hexenmond

[hexenmond]

BeeTeeDubs… I won’t lie, I’ve orphaned and even fully deleted some fics from my youth. But literally today I got a comment on a fic that I wrote 12 years ago- that I would normally feel embarrassed by or self-conscious of because I was so young when I wrote and feel better as a writer now- … and I’m very glad I didn’t delete it. Because it made someone happy. I understand past-me’s thoughts/feelings when purging stuff but I also wish I hadn’t now because damn. There were people who could have liked them.

Anyway the moral is even if YOU don’t appreciate your work, someone will! You are your own worst critic, but others love you 💕

[hexenmond]

THAT was a blast to work on. :D

Acrylics on packing boards.

And as comparison and because I think it's nice to see how much better something can get with "well, it's close to Halloween, why don't you add skulls?"

Prints and Commissions HP - BSKY

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Ruth Connell visited the Save Dead Boy Detectives Billboard!

[hexenmond]

hi i guess im a part of this fandom now

[hexenmond]

This is pure pedantry, but please, folks: it's nepotism if the unfair advantage is because of your relatives. If it's because of your friends, it's cronyism.

[hexenmond]

Dreamling Olympic Equestrian AU, the Sequel (less Olympics, more Equestrian)

-

Hob wished he could say he took a ‘reasonable’ approach to dating Dream after the Olympics. In actuality he basically just went home with Dream and never left. He helped him get Jessamy settled in, and then Dream wanted him to stay over, and then Hob made him breakfast the next morning, and then—

He did eventually have to go take care of his own horses, and generally get back to his real responsibilities, but it was done with reluctance. Damn him, but he’d immediately started missing Dream. Too attached, too quickly, that was always his way.

And then not a week later Dream had invited him to bring his horse and go on a hack, and, well. Maybe Hob wasn’t the only one being unreasonable about it.

Safe to say they had never really gotten rid of each other after that.

By the end of the year Hob did very much the opposite of getting rid of Dream. Which was to say, marrying him. He was now the proud owner of some very cliche wedding photos of them leaning over to kiss each other while on horseback. He wouldn’t change a thing.

Afterwards, they’d both sold their respective properties, pooled their resources—mostly Dream’s resources if Hob was being totally honest—and bought a place together.

Hob still remembers finding the farm on the market and taking Dream to see it for the first time. He’d been so excited for Dream to see it. Dream had such high standards and Hob had been sure they were going to have to compromise on something, but this property had everything Dream had ever expressed wanting in a farm and other things besides. Rolling fields and connections to nearby bridle paths. A massive indoor arena for riding in inclement weather. Three-sided shelters in all of the paddocks. Automatic waterers. Heated wash stalls. The damn floors were heated too, not that they used the stalls much, but Dream’s geriatric ponies would surely appreciate it come wintertime.

(Hob had been extremely charmed to learn, upon first visiting Dream's farm, that Dream still owned the incredibly fancy ponies Hob had correctly assumed he'd grown up riding as a child. They were now ancient and feral and tended to bite anyone other than Dream. It was delightful.)

Hob’s favorite part of the property was the house. It was set a bit off from the main barn, close enough to be an easy walk but out of the way of the traffic if one was to operate the place as a full-service livery. Dream had loved the cottage at Hob’s previous farm, and this house was much the same, quaint and cozy with its own pond and meandering garden path. It even had a screened-in patio for Dream’s persnickety cats to sunbathe.

It was all perfect. Dream had actually squealed when Hob brought him to see it. It was lucky Dream had money otherwise Hob would have probably done something illegal to afford the place just to see that look on his face every day.

Six months and an amount of money Hob didn’t want to think about later, they had their own farm and had started taking on clients. It should have been idyllic. In many ways it was. Jessamy and Hob’s retired event horse, Ellie, were getting along swimmingly in their big field. Dream’s feral old ponies were rampaging about the place. The amount of space was a bit dangerous, as Dream kept sending Hob photos of pretty horses for sale, saying we have the space for it, Hob. He didn’t seem to care that the prices of said horses were upwards of one hundred thousand pounds.

It was both a blessing and a curse to have married someone who came from money.

