#I don't like using my own stuff in web weavings

[transrevolutions]

show me your teeth (lorata) / the hunger games movie (2012) / bad advice (penelope scott) / transrevolutions on tumblr / great wide somewhere (azelmaroark) / mahmoud darwish / ron hicks / the hunger games (suzanne collins) / the hunger games movie (2012) / take me to war (the crane wives)

stuck in my glimmer feels again tonight

[rosesradio]

peter parker x trans male reader?

hi there !! assuming based on when this was sent it was for summer of smut, so here’s a little something for you 🤲💌

this is my first time writing an x reader with a trans male reader, i did my research into other x readers & i hope that the terminology is as inclusive & accurate as possible.

note: the reader is considered (subjectively) early in transition, with top surgery & not bottom surgery. the reader revives oral sex & the terminology “clit” & “sucked off” is used. (“suck off” is masc while “eat out” is fem To Me, but to each their own yk)

okay, enjoy !! <33

word count: 3,024

summary: you meet Peter at a party, and the two of you have an instant connection. once you two can find a spare room to have an innocent conversation, the intention soon turns less than innocent…

You were not supposed to be here.

That was what you told yourself, anyway.

Your friend, Ashley, would call it your Spidey-Sense—that prickle of dread you got when you found yourself stuck in a situation...or trapped in a web. You just called it social anxiety.

You couldn't even find Ashley. After a round of drinks, she linked up with a pink-haired girl and weaved through the crowd into the living room for dancing. As for where they were now...you had no idea. Probably hooking up in a spare room.

Lucky her. You could not relate.

The flashing purple and orange lights at this house party were jarring, though at least they went with the theme. It was something along the lines of Haunted House Pride Nights, where all the extroverted gays brought their introverted friends for an extended night of socializing.

It wasn't all bad. You made your way into the kitchen, relieved to find a seat at the bar. Not only that, but there was still one last slice of pizza left. A bit cold as you bit into it, but still a score.

"Hey," a voice called over the music. "Who took the last slice of—" the speaker's eyes locked on yours, and you felt yourself shrink back.

The guy was cute, if not a little odd-looking. His brown hair was slicked back, with dark, curious eyes. At least, the two normal eyes. The other six looked inattentive, seeing as they were googly eyes that were glued at odd angles across his cheeks. He was also wearing all black, with what looked like black painted pool noodles attached to his back.

You raised an eyebrow. "Spider-Man, huh? Clever."

The guy's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before looking down at his costume and relaxing. "What? Oh, yeah, my costume. Yeah, just a regular spider—sticking to walls isn't in my budget. I'm Peter." He stuck out a hand to shake, which you found a little odd—who did that anymore, and especially in this type of setting? Still, you shook his hand. "And you're the guy who took the last slice of pizza, but..." he narrowed his eyes, pursing his lips as if in deep thought. "Seeing as you like my costume, I'm inclined to let it go."

"I appreciate your forgiveness," you grinned. "I'm y/n."

Peter nodded. He looked familiar, in a way, though you couldn't place it. He walked around the bar, looking you up and down. Strangely enough, you didn't feel weird about it—it didn't seem like he was quite checking you out.

"So," Peter started. "Guessing by the small cape over regular clothes and the devil horned headband, you are...?"

"Too broke to shop for a last minute costume, so I borrowed stuff from my nephew's costume chest." You replied, raising your voice over the music and talking.

Peter grinned. "That's adorable," he said, his voice almost too quiet to hear. "Did you, uh...did you wanna go somewhere a little quieter?" He paused, realizing how that sounded. "Not to hook up or anything! Even though you are cute—but I don't have, like, intentions, it's just the noise is a little..." he started to say something else, though you couldn't hear it.

Your face flushed a little, though you nodded. You wouldn't mind getting out of here...or hooking up with this guy, if that happened to be where the night went. It was a little outside of your comfort zone, but in a good way—like in the movies.

———

The house was big, which meant lots of bedrooms.

That also meant walking in on a lot of people hooking up. After the third round of this, you sighed, continuing down the hall.

"You'd think they'd at least put a sock on the door," you said, knocking on the next door. Based on the giggling coming from inside, this room was also occupied.

At least the navigating time gave you plenty of time to get to know Peter. It turned out you recognized him from a speech class you both took together in freshman year of college, though neither of you spoke to each other.

Well, that and—

"You looked different," Peter commented. "Your hair was, uh...longer."

You let out a huff of laughter. "Yeah, that's one way to phrase it. That was before I got the Big Chop." You gestured to your hair, which was now at the length you preferred. "Well...one of the big chops..." you looked down at your chest, where you had your trans flag pin, and, pointedly, didn't have other things.

Peter snorted. "Man, I regret not talking to you back then. I mean, I didn't really talk to anyone, but...you're pretty funny. And for the record, I like your new look."

You found yourself unable to help but smile as you opened one more bedroom door, and...it was empty. Maybe you were lucky after all.

You pulled Peter into the room, checking the closet inside for good measure.

"Do you want me to check under the bed?" Peter offered, to which you playfully flipped him off.

The pair of you used the space, true to your word, to talk. You shared your interests, talking about your favorite shows and hobbies as he matched with stories of his own. You leaned against the wall, nodding to the bass of the music pumping outside as Peter talked through his tier list of the best Star Wars Legos.

It was strange in how nice it was, as if you'd known each other for a long time. You didn't get that feeling with a lot of people.

"You wanna know something?" Peter asked, a curious smile gracing his features. One of the googly eyes glued to his face looked like it was about to fall off.

God, he was such a loser. He was so cute, it was hard to look at him.

"Sure," you replied, his smile contagious as you continued to meet his warm brown eyes.

"You're being a wallflower," Peter pointed out. "I can tell you like this song, but you're not gonna dance."

He said it like a challenge. You didn't need to take a psych class to know he was using reverse psychology.

Even so, it worked like a charm.

You stepped two steps away from the wall, moving your hips, your arms bent awkwardly. "You see what I'm working with? There's a reason you didn't see me dancing out there."

Peter laughed, copying your movements. "No, this is perfect, it's fun!" He took your hands, holding an arm up for you to spin, which you did. You did for him as well, and Peter laughed between belting out what lyrics he remembered.

"This is ridiculous!" You protested, though it was hard to take even yourself seriously considering how you were laughing.

You then stepped back a little too far, hitting the wall with your shoulder with a painful thud. You winced, rubbing the spot as you smiled sheepishly at Peter.

"Sorry," you said. "I'm okay, that just hurt a bit."

"You sure?" Peter's eyes were a little wide. He held up four fingers. "How many fingers am I holding?"

You snickered. "I hit my shoulder, not my head. Dummy." You looked at his hand, then back up at his eyes. "Eight. Four on your hand, and one for each of the spider legs you have sticking out of your back."

Peter rolled his eyes fondly. "Okay, smartass," he put his hand down...pointedly, on your shoulder.

You raised your eyebrows, a smile tugging at your lips.

"Sorry," Peter pulled his hand away. "I didn't mean to, like..."

"Didn't mean to what, Peter?" You asked, your own tone a challenge. You took his hand gently in your own, placing it back on your shoulder.

"I mean," Peter swallowed. His eyes were utterly transfixed on yours. "I really didn't come in here with intentions, but..." he leaned in closer, his forehead resting against yours.

"Yeah?" You whispered against his lips. "Well, what if I did?"

You weren't sure who kissed who first, though before you could sort out your thoughts, your lips were on Peter's. You cupped his face as Peter wrapped his arms around your midsection, pulling you close against him.

"I," you started breathlessly, pulling away for a moment, Peter resting his forehead against yours again. "I didn't just come here with that in mind, by the way. It was kind of in the back of my mind, but...I did also like hearing about your Star Wars Legos. The Millennium Falcon does sound super cool to build..."

Peter blinked, seeming unable to process the statement for a moment. "You saying that," he grinned. "Is way hotter to me than it probably should be."

He kissed you again, and you couldn't help but smile slightly against his lips. He tasted like Coke and chocolate chip cookies, and every small noise he made into the kisses spurred you on a little more. Your hands wandered under his shirt, and he froze for a moment, a hand on yours.

"Sorry," you said, pulling your hands away. "I didn't mean to, like, overstep or anything..."

"That's okay," Peter's brows were furrowed, and he had an odd, unreadable expression in the dim light. He shook his head. "I thought I had on—never mind..."

Your raised a brow, though you didn't ask for clarification. You figured that was just your type—a weird guy—being your type—weird. Instead, when Peter kissed you again, you kissed him back, getting lost in the feeling.

Peter began to kiss down your neck, nipping and sucking marks along your skin. Although you tried to hold back the noises, you couldn't deny how his lips and teeth and tongue on your skin made your breath hitch.

The song outside changed, and you nodded, unable to help but grin.

"I love this song," you murmured, hands on Peter's arms, squeezing his biceps. You didn't remember him being quite so built before, though you weren't complaining.

"Do you wanna," Peter whispered between kisses. "Stop and go dance?"

You scoffed, shaking your head. Curiously, you shifted a leg in between Peter's, moving up, and—Peter let out a surprised hum. Yep. He was half-hard.

"Do you wanna stop and go dance?" You asked pointedly.

Peter let out a small sound from his throat, almost like a whine, as you continued to press your thigh against his clothed cock. "Uh—no, preferably not. Please."

You felt a smile tug at the corner of your lips, and you pulled Peter close by the hem of his sweatpants.

"What do you think we should do about that, Peter?" You asked, an offer and a challenge in your tone.

Peter kissed you, and for a few moments, he seemed too lost in the feeling to want anything else. He then pulled away, his voice small in a way that made your stomach twist with excitement. "You could...touch me, if you wanted? And I could maybe return the favor?"

As much as you wanted this, whatever this could entail, doubt ran through your mind. "I don't know." You frowned. "I want to, but I'm...not that far in my transition. I've had top surgery, but not..." you looked down, fixating on the button on the fly of your jeans. "I'm not exactly handjob ready yet."

Peter snickered, and though your heart sank for a moment, he quickly shook his head. "Sorry, I wasn't laughing to be malicious. You're just blunt—but I like that. And as for that, I really don't mind—I'm up for anything. If I could choose what to do, though..." he trailed off, his cheeks flushing in the dim light.

"If you could choose," you echoed uncertainly. "What—what did you have in mind?"

"I, uh..." Peter shrugged, trying to play off some sort of nonchalance, though it clearly wasn't working. He had a hunger in his eyes that was undeniable. "I could suck you off...?"

You felt your whole body flush with heat at the thought, a vision forming in your mind. Peter on his knees, licking and sucking eagerly between your legs, looking up at you with beautiful, half-lidded brown eyes.

"I, uh," you swallowed, nodding. "Yeah, that's cool. That's cool."

Peter grinned, moving in to kiss over the previous litany of marks he made across your sensitive skin. "You're so cute..." he murmured into the crook of your neck, his nimble fingers unbuttoning your jeans.

"Hi pot, I'm kettle," you fired back, carding your fingers through his hair. You blushed immediately afterwards, chiding yourself on how odd and old that sounded.

Peter didn't seem to mind as he unzipped your jeans, pushing them down slowly. He leaned in and pressed a deep kiss to your lips, rubbing your outer thighs as he did so. Pulling away almost reluctantly, Peter moved down to his knees, gently nudging your legs a little further apart.

You complied, unable to help but feel a little exposed. Even so, you couldn't deny your excitement. Plus, something about Peter and his cute dorkiness made you feel safe.

"Hey, y/n?" Peter asked, gently and almost teasingly as he pulled down your boxer shorts.

You nodded, swallowing, hoping he didn't notice how wet with excitement you'd already gotten.

"Could you," Peter's voice was nervous, breathless. "Could you pull my hair while you fuck my mouth?" He let out a shaky breath, warm against your inner thigh. "Please..."

You nodded again, carding your fingers through Peter's hair as he finally, finally put his mouth to work. He licked and sucked your clit, his shyness melting away at the the way your breath hitched. Low moans escaped your lips as you pulled his hair, Peter responding with moans of his own. The vibrations spurred you on further, giving you the confidence and desperation to grind down against his lips and tongue.

