#centennial husbands big bang 2024

[rexwrendraws]

[AO3 LINK] 🪸 My illustration for Hell or High Water by @teejaystumbles for @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang !! I was super, super excited to illustrate for this fic, check it out for some very cool Little-Mermaid-meets-Innsmouth Dreamling vibes 🌊 :D

[moorishflower]

Us and the Moon (Dream/Hob, werewolf AU, COMPLETE)

Us and the Moon || Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling || Chapters 4 of 7 || Explicit

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Werewolves, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus has PTSD, POV Hob Gadling, Story within a Story, Child Death, Minor Eleanor | Hob Gadling's Wife/Hob Gadling, PiningCanon-Typical Angst, Happy Ending, Historical References, Canon Retelling, Drowning, References to the Slave Trade, Confessions, Traumatized Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling Loves Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Scent Kink, Anal Fingering

Somehow, it always feels like Hob is meeting his oldest friend around the night of the full moon. It's been six centuries since Hob got the bite that turned him into a werewolf, and in all that time he's somehow managed to dance around telling Dream the truth. Tonight, though, he's determined to have out with it. The whole story, finally laid on the table…minus, of course, the part where he's been in love with Dream since at least the 1400s. No, that part can stay safely locked up for the rest of eternity as far as he's concerned. He's only just gotten Dream back into his life, and he doesn't dare ruin it any more than he already did in 1889. The werewolf thing, though, that's easy.

Read it on AO3 here! Currently chapters 1 and 2 are up

Thanks to the mods at @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang for all their hard work, my awesome artist @wolfgirl-valentine, and @dsudis for the beta! Please go check out the art by Wolffie, it's AMAZING and beautiful and so much effort went into each piece <3

[wolfgirl-valentine]

"He'd been able to give her one of those things at least, at the next full moon, and she had stroked his ears and petted his muzzle, and she had fed him little bits of raw venison, and he had fallen asleep beside her just as the moon was beginning to sink and it had been the happiest he could remember being in a very long time."

Second piece inspired by @moorishflower fic "Us and the Moon" !!!!!

[delta-pavonis]

(K)night Rhythms AU: Quaternion

banner by me (using 4D fractal art by Elsamuko)

Dreamling (drummer/dancer AU + king/knight AU) || Rated E || complete

Alternate Universe (fantasy), dancer!Dream, drummer!Hob, King!Dream, Knight!Hob, dom!Dream, sub!Hob, top!Hob, bottom!Dream, bet you didn't realize this was all in the same universe, established relationships, doppelganger, doppelcest, foursome - m/m/m/m, is fucking someone who looks like you masturbation or narcissism?, asking for a friend, BDSM, harness, bridle, pony play (eh, kinda), anal sex, dildos, anal plug, cock rings, cock & ball torture, rope bondage, orgasm delay/denial, orgasm control, multiple orgasms, dirty talk, exhibitionism, cock slut, ass to mouth, deepthroating, overstimulation, cowgirl position, rimming, cum eating, swordplay is foreplay, blow jobs, oral sex, rough oral sex, public blow jobs, finger sucking, coming in pants, additional warnings in author's notes on AO3

Read on AO3

For the Centennial Husbands Big Bang 2024! @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang Including FANTASTIC STUNNING ART by @ambarden for the Bang and more GORGEOUS AMAZING ART by @flaielis that was commissioned and completed last fall. I am overwhelmed by these works and I adore them to pieces.

[bazzybelle]

Don't You Look Good In Red

TITLE: Don't You Look Good In Red

RATING: Mature

WORD COUNT: 80K

SUMMARY: 

Hob Gadling is a broken man. He’s been a broken man since the head of an up-and-coming mob family murdered his wife in cold blood and left him for dead. For the last five years, he’s been away from the city, training and planning to bring that man’s empire down piece by piece. Hoping to do whatever it takes to allow his wife to finally rest in peace. But when he meets a shy, sweet, and fascinating man at the local pub, he begins to re-evaluate his thirst for vengeance. Maybe he can go back to who he used to be. Maybe he can allow love back into his life. Maybe he can find a way to be whole again. Or die trying.

Special thank you to my INCREDIBLE artist, @kitsune2022-artish for creating the BEAUTIFUL artwork you see linked below. They have perfectly captured the vibes of the fic within their suspense-filled movie poster creation. It was an honour working with you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Here is the link to their AMAZING ART!!

