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arts-and-drafts · 1 year

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Come Morning Light (Part 13)

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten / Part Eleven / Part Twelve

(Unlucky number 13 >:)c This chapter is a shorter one, but it's leading up to something VERY big that is taking most of my waking hours to write, so stay tuned! Next chapter is gonna be a doozy! Mind the content warnings on this one!)

CW: Death, manipulation, minor body horror

Tommy dropped in slow motion.

Joe couldn't move fast enough to catch him, but he was at his side in an instant, his hands on Tommy's shoulders. His mind was spinning with shock. He saw the message, but that made no sense. 'Falling out of the world' meant a player was killed by an admin, but Xisuma banned Dream, and he never would've--

And Tommy's body was still here.

His eyes were glossy and staring at the sky, taunting Joe and everything he thought he knew. Joe's blood dripped on Tommy's face, and it stood out against his paling skin like a poppy in snow.

Joe screamed.

He vaguely registered the other hermits closing in around them, but he couldn't look away. All he could see was Tommy's face, his corpse-

He wasn't going to accept this.

Joe's vision went white.

Cleo knew as soon as Joe stilled that he went Searching.

She shoved past the others to see Joe's eyes were now glowing white, the remnants of tears still streaking down his cheeks. Cleo pulled her mouth into a firm line and settled beside him, reaching to pry one of his hands away from--no, don't look down. Don't look. That makes it real. Just don't look.

Clumsily, she managed to fit their fingers together, and she gave Joe's hand a quick but firm squeeze.

The other hermits were deathly quiet, but Cleo kept her eyes on Joe's face. With his eyes like this, and blood pouring down his chin, he looked like a poltergeist.

'Come back,' Cleo prayed, to any god that would listen. 'Please, Joe, don't get lost.'

Immediately after the thought formed, Joe full-body jerked, and the glow faded from his eyes. His chest was heaving, and Cleo noticed one of her fingers had cracked with how tightly he gripped her hand. Distantly, she was thankful that most of her nerves had rotted away by now.

"Where is he?" Cleo murmured, because she still wasn't looking down and she wasn't going to, but she knew what had happened. The communicators never lied.

"He's-" Joe gasped, and he snapped to the side, looking Xisuma dead in the eyes, his pupils blown. "X, he's in the Void."

The Void was cold.

Even through his suit, Xisuma could feel the chill beginning to numb his extremities. No light reached here, no life or substance. It was just nothing. Empty, and vast.

Except for, of course, the banned.

Evil X's presence was much stronger here, having had all this time to himself to fester his anger, and Xisuma immediately had a headache from all the condensed hatred he could sense. Xisuma had taken every precaution with his counterpart, and was confident in his prison, but evil could never be contained completely.

Xisuma wasn't here for him. No, he was here for the other presence he could now sense, a chilling calm that was colder than the Void itself.

Xisuma steeled himself, and turned to see Dream, lounging in midair like he didn't have a care in the world. A lodestone compass lazily swung from a chain in his hand, its enchantment swirling with something Xisuma had never seen before.

"Let me out, and I'll give him back." Dream spoke, his gaze lifting to Xisuma. He looked almost disinterested with how calm he seemed.

"That's Tommy?" Xisuma asked, before he could stop himself. Joe had told him that he tracked Tommy's soul into the Void, but was then halted by a force stronger than his ability, and he was forced to turn back.

The force had to have been Dream.

"Yeah." Dream said, like it was obvious. "All of him is in this little compass."

Xisuma floated closer, only vaguely aware of his movement. At this distance, he could see lettering etched on the compass's back, but Dream was swinging it just fast enough that it was hard to make out.

"So?" Dream said. "Do we have a deal?"

"How do I know you're not lying?" Xisuma challenged, relying on his image to intimidate the man. He was only barely managing to keep his voice steady.

Dream scoffed, and abruptly yanked the chain and caught the compass in his hand. "You don't. But I hope you can see that this is not a good situation to lie to you in."

Now that the compass was still, Xisuma could read the words. Your Tommy.

Xisuma's stomach clenched in revulsion.

"You can keep me here," Dream said, taking advantage of Xisuma's silence, "and you'll never see him again. Or, you let me go, and I'll give him back to you."

The monster shrugged. "Your choice."

"You've been trying to get your hands on him this whole time." Xisuma argued, his hands shaking with rage. "Why would you give him up now?"

Dream turned in midair, moving like he was trying to get comfortable. Xisuma knew he wouldn't be able to, and he selfishly clung to that knowledge with a dark satisfaction in the midst of this situation.

"Tommy's not worth my freedom." Dream said simply. "I don't care about the brat that much."

"Then what if I say no?" Xisuma pressed, calling Dream's bluff. "What if I leave you here for eternity?"

