#morpheus is a man eater.

[eggcrackerbracket]

Hi!

I have some announcements to make,

Firstly, I'm currently visiting family right now so the bracket may be up later than I expected, sorry about that (I'll still try and answer any of your asks as best as I can).

Secondly, I can't tag for shit, (I am very new to tumblr) so I don't know what character specific tags to use so let me know if there are any specific tags to use.

Thirdly, I'm proud to reveal the pairs competing in this bracket, in no specific order (sorry there are no pictures):

Dave Strider (Homestuck) & Stiles (Teen Wolf)

Alex Fierro (Magnus Chase) & Elizabeth (Visual Prison)

Link (Legend of Zelda) & Sabi Mehboob (Sort Of)

Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High Host Club) & Bill (Promethea)

Howl (Howl's Moving Castle) & Shiver (Splatoon)

Kris (Deltarune) & Franken Stein (Soul Eater)

Mettaton (Undertale) & Harrowhark (The Locked Tomb)

Nico di Angelo (Percy Jackson) & Arya Stark (A Song of Fire and Ice)

Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4) & Yuri Rurikawa (Act Addict Actors!)

Ranma Saotome (Ranma 1/2) & Sokka (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Zuko (Avatar: the Last Airbender) & Pidge Gunderson (Voltron)

Hiccup (How to Train your Dragon) & Princess Mononoke (Princess Mononoke)

Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom) & Angel Demon (Chainsaw Man)

Hunter (The Owl House) & Seadall (Fire Emblem)

Gomez Addams (The Addams Family) & Conel.EXE (Megaman Battle Network)

Charlie Kelly (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) & Garmadon (Ninjajo)

Jim Jimenez (Our Flag Means Death) & Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)

Stevonnie (Steven Universe) & Aubrey (OMORI)

Gonzo (The Muppets) & Sapphire (Princess Knight)

Allen Walker (D. Gray Man) & Raven (Teen Titans)

Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet) & Spock (Star Trek)

Madeline (Celeste) & Oliver Swift (Dialtown)

L Lawliet (Death Note) & Larry Needlemeyer (Amazing World of Gumball)

Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) & Helia (Winx Club)

Zagreus (Hades) & Yami Yugi (Yugioh)

Lake (Infinity Train) & Kitty Pryde (Marvel comics)

Sherlock Holmes (Various Sources) & Makoto Yuki (Persona 3)

Ed (Cowboy Bebop) & Boyd (Ducktales)

Mulan (Mulan) & Bow (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Fionna the Human (Adventure Time) & Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)

Inosuke Hashibara (Demon Slayer) & Emily (Thomas and Friends)

ENA (ENA) & Joey/Rojo (Ben 10)

Marshall Lee (Adventure Time) & Alonzo (Cats)

Aziraphale (Good Omens) & Marcy Wu (Amphibia)

Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) & Bee (Bee and Puppycat)

Stanford pines (Gravity Falls) & Yakko Warner (Animaniacs)

Bridget (Guilty Gear) & Ema Skye (Ace Attorney)

Testament (Guilty Gear) & Sailor Uranus (Sailor Moon)

Nagisa (Assassination Classroom) & Allison (The Breakfast Club)

Dirk Strider (Homestuck) & Klaus (Umbrella Academy)

Ghost (Call of Duty) & Sebastian (Stardew Valley)

Grell Sutcliff (Black Butler) & Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Ping (Mulan) & Kaoru Sakurayashiki (Sk8 the Infinity)

Eijiro Kirishima (My Hero Academia) & Kou Seiya (Sailor Moon)

Hawks (My Hero Academia) & Axel (Kingdom Hearts)

Blackbeard (Our Flag Means Death) & Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Princess Ozma (Oz) & Princess Peach (Mario Series)

Team Rocket (Pokemon)

Mizuki Akiyama (Project Sekiai) & Wade Wilson (Marvel comics)

Utena Tenjou (Revolutionary Girl Utena) & Rodrick Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

Crona Gorgon (Soul Eater) & Shuichi Saihara (Danganronpa)

Luz (The Owl House) & Spamton (Deltarune)

Morpheus, Dream of the Endless (The Sandman) & Barney Guttman (Dead end Paranormal Park)

Mad Mew Mew (Undertale) & Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad)

Cecil Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) & Trunks (DBZ)

Sheik (Legend of Zelda) & JFK (Clone High)

Kara Zor-El (DC comics) & Legoshi (Beastars)

Wheatley (Portal 2) & Fluttershy (MLP)

Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) & The green M&M (M&M’s)

Yellow (Pokemon Adventures) & Anne Boonchuy (Amphibia)

Yukiko Amagi (Persona 4) & Steven Universe (Steven Universe)

Peppino (Pizza Tower) & Jason Todd (DC comics)

Mahiru Koizumi (Danganronpa) & Megamind (Megamind)

Itsuka Kendo (My Hero Academia) & Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney)

-Mod Sky

[nightmarecountry]

“You poor, trapped creature”, he snarls from the dark, slinking out of shadows like he is born of them. The leather vest and pants he wears are heavily worn, held together with elaborate attempts at stitching; holes and tatters mended by mottled hide and recovered fabrics. His face moves into moonlight, if there is any beauty in it, it is in the sheer untamed ferocity it bears. There is very little of man left within, all brutal creature.

A mouth riddled with fanged teeth opens to extend a gore stained tongue, he scents the air like a wolf down wind. “I want to taste you. Perhaps tonight. Perhaps later. But I want it all the same”. It is a threat. It is a promise. The wild flash of his eyes makes it all but a guarantee. [vamp!Corinth]

His first instinct is to bristle, show his teeth, and he does--but there is too much curiousity in him for the threat display to last. It is rare that he meets others like him out in the world. Vampires, blood-drinkers, flesh-eaters; he has met many of them from old lords to fresh fledglings, but only under Morpheus' supervision.

And none of them were anything like the creature that stands before him now. Human in shape, but not in manner. The look of a wild thing, unchained and untethered; his voice brings to mind coyotes snapping and snarling at night.

He reeks of old slaughter. The Corinthian's lips part to scent the air in turn, drawn in despite his reservations. He hasn't moved. This man--if he can be called that anymore--would rend him to pieces given the chance, he's sure of it...

...and yet.

The Corinthian smiles, wholly ingenuine, and tilts its head ever so slightly. It knows, bone-deep, that it is getting itself into trouble here. It stares into the stranger's eyes and knows, immediately, that it wants to taste them.

"I invite you to try."

[fmpkingmidasandthethief]

Research different themes:

Illusion: An Illusion is something that you think exists but is simply a part of your imagination. These can include: smoke & mirrors, masks, fronts, magic tricks, Optical illusions.

Masks: Masks can be used to hide someone's identity like superheroes such as Batman. It can also be an illusion if there are a group of people wearing the same mask and you are trying to find the correct person. I found this interesting because it creates a mystery as you cannot see who is behind each mask especially those ones above. CREEPY!!!

Optical Illusion: These are images that are meant to look 3D even though they are made on 2D surfaces. This example shows an optical illusion of a 3D hole. This was designed on a 2D surface but I found it appealing because of the clever illusion used to create this image.

Room of Mirrors: These are commonly found at theme parks where you must walk through a whole maze full of mirrors in order to escape. It's tests your mental strength and messes with your head psychologically. I like this style of Illusion because of it's madness and confusion which is a strong form of illusion. I do want to try and use this in my game if I choose to go down the path of illusion.

Harry Houdini (Famous Escape artist): Harry Houdini was a famous escape artist who would attempt to break out of the craziest contraptions known to man. I find this Interesting because he leaves people in wonder of how he actually escaped half of these. This again creates a mystery that leads to the idea of illusion.

Holograms: These are powered by AI and produce digital imagery of things like humans, Animals and pretty much anything. They can also be created from memory such as things that have already happened. I found this unique form of illusion interesting because of it's use of AI to create such complex designs being absolutely incredible. I definitely want to add this to my game so I can solve all types of Puzzles using them.

Dreams and Destruction: These are the differences between dreams and reality. They are the difference between mythology and Natural events. They include: Gods, Natural Disaster, Big Bang, Celestials.

Morpheus (the God of Dreams): This God is from Ancient Greek times associated with Dreams and sleep. Dreams are things that we want to happen and wish could happen. I like this concept because it adds to the idea of the Mythological Gods actually being real but at the same time in our dreams.

The Big Bang: This is the theory for how the world began and despite all of the destruction is caused it did also create life to. I find this Interesting because of It's use of destruction to create life. It's a strange idea but we may not have even existed if this ever happened.

Galactus (The Eater of Worlds): Galactus is a giant celestial who wants to conquer planets by consuming them on his quest to destroy the universe. I find this interesting because Galactus can be used to portray destruction itself and the end of everything in our universe.

Great A'tuin (A Giant Star Turtle): Great A'Tuin is the Giant Star Turtle (of the fictional species Chelys galactica) who travels through the Discworld universe space, carrying four giant elephants (named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen) who in turn carry the Discworld. I like this design because it again implies that there could be something like this out there that exists.

Alternate Realities: These can be different pathways in life and different universes such as the Multiverse or the Matrix.

The Matrix: Scrambles of numbers, letters and code that form a binary and control a whole new universe. It can also be used to control time in our own reality linking the two in an unholy bond. I find this interesting because of the idea that different realities can be linked.

The Multiverse (MCU): The Multiverse is full of multiple strings of endless timelines of different realities with different outcomes to our own. This again proves the concept that a Multiverse could exist out there, minus the fact that the TVA exists.

Ready Player One: This Film set in the year 2050 uses an alternate gaming reality called the Oasis invented by James Halliday. I find this interesting because it shows what the future holds for AI as well as the human race. It also shows what the future of gaming could be if it has the potential to create it's own reality.

Chance: Chance can be any form of probability, luck or destiny. This could be from rolling a dice, flipping a coin or surviving a event based on luck.

Coin flip: This is one of the most iconic forms of chance. Flipping a coin has a 50/50 chance whether you land on heads or tails. It is used in lots of different instances such as deciding who will kick off a football match. I like this because of the odds/probabilities.

Random Loot Drops in Games: In games like COD you can receive random loot drops containing weapons, ammunition and other supplies of different rarities. There are certain chances that it could be a top rarity but these are really hard to find. I find this mechanic interesting because of the chance and randomness of it all. The player has no clue where the loot drop will land so the almost have to predict where to go.