More notes and thank yous tagged below!

NOTES: After changing my idea right as signups closed and then writing 80k words in like 3 months, I am excited to FINALLY share my fic for @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang.

I am SO proud of this fic. It's been one of my favourite fics to write, and I hope you all enjoy it. For the friends in the Sadman server who were all screaming about "Reacher", you guys do not know how difficult it was for me to keep my mouth shut as you were all begging for more Badass Hob, more Fighter Hob, more Snarky Fucker Hob.

I hope this fic scratches that itch for you.

All the thanks and love for the Mods involved with CHBB! You guys have all worked your butts off to make sure this event ran as smoothly as possible. You were all so supportive and kind and encouraging. Thank you to my assigned Mod, @spockandthings for being so kind and reassuring and willing to lend a helping hand.

Thank you to my amazing Alpha-readers, @ginjones and @purplesauris, as well as my Beta-reader, @garnetcapricorn.

Finally, thank you to my friends over at The Sadman server, for all of your love and support and for welcoming me into the community. Thank you to the Shaxberd Sprint group for fighting against lack of motivation and stress with me. We did it, friends!!

The title of this fic, as well as the titles of the chapters were taken from the lyrics of the song Good in Red by The Midnight. I HIGHLY suggest looking them up on Spotify, because they are amazing!

[best-wishes]

Don’t Look Back

Hi everyone! I have not been very active lately, mostly because I was very busy trying to finish my first ever Big Bang Fic. And I have!

It’s not my best work, but the challenge was to write consistently with a deadline, and I’m still glad that I wrote nearly a 60k words story in about three months.

And as it is a Big Bang, I got marvellous art from @watercubebee to illustrate the fic! Thank you so much!

This is a story in 8 parts of unequal length. I’ll post the entire text in 8 posts today and tomorrow on tumblr, but be aware that this version of the text is barely edited (I must warn you that English is not my first language. I’m doing my best, but it may be weird sometimes). A more polished version will be posted in chapters during the month on AO3. Note that I currently have no beta, so if you want to volunteer for the role, please contact me.

I'll add CW at the start of each post, but mostly, this is a story with repeated Major Character Death.

And last but not least, I want to thank @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang team for organizing this event that is my first ever big bang! They were all very supportive and were a constant positive force to encourage us.

Now, the fic itself:

The AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54196906/chapters/137233165

Original Run

First Iteration

Second Iteration

Third Iteration

Nth Iteration

N+1 Iteration

N+2 Iteration

Epilogue

[the-centennial-husbands-bigbang]

Hello Authors and Artists!

You might have seen the email, but we’re sending it here, too!

As we are nearing the end of the line, we simply wanted to put out a few reminders!

1. The Final Draft due date is on February 25th! If you need an extension, please contact your assigned moderator asap ! Both artists and authors will need to check-in with their assigned moderator about their progress!

2. The posting period is held between March 1rst and March 3rd. Your work needs to be fully available somewhere (whether that's AO3, tumblr, dreamwidth, etc.) on either of those three days. Writers, you can, afterwards, trickle your posting on AO3, for example, as long as your work is fully available by the end of the month. So by March 31rst, your work needs to be fully posted!

2.1. Gearing up for posting, you can submit your work to the event's collection which can be found here : https://archiveofourown.org/collections/CHBB_2024 Please note that the collection is, at the moment, moderated, unrevealed and anonymous. This means that when you submit your work, if it's before March 1rst, it will not appear on your profile, nor on AO3 or the collection page. If you decide to submit early, please note that we will be revealing works en masse on March 1rst, so if you want to post at a later date, you can wait to add your work to the collection - AO3 can hold drafts for up to a month before deletion.

2.2. If you submit early to the collection, please note that you will have to manually change the posting date when works are revealed. This is, unfortunately, because AO3 doesn't let you "time travel" (a shame, truly) and will cause your fic to get buried if you do not change the date.

3. Authors, we ask you to coordinate with your Artists on the date you wish to post, whether that's March 1rst, 2nd or 3rd! We will not assign you a date.

4. Reminder to have fun and that we, the modteam, are very VERY proud of all of you for all this amazing work that you've done <3

Cheers, folx, the end (and the Dreamling) is near!!

-The CHBB Moderator Team

[five-and-dimes]

I ADORED this fic and the art for it is perfect! 😍

Centennial Husbands Big Bang! I had the pleasure of drawing art to accompany I Never Knew (Just What It Was).