Dream matched Xisuma's gaze, his one visible eye sharp and calculating.

"You'd do that to him?" He asked, and Xisuma couldn't bring himself to lie.

He cared about Tommy more than he cared about keeping Dream locked away.

"...One condition." Xisuma relented bitterly, clenching his fists. Dream raised an eyebrow.

"You don't come back here. You don't ever set foot in Hermitcraft again." Xisuma said, and he was not asking.

Dream's eye crinkled in an unseen smile, and Xisuma suddenly got the feeling that he messed up very badly.

"Deal."

Xisuma materialized back in the Overworld on Tommy's old bed, holding the compass like it would shatter at the slightest movement.

In a rush like a summer breeze, Xisuma felt the tension that was building in Hermitcraft's magic ease all at once, as if the balance of nature itself released a breath of relief.

Xisuma found no solace in the feeling. His stomach was twisted into knots over what he'd just done, what he'd just released back to the world Tommy came from.

One thing at a time.

Xisuma had to duck to contain his height through the doorframe. He kept his eyes down as he made his way to the battlefield, the crowd of hermits surrounding Tommy's body casting long shadows in the morning light. Xisuma noticed someone had rearranged Tommy's limbs into a more dignified pose, his legs straight and his arms laid over his stomach.

"I've got him." Xisuma uttered, and the hermits parted to give him a clear path to Joe. The admin slowly knelt and held out the compass, and for a moment, Joe matched his gaze with wet eyes.

Whatever he saw in Xisuma's expression, Joe opted instead to hover his hand over the compass. Immediately, his face changed.

"That's him," Joe said breathlessly. "Yeah, that's--put him here."

Joe guided Xisuma's hands to place the compass on Tommy's body, right next to the one Tommy had only just started wearing in the open. Now that they were side by side, something finally clicked.

Your Tubbo. Your Tommy.

Oh.

"Now what?" Tango asked, breaking the somber silence. "Do we--do we break it?"

"No! No-" Joe blurted out. "Tommy's--well, technically, that compass is his body right now." He explained. "His soul's tethered to it. We've gotta extract him."

"How?" Impulse asked. "That's--that's serious magic, can any of us even do that?"

Joe looked at Cleo. "I can."

A heavy silence.

"But I'm gonna need help." Joe continued. "I can be a gateway to Tommy, but somebody needs to go in and get him out."

"I'll do it." Xisuma said, instantly, but Joe shook his head. "Tommy's gonna be in a very fragile headspace. It has to be somebody he trusts enough to follow back out, and...no offense, Xisuma, but you're not that to him."

Xisuma dipped his head and said nothing more. It did sting to hear, but Joe was right. Tommy had only just gotten comfortable enough around the admin that he wasn't always ready to pull out a weapon around him.

After what Xisuma had just done to get him back, he didn't blame the kid.

Joe looked to Mumbo, who was wringing his hands and staring at Tommy's body, his eyes glazed over with shock. He seemed to come back to himself when he noticed everyone following Joe's gaze.

"Wh--me?"

"Do you not want to?" Joe replied, his face changing, and Mumbo scrambled. "No! I mean--yes, I'll do it, of course, but--me?" He asked again. "I'm not-"

"Haven't you heard how he talks about you?" Cleo interrupted. "He thinks you hung the stars, Mumbo. If you asked him for anything, he'd do it."

Mumbo still looked incredibly uncertain.

"You don't have to, Mumbo." Joe stated, somehow able to keep his tone understanding given the topic. "But I truly think you're his best bet. He looks to you more than any of us."

Mumbo took a breath, and slowly smoothed out the front of his suit jacket.

"...Okay."

The ghost of a smile flitted across Joe's face. "Come on, we can't waste any time."

He glanced at Cleo again, guilt harbored in his eyes for a fraction of a second. Cleo rolled her eyes and nudged him, and Joe relaxed, their unsaid conversation putting him at ease.

Joe held out his hand to Mumbo, who took it. Joe gently placed his other over the compass, and then turned back to Mumbo.

"I'm sending you into Tommy's soul." Joe said, staring unblinking into Mumbo's eyes. "He's going to be very vulnerable. You have got to be the most careful you've ever been. Do you understand?"

Mumbo paled considerably, but he nodded, a look of determination on his face. "How do I--what do I do?"

"When you find him, just be honest." Joe said. "He should do the rest. But you have to come back with him, okay? We don't want an accidental possession, that would cause a whole new issue."

Mumbo nodded, and took a steadying breath.

"Get our boy back, Mumbo." Iskall uttered softly, placing a strong hand on Mumbo's shoulder. Mumbo laid his own over Iskall's, just for a moment.

"I'll do my best." Mumbo said, distantly, staring at Tommy's body. "Promise."

Joe and Iskall smiled, as strained as it was, and Iskall stepped back.

