#i was holding her hand just like that time she held mine watching a horror film. i love her so much

[oatbugs]

procrastination is starting to have its consequences finally

#on my friends living room floor they love together but one of them has been london for weeks or maybe months #to be with her love. im on a foam mattress from one of their beds next to a glass bottle of water opened by one of them #in a mug given to me by another. the weather felt like my childhood today and it also felt like 2 years ago. #(put space in the heavens Einstein's idea and hes your friend too so nothing to fear) around the table they drank and laughed and i thought #i hope you keep growing so full with the love you receive . i hope your appetite becomes insatiable from how used to it you are #and i know youre all leaving soon but i hope one day you miss this and that youll be happy you miss it #its worth missing i think #i thought he didnt care but he said after exams hes going walk around this area over and over #(this is near where he lived and where we visited almost daily for a year) #(hed come across the bridge on a lake) #we went where she used to live and at the entrance a fox sat calmly. it just yawned and stared. #it felt important somehow. i think maybe their impressions of me will never be close to how i feel inside but i think #i love them enough for that not to matter. i dont think theyll ever know this. i dont think if they did it would change much. #and seeing them smile makes my heart glow anyway. today i tried their malaysian tea the ginger burned my throat #they warmed my heart. hes going to canada soon and hes going to the US soon and shes going everywhere soon ill never understand #how were supposed to live with memories and with seperation and with the past but we do it anyway so i think it doesnt matter much #i wanted to write a poem for the lab rats with the fibre optic wires lit with blue forcing them to turn around and around #something about how im sorry that the two photon arrays burned the inside of your brain. im sorry about the sharp points of multielectrode #arrayes. im sorry about everything we do to you. she asked to see me tomorrow. im trying to have self control but i miss her so awfully #last night my friend talked to me and i updated on everything that happened with love and the lack of it and she just started laughing #and she told me about the same thing from her side. and she told me about how she loved london because she would walk the streets #and she felt like the people were her. and her eyes would go over the people and the bag of bagels and the construction men they probably #have a kid at home maybe shes a daughter. this kid is crying for her mother and the building you just walked past caused #blisters and pain and people died in it and very likely people were born in it. we talked for hours and i felt like #i was holding her hand just like that time she held mine watching a horror film. i love her so much #my friend is a genius and i remember her picking up the charms of my phone and staring at the leaf hanging from them. shes side stepping to #music drinking dangerous cider and cocktails from a movie and chit chatting with billionaires and undergrads #i love her dearly. his head covered in electrodes. she tells me about a syrian guy shes in love with and she says #what you feel and what i feel is like cocaine. ive tried a lot of fucking cocaine. #she says ive reminded her of what living actually feels like and to never put energy into someone who doesnt see me this way.

[ravenna-reid]

A BLOODY PRICE

[ Part 2 to Crimson Red ]

TW: swearing, violence (bones breaking and shooting, nothing too intense though), brief mention of attempted assault

˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁ ˖ ݁

He had her cornered.

The dim street lights were making the tears that rolled down her cheeks glisten, but no one would hear her cries or come to her aid. Not in the alley ways of Gotham City.

As she continued to tell him; "No, I don't have any money, no please," it only seemed to make him angrier. He had her by the wrists now. Rage contorted his features. She closed her eyes.

"Listen here you bitc-" He was cut off by the sound of his own bones breaking. Both of his wrists snapping forward before his hands hung low. Mock horror spread across his face as the most agonising yell left him.

As he tumbled away from the girl and fell to his knees, something else grabbed at his attention. The pair suddenly looked in the direction the slow footsteps were coming from. Heels on the wet cement. And once you stepped out of the shadows and he saw the mask. The lipstick. The lace...he realised.

"No." Weeps escaped him as he feebly attempted to get away. "No, please."

You looked over at the terrified woman as she held her wrists and watched you in anticipation. "How ironic." You scoffed, "Now he's begging. 'No, no, please.'" You mocked with a wicked smile.

"Who are you?" She asked, voice quivering.

Your eyes settled onto her and remorse began to stir in your stomach. "A friend." You said, "Now, how far away is your home?"

"It's just across the street."

"I'll watch you. Go."

She didn't hesitate, quickly moving past you and heading towards an apartment building. When the door closed behind her you looked back down at the man.

"You know, I don't think that's going to be enough to teach you a lesson." That playful glint left your eyes and was soon replaced with a deadly intent.

He began to beg again, until the sound of a gunshot split the air in two. His body hit the ground with a loud thud. Shocked, you turned, moved to the side hoping the shadows would conceal you, but another gunshot echoed through out the city as the bullet found its home in your shoulder.

In that moment, something wrapped around you and brought you down to the ground with them.

The two gunshots simmered in the air before disappearing, and everything became eerily still as Gotham continued on like nothing had happened.

"Shit." The voice said. You turned to see the Red Hood on the ground with you, arms holding on as though you were precious cargo before he quickly let go.

"Red." You breathed. A faint smile spread across your face until the pain of the gunshot began to finally kick in. You winced, and Jason began cursing himself for not reaching you in time.

"Where did he hit you?" His voice was deeper and a little robotic with his helmet on.

"My shoulder." You managed, gripping onto the upper part of your arm as if it would help with the pain. "Who-?"

"A sniper. I couldn't figure out if he was gunning for you or that pig."

You both instinctivly looked over at the man sprawled across the ground.

"Come on, can you walk?" He began to guide you up from the ground, a tender hold on your elbow and lower back.

"Yeah, my house isn't far."

Lies. And it was as though he could tell you were lying.

"I bet mine is closer. Come on, I can stitch you up."

"No, really. It's fine-" Another wince cut you short, and if Jason wasn't wearing a helmet, you'd see the concern embedded onto his face.

"You helped me," He pointed out, a little eager. "Now let me make it even."

So the Red Hood managed to convince you to go back to his place. A dark apartment filled with take-away, old books, and large windows in the lounge room, only lit up by one warm lamp.

"When I find that asshole, he's no longer going to have a spine." You said through grit teeth as he laced the stitchings through your skin.

"I wonder who it was." He said, focused on your wound. "Probably Two-Face."

You shook your head. "Sneaky son of a bitch. He knew I wouldn't be able to sense a sniper."

Suddenly, your hand flew on top of his and tightly held onto it. Jason's body stilled as his eyes darted up to you. You were squinting, until you finally let out a breath and said, "Sorry, that one had a little kick to it."

You were trying your best, but the burning sensation was beginning to get to your head. Jason nodded before apologising, his eyes on yours and his enclosed hands. You moved your hand back into your lap. Jason paused for a second before continuing on and a strange sort of silence enveloped the room.

You couldn't stop the small smirk. His hand was unexpectedly warm. And soft, even if it had a few scars on it. A blush crept onto your face and you hoped the mask was hiding it.

"I thought someone like you would handle pain a little better." He teased, cutting the string and moving to grab a bandage.

You scoffed as you stared at the bloody bullet that sat on his table.

"Well, I didn't really have to deal with pain growing up."

Jason raised a brow at you as he continued wrapping your arm.

"My sister was a healer." It was the first time you looked away from Jason, a sad, distant memory gleaming in your eyes.

"A healer and a pain inflictor?"

"Mmhm."

Watching you and how your usual confident expression melted away made him drop the topic. But his mind continued to wonder. 'My sister was a healer.' Past tense. He bit the inside of his mouth as he wondered what happened. Wondered if that was why you did what you did.

He clipped the bandage and sat back to look at his work. "All done."

You looked down and scoffed. "I didn't think I'd have to make the arms of my suit bullet proof too."

Then you looked back up at him and sent his head reeling. No snarky remarks or sarcastic comments. Jason was silent. You gazed back at one another in a comfortable silence, and he found that he really wanted to take that mask off. See who was hiding underneath. But the thought left his mind and his stomach dropped as soon as your eyes widened.

This time...you could hear a heartbeat.

As quick as a whip you were out of the chair and had your hands gripping onto his suit. Much to his shock and surprise, you were shoving Jason back, and in that split second a plethora of bullets began to shoot through the windows.

The loud gunshots mixed with the smashing and clinking sound of glass breaking as the shards scattered across the floor. You and Jason were pressed against the wall at the end of the room, your face buried into his chest and his arms around your head. The shooting continued on for what seemed like forever before coming to a sudden halt.

The floor of his apartment was nothing but glass shards and wooden splinters from the window frames. His table, chairs, and the wall opposite of the windows were decorated with deep bullet holes. It seemed the sniper had returned with a gun that had a little more kick to it. And now, he was gone.

You finally looked up at Jason as he stared back at you. You still had him pinned against the wall, your body pressed against his as you both continued to breath heavily. But the shock of what just happened wouldn't allow either one of you to move. All you could do was stare at each other before he looked over your head at his apartment and the windows.

A slither of guilt crept into your bones. Now he would have to move. You looked over your shoulder at the mess before looking back at him.

"That fucker is dead." He said, voice deadly and low.

"Seems we both have a common enemy now." You said.

Stupid enough, you felt your face become hot as you took in the position you were both in, and little did you know that Jason was thinking the same thing too. Except you had much more of an effect on Jason. Faces inches apart as you held him against the wall, your hands gripping onto the fabrics of his suit. Surprisingly enough, he found he didn't mind the position he was in. At all.

#jason todd #jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd x you #jason todd fluff #jason todd x fem!reader #red hood imagine #red hood x fem!reader #red hood x reader #dca fandom #dc comics #dcu #dc universe #fluff #red hood angst #angst #jason todd angst

[gavisuntiedboot]

Whenever you have the time could you write about Gavi with a gf that is a bit reserved and touch starved, her love language is physical touch but she doesn't initiate it with Gavi because her ex always told her she is clingy and annoying so she's insecure about it, so Gavi tries to show her it's okay by always cuddling her, or touching her in any way. And then over time she starts to initiate the cuddling/touching and Gavi is so proud and happy because she finally feels comfortable with him

Your writing is amazing btw, I've decided to wait for you to finish Just Pretend completely to continue reading it because whenever I finish the last chapter you post I get so sad because the next one isn't out yet and I can't live in the agony of not knowing what happens next

Pls hold my hand

"Princess, why do you have a sweatshirt that says ‘clingy’ on it?”

You looked over to Gavi, who plopped himself down on the couch next to you, grabbing the remote to cue the Netflix show the two of you had been watching for the last several weeks, eager to finally watch another episode, as the two of you held your shared series’ to a sacred standard. With only two episodes left of the latest “Drive to Survive”, you didn’t want to delay the experience with too much conversation.

"Just and inside joke between me and my friends.” You said, avoiding eye contact and focusing on the bag of m&m’s in front of you.

“Your friends think you’re clingy?” He asked, turning to face you as his hoodie slipped from his head, messy brown locks on full display. One of the things you adored about Pablo was how much he was always trying to protect you and look out for you. You weren’t really be confrontational, and this lead to some mistreatment and being pushed over at times by those close to you. Well, you used to. Since you and Pablo started dating about 8 months ago, he had been there to defend you against people who wanted to take advantage, and often was the voice reminding you to stick up for yourself.

“No no, it’s not them. It’s … something to do with my ex boyfriend. Do you still want to know?”

Gavi tensed at this. Despite you never saying anything explicitly negative about your boyfriend, all the stories Gavi heard made him hate the man with a burning passion. He had slowly but surely messed you up in so many ways, and now as Pablo worked to slowly unravel the knots tightened around your heart, he couldn’t help but curse the man that tied them to begin with.

“Yeah. You can tell me.”

You shifted in your seat, rather uncomfortable with the topic, but not wanting to lie to your boyfriend.

“Well, remember that little love languages quiz I made you do? Well I did mine like years ago, and I got physical touch. Which makes sense right because that’s one of yours and we seem to be getting along pretty well.” Gavi giggled at this, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and causing you to tense.

“Well, my last boyfriend wasn’t super into like… touching? Fuck that sounds sexual. I mean he didn’t really like being touched or cuddling or all that couple stuff. Didn’t like holding hands either. And like this one time, he was watching something on his computer and I was feeling bold or whatever and tried to sit on his lap — he hated that though. He liked pushed me onto the floor and told me to stop being clingy.” You forced out a laugh, trying to lighten the mood and soften the look of horror that had occupied Gavi’s face.

“That was actually why I broke up with him. Anyways I didn’t hug any of my friends for a month after that, and when they finally confronted me and I told them why, they got this made me for me. See, look at the sleeve,” you said, stretching out your arm to show him the ‘pls hold my hand’ embroidered on the sleeve. “So now whenever I’m in my clingy sweatshirt, my friends give me a ton of hugs and stuff. It’s funny. I think.” You say, winching slightly by the fact that Pablo’s eyebrows are still pushed together in anger.

He muttered his grievances about your boyfriend while cuddling closer to you, pulling you into his chest. Your cheeks warmed as they were pressed against Gavi’s beating heart. Despite the long time you had been dating Pablo, you still were shy when it came to initiating any sort of affection. You were too scared of annoying him and pushing him further away. So you remained shy and reserved, only responding to the touches he initiated.

“Give me your hand, silly. Never been with a girl who came with instructions before. Maybe I should get you a pair of panties that say-“ his sentence abruptly ended with a pillow to the face. You giggled, trying to pull away from his grasp, but he just pulled you closer, wrapping both arms around you now.

“Oh no no princesa. You’re not going anywhere. Now hush and make mean comments about Verstappen with me.”

~

Over the next few weeks, Pablo had made an active effort to make you more comfortable with being physical with him. Whenever the two of you were out, he held your hand or had you two link arms. He hugged you and kissed you on the cheek or forehead, asking, “you don’t want to give me a kiss back, Amor?” Puppy dog eyes and adorable pout on display, you coyly returned the peck to his jutted out lip. He smiled widely, teeth almost blinding you. He returned with an attack, kissing you across both cheeks, and ending with a searing kiss to the lips.

His favorite time was when you two watched shows together. He would always pull you in close, cuddling with you next to him on the couch. He would lean close and whisper his comments about the show into your ear, making your skin erupt in goosebumps as his breath famed over. He would press kisses into your temples, breathing in the sweet smell of your hair, and reminding you how much he loved being around you.

“You’re so warm amor - my personal furnace. I love it.”

“Your skin is so soft, feels so nice.”

“I wish I never had to get up from beside you.”

After three weeks of hand holding, kisses, and encouragement, you finally found the confidence to approach Gavi to heal your touch starvation. You put on your clingy hoodie again, laying out snacks on the coffee table and firing up her Netflix.

“Princesa I’m here! Where are you?”

Running to the door, you wrapped both arms around Gavi’s neck, pulling him into you and greeting him with a firm kiss. As he recovered from the unexpected greeting, you informed him that you would be in the living room pulling up a new series. He followed closely after kicking off his shoes, and peeling off his Barca jacket, picking up the hoodie you had laid out for him.

“Did you change shampoos? Used to be peach and now it’s strawberry.”

“How could you tell?” You asked, grabbing some drinks as Pablo got comfy on the couch. He crossed his arms across his chest, legs spread and back slumped.

“My clothes smell different around the shoulders. That’s usually where your wet hair sits.” He looked over at you, watching your eyes go wide. “Amor, you know I love you, stop being surprised when I actually act like it. Now what are we watching?”

Taking a deep breath, you walked back over. You grabbed the remote, pressing play.

“The new season of Black Mirror is out and I’m dying to see it. Heard this one is creepier than normal.” As you explained, you walked over to Gavi. Before he could move to make space for you on the sofa, you draped yourself over his lap. Your legs were to his side, back pressed to his chest. Your arms wrapped around his torso, and you laid your head on his shoulder. ‘Deep breaths it’s okay he’s not going to push you off.’

Pablo was stunned for a moment, so much so that he remained motionless. Once the shock wore off and he felt your slight tremble, he brought his muscled arms around you, pulling you tightly against him, soft lips pressing to your pulse point and freeing a soft gasp from your throat. He rested his head atop yours, the pressure and warmth comforting and familiar.

“Look at you being bold cariño. If I knew it would get you to sit in my lap we would’ve done this months ago.” You giggled softly in response, turning to face him. You rested your forehead against his, gazing deeply into the deep brown pools of his eyes. Leaning in, his lips eagerly met yours, refusing to release you. When you finally pulled away, you resumed your comfortable position in Pablo’s embrace. “I’m so proud of you, princesa.” The two of you fell into s comfortable silence, enjoying the show, squeezing each other tighter whenever things got intense.

“Can I get a matching clingy hoodie for whenever I want cuddles?” Pablo asked, smiling at you from above.