Final Destination: This is a horror film based on chance events that kill hundreds of people in almost every scenario possible. The main characters are tasked to survive and outsmart these events before they kill them. I found this interesting because almost every accident that could have happened, happened.

[mothgenes]

hrgh

askbox is empty if anyone wants to send in asks for me to munch on

[rottingskunk]

A Questionable Sandman head cannon!

Tw: Mentions of cannibalism, Descriptive text of gore and violence (i do not condone cannibalism irl please do not see this post as a way of me agreeing with that concept)

~~

This is the perfect time to write about something i will regret in the future! But this will be entertaining so might as well, 2am me is none the wiser. Few days ago stumbled upon the songs:

~~

Man eater by Nelly Furtado & Cannibal by Kesha

~~

And that got me thinking “what if Lucifer Morningstar was a cannibal, a beast of indescribable hunger” This sounds very ooc most likely i digress. I thought of their innate desire to feel in control and above those who choose to fight them. My brain is very incoherent rn jdkcdk. Heres a pathetic ficlet shit bc i can!

Lucifer’s feast:

Many beings whether immortal or not always wondered what would Lucifer Morningstar eat. Would they eat meat similar to humans? Or was it as intangible as the mortals sufferage in their dominion. The answers were none of the above for they craved something even more brutal, human flesh, the flesh of their own kin.

~~

They say that Lucifer chooses their prey among disobedient mortals that arrived to their dominion. The rumors spread that Lightbringer rips out their heart last but will end up intensines first and rip up the body with their sharp claws. Eating up eyes was similar to eating candy stolen from children.(Cori probs wants some too🧍‍♂️) Not even their own demon citizens are safe from their feral hunger.

~~

Ripping apart bodies felt as easy as tearing paper. The satisfying crack and shred of their feeble bodies was never tiring to hear repeatedly. It was animalistic outright a lowbrow thing to do. Lucifer did not care for such culture and will eat as they please. A human’s brain was as tasty as venision whislt demons brains tasted of lamb. It was an illegal practice even for hell’s practice but as their ruler they can be excluded from the law. Hypocritical yes but Lucifer cant help but think of biting off the coarse rough skin of demons once it no longer pleases them.

~~

Demons they like the most get to be eaten repeatedly. For the rest of eternity. Demons have regenerative properties but its not as powerful as being immortal they can still withstand long lasting injuries. For Lucifer’s case they use whatever they can to keep their favorite prey alive.

More deranged hcs bc im in a silly goof mood!!

-maybe using spines as scarves or backing on the back of their outfits (imagine-JUST IMAGINE )

-maybe blood for nailpolish, would be funny if it can work that way

-Chorozon did not survive after the battle between Lucifer vs Morpheus lets be real☠️

(Ironic how im not a fan of gore or heavy implications of it but i still wrote this, its ass atm but yea) BONUS GIF OF BBYGORL CORINTHIAN BEING A SLUT YEAAA!!!☠️(also there was no lucifer Morningstar gifs so offended)

[bluebellefox]

It is a Far, Far Better Thing

When he first begins to regain consciousness, he is aware only of the sense of darkness blanketing around him, allowing his body to float along the gentle waves of a softly rolling black sea. It is not oppressive darkness that surrounds him, but rather a soothing one, one that brings none of the weight that being alone in the dark has brought him these past few years. One that reminds him of summer nights under a tree shared by unassuming children ready to take on the world or rainy mornings spent with tea cooling in its chipped mug and dog-eared and creased worn pages. Or the gentle pressure of a wizened hand laying on his shoulder and the echo of a lilting laugh that shone brightly in emerald eyes and always seemed to staunch the deep ache in his very soul that has haunted him since he could remember. It is peaceful and for the first time in a long time, Severus feels calm.

He wakes slowly, for the first time in months, years, decades… There is no rushed sense of duty that usually accompanies him and spurs him to action the second he is aware of the waking world. There is only the feeling of a warm spring breeze lofting over his face, pulling playfully at his hair as it dances across, well wherever he is. Normally finding himself in an unknown place after being so deeply wrapped in the arms of Morpheus would alarm him, even send him into a whirlwind of abject panic but strangely enough, the familiar anxiety isn’t present. Instead, he allows himself to relish the sounds of leaves rhythmically swaying in the wind, the prickles of untrimmed ryegrass through the fabric of his robes, the pleasant warmth radiating from the traditionally more traitorous English sun. He hasn’t been allowed to just exist in this simple capacity since he was a small child before his life was so convoluted and controlled by the decisions of more powerful men before the weight of the fate of all wizard-kind across Britain fell upon his shoulders, bowing his back and making him more Atlas than man.

There was something pulling at the back of his conscience, he can feel it pulsing through the severe fog that's invaded his senses. Not unlike when he uses his occlumency to bury his emotions when they overwhelmed him, or when it was imperative the Dark Lord not see the thoughts that ravaged his mind during Death Eater meetings. However, unlike those occasions where occlumency was the only option to halt an oncoming nervous breakdown, he couldn't wave away the haze. The longer he laid there, poking around at this inexplicable barrier around the parts of his mind that had ruled supreme these past few years, the spymaster, the renegade, the ruthless Death Eater, the protector, they all fell away. Hidden behind walls, not of his own construction and remained unreachable through the thick shroud of hazy quiet. Until suddenly even that muted feeling of alarm was swept away in the breeze and floated gently in the wind along with the dandelion seeds. Far, far away from him, and he finds he doesn’t bemoan the loss.

Severus supposes he should care, waking up in a strange place and so far removed from his own mind and thoughts. He should care, but he doesn’t remember ever being this tired. His eyelids feel so heavy that even thinking about prying them open takes an insurmountable amount of energy that he does not possess. The grass and weeds feel good against his back, far more comforting and soft than even his bed at Hogwarts and certainly his moth-eaten and unbalanced one at Spinner’s End, somehow feeling like the glimmers of contentment and peace of his childhood. The breeze a nice change from the howling winds of the Scottish Highlands, he thinks as it settles across him like a warm blanket. He supposes it’s not a bad spot for a bit of a nap, and he is so very tired. There are much worse places to drift away in.

That thought breaks through the veil in his head, just for one moment but it’s enough to bring the muted pressure of rotting wood up against his spine, a sharp, coppery scent replacing the smell of wildflowers in his nose, a cold voice breaking the peace he’s found. Severus tenses, his fight against the haze in his mind redoubles and twice as savage as before, panic and desperation by his side once more. Until he catches sight of green eyes in the unpleasant memories flowing by him, solemn but bright enough to burn away the flashes of images of a familiar-seeming, dilapidated house. That green fills his mind, gently carrying him away from whatever horrors trying to claw and scratch their way back into his awareness, pulling him gently away from an office with numerous paintings lining the walls and a high-backed chair, from the darkness clinging to a sprawling manor even it’s elegance could not override, from a smoky and underground lecture room, from a cramped, angry house by a polluted river.

Severus is distantly aware that these places hold some great significance to him, he feels the subdued emotional ties to them but is unable to articulate what they are or explain where they came from. He can’t bring himself to care and gladly follows that green back to the peaceful weightlessness of before, because somewhere he knows with a bone-deep surety that those eyes are home.

��Hey, Sev.”

Despite his previous weariness and weight of his eyelids, Severus finds it extremely easy to open his eyes. He is greeted by the pale blue sky of a warm spring evening, streaks of white clouds held in place above him, and the swaying branches of an old oak tree. It feels familiar, like greeting an old friend after a time apart. He slowly pulls his arms from his stomach, and props himself up on his elbows, and looks in the direction of the voice. And sitting amidst the knots and gnarled roots of the oak, chin casually resting in the cradle of her hand, sits Lily.

Red hair floats down around her shoulders, a few strands following the breeze as it makes its way through the field again. Her freckles scattered along the bridge of her nose, curling around her cheekbones just as he remembers. An easy smile splits her lips, one that speaks of fond and long-held affection, the very same as the one that haunts him in his dreams. But here she sits before him, solid and real in a way her presence hasn't been to him in many years. And those green eyes that he sees every time he closes his eyes, are looking at him with a gentle sort of mirth and a warmth he hasn’t felt in a long time.

There are a thousand words he wants to say, hundreds of apologies laying at the tip of his tongue, but they stick in the back of his throat. There is something in the way she reaches her hand out to him and sweeps the hair out of his face that makes them unnecessary, a sense of causal affection that tells him that she requires no explanations. They would break this wonderful moment of reprieve, so he’s content to spend the remainder of forever in this comfortable silence.

A million memories spill forth from the dam in his mind, some fuzzy with a deep fondness and peace, others sharp with a deep-set pain and desperate loneliness. They swirl around him in branching streams and he runs his fingers through them. The sudden sound of a cracking branch, biting retorts flown in reckless abandon, a betrayal by a glass-green lake. They flit about the edges of his mind, too quick to hold fast to and they slip from his grasp and dissipate into the lovely spring air. A small hand clasped in his, a peal of musical laughter, and those green, green eyes are the only things left. Home, Severus thinks, this is home.

“Hey, Lily.”

She closes her eyes for a moment, and Severus thinks she is every bit as bright and lovely and magical as she has ever been. She cups her hand around his cheek, and he can’t help but lean into her touch, feeling every bit like the grumpy cat she always compared him to. She gives him an affectionate glance and turns her eyes back to the field in front of them. The sloping hill, the grasses and the weeds, the wildflowers, all much more numerous and beautiful than their spot in Cokeworth but it feels right, familiar all the same.

Lily slowly rises to her feet and takes a moment to brush off the dirt collected on her trousers. She holds her hand out to him with a look of patient expectancy. He looked at her hand and then back up at her face.

“You ready to go?”

Severus closes his eyes for a moment, taking in the quiet and the lovely weather a final time, and stands. When he reaches for her hand, she opens it readily and grips him with a comfortable tightness. Here they stand again, hand in hand, after everything that's happened and against all odds. Joy fills him in a way that he hasn’t felt since he was that nine-year-old boy, bathing in her warmth and secreting away what happiness he could afford.

“I think I am.”

When they take their first steps together, he can feel Lily swinging their joined hands between them. And for the first time in a long time, Severus smiles.