All the better to get clients in so the stable was actually making some money instead of just bleeding cash in exchange for more horses. And this was where the trouble began. Because Dream may have been disagreeable around people but he had a soft spot for troubled horses. And when troubled horses intersected with the clients that made them that way, well. That was how they got this.

“I was led to believe I’d be getting results,” Roderick Burgess was saying as Hob stepped into the arena, leaning against the wall to watch Dream ride. “Surely an Olympian should be able to do better.”

Hob grit his teeth, but didn’t say anything, yet. Dream could handle himself.

“If you don’t like my methods, you’re free to take your horse elsewhere,” Dream said. He was trotting the horse—its name was Ruby—in a big circle at the far end of the ring, riding on a long rein, just trying to get it to bend and loosen up its neck. It didn’t seem to be particularly easy for the horse, which was troubling considering a horse that had had ‘a few years’ of training—according to Roderick—should be able to at least do basic flatwork. And should be less stiff about it besides.

“We both know that won’t happen,” said Roderick. He was probably right—now that Dream was starting to get a sense of the horse’s poor prior training, he wouldn’t want to send it elsewhere—but Hob nevertheless wanted to walk over to Roderick and toss him out of the ring. Wasn’t the point of owning your own place that you could kick out clients you didn’t like?

“Perhaps if you’d been honest about his issues, we’d have better results,” Dream said, turning across the middle of the circle to change the bend. Ruby tossed his head, struggling with the change in direction, but Dream persisted in asking him to bend and eventually got him to drop his head again, now stepping up into a canter. “I was promised a horse at at least third level yet you’ve brought me one that struggles with basic self-carriage.”

Hob thought expecting any results yet was unreasonable considering it was only the first time Dream had even gotten on the horse. He’d only gotten it in last week, and just lunged it yesterday.

“You have to be more aggressive with him,” said Roderick dismissively. “Just make him do it.”

“Am I paying you, or are you paying me?”

And on it went like that, Dream working through his usual regimen, slowly building up the difficulty, Roderick nitpicking and criticizing all the while. Hob didn’t know what he really wanted. Maybe he just got a kick out of being an asshole.

Hob did love watching Dream ride, though. Watching him work with an inexperienced horse wasn’t nearly as seamless as it was when he rode Jessamy, but his patience and light touch were always a delight to behold.

Dream eventually took up his reins, gauging the horse’s ability to go around in a more collected frame. That ability was dubious at best, but Dream kept at it, working in circles of various sizes, transitioning up and down the gaits. He would get the horse where it needed to be eventually, Hob knew. If Roderick didn’t keep interrupting with unreasonable demands.

“Are you going to do any lateral work at all?” asked Roderick with annoyance, predictably interrupting again, and Hob could almost hear Dream’s jaw clench.

“Yes, I am getting to it. It’s a horse, not a racecar.” He turned the horse down the quarter line, lightly brushing the end of his whip, which Hob hadn’t seen him use yet, against its flank to ask it to step sideways and under.

And at the first touch of the whip Ruby exploded.

If Hob had looked down for even a second he would not have seen it move, it was so fast—the horse bolted sideways away from the whip, head thrown up, legs scrambling. Dream pulled back hard on the left rein, trying to stop through a turn, but Ruby just plowed right through it, tossing its head. Hob heard the bang as they—or more likely Dream’s knee—hit the arena wall, and then Dream yanked harder and managed to turn, spinning the horse into a circle until it was forced by the tight angle to slow to a nervy walk.

Hob had automatically lurched forward to try to help, but realized fast enough that rushing over would only make things worse. He watched, tense, as Dream finally brought Ruby to a halt. A lesser rider would have been thrown; Hob was glad Dream’s seat was better than that.

“Ah, yes,” said Roderick nonchalantly from where he was still sitting, ankle crossed over his knee. “He does not enjoy the whip.”

“Were you planning to inform me of that,” said Dream, out of breath, “before or after we went through a wall?”

“I would have thought you could handle it,” Roderick said.

Hob kind of wanted to punch him in the face. Instead he went over to Dream.

Ruby was standing stock still now, breathing hard, and let out a loud huff, nostrils flaring, as Hob stopped at Dream’s side. Dream scratched the horse’s neck.