“I don’t think so, Pablito. You would never take it off.”

~~~

Guys I have the worst headacheeeeee but yay I posted!

#gavisuntiedboot #pablo gavi x reader #pablo gavi #pablo gavi imagine #gavi x reader #gavi x you #fc barca #gavi imagine #pablo gavi x reader fluff #pablo gavi x y/n #gavi x yn #gavi #gavi fluff #pablo gavi fluff #gavi fic #pablo gavi fanfic #pablo gavi fanfiction #gavi fanfic

[dark-night-hero]

Glaze Lily (Zhongli)

ᴴᵃⁿᵃʰᵃᵏⁱ ᴰⁱˢᵉᵃˢᵉ ᴬᵁ

I have been in love with you as far as I can remember.

"If you were to watch the love of your life slowly fall in love with someone else, what would you do?" Asked the figure with a violet eyes and black hair. Its deep yet misty eyes stare at the two figure from afar then back at the woman in across it.

There the said woman followed were the figure with violet eyes were looking at. Looking at the scene, he was holding her close. He was holding her close that it was almost suffocating. Like something was stuck on her throat that she felt like throwing up.

"Are you okay?" It was the same figure with violet eyes that has been bothering her for a while now who snappened her out of her daze. "Love can be a dangerous game darling." Her eyes were glowing as if to warn her something. "Stop loving while its early." The hooded figure laughs, standing up from their seat as she continue to glare at the figure before it disappear from her sight.

She was left there in place, hands clench in a fist as she bit her lips. It was suffocating, her throat was itching. Something was happening. Something is starting. But what is it?

"Are you alright?" Rex Lapis asked as he gently and carefully approach her, but as soon as she look up to him, she could see her following closely behind. "Yeah. I'm alright."

I was here first. I met you first. I was there first. I was with you first. This means nothing to you, right?

Loving can be kind, but one must remember that love- loving can be dangerous. So dangerous.

She was so kind, so smart, so caring and lovely. Of course the adeptus were all over her for a reason, even him was no exception. "I honestly prefer your work over mind, what was Morax thinking when he chose mine?" She pout, sitting on the near vacant seat. Looking at her, a fake smile makes its way on her lips, "Is that so? Tell me about- cough!" "Oh my-! That sounded so painful, are you alright?!" "I'm alright.. If you'll exc- cough! cough!" She quickly stood up, hands covering her mouth. "Are you sure-!" "Move." "What was that-" Before Morax, Rex Lapis could even finish his sentence, she already run off.

Looking down at her hands in horror, there was blood. Then there was a single blue bloody petal. "What is thi-!" "I warned you didn't I?" She almost flinch but the perhaps, she had seen this coming. "What is happening to me?" She gasp, it was suffocating. For a while now, that suffocating feeling never went away.

"Pfffff haha" The hooded figure sigh like it cannot help it. "Asking something you already know?" She could not help but to glare at the fugure, hand curling into a fist, crushing the bloody petal. "It's the sickness of unrequited love. Hanahaki disease." Then the figure laugh, its violet eyes glowing. "I warned you, didn't I? Even the all mighty ones has their own demise."

Love is dangerous. It will bring you happiness until everything falls apart, tearing you into tiny little pieces.

I was there in your deepest darkest hours. I was there when no one was by your side. I was the one who pulled you away from darkness. I have always been by your side.

Series of claps can be heard as well as cheers as the two figure finally announced their relationship to the majority of the adeptus. And as much as she wants to do the same. She felt her throat itching like hell. Her sigh was getting deeper and deeper as time passed by, it was only a matter of time before she burst into fit of coughing. But she was all pretending everything was fine with a smile.

She held it in for a very long time until it was time for them to leave, she did not say a single thing. She just stood there in place, a smile on her lips. As soon as she was far away from hearing and sight. She crouch over to the ground as she burst out into a fit of coughing. Endless coughing.

She felt like she was dying, maybe she was. She cannot breathe, she felt like her lungs were being ripped apart. It hurts like hell that its killing her inside out. Tears rolling down her cheeks as she cough out bloody and fucking bloody white and blue petals. "Ah seriously-! cough- ugh!"

Is this the price to pay for loving-

"Tsk tsk. Look at you." Someone crouch down along side her. "Funny how humans and those immortal ones have something in common." Those belittling violet eyes, she wants to pull them out. "They all become a fool in love." "Regretting it now?" "Hahhhh... get out of my face."

Love is dangerous. But you know that didn't you? This is your choice.

"What should I do with you?" She was barely hanging on into consciousness. "This is such a foolish move." The figure tsked as it watches her die slowly. But it the major wounds on her body or suffocation. She had already accepted it. "Those wounds is fixable. It is the disease that is slowly killing you." The figure explain. "I can fix it but there is a consequence." That made her look at the hooded figure. "You'll have your emotions gone-" "They..." "???" "Are they okay?"

The figure halt. Then it laughed. "How crazy." "They're the reason why you're like this but even after all that you're still looking after them?" The hooded figure laugh for a long time then it looked back before disappearing without a trace, and not too long after that. Morax came on sight. His arms were trembling as he picked her up. She hated it, she hated the suffocating feeling in her chest that never went away even in these times. It was killing her. Like someone was tearing her lungs apart. Like somone planted a seed in there having its roots warped all around her lungs.

"Morax... Rex Lapis." She gasp, she was holding on into him for dear life. "Hush, come on. She'll be here in no time to heal you-" "My love.." She felt Morax stiffen. "My dear." She could barely breathe. "My lovely (First name)." "Guizhong-" "Morax... take care of her.. please?" She gripped on his arm. "I..." her eyes were teary. "I love her."

Just as Guizhong said that, the hands that was holding into him loosen. Slowly, Guizhong body starts to form a crack before it disintegrate into thin air. In her place leaving behind a bloody flower that was later known as Glaze Lily.

Love won't die, but it can kill you. You know?

[ⓒdark-night-hero] 2024°

: as much as I want to keep it gender neutral, I need to mislead ya'll for the plot twist so yeah.

#dark night hero #genshin impact #genshin imagines #genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact angst #genshin x y/n #genshin impact imagines #genshin zhongli #genshin impact zhongli #zhongli x reader #zhongli #genshin guizhong #guizhong #morax x y/n #morax x you #morax x reader #genshin morax #genshin impact morax #genshin x you #genshin x reader #genshin impact fanfic

[mixelation]

heya, so i've read your fic "it's about magic eyeball biology" right when it came out on AO3 but i just saw it's not online anymore. is there a way you'd be willing to send me the file? I REALLY like it and I was reading it basically every day for a few days because it made me laugh

i pulled it because i was getting comments about it on other fics and that was super annoying. but i guess i don't have a problem reposting it to tumblr. some notes:

this is an AU based on a bunch of jokes in this tag (chronological order)

someone asked about how weird it would be to be an SI and find out about the eyeball symbionts, so i wrote about tori finding out. this fic is a joke. it is not "canon." no one in plasticity, mutagenicity, or any other fic of mine has eyeball symbionts. i do not find it interesting, amusing, or fun to explore this concept in other fics. i do not want comments or questions about it. please respect this

the word i chose to use is "symbiont," which in my experience is the more common term used by people who study symbiosis. "symbiote" is from marvel.

Tori was successful in not vomiting the first time she watched an autopsy. Her stomach churned uncomfortably, but she ignored it, watching Keizo’s hands and pointedly not looking at the face of their latest victim. If she just focused on the steady removal of organs from the abdomen and not the face, she could pretend they weren’t from a person. 

Then Keizo moved on to the head, and she had to look. He pried open the eyelids, and her stomach rolled. 

“The eyes aren’t so bad,” Keizo narrated, voice gruff and bored. He held the lids open with one hand while he cut away with the other. “I like to use curved scissors to-- pay attention-- cut through the fascial sheath, and then you can cut away the orbital muscles and it’ll pop right out. Orochimaru-sama isn’t going to let you touch anyone with a doujutsu, so don’t worry about damaging the…”

Tori frowned, barely listening to Keizo, as the victim’s eye did pop right out. It was smooth, almost a perfect sphere, with the dark brown iris raised ever so slightly. Pink viscera clung to it in Keizo’s hand. 

“Hold on,” Tori interrupted, twisting her neck to try and look at the back of the eyeball. “Where’s the… you know, the optic nerve?”

She was pretty sure the optic nerve was, like, huge. It was a bundle of over a million nerve fibers or something insane like that, if she remembered the human anatomy unit correctly. Her teacher had called it a “bridge cable.”

Then again, that unit was from an advanced high school class, and Keizo was looking at her like she was particularly stupid. Even if he was mean, violent, and uncooperative, he definitely knew more about cutting out eyeballs than Tori.

“Is it smaller than it looks in cartoons?” she tried. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Keizo sneered. “Here, you do the second eye.”

That was the good thing about eyes, Tori supposed. You got two for the price of one. 

He passed her the curved scissors, which were slick with whatever goo lined an eye socket, and Tori hesitantly put down the notebook she’d been writing in. Feeling very light-headed, she copied Keizo’s movements, gently separating the victim’s eyelids and praying something would happen to intervene in what she was about to do. A fire alarm going off, or a earthquake, or fuck-- she’d take the hideout being actively attacked over this. 

No act of god stopped her. Her hands were shaking so hard that she accidentally punctured the sclera and transparent, goopy vitreous started leaking out. 

The eye did pop right out, though. There was no nerve at the back, and no evidence of one in the back of the pink socket. 

Looking into the face of dead, eyeless person, she could either feel the horror at what she’d done seeping into her very bones, or she could wonder: What the fuck?

xXx

She asked for an anatomy book. 

“I don’t see what the point is,” Kabuto told her. “You’re getting hands-on experience.”

“I want to know how things work when they’re still alive,” Tori replied. 

“Well…” Kabuto rolled his chair back from his desk towards a narrow bookstand of books and scrolls he kept in his clinic. “I suppose Orochimaru would approve. Here, you can look through this while we wait for that drug to kick in.”

He handed her what was clearly a picture book meant for children, a deeply condescending smile on his face. Tori pressed her lips together to prevent herself from saying something disrespectful, then forced her face into a polite smile. 

There was a chapter on different senses, and she slowly flipped through the chapter on chakra networks in mild interest, before she found the two-page spread covering sight. 

Mother of Christ, Tori thought. 

She hadn’t found an optic nerve because there wasn’t one. 

xXx

Part of Tori’s argument for why she shouldn’t be dissected like a frog was that there was no reason to think there was much special about her biologically, including her own anatomy. She thought it would be safer to simply not say anything.

But now she knew. She knew every person in this world was a walking sin against logic, and that knowledge, sitting in the Oto clinic with Kabuto, was a horrible, heavy burden that made it hard to breathe.

The picture book Kabuto had loaned her had explained vision to her the way Tori thought an alien who’d never even seen a human and also who didn’t have sight themselves might explain it: special cells at the back of the eye reacted to light, and then that information was transferred directly into the brain via a complex network of chakra, and this was not even the worst part. 

The worst part was that eyeballs were an entirely separate organism. A mutualistic creature that colonized newborn baby eye sockets and then metamorphosed into basically a giant eyeball that fed visual information into the brain in exchange for protection and nutrients. 

“During pregnancy,” the book had explained in a little Did you know? box, “a mommy’s body makes special hormones, which tell the visual symbiont to make babies too! The babies are called larvae, which have lots of little tentacles to help them move around. They like to stay with mommy, though, and so they find the baby when she holds it. Sometimes, when there’s a problem with mommy and she can’t donate larvae to her baby, a doctor can help daddy’s eyes make babies, or sometimes another mommy will donate!”

Tori was going insane. She was going to hyperventilate. What the FUCK!

“This is the worst thing I ever read,” she muttered to herself, eyes stuck on the book. Whatever drug Kabuto had given her was making her dizzy, but she felt like her vision was laser-focused and perfectly taking in the bright cartoon of two eyeball symbiont creatures. “Is this a joke? This has to be a joke.”

She was vaguely aware of Kabuto frowning at her. “A joke?”

“Visual symbionts?” Tori squeaked out, sounding and feeling hysterical. 

“Yes…?” Kabuto repeated. 

“No,” Tori argued. “No way.”

Bemused, Kabuto dug out more textbooks, these ones meant for actual medical professionals. He flipped through passages on syndromes related to host-symbiont genetic incompatibilities, being colonized by more than one symbiont, symbiont maldevelopment and absenteeism, chakra incompatibilities, if the symbiont spontaneously regrew its tentacles and left your head in order to start its sexual reproductive cycle. 

“Is this…” Tori felt like she couldn’t breathe. She felt more apt to vomit than she did when she’d fucked up trying to cut out someone’s eye. “Is this a genjutsu…?”

“Did you really not know about them?” Kabuto asked. “I thought you had biological training.”

Tori had to work very hard not to break down into hysterics. 

xXx

The good news was that “I have a special nerve that connects my eyeball to my brain and lets me see” sounded exactly as insane to both Kabuto and Orochimaru as “eyeball symbiont creature” did to Tori. 

Well, no, that wasn’t really good news. But she felt vindicated at both their absolutely baffled looks. 

She had to explain it three times– dropping words like “optic chiasma” and “retinal blind spot” before Kabuto believed her enough to press his fingers to her temple and send chakra into her eyes. 

“There is something there,” he said, sounding deeply perplexed, and Orochimaru perked up like a child receiving a Christmas gift. “I think-- yes, it’s a nerve.”

“I think you should be able to see it,” Tori said, “if you shine a light into the pupil.”

They did. Tori did indeed have a white spot at the back of her eye, right where her optic nerve entered her eye. 

“You’re like a cephalopod,” Orochimaru informed her, sounding like a dog owner telling their pet they were a very good girl. “This is how their eyes are arranged, an absolutely beautiful evolution. Oh, but the approach of the nerve is different. How fascinating.”

The examination ended with Orochimaru gleefully jabbing a needle into both Tori’s eyes. This was uncomfortable and painful, and he talked about how the presence of an optic nerve might be part of her future vision. 

At least this backs up my story, Tori thought as Orochimaru’s cool hand held her face down.

xXx

Orochimaru strolled into lab the next day and pulled Tori aside to go over the results of her test with her. He took her down the hall to an office, which was surprisingly homey, all things considered. Orochimaru’s office was lined with bookshelves, and had a nice wood desk and a comfortable looking chair behind it. There was an ornamental lamp, which along with the desk chair, were the closest to “creature comforts” that Tori had seen in Oto so far. 

She sat opposite to Orochimaru, in a much less comfortable chair. He spread a scroll out on the desk in front of her. 

“Do you know how to read the results of a DNA test?” he asked. 

“Uh,” Tori answered. “Not like whatever you’re about to show me.”

He hummed back at her, not at all bothered. “Ah, your otherworldly science. You should tell me about that later. For now…”

He explained how he’d compared the DNA extracted from her eye to DNA extracted from the hair he’d ripped off of her previously. They had matched exactly. He’d also ran her eye DNA against several visual symbionts they had on file, across many vertebrate taxa, and found no match at all. 

“Your eyes are one-hundred percent Tori,” he said. “It’s amazing.”

“...thanks?” Tori tried. As a joke she added, “I grew them myself.”

“Hmm,” he answered. “I wish I had more of you, and more of other animals from your world. I’d like to study how they evolved.”

“I don’t understand how they didn’t evolve here,” Tori told him honestly. They had a special socket and everything! “I think… do other animals have eyes here? I’m pretty sure eyes evolved more than once. In my world, I mean.”

Orochimaru leaned back in his seat, eyeing her indulgently, a smile tugging at his lips. “The leading theory is that the symbiont started as a flesh-eating parasite that attacked proto-eyes in vertebrates, and then evolved with us until it simply replaced our eyes. Most babies are born with soft tissue in their sockets, to feed potential symbionts, and some think that growth is left over from millions of years ago when our ancestors had their own eyes.”

“Oh,” Tori said, unsure how to respond to that. She’d been taught parasitism and mutualism were opposite sides of the same symbiotic spectrum, so moving from one end to the other made sense. “Well, that happens sometimes.”

Orochimaru laughed. 

They chatted. Orochimaru was good at answering questions thoroughly and without making Tori feel like she was stupid the way other Oto residents did, and he nodded along to her talking about whatever eyeball-related thing that came to her mind. Red-green colorblindness being a sex-linked trait, for example, was an extremely interesting topic for Orochimaru. 

“So do you not have the genes for photoreceptors at all?” Tori asked curiously. 

Instead of answering her immediately, Orochimaru had started writing down notes to himself. With the exception of occasionally labeling a tube or sample, Tori had never actually seen him write anything down before, and he scribbled with a sort of fervent focus. 

“I’ve never looked,” he said eventually. “There’s evidence for photosensitivity in those without symbionts, but… It would be interesting to use your genome to search for any analogous loci…”

Because the conversation flowed easily, Tori eventually felt bold enough to ask:

“So is this why you can just pass sharingan around like hot potatoes?”

Orochimaru paused in the middle of writing, blinking at her. 

“Hot potatoes?”

Tori blushed, and then backpedaled. “I know you… uh, Sasuke is going to get into a fight with Danzo at some point.”

She gestured at her forearm, and Orochimaru let a loud, rasping laugh. 

“I don’t think Danzo can see particularly well with those,” he said, eyes mirthful. “But I suppose eye transplants would be quite difficult with a nerve to connect, wouldn’t they?”

Tori nodded. She was pretty sure they weren’t even possible. There were… a lot of problems, there. But if the eyeball was supposed to be an external creature, it had to be easier to pass them around. 

“They have quite a high success rate here,” he answered, tone flippant as he played with the pen in his hand. “Unfortunately, an eye transplanted into a non-related host can rarely be coaxed into reproducing.”

“Huh,” Tori answered. “Why?”

Orochimaru’s lips quirked up into a smirk. “Perhaps that can be your next project.” 

xXx

It didn’t get to be Tori’s next project, because Oto ended up going up in flames. 

She didn’t even have time or energy to think about how everyone in this world was running around with symbiont eyeballs instead of regular eyes until months later, sitting in Sasori’s workshop and carefully stirring some foul-smelling concoction while he excavated someone’s insides so he could hide weapons inside or something. 

“You know, you guys should really invent magnetic stir-bars,” Tori said, eyeing the beaker of slowly bubbling sludge and wondering if the fumes could hurt her. 

Apparently Sasori was in a bad mood today, because he put the horrifying… scooping tool… down and turned to her fully. 

Like carving a pumpkin, Tori thought against her will, eyes fixated on the… organ scooper?