[marauders70s]

a collection of dumb hp-p&r text memes

dumbledore, gesturing: could a depressed person make this???

mcgonagall: your hand is literally rotting off

---

harry: sometimes I feel like arguing with you is like arguing with the sun.

hermione: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT I AM SUPER CHILL ALL THE TIME.

---

pansy: you look awful

draco: what up bitch i just ran a 5k

pansy: really?

draco: no i threw up blood in the shower

pansy: that fight with potter really got ya down huh

---

harry: hey ron are you okay

ron, wearing the locket, staring straight ahead at a tree: yeah i'm fine it's just that life is pointless and nothing matters and I'm always tired.

harry: hermione it's your turn

---

sirius, at any minor convenience: everything hurts and i'm dying

---

goyle: I once knew a guy for seven years and never learned his name. best friend i ever had. we still never talk sometimes, because he's dead.

---

oliver: sometimes you gotta do a little work so you can ball a lot.

mcgonagall: that is incorrect

---

james, during house arrest: If I keep my body moving, and my mind occupied at all times, I will avoid falling into a bottomless pit of despair.

lily, from the couch: oops

---

snape, at a christmas dinner: I can still smell her hair at night

dumbledore, pouring a generous amount of mulled wine: Put some alcohol in your mouth to block the words from coming out.

---

ron: hermione, i'm not using your color coded talking planner

hermione: we need to get good grades on our OWLs!

ron: there's nothing that could motivate me to use it

hermione: well, there's nothing we can't do if we work work hard, never sleep, and shirk from all other responsibilities in our lives.

---

harry: Professor, I wanna go home early. Ooh, hold on actually, hang on. Yeah, no, I wanna quit and never come here again.

---

ron: i'm going to tell you all my secrets

hermione: you don't have to do that

ron: I once forgot to brush my teeth for five weeks

ron: I didn't actually break charlie's wand all the way I just hid it and forgot where

ron: I don't know who scrimgeour is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.

ron: when they have 2 sickles a scoop on salamander eyes i'm not sure where the rest of the salamander goes

ron: when i was a baby fred turned my teddy into a spider and i got so scared my mum took me to a mindhealer and they wrote a textbook about me

ron: i once threw a garden gnome so hard that it hit my sister in the face and began attacking her

hermione, looking up from her book: what did ginny do?

ron: she bit it and it ran off.

hermione: classic

---

severus: no matter what i do nothing bad can happen to me. i'm like a white wizengamot official who pretended they were mind-controlled after the fall of the dark lord

lucius: I resent that

---

sirius: thank merlin my great uncle alphard just died so I am fluuuuusheeeeeed with galleeeeooonsss

remus: I'm going to regret this flatshare

---

seamus: i passed up a gay halloween party to see this troll. Do you know how much fun gay Halloween parties are? Last year I saw three Peverell Brothers make out with three Viktor Krums. It was amazing.

---

luna: We need to remember what's important in life. Friends, unpredictable creatures, and school. Or unpredictable creatures, friends, school. It doesn't matter. But school is third.

---

tom riddle: I totally hear you, but I also don't like what you're saying. So if you say no, I will release a giant snake in the bathroom

---

luna: would you like some -

hermione: no! I am going to run for minister of magic someday, so no, thank you. I mean, not that I haven't - I ate a brownie once at quidditch cup party. It was intense. It was kind of indescribable, actually. I felt like I was floating. Turns out there wasn't any potions in the brownie, it was just an insanely good brownie.

---

sirius: do i look like the kind of person who drinks water

---

neville: flying is the worst. I know it keeps you healthy, but merlin, at what cost?

ron: okay, you don't have to join the pick up game -

neville: no no i want to be included. i'll come

---

james: What I hear when I’m being yelled at is people caring really loudly at me.

sirius: that's not right

---

mcgongall: I think you’ve got several options. They’re all terrible…but you have them.

peter: this career counseling session is getting a bit intense

---

neville: how are you handling the...breakup...

ginny: I’m gonna buy some sweat pants and a Gilderoy Lockhart novel. Might as well lean into it.

---

dumbledore, in the staff room, extremely intoxicated: Who hasn’t had gay thoughts?

---

james: Goodbye, Lily Evans, my head girl partner. Hello, Lily Potter, my fallopian princess.

lily: i should have never married you. or at least made you wear a condom

james: what's a-

---

sprout: I’m a simple lesbian. I like pretty, dark-haired women, and man-killing plants.

---

sirius: A couple more rules: if you ever read a sad book, you have to wear mascara so we can see whether or not you’ve been crying. There’s no noise allowed on Mondays. And no magic after breakfast.

peter: er i'm sorry this was the dorm assigned to me...

---

remus: Hogwarts Library is headed by the most diabolical, ruthless bureaucrat I’ve ever seen. She's like a death eater but instead of avada kedavra and crucio she uses shame and shhhing.

james: she wouldn't let him into the restricted section without a note

remus, choking back tears: I AM A PREFECT

---

pansy: I have never flown the high road. But I tell other people to ‘cause then there’s more room for me on the low road.

---

hermione: If I had a stripper’s name, it would be Equality. for house elves and all beings.

ron: if i had a stripper's name it would be sugar striped candy pole for my -

harry: hermione, DON'T -

---

sir cadogen: You know, in the 1880’s, there were a few years that were pretty rough and tumble here at Hogwarts. This depicts kind of a famous fight between Morpheus Rane, a prefect in Slytherin house, and Wilhemena Batlock, a Hufflepuff seventh year. The original title of this painting was ‘A Lively Fisting.’ But y’know, they had to change it for…obvious reasons.

---

bellatrix, in the afterlife: i regret nothing. the end.

---

harry: I don’t want to be overdramatic, but today felt like a hundred years in hell and the absolute worst day of my life.

tofty: I'm sorry but you WILL have to repeat your history of magic OWL

---

james: Lucky for me, I’ve processed all my feelings. And I’ve gone through the five stages of grief - Denial, anger, picking on Peter, cat adoption, reckless dueling, cat returning to the adoption place, reading all Martin Miggs books in the series (what i was picking on peter for actually), and not giving a flying fuck.

remus: you can't say fuck

james: oh great i'm going to have to start the process all over again.

remus: peter, you'd better run

---

dudley: I’m allergic to magic candy. Every time I eat more than 80 sweeties I barf.

fred: how about...81

---

sirius: I’ll have a glass of your most expensive red wine mixed with a glass of your cheapest white wine served in a dog bowl. Silly straws all around, please.

remus: this is why we can't date in public

---

neville: I’m gonna get drunk and then I’m gonna order a three course meal where each course is made of dessert.

---

arthur: I promised myself I was not going to cry tonight, and I’ve already broken that promise five times. But I will not break it a sixth.

bill: dad maybe you shouldn't give a toast while fleur's family is still here

---

gilderoy: I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I’m doing it really, really well.

---

pansy: Use him. Abuse him. Lose him. That’s the Parkinson motto.

draco: I thought the Parkinson motto is don't look at me you whore.

pansy: the motto is really more like a chapter book.

---

harry: You’re ridiculous and pureblood rights is nothing.

voldemort: wow

---

tonks: I would like a glass of red wine and I’ll take the cheapest one you have because I can’t tell the difference.

sirius: cheers i'll drink to that

remus: put. the bowl. down.

---

eh, and just one for the road: “I wonder who else was born in Eagleton. Voldemort, probably.” – Leslie Knope

[marauders-unite]

You´re my family

Requested by jjmxybnk

Request: I saw that your requests are open! Would you do a Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader with the reader being a pureblood Slytherin were she's in a secret relationship with fred and her parents tell her she's engaged to a pureblood boy that she will marry during the holidays, i want it to have a fluffy ending. Tysm babes!

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Slytherin!Reader

Warnings: Fluff

Words: 1147

A/N: Made a small change making it she only finds out about the arranged engagement during the Christmas holiday. Hope you like it, i love Fred, one of my favorites to write for xoxo

Masterlist | Ask box

“I´m gonna miss you over Christmas.” You told Fred as he held you in his arm, in the hidden passage you often met in. Away from prying eyes. You kissed and after a few blissful moments, you pulled away and his eyes met yours. “I´m gonna miss you too. I wish we could´ve spent Christmas together.” He bent down and now your foreheads rested against one another. With a deep breath, you sighed. “I know, me too. But you know my family.” You said sadly. “Yeah I know.” He said with a low voice. “I just wish I could tell the world about us, so we didn´t have to sneak around like this. I wish I could share this with Ron and Ginny.” You looked at him with one eyebrow raised “Do you honestly think they would approve. Even George took a while coming around on the idea of us together.” You said. “Well they´re just not the biggest fan of the typical pureblood Slytherins” he said with a little laugh then continued “but you´re not like them, you´re kind and I love you. And they´d see that and come around like George did.” “I hope so. One day well tell them. Soon hopefully” you said then you kissed him. Savoring this moment you had together before you would both spend the Christmas holiday apart. 

You´d been home for a few days when your dad called you to join him and your mom in the living room after dinner. As you stood there waiting for the reason you were their you father started to speak. “We have some good news for you y/n. Since you´ll soon be of age we have manage to arrange you to marry Julian Malfoy after you graduate Hogwarts. He is the son of Morpheus Malfoy, cousin of Draco Malfoy who is 2 years under you at Hogwarts.” You felt you´re whole body tense up, almost shake with anger. “He graduated last year and currently has a job in the ministry. From a good pure blood family. I think you met him at the Malfoys New year’s part last year when I think about it.” He finished. They both looked at you with excepting looks on their faces. “And you didn´t think to perhaps include me in this decision?” You said trying to keep calm but struggled greatly. How could they leave you out of such a big decision and expect you to just accept it? “Now y/n this is great news! It would be a great union between our two family´s” your mom said with a slightly annoyed expression. They both looked surprise to see you looking unhappy by these news. “Is that all you care about? What about my happiness? I´ve met Julian and I don´t want to spend the rest of my days with someone like him!” you said now the anger spilling out, unable to contain any longer. “y/n he is a handsome man with a good job.” Your father said looking exasperated. “I´m not getting married! Especially to him, he is a foul and evil! You didn´t even try to include me in this decision!” You yelled in anger at your parents.  “You have to do this y/n, it´s an excellent match. He is from a good pureblood family.” Your mom told you now moving towards you and reaching for your hands. You backed away from her. “Their family are death eaters!” You shouted angrily. “Don´t you ever say that´s as if it´s an insult! They´re a family with standards and of high status” Your mother told you know looking angry. “Well I will never marry someone like him, who thinks pureblood is something that makes them special. And for your information, since you´ve never bothered to ask I’m already in love with someone else! Fred Weasley.” You loved him and you weren´t going to hide it from them any longer. It didn´t matter anymore. “A Weasley! One of those blood traitors?” Your dad said with a disgusted look on his face. “If that´s really true, then you are not apart of this family anymore.” Your mom said calmly turning away from you now and towards you father. You felt the tears filling your eyes now, threatening to run down your face. But you held it together. “As if I’ve ever truly been a part of this family. Only by name have I ever been anything like you.” You finished before walking to your room. Leaving your mom and dad in the living room. They didn´t protest or come after you. You quickly gathered your things then apparated to the only place you could think of. The burrow. 

