budget. One scene in particular always has an impact on me (as explained in my end note), and for this year's third and final Spook Me story, I decided to pay tribute to it.


Title: The House Next Door
Main Characters: Unnamed Canon Characters, Laurie Strode, Michael Myers
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,526
Creature Prompt: Boogeyman
Summary: When Laurie Strode came to their house, begging for help, they should've just opened the door.
Notes: Written for the 2021 Spook Me Mult-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3 and Livejournal. The artwork prompt used for the story is included at the end. Additional inspiration for this story is explained in the end note.

This story is based entirely on a short scene in the original Halloween (1978) movie, where Laurie cries for a neighbor's help and is ignored. The neighbor is unnamed in the movie, so I've made one up for ease in storytelling.

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Halloween Night, 1978

It had been a long day, and Mary Castle was exhausted. The kids had wanted to trick-or-treat until their bags were full, and it felt like they'd visited every house within a half-mile radius of their own. She curled up on the living room couch to watch a bit of television before bed, and then promptly dozed off…

Until the sound of terrified screaming roused her from her sleep.

( The House Next Door )

I wrote not one, not two, but THREE stories for the Spook Me fest this year! I don't think I've written anything since last year's Oz Magi, so this was quite the accomplishment. Two of them are for fandoms I've never written in before, so... braving new territory here! I'll be making each fic a separate post, because my OCD tells me to. Heh.

First up... Oz, which is also the story I'm the most pleased with.

Happy Halloween, my friends!


Title: Burying Secrets
Main Characters/Pairings: Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,671
Creature Prompt: Skeleton
Summary: Chris tries to bury a secret, when past secrets come to bury him.
Notes: Written for the 2021 Spook Me Mult-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3 and Livejournal. The artwork prompt used for the story is included at the end.

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The last remnants of a hot and muggy summer were fading into fall, and Chris drove with the windows down. The cool evening air felt good as it passed through the car, and the dull white noise of the rushing wind helped calm his frayed nerves. He could still hear the engine making that faint rattling sound, but he wasn’t worried, not yet. The border was closer than ever.

( Burying Secrets )

I wrote a story! A longer-ish story! It's been a while!

Happy Halloween, my fellow Oz peeps!

Title: Strangers in the Night
Main Characters/Pairings: Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller, Holly Beecher
Rating: PG-13 (some gruesome imagery)
Length: 9,400
Creature Prompt: Zombies
Summary: In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, Chris loses Toby in the woods.
Notes: Set in a post-series world where Chris didn't die and Toby doesn't hate him. Written for the 2020 Spook Me Mult-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3 and Livejournal. The artwork prompt used for the story (which is actually from the 2019 Spook Me collection) is included at the end.

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Chris shivered uneasily as a strong breeze swept through the woods, rustling the withered leaves on the trees. He zipped up his jacket and contemplated the endless stretch of greens and browns that surrounded them. An ominous cold knot began to form in his stomach.

"I think we’re lost."

Less than thirty feet away, Toby stood motionless, his head down. He gave Chris no sign to indicate that he’d heard what he’d said. Instead, he continued to stare silently at something in his hand, transfixed by what he saw.

"I said," Chris called out, louder this time. "I think we're LOST."

( Strangers in the Night )

Title: Bathed in Fear
Characters: Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,325
Creature Prompt: Aquatic Monster
Summary: Steve turns to Dustin for help when his relaxing bath turns terrifying.
Notes: Written for the 2019 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3. The artwork prompt used for the story is included at the end.
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( Bathed in Fear )

A big thank you to cmk418 for hosting a special hardtime100 challenge for Friday's International Women's Day! It was a great idea and generated some amazing women-centric drabbles. If you haven't already, check them out HERE under the "ch 132 women of Oz" tag.

While trying to come up with ideas for my drabbles, I was reminded of a Claire/Gloria/Diane drabble I had written long ago. Initially, I was unable to locate it, but then I realized that I hadn't written it for hardtime100, but for a Drabble Tree instead. Specifically, the 2013 "Waiter, There's an Oz Drabble Tree in My Soup" challenge, an occasion that marks the very first time I wrote Oz fic.

(I've been writing Oz fic for six years now? Whaaat?)

Anyway, I tracked it down, and it still put a smile on my face, so I thought I'd re-post it here. :-)

******

Claire walked into the breakroom with a heavy sigh and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Gloria and Diane looked up from their conversation. “Rough shift?” Gloria asked.

“The usual shit,” Claire replied. “O’Reily was giving me a hard time.”

“I’ll bet,” Diane said under her breath.

Claire glared at her. “But I did have the pleasure of breaking up Keller and Beecher.”

“For fucking or fighting?”

With a roll of her eyes, Claire answered, “I can’t tell the difference anymore.”

“O’Reily, Keller, Beecher,” Gloria murmured, shaking her head.

Claire grinned. “Marry, fuck, kill.”

“Marry Beecher, fuck Keller, kill O’Reily,” said Diane quickly. “That was just too easy.”

“I disagree,” retorted Claire. “Kill Beecher, fuck O’Reily, marry Keller.”

“You would kill Beecher?”

“Yeah, a mercy-killing,” explained Claire. “What about you, Dr. Nathan? I bet you’d marry O’Reily, fuck Beecher, kill Keller.”

“Why do you say that?”

Claire raised an eyebrow and smirked. Quickly, a heated discussion followed, voices overlapping as rumors collided with secret desires. None of the women noticed the arrival of additional bodies into the room and were startled when someone yelled out, “Hey, why are you ladies so worked up?”

The three women turned and looked into the faces of McManus, Murphy, and Father Mukada. Then they looked at each other and burst into laughter.

The game was over, and they knew better than to have a second round.

My first of two stories for Spook Me 2018! And it's my first story in a new fandom! (Nothing is scarier than that. O_O) I'm still putting the finishing touches on my Oz ghost story and hope to post it later today or tomorrow.

Title: Maternal Instincts
Characters: Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3,043
Creature Prompt: Mutant
Summary: Steve must protect the boys after Dustin finds trouble during an overnight camping trip.
Notes: Written for the 2018 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. Cross-posted to AO3. The artwork prompt used for the story is included within the text.

WARNING: Contains spoilers for the original Friday the 13th (1980) movie.
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( Maternal Instincts )

Title: Secret Meetings
Main Characters: Victoria Beecher, Swanny, Gaetano Cincetta
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,808
Summary: With the help of a friend, Toby's mother delivers the payment to Pancamo's hitman hired to kill Hank Schillinger.
Notes: Both Swanny (Harrison Beecher's private investigator) and Gaetano Cincetta (Pancamo's hitman) are named-but-never-seen, canon characters from Oz. This story takes place in the same universe as the Angus Beecher story I wrote for the most recent oz_magi (Putting the Pieces Together), but it can also stand on its own. Thanks to drsquidlove for the original prompt that inspired the stories.
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( Secret Meetings )

Title: One of Us
Main Characters: Chris Keller, Vern Schillinger, Chucky Pancamo
Rating: PG-13 (mild language and images of violence)
Word Count: 1,700
Creature Prompt: Clown
Summary: Circus AU. After Pancamo disrespects Bonnie, Chris Keller makes him pay the price. But then Chris must pay a price, too.
Notes: Written for the 2017 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. The artwork prompt used for the story is included within the text.
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( One of Us )

Title: The Traffic Warrior
Rating: PG (mild language)
Word Count: 1,248
Summary: Oz staff members carpool together!
Prompt: "We need to fight the traffic."
Note: Written for the 2017 Oziversary Fest at oz_wishing_well.


( The Traffic Warrior )