“Are you alright?” Hob asked quietly.

Dream nodded, handing the whip to Hob, though his expression was pinched, and Hob worried for his knee. “Once more and then we’ll be done. I don’t want to end on that note.”

“You cannot let him get away with that,” said Roderick sternly, seeing Hob take Dream’s whip. “He must tolerate the whip.”

“And I’m sure persisting now will teach that effectively,” Dream bit back. “Do you want an explosive horse, Roderick? Because that is what you have handed me, and if you insist upon pushing the matter like this, you will only make it worse.”

“I hired you to fix it,” Roderick snapped.

“Then let me.”

Dream brought the horse back up to a trot, did a lap around the ring and then came down the quarter line again, this time asking him to leg yield over just by bending him around his leg. Ruby was tense now, jiggling the bit in his mouth and fighting Dream’s hand, but he did move over, and once they’d reached the wall Dream let him drop back down to a walk, letting his grip on the reins slide down to the buckle. Ruby snorted loudly, dropping his head to the floor as he walked anxiously on the long rein.

“You do not have to beat him to get what you want,” Dream said, turning to Roderick.

“You care too much about their feelings,” said Roderick dismissively.

“Not caring about their feelings has gotten you very far indeed,” Dream said back.

He halted the horse by Hob and hopped down, stumbling on the landing and leaning hard on his left leg. Shit. Hob knew he’d hit the wall. Goddammit, Dream.

Before Hob could take the horse from him, Roderick’s kid, Alex, crept into the arena and came over, eyeing his father as he did. Normally Hob considered Alex kind of a liability to have around the farm—he was convinced the kid was going to get himself kicked in the head at some point—but now he handed him the reins. It was Roderick’s horse, the two of them could deal with it right now.

“Make sure to walk him out,” Hob told Alex, and then, ignoring Roderick, who’d already focused on Alex, presumably to berate him for something, he wrapped an arm around Dream’s waist and led him out of the ring.

By the time they made it into the lounge, Dream was leaning heavily against Hob’s side, limping on his right leg. God, Hob hoped he hadn’t broken something. He could only imagine how long that sort of knee injury would take Dream out.

Hob sat him down on the couch. “Can I take a look at your knee?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Dream said, even as the corners of his lips were still pressed tight in pain.

“Dream, I heard you hit the wall from the other side of the arena.”

Dream sighed, but finally started unzipping his boots.

“Breeches, too,” Hob said.

Dream gave him a look but, having removed his boots, started stripping off his socks and black riding pants as well. He looked small like that, perched on the couch in just his black boxer briefs and short-sleeve polo. Hob winced at the sight of his knee. It had already turned horribly purple from his impact with the wall. Hob crouched by him to look closer, taking Dream’s ankle in his hands, turning his leg this way and that, carefully testing the motion. “How much does it hurt?”

“Tolerable,” Dream said, watching Hob intently. Hob mentally increased all of Dream’s descriptions by several degrees of pain. “I don’t think anything is broken, or sprained.”

Having looked closer, Hob didn’t think so either; he was pretty sure it was just bruised. A nasty bruise, though. “Should keep off it for a few days, though.”

Dream sighed, put upon, but didn’t contradict him.

“I’ll get you some ice.” He had ice wraps in the freezer, and pulled one out, laying it over Dream’s knee.

Dream’s lips twitched up in a small smile. “That is for horses.”

“Well, now it’s for humans, too.” He sat beside Dream on the couch as he iced his poor knee. “We should get it checked out if it’s not any better by tomorrow. Don’t want to risk permanent damage.”

Dream touched Hob’s shoulder with light fingers. Hob was, unfortunately, speaking from experience on this matter. Though in his case it had been less ‘deciding not to get it checked out’ and more ‘completely obliterating the joint to the point that it was kind of moot.’ Hob had shown Dream the video of that fall a while back. It was not a pleasant video.

He still had a mostly functional shoulder, though.

Fortunately, Hob didn’t usually have to worry about that happening with Dream. Having a horse flip on top of you was the kind of thing that was more likely to happen when you decided it was a good idea to gallop at solid objects. Which Hob had done. Frequently.

He was kind of glad he hadn’t married a fellow adrenaline junkie.