It all had happened so fast. And as you landed in the garden of the burrow you fell to your knees dropping your bags. It all hit you like ton of bricks. You could never go back there now. What´s done is done. And you let it all out, warm tears falling down your cheeks. You didn´t even notice at first as someone came towards you in the snow before you felt warm hands around you, hugging you tightly. The familiar scent and touch of Fred felt comforting as you both sat there in the snow. After a few moments he pulled back look at you. He helped you stand up but you didn´t move towards the house just yet. “What happened?” he asked with a concerned look still holding you safe in his arms. Tears still falling down your cheeks you told him everything. How you´re family had arranged for you to marry Julian Malfoy after graduation. How you told them about him. How you now could never return to your family. He then pulled you back into his embrace. Holding you tight, as if keeping you safe from harm. “I love you more than anything y/n, but..” he stopped a little then pulled back to be able to meet your eyes. Then continued with a shaky voice “I just wanna make sure you think I´m worth it, I mean it´s your family-.” You stopped him before he could say anything else. “You´re my family. I love you. I can die in every which way the fates choose, that’s not up to me, but what is within my power is to decide how I live and who I spend it with. And I don´t want to live without you.” You told him tears running down your cheeks. He then moved his hands to your cheeks and kissed you deeply. You stood their kissing for  a while. Then when you both pulled away for breath. “And I don´t want to live without you either.” he said softly. You both smiled then gave a small laugh as he helped pick up your thing and put a hand around you. “Let´s get you inside, mom is going to love meeting you.”

[amachja-moved]

Sasha is woken up by the fragrance of freshly baked bread and tea. Once she opens her eyes, she will be greeted with the sight of Niccolo bringing her breakfast to bed and a bouquet of roses. @free-us.

@free-us (late valentine’s because we’re rebels)

--------- Sunlight trickles through drawn curtains, tickles at her closed eyelids as she slowly emerges from slumber. Everything sits quiet and still in the morning glow that bathes their room, warm and soft, a cocoon away from the world; the sounds of the streets barely seem to pierce through their carefully crafted bubble. For a moment, eyes still closed, barely drifting out of Morpheus’ arms, Sasha considers letting herself go back to sleep; extends a hand to reach for the other warm body supposed to be lying next to her, and pauses when finding no one there. Where did Niccolo go? Finally, senses awake from slumber too; first the clicking of china and cutlery nearby, then the smell of bread just out of the oven. She breathes it in, and it dances on her tongue, appealing and delightful, before making its way to her stomach; now awoken, now demanding fulfillment. Sasha smiles into her pillow, and finally relents; graceful as a cat, she turns over and stretches, one open eye trained on Niccolo as she stifles a yawn. “That smells good...” She mutters, voice bearing drawls of sleepiness still as she lets her bare arms flop back on the linen. Breakfast in bed? She needs nothing more to fall in love all over again. Sasha’s grin widens as she takes in the sight of Niccolo and his breakfast tray, and the roses he carries along. 

“At what time did you wake up to prepare all of this?” She asks with a laugh loaded with awe, as she sits up on the bed and pushes back a strand of brown bedhair behind her ear. Repressing her growing impatience is difficult, as she waits for him to settle with his charge. The attention is so thoughtful and lovely; heart swelling with love and tenderness, bewildered still; how lucky she is to have him. As tempting as the warm bread, butter and jam accompanying the tea are for the voracious eater that she is, it is to Niccolo that her attention is turned; the way early sunlight rains upon the curvatures of his profile, warms up his skin and his eyes. As appetising as this breakfast is, as delightful the smell of fresh roses, she is fairly certain that it is Niccolo who makes her head spin light and her chest flutter thus; and the poor man barely has the time to rid himself of his burden before she reaches to gently grab him by the collar and pull him down to press a kiss to his lips. “You’re incredible, and I love you to the moon and back.” She whispers, smiling wide against his mouth, heart dancing to a tune that is only their own. Today is theirs for the taking; perhaps for one day, they can leave war at the door, and concern themselves with nothing else but each other. 

But first, breakfast. 

[aion-rsa]

Biggest Movie Traitors and Backstabbers in Cinema

https://ift.tt/3u8zB6p

Last week, as part of the streaming service’s ongoing plan to bring Warner Brothers’ slate of theatrical releases to audiences at home HBO Max premiered Judas and the Black Messiah on the same day it opened in theaters. Directed by Shaka King, the incendiary historical drama centers on the rise of Fred Hampton, the charismatic Black Panther Party leader, and his tragic betrayal at the hands of FBI informant William O’Neal.  Daniel Kaluuya stars as Hampton, a scorched-earth performance that attempts to recreate the magnetism and magma-like intensity of the revolutionary figure, but Kaluuya is somehow not the star of the film.

The film’s true protagonist is O’Neal, played by LaKeith Stanfield. After getting himself into some hot water, O’Neal is propositioned by FBI agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) to either infiltrate the Black Panther Party and report back on his findings or face jail time. At first O’Neal seems to luxuriate in the kickbacks he’s given by Mitchell for his intel but he quickly learns how dangerous it is to lead a double life. O’Neal also has to try to reconcile betraying the very movement he’s spent real time and energy trying to build.

Stanfield’s performance is filled with queasy anxiety and paranoia but also cockroach-like survival tics. It’s an all-time great turncoat performance, worthy of the biblical reference in the film’s title. To honor Stanfield’s turn as “Wild” Bill O’Neil, here’s a countdown of some of cinema’s greatest backstabbers.

Fredo Corleone – The Godfather Part II (1974)

Fredo Corleone, the least intelligent and most ineffectual of Don Vito’s children, has become something of a pejorative term used against anyone deemed to be the lesser sibling in a famous family. Played with a sense of melancholy and knowing pity by esteemed character actor John Cazale, Fredo’s betrayal of his brother Michael is due more to petty jealousy than it is to Machiavellian scheming or dreams of leading the Corelone Crime Family.

As the character pathetically rages, “‘Send Fredo off to do this. Send Fredo off to do that. Let Fredo take care of some Mickey Mouse night club somewhere’… I can handle things! I’m smart! Not like everybody says!” The worst part about Fredo’s actions against his family is that it’s unclear if Fredo actually knew what was being planned against his brother or whether he was just blindly jumping at the opportunity to be important and have something for himself.

Lando Calrissian – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Perhaps the most lovable backstabber on the list, Lando at least shows some backbone and tries to make up for his nearly unforgivable alliance with the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. While serving as Baron Administrator of Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back, Lando is visited by Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett and told to help trap his old friend Han Solo and the Rebels seeking sanctuary in Cloud City in exchange for the safety of the city’s citizens.

After selling his friend out, Lando has a change of heart when he overhears Han being tortured and realizes that Vader and the Empire were already reneging on their promises. He helps Leia and Chewbacca escape, and is able to evacuate Cloud City before the Empire is able to retaliate. Later he participates in the near-incompressible plot to rescue Han Solo and serves as a key general in the Rebel Alliance. Still, even back when he’s on the wrong side of the fight, Billy Dee Williams is able to turn Lando an appealing character, making his eventual redemption that much sweeter.

Henry Hill – Goodfellas (1990)

Ray Liotta plays the ultimate rat. After a long and fruitful career as a capo for local boss Paulie Cicero, Henry Hill’s mafia lifestyle comes to a final, screeching halt after he’s arrested by narcotics agents while trying to facilitate unapproved drug deals with his Pittsburgh associates. Henry’s good friend Tommy jokingly posits that Henry would crack under questioning earlier in the film, but Henry’s damning testimony against his associates Jimmy Conway and Paulie is all about survival: Henry knows that if he doesn’t cover his own ass, Jimmy will have him and his wife killed.

Read more

Culture

The Real Goodfellas: Gangsters That Inspired the Martin Scorsese Film

By Tony Sokol

Movies

The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone Proves a Little Less is Infinitely More

By Tony Sokol

Becoming the very thing that mafioso’s hate most of all, Henry turns on his friends and is forced into the witness protection program. All Henry ever wanted was to be a gangster, but in the protection program, he’s reduced to “an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.” It’s a fate that may be worse than death for him.

Mr. Orange – Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Arguably the villain of the story, depending on who’s side you’re on, Mr. Orange is actually L.A.P.D. undercover cop Freddy Newandyke. Looking to bring down crime boss Joe Cabot, Mr. Orange infiltrates his crew and takes part in diamond heist gone bad. In the ensuing chaos, Mr. Orange is shot and ends up killing an innocent civilian in retaliation. Played by Tim Roth, Mr. Orange screams and cries as he believes he’s fatally wounded, but it’s also possible that he’s airing out the guilt he feels in letting his undercover operation get so out of hand.

Without going into all of the bloodshed in the conclusion of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Mr. Orange’s double agent status is so sound that it eventually leads to the demise of almost all of Cabot’s colorful crew, and Orange then feels compelled to confess his deception, resulting in an ambiguous ending that most believe concludes with his death.

Dennis Nedry – Jurassic Park (1993)

Wayne Knight’s Dennis Nedry is probably the most cartoonish Benedict Arnold of the bunch, and if you think about it, the only human antagonist in the original Jurassic Park film, if you’re not counting short-sighted, megalomaniacal John Hammond. The slovenly Nedry is chief architect of the computer system at the fledgling Jurassic Park theme park, and he’s miffed by perceived low pay. So he decides to take an offer from Lewis Dodgson (“DODGSON, WE GOT DODGSON HERE!) of rival biotech company Biosyn to steal embryos of 15 dinosaur species in exchange for $61,500,000.