[karalynlovescake]

THE CENTENNIAL HUSBANDS 2024 BIG BANG IS LIVE!

You can read my fic on Ao3 - Entropy and Optimism, rated T, 56k words, complete at 13 chapters.

Hob Gadling is offered immortality by Death in 1389 and he meets with her every 100 years. In his dreams, he befriends and grows close with a man who he knows is Death's brother, but who never gave Hob his name. After a disaster in the late 1700's ties him even closer to Death, Hob sees his Stranger less and less, and believes his choices are to blame. Meanwhile, exhausted by seeing Death everywhere he goes and heartsick over losing his relationship with her brother, in 1889 he tells her that while he still wishes to live, he does not want to see her again.

Hob goes over a hundred years with no word from either of them, until one day two women with two talking ravens show up and tell him that his friend desperately needs his help. He embarks on the quest, hoping to once again see his mysterious Stranger, who he learns must be the King of Dreams. But when he arrives in the Dreaming he finds two people he has never met ruling, his friend asleep as if under a spell, and the kingdom falling apart around them, with the legions of Hell trying to invade.

And check out the art from my amazing artist Koresephone !!!

@koresephone66

The plot for this story started out as the plot of the novel Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold, which is one of my favorite novels ever written. I consider it to be an absolute masterpiece of writing and plot weaving. It won a Hugo, a Nebula AND a Locus award for a REASON, and Ms Bujold is a far better writer than I am.

I had to change a lot of stuff to make the plot fit the setting and characters. So much stuff that I debated is it really even the same story anymore? Apparently very few people in the active fandom are familiar with the Bujold novel, which meant no one would see exactly what I was trying to do.

But it also meant that there was no one out there who was going to write this story if I didn't write it! This is the first novel-length story I've ever completed, and my first big bang, and honestly if you're going to borrow, borrow from the best of the best, right? I was already using Neil's characters, and I think I did a pretty good job!

I'd love to hear if you enjoy it!

[arialerendeair]

Dreamling Week Approaches

Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnn!

The prompts for Dreamling Week have officially been posted on the @mr-sadman blog, so make sure to check that post out!

If any of you remember last year, I did a massive reblog blitz of any and all Dreamling content I had in my Dreamling tag and reblogged it all across the entire week!

I’m planning to do another of those - but even bigger this year!

Here’s a list of content I’m planning to reblog:

Dreamling Week content from last year

My Dreamling tag

The tumblr Dreamling tag

Dreamling Big Bang Fics ( @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang for future runs of the bang!)

All of @gabessquishytum’s ficlets! (Yes, ALL, I am ballsy and determined)

All of @softest-punk's works

AND, new this year -

YOUR SUBMISSIONS

That's right - one thing I got a lot of requests for last year was for folks to send me things - SO! I have created a handy dandy form for you to do so! I will be accepting any and all submissions up until June 2nd, when Dreamling Week starts!

Submissions have only 2 requirements!

It must be a Tumblr post. No other links will be accepted.

Limit yourself in terms of submissions.  (If you have 6 fics - do not send me 6 links, please make a masterpost featuring all of them.  If you would like to create a specific universe masterpost for one series - and another for your standalones?  Go for it!  If you want to create one for your art and one for your fics?  Go for it!)

Masterpost Example!

Last but not least!

While I am absolutely thrilled to turn my blog into Dreamling Hell (affectionate) during the first week of June, I would love, more than anything else, to see other blogs join me in doing so, since there is so much Dreamling content out there that I know I haven't seen!! I have lovingly teased @seiya-starsniper into doing something similar, and I hope some of you decide to do reblog sprees (at whatever scale you are comfortable with) as well!

Let's flood the #Dreamling Week and #Dreamling Week 2024 tags with as much content as possible and get ourselves back on the Top Ships of the Week again!

[moorishflower]

Us and the Moon (Dream/Hob, werewolf AU, 30k, COMPLETE)

Us and the Moon || Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling || 30k || Explicit

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Werewolves, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus has PTSD, POV Hob Gadling, Story within a Story, Child Death, Minor Eleanor | Hob Gadling's Wife/Hob Gadling, PiningCanon-Typical Angst, Happy Ending, Historical References, Canon Retelling, Drowning, References to the Slave Trade, Confessions, Traumatized Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling Loves Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Scent Kink, Anal Fingering

Somehow, it always feels like Hob is meeting his oldest friend around the night of the full moon. It's been six centuries since Hob got the bite that turned him into a werewolf, and in all that time he's somehow managed to dance around telling Dream the truth. Tonight, though, he's determined to have out with it. The whole story, finally laid on the table…minus, of course, the part where he's been in love with Dream since at least the 1400s. No, that part can stay safely locked up for the rest of eternity as far as he's concerned. He's only just gotten Dream back into his life, and he doesn't dare ruin it any more than he already did in 1889. The werewolf thing, though, that's easy.