“I can’t believe Roderick put you on that horse knowing it was going to react like that,” Hob said. He really should kick the guy out. Prick.  

“Roderick created that reaction,” said Dream. “He hardly cares if it gets someone thrown, so long as that someone is not him.”

“I care!” Hob exclaimed. “It’s our fucking stable. He can’t just use you as a crash-test dummy.”

Dream raised an eyebrow. “I am not easy to crash.”

“That’s not the point, Dream. I’ll kick him out, I swear to God.”

“I can handle Roderick Burgess. And the horse. You needn’t protect me.”

“Maybe I want to,” said Hob. He took the ice off Dream’s knee and took another look at it. The bruise only looked more hideous. “Maybe part of being your husband is that I get to protect you.”

Dream touched his cheek fondly, but said, “If we send him away, he will only take the horse to someone else, and nothing will improve.”

Hob knew it was true. He would have just bought the horse and given it to Dream just to get Roderick off the property, but he was pretty sure Roderick would just take the money and go buy another one so that wouldn’t really accomplish anything in the end.

Hob was always going to end up doing what made Dream happy anyway.

“Just…” he rubbed Dream’s thigh, careful of the bruise. “Be careful. God only knows what else he’s taught that horse to do.”

“We will find out, I suppose. Roderick will not be happy with me, though. I intend to take the horse back down to basics. He will doubtless be furious.” He did sound somewhat satisfied by the thought of it.

“Roderick can get on the damn thing himself if he’s so upset,” Hob said.

“That would be entertaining to watch, though less so for the horse,” Dream said. “Perhaps he will make Alex ride it.”

Hob rubbed his forehead in despair. “God help us all.”

“Indeed.”

“You should go back to the house and rest a while,” Hob told him.

“First I want to make sure they haven’t managed to kill Ruby,” Dream said. He levered himself to his feet, handing Hob back the ice wrap. “Besides, I am fine.”

The way he limped about while pulling on his breeches and paddock boots belied that, but Hob knew better than to argue further. At least he wasn’t getting back on the horse.

He went with Dream—only limping a little bit now—out to the barn, where Alex was getting Ruby settled in his stall. Alex looked distinctly nervous brushing the horse down, but hadn’t managed to get it—or, more surprisingly, himself—killed yet, which Hob counted as a win. Roderick was nowhere to be seen, which was probably for the best.

“Did you walk him out?” Dream asked.

Alex nodded anxiously. He seemed intimidated by Dream—which, to be fair, was a common experience for most people. Hob frequently had to remind himself that the version of Dream he saw every day—curled up in the kitchen alcove with his tea and a cat on his lap, chasing his ponies around the barn, resting his head in Hob’s lap for Hob to play with his hair—was not the version most people saw.

Ruby seemed little worse for wear for his ordeal. Dream pet the horse’s nose fondly, and it tried to nibble at his palm.

“We’ll try again tomorrow,” he said, to the horse, now ignoring Alex. “We’ll sort it out, won’t we?”

Ruby just tried to nibble on his fingers again.

With another pat to the horse’s nose, but no more words for Alex, Dream strode away again. Hob followed. Once they were out of the barn, he caught up to Dream and scooped him up in his arms, Dream clutching at his neck with a squeak.

“I’m carrying you home,” Hob said, starting off for the house. “You’re not walking.”

“I am not an invalid,” Dream protested.

“Oh, I should put you down, then?”

Dream clutched at him tighter. “You would not dare.”

“Thought so.”

And so he carried Dream down the short walk back to the house. After all, Hob thought, this was the whole point. He couldn’t necessarily prevent Dream from getting on insane horses or dealing with insane clients. But he could be there at the end of the day to carry him home.

[hexenmond]

YES THIS IS THE ONE

THE ONE THAT MADE ME WRITE SOME 90K WORDS AND THEN I COLLAPSED

😍

Did you know I made a fancomic of my own webcomic The Witch Door?

It's a silly little comic about Jousia and Cassius attending Ryouta's bday party and hmm....

It's free downloadable pdf on my Itch page!

[hexenmond]

‘No one fits,’ she said at last. ‘Not in the way we want to, at least. But we find our own places. We carve them ourselves, in the work we do, in the people we love.’