To make his grand escape with the embryos, Nedry shuts down the park’s security systems, including the electric fences surrounding the dinosaur paddocks. He also uploads a self-aggrandizing computer virus to prevent the systems from being quickly turned back on. However, a perfect combination of his own harebrained scheme and a nasty storm leaves Nedry stranded and at the mercy of a young Dilophosaurus. It does not end well.

Cypher – The Matrix (1999)

Cypher’s betrayal of the Nebuchadnezzar crew in The Matrix is pretty easy to see coming, and not just because the character is played by Joe Pantoliano, who’s portrayed many malcontents throughout his career. Cypher being a red pill dabbler and wishes he had taken the blue pill instead. He also outwardly makes his disapproval of Morpheus known throughout the movie. Using “ignorance is bliss” as his mantra, he strikes a deal with Agent Smith to return him to the Matrix and erase his memory of ever awakening from it in exchange for selling Morpheus out.

Read more

Movies

The Matrix 4 Already Happened: Revisiting The Matrix Online

By John Saavedra

Movies

Jurassic World: Top Jurassic Park Deaths by Dinosaurs

By David Crow

After tipping Smith off to a meeting with the Oracle, Cypher goes full villain and unflinchingly kills Dozer, Apoc, and Switch before finally being stopped and killed. At least he’s free from the reality he hated so much.

“Mad Eye Moody” (aka Barty Crouch Jr.) – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

What’s a bigger betrayal: Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. revealing that he’s been impersonating Alator “Mad Eye” Moody for the entirety of Harry Potter’s fourth year at Hogwarts, or Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling revealing herself to be a transphobe, betraying many of the themes of her beloved book series? We’ll leave that one to you, dear reader.

However, Barty Crouch Jr. (David Tennant before he was the Doctor) memorably betrays Harry Potter and the Hogwarts community by using the Polyjuice Potion to impersonate the former Auror and ensure that Harry would get into the Triwizard Tournament and ascend to the Third Task, which was a trap to help Lord Voldemort return to a body of his own. At least the real Mad Eye didn’t actually turn his back on those that revered him (like Rowling).

Colin Sullivan – The Departed (2006)

The biggest rat in a film full of “gnawing, cheese-eating fucking rats,” Sgt. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is the criminal counterpoint to Leonardo DiCaprio’s undercover cop Billy Costigan, an undercover gangster who serves as the personal mole to Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).

Played with smarm and cowardice by Damon, Sullivan eventually double crosses the police and Costello when he discovers that Costello is an FBI informant—a rat leading rats. Scared but trying to retain his high-ranking job, Sullivan misguidedly tries to position himself as a hero and tie up all loose ends, resulting in a shocking, bloody finale that finds cocky Colin Sullivan miraculously as the last man standing. Or at least the last man standing for the moment, as a final, forgotten loose end returns to give the audience what they want; another dead rat.

Robert Ford – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Well, it’s all right there in the title, innit? Played with a jealous, insecure bent by a creepy (in multiple ways) Casey Affleck, Robert Ford starts off as a Jesse James fanboy, desperate to join the outlaw’s gang with his brother Charlie (Sam Rockwell). When he finally gets close to the mythical criminal (a shadowy Brad Pitt), Bob begins to resent the man, eventually brokering a deal with the Governor of Missouri to either capture or kill Jesse James in exchange for a substantial bounty and full pardon.

Read more

Movies

Hamilton: The Real History of the Burr-Hamilton Duel

By David Crow

Movies

News of the World Review: Tom Hanks Western Has Rugged Warmth

By David Crow

Bob Ford cozies up to Jesse James even further, eventually earning the man’s complete trust, before cowardly shooting the man in the back—although in the film both carry an air of expectation that it needs to happen. Ford then lives out the rest of his days known as the coward punk that betrayed Jesse James until his eventual murder.

Aaron Burr – Hamilton (2020)

Close knit allies but ideological opposites, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton both fought in the Continental Army for independence from the British. However, when it came time to actual govern the new country that they fought to begin, the men drifted apart.

It’s unfair to call Burr the only backstabber in this relationship, because both men betray their former friend. Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) becomes jealous that Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) constantly has George Washington’s ear, and switches political parties to defeat Hamilton’s father-in-law in an election, ending their mutual admiration.

Burr also inadvertently pressures Hamilton to publicly reveal an affair, which strains the rivals’ relationships even further. However, when Hamilton endorses Thomas Jefferson (Daveed Diggs) in the third presidential election, a man that he doesn’t even like, to block Burr’s political malleability from the presidency, it becomes the final straw for Burr, who challenges Hamilton to a duel. In the ensuing gunfight, Hamilton throws away his shot, and Burr seals his fate to be remembered as the villain who killed Alexander Hamilton.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Biggest Movie Traitors and Backstabbers in Cinema appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3s9KYZR

[eggcrackerbracket]

Okay Here We Go!!!

It is time for the bracket to be revealed! ... If I had a template that let me do what I need it to.

No matter, the show must go on! (There is a bracket but I can't get it to show both team members correctly.)

The match-ups are below the cut!

(Please keep in mind that the matches are randomized, and only the highlighted pairs will move on.)

Left side round 1 is ongoing now!!

Left side:

Nagisa (Assassination Classroom) & Allison (The Breakfast Club) VS Gomez Addams (The Addams Family) & Conel.EXE (Megaman Battle Network)

Ghost (Call of Duty) & Sebastian (Stardew Valley) VS Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) & The green M&M (M&M’s)

Inosuke Hashibara (Demon Slayer) & Emily (Thomas and Friends) VS Mulan (Mulan) & Bow (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Ping (Mulan) & Kaoru Sakurayashiki (Sk8 the Infinity) VS Zagreus (Hades) & Yami Yugi (Yugioh)

Bridget (Guilty Gear) & Ema Skye (Ace Attorney) VS Charlie Kelly (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) & Garmadon (Ninjago)

Cecil Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) & Trunks (DBZ) VS Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4) & Yuri Rurikawa (Act Addict Actors!)

Sheik (Legend of Zelda) & JFK (Clone High) VS Yellow (Pokemon Adventures) & Anne Boonchuy (Amphibia)

Hunter (The Owl House) & Seadall (Fire Emblem) VS Howl (Howl's Moving Castle) & Shiver (Splatoon)

Gonzo (The Muppets) & Sapphire (Princess Knight) VS Blackbeard (Our Flag Means Death) & Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Nico di Angelo (Percy Jackson) & Arya Stark (A Song of Fire and Ice) VS Hiccup (How to Train your Dragon) & Princess Mononoke (Princess Mononoke)

Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom) & Angel Devil (Chainsaw Man) VS Testament (Guilty Gear) & Sailor Uranus (Sailor Moon)

Princess Ozma (Oz) & Princess Peach (Mario Series) VS Dirk Strider (Homestuck) & Klaus (Umbrella Academy)

Team Rocket (Pokemon) VS Peppino (Pizza Tower) & Jason Todd (DC comics)

Mahiru Koizumi (Danganronpa) & Megamind (Megamind) VS Eijiro Kirishima (My Hero Academia) & Kou Seiya (Sailor Moon)

Fionna the Human (Adventure Time) & Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars) VS Jim Jimenez (Our Flag Means Death) & Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)

Allen Walker (D. Gray Man) & Raven (Teen Titans) VS Kris (Deltarune) & Franken Stein (Soul Eater)

Right side:

Yukiko Amagi (Persona 4) & Steven Universe (Steven Universe) VS Ranma Saotome (Ranma 1/2) & Sokka (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) & Helia (Winx Club) VS Luz (The Owl House) & Spamton (Deltarune)

Zuko (Avatar: the Last Airbender) & Pidge Gunderson (Voltron) VS Sherlock Holmes (Various Sources) & Makoto Yuki (Persona 3)

Link (Legend of Zelda) & Sabi Mehboob (Sort Of) VS Marshall Lee (Adventure Time) & Alonzo (Cats)

Ed (Cowboy Bebop) & Boyd (Ducktales) VS Morpheus, Dream of the Endless (The Sandman) & Barney Guttman (Dead end Paranormal Park)

Mettaton (Undertale) & Harrowhark (The Locked Tomb) VS ENA (ENA) & Joey/Rojo (Ben 10)

Wheatley (Portal 2) & Fluttershy (MLP) VS Stanford Pines (Gravity Falls) & Yakko Warner (Animaniacs)

L Lawliet (Death Note) & Larry Needlemeyer (Amazing World of Gumball) VS Crona Gorgon (Soul Eater) & Shuichi Saihara (Danganronpa)

Dave Strider (Homestuck) & Stiles (Teen Wolf) VS Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High Host Club) & Bill (Promethea)

Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) & Bee (Bee and Puppycat) VS Lake (Infinity Train) & Kitty Pryde (Marvel comics)

Hawks (My Hero Academia) & Axel (Kingdom Hearts) VS Alex Fierro (Magnus Chase) & Elizabeth (Visual Prison)

Kara Zor-El (DC comics) & Legoshi (Beastars) VS Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet) & Spock (Star Trek)

Mad Mew Mew (Undertale) & Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad) VS Stevonnie (Steven Universe) & Aubrey (OMORI)

Aziraphale (Good Omens) & Marcy Wu (Amphibia) VS Itsuka Kendo (My Hero Academia) & Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney)

[halfgclden]

SEANCE | ABEL

Abel pulled the Ouija board out from under their bed and (so they would not have one less roommate come morning), climbed up the stairs, out the window, and onto the roof. The moon was still bright in the air, casting a hazy light down on Abel from where it hung behind the clouds. 

They lowered down to their knees, removed the board from its box, and stared down at it before they removed the planchette as well, placed it down on the board, and waited. After a moment of silence, they moved their hands to either side of the board.

“Father? I would like to speak with you.”

The planchette slowly began moving towards the right side of the board, but Abel grabbed it and wrenched it towards where Yes was written, and then looked down at the small image now projected in the hole of the planchette. A familiar and tired-looking face stared back at them, obviously annoyed by the call in the middle of the night.

“I’ve told you a million times, ask Ariana, she’ll probably know what to do and I’m b-“

“Someone’s possessed.”