Read it on AO3 here! Here's the whole thing, all 7 chapters!

Thanks to the mods at @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang for all their hard work, my awesome artist @wolfgirl-valentine, and @dsudis for the beta! Please go check out the art by Wolffie here, here, and here, it's AMAZING and beautiful and so much effort went into each piece <3

[wolfgirl-valentine]

"He's not entirely sure he'd been aware of what was going to happen – his da had told him about the bite, of course, but he'd couched it in terms that a little boy could understand. 'We're going out to the woods when the moon is full,' he'd said, 'so you can get a gift from the spirit that lives there.'" "He doesn't remember the bite."

My first entry inspired by the wonderful fic "Us and the Moon" by @moorishflower !!!!!! For @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang

[gabessquishytum]

V v excited to say that my fic for the centennial husbands big bang 2024 is finished!!! It's been a crazy process but I hope you'll all enjoy the results.

Please check out the amazing art and maybe give the fic a read!

do androids dream of requited love?

Explicit || Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling || 19,726 words

[lalaithquetzallicaresi]

To the Edge of Night

Another truly incredible author I got paired with for the Centennial Husbands Big Bang 2024 was @ginoeh who wrote "To the Edge of Night" (which can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/CHBB_2024/works/54197224)

All the fanarts made for this story can be found in its own gallery right here: https://www.deviantart.com/princess-lalaith/gallery/91239395/to-the-edge-of-night

The main one is this:

[seiya-starsniper]

Intro Post

Hi there! I'm Seiya, aka starsniper! (she/her) This is my blog for assorted blorbo posting and writing, hope you enjoy your stay! 😄

Main fandoms are Sandman and Dead Boy Detectives, but I've recently dipped my toe into Arcane. Blog is multifandom overall.

AO3: starsniper. (I will always be logged in when I comment!)

Discord: Mr. Sadman is a multi-ship open server for the Sandman fandom and it's an amazing community! I've even got my own little author's corner there called Seiya's Sexy Scribbles. If you'd like to come play, click on the link above!

Transformative Works: Consider this blanket permission to create any type of transformative work based off what I've written! I only ask you let me know what you've created either using the "Inspired By" link on AO3 or tagging me on Tumblr, just because I love, love, love seeing that sort of thing.

-----

Below the cut is my tag library, which is mainly for my own reference, but also for anyone who wants an easy way to search my blog. Some of the tags will have links, and some will not, due to Tumblr spam controls. If you need me to tag anything specific, please ask! (but not on anon, DMs or off anon asks only)

***Personal/Writing Tags***

How to find my personal ramblings, my written works, etc.

⟪⟪General Personal Tags⟫⟫

#seiya talks (all my original posts and ramblings)

#seiya answers (answers out of my ask box! Includes fic requests)

#seiya gets tagged (for all the tag games!)

#seiya memes (memes I've made)

#icons by seiya (tumblr icons I've made)

#gifs by seiya (gifs I've made)

⟪⟪Personal Writing Tags⟫⟫

#seiya writes (all of my writing, across all fandoms)

#seiya drabbles (short fics, usually under 1.5k words)

#seiya's wip previews (for previews on what I'm working on)

#wip inspo (things that might turn into fics! feel free to bother me about any of the ones that interest you!)

#writing prompt games (send me a fic prompt from any of these posts! no expiration date!)

#ask game (send me an ask from any of these games!)