“What stupid thing are you rambling about now?” Sasori asked her, voice harsh. “You’re distracting me. If you make a single mistake with that poison--”

Tori was trying very hard to pay attention to Sasori’s threats and not think about all the horrible squelching noises of the organs she’d removed herself. It was better to listen to Sasori, really. Probably increased her chance of survival, even. 

There was movement behind Sasori. Tori squeaked in surprise. Sasori clicked his tongue in annoyance, picked up the organ scooper, and then used it to catch something right out of the air with the ease of a professional lacrosse player. 

“Oh, disgusting,” he said, staring down at it in evident annoyance. 

Something else plopped to the floor with an audible, vaguely wet thud. It rolled across the concrete floor, and Sasori trapped it against the floor with a firm sandal. Tori leaned over the bench to see what was going on, and saw the transparent ooze of viscera across the cement and gray tentacles trashing against the floor and the sides of Sasori’s sandals. 

“Is that an eyeball symbiont?” Tori asked, suddenly excited. She leapt to her feet and came to stand beside him, peering into the shell of the organ scooper. 

Sure enough, an eyeball with a halo of tentacles was rolling back and forth, desperately trying to escape. 

Holy shit, Tori thought. That was… that was amazing, actually. 

“It’s sort of cute,” she said. 

Sasori looked at her like she was insane. This was, apparently, such a bizarre statement that he didn’t immediately react to the eyeball finally lurching itself forward and out of the scoop. Tori caught it easily in one hand as it fell. 

“Don’t touch it,” Sasori hissed, grabbing her wrist. “Are you insane? It’ll induce your eyes too.”

“...what?” Tori asked, blinking back at him. “Oh, because the tentacles mean it’s trying to have sex?”

She stared down at the thing in her hand. The tentacles wriggled between her fingers. Kinky little bastards, weren’t they?

Sasori was looking at her with… awe wasn’t really the word. More like: What the fuck, I have never seen someone this carelessly insane before, and I am horrified that humanity could reach these depth. 

Which was kind of rude, actually, because they lived with Hidan. 

“What do you mean by ‘induce’?” Toi asked. 

“Do you not know how eyeballs work?” Sasori asked, sounding just shy of hysterical. 

Apparently, handling an eyeball symbiont in its sexual reproduction mode could induce a symbiont in a host to also leave the head and revert to its sexual cycle, so they could both run off and hopefully have an eyeball orgy with as many symbionts as possible. Tori guessed that made sense. The symbiont reproduced mainly asexually, but most things did occasionally run off to have sex. That was just life. 

Sasori was absolutely disgusted by the entire process. His symbionts were the only living part of him, and he was personally horrified by the idea of them crawling out of his head to make babies. 

He also seemed to be viscerally repulsed by the threat of a loose symbiont in someone’s living quarters, not because it might affect his housemates, but because he didn’t like the idea of more tentacled symbionts flopping around. 

“Is this like… an ongoing societal problem?” Tori wondered. Did people kill them on sight, or was this considered a beautiful miracle of life? 

She didn’t get to find out, because her question triggered a rant from Sasori about how much he hated them, and that they should just stay in people’s heads and look pretty like they were meant to. 

“Is it common to leave a dead host like this?” Tori asked when he calmed down. They couldn’t really move on their own unless they went into sex mode, after all… 

“Why are you still holding it?” Sasori demanded. His own disgust was the only thing keeping him from prying it out of her hand himself. 

“Oh, I don’t have a visual symbiont,” Tori said, blinking at Sasori. “I just grew my own eyes. Uh. Like an octopus.”

Sasori very slowly let go of her wrist. He stared at her, perplexed. 

The symbiont in her hand wriggled some more. Her own eyeballs stayed firmly in place. 

“...pick up the one on the floor,” Sasori said eventually. 

He wanted to keep them. He liked saving his puppet’s original eyes. Usually, when they left the host, he had to kill them and then isolate them for a week to be sure the hormones that could induce his own symbionts dissipated. That meant, once he was able to safely handle them, they were not in pristine condition. This, perhaps, contributed to why he hated them so much. They were frustrating art material. 

Tori thought, based on what she’d read about things doctors did, he was being a bit paranoid, the way some people didn’t like touching raw meat. 

“You’ll have to kill them and preserve them for me,” Sasori said, having fully accepted that Tori was a weird freak faster than she would have anticipated. 

Tori felt bad when she killed them, slipping a scalpel into their backs where Sasori indicated. 

“You’ll see more live ones,” Sasori sniffed when she complained. “This happens with about a quarter of my bodies.”

Fascinating, Tori thought. She’d never had one of her failed surgery… patients… do this. Maybe what they did in Oto also killed the symbiont? 

“And you don’t use all those bodies for full puppets, right?” Tori asked. “You won’t need every symbiont.”

“You can’t keep it as a pet,” Sasori sneered. 

Obviously she didn’t want a pet. She wanted to run some experiments. This was really interesting, after all! 

Instead of earnestly explaining this to Sasori, who seemed a bit on edge and likely to yell at her, she went for jokes at other people’s expense. He loved those. 

“I want to see if Jashin protects Hidan from them,” Tori told him, and he snorted. “Or see if we can get one to colonize Deidara’s mouth-hand.”

“He will kill you,” Sasori said, not without a hint of bemusement. “You’ll cut off all their tentacles next. I like to use curved scissors…”

#it's about magic eyeball biology #my writing #toriverse

[opposums-love-arson]

Scream Queen Book 1: Conventional Final Girl

Chapter 4

Chapter 3 / Chapter 5

Stu Macher x Reader x Billy Loomis

 “Did you find them?” Sid asked, referring to mom and Neil who were supposed to have arrived at the expo today, like they told us. 

“Are you sure it was the Hilton?” Dewey asked, looking between us two. 

“Mhm,” She said and we both nodded to him. 

“They’re not registered there.” Dewey looked at us sympathetically, “Could they have stayed somewhere else?” 

“I don’t know, I guess.” Sid said as she rubbed her head for the millionth time. I pulled her hand away from her face and held it in mine. 

“Don’t worry girls, we’ll find them, okay?” Dewey reassured us as he put his hand on Sid’s knee. 

An officer walked by placing a paper on Dewey;s desk and saying something about the mask. Dewey said he’ll “Be right back” as he pushed in his chair and walked off. “(Y/n), what if they can’t find (m/n) and dad?” Sid asked in a sad and quiet tone with little sniffles. Smiling up at her the best I could right now I said, “Hey, just like Dewey said, they’ll find them Sid. I bet mom and  Neil are okay wherever they are.” Pushing her hair back from her face she responded, “Wouldn’t he want us to know that though?” At this point I just looked away. I didn’t know what to tell her. Right when I turned my head is when I made direct eye contact with Billy, a chill ran down my spine and all over my arms. He was pleading to me with a silent voice. “Hey tell em, Sidney, come one, (y/n), tell em!” Billy finally shouted as they led him out of the room. Sid refused to look and see but me? I had a clear view of his pleas for help, part of me felt bad. Right when Billy was dragged out Tatum walked in and right to us. She rushed right to Sid’s side holding her close saying, “Oh Sid, I’m gonna getcha out of here. Okay?” Nodding in response, Sid just sniffled and cried a little. 

  Watching these two in front of me made me realise just how much of a family we really… aren’t. I mean the way Sidney might view it yeah for sure, we talk to each other and spend time together but when it comes down to it they’ll leave me in the background while they huddle to protect her. If this were a horror movie I know I wouldn’t be the final girl, Sidney would. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I overheard Dewey and Sheriff Burke. They’re talking about how it’s hard to track the buyer for the costume and they won’t be able to access the phone account until tomorrow. I couldn’t hear anymore after Tatum just groaned, “Ugh come on,” as she stood by Sid. I’m really hoping it wasn’t Billy, I care about him a lot even if he can be a little… menacing at times. He does his best for Sid and that’s all that matters.

 “Hey Dewey, can we go now?” Tatum asked her older brother, impatience written all over her face. 

“Hold on a second,” He said, pointing his forefinger up in our direction. 

“What did mom tell ya? When I wear this badge you treat me like a man of the law,” Dewey basically whined out to Tatum. 

“I’m sorry deputy Dewey boy but we’re ready to go!” Tatum shouted in a huff as she gathered her things, “Now, okay?!” 

“Uh take ‘em out the back way, avoid that circus.” Burke said as he patted Dewey’s back and pointed towards the back door. 

The whole station was laughing at Dewey and Tatum’s bickering as we rushed for the doors. 

“There she is, Sydney!” Oh well I guess the Devil will always seek you out when you least expect it. “Hi, some night, what happened, are you alright?” Gale asked, shoving the microphone in Sid’s face. 

“She’s not answering any questions alright? Just leave us alone,” Tatum said in a tired-of-this-shit tone. 

“No no, Tatum it’s okay she’s just doing her job, right Gale?” Sid smiled and lightly pushed Tatum back towards me. 

Judging by her voice, Sidney is about to throw down. 

“Yes that right,” Gale nodded, still shoving the microphone in Sid’s face. 

“So how’s the book?” Sid asked, a sarcastic and scorch sound to her voice. 

“Well, it’ll be out later this year.” 

“Oh, I’ll look for it.” Sid said, he voice cracking for the tears and sobs trying to escape. 

I whispered over to Tatum, “Grab Sid. Now.” Tatum did exactly as I said. 

Just in time too since Gale said, “I’ll send you a copy!” 

Sid went to turn around and punch her but Tatum held her back with all her strength. This allowed me to take her place and land a clean right hook to Gale’s left cheek pushing her back and down into her camera man. Words could be heard from all the people behind her but I wasn’t listening. 

Dewey ran up to us and escorted Tatum, Sid, and I to his patrol car. 

“Where’d you learn to punch like that?” Dewey asked as he held onto my arm. 

“Mom was a boxer before she got with Neil,” I said as I slammed the car door. 

“(Y/n) why did you do that?” Sidney asked me, looking in confusion. 

“What, you think I’m going to risk my sister facing legal action in the middle of this shit show? I’d rather land in the slammer than you Sid,” I said as I placed my head on her shoulder. 

“See Tatum why can’t you be like that?” Dewey whined from the front seat. 

“Because you’re my big brother Dewey you’re supposed to defend me!” And so the sibling bickery ensued once again. 

  Once we made it to Tatum’s we got dressed in our pajamas and just lounged around Tatum’s room. I guess my clothes weren’t up-to-par with the latest fashion because right when I walked in I earned an “ugh” from Tatum. “What?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning on the doorway with a goofy grin. “Well one, you always wear those ridiculous shirts, and two, change whatever you’re doing.” Standing up straight I tug down at my shirt, it was just a Pet Sematary shirt, I guess I do wear a lot of horror stuff. “I get why you don’t like the shirt but what’s wrong with what I was doing?” I asked in a genuinely confused tone. Tatum got up to cup my face and squeeze it. “You’ve been spending too much time with Billy and Stu, we need to re-acclimate you to society.” She said and she pouted her lip, feigning pity for my accidental new traits. While Tatum was shuffling through her drawers I looked over at Sid. I mouthed, “Aren’t you going to do something?” Sid shrugged and mouthed back, “What am I supposed to do?” I tossed my arms up in the arm and mouthed, “Anything.”

   Tatum then threw something purple and soft right at my face. “There, go put those on then come back so I can braid your hair!” Tatum excitedly squealed. “We’re going to take cute pictures so hurry!” She shouted down the hall. Rushing to the bathroom I turned on the light, releasing a breath I held in… I’m just a little scared after tonight, I don’t know what’s lurking in the dark places anymore. I examined the set of small shorts and a smooth satin sleeping hirt. I quickly threw them on before heading back to Tatum’s room. When I came back I heard Tatum laughing. 

“God I loved it! I’ll send you a copy, BAM, bitch went down!” Tatum imitated the event. Punching her stuffed rabbit. 

Moving to sit up she again said, “I’ll send you a copy, bam! (Y/n), super bitch!” Tatum exclaimed shoving her arms out to the side. “She is so cool.” 

I moved over to her vanity, careful not to make any noise because I wanted to bask in the fame. 

Dewey walked in saying, “Thought (y/n) might want some ice for that right hook” Just had to run it Dewey. 

“Over here Dewey,” I said as I sat at the end closest to the door. 

Dewey tossed me the greenish ice pouch before I said, “Thanks.” 

“I’ll be right next door, try to get some sleep.” Dewey said as Tatum waved him off. 

I hopped onto the same bed as Tatum, I wanted to give Sid her space since she’s going through a lot right now. 

Turning to me Tatum asked, “Do you really think Billy did it?” 

My heart was telling me to say no but all that came out of my mouth was, “He was there Tatum…” 

“He was destined to have a flaw, I knew he was too perfect.” Tatum said as she bobbed her head. 

Hearing the phone ring in the other room just gave me instant chills, so did the knock at Tatum’s door right after. 

“Telephone honey,” Tate’s mom walked in.

“Who is it?” Tatum asked as we turned to look at Mrs. Riley. 

“It’s for the girls,” She said, making Sid turn her entire body. 

“Is it my dad?” Her question was eager with hope in her voice. 

“I don’t think so,” Tatum’s mom said as she gave a sympathetic smile. 

Sid turned back over, having no interest in the matter anymore. 

“Take a message,” Tatum said, leaning back against the headboard. 

Getting up I said, “No it’s okay, I’ll answer it.” It might be something important, even if it isn’t our parents. 

As I walked out I could hear the pitter-patter of Sid’s sock covered footsteps follow me to the phone. 

“Hello?” I asked, crossing my fear arm over my chest. 

“Hello, (y/n).” Oh no, the voice was obviously the ghost masked man from just hours ago. His words were drawn out just hoping for a reaction. 

I gave him exactly what he wanted, “No! Stop, stop this now!” I wailed out.

Sidney came to my side, along with Tatum and her family. 

“Poor Sidney’s Billy boyfriend, that guy doesn’t stand a chance with her.” This Ghostface said in mock gossip as if he were one of the girls. 

“Leave me and my sister alone! You Jack Torrance sounding creep!” I exclaimed, shaking from the pure rage and fear that swam through my body. 

“Looks like your sister fingered the wrong guy, again!” The masked murderer snarled on the other side of the line. 

“What are you talking about? Who are you?” I asked in complete confusion by his words. Tatum and Sidney were begging me to hang up the phone. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough, I promise.” He said before letting his line go dead. 

“What?!” Dewey exclaimed as he rushed out to us a little too late. We were already walking back to the room 

  I couldn’t sleep for the entire night, neither could Sid and Tatum. We tried keeping our minds off of things by doing light hearted girly stuff like braiding each other's hair, painting our nails, taking cute pictures with Tatum’s instant camera. I just wasn’t ready to leave the warm security of our friend’s home tomorrow morning. 

#scream 1996 #scream fanfic #billy loomis x reader #ghostface x reader #stu macher x reader #billy x reader #scream #scream x yn #stu x reader

[possibilistfanfiction]

wherever you want to go with this but i trust you -- prompt: blood

[uh @unicyclehippo & i are writing joan of arc themed lil fics bc … hello ava 👀 & mine is undoubtedly the more deranged of the two but ... here u go lol]

//

ava comes back gentle; ava comes back covered in blood. 

‘i came back,’ she says, in the middle of the night when neither of you can sleep, after she’d stood in the shower until the water ran cold, scrubbing red from her skin, in the middle of a beautiful valley in france that has crumbling wine caves and a slow river, covered in reeds, currents that remember its history, the rot and death and face-down bodies. 

‘i came back,’ she prays into your skin, her fingers tracing the curve of your ribcage like she’s remembering a church she worshipped at centuries ago, an organ and its pipes; your heart and ventricles and your own blood, faithful. ava touches you like she’s lived a thousand years; maybe she has. her eyes are the same brown as they were when you met, when she’d only been resurrected once, when she had cried at the marvel of the ocean and her own hands, and sometimes you wonder if you’re worthy of a strength like this — worthy of sacredness and consecration and your mother’s voice — i’d rather you take your own life than be gay — and maybe for so long you had taken your own life and shoved it down into the hollow of your throat, into the spaces between the bones of your wrists; you had discarded your want and offered up your slow-beating heart in its place.

ava kneels before you and scrapes her teeth along the inside of your thigh, the skin there pale and soft. it’s dark until she brings her mouth to your center and moans, and then the room glows: gold and blue — ava, ava, ava: life; some kind of god, some kind of — i am begging you to touch me; oh, i’m on fire, oh, i’m on fire; history and elegy are akin; you are my sweetest downfall, i loved you first. the holiness in ava is not of this earth — the metal, the burn — but she is, dirt under her fingernails when she came through the portal, blood coming out of her ears, covering her face. ava’s tongue is soft and she holds your body in the palms of her hands and the room is blue and gold, a room where you get what you want: crosses held before you while you die and eternal salvation and her name like a goddamn hymn and fuck, fuck, baby and your hips grinding down on her mouth and your hands tangled in her hair — hair that you had cut when you had wished for a home amidst the mountains and the tender press of her spine in the morning blue and hair that you had cut again a few days ago, trembling hands both times because she was beautiful, a blade at her neck and curls floating to the floor. she had asked you to, and now she asks you to do something for her again — to come, to come, to come. you hold your breath when you do, consecration.

the holy and the horror — the light comes in the name of the voice — and ava comes back ready to dance with you and laugh and ava comes back with enough power to detonate bombs with her hands. you kiss her and she tucks a flower behind your ear, waiting for your next battle at a convent in the countryside. ava eats without apology, whatever she wants, and drinks wine that stains her lips red, and kisses you in front of everyone; she is hot when you touch her, when her walls flutter and curl around your fingers and you touch her. sometimes you don’t know what to say so you just tell her what you know: primeval forests are so remote that humans don’t belong there, that people die when they go there, that there are wolves and moss and weather so cold humans can’t feel their hands. ‘what do you think our past lives were like?’ she asks, one day as you spar, divine powers aside, and you wonder: were you always her protector? have you always been by her side? have you watched her die, every time? ‘one,’ you say, like you remember it in your hands, ‘we were happy; we lived on a farm and we were poor, but we had milk and eggs and bread you knew how to make. i’d go out in the morning with the dog and you spun wool and it was quiet, and green.’ she sits against you, the halo and the divinium in her back against your front, enough to kill you, and her, many times over. ‘verde, que te quiero verde,’ she says, ‘we grew old. who died first?’

‘does it matter?’

‘no.’ she’s quiet; a ship slowly goes by. ‘we’d wake early, for breakfast and you rested your head in my lap when you were tired.’ 

‘i have loved you a long time.’

she traces a pattern along the lines of your hand, a scar straight across the passes right through them. 

the days move on and ava heals and ava bandages your cuts and bruises and a broken wrist when you don’t, when you are human and frail and strong; ava falls asleep, too wild and small and lonely and beautiful, her spine curled against your chest. she wakes you with coffee and once, after a particularly bad battle, where you can’t move the next morning, a blow to your head too hard, she stays with you all day in bed, reading and running her fingers through your hair. she wears a soft sweater and socks with little dogs on them and says you’re a miracle, you’re such a miracle, i would destroy the world before i lose you and it’s true; it’s scripture it’s sacred it’s heresy it’s a blessing. a promise from a god, while you feel woozy and nauseous and your neck aches — a promise from a god, weighty and beautiful and sighed into your skin in the afternoon rain.