"Here we go," said Joe, and the world fell away.

#if you're confused i promise it will make sense later but feel free to ask questions :]#we're getting into heavy personal headcannon territory lmao sorry in advance #come morning light #hermit tommy au #hc x dsmp #meraki post #tw death #tw body horror #tw manipulation

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petrichormeraki · 10 months

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slowly but surely making my way through the next chapter of Come Morning Light, here's a messy doodle of an out of context scene :)

#feat my new mumbo design whoops #meraki art #barely #come morning light #hermit tommy au

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tennessoui · 2 years

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College Student Anakin and RA Obi-Wan and their weird interactions in public where Anakin calls Obi-Wan “Master” and Obi-Wan calls Anakin “dear one” bc reincarnation (and everyone side eyes them) is one of my most fav aus ! 🙌

damn!!! galaxy near and dear au my beloved

(so beloved in fact that i had completely forgotten about it until this ask)

i think the thing with this au is like. the second hand embarrassment is off the charts here. it could easily be so angsty but they're just idiots about each other instead because the first things/memories/feelings that came back to them were ones of affection and a warmth and sensation of surety and steadiness. dear one and master, both nicknames born out of affection. mustafar haunts their nightmares later, but the thing they feel when they're with each other/around each other is that familiarity.

also imagine both of them getting into an elevator to go up to their 8th floor dorm floor and they just accidentally fall into the SAME VIBES as the elevator ride in aotc except somehow more flirty because there's no padmé Anakin is nervous for, he just remembers the feeling of being nervous so he feels like he is just nervous to be in the elevator with his objectively smoking RA

and someone gets on on like the fourth floor to go and visit a friend, but RA Obi-Wan and college student anakin don't even stop bantering and flirting, Obi-Wan is literally fixing Anakin's shirt collar and he pulls on a long piece of curly hair right behind his ear as if that's normal and he snatches his hand back like he doesn't even know why he's done such a thing.

and this poor 4th floor college student is like. what the fuck. goes to her friend's dorm room traumatized and she's like 'i think i just saw your RA do like. weird foreplay in the elevator with---'

'anakin skywalker?' her friend asks. 'yeah. we know. no one understands. did he call him master?'

'did he what???' the 4th floor girl exclaims.

#asks #galaxy near and dear au #its the second hand embarrassment for me that seals the deal here folks #like anakin saying master out loud in a public setting in like some college #where no one addresses anyone by master #and he's just absolutely blushing and horrified once he realizes hes done it #but obi-wan doesn't even register it because this is anakin of course he calls him master #obikin #i guess it is the day of old aus coming back into the light!!!#fitting because i woke up this morning thinking about the zookeeper au for no reason whatsoever

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your3fundamentaltruths · 9 months

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For Polin Week, do you think you would add to your fic about Penelope having amnesia because I think about that one at least once a month. You’re a great writer and I love all of your fics. Thank you so much for sharing them.

Thank you SO much for the kind words, Nonny!

While it is WAY past Polin Week at this point (sorry!), I do plan to get back to it someday.

THAT SAID, I have another married!Polin amnesia AU in the works, based off the premise that Penelope has amnesia and the last thing she remembers is the night of the Featherington ball. It's currently called come morning light, but the original working title was words I don't believe and I'm torn between the two.

#asked and answered #the last seven years #come morning light #words I don't believe #married!polin amnesia AU #my fic

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soundcrusher · 2 years

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The one who never came back

Today, there won't be a next chapter of my little serier featuring my Phoenix and the sentient SG/Lost light from @cuppajj (at least I haven't planned one), but you'll get get the second side story.

I hope you'll enjoy it.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of death and manipulation

.<.>..<.>..<.>..<.>..<.>..<.>..<.>..<.>.

Many of his friends, if he could even call them that, knew that Thrillchaser was, well, a thrill chaser. It’s why he often roamed around the galaxy in search for adventure and, sometimes, a cute femme he could spend a re-charge cycle with.

Although, he only settles for one type of femme. Strong, tall and built like a tank. Maybe that’s why he liked Tankcrusher as much as he did. She was a wonderful femme. Everything he wanted. Thrillchaser could see him staying with her, maybe even raise a sparkling together. However when he saw him, the sparkling who’s supposed to be his, little Phoenix didn’t look like him. He looked like that cursed Autobot Rodimus Prime. Rodimus Prime who killed without mercy and burned mechs and femmes alike while laughing.

Thrillchaser had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting Rodimus Prime once during a battle. There were twenty Decepticons tasked in taking him down, only two came back. Him and a mech who, sadly, died afterwards in the medibay. He could still remember that day. Thrillchaser lost many good friends back then, his only friends. Since then, he swore two things: he will kill that mech, should he ever cross paths with him and he would never make friends like he did before.