ALL THE PAINTED STARS - Out now in the UK, coming Nov 5th in the US!

What do you do when you hear your friend's unwilling hand in marriage is the grand prize in a tournament? You cut off all your hair, steal your brothers' armour and ride in the tournament yourself, of course.

All The Painted Stars is a sapphic medieval romance novel about using the power of ADHD and this sword you found to save your best friend from the shackles of a marriage she doesn't want. Also there's beer.

ATPS is the first sequel to One Night in Hartswood, starring Raff and Penn's sisters Lily and Jo. It is a standalone story, but does contain references to the events of Hartswood.

All the Painted Stars contains...

⭐ Best friends to lovers

⭐ Hidden identities (well, she tries)

⭐ Letter writing

⭐ Women in armour

⭐ "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you want to go ape shit?"

It's available NOW in e-book, paperback and audiobook in the UK. Out 5th Nov in the US!

Full blurb and CW under the cut!

Oxfordshire 1362

When Lily Barden discovers her best friend Johanna’s hand in marriage is being awarded as the main prize at a tournament, she is determined to stop it. Disguised as a knight, she infiltrates the contest, preparing to fight for Jo’s hand. But her conduct ruffles feathers, and when a dangerous incident escalates out of Lily’s control, Jo must help her escape.

Finding safety with a local brewster, Lily and Jo soon settle into their new freedom, and amongst blackberry bushes and lakeside walks an unexpected relationship blossoms. But when Jo’s past catches up with her and Lily’s reckless behaviour threatens their newfound happiness, both women realise that choices must always come at a cost. The question they need to ask is if that cost is worth the price of love…

Content warnings:

ATPS contains mention of past emotional and physical abuse, and some mild violence.

It also contains explicit on-page sex scenes.

Above art (in the lake) by @felrija

[hexenmond]

Dream as Maleficent and Hob as Robin Hood for Halloween

Fun costumes to draw but now I am also kind of thinking about an au with Maleficent Dream and Hob as the king’s huntsman. I’m sure there’s a good story there I just haven’t figured out it’s shape yet

[hexenmond]

all our debris flows to the ocean/ to meet again, I hope it will

boop! the long-distance dads got in my head, and so we have a sequel to there's so much this hurt has taught us both.

Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling ~ rated T ~ 15,902 words

Dear Dream, You asked me to write, and so here I am, doing it. I’m not sure how much of a letter writer I am, but it sure feels nice to write something to you that’s not, y’know, me wailing, winedrunk, about my feelings. I am officially back in the swing of things: I was greeted with a welcoming committee of a wasp nest having taking up residence in my porch light, Robyn having glued a Warhammer figurine to the dining table, and twenty seven coursework essays to mark. My mum, bless her, had made enough lasagne to feed the entire street, though, so that made the absolute shitter of jetlag a bit more palatable. Will it horrify you if I tell you I had lasagne for breakfast today? Thank you for coming to the airport with me. If you saw me get a bit weepy as I went through security, no you didn’t. I don’t know what to write except that I’m fucking glad we bumped into each other last week. Feels faintly miraculous. Robyn keeps asking why I’m in such a good mood, as does my Mum, but for now it’s my little secret, a little treasure I can take out of my pocket every so often and look at. I want to hear about your day. Even the boring stuff. Tell me anything, and I’ll be happy. Yours, Hob

AO3 here

Read the series from the start here

writer talk below, with spoilers for the first story.

I was super nervous about writing this story. in the original, I deliberately kept the conclusion open-ended, because I wanted to make it bittersweet, and I wanted to not just tie everything up in a neat bow. I never intended to write a sequel! but then I found myself thinking, again, and again: how does it go for them after this? how does it go when they're willing to try? how are they going to get through the serious obstacles between them?

and I read This Is How You Lose the Time War at the beginning of last month, and so falling in love over letter was in my head, and I wanted to show them learning each other, bit by bit, through books and songs and television, as I think so many of us fall in love.

but I was nervous in case this sequel 'ruined' the original story. I think the better 'literary' decision is to leave the original story where it ends, to deliberately end in uncertainty but also possibility. but my heart wanted more of them. I hope readers won't think this ruined the original story. I'm sure it isn't as good as the original story! but I wanted to write it, so very much, and so I did. thanks due to discord pals and Mr Beat who told me I should just write it.