ava comes back in love with you; ava comes back —

there’s an explosion inside the sepulchre and everything is on fire; you have not been scared for so long — forgive us, we lived happily during the war; but on the wild nights who can you call home? only the one who knows your name — and you wonder if ava died staring at a cross; you wonder if you will grieve in this life, as you had before. you wonder if ava knew, if ava has always known, if ava was tired. 

but then ava comes back — again, again — sooty and with torn armor and a gash across her face that hasn’t healed, blood streaming down. she walks through fire, unburnt, a smirk, even, on her face. ava comes back and kisses you and you taste blood and ash and dust to dust and the strawberry chapstick she had put on in the van before the battle, tucked in into her pocket with a wink. you have seen many miracles but this is one of an order you will never understand, one that will stop people from killing each other, one that is catastrophe and heaven.

‘let’s go home, bea,’ ava says, and you search her mouth for a sacrament and find it in the press of her tongue on the backs of your teeth. ‘let’s go home.’

and you do — the ocean, and in bed weeks later, the cut across her face red and shiny and healed, the edges pulled together taught, the burn on the palm of your hand a webbed scar right in the middle —

‘did you know,’ she says, in the moon and the quiet, ‘that joan of arc was put to death for wearing men’s clothing? she was so theologically clever that they could only order an execution if she relapsed into heresy; the guards at the prison she was at only gave her men’s clothes, which they eventually used to convict her.’

you kiss ava’s temple; her skin smells like lavender. she presses her lips to your pulse point. 

‘being a girl,’ she says, her brow furrowed, your bodies stretched and tangled under the sheets. ‘she burned at the stake for being a girl.’

‘do you — do you remember?’

she turns toward you, different than you remember but still the same, still exuberant about the sea and ice cream and books she loves, texting and movie theaters and petting every dog you pass on the street; ‘sometimes.’

‘okay.’

’there are days —‘ she laces your fingers together — ‘that i feel a call backward, in my palms, in my knees, in the back of my skull. to understand, to see. there are days when all i know of this life is to love you.’ she presses a kiss to the divinium tattoo on your forearm that glows blue in the dark when she’s near. ‘this is how i know you. you are what i know.’

‘i will never watch you die again.’

‘i’m not sure i can.’

‘well then i’ll join you, wherever we go next.’

‘yeah,’ she says, so sure, prophetic, ‘you will.’

ava comes back for you —

what did the voice tell you when you returned to your room? it told me that i should answer you bravely.

#ollie i literally do not know i need to go drink a beer or something #this happened bc i spent like 2 hours reading through joan of arc archives but it's not even my fault #listen i know it's insane but it's like an atmospheric river in southern california we are all a little squirrely rn here lol #wn #warrior nun fic #avatrice #avatrice fic #ANYWAY they are happy by the beach forever lol #also there’s so many references in here & it’s just a prompt so lol if u want to know any of them & can’t find them on google FIRST #hmu lol

[topazshadowwolf]

Will Lyra still be helping out with the boys when they’re older or…?

does dream know?

HNBD Lyra considers the boys Nightmare's sons. Regular FuzzyNight Lyra knows the boys are Nightmare's sons and figures she is adopting them into her life by forming a relationship with her NightStar. Gooptales Lyra let Nightmare play the single father of a group of small children for a while, but no more. She will stay and help him raise his boys and continue to stay with him long after they are adults again. She will be their mother. ... And will likely cry when they first call her "mom."

As for Dream...

---

Nightmare stood outside of the cottage, permission to be in the OmegaTimeline given by Core when Lyra asked. It was a surprise visit. One that Lyra set up without telling Dream that he would be there. Also, without telling the positive skeleton there were four tiny skeletons with them.

Not that Dream was unaware of the condition of his... his sons... But the Guardian of Positivity was not informed on how they went from henchmen who acted like sons to just... sons. Nor, were the children aware they had an uncle. An Uncle that Lyra was insisting the children needed to get to know.

She knocked on the door as Nightmare shifted, unsettled about being here after... well... that day. Each tiny skeleton child with them was held off the ground and protectively by a tendril. He could feel Dust's subtle breathing as he slept, Killer's excited wiggling, Horror's stillness as he passively watched, and Cross's hand as he gently petted the limb holding him. Nightmare was about to back down when the door opened.

"Lyra," Dream greeted with a smile, but he then paused as he looked at Nightmare. "And Nighty... I will be honest, I did not think I would see your... well... them again."

Nightmare folded his arms and frowned, "I had not planned on you seeing them either." A light elbowing from Lyra made him sigh and add, "But I know I can not hide them away forever... And as my... as they are mine, Lyra has reminded me that they also become part of your family." After a moment, Lyra nudged Nightmare one more time, and he knew what she wanted him to say. With a long-suffering sigh, Nightmare finally added, "And... they may benefit from having their... Uncle Dream in their lives."

Dream's eye sockets and eyelights grew, stars forming within as he struggled to contain his aura as he was filled with annoying positive emotions. "I'm an uncle?" He asked, excitedly, then quickly moved, "I am sorry, please, come inside."

---

As the children play with Blue and Stretch, their self-declared cousins, Nightmare would explain what happened. Dream would have the scientists he knows there look into finding a cure too, but no luck. They reach the same conclusion as Sci.

Still, Dream is more than happy to watch the boys for a while... just a while. They are a handful! An adorable handful, but no wonder Lyra and Nighty bring them over now and then. One, they are trying to build a relationship and need to have a moment to themselves now and then, aka date nights (Dream hopes he is invited to the wedding). Two, at times, the two need a chance for a good long, sleep. A good rest in which they don't have to worry about kids waking up before them and getting into mischief.

And the best part of being an uncle? Spoiling the kids and then shipping them back off home to their parents once they start to get unruly.

#growing up gooptales #gooptales #nightmare!sans #dadmare #dream!sans #Lyra!toriel #Balance!toriel #FuzzyNight

[louloulemons-posts]

The Criminal And The Princess VII

Grumpy!College!Eddie X Sunshine!Skater!Reader

Summary : Cosy time in the apartment for Eden and Eddie.

Word Count : 2.1k

Warnings : not proofread, swearing, talks of food issues, talks of eddies dad, talks of arguments, talks of horror films, very fluffy, petnames.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

I passed Eddie a green mug, full of coffee, giving him a smile. I took a sip of my own green tea before sitting down next to him.

“So what movie do you want to watch?” Eddie asked. “It’s up to you.”

“Do you mind horror?”

“Not at all,” I said, grabbing the remote and going to the horror section.

Scrolling through, Eddie leaned forward, putting his mug on the coffee table next to mine. “Thank you for this,” he spoke softly.

“Hm?”

“The company. I appreciate it, your homes really nice.”

“It’s okay. I like the company too.”

“Have you seen the scream movies?”

“Mhm, I only really like the original one though.”

“Wanna watch that one?” Eddie asked. I nodded, going down to find the movie.

Eddie had seemed to settle more now, when he first walked into the apartment, he almost didn’t know what to do. Saying he didn’t want to dirty anything, but of course he was fine.

It was nice seeing him in my space. I could feel myself leaning into him, I found a comfort in the fact he was there. And I think, not to be cocky, that he found that comfort in me.

“Do you want some popcorn?” I asked Eddie, already pushing up off the sofa to make some. “Sure.” I could hear his rings rubbing together, almost as if he was wringing his hands - he had a habit of doing that.

“Hey Eden.” He was leaning against the counter, his hip pressed against it, arms folded. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry, if this is a weird thing to ask, I’m not good with this, I just um-“

I put the popcorn down, looking at the boy properly now. “What is it Eddie?” I walked over to him, “I uh, I got into a fight with my uncle, and I just … I need a hug-“

Before he even finished the sentence I’d wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into me. His arms joined around my waist, holding me close as he put his face into my neck.

“It’s okay,” I said, running my hand over his hair. “Thank you for this, we just had a misunderstanding and then everything blew up.”

“Come on, let’s sit.” I took his hand, leading him back to the couch. Holding his hand in my lap, I let the boy speak. “He heard me on the phone, getting an earful from the head of the school.”

Humming, the boy continued, “He flipped. Saying this is what happens to music stars and that I should focus on history and do something sensible.”

“Oh Eddie I’m sorry,” I rubbed my thumb on the back of his hand.

“That wasn’t even the worse bit, he said that music like mine led to my mom’s downfall. Meeting my dad, he’s a deadbeat, having me a teenager and then dying soon after.”

I squeezed his hand. “Music makes me feel so connected to her and he just made it out to be this horrible thing. I flipped after that saying it was something beautiful she left behind, and that he was mad because he was stuck on a dull job.

“Then I walked out, haven’t been home since,” he sighed, rubbing his face with his large palms. “God, where did you sleep?”

“In the van, have blankets and stuff in there.”

“Eddie that’s so unsafe!”

“It’s fine.”

“How are you feeling about seeing your uncle?”

“I think I should stay away, I’ve never shouted at him before.”

“Well okay, you can stay away today, but you’re going home and speaking to him tomorrow.” He raised a brow at me. “You can sleep here. Johnny and Steve have both left clothes here so.”

“You don’t have to do th-“ I cut him off.

“I want too. Let me look after you.” I put my hand on his knee squeezing. “Thank you Eden, you’re a really good person.”

“So are you. Now let’s watch this movie.”

“Before we do, can I borrow a hair tie?” Nodding, I walked to my room and gave the band a good stretch before walking out. Eddie held his thick locks and pulled them back, tying them into his signature bun.

“Thank you, was getting a little warm.”

“Of course.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

The movie was around the halfway point when I felt something on my shoulder. Looking at Eddie. His eyes closed, long lashes kissing his cheeks, his lips pouted slightly as he let out soft breaths.

He really was beautiful.

The night in the van must have been awful, I didn’t want to disturb him, letting him remain where he was. He seemed so peaceful, which was amusing, considering the movie that was playing.

The popcorn was long forgotten, tea and coffee had gone cold and I, myself began to feel tired. My head resting on top of Eddies as my eyes fell shut.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“Be quiet!” I heard a voice hiss. Nancy? I heard almost silent footsteps,but they were clumsy, Robin? With a sigh my eyes opened slowly, seeing the pair in front of me.

“Hi?” I said, voice croaky as they stared at me. “Hello.”

“Hi.” They said in sync. Both sporting small grins. “What?” I asked.

Nancy motioned her head to next to besides me. I hadn’t noticed I was now lay down on the couch, resting on a familiar person. Eddie lay sound asleep. The night in the van must have been rough.

“Oh,” I said.

“Oh?” Robin snorted.

“Shut up, both of you shoo. Go.” I waved them off, and with giggled they went. Picking up my phone I saw that it was getting late.

“Eddie,” I said, shaking him gently. He let out humming sound of protest at being disturbed, which made me laugh. “Come on, up you get.”

“Did I- Oh shit .. sorry,” he figured out he’d fallen asleep then. But that wasn’t what my focus was on, it was on how deep his voice had gotten, thick with sleep. Good fucking lord. The sound went straight to my … never mind.

“Come on, you can hop in the shower and I’ll fix us some dinner?”

“Are you sure?”

“Course I am,” I offered a sleepy smile. Leading him to the bathroom I lay out some clothes, then fetched some of Steve’s clothes out of a spare draw.

He crashed here a lot. “I’ll leave them on here, help yourself to anything. The peach scented stuff is mine so, but if you don’t want that, Jonathan’s stuff is in here,” I motioned to a cupboard.

“I think I’ll take you up on the peach stuff, you always smell great.” I snorted, with a nod of my head, placing towels and a change of clothes on the counter top, scurrying away.

Walking out into the kitchen, I saw Nancy and Robin leaning up against the counter. “What?” I asked.

“Eddies here,” Nancy said with a shrug.

“He is. I said he could stay the night, he’s had a fight with his uncle so. Is that good with you guys?”

Both of them let out a yell of “Yes!” With wide eyes I looked at them, “What is up with you two?”

“Just you and Eddie … it’s cute,” Robin said.

“He’s a friend.”

“Sure E,” Robin smirked, “And Vic and John are our friends,” she motioned between herself and Nancy.

“Both of you shush! So what he’s cute. I like spending time with him, but I’ve know him for like a week!”

“And?”

“And it’s a week!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air.

“I’ve never seen you this into a guy E, or anyone for that matter.”

“Well I don’t really do this kind of thing.”

“What?”

“Like people.”

The pair smiled, jesus it was like looking at two cheshire cats. “So you like him?” Robin asked. “I … maybe? I don’t know!”

Nancy hummed, “Come on Robs, let���s leave her be.” The shorter girl held the others hand leading her away. With a sigh I rubbed my face, heading to make dinner for me and Eddie.

Those girls would be the death of me … or the very attractive man who was currently naked in my bathroom.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Around 20 minutes later I heard the bathroom door open, and was thankful for the quick meal of shitty but fantastic tacos I’d made for me and Eddie.

“Hey,” he spoke from behind me, as I grabbed up two cans of Dr Pepper, something I’d found out he liked. “Hi,” I turned to look at the boy and nearly choked at the sight.

His hair was damp, still dripping a few beads of water. Steve’s top was too small for Eddie slightly larger frame, the muscles on his arms making it stretch tight.

It was slightly too short on him, making it cropped, revealing his soft yet toned stomach. Oh my god. Clearing my throat, I slid the plate and drink to him.

“Thank you, I feel a lot better now,” The boy said, instantly tucking into the food. “It’s okay,” I smiled. The food was shit, but the company was great. I hadn’t felt this comfortable eating around someone in a long time.

Eddie was a sweet boy.

Eddie was a great friend.

Eddie was someone I could see myself falling for.

“Eden!” I looked up, Eddies dark eyes watching me. “Where’d you go Princess?” Putting the taco back on the plate I hummed before speaking, “Sorry was in my own head, skating stuff.”

“Oh yeah? Anything I can do to help?” With a shake of my head I replied, “Nah, just got my trainer back, so routines changed a bit.”

He let out a soft ‘oh’, sound taking another bite of his food.

I took him in, his tattoos, his pretty face, where his fingertips were rough from playing guitar, but steady from painting.

He really was extraordinary.

“Did you do those yourself?” I asked, motioning to one of the tattoos on his arm. It was a puppet on strings, “I drew it, but I didn’t do this one. I’ve got a few shitty stick and pokes,” he laughed.

He turned his arm so I could see a wobbly smiley face there. “I did that when I was 17, old man almost killed me when he realised it wasn’t marker,” he laughed.

“Your old man?”

“Uh my Uncle Wayne.”

“Oh I see,” I nodded taking a sip of my drink, “You don’t see your dad?”

“I haven’t seen him since I was like 12? No clue where he’s at to be honest.”

“Right, so not long after your mom passed.”

“Yeah, he got worse, got arrested and Wayne’s my closest relative so. I guess I got lucky. I know I’m pissed at him, but he’s a great guy.”

“He does sound it. I’ll look forward to meeting him.” With a smirk he looked at me, “You wanna meet him?”

“Well you’ve met my dad, only fair that I meet yours.”

“I guess you’re right princess.” With a nod I motioned to his plate, “Want any more?”

“Sure if there’s any going.” Taking his plate in hand, I filled it back up with tacos and veggies.

“Here you go pretty boy, eat up.” Eddies face flushed and he brushed his hair back out of his face, it was bothering him clearly.

“I can braid it for you if you want?”

“What?”

“Your hair, I can braid it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, finish eating and I’ll do it for you.”

The boy seemed to wolf it down, at that offer. Soon enough he was sat on the couch, I was behind it brushing through his hair with my hands, putting detangler in it.

He was almost purring at the feeling. Soon his hair was in three seconds, being braided into one. “Does this feel okay?” I asked.

“Mhm.”

“Not too tight?”

“No it feels fine.

Soon his thick curls were in a large braid, that came past his shoulders. “You have such pretty hair I’m jealous.” I plopped myself next to him.

“Thank you.” He stretched out letting out a slight yawn. “You tired?” I asked.

“A little.”

“I’ll go get you some pillows and a blanket okay?”

“Okay.”

Going to my room I grabbed a blanket out of my wardrobe and a couple pillows off my bed. Wandering back out to Eddie, he gave me a smile. “Thanks Princess.”

“You sure you’re okay sleeping out here? I can bunk in with one of the girls and you can stay in my room.”

“Seriously it’s all good. This couch is a lot comfier than the van,” he joked.

“You try and get some sleep okay?” He nodded, taking the pillows and placing them at the end of the couch, pulling the blanket over his lap.

“Goodnight Eddie.”

“Goodnight Princess.”

Walking to my room he spoke again, “Eden?” I hummed, turning to face him.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

The slow burn is burning.

also this is the final pre-written part i have so there might be a slight wait for the next part to be uploaded

Taglist : @gnrquinn @flawiette @taylorswiftsloverfr @mygirlchaos @marvelcasey05 @ali-r3n @browneyes8288

Let me know if you wanna be added 😚

#eddie munson #stranger things #joe quinn #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x yn #stranger things imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie stranger things #joe quinn imagine #eddie x y/n #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #eddie munson x you #eddie x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson blurb #joesph quinn imagine #joseph quinn imagine #jospeh quinn #joesph quinn #joseph quinn #the criminal and the princess #loulou lemons

[14dyh]

i saw ur prompt list (i am just absolutely obsessed w hange) can you write the soulmates trope? w past lifes and stuff

Meet Me at St. Mary's | H.Z.

Pairing: Hange Zoë x female reader Summary: Y/N shared a special moment with Hange at the bridge over St. Mary's. Word count: 1.0k A/N: so this is my fluffy apology fic after my last angsty Hange fic, i'm still sorry guys (i was about to upload this last night but i had a fever so it was kinda late, thanksss for the request anon!! :D)

Y/N always had a strange feeling about the river at St. Mary's. It appears as something neither deep nor shallow, but the dark waters streamed silently as though in desire to consume her. She passes by the river silently with a shudder. Not daring to look back or stare for too long.

However, that noon as she opened the love letter Hange slipped between her hands earlier that day, it only contained a few words, and that was enough to bemuse her.

"Meet me at St. Mary's."

Y/N laid down in her bed, eyes wandering the ceiling as her thoughts raced. Why St. Mary's? Why meet her lover at a place so surreal and horrific?

The next evening was a cold Sunday. Anyone who passes by would tell you that the weather was breezy if you asked. But Y/N would tell you that the air was sharp and biting, the waters streamed unforgivingly below the bridge. Too steady, too calm to be natural as her reflection stared back at her. It feels like a masked horror surreptitiously watching, waiting… waiting to pull her in. She was too absorbed in staring at the depths to notice Hange's presence approaching.