"Peter—mm, fuck," you groaned, closing your eyes as your head tapped the wall. The sensation overwhelmed you in the best way, though you couldn't stay that way forever—you had to see more of Peter like this. You looked down at him, lost in his dark, lust-blown gaze.

"This is—hah—exactly where you belong, isn't it?" You mused. "On your knees, so desperate to get me off..." you rolled your hips, letting out a shaky breath as Peter pinned your hips to the wall. He then moved a hand to your lower thighs, squeezing hard enough to bruise.

Curious despite the haze of pleasure, you looked down at Peter, at where his other hand could possibly be. It only took you a moment to notice, and once you did, you felt pushed even closer to the edge.

"Fuck, Peter, are you jacking off while you—" your back arched, and you whined, your stomach coiling with a fast approaching orgasm.

Peter pulled away, effectively pulling you away from the edge for a moment. "Can—can I?" He asked, giving puppy dog eyes whether he knew it or not. His lips appeared shining in the dim light. Despite asking for forgiveness instead of permission, he didn't appear to be in a rush to stop. "Please let me, I need it..."

You nodded, tugging Peter's hair, relishing the moan from his lips. Flashing you a relieved, charming smile, Peter continued to work his magic on your clit. It didn't take him long to pull you to the edge once more.

"Good—good boy, Peter," you murmured. "God, 'm close, 'm so close, just..." you panted, the coiling in your stomach so intense and pleasurable it almost hurt. It was when you heard Peter whimper around you, a desperate sound that could have only been caused by his release, that you were pushed over the edge as well.

You came hard, grinding down on Peter's lips and tongue, chasing the sensation until every last drop of your high wore off. It was then that you pulled Peter away by his hair, trying to steady your breathing. You started to smile, covering it slightly with your free hand.

"Damn, Peter," you said softly. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

Peter seemed surprised, and he shrugged. "I don't have a lot of experience...guess my desperation paid off?" He grinned, wiping his mouth as he stood, pulling his sweatpants back up. "I'm sorry I, uh...took care of myself. I got too excited too early, I guess."

You shrugged to mirror his own. "That's okay...it was hot, really, you being that turned on by sucking me off." Your voice faltered as you slid your boxer shorts back up, your jeans following. "Um, if you ever wanna do this again, we could explore other stuff. Or we could just stick to, like, friend stuff if you want." Your voice was a little more hesitant on that part. "We could just stick to Legos, maybe."

Peter smiled crookedly, and it was in that moment you had a memory of him from before. You sat across the room from him in class, and he had this far away look in his eyes. When he caught you looking, he fixed you with that look, and you had looked away with a flushed face.

That felt like so long ago; it felt like yesterday.

And now, despite how little time the two of you had actually spent together, he seemed to have genuine affection in his gaze.

"We could do both," Peter settled. "Sounds like a dream come true, to be honest. Here, before I forget." He unlocked his phone, adding a new contact, and you gave him your number. He added your name with a smiley emoji, the type of which you tried not to ruminate on.

It was an odd feeling, how easily you two connected. It felt like kids talking about comic books—it felt like teens at the skating rink—it felt like a missed connection between two college students finally clicking into place.

And when Peter muttered one more before pulling you into a sweet and passionate kiss, you knew that this was far from the last moment you'd share with Peter.

[baldursgat3]

Well I was bored so I did what everyone does and wrote a 3.5k word fanfiction and made a brand new blog to post it on. So.

Anyway that thing that Gortash did to his parents was pretty fucked up right? Oh hey Ascended Astarion what are you doing here?

gn Tav, cw for some allusions to some non-con-ish stuff, haven't even done an ascended run yet but it's fine also spawn Tav

He so rarely called on his ability to compel you, but you felt the sensation begin to creep at the back of your mind. It felt like a spider climbing up your brain stem to weave it's web inside your skull.  "Astarion, please don't-" "You are going to watch and listen. Do you understand? You are going to learn what is expected of you. And until you have, you will be obedient and silent. Am I clear, my darling?" "Yes, my love."

It was only supposed to be temporary - a punishment for having escaped yet again. It didn't matter that you had every intention of returning as soon as the sun began to poke over the horizon, you had still found yourself cornered in the streets by your darling. The look of anger in his eyes only dampened by his annoyance.

"It's like you don't even try to listen to me, dearest." He had hissed, crowding you back against a wall. "Tell me how I'm supposed to keep you safe when you insist on sneaking around and frolicking off to the worst parts of the city in the dead of night."

"I'm sorry." You dropped your gaze to the ground. "I just- get so bored sometimes…" Maybe if you blame yourself, your own poor impulse control, maybe that would satisfy him.

Instead he just laughed. A short, almost incredulous chuckle. "Oh, you're bored. I see, well of course that's all right then. By all means, throw yourself to the wolves then, my love. Since you're bored."

He grabbed your hands in his, muttering a quick spell, and you were home. You watched as he opened his eyes again and his shoulders relaxed. You were here and safe beside him again and he could breathe once more.

But still, "This was the fourth time in less than a month. What do I have to do to make you understand?" Astarion's grip on your hands tightened.

"You could just let me go…" You mumbled bitterly before you could think any better of it. The instant the words escaped your mouth you had regretted them.

His eyes darkened and he pulled you in closer. He brought one hand up to wrap around the back of your neck, holding you firmly in place. "We are not having this discussion again. You know you belong here."

"But if you would just let me out once in a while I wouldn't-"

"It only takes once, don't you get that?" He hissed, his fangs bared. "One person, just like me. Hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike. Do you understand how high profile you are? Do you not see other nobility out with their guards? They don't prowl the dingiest taverns they can find for good reason, my love."

"I can handle myself!" You snapped back. He was already angry, you were already screwed, how much worse could you possibly make it?

You watched countless emotions fly across his face before irritation settled. Truthfully, not the worst possibility. "I know that you're strong and capable. But it's been years since either of us have lived that kind of life. Those skills don't just stay sharp, you know that. You can hold your own against one, maybe two people. But what happens when you're surrounded? And you're alone, I don't know where you are, I can't help you. Do you not understand that I'm trying to protect you?" He spoke, almost as though he was trying to rationalize with a child.

In his defense you did huff like one. "So I'm meant to stay locked up here forever because you're afraid?" That was the wrong word to choose. The annoyed look fell into anger as he pulled you in even tighter.

"Yes." It was short and filled with a venom that shot a wave of fear down your spine. He so rarely called on his ability to compel you, but you felt the sensation begin to creep at the back of your mind. It felt like a spider climbing up your brain stem to weave it's web inside your skull.

"Astarion, please don't-"

"You are going to watch and listen. Do you understand? You are going to learn what is expected of you. And until you have, you will be obedient and silent. Am I clear, my darling?"

"Yes, my love." Were the words that came out of your mouth. They certainly weren't the ones you were intending, though. What do you mean? What are you talking about? What are you doing? All questions that were desperately trying to escape, but none came.

His face softened as he pulled his hand away from your neck to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear with a gentle smile. "There we are. I love you, you know? So much. I just… I don't know what I'd do without you."

~*~*~

For something you found so horrifying, Astarion was remarkably calm about what he'd done to you. "As irritating and, honestly, pathetic as he was, Gortash did manage to strike me with a touch of inspiration." He had explained as you helplessly smiled back at him.

"The magic he used against his parents was… clever, I'll say. It was terribly cruel of him to leave them like that, trapped in their own minds forever. You have to understand, that's not what I'm doing." He looked so sad, suddenly. He grabbed your hand in both of his and held tight and you felt your face drop to match his emotions.

"I love you. Please, trust me. You don't know this life like I do. You're so- so kind. So trusting and wonderful and lovely. And it's going to get you killed. This is only temporary. I can keep you safe like this while you learn what you need to. This life is politics and swindling and scheming. It's not heroics and good deeds. One day- one day I swear we'll go back but for now this is what must be done. Please just… just trust that I know what I'm doing. And that I love you."

You felt the cobwebs clear for a moment, brushed aside to give you a chance to speak again. He was giving you a choice, though you weren't entirely sure what either outcome was meant to be. You did trust him though, you loved him. And maybe he was right. You had no idea really what the life of this caliber was like. He had been of nobility his entire life. "I trust you."

You felt the cobwebs fill your head again as he smiled, so gently, so sweetly. So why did it make your stomach turn?

~*~*~

He never gave you any sort of timeline. You had expected it to take a few months though. He was training you, shaping you into the perfect little accessory to attach to his hip. It wasn't always horrible, especially at first when he would clear the cobwebs away at night to discuss how you were feeling and what you were learning.

It did feel a bit demeaning. He was your partner not your mother, after all. But you could tell how relaxed he was now that he wasn't worrying about you so much. And it was always easier to learn by doing, even if it wasn't technically you doing anything.

Still, you saw the way you responded to other nobles when they asked you things you had no clue about. Truthfully, you found yourself hoping Astarion might just do this for every big event you went to. The idea of trying to remember all of these names and titles and schemes was daunting. It'd be easier to keep him happy if he was practically speaking through you and it took a huge pressure off your shoulders.

It was when the people left that you began to have a problem. Even when it was just the two of you alone. He allowed the compulsion to drop less and less frequently. Some days you wondered if he'd forgotten it was there at all. You hated when he would spend his time talking with this fake perfect version of you.

Jealousy. It must be. And you felt so stupid for it too. It was still you, your voice and body. And, honestly, half the time the responses this fake you gave were the exact same ones you would've given anyway. So what did it matter so much?

It was frustrating not being able to control your own body. You missed being able to reach out and grab his hand whenever you wanted. There were a lot of things you missed. Most things, actually.

You missed kissing him. It's not that he didn't kiss you like this, or that you couldn't feel it. When he kissed you it just felt awful. Your stomach would churn and all you wanted to do was pull away. You honestly didn't even feel that terrible the time he had forgotten you were in there while you had sex. (Something he had apologized for profusely, long after you'd forgiven him.)

But the kisses were so tender and sweet and they were for someone who wasn't you. It was this fake you that he made for himself and you just couldn't stand it. Next time he dusted you off, you had made up your mind to ask him to stop.

If only you'd made that decision a touch sooner. It had already been over a week since you were last freed from your compulsion. As the days ticked by, you grew less and less confident that you would get the chance to ask.

It has been months already. You weren't entirely sure, but it must've been closing in on a year since he'd first started this project. It didn't feel like it but it was winter again so it must've been.

You kept hoping, every night when you went to bed you silently begged Astarion to hear you again, to let you out of your mind. He never seemed to hear you. Instead he would pepper you in kisses and speak to you like nothing was different.

Weeks turned to months. Every day that went by without being in control of your own body was beginning to take a toll on your mind.

Astarion's touch became less and less welcome until you wanted to shriek and tear at your own skin every time you felt him near you. You screamed and begged and agonized, hoping that if you could just yell loud enough maybe he would hear you.

He had forgotten about you. You became more and more certain with every evening spent on your back for him now. The first time he'd used you like that he was devastated. The idea that he'd had a change of heart was somehow even more crushing than being forgotten. You couldn't entertain that idea.

It made more sense that he'd forgotten you anyway. It had been so long, he'd gotten so used to you like this. He couldn't hear you screaming and thrashing inside your head. And when you were alone, he truly hadn't changed that much about you. Perhaps some of the comments you made were a touch closer to something he would say, but that really only served to push the real you further from his mind.

You had to accept it. You were trapped in your own mind, helpless against the man you adored. You were angry and frightened and so, so desperate to be free. It ached in your chest every time words that weren't yours escaped your lips. You raged every time you felt his touch on your skin. His kiss left you longing to tear out your hair and shriek until your throat burned.

You were truly, utterly helpless.

~*~*~

It was summer now. You were pretty sure, anyway. It was a bit hard to tell exactly when spring ended and summer began when you never saw the sun.

Astarion was hosting a rather large event that evening. You weren't entirely sure what it was for or why. You had stopped bothering to pay attention to these things once you realized it was no longer about learning how to engage with high brow politics. The you that had control would handle it anyway.

You were dressed in a lovely ball gown, a favorite of Astarion's. He liked the wide hoop skirt, it kept people from getting too close to you.

It was like any other stupid high end party. Food that was so decadent and rich you could barely eat any of it. Most of it would be thrown away. What a waste. One of the few thoughts you had as you essentially dissociated through the party.