Sometimes though, he thinks about the femme and sparkling he left behind. If Phoenix wasn’t cursed, he could have been a sire. He would have been a good sire, he knew it, but why should he raise a child, who’s looks mocked him. Whose looks were a constant reminder of his losses, of the losses of everyone.

Thrillchaser let out a long sigh, before downing his drink. It was time to go. He still had a job to do and a thrill to chase. After all, an apparently empty ship, a ghost ship, was a thrill Thrillchaser couldn’t say no to. Especially when the reward of boarding it and finding clues to what happened on it was more than what he got from the last job.

Maybe he should have read the job assignment more thoroughly, otherwise, he would have declined to search a ship so eerily normal. The halls were too clean, the lights too bright, and there were no mechs or femmes running around. Or, well, at least the ghosts of those who came before. But then again, Thrillchaser didn’t know if Cybertronians could become ghosts like in the human stories Tankcrusher told him about.

But despite the eerie feeling and urge to go back to his little ship and call off the assignment, he kept on going. Opening and searching the rooms he could, while taking mental notes on the corpses propped up. Especially Swerve’s Bar, it seemed like someone still visited this place, only to prop up dead mechs.

"Disgusting. Who in their right mind would do something like this? Probably an Autobot. They were known to do things like this…” Muttered Thrillchaser, as he turned around to leave the room, but the door wouldn’t open. No matter how much he tried. “What the… but the door opened just minutes ago!”

“Maybe you didn’t ask nicely for it to open.”

Thrillchaser was quick to pull out his blaster and turn around. Pointing it in the direction he heard the voice come from. “As if asking nicely would or could open doors. Now, who are you!”

The voice only chuckled and watched the mech. It took them a while to find him. To find this mech specifically and set up this whole plan of luring him onboard. At first, they planned to do something similar to Runningway. Have the ship be dark the whole time and then, slowly, lead him to the captain’s room. But then, they decided otherwise. It would be better if they disposed of this mech in secret. Maybe take some specific organs as spare parts, or better, lock this mech up and slowly pick apart his processor. Making sure that he knew why he had been lured here. Why Lost Light specifically singled him out.

Yes, he would make sure that the mech before him knew why this was happening, before meeting his demise.

Lost Light moved fast. Trapping Thrillchaser in a web of cables, before pulling him down the hall into the room Red Alert used to spy on everyone. There, the unfortunate mech was bound to the chair and forced to watch two mechs interacting with each other. One, he could make out, was Rodimus Prime, although he didn’t resemble the Prime in his memories. And the other… he couldn’t recognize the other. He was young, that was obvious in the way he held himself… but that paint job. Thrillchaser knows that paint job….

“Phoenix…”

The voice laughed again. But this time, Thrillchaser could feel it resonate through his whole body and mind. As if this stranger was everywhere at once.

“He’s a wonderful youngling.” This time, the voice came from behind. “Did you know that he’s hated among his crew? One even tried to kill him. Phoenix managed to end him before that brute could even scratch his plating though.” Thrillchaser didn’t like this. He never wanted to see the sparkling he left behind ever again. And yet? Here he was, forced to watch a security feet of his kid holding hands with Rodimus Prime while laughing. THE Rodimus Prime who’s responsible for so much death and destruction. If Thrillchaser wasn’t tied down, he would have marched to that room and shot the Prime right then and there. Maybe take out Phoenix too, because anyone who collaborates with an Autobot doesn’t deserve to return to Cybertron.

“And what has that to do with me? I haven’t seen him since he was a new spark.” Growled the bound mech. “And what happened to his wings?”

“Oh, I fear this has to do everything with you, Thrillchaser.” Said Lost Light, as they appeared in their holo-avatar right next to the flier. One servo on their hip, while raising the other in a gesture a carrier would use to reprimand their sparkling. “Phoenix told me about what you did. Leaving behind a first time carrier to raise a sparkling alone, while also having to face scrutiny from those they called friends, just because their sparkling looks like my captain. You should be ashamed of yourself, Thrillchaser. What happened to the mech who boasted about letting Autobots on his team to give them a second chance? Oh, that’s right. My captain killed your silly little friends.”

A cable wrapped around Thrillchaser’s helm and forced him to look at a monitor to his right. Depicting the deaths of every mech he called a friend, but that wasn’t all. After the last of his friends died, Thrillchaser was forced to watch himself kill mechs and femmes. Some were retreating Autobots, others were civilians. A few were even younglings. “I didn’t know they weren’t Autobots!” He yelled. “Where did you even get this!?”