She jumped back a little in surprise as Hange hugged her from behind, kissing her softly on her temple.

Y/N could only smile softly before wrapping her arms around their body, taking in the sound of their heartbeat and the whiff of their perfume reminding her of the flowers she used to love from childhood. Y/N took their presence in and it was enough to make her breathe again

"I swear I've held you like this before," Hange murmured as their grip loosened but never let go, a small smile curling at their lips.

The familiarity of their touch surprised her, it was as if her soul attached itself to their embrace, yearning for something she once had. The park had gone quiet, like a still painting of people, mostly lovers, passing by. The birds of the night chirped, the faint glow of the street lamp illuminating the bridge where the two held each other.

"Do you remember anything else?" I murmured, tracing my thumb over their hands. My gaze remained on the river. Shallow yet so unfathomable. I want to know if Hange knew these flashes of memory... that it wasn't just me.

Y/N remembered holding their hand like this, her body recognized and yielded to their touch like a soft flower gently bowing down. It wasn't from this life but somewhere else… at another time that she couldn't quite put into words.

Too ineffable as she would describe it.

Hange lowered their head, their lips gently pressing on her hair. The river streamed quietly beneath, people pass by the park silently, absorbed in their versions of this night.

"Isn't it strange?" Hange laughed softly, facing Y/N this time, their soft demeanor dropping to an enthusiastic one as they held both of her hands on theirs. They told her the moment they first held her hand and the first time they kissed her. A version of events would flash in their mind, a distant memory coming close. No amount of science could have explained that even if Hange tried. This strange familiarity only enthused Hange even more, providing them with an unusual rush of emotions that feels too good… too right.

"It's like…" Hange gave a soft sigh, a smile forming on their lips. "I know you even before I learned your name."

Their words caught Y/N's heart, a spark running through her fingertips as her lover spoke.

"So I hope you don't mind this little experiment of mine," Hange continued, looking around. "I always see a vision of you in this bridge. Somewhere a long time ago… I just couldn't quite remember… "

But Y/N knew. She was starting to remember no matter how faint the memory was. Maybe it was this bridge that triggered these wisps of memory. It wasn't something that the mind could remember. Minds are fragile and could deteriorate, but the soul always knows.

"Then allow me to make you remember…" Y/N whispered, pulling her lover into a soft kiss. Hange's body melted against hers, remembering this same touch, this same soul pulling them into a loving embrace.

People tell you that love was developed out of practice, of learning and falling apart, all the same like a vicious cycle. They tell you that having one true love is a huge illusion, no vow or marriage could determine that.

But Hange remembered the myth of this river, under the bridge where their lover once embraced them.

It was said that two lovers rowed by St. Mary's river, cursed to travel the waters for eternity for their love for each other angered the gods. No worship, no form of devotion to a deity could imitate such things. When the two pass by under the lovers' bridge, lovers connected by their souls will be forever bound to each other, something that the two mythical lovers never had.

Hange gripped her tightly against their body and began to think.

Even if their love angered and ripped through reality, even if it defied the fragility of life and led them to punishment… they are willing to go through it over and over again.

Their will remained as boundless as the love they have for her. Their one and only.

Hange gently pulled away momentarily, their lips placing kisses over her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and her jaw.

"I remember this…" Hange muttered in between each soft kiss, their lips helping them to remember.

All the while, Y/N held a soft smile, her cheeks heating up despite the breezy night. The starless sky never felt so bright.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she held them once again. Maybe it was because of relief, of recognition, or of finally finding her haven, she didn't quite know.

As the lovers held each other under the moonlight, the people passing gradually vanished one by one, even the birds had quieted, and a faint swoosh could be heard from below the river.

#hange zoë #hange zoe #hanji zoë #hanji #hanji zoe #hange snk #hange x y/n #hange x reader #hange x you #hange zoe x reader #hange zoe x you #hange zoe x y/n #hange aot #aot x you #hanji zoe x reader #hanji x reader #hanji x you #hanji x y/n #aot hanji #aot fanfiction #aot x reader #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk fanfiction #snk #14dyh-writes

[howlingday]

Hilarious concept for Ex-Ganger Tai:

He's just having a decent time, when he gets visited by this dude:

Turns out, he was part of one of the largest Mistrali mafia families as a subsidiary. Naturally, Yang freaks out, Tai craves the end, and his former boss is just like 'hmmm, I like this tea :)'.

"Dad, there's somebody here to see you!"

Taiyang walked down the stairs, stopping mid-step to stare in horror at the smiling face, staring back at him from his doorway. Hong Lu, an executive of one of Spider's many "allies" in Taiyang's gang days. He swallowed hard as memories came back to him of the aftermaths he'd seen from his friends choosing to fight him.

And that monster was right outside his door.

"May I come in?" The man asked.

"Can he, Dad?" Ruby repeated.

Whether it was his nerves causing him to tremble or his good intentions to respect a dangerous ghost of his past, he shook his head, allowing Hong Lu to enter his home, and his life once more.

"Thank you." He said, stepping inside. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Hong Lu. Are you Yang?"

"No, I'm Ruby Rose."

"Oh, so you and Raven had another girl?"

"Er, n-no, Ruby is mine and Summer's child." Taiyang cautiously answered.

"Two children from two mothers." Hong Lu nodded. "You must be as popular as you were back in your day."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Your father slept with a lot of women back in his day." Taiyang's jaw dropped when he heard those tactless words.

"Slept with?" Ruby asked. "Did he have a lot of sleepovers?"

"YUP!" Taiyang jumped down the stairs. "Yeah, your old man was one sleepy boy! Hahahaha! Let's get lunch!"

"If it's no trouble."

"NOPE! No trouble at all!" Taiyang ran over and picked up his daughter. "Could you come help me with lunch, Ruby!"

"Can we bake cookies?" Ruby excitedly asked.

Taiyang was caught in a tight scenario. Ruby had been craving cookies ever since Summer had passed, and his memory of her baking left him wanting of her skill. If Summer's cookies were five stars, he'd be lucky to get two. Still, though, Ruby would be stuck alone with Hong Lu otherwise.

"Y-Yes." Taiyang had never felt so defeated.

---------------------------------------------------

Qrow was smashed into a tree. Raven had her sword broken and was put into the mud. Dad was being held by his throat above the ground. At the end of the arm holding him was a man with an armored pauldron and long, flowing black hair.

Yang cowered on the porch behind her mother, the woman acting as the only barrier between her and the dark-haired beast that beat their team. She whimpered for her daddy, shivering as she prayed for his safety.

Suddenly, she felt a weight and was blinded. Pulling the cloth free, she watched as her mother left her cape to her. Glancing over her shoulder, she gave a confident smile to her daughter. 'Take care of this for me,' she seemed to say.

She then faced the monster dead on.

"Let go of him." She said.

"I can't do that." The monster said. "There are people looking for him. Dangerous people."

"If you won't let go of him," she readied her axe, "then I'll make you."

Fast as lightning, metal clashed against metal as a long, bladed spear-thing met Sundered Rose. Less as fast, Dad fell and writhed as he clutched his throat and coughed. He then broke into a sprint for the house and picked up Yang, holding her close as he hid inside. He cried as he hugged her in the closet.

Today was the second time Yang had seen her father look so terrified. She couldn't blame him. There were nights, though far away they seem now, that went sleepless because the black beast she saw stalked close by in her dreams, chasing her daddy.

And now, he was sitting in the living room, politely waiting for his cookies. He sat there, unmoving save for a glance at a photo or two. Yang, on the other hand, was entirely frozen, never taking her eyes off of him. Of all the times for Uncle Qrow to be out.

"Uh, the cookies will be a minute." Dad said, nervously in Mom's old apron. "Anything you want to drink?"

"Tea, please."

Her father was the strongest man she had ever met. Watching him cower in the face of this monster scared her. She really wished Mommy was here, but... She wasn't. Not anymore.

"Oh, and Taiyang?" The man then said something in Mountain Mistrali. Yang was still learning, but she caught one word. Rat. And Yang still didn't understand what he meant.

---------------------------------------------------

"Mm, this is delicious." Hu Long set his tea down. "Your skills in teamaking hasn't dwindled."

"Er, th-thank you." Taiyang gulped. "Um, why are you here?"

"There are people looking for you, Xiao Long. And they're branching out." Taiyang looked him in the eyes. "Soon enough, they'll find you and likely kill you and your family."

At this, Yang burst into tears and hugged her father, seeking comfort in him. He couldn't take his eyes off the man sitting across from him, though. Even as he stroked her hair and pulled her close, he couldn't tear away. Ruby clung tightly to his clothes.

"Unless," Hu Long reached for his cup, "you work for the Limbus Company." He pulled the cup to his lips and took another sip. "You and your family will move to Mistral, where we can provide protection for all of you."

"No."

Taiyang's eyes finally tore away from the man and looked to his youngest daughter. Her grip was tight, but she kept her eyes on the man. She wasn't going to back down on the issue.

"You're choosing to stay, knowing that your family will be in danger?" The unknown man leaned closer. "These aren't schoolyard bullies. These are dangerous criminals who will make you wish you were dead."

"My school is here." Ruby argued. "And I get to build my weapon this year."

"Is your weapon worth losing your life?" Taiyang forgot how direct Hu Long got during his questioning. He didn't care that he was speaking to an actual 8 year old. As far as he was concerned, everyone was an adult living in an adult world, and should be treated as such.

"Yeah, because I'm gonna save a bunch of people with it!"

Hu Long was quiet for a moment. He reached for his tea, but found it empty. Setting it back into it's saucer, he nodded. "Very well. I'll make calls about working from a distance." With a chuckle, he lifted his cup. "That is, if you can give me more tea."

#rwby #taiyang xiao long #ex-ganger taiyang au #hong lu #limbus company #ruby rose #yang xiao long

[sibillascribbles08]

@hotmothsummer Tumblr 100% ate this ask for some reason but thankfully it was still in my email SO

And listen when it comes to these prompts it is never "will this fit" it is "I will MAKE it fit" (Also I'm still taking these u can find the list here)

So here's some dads

Ah, what a nice and serene afternoon in the Hidden City Park. Sadly no warm sun to speak of, but plenty of soothing sounds between the pond, the fountain, a nearby musician playing saxophone and the chirps of… some kind of flying creature Jason never learned the name of. 

So relaxing to spend time here instead of in the office. 

How tragic that it shattered the instant his daughter let out a loud and frustrated screech.

“Nooo! That’s my ice cream!” Holly whined from just behind.

“And who payed for it?” Donatello replied.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s mine. You have your own!”

“So I can’t even taste yours? You’re being so selfish.” 

Jason let out a long sigh. 

“Daddy!” Holly clung to his leg with one arm. “Dad stole my ice cream.” 

Jason checked to make sure she wasn’t smearing the rest of hers on his jeans and rested his hand on her head to try to calm her down. Then he looked at his husband as the softshell casually wandered past them. He held his cup of ice cream high and ate such little spoonfuls as if he was oh-so innocent and couldn’t be blamed.

“Donnie,” Jason said. “Stop causing problems on purpose.”

“I would never.” He put his hand to his chest. “I just wanted to know what hers tasted like. I barely took a lick of it.” 

“You took a whole bite.” Holly held up her cup. An entire scoop was missing. “Look!” 

Donnie pointed at her. “You have no proof you didn’t eat that yourself.”

“I didn’t!” Holly wailed. 

Jason knelt in front of her before she got any louder and drew the attention of the other yōkai walking around. “Holly, hey, look at me.” He kept his voice low. 

Holly did, thought she kept her huge pout as a few tears ran down her cheeks. 

“I’ll tell you a secret.” Jason leaned closer so he could whisper. “Yelling is not how you get revenge on Dad.” 

She let out a gasp, and then whispered back. “Then what do I do?” 

“Ignore him. To start, hold my hand so he gets jealous.” Jason stood back up and held his hand out. Holly took it, choosing to lick at her ice cream for the time being. 

“Well,” Jason announced just a bit too loudly as he walked past Donnie who scraped the bottom of his bowl. “Holly and I are going to look for a toy store.” 

Donatello watched them just as he tried to shove his tongue into the container. “Huh? I thought you said we should go by the museum today?” 

“Yes, well, since you’ve made the decision to cast yourself into our daughter’s disfavor, I think I’ll take advantage of it and take back the spot of ‘favorite parent.’”

“Yeah!” Holly giggled and clung to his hand tighter. 

“Haha, hilarious.” Donnie mumbled and tossed his garbage into a nearby can.

Jason could already tell that his husband was only pretending not to care. And after arriving at the store and wandering around it became more and more obvious. 

Every now and then he’d dart over, some kind of toy in his hand, and try to show Holly how it worked. Their daughter would just stick her nose in the air with a, “Hmph!” and then cling to Jason’s leg. 

“You’re encouraging this on purpose.” Donnie pointed an accusatory finger. 

“I would never.” Jason mimicked his husband’s pose from earlier and put a hand on his chest. “But you know, if you want to avoid her scorn maybe you shouldn’t eat her ice cream.”

“It was one bite.” Donnie threw open his arms.

“You have a very big mouth.” 

“Yeah.” Holly laughed. “Big mouth!” 

Donnie looked down at her. “Be careful about that one, Holly Berry, you could end up with a mouth just as big as mine.” 

Their daughter let out a genuine gasp or horror and then sprinted out of the aisle. “Nooo!” 

Jason shook his head. He should follow, lest they lose track of her in the store, but it wasn’t particularly big and she never liked to wander far anyway. 

“Seriously, what’s going on?” Donnie asked. “Were you just mad she always invited me to play time and not you?” 

Jason rolled his eyes and stepped up to his husband. “No, love, I’m not nearly that petty. But you should apologize to her.” 

Donnie groaned. “I was just teasing her.”

“You ate an entire scoop of her ice cream. It’s a big deal to her.” 

“You and I both know she’s going to forget about it the moment we walk out of here with a new toy.” 

He shook his head. “She won’t forget. She’ll remember and be far more protective of her food the next time around.” He grabbed Donnie’s arm and shoved him in the direction their daughter went. “Go on. Apologize and offer to buy something to make up for it. I am not dealing with the two of you bickering during our day off.” 

Jason gave Donatello a moment to catch up to their daughter. In the meantime he took a closer look at some of the items that sat at eye level on the shelf. Yokai toys sure were a lot different than ones on the surface. Sure dollhouses and trainsets and the like were common, but why did the dolls move like that? Jason prayed Holly didn’t take one of these home or he’d definitely have nightmares if he saw it winking at him from a shelf. 

Movement caused him to look ahead. Holly ran toward him and ducked behind his legs just as Donnie rounded the corner. 

“Holly,” he whined. “I said I was sorry.” 

“I’m ignoring you.” She insisted. 

“Then how is Dad supposed to fix this?”

“Buy me more ice cream.”

“You can’t have more ice cream or you won’t eat dinner.” 

Holly screamed with her mouth closed and stomped on the floor so hard that Jason felt it. 

Jason turned around to look at her. “How about Dad gets you something from here?”

She looked up at him, eyes wide. “I thought you were going to get me something.”

“Well, I was just going to get you something small. I bet Dad could afford to get you anything you wanted in here.” Jason looked back at his husband before the softshell could protest. 

Holly gasped. Her gaze immediately shot over to the dollhouse displays. One of which had three whole stories, functioning lights, and full sets of furniture. She ran over and pointed at it, standing on her toes in the process. 

Donnie cringed. “How are we even going to fit that in her room?” 

Jason shrugged. “Figure it out.”

“Oh don’t talk like you aren’t also going to go insane when you keep tripping over all the little critters that come with that.”

“You shouldn’t have eaten her ice cream.”

“Jase!” 

Holly scampered back over to them. “Dad, please?” She stared up at him with her dark eyes. “Please, please, please?”

Donnie let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. But you have to let me carry you on my shoulders the rest of the day.” 

“Okay!” She already jumbled a couple of times and latched onto his arm when he offered it to her. With the skill of a squirrel she climbed up to his shoulder and then sat down, hands resting on his head. 

Donnie smiled up at her before shooting a smirk at Jase. “Hah, take that, now I’m back to being the cuddle favorite.”

“With a bribe.” Jason reminded him. He stepped past his husband and patted him on the cheek. “Now get that dollhouse so we can head to the museum.” 

Donnie looked at the display again. “How are we going to carry that out of here?”

“Sounds like a you problem.”

“Jase!”

#scribbly fics #jasonnie #rottmnt #Jase is naturally warmer than Donnie #and thus is normally the favorite parent to cuddle with #and it makes Donnie so jealous

[elena-mayfair]

The horror and the ruin - part 2

Paring: Morpheus x f!reader, Sandman x f!reader Warnings: swearing, graphic explicit violence, adult themes, reader discretion is advised Summary: The stronger the desire the more painful the despair. The stronger the dream, the more painful is the loss. The more beautiful the dreams the more terrifying the nightmare. Was it all just a dream? Will the dream turn into a nightmare? Word count: 8.9k Note: Gifs are not mine, credit to the authors.

Series Masterlist Part eighteen: The horror and the ruin - Part 1

***

Every day she woke in the Dreaming after a night slept without dreams, a peaceful, soothing night away from worries and nightmares. She would don one of the beautiful dresses that Morpheus had placed in her lavish wardrobe, out of habit reaching for one of those in black. She drank freshly brewed coffee, which magically always appeared on her table moments after she woke up, always at the right time. It was good coffee, tasting like sunlight falling on fertile fields of lands so distant, like the warmth of carefully tended beans. It tasted best on the balcony of her west tower, where wide stretches of woods, valleys, and hills were bathed in the cool shade of morning as the sun barely brushed the peaks of the mountains. Before she was well awake Morpheus would appear in her chamber, if she had not awoken in his arms. He appeared quietly, but she could sense his presence before he had time to wrap his arms around her waist and nuzzle his face into the crease of her neck, gently caressing it with his lips, only to kiss her lips a moment later as if he had not kissed them before. He inhaled her scent as she, with her eyes closed, melted into him, into his enveloping presence, into his endless darkness, into her Dream.

"Did you sleep well my beloved," Morpheus asked each morning in a low voice whispered directly into her ear as his lips gently tickled her skin.

Sometimes she would answer him, sometimes she would merely smile and melt even further into his arms. After all, he knew how she felt, and yet he kindly and thoughtfully asked her the same thing every morning.