Your body picked up a small hors d'oeuvre, delicately biting the bite sized snack in two. It was far too unbecoming to pop the entire thing into your mouth, despite it being shaped for exactly that.

"Any good?" A voice from behind you startled you and your false self out of your tiny food related thoughts.

The fake you recognized him first, as your mind still tried to bring the world back into focus. You felt yourself lunge forward, hoop skirt be damned, as you threw your arms around the person in front of you now. Somewhere in the back of your mind you found it extremely strange that fake you would be allowed to do such a thing.

When you finally pulled back, you were present enough to see who you were hugging and it, truthfully, made even less sense. "Gale!" You heard yourself as you bounced excitedly on the balls of your feet. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, it's a big event isn't it?" He grinned, patting you on the shoulder. "Should the famed Wizard of Waterdeep not receive such an illustrious invitation?" He laughed, taking a small step towards the food table. "No, Wyll was invited. He brought Karlach as a plus one. She told me and I pestered Astarion to invite the rest of us. He didn't tell you?"

That sounded about right. You couldn't help laughing. Gods you'd missed them all. "He didn't, but everyone else is here too?"

"Well, no. I got them an invite, that's the best I could do. Shadowheart and Halsin are around here somewhere. Who knows about anyone else." He said, filling up a plate with tiny snacks. A small part of you was happy at least someone was eating like a normal person.

"Come on then, and fill a plate for Karlach would you? I said I'd bring them all back something." Gale smiled back at you as he began filling another plate, presumably for Wyll.

"Have you seen Astarion yet?" Oh, that was a good question actually. At least fake you was thinking about your love.

Gale nodded, picking up the second plate. "He met us when we first got here. Honestly, I expected you to be with him. Barely had a moment to talk, though, before he got pulled away."

"Precisely why I'm not with him." You laughed, picking up the plate you'd made for Karlach. "An event like this is going to have him pulled twenty directions. I'm supposed to stay over here to watch over things but-" But? Fake you didn't argue with buts. How strange. The power of friendship perhaps? Or Astarion's attention being so split with such a large event was allowing even the perfect version of you he hand crafted to slip through the cracks. Either way, you weren't arguing. "Well, it'll be fine to slip away for a moment." Strange.

You followed Gale back to where Wyll and Karlach were standing just a bit too close as they chatted. They were both dressed to the nines, Wyll in a well fitted suit with a short, ornamental cape draped over one shoulder. Karlach was putting him to shame though, in a floor length strapless dress with a slit that traveled halfway up her thigh. You'd never taken Karlach for a dress person and, watching the way she awkwardly moved in it, you'd assume you were right. That didn't stop anyone with eyes from stopping and staring as she walked by. You even found your own gaze lingering a bit too long. Very strange.

"Hey, soldier!" Her voice rang out loud and clear as soon as she spotted you. Before you knew it, you were wrapped in her arms and lifted off the floor with ease. You couldn't help laughing as you carefully tried to keep the plate of food balanced.

Your skirt swished back into place as she set you down, beaming at you. "It's been way too long. Just because you can't go out in the sun doesn't mean Astarion has to lock you away in the dungeon." She laughed again. If only she knew.

"I was surprised I even got an invite." Wyll chuckled, stepping closer. "I don't play his political games, but I'm happy to enjoy some good food with some old friends." Gods he was so sweet. If you didn't know just how genuinely he meant it, you wouldn't trust him.

"Well, I'm certainly happy to see all of you!" It's been so lonely cooped up in here, I've missed you so much. Your lungs longed to scream out to them, to beg them for help.

It was enough they'd taken you away from your post, you knew it was too much to ask for your voice to break through as well. It didn't stop you from wishing with your whole heart for your friends to hear you.

Instead, you had a pleasant conversation about what they've all been up to. Stories of the adventures Karlach and Wyll had been on, an anecdote about Tara that made everyone laugh. Halsin and, later, Shadowheart found their way into the circle, bringing their own stories. It would've been lovely were you not begging to be heard.

Karlach noticed first, of course she did. You saw it happen. You weren't sure what did it exactly but, as you were speaking, you saw her brow knit together. She watched you a bit closer. Fake you must've noticed as well, you felt yourself straighten up a bit more, talk a bit gentler.

It wasn't enough, she'd clocked something and now she was watching. The conversation shifted away from you but her gaze lingered. The you in control longed for her to look away, while the real you screamed for her attention. I'm here, please see me, gods please hear me!

You felt her watching you for at least ten minutes before she leaned in to whisper something to Gale. Oh gods, now he was watching you like a hawk. They both knew something was wrong but they couldn't tell what.

If you hadn't been watching them, you would've missed the small hand gesture and whispered incantation from the wizard. You didn't feel anything but clearly he didn't get what he wanted.

Then you felt it. A small tingling sensation in your head then, suddenly, it was as though the doors to your mind had been thrown open and you felt yourself recoil as though sunlight was pouring in. He was digging into your thoughts.

"Gale!?" You called out desperately in your head, watching as he blinked in shock. The gentle, practiced smile that remained stuck on your face completely opposed to the desperation he heard in your voice.

"Are you all right?" He asked, out loud, much to everyone else's confusion. Particularly Halsin's, who had been actively speaking when Gale interrupted.

"Gale, please! You can hear me?" Your mind screamed.

"Oh, me? Oh, I'm fine." Your mouth replied.

"I can hear you. What's going on?" Gale pressed forward, ignoring the questioning looks he received.

"Um, Gale-" Wyll had started but the wizard was disinterested in interrupting whatever connection he had with you right now.

"Gale, gods, Gale." What could you even say? You had to say something. But how could you explain this? You knew they all disapproved of the way Astarion kept you squirreled away but they never argued because you were both happy and it really wasn't exactly their business. But this? This was different. This was… well. Fucked up.

He was smart though. It didn't exactly take much to put two and two together. Two different answers, two different versions of his dear friend. "What happened? Does Astarion know about this?"

You would've flinched had you been in control of your body. "Really, Gale, I'm all right, I'm not sure what you're talking about." You still smiled warmly.

"He- he's the one who did this but-!" You panicked as you watched a darkness take over Gale's face.

"Okay, does anyone know what's going on right now?" Wyll tried to interject again, only to be met with a misdirected scowl from Gale.

"It would seem our resident vampire lord has gone a bit too far." He practically spat. He had never been overly fond of your relationship in the first place. You were never sure but Astarion was certain it was jealousy - partially why you were so surprised to see Gale had been invited at all.

"Use your words, Elminster." Karlach folded her arms, already impatient to know what was happening.

Gale turned back to you as his anger turned towards sadness. "I don't know how, but he's puppeting them. This-" He waved a hand at your calm, relaxed smile. "This is all fake. I can hear them, they're trapped in there."

"Gale, please, don't get angry, please." You were trying to do damage control now. You didn't want this to break bad for Astarion, you just wanted to be let out. "I- I just think he might've forgotten me, if you just-"

"Forgot you!? What do you mean forgot you? How long have you been in there?"

"Gale! Please don't cause a fuss, please. This- this doesn't have to affect the night. He just needs a reminder, that's all, it's all right."

"How long."

"I… I don't know. Over a year…" You knew saying that would be a bad idea. The rage took over his face again, while the rest of your companions watched with varying levels of confusion.

"Over a year." His voice was flat, his typical affectations and charming cadence gone. "Would someone be so kind as to request the presence of Lord Ancunín? I think we need to have quite the conversation."

[stevesbestgirl]

Dreamweaver

Dream of the Endless x f!Reader

Warnings: mentions of depression, a few curses, briefly mean!Morpheus, soulmate tattoo bs, I took liberties with the lore

A/N: I started this forever ago when I was dealing with some stuff with my brother, so if it feels like a self-insert 🤷‍♀️ (no descriptions of reader's appearance)

5775 words

"Dream."

Lord Morpheus, also known as Dream of the Endless, raised his head from his desk, where he was pouring over a book.

"Dream!"

He heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose before standing.

"Dream of the Endless, I hold your sigil and I call to you."

"Yes Death, I am on my way to my gallery as we speak."

"Forget your gallery, come here."

Morpheus suppressed a sigh. But with a sound suspiciously like the flutter of a raven's feathers, Dream disappeared from his library, appearing instead beside his sister. Death's gaze did not waver; she appeared to be watching a young pair seated on a mattress on the floor of a simple bedroom. One, a young woman, seemed to be comforting the other, a young man with enough resemblance to be a sibling.

Dream spared only a quick glance, "Why am I here, sister?"

Death finally tore her gaze from the two mortals, "Can't you see it?"

Morpheus watched the pair again, unsure of what he was supposed to be seeing.

"Maybe I'm just bad. That's why she left." Dream could see the wisps of despair puffing up around the boy, evaporating like drops of water on a hot pan.

"You took the fall when I broke Mallory's lamp when we were ten. Don't tell me you're bad," the woman insisted despite her soft tone. "And nothing you did made Bella leave."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Dream's gaze swiveled back to his sister, "I am unsure what it is I should be seeing."

Death huffed impatiently, "Open your mind for just one moment and consider that a mortal may surprise you." When he still stared at her, his jaw growing tight with impatience, she rolled her eyes, "She's dream weaving, Dream. You of all people should be able to tell."

"The dream weavers died out hundreds of years ago."

Death grabbed her stubborn brother by the shoulder, twisting him to face the girl again, "Watch."

Dream watched, albeit a bit disdainful, as the young woman continued to speak. She offered musings about their past. Their childhood seemed to have been a difficult one. But she made jokes, reminiscing and reflecting on what they could learn- how they could create better for themselves. And then he saw it.

Human consciousness, all consciousness really, clung to the Dreaming with tethers. Needless to say, humans clung particularly closely compared to most other sentient life. Each dream, though they varied in strength, was a connection to the dreaming. When a being began to lose the will to live, those tethers weakened.

Her brother's tethers were weak; not quite on the brink of severing, but looking rather exhausted. And while it wasn't possible for her to strengthen the tethers- only their owner could do that, she was reinforcing their connection to the Dreaming. The dreams she was sharing were indeed woven into an intricate web, right on the cusp of his realm.

Her own web was vast, ethereal silver glimmering in elaborate knots and designs, each one a waking dream. This girl's very existence was tied up in his realm.

His only show of emotion was a small parting of his lips, but that was enough for Death. "I told you so."

Dream said nothing, watching the girl speak.

"What are you thinking, brother?" Death prompted, clearly awaiting some kind of response.

"It appears that a new age of Dreamweavers may be upon us, sister."

"Are you going to speak to her?"

"I suppose I am duty-bound to make contact. Soon, more like her will appear, if they haven't already. If they go on unsupervised, they could damage the realm."

Death cocked an eyebrow, "Why do you sound so reluctant? You've never had issue with dream weavers in the past, have you?"

"Not yet. But I have an odd feeling about this one."

*

After departing with Death, Morpheus tasked Matthew with keeping an eye on the girl. She stayed with her brother through the night, the pair of them departing early in the morning and returning a short while later with what appeared to be a third sibling.

Only once the two young men were in each other's company did the girl leave, returning to her own home a short distance away.

She seemed lost in her own thoughts as she puttered around the house, cleaning up odds and ends before changing into a tee-shirt and climbing into bed. Underneath her eyes, dark circles were beginning to swell. She was exhausted.

Morpheus almost felt bad for her; this sleep would not be as restful as she might be expecting.

*

Y/N always had vivid dreams, both waking and while asleep. But she immediately knew tonight was different. Dressed in nothing but her tee-shirt and underwear, her bare feet were chilled against the dark stone floor underfoot.

A shadowed figure sat in a throne at the head of the large room, as though waiting for her.

"Hello?" She took a hesitant step forward, hands clinging to the too-short hem of her tee-shirt, which was barely covering the tops of her thighs.

"Approach, Y/L, L/N."

She did as the voice instructed, stepping forward on unsteady legs. It was male, authoritative and nearly stern. But it wasn't aggressive, or even raised in volume. He simply spoke and expected compliance.

It was also beautiful, deeply toned and unrushed in its delivery. He had an accent she couldn't identify, her mind reeling with thoughts as she approached the throne, still cloaked in shadow.