⟪⟪Fandom Specific Personal Writing Tags⟫⟫

#seiya writes dbda (my dead boy detectives fics)

#seiya writes loki tv (my fics within the loki tv universe)

#seiya writes arcane (my arcane fics)

#seiya writes gotham (my gotham tv fics)

#seiya writes legends of tomorrow (my legends of tomorrow fics)

⟪⟪Sandman Ship Specific Personal Writing Tags⟫⟫

#seiya writes dreamling (dream x hob)

#seiya writes corintheus (dream x corinthian)

#seiya writes hobrinthian (hob x corinthian)

#seiya writes corinthienne (corinthian x lucienne)

#seiya writes gaulcienne (gault x lucienne)

#seiya writes hellmuse (johanna x calliope)

#seiya writes dreamuse (dream x calliope)

#seiya writes morphienne (dream x lucienne)

#seiya writes constantdream (dream x johanna)

#seiya writes sandflower (dream x nuala)

⟪⟪Current Projects/WIPs tags⟫⟫

#hobrinthian: hob gets the skull au

#dreamling omegaverse regency wip sequel

#corinthienne vampire x witch wip

#horse girl au hair washing wip (dreamling)

#break me shake me 2 wip (dreamling)

#dreamling omega auction wip

⟪⟪Writing Events/Challenges⟫⟫

Note: these are links to specific masterposts, as well as tagged posts for events I've participated in!

Dreamling Bingo 2024 Masterpost

Dreamling Week 2024 Masterpost

Seiya's Monsterfucktober 2023 Bingo Fills

Sandman Femslash Weekend

Dreamling Bingo 2023 Masterpost

Smut May (Smay) Drabble Masterpost (multi-ship)

Smut April (Smapril) Drabble Masterpost (multi-ship)

Smut March (Smurch) Drabble Masterpost (multi-ship)

2023 Centennial Husbands Big Bang

***Reference/Blacklist tags***

Tags used to help searching my blogs easier, and also for people to blacklist, if necessary.

⟪⟪Reference/Indexing Tags⟫⟫

#original art (non-fandom art)

#reference (resources I find useful)

#writing reference (specifically for writing advice and resources)

#to read (books I want to read)

#to watch (media I want to watch)

#videos (videos I've watched and liked)

⟪⟪Content Warning, Squicks and Trigger Tags⟫⟫

Note: Posts with these tags will include informational/educational posts as well, just to keep things neatly organized. I try to tag consistently, but I may miss some things, so please use caution and take care of yourselves. No links here because it's a lot of them!

--Explicit Content--

#nsft (general explicit content tag)

#omegaverse

#pregnancy/#pregnancy kink

#dubcon

#noncon

#infidelity

#age gap

#animal hybrid

#tentacle sex

#interspecies (i.e: human/alien, human/centaur, etc)

#monsterfucker/#monsterfucking

#teacher/student

---Phobias---

#bugs (happy to tag a more specific bug)

#spiders

#snakes/#snek

--Sensitive Topics--

#racism

#misogyny

#transphobia

#antisemitism

#epilepsy (no flashing lights will be in this tag)

#flashing lights / #strobe lights

#addiction / #drug addiction

--Politics tags--

#us politics

#global politics

#palestine

#voting

⟪⟪Discourse Tags⟫⟫

Note: I don't like to participate in discourse, please don't tag me in it. Any past discussions I've been involved in have been resolved between myself and the parties that matter to me. Blacklist if needed, links are there for my reference.

--General Discourse--

#fandom racism

#fandom discourse

#fandom wank

#ao3 discourse

--Sandman Fandom Discourse--

#sandman discourse

#sandman critique

***Fandom Related Tags***

⟪⟪General Fandom Tags⟫⟫

Note: This list is by no means exhaustive! And some tags are more used than others. Most posts under this tag will be reblogs, unless tagged with one of my personal tags.

ao3 (posts about AO3, mostly memes, but may include discourse)

#the sandman

#dungeon meshi

#dndhat (dungeons & dragons: honor among thieves)

#loki (general loki tag, use #loki tv for only the tv series)

#ofmd (our flag means death)

#bnha (sometimes #my hero academia)

#yugioh (sometimes #ygo)

#fullmetal alchemist (sometimes #fma)

#gossip girl

#blue eye samurai

#interview with the vampire (sometimes #iwtv)

#dead boy detectives (sometimes #dbda)

⟪⟪Shipping Tags⟫⟫

Note: Like the above, this is not exhaustive, I ship a lot of things! I'm very ship and let ship these days, so please don't try to debate me on ships, I won't answer.

#00Q

#taimizu

#xedgin

#thorki

#lokius

#steelatom

#atomwave

⟪⟪Sandman Fandom Tags⟫⟫

Note: Because of the sheer volume of dreamling content, these tags are separated from the rest of my sandman fandom tags. Other ships will be present in the general tags and tagged accordingly, just not dreamling.