Narrowed eyes. Suspicious but not surprised, which meant that this was uncommon but not unprecedented. After a long moment of silence, Abel realized that it was their cue to continue speaking.

“Someone named…” Abel realized that the details didn’t matter, and that their father wouldn’t care anyway. “There is a man here, who died, or almost did, in Manhattan. A child of Hebe. Currently, he’s stuffed full of spirits, with one main one being one that did die in February. On a quest. Also a demigod. Lucien.” They held the planchette steady and awaited a reply.

A sigh was what followed. “Why haven’t you done away with it?”

Abel frowned. “Because I haven’t had my spear.” To keep their father from continuing and chastising them for being unprepared, they added, “And because M- the child of Hebe is still in there, and I don’t know if I can remove the spirits without hurting him, or killing him.”

“And you’ve called me because…?”

Abel resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of their nose. “Because I want you to do something, pa.”

Another sigh. “Tell me more about the situation.”

“Um, there was a quest in February that involved a daughter of Morpheus and Rory, daughter of Zeus. They traveled to pick up twins who were stuck in time with the lotus eaters. Children of,” they searched their mind for all of the details that they’d gathered about the quest. “Homonoia. Maybe the only two. The boy died, the girl still lives here. Now he’s back, Lucien. He’s living in the body of a child of Hebe, stuck in there by a child of Hecate. It’s repulsive.”

As Abel spoke, their father summoned scrolls, looking through them as he seemed to half-listen to what his child was saying. “Ah.” Hades nodded sagely. “I can do nothing.”

“What?”

“He never passed over into the underworld, never crossed the River Styx, he’s not part of my jurisdiction.”

Jurisdiction. Abel’s mouth went dry. Since when did bureaucracy play a role in mythology? They clutched the planchette angrily. “Bullshit.” The word felt good to say, so they repeated it. “Bullshit! I’ve gatvol with this. I’ve lost track of him twice and you can probably extract him with your little finger. Are you not lord of the dead? Sitting on your-“ And then Abel went silent as Hades radiated an aura of fear so powerful that their stomach flipped despite the fact that they were not in his immediate presence.

“You forget yourself, child,” Hades spat, obviously not impressed by his child’s speech. “I am Lord of the Dead, but I am god of the Underworld. This is exactly why I have reapers. A job that can very easily be taken away if you are not capable.”

It was the threat Abel had been waiting for. If they were not a reaper, would they die again? The question ran through their head a thousand times before, but it had never been so close to being answered. “And if that position is revoked, am I to report to the underworld, or should I go back to where I had been beforehand?”

It was a dig, and a green flame burned in Hades’s eyes before a sadness seemed to blanket his gaunt face. Abel’s fear was replaced by a deep misery, and their stomach turned just the same. 

“Handle it. Trouble with Hebe and Hecate is manageable but not preferable.” The planchette forced its way to Goodbye, and the image of Hades disappeared.

Abel longed to call out angrily, but just dropped the planchette, left the board where it was, and climbed down the fire escape. Spear in one hand, they walked down the street in an attempt to clear their head. Streetlights turned out as they passed them, leaving only the light of the waning moon over New Athens.

[thenightling]

What happens when The Dreaming is taken over by an AI

Okay, let’s pretend Morpheus comes back from the dead to fix all of this. (since Daniel is proving time and again to be mostly useless... Unless Neil Gaiman is writing him) However with The Dreaming library now being digitized and the main antagonist being an A.I., we’ll have tech-illiterate Morpheus trying to figure out how to fix The Dreaming.  (Based on The Sandman Universe comics of The Dreaming.)

 “Lucien, what is a ‘us-bah port?”

“Lucien, I am trying to find The Corinthian but I keep seeing this message of ‘File not found.’  Delirium is suggesting I run ‘Defragmenting.’”

“I am now being asked if I would like to reset The Dreaming to Factory default settings.  Is this the right thing to do?  Of what factory is it talking about?”  

 “I do not understand this Blue Tooth Compatible statement.  This device will not talk to the Giant ice-Tooth creature I just created yet he is a Blue Tooth.”

“Hob suggested I delete system 32.   What is System 32?  Shall I make a being named System 32?  I do not wish to make a dream entity just to uncreate them.”

“Destiny said I should read the ‘user manual.’  Why does The Dreaming now have a ‘user manual’?”

“Cain is not responding.  I am supposed to ‘Control’ ‘alt’ ‘delete.’  I have done this thing.  It says it is now restarting Fratricide app version 12.” “What is an anti-virus and why is it asking to put Desire in a Vault as unsafe ‘Malware’?”

“I am confused.  I have created and installed the ten windows as suggested by Rose Walker.  I even extended the throne room to fit the new windows.  They are stained glass.  Yet this does not improve what has become of The Dreaming.  Perhaps I should have put them in The House of Secrets or The House of Mystery instead?”

“Matthew suggested I should call ‘Geek Squad.’  I have summoned all the chicken head eaters I could find.  How will this help?”

“What is an eye-pad?   I have created both an eye-pad out of a sanitary napkin with a blinking eye in the middle and one creature that is a pea-pod filled with human eye balls.  Neither feels correct.“

“I was told to seek an ‘It’ man but Pennywise The Clown is being very uncooperative.”

“Lucifer offered to lend me his ‘lap top’ computer.  There are... images in this thing...  Strange images of Mazikeen in various stages of undress or entirely unclad.  Is it called a laptop because of what she is doing to Lucifer in this particular picture?”

“This anti-virus thing wants to block off my Gallery with a ‘fire wall’ as it is an unsecured network.  I do not think I should allow this.”

“I have found a rather elaborate ‘gaming’ computer but there are no chess pieces inside of this ‘so-called’ tower.   It does not look like a tower at all and there are no game pieces. Are you certain this is a ‘gaming’ computer?”

“I think Delirium accidentally turned the cables under this machine into a Spaghetti Monster...  It wishes to eat Goldie.  This I will not allow.”

“Lucien, I have successfully restored your library but I have also inadvertently printed it out seven times.  We are now out of toner.  Whatever that is. And I seem to no longer be able to create black or grey colored nightmares...” 

“Mervyn suggested I switch to apple.  I do not know why he is so cross.  I did as he asked.  I have replaced his head with an apple in proportionate size to his old Pumpkin one.”

“The sleeping tech support man suggested I turn The Dreaming off and on again.”

“I have borrowed this heavier computer from the Angel Aziraphale.  Will this work?”

__________

Anyone is welcome to add to this.

[enigmaincrimson]

Made an index list of all the pages currently on the blog...

There’s a whole lot of them... but once I’m done there should be quite a bit less...

Added under the readmore to keep clutter down. It’s a long list and quite a bit of a mess. I think I got them all?

Tomorrow I plan on reformatting things over here.

~Glitch.

Navigation Rules and Guidelines About the Mun Gallery Contact References Verses Discord Server Locations, Legends, and Lore Extras Verse Hub Events New Verse Hub Muse Hub Lore Hub Verse Activity Status _

References Old Wardrobe Measurements Short Hair Reference Long Hair Reference Sonic Verse Reference Appearance References My Little Pony Verse Reference Outfits and Wardrobe Alter Ego measurements Scratchpad Family Tree Remedy Appearance Diana the Hedgehog Ducktales References

_ Ocean Sprint Tools and Tech Crossroads Residents Overview Magic Inventions Residents Homestuck Sburb Equipment Hidden Lore Artifacts Acid Wastes Sea Coast Divine Entity Custodi War Timeline Dimensional Walls and Hubs Heroes Tomb Frozen Mountain Lancaster Compound Touhou Home Amp System Redacted Lancaster Project SAO Tech SAO Changelings SAO Back Floors _

Persona Little Witch Academia Senran Kagura Dangan Ronpa Pokemon Fairy Tail Harry Potter One Piece Kampfer Miraculous Ladybug Soul Eater Highschoo DxD RWBY Sword Art Online Kantai Collection Blazblue Pretty Cure Royalty Disney's Descendants Overwatch Kill La Kill Fate Series Shimoneta Puella Magi Peter Jackson Legend of Zelda Doctor Who Traveler Heiress Manyu Hikenchou Skullgirls Myst Series Kingsman SuperHero Traveling Store Wanderer Timeline Homestuck Railgun/Index Sonic the Hedgehog Made in Abyss My Little Pony Darling in the FranXX Shantae Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Freedom Planet Star VS The Forces of Evil Monster Musume Home Timeline Touhou Overlord Ducktales Panty and Stocking Splatoon Star Waars Monster Girl Quest My Hero Academia Hollow Knight Owl House _ General Info (Evelyn) Serona June Erin Chloe Darcy Maya Zero RPG Mari Store Assistant Store Barista Store Junior Clerk Old Man Carill Traveling Store Denizens Lancaster GRoup Royal Court Royal Twin MLP Characters Priestess Mage Rogue Ranger Knight Alyssa Dr Adelyne Lady Lancaster Starlight Glimmer Core Variant Diana Fleet Morpheus Touhou Fairies Prometheus Experiments General NPCS _ Children Minerva Volts Annabeth Aran Sadie Neapolitan Laura Volts Emily Volts _

[gold-from-straw]

Nightmares - DGHDA SpookFest

For prompt 33, nightmares. Dirk Gently/Todd Brotzman. T rating

Some graphic depictions of violence, canon typical gore (including pararibulitis attacks), Priest being an utter arsehole as usual, and insulting someone’s gender orientation... so warnings for Transphobia. Also swearing, I mean, my entire existence should come with a swear rating, my bad...

Quinn ran, their heart pounding in their chest, lungs burning and mind almost overloading with terror. They stumbled around another corner, bumped into someone who fell to the ground instantly, the ground around them writhing with snakes. Quinn whimpered and ran some more. Their own worst nightmare was coming for them, his gun at the ready and a smile on his face.

***

“…and then this person said they were attacked by rubber chickens in the grocery store—“

“Rubber chickens?”

“Yes, they—“

“In the grocery store?”

“Yes, Todd, do keep up. They said, and I quote, that they squawked threateningly and their dead rubber eyes stared deep into their soul.”

Todd gave up and doubled up laughing. “What are these guys on?”

Dirk tried to look prim and aloof but he could see the bastard’s lips twitching. “As far as we know they aren’t on anything. This spate of weird hallucinations is spreading across the city and it’s brilliant, Todd, we needed a new case, I’ve been so bored.”