She felt exposed, painfully aware of his gaze on her. She gave her shirt another nervous tug down, trying to make sure she was covered. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she asked, "What is this place?"

The silence stretched, her fingers abandoning the hem of her shirt in favor of fidgeting with the cuticles of her fingernails. But her hands parted hastily and she sucked in a gasp as she suddenly found herself fully clothed in a pair of dark jeans, socks, boots, and a black jacket over her tee-shirt.

She was relieved for both the privacy and warmth granted by the clothes, but her heart was pounding at the magic, "Am I dreaming?"

The figure remained in shadow, "Yes," he confirmed. "But more importantly, you are in the Dreaming."

She blinked, willing her eyes to make out the figure in the dark as questions bubbled up inside her, "And that would make you-?"

He rose slowly from his chair, towering over her at his full height, somehow still shrouded in shadow, "I am Dream of the Endless, creator of the Dreaming, King of Nightmares."

It suddenly became quite clear to her as she gazed up at him that he wanted her to be intimidated. The question of why still loomed.

"King of Dreams then too, right?" She couldn't find it within herself to give him the reaction he wanted, king or no king.

His voice remained level, "Yes."

"Am I forbidden from laying eyes on the King of Dreams?" She cocked her eyebrow, only slightly, in a challenge. She took a step backwards, inviting him to step into the light.

There was another long pause before he answered, "No, you are not." But instead of moving, the shadows seemed to loosen, pale skin blooming behind the darkness until his face was wholly visible.

It seemed the perfect match for his voice, slim with sharp cheekbones and a shock of deep ebony hair. Long, dark lashes framed his eyes, which were dark, almost entirely black in a way that should have been eerie. But they glimmered like stars, little specks of light dancing deep within their depths and seeming to invite her inside. She felt as though she was falling forward until the darkness swallowed her up.

But inside was far from dark. It was a massive stretch of blackness, yes, but far from nothing. The black was a canvas, swirling with color and light and looking like entire galaxies.

A mess of incoherent thought washed over her, driving her own thoughts from her mind. The galaxy showed her a beautiful woman. She felt insecurity, fear, but also something warm and safe she could only describe as love. Then she saw the sun, but the sun as she'd never seen it before. The sun through the eyes of someone who couldn't go blind. And then came pain, rejection, grief-

"You should not be here."

Then she was back in the throne room, balled up on the floor, her cheeks wet with tears. She sat up, hastily wiping her cheeks, but Dream was already hauling her up by the shoulder of her tee-shirt, her extra layer of clothing stripped away in an instant, "You dare to invade my mind?" His dulcet tones were reduced to a mere hiss. "As the King of Dreams, it is my responsibility to warn you that if you or others like you meddle in the affairs of my realm, it will cost you dearly. It seems that every time I show compassion to a human, you are determined to make me regret it. Cross my path again and you will not receive such mercy a second time."

She wanted to plead with him, to make him understand that it had been an accident. She didn't even understand what she'd done- were those his thoughts?

His change in demeanor stung more than it should have. But his sudden rage combined with what little she'd seen made it clear he would not leave himself vulnerable to her, and perhaps for good reason.

"I apologize for any offense, it was not my intent. I will do my best not to get in your way again." She offered him a sad smile, "And I'm sorry for your suffering."

His eyes glimmered in a brooding smolder and then she found herself jolting awake in her bed, a sheen of sweat glittering on her skin. She made a half-hearted attempt to tell herself it had only been a dream, but there was no denying what she'd seen- what she'd felt.

She felt out of place going back to her everyday life, but her work wouldn't wait for her. And there was plenty left to do for her brother, so she put it behind her, hoping that whatever she had done to draw the King of Dreams' ire was a one-time thing. Their interaction had left a lingering bad taste in her mouth.

She had hoped that her responsibilities would drive the memory from the front of her consciousness, but it continued to creep up on her each time she had a moment to breathe, haunting her rare moments of rest with nightmares. She suspected the King of Nightmares was wholly capable of sentencing her to a lifetime of nighttime terrors, but she wasn't convinced this was his intention. But if she was connected to Dream, as he'd called himself, the only way to fix it would be to visit the Dreaming again.

And now she was thinking about it again. She gave herself a shake; she had another long night ahead of her. So she turned up the music in her car and left for her brother's apartment.

*

"I thought I might see you back here, brother." Death looked smug as Dream appeared beside her in the same place they'd watched from last time.

"And why are you here again, Death?"

"To catch you in the act, obviously."

Dream made a disapproving noise at her joke, but didn't press further. He watched as she and her brother played a video game together. He'd done some reading in her book after her uninvited foray into his mind, though mostly out of spite. It had done nothing to reassure him that he'd acted appropriately.

Her childhood had not been an easy one. Teenage parents, poverty, and drug use had rendered her functional guardian to her two younger siblings at a young age. Once he arrived at the abuse resulting from her first romantic relationship, he'd stopped reading.

The two Endless watched for quite some time before speaking again, but surprisingly to Death, it was Dream who broke the silence. "Why are you truly here, sister?"

"It is part of my responsibilities to check on the humans whose ties grow weak."

"Do you spend this long on every one?"

She huffed a sigh, "No." Stealing a glance at Y/N, she admitted, "When she weaves the dreams, that strengthens the connection, giving a weak tie more time to recover."

Dream tipped his head, "Yes, as you explained last time."

"I'm starting to suspect that the dream she's woven around the center tether may be permanent."

"Is such a thing possible?"

"I don't know. Like you said, this could be a new kind of dream weaver." They both watched her laugh, drawing a laugh from her brother as well. "I wish I could just ask her what she's capable of."

Dream looked back on the way the girl had collapsed in his throne room, realization making his stomach sink, "She is unaware of her abilities."

"As far as I can tell." At Dream's silence, Death glanced at him sharply, "Why do I get the sense that you may have done something foolish?"

Dream was silent, reassessing his interaction with this new information. He'd brought her into his realm, exposed and confused, then put on a show of being intimidating and immediately lost his temper, resorting to threats and expulsion.

He refused to feel shame over actions taken to protect his realm, but he couldn't identify the strange pit that seemed to have opened in his gut. She likely thought him a monster, a nightmare himself instead of their king.

"Dream, what did you do?"

Death's voice broke him from his stupor, though he kept his gaze on the girl, "I brought her to my realm and lost my temper."

Death couldn't suppress an eye roll, but Dream didn't seem to notice, "What was it this time?"

"I suspect one of those new abilities allows her access to memory."

There was a long pause. "She got inside that thick skull of yours?"

Dream broke his gaze to send his sister a scathing look, "Yes."

Death sent her an appraising glance, "She seems to be holding up rather well, all things considered." It was meant to be a joke, but Dream thought the circles under her eyes were damning.

"You are typically far slower to admit you are wrong, so I ask you again, brother, what are you doing here?"

"After my meeting with the girl, I spent an entire evening working on new dreams and nightmares. It was the best work I've done in ages."

Now Death did smirk, "She inspired you then? Is she your latest muse?"

"My days of muses are behind me, sister. Aside from the fact that she is a mortal, my realm needs my full attention."

"Of course, brother."

*

That night, when Y/N fell asleep in her bed, she found herself back in the throne room. Muttering a curse under her breath, she stood, grateful that she'd slept in a pair of shorts this time.

"Approach, Y/N."

She did not obey the voice this time, stubbornly remaining in place and gazing resolutely into the dim light, which was only slightly improved from her first visit.

A moment, then two, passed before there came a sigh. "Very well." Several long strides later the King of Dreams had left his throne to stand before her. She avoided his eyes, afraid to repeat her mistakes.

"Dream King."

"Yes, I suppose I deserve that as well."

Tipping up her chin, she nodded, "You do." She seemed to catch herself, "I'm afraid I'm not sure what I did to end up back here."

"I brought you here- in both instances. You've done nothing wrong, I have realized too late."

She was stunned. She hesitantly met his gaze, relieved when her feet remained planted on the floor.

Dream held his expression steady and nodded, "I apologize for my prior behavior."

She surprised herself by tipping her head, "Thank you." She chewed her lip for a moment, "I'm sorry too. For before. I'm really not sure how I did it."

She knew she didn't have the leverage to flaunt a grudge against the Kind of Dreams. She was pleased with her own politeness, but she would not trust easily.

Dream was silent for a long pause, "What exactly did you see?"

She looked away, "Not much. A woman- a beautiful woman. The sun. And I felt-" His eyes seemed to pull her gaze back in, "I felt some of your pain, I think."

"I apologize."

Her brow furrowed, "For your suffering?"

He shook his head, "For yours, at my hands. We have much to discuss, but you will not struggle with nightmares from tonight on."

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards in a smile, "So, I can rest assured?"

Dream either didn't catch the pun or was ignoring it, nodding, "You may. Now come, have a seat." He led her back toward his throne, where a small tea table and a wooden chair sat on the dais beside his own.

She waited, watching him take his seat on the throne before she sat on the wooden chair, ruefully thinking of her own chair at home. And then it was her chair she was sitting in. No sound or movement accompanied the change, it simply was.

Dream raised an eyebrow, as if challenging the action, "Did you just alter the Dreaming?"

Face flushing with warmth, she stumbled over her words, "Not with intention."

His gaze seemed inquisitive, "Have you always manipulated the Dreaming so skillfully?"

She raised a brow, a reluctant smile forming at the corner of her mouth, "I'm not sure that was a compliment."

"Simply an observation."

"Sounds a bit sinister though, doesn't it? 'Manipulating the Dreaming.'"

"What would you call it if someone were to create their own clay sculpture on a block already used by someone else?" Dream wasn't offended by the action so much as he was curious.

"If it serves a new function, I would call it repurposing," she replied thoughtfully.

There was a long pause, "Indeed." She couldn't decipher his tone. "What if I told you that the person who made the original sculpture also created the clay? And that the only clay that would ever exist was his creations."

She sobered up a little, "I'm sorry if I've ruined your work. Once again, not my intention. I have a lot to learn about your realm."

His gaze trailed over the chair she'd conjured, noting the details. The golden colored thread in the stitching that glinted in the dim light of the throne room. The slight wear to the fabric around the arms. Dreams were often vague, even half-formed, because mortals struggled to shape the Dreaming. But Dream suspected he'd find a perfect match to this chair if he were to visit her home.

"Clay is never ruined for having been used for creation. However, some do not take kindly to their working being- repurposed. But that is what I brought you here to discuss."

She gave him a nod, "I'm listening."

His dark gaze seemed to pierce her, "You are something known as a dream weaver. Historically, dream weavers used their abilities to tether many humans to the same dream."

She blinked at him, expression blank for a long time, "I don't mean any disrespect, but could you be mistaken?"

"I could be, but my sister is almost certainly not."

"Your sister?"

"Death."

She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts that had grown thick and slow.

"Why would you want humans to have the same dreams?"

"Back in the early days of human development, human dreams were chaotic and disorganized. Dream weavers helped drive human development by uniting many humans under the same dream."

"Dreams affect human development?"

That drew a surprising chuckle from the Dream King, "Dreams are human development. The world exists as it is because of dreams- because of the Dreaming." There was a marked note of pride in his voice at that.

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"So like, the depths of the ocean and all the scary stuff down there was all dreamed up by humans?" He nodded. "What about space- the entire greater solar system? Is any of that real?"

"Created by dreams, but very real." She took a moment to process that, stifling a sigh. "You are displeased?" Dream raised a curious brow.

"That's a very human-centric reality. I kind of liked it when we were just little specks of dust among the vastness of the uncharted cosmos."

The corner of his mouth lifted in almost a smile, "You still are. But only because humans have dreamed it so."

"How have we survived this long? It seems to me that human beings have a tendency to destroy more than we create."

"Humans can be very destructive. But they are also very clever. No other species has demomstrated such an capability to dream up solutions to its problems like humans."

"So like, climate change. The solution to all of the pollution, to the whole climate crisis, exists?"

"Not exactly. It may or may not exist now. But it could exist if enough humans were to dream of it."

She rested her head in her palm, forcing a breath; she was starting to get light headed. This was overwhelming. Her next breath did not come as easily as the first, a fact not unnoticed by the Dream King.

"Are you alright?"

"I-" she swallowed hard, trying to get past the lump in her throat, "I think I'm having a panic attack."