[hexenmond]

Adding @tryan-a-bex’s tags:

#also#it took until 48 and a lot of work#But now I’m somehow two people’s dream?#it’s wonderful#and it’s really never too late#Don’t give up on yourself#do the work#Be the person you want to be#maybe your day will come too

Can’t tell you how much that joy these brought me. I am a little younger than 48 and sort of in between persons at the moment, and just spent six days with my dad and his fourth wife, giving me a view of domestic life together that really makes me think about what I want in my own life.

So anyway. Thank you.

You’re someone’s dream person btw.

[hexenmond]

Chapters: 5/5 Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022), The Sandman (Comics) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling, Roderick Burgess Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Werewolves, Vampires, Werewolf Hob Gadling, Vampire Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Kidnapping, Captivity, not a slow burn, Forced proximity will do that, Getting to Know Each Other, Escape, Blood and Injury, Gun Violence, Injury Recovery, Animal Death, Blood Drinking, Hob Gadling Saves Dream of the Endless | Morpheus from Roderick Burgess, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus Saves Hob Gadling, Animal Traits, Blood Loss, Minor Character Death, a lot of it, Blood and Gore, Scent Kink, Blood Kink, Knotting, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Rimming, Top Hob Gadling, Bottom Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Rough Sex, Happy Ending, Biting, Hair-pulling Summary:

Hob plan’s for the week definitely hadn’t included being kidnapped and tossed into a dungeon to be a vampire snack. Thankfully for everyone (except the kidnappers) Hob had teeth of his own.

Final chapter! For @dreamlingbingo replacing B4 - Sugar Baby with the adoptable prompt monsterfucking

[hexenmond]

Dreamling Bingo Masterlist ✨

Unbelievably proud of myself for getting a full blackout for @dreamlingbingo this year!! There's a full length novel worth of fic below!!!

HMS Pothos Series (9k total)

Age of Sail AU, surgeon-naturalist!Dream, captain!Hob, slow burn, mutual pining

Captain of the Pothos (Flowers)

All Hands (Love at First Sight)

The Morning After the Night Before (Last Resort)

Captain Gadling's Frog (Turn Over a New Leaf)

Attending As Required (Just Moved In)

The Risk of Honesty (Missed Opportunities)

The Consequence of Secrets (Secret Service)

Windy Weather

Desperate Measures (30 Seconds Remaining)

The Rewards of Risk (Free Space)

Pothos

Long/Multi-Chapter Fics

Amongst the Stars (Spaceship, 12k)

Medical hologram!Dream, utterly bonkers space explorer!Hob, slow burn, what measure is a non-human?

Normal People (BDSM, replacing Woodstock, 15k)

University AU in that they're both professors, kink discovery, budding pillow princess!Dream/service top!Hob

The Bargain (Creature: Fae, replacing Galatic Union, 25k)

Kind of a medieval low fantasy/fairy tale AU, omega!Hob, local forest guardian!Dream, pregnancy, slow burn

Shorter Fics/Ficlets/Snippets etc.

Sticky (Come Swallowing)

Sports Rivals

Historical AU (replacing Cheerleader)

a small, restless, ravenous beast (Saliva)

Entanglement (Touch Starved)

Injury Recovery (replacing Sex Pollen)

Bound and Gagged (replacing Fusion)

Subtle Magic (Magic)

Sleeping In (replacing Creature: Banshee)

Perception (Coming Out, replacing Crossover: Film)

Practice (Retired Dream, replacing Salem Witch Trials)

the contents of the heart (Library of Alexandria)

Swim Team

[hexenmond]

It Started With a Whisper Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling || 41k || T || 5/6

Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Getting Together, Mother Night’s A+ Parenting, Father Time’s A+ Parenting, Entirely Too Much Chemistry, Both of the Interpersonal and Scientific Sort

Hob, a werewolf from a grotty little estate on the wrong side of London, still can’t quite believe he’s starting his first term at St. Ignatius University. His goals don’t extend very far beyond playing some quality football on the scrim league, and becoming the world’s first (and best) lycan astrophycisist. Then… he meets Dream

“Okay, what gives?” Jo demands, as they exit maths. 