"There is something I would like to show you today," he would usually whisper. What pleasure he took in showing her yet another part of his world. How proud he was when she held his hand and with delight explored the world he offered her. Every day was a new wonder for her. Every forest, every cave, every endless field strewn with flowers brought a smile of enchantment to her face. Every chateau, every haunted mansion, every cottage, aroused in her a desire to explore. Every gloomy cemetery, every gothic church, every ominous dungeon gave her a thrill. He watched that sparkle in her eyes, that light like a glimmer of stormlight every time something excited her, those gentle lightning sparks that danced across her skin every time she felt unnerved. But what he loved most was seeing the bliss of peace and happiness as she danced among the fields of heather, poppies, and lavender while holding his hand. When she played with her black dress when she mussed purple and red with her hand when she picked a single flower and wove it into her hair. When she pulled him to sink with her into the sea of lavender, to put his arm around her as they both lay gazing at the clouds moving lazily across the perfectly blue sky. When pleasure would grip her body when he made her see the universe when he made her feel the life of all existence while his naked form became one with hers.

Here in the Dreaming, she seemed so different from how she was in the Waking World, and yet she was so much herself. He could still see the wounds he helped her mend day after day, anger and fierceness continued to hide beneath her dreamy gaze, her keen senses still reacting with caution each time she met a new creature inhabiting his Realm. She met mythical creatures like the griffin, the dragon, or even the fiend with undisguised fascination and an unconcealed desire to understand. There was no fear or apprehension in her, only pure fascination. Yet she approached human-like beings with caution. He could see her building a wall of caution in front of her, separating her from them. It could not be shattered by the sheer kindness of Abel or Cain's mischief. It was only moved a bit by Marvin's snarky humor. It was only lowered a bit by Lucienne's kindness. The only creature that seemed to fly over her wall of caution was Matthew, and for that Morpheus was very grateful. He knew that he was flying over to her and sitting on the balcony railing, chatting with her about matters important to them. He knew that he was by her side when he couldn't be, perched on a nearby tree when she went out into the garden with her book. He could see that she enjoyed his company, perhaps because of all the creatures inhabiting his Kingdom, Matthew had been human not so long ago.

She was fascinated by the ever-changing fragments of Dreaming, those shaped by the dreams and nightmares of mortals. She wanted to look into them at all costs, urged him to show her at least once what it was like to wander through human dreams. He, however, firmly refused.

"Here in the Dreaming, I am more than happy to create your every dream, to make your every desire come true. But the dreams of mortals remain in my consciousness and mine alone," he replied sternly concluding the subject, demanding her submission. And she, reluctantly, yielded. He did not like to stifle her curiosity, so he let her engage in something he had never tolerated in his Kingdom. He had allowed her to practice magic. He watched with curiosity as her magic was stimulating his magic. Like two forces colliding, seemingly incompatible, like two pieces of a completely different puzzle. His creation, his magic resisted her at first, arousing in her the frustration and anger that so amused him. After a while, however, like his mind, his magic slowly surrendered to her will, transforming, enhancing, creating something entirely new.

"I don't know how I did it," she repeated surprised, looking at her own hands when she made the silver rain fall on their heated bodies, soothing their senses. A smile of pride came over her face every time she lit a fire in one of the caves when she made the night sky sparkle with shooting stars.

"You are doing it! Admit it!" she looked to him for answers. But he denied it and encouraged her to continue the exploration of her abilities. He was curious. Curious about the powers that resided in the witch who bewitched him completely with such ease. He knew she expected simple answers, explanations, something that would give her peace of mind. However, he had to admit to himself that this bit of mischief in him did not allow him to meet her needs, after all, his needs remained unmet. After all, he too did not receive an answer to the question he had asked her, which he never repeated. He waited. He showed her what he could offer her and waited. Days and nights he waited. Every day he was by her side when she woke up, spent most of his days with her, and cuddled her when she fell asleep. Every day and every night he longed to repeat his offer, longed to hear that she would stay with him forever in the Dreaming, longed to tell her that he wanted to marry her, make her his queen. Instead, he waited.

*

On that day he found her in one of the Rivendell gardens he had created for her. She loved this place. He knew he would never forget her reaction when he first brought her here. She was mesmerized, her eyes full of glistening tears of amazement. She stared at him in disbelief, only to return her gaze a moment later to the oasis of peace he knew she would love. The first time her bare feet stepped on the marble floors of the elven house he thought she would faint from the sensation. If he wasn't the Lord of Dreams himself he would have thought he had strayed into a dream. Her hair waved swayed by the light wind, her dress drifted along the ground making her seem so ethereal to his eyes.

"How can this be…" she whispered gently touching the intricately carved columns with her fingers as if making sure they were real.

"I told you, anything is possible here," he replied with a gentle smile.

"How did you know?" she asked almost silently letting the gentle water of the fountain wash over her fingers.

"Back in England, when you asked about Tolkien, your eyes lit up with a fascination I had never seen in you before," he replied, "nor did it escape my notice that between your occult books, lore and mythology and grimoires, you found space in your library for beautifully published copies of all his works."

"Oh Morpheus," she sighed and a silver tear ran down her cheek. She wanted to say more but couldn't. She just walked over to him, snuggled into him, and rested her head on his chest. "I don't know what to say," she whispered.

"I'll take it that it brought you joy," he said quietly and kissed the top of her head.

He knew from then on that if he didn't find her in her chambers or in the library, the gardens of Rivendell were where she was sure to be. The only place beyond the castle to which she could walk alone, the only place to which he had provided her safe passage. And so it was this time. She was sitting with her knees curled up under one of the many gazebos and in her hands, she was holding one of the many books that, with Lucienne's permission, she could take out of his library. She didn't even raise her eyes when he approached, but he didn't mind. The sight of her immersed in reading brought joy to his heart, after all, his gift made her happy.

"Y/N, forgive me for taking you out of your reading…" he began but she only smiled slightly and silenced him with a hand gesture. He allowed her to do so. He waited. After a few minutes she reached for the bookmark, closed the book gently and her eyes finally met his.

"Forgive me," she smiled innocently, "I couldn't stop, that part was too good."

"I understand," he reciprocated the smile and sat down next to her, "I must ask for your indulgence but I may not be able to be with you tonight or tomorrow morning."

"How so?" she asked.

"There are matters I must attend to. Matters that require me to leave the Dreaming," he explained gently.

"Can I go with you?"

"No," the tone of his voice made her wince.

"Will you tell me what those matters are?" her glance took on a stern expression as she pulled away from him and entwined her hands on her chest.

"Matters concerning the Kingdom do not concern you. Those are my responsibilities, not yours," he countered and she moved even further away and set the book aside.

"Do you expect me to accept it just like that?" she looked at him daringly.

"I expect you to accept that there are matters you do not need to know about," the tone of his voice sounded harsher than he wanted it to.

"Well then you have to adjust your expectations, my dear," she replied without hesitation, "if you think I'm going to be prancing around in flowery meadows, drinking tea with Cain and Abel, reading books, and not be intrigued by what you do when you're not around, you're damn wrong," surprise was painted on his face, "I want you to include me in your affairs, and not leave me out when it's convenient for you."

"Why?" he asked with undisguised astonishment, "I'm offering you a life of peace and harmony, which let me tell you, you haven't accepted, and yet you want more. These are not things you should worry about. They don't concern you."

"But they concern you," she said before he had time to continue his thought, "They concern you and if they concern you then they are also my concern." She reached over and intertwined her fingers between his as it was in her habit to do, "Morpheus, I don't plan to be your lover. I want to be your partner."

The certainty of her words made him look at her once again, wondering for a moment if he truly knew humanity. Or perhaps she was the only exception who, for reasons unknown to them, decided to walk with him on his paths. There was no trace of hesitation in her, no shadow of a doubt. He knew that just as when she entered Hell with him of her own free will, so now she would go with him if only he asked her.

"Does that mean you will stay with me in Dreaming?" he repeated his offer for the first time in days.

"Will you include me in your life in its entirety and not just where it is convenient for you?" she smirked.

"Dear, are you bargaining with me?" a smirk also appeared on his face, but before he could say anything more her lips began to brush his. Gently, teasingly, she played, once again testing the strength of their wills and the stubbornness of their characters.

"Perhaps," she whispered the words he himself had said so often, teasing his lips with hers.

"Tell me that you are mine…"

"I am yours…" he stole the words from her lips, "I am all yours."

"Then stay here with me."

She pulled away and lowered her gaze.

"I want to…" she began, "Part of me is screaming 'yes, of course, I'll stay,' but at the same time the other part of me is whispering 'it's not that easy,'" she looked at him and countless lights shone in her eyes, "Can we talk about it when you come back?"

"Of course, we can," he confirmed with a kiss, "Don't venture into Dreaming while I'm gone. I know how strong your curiosity is but…"

"I know I know, it's dangerous," she interrupted him, "I promise to obey," the smirk returned to her face while her eyes shone playfully.

"It fascinates me how that word always sounds somehow ambiguous coming from you," he noted, unable to hold back a smile.

"Perhaps, when you return, we can explore your fascination with my ambiguous words?"

"Perhaps," he brought her hand up to his lips, "Be good while I'm gone."

*

Barely a moment after Morpheus disappeared before your eyes leaving the Dreaming you felt anxious. Suddenly the singing of birds and the sound of the wind between the arches and columns of Rivendell no longer brought you comfort. You wanted to go back to reading but the words seemed to fail to form into sentences. His question echoed in your head. Those few days you spent in Morpheus' magical Kingdom made you feel so happy, so peaceful, in harmony. You didn't have to imagine what life with him here in the Kingdom of Dreams would look like, you saw it with your waking eyes. You saw his love at every turn, his devotion. In every little gesture, in every glance, in every smile, in every touch. You saw that his words were not in vain, you knew that if you only asked he would throw the whole world at your feet, make your every dream come true. As for your heart, it too was eager to fulfill his desires, even if it seemed impossible. You were learning him, getting to know him every day, and finding out that the desires of a being as powerful as his turned out to be surprisingly mundane. He wanted to be loved, he wanted understanding without the need to articulate his feelings, he needed someone to understand his complicated nature, he wished for someone to love both his Dream and his Nightmare, he desired loyalty and devotion as much as anyone. He desired to be loved for who he was. The Lord of Dreams, the Shaper of Nightmares, Endless, or simply Morpheus, who loved a good story, the sound of a violin, loved to explore the unknown, loved to listen to what the world had to say to him, loved to create, to give shape to reality, and cared for those who were close to him. Yes, there was darkness in him, there was power in him, perhaps even hubris, there was the might of an entity you could not yet understand, but there was also beauty in him, the beauty of a noble soul full of empathy and kindness.

You loved him. That you were sure of. You stopped questioning the possibility of loving the personification of a dream; in truth, you no longer cared. To you, he was as real as everything else, like the ground you had walked on, like the air you breathed, like the feelings you had for him. Doubts disappeared, questions ceased to matter. Even if you had to spend one life with him, it was a life worth every sacrifice. And all you had to sacrifice was your former life in the normal world. The price so small for living your dreams.

Embers ignited in you when you imagined the years you were about to spend with him. You wanted to be a part of him, you wanted to be by his side in Dream and in Nightmare, always. You only had to make a decision.

You sprang to your feet and set off with an almost dancing pace towards the palace, along a path prepared for you. On a safe path, providing a safe way home. "Home..." you repeated the word in your mind smiling to yourself. This is how you were beginning to think of the palace. As if it was your home. In your hand, you squeezed a vial of sand that hung from a silver chain and your heart beat stronger. "Two things to do…" you thought with a smile. You just had to settle two things and start your new life. The palace doors opened suddenly not to the unknown but to the so very familiar. The corridors you made your way through heading to your tower were no longer cold and intimidating, they became welcoming. With each stair you took as you climbed upward to your chambers, you felt the certainty of your step, the confidence of your decision, the certainty that this was the path you were meant to take. As you opened the door to your bedroom, you knew that as soon as Morpheus returns you will suggest that perhaps you should share a bedroom. You'll say that it's not appropriate for the King and his lover to sleep in separate chambers. Even if he did not sleep. As you reached for your normal clothes, you imagined what it would be like if he called you his wife, and smiled at the very notion of those words spoken in Morpheus' low deep voice.

Reluctantly, you took off your beautiful black silk dress and put on your normal clothes, black jeans, a top, and a leather jacket. Even though only a few days had passed, you felt weird looking at yourself in the mirror. You squeezed the vial again and smiled encouragingly at your reflection. It was the right decision. You had made it.

"What are you doing?" the question cawed from the balcony railing startling you.

"Matthew! Don't do that!" you turned angrily to the raven, "I asked you so many times!"

"Are you leaving?" he asked worried, "Are you leaving just like that? Now while the Boss is gone? After all this, you're leaving just like that?"

"I'm not leaving," you walked up to him, "Matthew, I'm not leaving!" you added in a warm tone.

"Well, then why the hell did you change! Why the hell are you stressing me out like this! I can't die of a heart attack, but I don't even want to imagine what the Boss would do if he found out that you ditched him while he was away!"

"Then don't! I'm not leaving! I'm doing the exact opposite!" you assured him, "I've made up my mind that I want to stay with Morpheus here in the Dreaming forever!"

"Okay, you lost me," he tilted his head in consternation.

"I want to surprise him," you smiled dreamily, "When he comes back I'll tell him, I'll tell him I'm staying! And in the meantime, I'll take care of two things in the normal world. I don't know how soon or if ever I'll get back there."

"Damn, I don't think that's a good idea…" he croaked, "I don't think the boss would be happy if he knew you left Dreaming without his consent."

"And do you see him here?" you asked slightly irritated, "Do you see me asking him for approval?"

"I'm just saying…"

"Morpheus may be your sovereign but not mine. I am not his subject," you stated angrily, "Besides, when he comes back and finds out, he won't even have time to get angry with me once he hears what I have to say to him. When he hears that I'm staying here with him," you added confidently.

"Are you seriously staying?" Matthew made sure and you just nodded, "Damn, that's brilliant!" if only ravens could smile, "Fucking awesome!"

"Fucking awesome indeed!" you grinned, "I just need to see my friends and explain my decision," you reached for the vial of sand and uncorked it in one motion.

"I feel that I should go with you…"

"And fall into disfavor with your Boss because of me?" you smirked, "Stay. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me. I'll be back before you know it."

"What if something happens to you?"

"What can happen to me! I just want to see my friend Missouri and John!" you stroked his wing with your finger, "Nothing to worry about," you assured then scattered the sand and, focusing all your thought on John, you stepped into the golden vortex.

***

To your satisfaction, the golden grains of sand took you straight to John's apartment. You landed in the hallway, the smell of cigarettes, coffee, books and dust immediately hit your senses. There was something else about it, something you couldn't name, something irritating. Before you had time to call his name, John burst out of the room that served as his office ready to attack.

"Whoa, slow down cowboy!" you called out stretching your hands defensively in front of you, "It's just me!" the flame dancing across his palms dimmed.

"Fucking hell! I could have burned you alive!" he exhaled angrily.

"Could you, really?" you smirked.

"How did you get here?" he asked looking at you surprised. His shirt sleeves were rolled up past his elbow, his loosely unbuttoned collar and ruffled hair indicated that he was working. You didn't answer, just dangled the vial of sand hanging from the chain. "Have you been with him these few days?" he asked.

"Yup."

"Next time, leave a note or something," he said.

"Morpheus said you'd know," you replied bewildered, "I thought he'd let you know in a dream or something."

"Well he fucking didn't," he growled, "I was worried."

"Oh relax, you could have guessed!" you brushed off.

"We were in the middle of a job, forgive me princess but my first thought wasn't that you ditched me for him," he was clearly angry, "I thought some demon had gotten you."

"Me?!" a chuckle of amusement broke out of your mouth, "Don't be ridiculous!"

"What, maybe thanks to him, demons also can't possess you?" he snarled.

"No, you idjit!" you reached under your blouse and pulled out an amulet hanging on a chain, "I'm protected! Duh!"

"Ah, right…" a shadow of surprise flashed across his face, yet you were almost sure he knew about your necklace, "What are you doing here? Did he let you out of his castle?"

"I'm not his prisoner John," you furrowed your brows, "I wanted to talk to you. With you and with Missouri. I made some decisions that I wanted to tell you about. So that you don't have to worry anymore," his eyes darkened, "Do you have the afternoon off?" you glanced at your watch which showed 4 pm.

"Not really, I was in the middle of work," he fixed his shirt and fastened one more button.

"Damn, I was hoping I wouldn't have to say it twice," you muttered, " alright…but you have to give me a cigarette. Fuck, I haven't smoked in a few days."

John headed for the kitchen and you followed him. You sat comfortably in one of the chairs and were surprised again when he didn't offer you the usual coffee or tea. "He must be really pissed," you decided in your mind. You took a cigarette from him and, inhaling the thick smoke, began.

"Morpheus asked me to live with him in the Dreaming…" you said nervously, "He doesn't know it yet, but I decided to accept his offer."

Silence fell between the two of you. John lit a cigarette and without saying a word began to drag on it, puff after puff. Only now have you realized that you yourself did not know what to expect. After all, you had come to tell your friend that you planned to live away from him, in a place where he would never be able to visit you, in a completely different reality. You secretly hoped that he would understand, that he might even be happy.