Dream calmly reached out and brushed his hand over her forehead, his intent to soothe her distress. Instead, a sharp spike of heat burst through his palm, quickly going icy. He heard her gasp, but couldn't tear his gaze away as the trails of ice left behind dark lines of deep purple criss-crossing over his wrist.

"What the fuck?" Her voice was barely over a whisper, the only evidence of distress the high-pitched strain that overtook her tone. Tearing his eyes from his hand, he saw the same design decorating her hand in a blue so dark it was almost black.

Her wide-eyed gaze flicked up to his, "Did you-" She left the question unfinished, not wanting to make an accusation and unsure of what to ask even if she did.

"No."

"Do you know what this is?"

"No." His voice had gone cold and hard, just like it had been their first time meeting. Her eyes flicked back to the lines marking her skin and Dream saw the panic begin to rekindle in them.

After only a split second of hesitation, he pressed his palm to her forehead again, "Sleep, now. We will speak again soon."

Her eyes grew cloudy, but she fought against his magic with surprising vigor, "No- the- n-nightmares-"

Dream's hand seemed to slide down over her cheek to cup her face of its own accord as her eyes started to glisten with fear, "You will suffer no bad dreams tonight, Dreamweaver."

And as she faded from his realm, her consciousness joining her body in sleep, Death's words about the girl's resilience to seeing inside his head echoed again. But the lines swirling over his wrist stretched from his fingertips all the way up his forearm, nearly to the elbow, demanding his attention. They were delicate, weaving together and knotting at the crossroads between, like a tangle of flower stems and intricate lace. And at the apex of it all, the palm of his hand had an empty circle at the center.

As he stared at the mark on his hand, Dream of the Endless felt something he was neither accustomed to or fond of- he felt lost.

*

"You look like a kicked puppy today, brother," Death remarked, not breaking pace on her way to the next destination. The city street seemed to blur behind her, though her pace appeared normal. Dream's long strides quickly made up the distance, though he said nothing.

Death's raised eyebrow slowly lowered as she noticed the markings on his hand. "It appears that congratulations are in order."

The frown lines on his face only seemed to grow more pronounced.

"Unless-"

"Unless." Dream was unamused.

"Unless you are not pleased to have found your soulmate."

If he were mortal, those words might have rung in his ears, the vibrations enough to make everything he'd known crumble. But they were not enough because he was not mortal and he did not have a soulmate.

"You believe such foolishness, sister?"

"You are so confident it is foolish with the evidence staring you right in the face?"

"This?" He raised his right hand, "This is not evidence. I have never encountered such delusion in any text or reading-"

"And you will not. But if you sought out the people who can remember the farthest back in human history, they would remember."

"If it is so certain, why is it not documented?" Dream sounded annoyed that it was becoming more difficult to be skeptical.

"It is. But it has been changed in writings, splintered and embellished, transformed into something not quite the same. They never quite get it right. But they dream of it. Surely you have seen that."

"I have. Yet I have never met a mortal with markings like this."

Death suppressed a chuckle at his determination to disprove her theory, "I myself have not seen a soul mate marking in a long time. But they exist. I suspected as soon as you'd told me the girl got in your head."

"I suppose that was a sign as well," he mused bitterly.

"Yes, it was. Why are you so determined not to believe, Morpheus? You aren't usually the type to ignore evidence. I thought you would be happy."

"Happy at a cruel joke? Even if I accepted this as truth, it is clearly the result of Desire's interference once again."

Death shook her head, "Soul mates go even beyond Desire."

"Then why is my soul mate a human?" he demanded. "Am I meant to destroy human-kind in my pursuit of happiness, sister?" He knew he was being unfair, demanding such answers from his sister, but he would not allow her to light the hope inside him. He would not have what he wanted, that much he knew.

"Of course you aren't. I don't have all the answers, Dream. But be patient. They will make themselves clear over time."

That was not what he wanted to hear. "Thank you, sister. I must go." And he did, leaving Death alone just as a sigh fell from her lips.

*

All day long, Y/N got remarks about the lines twisting up her wrist. After a night of blissfully peaceful sleep, she woke up feeling refreshed, taking a moment to examine the designs that had followed her from her dreams.

The lines had filled in more since while she slept. What had been dainty lines had thickened to nearly an eighth of an inch- she'd measured. What was more, the deep, rich blue that had made up the original color was deeper now, with glimmers of royal purple, black, and the occasional glint of something golden- like a raven's wings.

The lines seemed to connect at every possible juncture. The empty circle at the heart of her palm seemed like the center, although she didn't quite understand why.

There was a lot she didn't understand; why did she have a tattoo at all? It wasn't exactly normal to wake up with new ink. And based on the Dream King's reaction, it was also not normal for ancient royalty to find themselves with a flash tattoo. But she would hopefully get more answers tonight.

She was embarrassed- mortified actually, at the way she'd freaked out last night. But she had to go back. He'd called her a Dreamweaver, whatever that meant.

But when she climbed into bed that night, she tossed and turned, anxious thoughts keeping her mind active. She felt a strange sense of trepidation whenever she visited the Dreaming; she wasn't exactly in a hurry to piss off the Dream King any more than she already had at their first meeting. But more concerning than the shadow of fear was the sliver of excitement at the prospect of seeing him again.

Despite her efforts to convince herself it was the remnants of the dream, muddling her emotions, even now she could feel his pull. She could practically feel him waiting for her on the other side of her consciousness. And when she finally did drift off to sleep, she never reached a state of rest.

Instead, she found herself seated in the chair she had left behind the night before in the throne room of what she presumed was the Dream Castle. Dream was waiting for her, his throne no longer shrouded in shadow. In fact, the whole throne room was warm and well-lit, her breath catching as she gazed around at the stunning architecture.

"Did you sleep well?" Dream's voice broke her stupor, somehow managing to catch her off guard.

"What?" Her head snapped to the throne, where he was waiting.

She watched the corner of his mouth curl up in a faint smirk, "You were concerned about nightmares, if I recall."

"Oh. No- yes, I um, slept fine." She wasn't sure why she was so flustered.

Dream let out a low hum, "Excellent."

She wasn't sure what to say, especially since Dream hadn't seemed to be in the best temper when she'd been here last. She had questions, starting with what had happened to her arm and ending with what the hell it actually meant to be a Dreamweaver.

"I'm sure you have questions."

She nodded, "A couple, yes."

"I will answer to the best of my ability."

Though her gaze lingered on the marks on her arm, the words that came out were, "What do I need to know about being a Dreamweaver?"

Dream was pensive before answering, "You must remember that the Dreaming, no matter how it responds to you, is my realm. What I say goes." You had to consciously suppress the shiver that wanted to rattle you at the intense way he held your gaze while he spoke.

She nodded, "You mentioned others- who may not take kindly to my abilities."

That elicited another pause, "That question leads to many more questions. Rest assured, I will provide an overview on my siblings, but not tonight."

She bit back the torrent of follow-ups and asked instead, "Are there more like me?"

He gave his head a solemn shake, "There were a great many Dreamweavers at one point in time. But eventually they stopped emerging and died out."

"No immortality then, I take it?" She was only joking, but he shook his head seriously. She suddenly felt shy meeting his eyes, "Are you immortal?"

He cocked his head like he was determining her intentions, "Not as you might think. I am not mortal- I do not age, grow old, or die by natural causes. Though it is exceedingly difficult, I can be killed."

The silence seemed to stretch as she processed what she had just learned. Everything should have seemed overwhelming- she shouldn't believe it. But she could feel the truth of it.

Finally, she held up a clenched fist, her eyes on the dark lines glistening in the light, "What is this?"

Dream was silent for so long that she almost asked again, but he finally said softly, "It is a soul bond."

Her gaze flicked to his eyes; the dancing lights there seemed to be waiting for her reaction. Then it fell to his own left hand, where the matching lines seemed so much more elegant on his pale skin.

"What does that mean?" She asked even though she already suspected.

"I do not know." That caught her off guard; she expected him to know everything. He certainly seemed to know more than she did.

She surprised him by asking, "Is there anything you want to ask me?"

He'd expected her to push for more information. "Have you always had these abilities?"

She offered a chagrined smile, "I didn't even know I had abilities, to be honest."

"You are quite skilled."

He made a vague hand gesture and she wasn't sure what he'd done. Then she caught a glimpse of light above her head, her mouth falling open at the intricate web of silvery white that seemed to hover over her head. She didn't quite understand how she had created this masterpiece of dreams, but she believed him.

It took her a moment to realize that he had paid her a compliment, "Oh- thank you." Her face felt a bit hot. "I have another question." At his nod, she continued, "Will I see you again?"

She couldn't explain it, since his eyes were so difficult to read, but he seemed pleased as he mulled that over, "You are not bound to me; you are free to go back to your life. But should you have need of the Dreaming, it is always here. I trust you can make your way back."

She couldn't place why she felt as though he were flirting with her; he clearly avoided expressing any kind of desire to see her again of his own volition.

She felt the urge to admit she wanted to see him again, grateful to her own good sense for stopping her before the words formed. Dream hadn't spelled out what kind of being he was to her, but she knew he was likely high above whatever a 'soul bond' meant. He was the definition of being out of someone's league.

So she nodded her head, "Thank you, Dream King."

A beat of silence. "Morpheus. You may call me Morpheus."

Her lips curled into a half-smile, "Thank you, Morpheus."

He wasn't prepared for how his name sounded when spoken from her lips. She wasn't prepared for the soft smile that graced his handsome face. Even solemn, he was beautiful. But a smile, faced directly at her- because of her- it was like knowing the sun was shining because of her.

She was so unprepared that she blinked, waking up in her own bed, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. A wave of emotions washed over her; loss, frustration, hope, longing. She felt desperate to fall back asleep, to see that smile grace Morpheus' face again. But if that was going to happen, she would have to go to him.

[always-is-always]

....a little ramble....

Knowing what we now know about Justin Bieber's experiences in the beginnings of his musical "career", and knowing that Scooter is credited with discovering him, my question is this: Did Scooter know what P Diddy was doing to Justin, when he was 15 years old?

When people wonder why I have such a STRONG opinion about Scooter Braun, it is because he is connected to some very dark energies and people in the music business, here in the US.

To think that Jungkook spent any time around him makes me cringe.

The whole system in K-Pop is set up to disempower the artists and to empower their management and labels. When a creep like Scooter is given so much power in that system, it can lead to some really yucky stuff, for the artists. And for the management (who get entangled in the web that people like Scooter weave, to control them), it can be a really difficult situation to remove themselves from. If you know anything about the P Diddy stuff, or the Harvey Weinstein stuff, then you know what I am referring to.

People like Justin and even Brittany Spears are prime examples. They enter the music/entertainment industry as young teens, with no ability to discern or understand what they are presented with. Especially when that dark side of the industry is so well hidden (except when it isn't). It is so freaking sad, what they went through then and what they continue to go through, post-trauma as adults.

This is why I feel as I do regarding BTS or any other K-Pop artist who steps into the music industry here in the US, and gets tangled up with the likes of Scooter and others. I cringe.

Again as I have said in a recent blog post, I am really glad that the guys (Bangtan) are sequestered away in the military (with the exception of Jin's discharge next week!). Especially Jungkook. He had BIG stars in his eyes and such a deep desire and drive to succeed here in the West, last year. I honestly don't think that he really knows just how dark things are, in the industry. Most people here in the States don't know, so I would not expect people in other countries to know, either. Once you know and see, you cannot forget or unsee.

Sometimes I think about what the guys could do after they are discharged, that could free them from the entanglement. As long as they continue to sign the dotted-line of contracts with HYBE, they will be entangled.

Sometimes I think they forget that they have the right to determine their own fate, as Individual Human Beings.... As Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Kim Namjoon, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook.... It is certainly not something that is fully encouraged by their management (BTS the cash cow), and honestly it isn't encouraged by the fandom, either. There is so much PRESSURE on them to be BTS, to live and breath for BTS, and to live and breathe for ARMY.