“But that didn’t stop you from killing them, now did it?” Asked Lightlost with a smile. Something that didn’t feel right to Thrillchaser. How could a mech smile like that, when they were talking about the deaths of others? How? “You murdered them. Every last one of them, and yet you call my captain, Rodimus Prime, a monster. And before you say, ‘But that was war’, I have to ask: Was it really? Did you really not know, or were you simply doing what you could do best. Destroying innocent lives.”

Thrillchaser had no answer. For the first time in his life, the flier did not know what to say. Not only that, watching the mech in front of him look like he was moments before snapping his head off, it scared him. It scared him, and Thrillchaser wasn’t sure if he would be able to get out of this situation unscaved.

Lightlost shook his helm at the mech before him. “Honestly, watching these recordings, it makes me wonder how Phoenix is even related to you. Little bird is a kind, loveable and innocent youngling. How could someone like you, a killer, lier and monster, be related to him?”

Thrillchaser didn’t answer that. How could he? He hasn’t seen Phoenix since he was a sparkling. “You still didn’t answer me. What happened to his wings?”

At that, Lightlost simply looked at the monitor next to the one with Thrillchasers sins. Smiling at the recording of the day he got to catch his little bird and break his wings. “I did it. First, it was to make him look even more like my captain, but now, I like to think it was to make sure he could never fly away from me again.” Said Lightlost, before deciding to show Thrillchaser everything that has been happening on the Lost Light.

And, in that moment, Thrillchaser realized, he had chased the wrong thrill.

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salsa-di-pomodoro · 2 years

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Today i woke up and realized i had not ONE not TWO but THREE ENTIRE COOL DREAMS and none of them turned into nightmares. Just cool vibes all around and two of the dreams were about pokemon legends. One of them was an entire au idea. I should have taken melatonin to fix my sleep schedule before this if this is what normal people feel when they go to sleep

[au idea is in the tags]

#dream #pokemon legends #the idea was just people discovering akari was banished im the past and fucking. sending a certificate from the future saying its illegal #to have her in the galaxy team #it was saying something like 'dear commander kamado and galaxy team. this is a certificate saying dawn/akari cannot join the galaxy team.#since she was banished you will not be allowed to make her work for you. we are sending this with aid of the gods dialga and palkia #who were kindly tracked down by a blonde man who was touched by her story. kind regards - the sinnoh government'#and it was so fucking funny #pokemon au #pokemon legends au #the other pokemon dream i don't remember that well but it was just me/an oc i was seeing the pov of chilling in my ingame room #with a talking hisuian zoroark witb the windows open and the red sky above #except that in the windows' side there was a whole backyard and it was pleasantly cool but also pleasantly warm at the same time #also good vibes there despite the literal end lf the world going on #people would not come inside my room to get me so i could just chill umtil it was over and not be banished loll #there was a bit where i was outside with more pokemon but i dont remember it almost at all #the unrelated dream was just me going in a swimming pool with one of my favourite childhood youtubers for the first time at night #and finding it full of crabs when i turned the light on (i dont remember if it was a flashlight or the pool light. i think a flashlight)#other childhood youtubers came later and we were all friends and it was really cool #except my mom wanted to eat the crabs and a little squid that was also there when the morning was coming before they ran away to the sea #through the tubes #but that was the only instance of me feeling distressed throughout the whole night #this is the most dreams ive remembered at once in the same night ever this is so cool

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violentwxnter · 4 months

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I remember tears streaming down your face When I said I'll never let you go When all those shadows almost killed your light I remember you said don't leave me here alone But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

Just close your eyes, the sun is going down You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound

Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire The war outside our door keeps raging on Hold onto this lullaby even when the music's gone, gone

#the war outside our door keeps raging on || alice & landon civil war au #come morning light you and i'll be safe and sound || tallulah & lance au #when all those shadows almost killed your light || alice & lance au #Spotify

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tcmecho · 1 year

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✨✨AU TIME!!✨✨

The LLSMP members have created a medieval + avian AU for our characters RARARARARA /pos

Considering c!Echo already had wings- their AU wings are fancy! Fancy bird bard boi!! (Their wing patterns are based on African Harrier-Hawks!)

Little AU lore crumbs:

- Echo’s father and brother are hooded crow avians, their mother is a great blue heron avian (same as in canon)

- They’re genetically a hooded crow avian as well, but they shapeshift their wings to be in this form

- They have many crow avian mannerisms, and grew up worshipping the deities of night and death - as corvid avians tend to do

- Yes, the deity of death is Mumza

Also where are my fellow LLSMP members at?? 🧐 Am I the only one who uses tumblr lmaooo

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deadsetobsessions · 3 months

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Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt.2

[Pt.1] [Pt.3] [Pt.4][Pt.5][Pt.6][Pt.7]

Danny dragged up another plastic wrapped body from the bay.

“It’s you. What are you doing?”

“Oh, holy smokes!” Danny screeched. “What-! Oh, it’s you! The litterer!”