"Wow…" he let out, "I didn't expect that," he inhaled the smoke deeply.

"I know, I know…it's a bit sudden, but damn…. John! I really want this!"

"Really?" he threw you a surprised glance, and you just nodded your head smiling like a little girl, "You realize that this is not a relocation to another city or even country just to another reality."

"I am aware of that," the smile did not disappear from your face, "I am not stupid! We talked about it! I realize how extremely not normal that is! I realize how much my life will change, how it has already changed. But John, I want this. I want nothing more in the world."

"You really love him, huh?" a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I really do," you confirmed without a shadow of hesitation, "And he loves me too. These few days spent with him in Dreaming, oh I can't describe in words how extraordinary life by his side is. How extraordinary his kingdom is. There would not be enough of a life for me to discover everything he has to offer, and I know he has shown me barely a tiny fraction of what there is to discover."

"You have changed since he came into your life," he stated.

"I was already beginning to change before," you mused for a moment, "this new power, this new magic, was awakening in me long before Morpheus came into my life. I have a feeling that it was slumbering dormant, waiting. Just as I was waiting. I was waiting for him. He woke me up as if from a dream! He made me see the world for the first time, to actually see it. He made me feel for the first time as if I had never felt before. I'm experiencing things I've never experienced before! I'm loving like I've never loved before…" You blushed slightly, embarrassed by your sudden outpouring of feelings, "Sorry, you don't want to listen to me gushing about him."

"You're right, I really don't," he sneered.

"My point is, I know what I want. I think for the first time in my life, I actually know what I want, and it's a life that I can build with him."

"Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?" there was not a shadow of happiness or understanding in his voice, only hostility, apprehension, "How do you want to build a life with someone who has existed since the beginning of time and will exist indefinitely after your death?" his words dimmed your joy, "Logistically. How do you imagine that?"

"I didn't think that far ahead," you smiled radiantly, "I'll cross that bridge when I get there."

"You never think that far ahead," he sneered again, "It was the same with David. You threw yourself into a relationship with him without a second thought, and then blamed him when things didn't go your way."

"Hey, not cool!" you threatened him with your finger, "You know very well that the thing with David was more complicated. Morpheus loves me."

"David loved you too…" he argued.

"Morpheus would never hurt me!"

"David didn't want to hurt you either…"

"What the fuck! Why are you defending him?"

"Fuck I don't know, it's a bit lame that you choose to tie your life to the guy who drove your ex to suicide!"

"It's a bit lame that you suddenly got the urge to defend the motherfucker who destroyed my life!" your glare flared angrily, "You know what he did to me! I'm not sorry for what happened! Good! I hope that he is indeed being torn into little pieces in hell and that the demons are feeding on his body and soul!!!"

"Charming," he quipped.

"Sorry, I don't have an ounce of pity for him in me…" you sighed and reached for another cigarette, "Fuck! I didn't think you'd approve of the decisions, but I didn't expect such a reaction."

"And what did you expect?"

"I don't know…" you searched in your head for the right word, "understanding?"

"I think you completely lost your fucking mind…" he replied furiously letting out a puff of smoke.

"Excuse me?!"

"Oh I get it, sweetheart," he continued, "first he convinced you to help him, then he seduced you, and now you're completely out of your fucking mind and want to live with him!"

"Fuck you!" surprise mixed with anger and your voice broke, "you said yourself that I should dream a little! Anyway, it's not as you say! And you know it perfectly well!"

"And what was I supposed to tell you when you melted at the very thought of him!" he threw you a furious glare, "I thought you'd get over him or that he'd get bored with you! Not that you would go to live with him!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" the blood was starting to boil in your veins, "For the first time I want to do something for myself! For the first time in fucking years! And instead of being happy, you get pissed!"

"Hah, that's rich!" mocking laughter filled the room, "You always do what you want! It was like that with your folks, with me, even with your exes! You're selfish Y/N and you don't even see it! You do what the fuck you want and don't look at others!"

"It's not fair…" you whispered shocked, "You don't mean that. I know this may come as a shock to you but gee…. I don't know…." you reached for a pack of cigarettes lying on the table, "I don't know what I was thinking…I certainly wasn't expecting this." You lowered your eyes sadly and stared at the vial of sand hanging around your neck. You were convinced of your decision, John's opinion didn't matter, and yet his words hurt. "Maybe you're right…." you whispered, "maybe I'm selfish." out of the corner of your eye you saw John sit down across from you, "Maybe my decision is selfish but understand…"

"Sweetheart, I understand," he interrupted you gently, "But he is not human. He can't love you. Sorry to break it to you but Dreams don't have feelings," he placed his hand on yours, a cigarette was smoking between his fingers, "You have to see this. You can't be that naive."

You jumped away from him. The chair tumbled with a loud slam to the floor, you almost tripped over it stepping backward. Your heart began to beat frantically, cold sweat washed over your entire body, your hands began to shake.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly standing up and approaching you, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean."

Emptiness filled your mind. Your voice seemed to stuck in your throat. John stood up surprised and stared at you with his blue eyes. You saw him, you saw his nonchalant posture, his blue eyes, his messy blond hair, and yet…. you felt you sensed this flaw, this dissonance, hidden beneath the surface.

"Where is John…" you whispered, "What have you done to him…."

"I have no idea what you're talking about…" he replied in a calm poised tone.

"Don't fuck with me!" the stormlight began to flare sharply inside you, "What did you do to him?"

"I think you've been spending too much time with the Sandman. You're starting to see things that aren't there…" he took two steps effectively blocking your escape route. You felt a wall underneath your back.

"Answer me…" you didn't take your eyes off him.

"Y/N, it's me…" he looked at you with gentle blue eyes, "I'm sorry if I said something that triggered you. You have been through so much in recent weeks. Traumas don't just disappear. It's understandable…"

"Stop…" you whispered in a small voice when John stood right in front of you. The longer you looked at him the more it seemed so obvious. You felt small, small and scared. John was standing an arm's length from you and all you wanted was to melt into the wall and disappear.

"I know these past few months have been difficult, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," he continued, "I just want the best for you…" He brushed your cheek with his fingers.

You slapped his hand violently knocking it away. He only smiled venomously and slapped your face with all his strength. You felt the familiar metallic taste of blood in your mouth.

"Okay, fuck it, I'm done with pretending," he grabbed your shoulders and pushed you against the wall making the back of your head hurt from the impact, " Hello darling," he bared his teeth in a devilish grin, "you missed me?"

***

"Lovely to see you…" Desire stretched in the red chair and smiled at Morpheus who stepped slowly through the shiny red of their chambers, "Can I give you anything you desire?" they purred.

"I desire nothing from you," Morpheus' voice sounded deep from the abyss of the world.

"Oh, I beg the differ," Desire smiled mischievously, "you, my brother, desire so much…"

"Y/N Y/L/N…." Morpheus spoke her name firmly, "I know that you and Despair are playing some kind of game and Y/N seems to be at the center of it."

"Oh, my sweet Morpheus…you have no idea what you are talking about."

"I know," he replied in a stern voice, "She told me. She told me about how you dragged her into your Threshold. She told me how Despair revealed herself to her in Waking World. The game is over. I know."

"Oh my brother, I see you share a special bond with her since she told you about me," Desire sang in a melodious voice, "I was just fulfilling my function. Didn't you yourself always say that we Endless are servants of mortals?"

"We serve them, yes. We do not manipulate them," Morpheus interrupted them, "What did you truly intend? Did you and Despair wanted to test which of you humans would succumb?"

"Was I that obvious?" Desire smirked.

"No. You covered your tracks remarkably well," Morpheus replied, "But you did not predict that human hearts are stronger than empty desires or overwhelming despair. You did not foresee that despite your attempts, she would choose to dream."

"Be careful Morpheus because this is starting to feel like love," Desire teased.

"You will do wisely by leaving her alone," Morpheus growled warningly.

"Have you forgotten what happened the last time you fell in love with a mortal?" the mocking smile did not disappear from Desire's face, "But this witch of yours is no mere mortal, isn't she? There is something special about her. You feel it, I know you feel it because I felt it too. She is so deliciously peculiar. I've never felt anything like it."

"I warn you Desire, I won't do it again," Morpheus slowly approached Desire towering over them, "Leave her alone."

"Is that a threat?" Desire asked amused but Morpheus merely grabbed their blond hair and jerked back violently forcing them to look at him, "What are you going to do, Dream?"

"Do not mess with me or mine again or I shall forget you are family," Morpheus threatened with a gruff tone, "Do you believe yourself strong enough to stand against me? Against Death? Against Destiny?"

"No…" Desire denied in a whisper breaking out of Morpheus' grip.

"Remember that next time you inspire to interfere in my affair," Morpheus threw one last warning before leaving Desire's chambers.

"Oh, my sweet Morpheus…if you only knew…." Desire laughed quietly but Morpheus couldn't hear it anymore.

***

"Do you know what's wonderful about being a demon?" he growled venomously, grabbed you firmly by the shoulders, and forcibly pulled you closer, "I'm much stronger than when I was alive!" he grinned and pushed you against the wall again. The impact darkened your vision.

"It's impossible…." you looked at him, the world in front of your eyes was spinning.

"Oh but dear! Anything is possible!"

"But you died just a few days ago….".

"I died?" he jumped to you instantly, both his hands slammed into the wall trapping you, "I DIED?!" a demonic growl came out of Constantine's throat, "I blew my brains out!!!! And you know the best part!!! It wasn't even my decision!!!" his hands tightened painfully on your shoulders, "I just wanted to get away from him!!!" he growled and pushed you against the wall again, "I ONLY WANTED THE NIGHTMARE TO END!!!" the pain of the hit brought the taste of metal to your lips. You struggled, trying to break free, but he only pressed his forearm against your throat and pressed you against the wall with all his strength. Your breath caught in your lungs. "Do you have any idea what it was like?! Do you have any idea what he did to me?!" you felt his breath on your skin, "Can you imagine endless nightmares, over and over again? Horrors so terrifying, handmade especially for me…." he gritted through his teeth as you desperately tried to take a breath, "And it's all because of you! It's all your fault! I died because of you!!!"

"I didn't mean it…" you choked out.

"Funny, it seemed to me a moment ago you said something between the lines 'you hope I am indeed being torn into little pieces in hell…"

"I didn't pull the trigger…you did…"

"No, you're right. You didn't pull the trigger. You gave the loaded gun to someone else," his eyes burned with envy, "But that's not all!!! It was the blonde who pulled the trigger!!!"

"David…I can't breathe…" your lungs were burning from lack of air and your own desperately beating heart was pounding in your ears.

"She came to me! Beautiful! Seductive!!! And with those golden eyes of hers and a sultry voice, she said that if I wanted I could get away from him!!!! I can end the nightmare!!!" he didn't listen to you, his arm mercilessly pressed against your throat, "And you know what happened next!!!" he grabbed you by the neck and pulled you towards him, floor disappeared from underneath your feet, "then it turned out that fucking death was not the way out! It turned out that the Devil had other plans for me!!!" darkness flooded you completely, the image blurred before your eyes, "it turned out that I couldn't even FUCKING die in peace!!!" he shouted and threw you violently on the floor, "HELL! Can you imagine that!!!? Do you know what they do to a person in hell!! TORTURE YOU!!" the excruciating pain of the kick pierced your spine. You frantically gasped for air. "OVER!!! AND OVER! AND OVER AGAIN!" each word brought another burst of pain to your body. "Have you ever heard the saying that for a god one day is like a million years, and a million years is like one day!" the pain continued "Guess what! For Satan it's exactly the same!!!" you coughed up blood, curdling from a kick to the stomach. "Did you know that the Devil can create special places in hell where time seems to flow inexorably slow! An accelerated course as he called it. Do you know how many ways a human soul can be torn apart! You don't know! How can you know! But don't worry baby, I'll show you!" Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him standing over you….

"Can you please shut the fuck up!" you coughed and concentrated all your power in your hand, trying to push him away. David only laughed hoarsely in Constantine's voice, grabbed your hand, and snapped it in half. A scream tore through your burning lungs, and the tears flowing from your eyes mixed with blood. John knelt over you, trapping your body between his legs, and leaned down, almost touching your face with his.

"You can't hurt me. Not anymore. I am dead. I'm a demon in the body of a fucking wizard. Keep throwing those magic punches of yours and you'll only hurt your dear John."

*

Before Morpheus left the Dreaming he had plans to talk to Death. Discovering the machinations of Despair and Desire threw him off balance more than he initially thought. He became careless, lost in his newfound affection, and he failed to see the intrigue that was playing out right under his nose. He failed to see the manipulation that his siblings were subjecting his beloved to. He was filled with rage, anger at his siblings and their audacity to do such despicable things. All he wanted was to soothe his anger in her arms. To kill the rage with the sweetness of her lips. He wanted to provide her with an explanation, to cast light on all her doubts, he wanted to ask for understanding. He knew how much she was looking for an explanation of all the horrible and painful things that had happened to her. He wanted to provide her with them. He wanted to convince her to stay with him in the Dreaming, the only place where she was safe, immune to their actions. He wanted to take her in his arms and never let her go.

Standing in her chamber, holding her black gown in his hands, staring at the empty shelf where her usual clothes had been lying just a few hours ago, Morpheus felt only a wave of sadness flooding him. She was gone. He closed his eyes and checked every corner of Dreaming, she was nowhere to be found. He could not sense her presence. "Why would she leave…" the question ran through his mind as he squeezed the fabric tighter in his hands. "it's not that simple…" her words echoed in his head.

"I cannot blame her. Desire, Despair, my insistence…I should give her time, I should…" he searched for an explanation and yet, standing in the empty chamber, all he could feel was a tearing sadness. "She went back to Waking World…"

And suddenly an image broke through his sorrow. Brief, faint, blurry. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He could not read the shapes and voices, only the feeling. Horror, despair, excruciating pain….

"MATTHEW!!!" Morpheus' voice tore through the Kingdom's peaceful silence, reaching its deepest corners. Morpheus knew…

*

With your healthy hand you reached desperately under your blouse for a vial of sand. You fought, David tried to grab your healthy hand, beneath John's face you saw David's vicious grimace, you kept fighting, pain ripped through your whole body. "Morpheus…" if only for a moment you could grab the vial...

David knelt over you, crushing your broken arm with one knee as he tried to hold you down. For a split second your fingers touched the vial, you had it in your hand, you knew that if you just grabbed it Morpheus would see it, feel it, he would come to save you.

"Oh fuck no, don't count on it!" he growled and yanked the vial from your hand, snatching the chain he threw it against the wall. The golden sand scattered on the floor, "What?! You fucking wanted to call him?! You wanted him to come and save you! Not this time!" he growled and pressed you harder to the floor.

"Let him go…" even your weak voice was filled with rage, "Let John go…" you knew John was conscious, you could feel him fighting each time David's grip weakened only to return a moment later with regained strength.

"But John is having so much fun!" he ignored your pleas, "Don't worry, I'm just getting started! I have time! I'M DEAD!!! So let's have some fun!" you felt his hand tighten on your thigh, moving up your hip to stop on your chest, "I think Constantine won't mind. He's always liked you."

"I'm so sorry, John…" you whispered and tears ran down your cheeks.

"Where are your knives, your spells, huh?" he taunted, "You can do shit to me!!!! Try to mutter those exorcisms of yours!" he thrust his fingers painfully into your hip, forcibly pulling your legs apart, crushing the bone in the process, "You're pathetic! Pathetic you hear me!!!" he shouted in your face, "Big scary fucking witch!!!! What does he even see in you!!! You are pathetic!!! POWERLESS!!! WEAK!!!"

An explosion of stormlight burst out from within you filling the room with loud thunder. The weight of John's body tore from you and flew to the other end of the room hitting the wall. The light blinded you for a moment. You rose slowly to your knees. Around you, the vortex picked up scattered books into the air, knocked over glasses, scattered cigarette dust, picked up golden grains of sand and shards of glass. You rested your hand on your knee and saw the white-blue light emanating from your skin, little sparks danced all over your body. You didn't know it, but your eyes were burning like lightning strikes.

"I am not weak…." you growled looking at David picking himself up from the floor. You could clearly see his face underneath the surface of John's. You could see his face, burned, scarred, full of wounds and cuts. You saw the figure of a demon under the surface of a human body. "I am not weak…." you repeated and stood upright. Your body cried out for mercy. The power that erupted from within you made you feel the wounds even more, made you taste the blood even stronger, made you feel the pain of broken bones, made you feel the rage. "You almost killed me once already. You destroyed everything in me. You destroyed every little part of my soul. You killed my passion, you killed my joy, my will to live. You won't do it again…" you panted through your teeth.

"WHORE!!!" he yelled with a demonic growl.

"You led me to ruin…" rage gave you strength, adrenaline pulsed through your veins driving the stormlight, "I survived you! I survived illness and death of my family. I survived pain, suffering, loss, despair! I'm not weak…." rage seeped out with your every word, "I'm fucking strong. I am whole! I am whole even though you left me broken…" you walked closer to him, with your power you held him to the ground, "You are the one who is weak, you are pathetic, you are powerless. You didn't kill me in life and you won't kill me after death. You will not take away my dreams. You will not kill the Dream in me. I will live, happy, loved. And you…you will go back to hell where you belong!"

Shimmering gold broke through the blinding light of white, through the blood that flooded your eyes, golden grains glimmered in the corner of the room instantly catching your attention. "Morpheus…" you thought and your heart smiled.