Who knows what the coming years will bring for them. My hope is that they will navigate with their eyes wide open, and with full knowledge and understanding of the results (on all levels) of doing business with the likes of Scooter and those like him. I hope that they always have protection from those who would pull them into a very dark place that would be hard to escape from. I hope that they will be able to manage themselves at company parties, where booze and drugs can lead to some really horrific experiences. I hope that they never ever have to go through what Justin has gone through, or any of the others that have spoken out about the terrible things that go on behind closed doors in the industry.

Yeah. I hope and pray literally every day, for their protection on all levels.

So this little ramble turned into a big one. Sorry not sorry. I know too much at this point in my life's journey to not feel like I do. I just wish I could wave a wand and put protection around BTS, as well as every other innocent artist that steps into the industry. No one deserves what some have gone through. No one.

With this I'll end. As they say, take what works, and leave what doesn't. This is all just a ramble of words that flow from my mind and heart. I simply want a better industry and overall a better world. And, I want those I love to be protected, at all costs.

In order for things to change, the Light has to Shine upon the darkness. Awareness is that Light.

Take care ya'll. Give your loved ones and extra hug, today.

[pinespittinink]

🌿 pinespittinink reintro 🌿

hello and welcome to my blog 💌 i'm easing myself back into writeblr and hope to meet some new people and continue to vibe as i always have on here. this is not my main blog, so while i may follow you, it won't be from this account. i don't follow or engage with minors; all my work is adult and queernorm unless otherwise indicated.

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a little bit about me: catherine ~ she/her ~ capricorn ~ pan & poly ~ 28 ~ 18+ only ➡  about page ⬅ ​

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i've been around here sporadically since 2018 and always tend to come home; i like prompts and ask games and tags and fun things. i write love stories in sci-fi and fantasy settings, and i'm working towards traditional publishing always. currently i'm querying my adult fantasy standalone, The Great Glavenisean Theater (The Night Circus x House of Leaves). i enjoy writing nsfw content, lush scene setting, and detailed emotional headspaces.

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🖋 my wips 🖋

the great glavenisean theater 🎭 {wip intro} {general tag} spec fic/fantasy standalone. a tailor goes to the big city and gets swept up by a phantasmagorical theater with an interdimensional portal in the stage, gets a crush on a cute guy working the rigging, and maybe starts to lose his mind as shit gets Weird™️

in the deep of the trees 🍃 {wip intro} {general tag} high fantasy, romantic subplot, standalone. (bi4bi otp). a social-climber uses subterfuge, blackmail, and murder to achieve his ambitions, and the court eccentric that he's in love with gets weirder and weirder when a new discovery is brought back by an exploration team.

star white 🌟 {wip intro} {general tag} romantic space fantasy, standalone. (gay otp) one man searches for the love of his life after he's been abducted by sentient dark matter, and spends millions of years travelling through space with a semi-organic AI ship.

solene's verse 🌊 epic fantasy, duology. (t4t otp) a young self-taught wizard makes a ton of bad decisions, as a group of ragtag youths from the cesspit of the world try to rescue the elder brother of one of their own from a tower of cultists.

the revenant (working title) dark fantasy, duology(???? who knows). a one-woman-war-machine who cannot die fights alongside her childhood best friend and lover and their loyal band of vagabonds to bring down the corrupt royalty desecrating their kingdom

the wasteland (working title) weird spec fic/dark fantasy, novella. a lousy hot-tempered fire elemental and a shitty light necromancer embark on the world's worst walking roadtrip to a castle on the wasteland falling away at their feet.

[odyssey solomon's wip - mad max fury road x the road x the locked tomb, post-apocalyptic fantasy. father and son against the world plus a weird shapeshifting bitch]

[gentle poly cathedral wip - romantic fantasy, novella. gargoyles and psalms and stained glass, my beloveds]

[soft poly space wip - romantic sci-fi, duology. androids and black holes and librarians, oh my!]

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🎐tag guide🎐

my writing 🌸 my edits  🌸 my poetry 🌸 sap spill 🌸 {original text posts, not always writing related} uwu romance 🌸 {umbrella tag for everything love and romance related} trope talk🌸 {umbrella tag. overlaps often with uwu romance} character work🌸 {what it says on the tin} compilations🌸 {tumblr web weaving posts} i live here🌸 {stuff i jive with on a molecular level}

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[ Romantic and indulgent prose full of filigree, worlds full of whimsy, mystery and a hint of danger, a core of tenderness rooted at the heart of every story. Your writing is always penned in the manner of a love letter not just to the craft or even as an ode to romance but to the subject of love in itself. ] – @aninkwellofnectar​ 🌹

“for whom / and to whom all this love, / all this light falling.” 

–@ragewrites, Film Still, for pinespittinink. 

[pigswithwings]

hiiii ermmmm how do you make web weaves?

okay so the number one thingy with web weaves is the Central Idea. oftentimes i figure out what exactly i want a web weave to be about While i am making it (because i will find good quotes or something that changes my mind). and also usually the idea is linked to some sort of human experience / humanity in general (such as grief, forgiveness, community, love, superstition)

for example with my most recent web weave i started with the idea of "damn i like robots and angels. also one of my mutuals has recently reminded me of wikipedia web web weaves. why don't we do a wikipedia web weave on the similarity of robots and angels". and that was the whole planning process.

after coming up with the idea, what i usually do is start searching for related or associated concepts. so for angels i looked at articles on divinity, holiness, and religion; for haunted houses i looked at articles on hunger, abandonment, ghosts, etc. you can search wikipedia itself, you can find good links to articles through wikipedia citations, you can look through academic journals, you can search up old poems about (topic), you can write your own poetry and put that in, too - there are lots of different ways to find good material.

since my web weaves tend to focus on the Feeling or Emotion of a concept, i try to avoid statistics or data and instead look for how different people describe things. like in wikipedia i sort of ignore the research parts and instead look at theories/summaries and pick out any .interesting lines.

not all of them get used - i originally had an idea to work in the concept of Convergent Evolution into the angel/robot web weave (eventually scrapped it in favour of Transcendence) - but you can still find cool stuff like

(From Wikipedia - Sacredness)

and then once you have gathered a good amount of quotes, figure out which ones relate to each other. some of them might talk about different topics but use the same words / vocabulary, some of them you might want to contrast instead. i recommend looking through all of what you've found and figuring out what theme or tone you like best, then removing extraneous lines and looking for any more quotes/poem/images that are needed.

this is just a general description of how i do it, there's not a standard for How To Make Web Weaves but i hope this helps 👍

[russellius]

hello! i know you post a lot of george photos and im kinda new here - what's the protocol on using photos you find on tumblr for edits and web weaves? i know some people are very protective of their photo edits but they also didn't take the photos, the photographers did... so i am just wondering what is the etiquette here. thank you and thanks for posting the most devastating photos of george!

hi! i'm gonna be honest, since the images i use for my edits/web weaves i track down and post myself - so i don't really use images posted by others - this hasn't really crossed my mind!

i also don't browse the fandom enough to know if there's an etiquette or something others tend to follow 🙁 but i'd say if you don't want to bother with the credit stuff, first just try to search for the original photos and edit them for your own web weave etc. idk for others, but in my posts 99% of the time you'll find the photographer credited [pics are usually from getty, motorsportimages or alamy], or the link to the original post, partly for this reason as well.

but honestly, if you find an image, like it, and transform it enough for your own edit, i doubt the op would care too much. if you feel like that's an edited image already, or something you haven't seen posted anywhere else, ask them if they can send you the original photo for an edit/web weave, or if they want to be credited in the post etc, because like you said, everyone has different preferences. some will want to be credited, others won't mind if you use their stuff. my web weaves also tend to be quite lengthy, but if you are using only a few images, crediting the few original posters wouldn't be too time-consuming :)

i know it's a difficult thing, because yeah of course the photos belong to the photographers, so i often feel shitty enough for spamming them on here lol, but at the same time, people do work a lot on running these blogs, finding the best shots, posting and editing them, so it's understandable they are a little protective of their content.

i'm sorry i couldn't be of much help! 😭 but thank you for your kind words, glad you like the blog!

[mintacle]

So you want to make one of those neat little posts with the images and the texts that read like a poem and have an overarching theme, but you don't even know what they're called, let alone how to do them. This post is your sign from God (me) to make one because I love them so much and also some tips on what I do.

1. What are these things even called? these are called web weaves or web weavings and as far as I'm aware their pretty much only on tumblr rn.

2. What kind of things can I use? Literally anything. The more various your scources, the cooler. You can use peoms, books, lyrics. Paintings, Graphics, photos, stills. Messages, posts, asks, comments. I especially love to use posts or messages etc. that someone posted in a very mundane manner and elevating it with the web weave and acknowledging the poetry in our everyday life.

3. How do I put it together? I first gather all the material I want to use into one draft, then I rearrange over and over again and see what effect it has on me. The main method I use to judge whether I am satisfied with my web weave is if it has an effect on me. If not, then I rework it again and again.

4. But how do I even start my first one? So, I have a folder with close to 300pics of potential material for web weaves. My advice is to start gathering your own stuff, take screenshots of literally anything that makes you feel stuff. Keep your eyes open in the real world for graffiti or bathroom stall scribbles that make you feel something. Poetry is just words that mean more than just their content and that is present everywhere.

5. Should I title my webweave? I prefer to give my web weaves a title or short caption, because it makes it easier to understand the theme. Themes can be anything, from vague concepts like "love" or "guilt" to very specific things like "I wear headphones all the time because I was screamed at so much, I never want to be screamed at again, I need a voice screaming at me all the time." Art speaks for itself, but titles often still help your audience understand the register of your art to even know how to listen.

6. Sources. I'm really bad at this one. Try to take screenshots in which you include the source you got it from. It's good practice to list all the sources in order at the end of the webweave. But often I end up with webweaves of which there are at least half of the screenshots I don't even remember where I got from. The oy thing I think is absolutely inacceptable is using someone else's post or art without asking for permission and crediting them.

Ok, I can't think of anything else rn, but ask box is open (as always) and if anyone wants some pointers do not hesitate to message me either, I am crazy about web weaves and will absolutely support anyone who wants to try their own hand at one.

[mediawhorefics]

6 7 and 10

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

i've got 2 i guess ? my main fear about my writing is that it's boring/that my pacing is too slow. my darkest fear about my writing is probably that i don't have anything left in me to say and that maybe we all have only one good creative thing in us and mine was tts and i'm never gonna write anything that has meaning ever again. and i guess i'm also afraid that i'll never manage to make the jump for fic to original fiction because i'm not good enough.

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

i mean i love when i get to put something to paper that rings really true and authentic to me and then have people respond to it ? and relate to it? and kind of having that moment with people where we're all sharing a thought or an emotion and it doesn't really matter how different we might be, we're kinda bonded in that moment ? i also loooooooooove creating vibes and atmospheres for stories ? like making moodboards for settings and characters and overall story and weave this little cohesive atmospheric web that's gonna be tangled throughout the whole thing ? i love doing that. beyond having an outline for a story, it's the second most important thing to me as a point of reference to make sure i'm staying authentic to the overall vision i have in mind.

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

i mean........... sure? i think tts probably has haunted me in some way. as per my answer to the first question you asked lmao. it's not necessarily a bad thing but that fic blew up in a way that was kind overwhelming after the adore you mv came out. lovely, but overwhelming. and it often makes me question a lot of stuff, yk? does it even deserve that kind of attention? am i good enough to deserve it ? is the story good enough? and if it is, is it just a fluke ? am i ever gonna write anything half as good ever again? should i even try? i feel like that fic answered a very personal question for me, just thematically, and ever since i've been wondering what else i even want to write about? or if i even have anything to say ? i don't know... people have tattoos inspired by that fic yk? and that's incredible and it means so much to me, but imposter syndrome is real y'all. so yeah, it's hard not to feel its presence yk. is that stupid ? idk it might be stupid.

weird writer questions

[aworldforastage]

魂兵之戈/"Jiang Chao Ge and the Spirit Weapon" by Shui Qian Cheng

I can't believe this is my 10th SQC novel!

I always thought of SQC as the queen of dogblood scum gong crematoriums novels angsty urban romantic drama, but her action-adventure stuff is surprisingly fun and engaging!

Synopsis

Ruthless businessman Jiang Chaoge accidentally gets transported to an alternate universe that is built around Spirit Weapons. In this universe, the spirits of everything from mice to mythical beasts can be sealed into items made from their remains, and then summoned in their full form to perform the bidding of compatible humans who have special spirit powers.