Batman stood in front of Danny, cape draped around his shoulders and a far better sight to see than the last time Danny had seen the guy.

“… I’m Batman.” He introduced himself to Danny awkwardly.

“Uh huh. You missed a couple of things cleaning up the beach last time.” Danny dropped the body on the pebbled shore of the bay and crossed his arms. He sent Batman an unimpressed look. “You’re just like your city. There’s trash all over the water!”

Batman glanced down.

“That is a body.”

Danny scowled.

“No, that’s plastic. Plastic does not belong in the ocean.”

Batman sighed. For some reason, Danny thought he seemed less… antagonistic. Wait, did he think Danny killed the guy?!

“That is a body wrapped in plastic.”

Fuck it.

“If it was a body, then bury it. Or decompose it before you people decide to dump it into the water. Even the sharks have the decency to decompose when they’re dead. Do you know how long plastic takes to deteriorate??”

Batman glanced to the side, where the line of plastic wrapped masses had caught his eye to begin with.

“I do. Did all of these come from the bay?”

“Quite obviously, yes. I don’t have enough time to clean the waters! Ancients, it’s like they’re multiplying!” Danny knew why they were multiplying. It’s because Gothamites were getting murdered and dumped weekly. The problem is that Danny has classes and assignments to complete and he couldn’t be out here every week.

“I’ll handle it.”

“Oh, will you? And how do you plan on doing that when you couldn’t even properly clean the beach of your plane? I even stacked it up nicely for you to pick up!”

Alright, so maybe Danny had a couple of grudges. Like… a solid one that’s based on the hours of sleep he missed cleaning up after Batman and the wreck.

“We didn’t get everything?”

“No.” Danny huffed. “Whatever. Just figure out what to do with these bodies. I was not looking forward to digging graves for all of them.”

“You were going to dig graves for them?” Batman sounded off.

Danny scowled again. “I’m dead, genius.” And now Batman looked like someone ran over his dog. “Respecting the dead is important and graves are important for the dead. How else would we know we’re remembered?”

Danny threw up his hands. “Humans,” he muttered, like he wasn’t half human himself.

“Anyways, I’m leaving. Handle this properly or else I’m haunting you.”

“Wait-!” Batman said, but Danny had already disappeared.

So, while Batman had an angst crises at two thirty in the morning and thirty new unidentified corpses to contend with, Danny Fenton flew back to his apartment and passed out on his shitty couch.

——

“You need to stop.”

“Pay me to stop, then. What are your villains going to do? Kill me? I’d like to see them try.”

Danny looked Batman right in his lenses and plopped another body down at the man’s feet.

“I can tell you who they are for a fee.” Danny offered the vigilante. “Some of these still have shades of their souls attached still.”

“What.”

Danny tilted his head, moon once more lighting a halo of flickering white flames around his head. “$100 per identity.”

Batman stared.

#sea cryptid Danny phantom #sea spirit au #dcxdp #danny phantom #bruce wayne #batman #bamf danny phantom #Danny the tired college student #Danny is broke #Batman is not #Danny: business opportunity???#sea cryptic! danny au

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startanewdream · 1 year

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In which James and Lily Potter fall in love, defeat a dark lord, and rebuild the world (and how only one of these is true).

She joins him in silence; James pours one glass for himself, drinks it in one long gulp before pouring another, this time serving her as well. Lily plays with her glass; she should drink it, but, instead, she finds herself watching his lips, the light coming from the fireplace reflecting on the drops of whisky in his mouth. Not for the first time, she flashes back to the kiss they didn’t share.

Lily downs her drink in one go.

“Did you find it?” James asks, his voice barely a whisper. Under Lily’s gaze, he chuckles. “An answer. My dad used to say I would never find any answer at the bottom of a glass.”

Chapter 3/4

#Jily #Jily Fic #Come Morning Light #a kiss to break the spell #AU: Canon Divergence #Fake relationship #other tags I'm too sleepy to add

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arts-and-drafts · 1 year

Text

Come Morning Light (Part 12)

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten / Part Eleven

(THE CHAPTER I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. Seriously, I've had this in my head since CML's conception. It's all lead up to this. Not to hype it too much, but I will also say a very specific scene in this part was inspired by my beloved mutual @cedarwhisp and their incredible Hermit!Tommy fic Shells In The Foam. I implore you to read it, it's the best 50+ chapters of fanfic I have literally ever read. Anyway, enough stalling!! Let's go!!!)

CWs: Death, manipulation, violence, mentions of abuse

Tommy's stomach jerked as Xisuma's imposing form vanished in front of his eyes, and he tripped backwards into Joe.

He didn't get a moment to even breathe before enchanted words flashed over his vision.

RUN.