#sandman fanart

#sandman fic rec

#sandman comics spoilers (anything not covered in season 1 of the Netflix adaptation)

#sandman s2 spoilers (anything related to the filming of Season 2, and Season 2 content when it airs!)

⟪⟪Other Sandman Ships Tags⟫⟫

#hobrinthian (hob x corinthian)

#corintheus (dream x corinthian)

#hellmuse (johanna x calliope)

#gaulcienne (gault x lucienne)

#corinthienne (corinthian x lucienne)

#calliene (calliope x lucienne)

#morphienne (dream x lucienne)

#constantdream (dream x johanna)

⟪⟪Dreamling Tags⟫⟫

#dreamling fic rec (dreamling stories I've read and loved!)

#dreamling headcanon (dreamling fanfic adjacent posts)

#dreamling fanart (fanart that I love!)

#dreamling videos

#dreamling graphics

#dreamling shitposting

#dreamling crafting

#dreamling recipes

As a reminder, this post is a live document and will be updated as I find time to do so or, if I think of new tags I want to track and add to this post. I am happy to add additional tags if you reach out to me via DM or via non-anonymous ask. While I do have anon asks on for other purposes, since tagging is a sensitive subject, I will NOT answer anon requests for tags on my blog. If you are concerned about sending an ask from your main blog vs side-blog, Tumblr does let you send DMs from a side-blog, and I'd be happy to talk to you from there. Thanks for understanding!

[best-wishes]

Don’t Look Back - Part 1: Original Run

CW: Major Character Death, blood and gore, interrogation, drowning, mourning

On the night between the 7th and 8th of June 1589, Hob Gadling got drunk like he never had been in Sir Robert Gadlen's life. In any of the three successive Robert Gadlen's lives, to be exact. Unlike any other previous night of debauchery, though, he did on excellent wine. He had ordered more than twice the amount he needed to get wasted, since he had assumed his patron would drink his share, but no, he had spurned Hob, preferring to spend the night with stupid talentless Will Shaxberd. What did the little punk have that Hob did not? He wasn't even good at writing! At least Hob knew better than to inflict his verses onto anyone.

The twentieth pasty was as delicious as the first one, though Hob had vomited some of them at one point. He felt full and drunk, and mysteriously still empty and enraged. He waved to the waitress to get more wine, and he saw hesitation in her eyes. He probably looked more drunk than he really was. Who cared? He was paying a small fortune for tonight's banquet, they could keep their judgments and serve him.

When he stumbled back to his room, it was after a difficult time of climbing the stairs and finding the right door. He fuddled with the doorknob and cursed the man who had made it, as if his ebriety wasn't the reason he struggled to open it. He finally managed to open it, entered the darkened room, and battled with the mechanism again to lock the door one handed, as his other hand was holding the candle. Then he turned toward the bed and froze.

There was someone in the room. A stranger was lounging on Hob's bed. At first, Hob's drunken brain told him it was a cardinal. They were dressed entirely in red. Then, the other part of Hob's brain caught up, suggesting maybe a cardinal wouldn't wear such suggestive garments. The dress was in a style that Hob had never seen, following closely the shape of the body in a way that was very close to indecent. Though the skirt fell down to the ankles, on each side a long slit went up to the waist, revealing the naked skin of the narrow hips. If the dress was definitely feminine, the body wearing it was a lot more ambiguous, with a flat chest and narrow waist.

"Hello, Hob Gadling," the stranger said.

They were smiling, though it looked more like a cat baring their teeth in front of a mouse.

"How…I am Sir Robert Gadlen. This must be a mistake. Please leave my room immediately."

They chuckled, and made no move.

"I know who you are, Hob Gadling. I've been watching you for centuries. Such a will to live, I couldn't resist."

Hob remained silent. The adrenaline rushing through his body was sobering him up fast. This person, whoever they were, knew about his secret. They were immortal as well. What did they want? Were they here because Hob's other patron had left?

"I know everything about your deal with my sibling, meeting him once a century to tell him about your pitiful human life. But he couldn't even sit and listen, could he? He was always shallow and selfish, only interested more in stories than in the people telling them or living them."

Sibling? Hob was dealing with a being not only immortal, then, but powerful enough to grant immortality… or take it away? He knew enough Greek and Roman mythology to fear being taken between a godly sibling rivalry. These stories never ended well for humans.