“So the universe is giving you rubber chickens?”

“Not just rubber chickens. Dinosaurs and quicksand and jack’o’lanterns and—“

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my?”

He stopped, his eyes going wide. Todd bit his lip to resist the pull of those eyes, before sucked him in to their orbit. “How did you know? Have you been getting visions like Amanda?”

“No, it’s… a movie reference, never mind. So what do we do?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” he said, and nobody should be that happy about their own ignorance, it was obscene. “I think we should walk around Seattle and see where the universe takes us.”

The universe, as it happened, took them to the park, along the avenue of trees scattering damp autumn leaves, and to a little coffee shop where Dirk ordered something utterly disgusting with at least three different syrups. Todd watched him stroll along with his happy smile and stomped on the little voice whispering ‘this is just like a date’.

It was not a date. As they turned a corner, Dirk suddenly gasped and raced off down an alleyway without warning. Todd was not impressed about running on a full stomach. He could feel that coffee sloshing around as he tried to catch up with Dirk’s ridiculously long legs, honestly, someone who fell over his own feet so often should not be able to run that fast.

He was breathing hard before he found him again, shoving his way through a small crowd of skaters.

“Push it with your board, man, don’t touch it.”

“Woah, did you see that? Are you fucking getting this, man? The board went right through it!”

“What the hell?”

“Rezza, don’t touch it, Jesus!”

“Chill, it’s like a hologram or something, look!”

Todd elbowed forwards, ducking his head low and grimly thinking there were at least some advantages to being chest height to everyone else. “Holy shit,” he muttered, as he got to the centre.

There was a young man lying on the road, writhing and crying out, his head twitching from side to side like he was having a bad dream. And all around him, crawling over his chest and legs, were hundreds of snakes.

Dirk bent down right next to the man. The skaters were torn between cheering him on and warning him to be careful. At least three of them were filming. Dirk reached forward to shake the man’s shoulder, and put his hand right through a huge hooded cobra. “Excuse me,” he said, tapping him on the chest. “Hello, will you wake up?” He poked him gingerly. “Hey!” he yelled, and the poor man sat bolt upright, breathing hard and sweating.

“What the hell? What the… the snakes? Where are they, there were… they were everywhere, oh God.” He shuddered and stared at his hands, but the snakes really were gone, vanished like mist the moment he’d woken up.

Dirk patted him with the very tips of his fingers. “There, there. You seem to have been manifesting your dreams. Does this happen often?”

“Man, it was sick! You have to see this,” one of the skaters laughed, and held out his phone.

The dreamer looked at the video and screamed, skittering backwards onto someone’s feet. “What the fuck? That was… there were snakes all… oh my God oh my God, I’m gonna be sick, I’m gonna… the fuck is going on, I just…”

“Hey,” snapped Todd, forcing his way forward and grabbing the guy’s shoulders. “Stop that now, you’re here. You’re awake, the snakes are gone. They weren’t solid, they were… I don’t know, like some…”

“Manifestation of an unintentional astral projection,” Dirk added helpfully.

“—yeah maybe. Whatever. But you’re safe, you hear?”

The man nodded, still trembling. “What’s your name?” Todd asked.

“Wikus.”

Todd nodded firmly and held out his hand to help the guy up. “I’m Todd Brotzman, this is my par… uh, this is Dirk Gently. He does… weird shit.”

“I’m a holistic detective, as my so-called assistant is failing to tell you. Hi.” Dirk held out his hand to shake and started interrogating Wikus, or telling him his life story, or something. Either way, nobody noticed that Todd had very nearly called him his partner which was just… something to be shoved down into a corner of his imagination where it meant something very different and never see the light of day again.

“—and Farah will take your details. Come on, Todd, you’ll be left behind one of these days!”

He snorted. “As if you’d remember your way back to the office without me.”

“The universe would take me there,” he sniffed. Todd just smirked and shook his head, and led the way.

***

Quinn collapsed in a doorway and tried to sit upright, but their body was shaking too much. They slumped against the frame and curled up tight. A wave of despair swept over them. They were never going to be free. He was going to chase them forever, no matter how hard they ran he’d be around the next corner with a gleeful laugh and an army on his side. Quinn was just so tired, but going back there was a fate worse than death.

***

“So, nightmares, huh?” Amanda said, swinging her feet where she sat on Farah’s desk. Todd figured she was the only person in the world Farah would allow to sit on her perfectly ordered desk.

Dirk nodded. “Yes, this is the seventh manifested nightmare we’ve found in the last three days, isn’t it brilliant?”

“Yeah, when he says found, what he means is I found references to six of them on youtube and twitter,” Farah pointed out, waving her pen in his direction.

“Exactly, you found six and Todd and I found one, therefore we found seven. See? I can do maths, Farah, and you said it was atrocious.”

Farah rolled her eyes and turned back to the computer. Amanda grinned and offered her a cookie which she’d stolen from the cupboard anyway, so it was probably Farah’s cookie. “What’s causing it? Any ideas?”

“Aliens.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Todd, it’s never aliens.”

“It’s only a matter of time, I mean, we’ve had alternate dimensions, shapeshifters, actual wizards, at least three cults and one surprisingly boring series of robberies.”

“Really? How did you end up with that case?”

“They only stole worthless trinkets. Dirk thought it might have been a creature that fed off nostalgia or something, but it was a young guy with a form of kleptomania. Kinda sad, really.”

“I thought he was an empath, not a nostalgia-eater” Dirk protested.

“You said, and I quote, ‘he’s some sort of sentiment vampire, I’ll bet you anything, Todd.’ Speaking of which, you still owe me dinner.”

“Do not let him cook,” said Farah without looking up from the computer.

“Did you just do the British accent again?” Dirk said in delight.

“No…”

“You did. Oh, do it again, please.”

“Shut up!” he covered his red face, furious with himself.

“Guys, come look at this,” Farah called, and Todd grabbed at the opportunity with both hands. He scrambled round to stand behind her chair, joined by Dirk and Amanda.

It was a YouTube video. Todd recognised the area they’d been that day, the skaters taking shaky footage of each other trying out a new trick. He immediately tried to see if he could spot Wikus in the background, but they spotted the person running first.

It was over in seconds. There was a figure racing down the street, turning to look the way they’d come, and then stumbling and running on again. They were almost out of shot when they crashed into Wikus. It was barely even a brush of shoulders, but Wikus dropped like a stone. The skater taking the video was too busy focusing on the snakes that were forming out of thin air around the sleeping man to turn the video back on the runner, or on whatever they were running from.

“Can you pause it and try and get a look at the runner?” Todd said, squinting at the screen.

Farah rolled her eyes. “No, Captain Obvious, because I’ve already downloaded it. We can look at a frame by frame here.” She opened another app and the video appeared as a series of ten second clips.

“Do you ever wonder what your role is in this business?” Amanda asked him sweetly. He glared at her.

“Todd’s my assistant,” said Dirk, and his horrified expression was deeply gratifying. “He’s irreplaceable.”

“If you say so,” Amanda grinned.

Todd tried not to gaze at Dirk like a lovestruck puppy but, damn, it was hard. Now if only he could get up the nerve to tell Dirk he was equally irreplaceable to Todd, just… for a really different reason.

“I can’t get a better view of this guy,” said Farah, squinting at the screen. The person ran, frame by frame, speed blurring all his features. They turned to look behind them, and Dirk gasped and stepped back.

“What, what is it? You recognise this guy?”

“Morpheus,” he whispered.

“Who’s Morpheus?” Farah said. “The… the Greek god of dreams, but… oh… Greek mythology.” She looked from Dirk to the screen and back. “Shit.”

Dirk was backed right up against the wall, his face pale and his eyes that horrible blank mask. Todd had seen that too much back in Bergsberg. He reached out to squeeze his arm. “Blackwing?”

Dirk nodded, a tiny, jerky movement. His big eyes were looking suspiciously wet, and Todd grabbed his other hand, pulling him around to face him. “Hey, you’re OK. You’re safe. We’re here, and we’re never letting you go again, you hear?”

He nodded, and Todd wasn’t sure if his lower lip really trembled like that or if it was just the movement of his whole head, but he wanted to wrap him up tight in his arms and never let him feel this fear again.

Dirk took a deep breath and stepped back towards the screen. “M-Morpheus arrived a few years after I did… around the same time as the Rowdies and… and they used to make them feed on either them or me, or… or—“

“Them?” interjected Farah. “How many were in Project Morpheus?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, singular them. Morpheus is non-binary.”

“And their power was, what, making people hallucinate?”

“Not exactly… they could pull your worst nightmares forwards. I used to… they had to do it to me,” he said, his eyes falling shut and shuddering. “I didn’t recognise it today because… because the nightmares never used to appear to anyone else, like those snakes did. They just touched you, and you fell asleep, into the worst… the worst dreams you’d ever had.”

Todd’s hands itched with the need to touch him, comfort him. When Amanda slipped off the desk and wrapped her arms around his waist, he was torn between grateful that she was giving him the comfort that Todd was too cowardly to provide, and angry with himself that he couldn’t put this stupid crush aside and just give Dirk what he needed. He turned back to the screen, clenching his fist and looking at the picture, memorising the face of yet another person who’d hurt Dirk, another person Todd would hate forever.

But as he looked at the young person on the screen, he found it difficult to keep the same level of anger. They were frozen mid-step, their head twisted to stare behind them, a look of utter panic and despair on their face. It was hard to hate someone who looked so much like Dirk had back in Bergsberg.

“They look like they’re being chased,” said Farah softly.

Dirk nodded. “The fear always made their powers worse.”

“So you’re saying they’ve got stronger since you knew them?” Amanda said.

He sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if they got out of Blackwing back when I escaped, I know not all of us did. If they’d been stuck there, if Riggins…” He swallowed. “If they found something that worked…”

“You think they’ve found some way to increase their powers?”

“To weaponise them,” Farah murmured. “Shit.”

“Look, maybe not,” Amanda said, rubbing Dirk’s back. Todd could see his muscles trembling, just ever so slightly. “Maybe Morpheus figured it out themselves.”

Dirk took a deep breath and pursed his lips. “We’ve got to help them.”