The sky split open with a clap of green lightning, tearing the quiet night apart. Tommy saw Xisuma and Dream's silhouettes illuminated in the sky in that split second, grappled together and glowing with administrator magic.

Vaguely, Tommy saw Joe in the corner of his vision, and he subconsciously reached out to grasp the sleeve of his guardian's shirt for some menial comfort.

"We need to help him," Tommy mumbled, his eyes glued to the figures in the sky. He felt Joe put his hand over his, and against Joe's steady weight he realized he was trembling.

"This is not a fight we can interfere with anymore, Tommy." Joe replied faintly.

Tommy couldn't look away. No rain fell from the sky, but crackles of green lightning struck every time the two admins collided. From this distance, Tommy could see Xisuma pulling up his administrator screen every time they parted, but Dream always struck quick enough to cut off any command Xisuma tried to summon.

Xisuma was clumsy in the sky, Tommy realized, as he watched the admin give up on his screen and instead launched himself forward, his sword in hand. Dream easily shot out of the way, and Xisuma's armor saved him from what would otherwise be a deadly blow to the back of the head.

Xisuma jerked to face Dream, straight-up throwing a punch at the god, but Dream deflected the blow with his arm and used his other to slice upward with his axe. Xisuma only barely moved out of the way in time.

Tommy's stomach twisted as he recognized the stark red of a barrier block in Xisuma's hand. Dream ducked through an invisible gap in the barrier before Xisuma could complete the box, and rushed at Xisuma so quickly that Tommy could barely follow his form against the lightening sky.

Xisuma flew to meet him with his blade ready, but he was out of his element, and Dream was of war.

Dream dodged impossibly quick, and slammed down on Xisuma hard enough to send the taller admin to the ground in a blur. The sound of an explosion reached Tommy's ears as the impact made a crater in Joe's land, and Tommy's past curled around his throat and turned him dizzy.

Withers descended from the sky, flanked by TNT raining death from above, falling from the massive obsidian grid that blotted out the sun. The air was choked with dust and ash, and Tommy's vision was blurry. His ears rang painfully from the explosions, and everything seemed off kilter. Tommy looked around at the carnage, feeling like he was detached from his body.

Everything was gone.

His eyes were pulled to a cave that had been exposed from the TNT. There sat Wilbur, on his knees a few blocks away from the tattered body of Philza. Tears ran down Wilbur's face, and he shoved his diamond sword into his father's hands.

No.

Tommy tried to move. He really did. But his limbs were locked with terror, and he could only watch as Philza Minecraft took up Wilbur's sword.

"NO!"

Tommy jolted back to the present, already running. His breath burned in his lungs, grief searing his insides just as fiercely as flames.

"XISUMA!"

The sound of armored footsteps echoed behind him, and Tommy didn't need to look to see every hermit left standing rushing behind him to fight. Their battle cries blurred with the goofy "humina" war cry from Tommy's memories, something he instigated, when they didn't know this would be the last time they followed Wilbur ever again.

An invisible hand squeezed Tommy's heart, and he used the pressure to draw his sword.

Arrows flew overhead, shot from the ghosts in Tommy's mind and hermits alike. Many missed, but a few got lucky, and Tommy nearly sang when he heard Dream make a noise of pain. He fell from the sky, but landed in a MLG water, and the green energy that surrounded him disappeared all at once.

Tommy began to swing his sword, but Dream turned to him, and he froze. That smiling face burned into his retinas and sealed him in place for a few seconds he couldn't spare.

Dream lunged, and Tommy was forcibly knocked out of the way right before his chest was sliced open. A cry of pain sounded, and Tommy turned to see Bdubs locked in blades with Dream, a red stain already growing on his side.

"Get out!" Bdubs gritted, pushing forward and sending Dream stumbling a few blocks. "Tommy, run!!"

But his legs were jelly. The clash of metal on metal reverberated through his very being, and he could only watch as Dream swiftly sliced forward in the fraction of a second that Bdubs turned to look at Tommy.

[BdoubleO100 was slain by Dream using Nightmare]

No.

He had to move. He had to.

But Dream looked at him, and suddenly he was exiled again, throwing his tools and armor in the pit.

"TOMMY!"

The thundering of thousands of feet sounded through the chaos, and Dream only had time to turn his head before he was swarmed by the largest wolf pack Tommy had ever seen.

Tommy gasped and scrambled to his feet to avoid the herd, but the snarling wolves only had eyes for Dream, who was desperately trying to fend them off. A harsh whistle pierced the air, and Tommy turned to the noise.

Joe, in all his leather-armored glory, was running alongside more of his wolves, his sword in hand.

Joe reached out as he got closer, his wolves flanking him either side. Tommy found himself reaching back.

And then Dream moved lightning quick, and Joe choked out a strangled noise.

Tommy's very bones turned to ice.