(Someone on Weibo called it "Shaman King but with monsters from Chinese Mythology" and I can't stop about the story any other way now.)

Jiang Chaoge unwittingly proves himself to be compatible with a highly-coveted spirit weapon. He must figure out how to cultivate spirit powers, survive in this new world, defend against others who also want his spirit weapon, all while looking after an ill-tempered mythical spirit in the body of the most unruly toddler, whose real identity is his gong seems to be much more troubling that he already seems.

Hoping to return to his own world, Jiang Chaoge embarks on a dangerous mission with a gang of new friends, and eventually discovers the terrible secrets that may seal the fates of both worlds.

What I like about the story

Complex (and a little sue-ish) protagonist. Jiang Chaoge is a machiavellian business man, always analyzing the situation and trying to find the best deals for himself. He is an orphan street rat who had to learn to be ruthless to survive, and continues to be cynical, suspicious, manipulative, and unapologetically self-centered. He uses his street-smarts, business skills, and high EQ to cultivate useful friendships and quickly build a comfortable life for himself in this new and dangerous world. He also becomes the brain and emotional core among his companions, whom he chose carefully for their talent and usefulness. However, over the course of the story, his band of mutually-beneficial acquaintances become real friends. I don't always like it when a character who is alleged flawed (e.g. calculating and self-centered) but never demonstrate for face any negative consequences for it (e.g. betray or lose the trust of his friends.) However, Jiang Chaoge manages that balance that keeps him both interesting and sympathetic.

Intriguing plot. We start with Jiang Chaoge exploring an alternate world as a transmigrator, learning its rules while trying to make a living and return home. However, only the most powerful beings in this universe have the power to send him back home, and Jiang Chaoge must find and bargain with increasingly powerful and dangerous entities -- from the High Priest of the land to the most powerful of beast spirits. All of them have their own secrets and agendas, which involves finding god-like powers that are only known to the mystical beast spirits, and discovering the terrible truths and bitters betrayals from the ancient battles that killed all the mythical beasts millennia ago.

A dynamic supporting cast. A heroic prince a bit too idealistic for his own good. A teenage trafficked slave-turned-bounty hunter who wants to return home. A feudal lord's illegitimate daughter who wants a free life on her own terms. An introverted genius who, ironically, got tricked into joining the most dangerous journey due to his anxiety and OCD. And a curious local explorer who final leaves home. Each one of them has (or eventually gets) a spirit beast, who are their most important allies in battle, and are also simultaneously their most complicated and most important relationship.

Friendships! The main gang initially only came together due to a web of mutually-beneficial incentives weaved together by Jiang Chaoge. Most of them are loners who do not easily trust people, but the friendship between them develops gradually and organically as they help each other through life-and-death situations. I especially love this development in Jiang Chaoge, who gets to feel missed, loved, and taken care of despite his harsh upbringing, and learns to feel this way for others. We also see the interesting friendships and frenemy-ships between the legendary mythical beasts, who have known each other since the literal dawn of time so their relationships can't be not-complicated.

The implications of spirit weapons and spirits beasts. The high-level spirit weapons wielded by the main cast are made from the souls of mythical beasts who have cultivated human-level sentience. Naturally, they have *feelings* about being killed and made into a weapon for perpetuity. Even if the spirit and wielder can get along, the relationship is inherently unequal on every front: a living human vs a dead beast, a mortal human vs a immortal spirit, the fragile source of power vs the fierce creature who can maximize the power's potential. The more energy a spirit receive from their human wielder, the more powerful they become in battle, and the greater their chance of reversing the relationship -- using the human's spirit energy to return to life and turn the human into a spirit weapon instead.

Further complicating this dynamic is the fact that a spirit weapon can formally bond with its wielder. No one else can use this weapon while the current wielder lives, and the spirit becomes one of the most important relationships that will last for the rest of that human's life. A bonding can be achieved through an exchange of blood or sexual intercourse, and of course the second option is very relevant to the plot and the main couple.

On the other hand

The main relationship is not boring or unpleasant, but it's just not to my taste. The gong is fierce and protective in his love, but also has the temper, maturity, and sometimes the intelligence of a petulant child despite having lived for millennia. This makes for a lot of great comedy and fun interactions with the protagonist, and I really like seeing them gradually becoming friends, but the romantic component didn't feel too compelling to me. However, I love the conflict this couple get into later on in the novel, which is a bit cheesy and cliched but also plays perfectly off the character flaws they already exhibited in the story.

The rushed ending left many loose ends in the plot. I read that the author originally planned for a much longer story, but a host of problems with the platform and censorship hampered her writing. Some characters and couples are left in awkward or unsatisfying places in the narrative, if not downright forgotten, so it feels like their story has not been in explored in full. The climactic battle itself is one shocking reveal after another; and it feels a bit like an info-dump that has dragged on for too long. The ending is technically happy, but I think it's a bit silly and leaves a lot of problems open in the future.

Finally, while SQC is incredibly skilled at crafting emotionally complex stories and character, and the action feels very tight from scene to scene, I feel like the story is still missing several important pieces that keeps it from being super-amazing. So many interesting story elements are left under-explored, like the powerful anti-monarchist secret society, the complicated power dynamics between spirit weapons and their wielders, the other nations/continents in the alternate world, the pseudo-immortality of spirit beasts, and what do you mean we don't have another 50K of extras picking apart Yin Chuan's tragic relationship with Di Jiang and Yuren Shu's complicated dynamic with Tian Rong?!

P.S. This story has no explicit smut scenes, kind of a real shock considering this is SQC's work ...

Overall

This is a story with a refreshing concept/premise, good writing, fun characters, deep relationships, and very creative plot and use of Chinese mythology. However, it leaves me with a "4/5" kind of feeling, because even though there are so many good things about it, I feel like it just left so much unexplored.

It's like looking at a really interesting painting, but with areas that are incomplete and some patches done very roughly compared to the rest. I have high expectations because the artist created such a wonderful sketch and did so well on most of it -- but it's still one of the most best works I have seen recently.

Finally,

I discovered this story through its audiodrama, which is surprisingly very good and unsurprisingly not reaching that many people. Season 1 covered half the novel, and I hope the word spreads so we get a second season to complete the story.

The theme song -- a rock song with Chinese instrumentals -- has also been stuck in my head on and off for weeks now ~~

[castielsparkle]

hi! I love your web weaving posts. how do you usually go about collecting stuff for a specific web weave? I usually just use two sources, but I want to weave together multiple sources and I don't want to just go on like. google image search. and be unable to find out who actually owns what I'm weaving. you know?

hii!!! first off THANK U SO MUCH!!! that means so much to me that people like my work ahh!! ;__; thank uu!! so! i believe ikwym!! i have been thinking very hard about how to respond to this one eheh bc tbh when i webweave i am. struck with a concept. and then i black out for three hours and suddenly i have a new post on tumblr under the webweaving + spn tags :'). (/j but tbh i rlly do not know how to explain my process coherently so hopefully this will suffice aksjnda<3)

some things that i do that might help!!:

so, first off, i follow a lot of like 'aesthetic' blogs and tags! so accs that post poetry with like, credit attributed to them, and i also follow photography accounts that post stuff w credit that i might use! this one can be kind of. particular! given what you typically want to weave webs abt eheh. i follow tags like nature for example bc a lot of people post stuff i might use in there! the best way id recommend scouting for these is like, if you were to look for perhaps dog photos, going through tags about nature, photography, dogs, canine photography, wildlife, etc. the tumblr acc antiqueanimals is one i rlly like for stuff like that! and then if you find one good blog just going through the accs they rb from, accs recommended that are like them, the tags they use, etc!

another thing! if i have a vague concept or even something i just might wanna expand on, i will write down somewhere (notes app, a private discord channel for keeping things in one place, a google doc etc whatever u wanna use!) keywords, lyrics, quotes, certain episodes of tv etc. they can be whatever really as long as they make sense to u!! i also tend to keep folders of various art (lyrics, quotes, poetry, drawings, photos) w their credit when they 'stick out' to me, and if i cant find the credit then usually saving whatever it is and then reverse image searching online can help really well too!! or searching keywords of the image that might stick out!

also for spn editors in particular!:

also this one is rather tedious however. sometimes i will go through like. the transcripts and just ctrl+f search phrases and stuff akjsnda. lots and lots of google searches w specific keywords however i feel like the link above probably eliminates that, i havent used it for a webweave yet but it looked cool! however the other method i use w the link below \/

i hope this was at least a little helpful!! :' D sorry its very scattered askjnda,, a lot of it is honestly just entering tons of keywords on like,, browser image search + tumblr tags/blogs + pinterest and hoping for the best and reverse image searching stuff to find the source lol. my process is very all over the place so hopefully this is a more understandable concise version of it!!<3 thank u again so so much for the ask have fun webweaving!!!<3

[angxlictexrs]

basic info: cis, she/her, 21, mexican and a little bit of a mess!!

eo, i'm angxlictexrs and i welcome you to my blog! i'm just your average tumblr user trying to not succumb to the horrors soooo

before you decide to stalk/follow/interact:

this is my main blog! and, as you can see, it's a bit of a mess (yet i love her for it).

i speak both spanish and english (and a bit of french, sometimes) so be free to interact in whichever language you prefer!

i come by from time to time to reblog or interact with fandom stuff, so don't be surprised if i suddenly reblog a lot and then disappear for months!

i sometimes post one or two cringey posts of my own so be prepared for that i guess.

btw, i'm a serial reblogger soo if that's something that bothers you, sorry in advance!

but i also mostly queue, so if you see me reblog a bunch of stuff constantly, that doesn't mean i'm actually active.

my fandom has like a shit ton of fandoms so be my guest, i guess!!

i'm trying to organize my blog and keep it at least a little bit neat so this post will sorta function as a vessel for my (main) tags! sooo i'll be constantly editing this part.

but also....

i'm open to friends and asks! so if you feel like it, you're free to send me a DM or an ask (anon or not). i'll make sure to answer them as quickly as possible!

don't be afraid to send me your thoughts or anything you wanna share!!

but tumblr is no friend sometimes, and eats or doesn't send me notifications, so please don't be mad if i don't reply!

tho i will ignore/block you if you get creepy!!

D N I : minors (i will post nsft content from time to time), terfs/swerfs, racists, xenophobes and bigoted people in general

anyway....

currently watching: succession / the last of us / ...

currently reading: balún canán / the song of achilles

currently obssesed with: wuthering heights / mitski / persuasion / battinson, robert pattinson('s filmography) / the batman (2023) / portrait of a lady on fire — portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019) / succession / pedro pascal / web weaving + parallels / ...

[irrealisms]

as i mentioned in another post about this bracket:

first off, this has been insane, as an eclipse federation fan. lifesteal is NOT a large fandom--it's not as small as many, but just to get this far in a cross-SMP tournament has been insane.

so, if you're intrigued by how well we've been doing and are interested in checking lifesteal out, i have some resources for that!

eclipse federation is from s4 of lifesteal. each season is basically completely independent of each other, aside from occasional references, and each takes place on a different world (so, more like empires/hermitcraft/traffic life seasons than dsmp ‘seasons’). if you're interested in lifesteal generally speaking, aroaceacacia as a playlist with Literally Every Lifesteal S4 video, which is how I personally got into the fandom for it; that said, while this is the most Complete way to get into lifesteal s4, it’s quite long (50ish hours), and most lifesteal videos will typically explain the premise of the server, relevant characters or events, etc., in every video, so you can also jump around or start halfway through or generally speaking do whatever you want and you’ll do fine. There’s also the “choose a POV and watch start to finish from that POV” strategy, which also works! eclipse federation consists of PrinceZam (lifesteal s4 playlist), ItzSubz (lifesteal s4 playlist), and Vitalasy (lifesteal s4 playlist).

HOWEVER, not only this, but I’ve actually created a couple propaganda playlists for this tournament specifically, to help people who want to get into Eclipse Federation specifically!

Here’s the short version of the playlist for Eclipse Federation, which includes only their official edited videos, starting with Zam’s betrayal of Team Awesome and continuing through the finale. It’s also got a few videos not by them that serve as backstory, context, or which affect some of the eclipse federation members but not all of them. It’s 6 hours total, and with a fairly short average video length (15 minutes).