“Nothing,” Hob says. He’s got a slight headache from the lack of sleep and his teeth are a little gross because he’d forgotten to brush them and also he’s spent the entire morning feeling like he’s had something very essential carved out of his chest and shipped a few hundred kilometers away to parts unknown, but other than that—he’s fine.��

He’s perfectly, completely fine. 

“Nothing?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Aeternus wasn’t in class this morning,” Jo notes. 

He was not. The back row had been conspicuously absent during their chemistry lecture. 

No Dream, no Matthew, and no Lucienne. 

“Is he sick? Is that it?” 

“I don’t know,” Hob replies, hitching his bag a little higher on his shoulder. “He hasn’t texted.” 

Jo frowns. “Are you two still having your little domestic? I thought you said you were over it.” 

It’s some real personal growth, that Jo’s first suggestion is illness rather than that Dream had probably fucked off to conquer Latvia or perform lewd acts with sacrificial virgins.

Read on AO3

[hexenmond]

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling, Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling, Modern Johanna Constantine (The Sandman TV), Lucien | Lucienne (The Sandman), Death of the Endless, Other(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Boxing, Humor, Attempt at Humor, First Meetings, Love at First Sight 

Square/Prompt:  Adoptable prompt “Boxing”, replacing my C3 square (creature banshee)

Summary:

Hob approaches and peers through the pristine glass storefront, only to freeze in his tracks. There is some sort of martial art class going on, and there, in the centre of a gleaming wooden floor, stands a man who can only be described as ethereal. Tall and lithe, with skin as pale as moonlight and hair darker than a raven’s feather, he moves with a feline grace as he demonstrates some kind of punching combo, his body rotating with impossible fluidity.

“Christ,” Hob mutters, leaning so close his nose almost touches the glass.

*

Or, against his better judgement, Hob signs up for boxing classes, develops a crush, and gets his arse kicked. Not necessarily in that order.

Written for @dreamlingbingo

[hexenmond]

Square: A1 - Snow White

Title: "untitled fairy tale pastiche" (snippet)

Rating: G

Ship: Dream/Hob

Warnings: No archive warnings apply

Additional Tags: fairy tales, retired Dream of the Endless,

Summary: Once upon a time there was a story. Once upon a time there was a man who wasn't really a man. A story, a story; let it come, let it go.

I feel like I've been working on this fic for sooo long and it's been like pulling teeth. the words just don't want to cooperate. but I can at least share a few hundred of them and fill another @dreamlingbingo square!

It was a dark and stormy night.

Later, Hob would roll his eyes a little about that. The cliché of it all.

But that night? That storm? It had been wild. A once-in-a-lifetime type of gale, and Hob would know; he’d lived through eight or nine lifetimes by then, depending on how you counted.

The rain pelted down as though it had a personal grudge against the ground. The wind moaned around the eaves in a way he hadn’t heard for decades. The very air felt electrified; maybe it was just the static charge from the thunder and lightning, but Hob felt it under his skin like an anxious crawl. He dug out a bunch of old candlesticks and beeswax tapers, just for something to do, and after he’d arranged them (unlit) on the kitchen table he’d found himself pacing. Up and down the hall, into the bedroom and back out, a nervous circuit around the couch, back through the kitchen and then up the hall again, round and round, something in his bones and tendons making him move move move.

He felt strange. Unlike himself. Hob didn’t really get anxious, not like this; not in a world where he was no longer running into battle with a pike and a dagger, or lying in the bottom of a trench waiting for another German bomb. And yet this itchy, nervous feeling was crawling up out of his belly and wrapping its tendrils around his lungs and throat, sending frissons of energy down his limbs as he marched around his flat, wringing his hands, nearly on the brink of tears for no reason he could discern.

When the power went out it was almost a relief.

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[hexenmond]

Two Witches and a Baby

Part One || Part Two (current)

Part Two! Part One!

Two witches are forced to cohabitate in order to raise the baby promised to both of them.

This comic was based on this post. (You can also see my old version on the link if you wanna see how far it's come.)

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