Dream was kneeling on the grass, holding Joe by the hair, his axe poised over the poet's throat.

The battle stopped all at once. Even Joe's wolves were silent.

"Come with me," Dream said, evenly, dangerously, and Tommy knew his eyes were only on him. "Or I'll kill him."

This was not the first time Joe's life had been threatened.

It was, however, the most serious.

He felt Dream's fingers curl, pulling tighter on Joe's hair, and the poet swallowed a noise of pain.

"You know I mean it, Tommy." Dream uttered, terribly still, like a cave spider waiting to strike.

Tommy looked like he had just been shot.

The hermits knew that death did not have the hold on them that Tommy was used to. It was one of the few things they could always rely on to be the same, despite every change of season. Death was only temporary, and it was frustrating at worst.

Tommy still didn't think like that, Joe knew, even after a year with the hermits. The poet saw the terror in his ward's eyes and wondered who he really saw in Dream's hold.

"Tom-" Joe tried, but Dream yanked on his hair and raised his axe blade closer, making him hiss in pain. Joe forced his eyes open and stared at Dream's mask with deliberate calm.

He was not afraid. But Tommy was, and Dream knew that. He was using a child's fear to get what he wanted.

Joe never wanted to harm another player so badly in his life.

"Tick tock, Tommy." Dream said, his voice smooth. "We don't have-"

And then an enchanted projectile struck him so fast that Joe barely knew what it was, the impact whipping Dream to the side with a yell.

Joe was unceremoniously thrown out of Dream's hold, and he cried out as Dream's axe sliced his lip, his mouth instantly tasting blood. He felt strong hands grab his arms and forcefully pull him away, and for a moment his senses were overwhelmed with the strong perfume of wilting flowers, and the barely-there stench of rot.

Joe put a hand on Cleo's bicep in thanks, unable to turn away from the scene in front of him, because Tommy was standing tall with an arrow notched, the sun finally rising behind him, encasing him in a halo of blinding light.

His face was twisted with the coldest rage Joe had ever seen, his eyes only on Dream. Joe realized with a start that Tommy's first arrow had broken a piece clean off of Dream's mask, and one poison-green eye was glaring malice for the world to see.

"BACK THE FUCK UP." Tommy spat, trembling with fury instead of fear, and with the sun's light behind him, Joe saw an angel of vengeance.

Dream's single-eyed gaze hardened, and he rose to his feet, the axe that had taken so many hermits' lives ringing with metallic enchantment against the grass.

"You shouldn't have done that." Dream growled, all the smugness in his tone gone. The hairs on Joe's arms stood on end. Even if his mind wasn't afraid, his body was not so easily calmed. Every fiber of his being screamed 'DANGER' at this new side of Dream.

But Tommy did not even blink.

"Oh yeah?" The boy said, a shaky but sharp grin growing on his face. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"I'll fucking kill you, Tommy." Dream hissed, taking a step forward, and every remaining hermit moved at once to stand in his way. They were stopped by Tommy flicking a quick look their way.

Oh, Joe realized all at once. This is the trap.

"I'll take your last life and you'll be fucking dead, Tommy, and then I'll kill your ghost!" Dream raised his axe, and Tommy flinched, even after all this time. It pooled rage as hot as lava in Joe's gut, but he did not move. He had to trust Tommy.

Tommy took a shaky breath, and remained steady. Atta boy, Joe thought, unable to resist the surge of pride he felt. This boy was nothing like the cowering mess he found a year ago.

"Go on, then." Tommy challenged, raising his bow only slightly. "Just like before, ey? Ten paces?"

And Dream hesitated. It was only for a fraction of a second, but Joe saw it, and so did Tommy.

"Yeah, that's fuckin' right." Tommy said, triumph in his tone. "I'm too important, aren't I?"

"I heard you, earlier. You could've killed me in that fuckin' maze, but you didn't." And this time Tommy took the step forward, his arrow locked on target. "You're not gonna kill me, Dream. You don't have the fuckin' guts."

That seemed to strike a nerve. Dream suddenly stood at his full height, his mask glinting in the dawn light. "Maybe not," he said, slowly, carefully, "but everyone you love on the SMP is still at my mercy, Tommy."

"Not anymore." Xisuma croaked, and everyone turned to the admin, kneeling and bruised at the lip of the crater his body caused, his administrator screen illuminating his cold glare.

Joe looked back just in time to see Dream's eye widen, and he moved--

And he was gone.

And the world stopped, just for a moment. Like a tripwire pulled taut. Lag wasn't new to Hermitcraft, but something felt different.

Joe had turned to Tommy before the world froze, and there was a light in his eyes as he saw Dream disappear that didn't get to his face yet.

And then the tripwire snapped.

[TommyInnit fell out of the world]

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