Your focus faltered. The remaining strength you had in you was not enough. The power weakened. You weakened. You sank to your feet, your head spun, the world in front of your eyes went black. The pressure of your power disappeared.

David sprang to his feet. Through the black and red, you saw him reach towards you with his hands stretched out in front of him. You didn't have time to react. Your body fell to the floor under his weight. Pain ripped through you to the core. What power there was in you was extinguished.

"You once told me that you want to tighten your hands on my throat…." he tightened both hands on your throat, "to squeeze it tight…" he growled and squeezed them tighter. You were fighting, kicking the air, scratching to the blood his shoulders, his face "…and watch as life leaves me…" you wanted to scream but couldn't, your lungs were burning with fire, darkness enveloped you, his hands clenched tighter around your neck, crushing your throat, "To feel my neck crush in your hands…" he leaned closer, "See you in hell…"

***

The pain that was ripping through your body just a moment ago was gone. There was no trace of the pounding heart, nor the burning lungs, nor the desperately shallow breath, nor the blood flooding your eyes. You moved your broken arm, it didn't hurt, it was whole. You touched your face with your hand and felt no wounds. Everything was gone. The nightmare was over.

You stood in complete darkness. Emptiness. Like on the shore of the ocean of dreaming, there was no sky above you, nor the ground beneath your feet. There was only endless blackness, darkness surrounding you on all sides. Your confused mind thought for a moment that perhaps you were in the Dreaming itself. Maybe those grains of sand you noticed it was Morpheus. He saved you. He took you to the Dreaming. You looked around in despair "he will appear soon," you thought, "he will emerge from the darkness soon, he will hold me, I am safe…."

And suddenly the darkness parted, making way for the light. Bright, in the color of pale gold. It illuminated the darkness blinding you for a moment. It was so warm, so inviting. It shone like the first rays of dawn after a stormy night. The light came closer to you, chasing the darkness away. You closed your eyes and let its warmth warm your face. "So beautiful…" you thought and yet you instinctively took two steps back. You looked into the darkness and suddenly the light seemed frightening to you. It seemed threatening to you. The closer it got the more you tried to get away from it.

"Darkness is where you belong."

You turned away from the light and started running. Terrified. Running blindly, running forward, into the darkness. You couldn't see the path, you couldn't feel the ground under your feet, you couldn't hear your breathing or feel your heartbeat. You were running. You ran into the abyss of darkness, you ran away from the light. To escape. To hide. To hide in the darkness. Until he comes for you, until he finds you….

You turned around and the light seemed to be closer than before. You could see a shape faintly in its glow.

"Show yourself!" you stopped and shouted daringly towards the light. Suddenly its glow diminished, turned into one clear point, a figure, a man.

"Hello little witch," Lucifer sang in a melodious voice, "We meet, at last."

"Lucifer…"

"I hope you didn't think I would just let you go after you and Dream Lord disrespected me in my own Realm," he smiled kindly at you, "I am a man of my words. Didn't I promise Morpheus that one day I would destroy him?"

"You…" you whispered, "It was you all along…"

"Me," he confirmed, "but not only me. You see it turns out that Morpheus's siblings also have a grudge against him." He extended his hand to you and smiled warmly, "Come with me. You can't stay here."

His light suddenly dimmed completely and only a barely perceptible shadow of wings flashed before your eyes before darkness flooded you completely. In its depths, you could clearly hear the sound of her wings...

Part twenty: The Calling ~~***~~ Author note: ... Thank you for reading, my Dear Reader. Hope you will forgive me for this cliffhanger. I was really fighting with myself. Wondering if I should publish this chapter, or hold and publish it along with the two next chapters. I decided to publish it. Especially since it will take me a few days to write them, and there was no chapter last week. So, until next time? I hope...

~~***~~ Tag list: @mycrazyfandom @unavoidabledirewolf @calicoevening72 @uzumaki-mj @thegreatestsandwich @parabatai-winchester @munsonmunster @consistentreader578 @jupiterclipse @fangirlmary @clown-princesa @galaxypox @dilfsandtherapy @kc-265 @midnxghtblue @sallysal9 @0shippingtrashaway0 @lu123sworld @octo-octopie @asmallhobbitruinedmylife @xxbeckybeexx-blog @jesllianaquilesrolon @dollfaceyourfear @shaewithyou @heavenmaycare @moon-enthusiast @home-of-disaster @xmxrfx @missnightingale1971 @lilfoxyqueensworld @fate-huntress @bionic-donut @kaifloof @mischiefmanaged71 @beakami @mm2305 @redbircl @floatingintheupsidedown @chaoticmessneutralplease

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#morpheus x reader #sandman x reader #dream of the endless #the sandman x reader #the sandman #Morpheus imagines #the sandman imagine #Morpheus x you #Morpheus fanfiction #Morpheus fic

[inafieldofdaisies]

And "don’t leave" for Oliver and Oakley from the one word prompts, if you want as well?

"Oaks?", Oliver called out as soon as he pushed the heavy door to her hideaway open, his voice echoed down the dimly lit hallway and was met by silence. "You're not in a horror movie. Though, she might want to kill you for intruding.", he muttered under his breath while advancing forward, set on fulfilling his promise to her grandmother and checking up in Oakley no matter how annoyed she might get. "You again.", was the first thing to greet him as he entered her surveillance room, finding her lounging in front of the roll of monitors that displayed feeds from around Moore's large property. "Me again.", Oliver parrotted back, gaze zeroing on a photograph in her hands that held her attention more than the screens she would usually watch. Silence engulfed both of them before she twisted to look at him and sighed, "You can tell her I'm doing just fine and be on your way." "Are you truly fine, though?", with that, he moved towards her instead of retreating as instructed, something about the expression she wore pulled him in, and he couldn't shake the feeling leaving would be a huge mistake His hands grasped the back of her chair, and he took his first peek at the grainy picture over her shoulder. A young couple beamed at the camera, a little girl with pale blonde hair squished between them and wearing just as big of a smile.

"They seem happy.", he whispered past the lump in his throat, wishing he could see her face once more. Her thumb ran circles over the photograph, "Don't they?" "Nana was hoping you would come up. She made dinner." "I can't." "If it's because of me… I can go, Moore.", a part of him dreaded dragging himself back to the motel when a warm meal was set up for him above ground, but making that sacrifice seemed better than her sitting all alone. "Don't leave.", his eyebrows rose in surprise as she rushed to add, "Nana would think I chased you off." He nodded, "So if it's not me…" "It's the night, and me. I wish I could remember them.", her tone was stoic, but the way she gripped the picture had him rounding the chair and crouching down until her could grasp her hands, "Silly, I know. Won't do me any good. But it's like I'm looking at two strangers and I feel so much, yet nothing at all." "You were young. Too young. You shouldn't-" Her eyes lifted to his for a brief second, "I've stared at this picture so much over the years, I have their features memorized. Their voices, though… how we were as a family, I can't remember any of it, Oliver." "Nana has albums. She's taken them out, too.", he retorted quietly, hope taking flight in his chest at the fact she held his stare instead of focusing on the image again and zoning out. "So you can laugh at my baby pictures?", her lips quirked up slightly. "I doubt they'd be worse than mine, love.", a dramatic shudder passed over her at the petname, "My ma was super into costumes, still pulls out my baby albums any chance she gets." "Were you as annoying?", Oakley asked as he pried the picture out of her hold, and pulled her to her feet, not wasting any time in case she changes her mind with how stubborn of a person she was. "I'm told I was such a good baby, excuse me very much." Keep her distracted, McKenzie. She rolled her eyes but let him lead her out of the room, "Mhm. I totally believe that." "Truly. With the occasional hiccup here and there." "I knew it. And what were the costumes, do tell?" He squeezed her hand as he picked up his pace once they hit the stairway leading up and out of the stuffy bunker, "I will tell you all about them after dinner. I've been eyeing the pie Betty made the whole evening, Oaks. I'd probably dream of it." "Hungrier than a bear. It's why she loves you so much." The cool night air bit through his thin shirt, and he followed the lights from the house in the distance with newfound determination, still not believing he had managed to get that far, "I have a feeling she'd love me even more now." "Probably serve you half that pie." "From your mouth to God's ears."

#them being cute as hell 🥹🤍 #oc: oakley moore #oc: oliver mckenzie #wip: in hope of tomorrow #fc5 ocs #far cry 5 oc #snippets #ship dynamics #ship: the magician and the serpent #character reference #dialogue snippet #micro story prompt #ask prompt #oc asks #ship ask game #oc prompt #mygifs

[emocka]

A new love

Warnings: gender nuetral reader

You first met zhongli when fighting azhdaha he didn't dogde the attack and took the hit.

But you arrived in time to shield him from the next attack. The geovishap was getting out of control.

'Let the rose decide' you whispered as vines erupted from the ground. Purple and blue roses on them. 'Restrain him now.'

A dendro spirit emerged from the vines and nodded doing as told.

You turned back to the stranger. Zhongli looked at you in horror.

You were blind. Faded irises.

'Don't give me that look. It won't get you healed.' You said pulling out a vial from the air. You dropped it on the ground causing it to shatter. 'I'm blind yes but I've lived since the seven rose to victory. Now focus.' You snapped your finger in his eyes.

'Good your responding. The powder needs a sec- there we go.' You smiled as the powder started to activate. 'Now when you feel like you have enough energy join me. I'll help you seal this creature'

With that you turned away from him to join the spirit fighting azhdaha.

'A mortal stands before me' He began.

'I'm no mortal. I was born into a family of spirits.' You began summoning your pole arm 'I'm feeling a pole arm today. You may leave'

The spirit disappeared.

'Wait he's too-' zhongli started

' I'm very aware. That why I used that powder. It helps with energy and stamina. Join soon Rex Lapis.'

When you said his name he realized you looked familiar.

----

You held your own pretty well ending up using the catalyst on azhdaha as close combat wasn't your strong suit. But zhongli had joined you. Together with your help he was able to seal him up. Geo pillars surround azhdaha. Dendro vines with the sumeru rose held him down. Celicas and lotus flowers surrounded the perimeter.

'I must say I didn't recognize you at first.' Zhongli began 'but when you said my name I was reminded that a spirit once uttered my name.'

'Ah you do remember. Lil old willow of the wisp me want to take on a form to aid you. My family said no but I wouldn't give up. I don't know how it was done but my sight was sacrificed'

'Tell me do you still guide the fallen to the gates of judgement?'

You nodded.

'I maybe human now but my wisp duties still exist. I guide the lost and fallen souls to peace. Speaking of which. If you'll follow me we'll continue this conversation. This soul needs guidance.'

He looked at you. You reminded him of guizhong. He watched you hold out your hand. A small ball of white light appeared.

'Come little one. It's time you were reborn' you said gently poking the ball of light. It giggled.

'I'm on my final rebirth right?' A child like voice asked.

'Who knows? Maybe you'll be reborn as twins' you smiled.

'Oooh is that possible?' The spirit asked you started walking zhongli following you.

'Very possible.'

'That sounds cool! Miss! What happens if I don't pass judgement?'

'Now now little one you've passed it all last twelve rebirth you'll pass it on your final one.'

A tiny arm made of light appeared.

'Miss can you grant me a wish please?'

'Yes child of mine'

'Can I hold your finger till we arrive?' It asked you complied with its wishes. Holding put your pinky finger the spirit grabbed and held on.

'You seem to know this one very well.' Zhongli said.

'I treat all spirits the same. A little kindness goes along way.'

'Tell me have you guided any strange spirits?'

'I guided a God spirit once. She was ascended to the stars. I believe her name was guizhong. Her final wish was to shine brightly so I gave her the form of the brightest star. She hasn't once lost her light. It was to honor her lover. To me it was an honor to guide her. She helped me with my name'

*she must have left some of her presence in this person. She was always able to spot a kind person.*

'Tell me what's your name' He asked.

'Y/n.'

This was just the start of a beautiful love story. 

#yaepublishinghouse #zhongli x reader #zhongli fluff #genshin #genshin impact #emocka.writes

[kazoosandfannypacks]

"Wishing it Wasn't" by kazoosandfannypacks

Chapter 15/18: What Once Was Mine Pairing: CaptainSwan Rating: Teen Word Count: (1K/19.5K) Summary: Season 2 Canon Divergence: When Neal tells Emma he has a fiancée, she claims to have a new boyfriend of her own, and blurts out the first fairytale name she can think of: Captain Hook. Killian agrees to this ruse, but when feelings grow between the two, will the con be more than they can handle? Chapter Summary: Emma comforts a dying Killian and seeks to save him. Tags: season 2, canon divergence, gun violence, angst with a happy ending, fake dating, mild character death, mildly anti neal Author's notes: nah Taglist: @zahara @kmomof4 @jonesfandomfanatic @booksteaandtoomuchtv @jrob64 @tiganasummertree @anmylica @teamhook @undercaffinatednightmare @gingerchangeling @lonelyspectator @caught-in-the-filter @ultraluckycatnd @cs-rylie @pirateprincessofpizza @pawshapedheart  [if you'd like to be added to or removed from this list, hmu in my dms or askbox!]

Also on Ao3!

 "Hook!" Emma called out, watching in horror as Tamara's bullet lodged itself in his chest. He tumbled back, and her instinct was to run to him, keep him from falling, see if there was anything she could do to help him.

 But instead he told her to get back, something about a bean, and she tried to, but soon saw a portal open in front of them. Her dad and Neal jumped back in time, but Killian didn't have the strength to, and started to slip into the portal.

 "Killian!" Emma dove forward across the hard floor, trying to grab him before he fell all the way down.

 By some miracle, just before he dipped out of sight, she grabbed his hook, clinging desperately to it.

 "Emma!" David and Neal were already at her side, trying to help pull her up.

 "Emma, what are you doing?" Killian asked. "You don't need to do this!"

 "I'm not gonna let you go." Emma said. "You just got shot."

 "Then let me go!" Killian said. "I'm a dying man anyways!"

 "I'm not gonna leave you!" Emma said.

 She knew all about getting left behind- and she couldn't let that happen to Killian, not after everything he'd risked to save her now. He'd taken that bullet for her, for all of them, and his sacrifice couldn't be in vain.

 With the help of her dad and Neal, they somehow managed to pull Killian out of the portal, just in time before it closed, and all four of them sat on the floor, all breathing heavily- except Killian, who was scarcely breathing at all. Emma knelt next to him and pulled him into her lap.

 "There's still time to get to Tamara." David said, springing to his feet.

 "Right." Emma said, trying to get her mind back on the task at hand.

 "We've got this." Neal said.

 "What?" Emma asked.

 "Neal's right." David said. "See if there's anything you can do for him."

 "But…!" The guys were already off to get the jump on Tamara, leaving Emma alone with a dying Killian.

 Killian tried to smile through the pain. It almost would've been easier if Emma didn't have to see him like this, blood spilling out of his chest, wincing, bruised and battered and at the end of his rope.

 "Emma," he smiled, "you didn't need to do that."

 He could see how hard she was trying to hold back her tears, bite back the pain.

 "It's gonna be alright." She said. "Hang in there, buddy."

 He watched Emma pull out her talking phone and press a few buttons on it, then held it up to her face.

 "We have an emergency at the cannery. We need an ambulance now! Someone's been shot."

 She nodded and tacked on a "hurry," then set the phone down.

 Killian smiled, sure that this was a show of genuine concern on his part. With what little strength he had, he reached up to stroke her face.

 "Why, Swan," he said, "I didn't know you cared."

 "Keep smiling, buddy." She said, this time using a fake smile for his comfort, trying to convince him that he'd make it out of this one alive. She took his hand and brought it close to her face.

 "It's gonna be alright."

 A tear broke through her meticulously crafted barriers. He reached out with his thumb and brushed it away, stealing one last smile from Emma as his eyes closed their last.

 "Hook?" Emma asked, watching his eyes close. "Killian? Killian, please."

 She brushed away another tear, then clasped her other hand around his and kissed his knuckles.

 "Killian," she whispered, "come back to me."

 He didn't.

  "This isn't how it's supposed to be." Emma thought. "This can't be the end for him."

 She knew there was little that Doctor Whale could do for him even when he did arrive. This was beyond even modern medicine's capacity to help- just like Henry when he was poisoned.

 Then though, it was different. Henry hadn't been attacked by this world's weapons, he was attacked by magic- so only magic could heal him. Magic couldn't heal Killian, not from a gunshot.

 Could it?

 She pressed her lips against his forehead. Nothing. Either it wasn't true love, or a bullet doesn't count as a curse. That was the only magic she knew how to use.

 But surely there was something else she could do. Gold healed Belle when she was shot at the town line, didn't he- and Emma had a little magic of her own, even if she'd never used it intentionally.

 Emma placed her hands over the wound and took a deep breath. She'd never been taught how to do anything like this, but she knew she couldn't make the situation any worse than it already was.

 She didn't know how to do what needed to be done, but she knew what needed to happen. She knew the bullet needed to get out of his chest, she knew the blood needed to go back in, she knew any damage it caused needed to be healed. She knew she needed her pirate back, needed to see him smile and call her love, needed to feel his arms around her just one more time.

 She knew that, even if he didn't have feelings for her, she still had feelings for him, and that should be enough to save him. She should be enough to save him.

 "I am the Savior, after all." Emma whispered. "And Killian, no matter what it takes, I will save you."

 Then something happened, like a flash, like a bolt of lightning coming out of her hands, but it felt like trying to hold a rainbow. She could almost see inside his chest, almost feel the bullet dislodge, almost flow with the blood back where it belonged, almost touch the wound herself to close it.

 Then the light disappeared, making the room feel even darker than before. Emma breathed heavily, looking down at the backs and front of her hands.

 Had she really just done it?

 She looked down at his chest- no longer did blood stain his shirt. The bullet sat atop his chest, but it rolled off and clattered on the floor- as his chest heaved and he gasped for air.

 Had she really saved him?

 "Hook?" Emma asked.

 Killian raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Did you miss me, love?"

 Apparently, she did, because she found herself pulling him into a hug. His arms wrapped around her tightly, tighter than she'd ever been hugged in her life- and yet the gentlest hug she could imagine.

 "What happened?" He whispered.

 "I think I just saved you." Emma said.

 "You what?" He let go of her and pulled away a little.

 "I guess I have magic." Emma smiled down at her hands.

 "Swan…."

 There were sirens outside- the ambulance was there in record time.

 "I don't know if my work's permanent." Emma said. "We gotta get you to the hospital. Don't move; we'll come right back for you."

 She got up, but he grabbed her hand before she could walk away.

 "Swan."

 "What?" She asked.

 "If they put me in that big car with the noisy lights on top," Killian asked, "you won't make me go alone?"

 Emma smiled. "Of course not."

#once upon a time fanficton #cs fanfic #captain swan #killian jones #emma swan #once upon a time #ouat #season 2 #canon divergence #kazzy writes #cw blood #mild character death