"What do you want?" he asked, finding a bit of courage in the ebriety that was leaving him.

"What do I want? That's not the question, is it? The question is what you want. Or rather, what will you want, you see. You wanted to save your only friend, you were ready to give up everything for him. How could I not deliver, when you wanted like that?"

What the hell was this? It was madness. Who were they talking about? Who was Hob's only friend that needed saving?

He was about to ask, but was interrupted. The stranger had gotten up from the bed, and was slowly walking to Hob. Instinctively, Hob backed off step by step until he hit the door. The door that he had locked earlier, not knowing the danger was already inside. Not that a lock would stop a god.

"Unlike my brother, I know how to show appreciation."

The mysterious being drew their hand back, as if preparing a blow. Hob steeled himself, unable to move under the gaze of the two golden eyes.

The blow never came. Instead, the hand passed right through his skin into his chest like a knife in water. It was not painful, though it was incredibly disturbing. The slender fingers moved underneath Hob's ribs and closed around his beating heart. Hob could feel them constrict it with each beat.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"Oh, no, Hob Gadling. I'm going to make you live. I'm going to give you every chance to get what you will. Enjoy."

There was something in their other hand. Hob had very little chance to see what it was before it disappeared into his chest. It had looked like the clock dials of the new German clocks, but bizarrely crooked and twisted. Then the cold metal came into direct contact with his beating heart, and Hob lost every thought and word.

The stranger had come closer, their cheek against Hob's and their mouth close to his ear. The position was intimate, but less than having both their hands burrowed inside his ribcage.

Painfully slowly, they pushed the metal apparatus into his heart until Hob felt like the two were, impossibly, occupying the same space. Hob's heart stopped, and Hob felt like it had imploded inside his chest. The cold seized him entirely, and he lost consciousness.

 ---

Hob Gadling died for the first time on the eleventh of November 1621, drowned in a lake.

He’d always thought he’d die by the sword, or most likely shitting himself to death in a ditch, somewhere along his life as a bandit. He had no shortage of possible causes of death, from tavern brawls to pitched battles, from dysentery to pox, from infected wounds to bad head injury. He’d been almost surprised to survive at all, to dodge death again and again with the most insane of luck. Almost, because he had defied Death, once, drunk as a skunk. He had claimed to everyone who would hear that Death was stupid and he would have no part of it. And somehow, Death had heard him, because from that day, Hob had survived every war, every epidemics, every accident thrown his way, until decades slowly turned to century and Hob’s hair remained obstinately brown.

Hob had even met Death twice again. Once in 1489, as agreed one hundred years before when they had struck their deal, and once in 1589, as they renewed their deal. Hob had told them, when the pain had become too unbearable. Described Death’s cold beauty, the thin black and white shape of a man with eyes too deep and smile too sharp. He’d told them Death was no Devil, they had said so. Yes, he made a bargain to gain immortality. No it didn’t involve the lives of his wife and son. He didn’t really know what it involved, except that he had to live forever and speak to Death once every hundred years. After days of never ending pain, and no sign of him dying, he’d told them everything he could think of.

That’s how Hob Gadling ended up chained and attached to a wooden perch, one cold morning of November. Big Humphrey, who was the miller’s son and the strongest man in the neighbourhood, was sitting in a rowboat on the lake and holding the perch above the water, ready to dunk Hob until he was either dead and innocent, or alive and guilty. What they would do, if he emerged alive and guilty, Hob did not dare imagine. Sitting next to Humphrey was Edward, the prosecutor, the man who’d relentlessly murmured question after question in Hob’s ear as Hob cried in pain. Hob didn’t think there was a thing in the world he hated and feared more than his deceptively soft voice, encouraging Hob to damn himself while he transcribed. The same soft voice sounded surreal in the fog, as it ordered Hob to be dunk into the water.

Hob protested. It was a mistake. His mouth was instantly filled with murky water, burning his lungs. Hob tried to cough, only to inhale more of it. The water was icy cold, seizing his muscles as he thrashed to escape his restraints. Hob could not die. It was impossible. He had a deal with Death. How long would it take, for the priest, to deem it enough? Every moment of it was agony.

It didn’t matter. Hob couldn’t die. He would have no part in it. He was over two hundred years old. He felt at peace. He would not die, because it was impossible. He only had to wait. He stopped himself from trying to breathe. He didn’t need to breathe. He was calm.

He was wrong.