Here’s the longer version of the playlist for Eclipse Federation, which includes a mix of their edited videos, my favorite VODs, and fan-edited clips of VODs. Because it includes VODs, it’s got the most content and context, but it’s also significantly longer (35 hours total) and has the longest average video length (about an hour, but there’s a huge variation, since it’s a mix of 15-minute videos and 3-hour VODs). There are cinematics in this one (wings of freedom + pits of hell)! Check them out!!

(You may notice that this is labeled the 'medium’ playlist. The 'long’ one is one for my personal use; it has 150+ hours of exclusively VODs and assumes you have pretty extensive context on lifesteal, so I’m not linking it here.)

I will also add, as a content warning for both playlists: the story of eclipse federation draws very heavily on themes of in-game suicidality, suicide, and grief; c!Subz and c!Vitalasy both kill themselves in very plot-relevant ways, c!Vitalasy’s suicide is made fun of by other server members and seen as him “just doing it for attention”, and c!Zam is frequently suicidal, consistently takes actions with a reckless disregard for his own life, and attempts (but does not complete) suicide. Vitalasy also has moments of being OOC upset over how things are going IC, which personally got to me at times.

I also wrote a fic for Round 3, made a collage for Round 4, and I'm currently working on another fic for Round 5. What will I do for Round 6, if we get there, or if we win? Who knows! If you vote for us, maybe you'll find out!

On the other hand: if you're following me for dsmp, or even for tma or the silmarillion, and are tired of me creating stuff for these guys you don't know or care about, send me proof that you voted for eclipse federation and I'll make you a moodboard of your request. Vote for us more than once (with proof) and I'll make you a web weave, doodle, or minific. from the notes, @void-chara is also offering doodle requests for anyone who submits proof of voting eclipse federation!

in conclusion. please vote eclipse federation. they tried so, so hard to make it work, because they cared about each other, so, so, so much. and it didn't work. they fell apart, they destroyed themselves and each other, over and over again. but they never stopped trying, and they never stopped loving each other.

SEMI-FINALS

PROPAGANDA:

Familoier:

I CANT SPEND THE NEXT HOUR TYPING

THE TRIO OF ALL TIME TRULY- ALL 3 OF THEM LOVE AND CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER SO MUCH- LIKE ROIER AND CELLBIT ARE MARREID YEAH BUT THEY STILL CONSIDER JAIDEN PART OF THEIR FAMILY SHE IS IMPORTANT TO THEM AND THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO HER- ROIER AND JAIDEN WILL ALWAYS BE PARTNERS NO MATTER WHAT

theee relationship of all time: roier is husbands with cellbit and jaiden is his qpp, they are all so caring for each other and they have had their tension and their bad moments but there's a genuine want to communicate and grow better all the time :( <3

Cellbit and Roier are romantic married, Roier and Jaiden were platonic partners raising a child together, and all 3 are chaos together! But get along so so well! They support each other so much and care about each other so deeply and they are all Sillies

this is jaiden, and this is jaiden's partner/ the father of her child roier, and this is roier's cannibal husband cellbit

Eclipse Federation:

i dont like them. they ruined my life. Subz and Vitalasy had already partnered in previous seasons but this one, Vitalasy ended up leaving for a few months, leaving Subz alone, and Zam ended up getting close to him after immense trauma at the hands of his former teammates. Zam has done SO many wrongs, including to Subz himself and Subz STILL took him in and made him join Eclipse Federation after Zam died 14 times in a row and got banned then revived by the same player who's been killing him all this time. And it could've been perfect but no, Zam had betrayed his previous team due to them using dupes via exploits, and now Eclipse Federation ALSO has exploits! And he decided that yeah his morals were more important than being loved! And so he murders Vitalasy when he's at his most vulnerable point, lets everyone gaslight him into thinking Vitalasy is an irredeemable evil monster who will never change, even as Vitalasy SAID he was ready to change before the betrayal even happened, Eclipse threw out their whole revenge plans because of Zam's positive influence and he just broke everything. Subz couldn't be with Zam but also couldn't see himself at Vitalasy's side, leaving him alone. Vitalasy hated Zam and yet never killed him or hunted him down, despite Zam acting like he did. And when Vitalasy left, banning himself off from the server, Zam had some time alone to think and realized he fucked up SOOOO bad. And Subz revived Vitalasy and told him to kill him. And ban him. His last wish. His Deliverance. And to make up with Zam. And Vitalasy tried, and they kind of did make up over Subz's death, but then Zam was like "actually im going to kill everyone and destroy the server now. because i want subz back and also because i always do extremely drastic things when i don't need to because i have unchecked mental illnesses i refuse to get help for". And surprisingly when Subz came back he didn't like that! And they ended in tragedy! Eclipse is fucked up. It's a trio that's always about the absence of one person, it's a team that could only happen in one timeline and it was doomed from the very start. But the love was there. It made everything worse, truthfully. But it was there. And that matters. Also as a fun fact Zam himself on twitter has referred to eclipse as a throuple, which is not canon but that's pretty funny. he also stated on stream he didn't want to get therapy because it'd ruin his lifesteal character. and there was a saga where they would "marry" (challenge lost kinda shenanigans) and zam was the only one happy about it. he's not normal. there's something wrong with him. love that for him though sorry for the block of text. I really dislike them. They're my beloveds :3

[hawksugarbaby]

Dabi x reader- slumber

Fluff + Platonic

You liked being at the forefront of people's dreams. You liked creeping into their lives to weave the perfect story while they recharge their batteries and let you wander. You pieced together what they saw that day and judged whether they woke up soaked in cold sweat or clawing their way back to what you'd written for them while they slept knowing it was a futile attempt.

Writing nightmares made you feel guilty though. It wasn't like you wanted your sleepers to feel afraid to go to bed but if there was nothing there for you to use but bad memories all you could give them were bad dreams. There was one man you rarely saw. He mustn't have slept often because you couldn't even sense him sleeping when you were creating the dreams.

In his dreams he had white hair at the roots but ash covered his locks making it black and matted. He was pale and skinny and tall. He had garrish burned skin across his body. You were sure you were the only one who had seen them in some places, he didn't want to show his body to other people since he spent so much of his memories angrily fixing himself in front of mirrors. And his past of course was filled with flames and hands and uncontrollable power so all you could do for him every time was write him a nightmare. He must have been a criminal you assumed from the stuff you'd seen but you still felt bad.

One night though you were creeping around weaving together his memories in the loom of chaos when another head popped up next to you shaking away the cloud around his head. "AGHHHH!" You screamed, slapping his face away and clutching the threads close to your chest.

"What the hell!"

"ARE YOU LUCID RIGHT NOW WHAT THE FRICK" you screeched at the man who was definitely the one dreaming.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! WHY ARE YOU IN MY DREAM" his voice was loud enough you could feel it in your rib cage. Jumping around crazily and bullying your heart to beat faster. You were certainly startled by the man appearing next to you so suddenly.

"I make the dreams dummy. Or in your case the-"

"Nightmares yeah I know. So can I fix that somewhere? is there a complaints box?" His footsteps fell into a pace to keep up with you on your cloud, braiding the memories together and he pinged one of the threads like a guitar string.

"What no there's not a complaints box why would there be a complaints box"

"Uh so I can complain?"

You snickered and rolled your eyes deciding to focus most of your time on weaving his nightmare. "Can't complain dummy"

He cringed disliking that you refused to swear and pinged at the long web you'd knit in front of you. It felt saccharine in this dream land. "What, I can't complain about my own dream? Sounds biased as hell and only in your favor"

You groaned and shook your head. "I can't make you good dreams. You don't have any good memories. I can only use memories I have to make dreams. Maybe be a better person first" you scoffed and if you could you would fly away but you had to stay on one path until the dream was finished despite him lucid dreaming.

"Pff I have good memories. Just last week I had a really good burger" he hummed in satisfaction praying to have another burger that good next week. "And, pissing off my dad was pretty cool, he doesn't know he's my dad he's so stupid." A small sigh escaped your lungs and his eyes quickly darted to you with a cocked eyebrow "what are they not good enough for you?"

"Quite literally no"

"What how no-"

You answered before he finished the question. "Because they have nothing to sustain them." a dumbfounded look fell over his face then switched to annoyance. "You can't expect me to use 2 good memories out of 20 bad ones and still expect a good dream? And their hardly memories, eating a burger is a moment, it's a different thing. Do good things that don't traumatise you, have good memories and then come back to me"

He huffed and dipped back under the cloud and you flew away to the next sleeper.

The next day you were back in Dabi's head. Expecting nothing but bad once again, or maybe he would be there waiting for you to critique your weaving, judge your expertise but no you were greeted with usual memories.

Apart for one.

Him, in a puffy, shredded, black jacket with stuffing pouring out the quilting. Sitting down in an alleyway next to a bin which was pretty disgusting. And it didn't look like much to you before you'd waited a few more seconds and a puppy came running down the alley searching for food, a tiny little sheltie sniffing the cracks and corners for something to fill it's belly. And the sleeping man pulled a burger out of the bin and shook it, getting the puppies attention.

The dog took kindly to dabi and made itself comfy in his lap eating small pieces of burger meat at a time dabi made sure to break it up so the dog wouldn't choke. "Strays like us gotta stick together." he says and pulls off his jacket making a wair pile out of it and putting the puppy in it. "This is a bed. You might not realise it but a good bed gives you something to come back to at the end of the day. It's not a great house, but it can become a good home"

"That's sweet of him" you smile and pull that memory to weave into the dream.

And night after night you would see more and more good memories you could make into better, and finally good dreams you like putting together. He wasn't a good person by that time, still a villain, still a killer, but he did enough other stuff that was good that meant you could make a good dream. And you thoroughly enjoyed watching that puppy every day.

And then his head popped up through the clouds again.

"Here to complain?" you smirk and he walks along with you.

"Nah, just, thanks for the good dreams I guess" he shrugs and tries shoving his hands into his pockets then realises he's in his pyjamas which don't have pockets.

"Well I actually have material now. Which is nice" you smile and lower the cloud you were floating on so he could sit on it and dangle his feet off the edge which he accepted. "I like the dog"

"Yeah. me too"

⊹ .˳⁺⁎˚ ˚⁎⁺˳. ⊹ ⊹ .˳⁺⁎˚ ꒰ఎ ☆ ໒꒱ ˚⁎⁺˳. ⊹  ⊹ .˳⁺⁎˚  ⊹ ⊹ .˳⁺⁎⊹

Read more here!

(Its usually better than this!)

[tubbos-kin-cottage]

Hello and welcome to Tubbos Kin Cottage !!

Request status :: Open !

Under the cut for admin and request info!

I do mostly kin stuff, but i gladly take introject and da/irl stuff!

My own kin timeline info

Like when read!

Also quick DNI!

Anti kin (your source is none of my business, but i don't do cc! requests), Anti microlabels and such, Terfs/Tehms (your streamers hate you), Syscourse/Discourse in general. Proshippers/Truthers dont interact. Will be updated as I see fit.

Admin !

Hi! I'm the only admin here, and I go by Tubbo / George / Techno ! I am a minor, but will not be specifying age ! I use he/it + neos (to be linked soon). I mainly kin Tubbo, George and Techno but I am okay with doubles!

Requests !

I know DSMP + Origins SMP (somewhat) the best, but I am willing to give anything a shot, though the quailty of the finished product may be bad.

Stimboards :: Will do! (I will turn down requests for food to be included.)

Moodboards :: Will do!

Playlists :: Will do! (Mostly spotify playlists, but if asked I will try to do a youtube playlist.)

Icons :: Will do!

Drawings :: Will do! (May be picky + I have artblock so,, yeah.)

Neopronouns coining :: Will do!

Canon calls / Kinfessions :: Will do!

Headcanons :: Will do!

Web weavings :: Will do! (I'm better with just lyric ones, but I'll try my best!)

Userboxes :: Will do!

Lgbtq/MOGAI icons/hcs :: Will do!

Pendulums :: Wont do!

Carekits :: Wont do!

More to be added as time goes on!

Things in the tags are tags I use, and shall be updated when its time !!