***

Amanda walked back with Todd and Dirk, claiming it was Todd’s turn to let her use his shower. Todd grumbled and pretended that having her back in his life wasn’t the best thing that had ever happened to him. She also made Dirk smile, just another reason he wanted to fall on his knees in gratitude to his little sister.

“Don’t let Morpheus get close to you, Todd,” she said, with a wicked grin.

“Amanda,” he growled, narrowing his eyes at her.

She laughed and tucked her arm into Dirk’s. “Do you wanna guess what Todd’s worst nightmare was? When we were kids?”

Dirk turned great pools of sorrow onto Todd. “Oh no! Was it terrible, Todd?”

Todd blushed and turned away, unable to bear the siren call of that sweet, kind face. “Don’t listen to her, she’s an idiot.”

Amanda snorted. “I’m not the one who was terrified of little white ponies.”

Dirk’s forehead crinkled as he stared down at her, and even under his mortification Todd thought it was adorable. “White ponies?”

“Amanda, oh my god!”

“How many times did you have that dream?” She asked, her voice rich with delight at his humiliation. She looked up at Dirk in glee. “It was about the same time I was playing with My Little Ponies, he must have been at least fourteen. He woke up screaming one night because - and I quote - ‘the ponies are trying to eat me!’” She threw her head back and laughed. “He had that dream night after night, I had to put my ponies in the wardrobe any time I wasn’t playing with them or he’d shudder when he saw them!”

“They had teeth!” he yelled, his face burning. “They were vicious little… dog sized creatures with sharp freaking teeth - and horses do actually eat meat, by the way. They… they chased me up a tree every damn night and circled me and - oh shut up!”

Amanda was nearly doubled over laughing. “Promise me you’ll take a video if Todd gets knocked over by Morpheus, I need blackmail material.”

Todd groaned and rolled his eyes.

“I’m afraid I’ll probably have other things on my mind, but I appreciate the warning about the white ponies,” Dirk said, humour colouring his voice.

Todd shook his head, but it occurred to him that his stupid pony nightmare would be preferable to anything that would manifest if Morpheus got to Dirk.

***

Quinn took a long, shuddering breath and wrapped their hands around a warm styrofoam cup. They were safe, just for now. They’d sent him down a false trail, and if they were lucky it would be hours before he realised… maybe even a day or two. And Quinn had a plan. It meant… it meant doing to themself what they did but… the end justified the means. They needed to get stronger. They needed to stop relying on touch because Priest would never let Quinn get close enough… they needed to stretch the powers. Quinn’s stomach roiled, rebelling against the fear and phantom pains, but this was the only way. They had to save themself, because nobody else was going to.

***

It was midnight. Amanda had stumbled out the front door, yawning, at least an hour earlier, but Dirk was still on Todd’s sofa, chattering, waving his hands, and as bright eyed as he had been at 8 o’clock that morning.

Todd rubbed his gritty eyes and stifled a yawn, blinking at Dirk’s flushed face. “...and there was this absolutely brilliant double rainbow, stretching right over the Atlantic, and did you know, Todd, I could see both ends of it in the sea - do you think if I took a plane over the top of it I’d be able to see a whole circle? Wouldn’t that be amazing, a rainbow ring? A double ring because it was a double rainbow, ooh, that would be the best thing—“

“Dirk,” he huffed. “Aren’t you… I don’t know, aren’t you tired?”

He stopped, his mouth open and half way through a word. “I’m… no. No, I’m perfectly awake, Todd, I really don’t know how you can sleep at a time like this, honestly, it’s all so exciting! Did I tell you about-“

Todd groaned and slumped lower onto the sofa. “Dirk, I’m tired! I want to go to sleep, look… do you want to just watch TV? I’m gonna fall asleep right here if I don’t go to bed!”

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry.”

He sounded small. He sounded like he’d been shut down, like all that brightness and enthusiasm had been wiped away like condensation on a mirror, and all that was left was a sharp, stark… exhaustion.

Todd opened his eyes properly and sat up.

“I’ll head back to my own flat, thank you for dinner, Todd, it was lovely.”

Todd frowned as Dirk stood up, smiling brightly and fussing with his jacket. He focused properly on the curve of his shoulders, the tension in the lines of his face, the shadows under his eyes, and he grabbed the sleeve of his jacket as he slipped his arms in. “Do you… you can stay here, if you like,” he said softly. “If you don’t want to be alone.”

Dirk exhaled shakily, his eyes going distant and staring through the carpet into the past. “I’ll be fine.”

“That’s not good enough,” he said. “Come here.” He pulled him around to the sofa, shoved him down again and twitched a fleecy blanket off the back of the armchair. “Lie down, Dirk, c’mon.”

“You really don’t have to, Todd, you’re absolutely right, it’s time for bed and—“

“Dirk, shut up and lie down. And next time you don’t want to be alone, just tell me, OK?”

Dirk curled up on his side, stiff and wide eyed. Todd nodded firmly, draping the blanket over him. “‘Night. Sleep well.”

“Thank you,” he said, very quietly.

***

They found somewhere to sleep, an old warehouse, red brick crumbling and weeds growing up through the cracks in the tarmac. It was almost painfully cold out in the autumn wind, Halloween just around the corner, but Quinn had a thick sleeping bag and a pack of marshmallows, stolen from a camping store. It was almost pleasant, almost like an adventure. That’s what they told themself, a distraction from what they’d have to do to peel their powers out, stretch them like elastic. Make themself into the weapon they’d been resisting for so long. Make themself into the monster they’d sworn never to become.

They had no choice.

***

He wasn’t sure what woke him. It wasn’t a cry, it wasn’t a dream of his own, but he woke, eyes wide and clear, fixed on the red 3:58 of his digital clock. He lay still for a moment, trying to work out what had pulled him from sleep so perfectly.

For a while there was nothing. He closed his eyes again and tried to settle back to sleep, and there it was. The slightest, shuddering breath, the slightest shifting of tense muscles.

Before he could rationalise it to himself, before he could shake his head and brush it off, he was standing, bare feet cold against the floorboards, and pushing his door open to the sitting room.

Dirk lay still under the covers, a beam of moonlight casting silver accents over his red hair. He wasn’t moving at all, and in the end, that’s what was suspicious. Because he was so still he might not even be breathing, so curled up tight when he’d seen him loose and slack in sleep the last time he’d passed out on the couch after a long case.

He shuffled forward, his body not quite responding right, but his mind sharp and present as he crouched down. Dirk’s forehead was lined, his brows crunched into a deep frown, his plush lips in a worried pout, his fingers clenching and unclenching. As Todd watched he whimpered, just slightly, and pressed himself backwards, curling up into a terrified, solid little ball.

“Dirk,” he said softly, his heart aching. Dirk should never be so small and afraid, hiding behind silence and stillness.

“Please,” Dirk whispered, just a breath barely even a sound. “No, please, I’m trying, I’ll be… I’ll be good.”

“Dirk, wake up!” Todd said, a little louder. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t want to scare him, but how could he leave him so scared? This wasn’t right, how dare anyone scare Dirk like this? How could they?

“Please,” he whimpered, and Todd couldn’t bear it. He sank his fingers into Dirk’s hair, rubbing gently, whispering meaningless reassurances, trying to call him back.

“You’re OK, Dirk,” he said right into his ear, softly and firmly. “I’m here, OK, it’s nobody else, just me. I’m not gonna let them get you, I’m here. You’ll be OK, baby, you hear? I’ll keep you safe, just come back, OK? You’re not back there, you’re safe. He pressed his forehead to Dirk’s temple, wishing he could help, wishing he could protect him from everything in his past.

“Todd,” Dirk whispered, his fingers finding their way around Todd’s wrist. “My Todd.”

“Yeah, I’m yours, it’s OK, sweetheart.” He felt a rush of self-loathing. How dare he? Calling him stupid pet names, touching him like this while he was sleeping, when he couldn’t push him away. He told himself it was just to make Dirk feel better, just to help him through the nightmare, that Amanda and Farah would do exactly the same for him, but that was different, wasn’t it? Because they’d do the same for Dirk while he was awake. They didn’t hold him at arms’ length because all they felt for him was pure, uncomplicated affection, not this… this overblown worship! This complete obsession that if anyone knew about it they’d be horrified, push him away for being too much, too clingy.

But he brushed Dirk’s hair back, and stroked his cheek, and rubbed his hands where they held his wrist, because now he’d started, he couldn’t bear to stop.

“Todd,” he sighed. “Feels nice.” He nuzzled into Todd’s hands as he rubbed the back of his neck, his thumb brushing over his cheekbones. Todd squeezed his eyes shut, guilty and as always, not guilty enough to pull away.

But he’d learned, hadn’t he? He was better than this - he was trying, for Amanda’s sake, for Farah and mostly for Dirk, he was trying to be a better person. Dirk was breathing evenly, he’d come out of the nightmare, and Todd couldn’t justify touching him any more, he was just being creepy and an asshole. He stood up, his hands sliding gently out of Dirk’s hair.

“Don’t go,” Dirk whined, and to Todd’s horror one eye opened, looking right up at him.

“I’m… shit, I’m sorry, Dirk, I didn’t… I just… you were having a bad dream and I…”

“I know,” he said with a sleepy smile. “Thank you.”

Todd felt his face flush. “Well… if you’re… I’m glad. I’ll just be going—“

“Please stay,” he whispered, and Todd felt his heart ache.

“Sure,” he said with a crooked smile. He could handle the dull ache, he could handle being too close if Dirk wanted him there, he could… shit, that really did hurt.

“Pills,” he croaked, as the muscles between his ribs clenched in threat. “I need--”

“Oh, shit,” Dirk said, tumbling off the sofa and grabbing for the yellow jacket discarded on the floor. He was muttering platitudes, reassurances, but Todd didn’t hear, because he pulled up his shirt and saw the flesh tearing away from his bones, blood soaking his pyjamas, something fluttering beneath and someone was screaming, it hurt, it hurt so much and there was a bitter taste, a swallow…

He slumped sideways onto Dirk’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

“I’m so sorry,” Dirk whispered, and Todd realised he had his arms wrapped around him, hands shaking. “I’m so sorry, if I hadn’t woken you up and shocked you and--”

“Hey, no, that’s not how it works, man,” he said. “Or… well, we’re not sure… but anyway, it just is what it is, it’s not your fault.”

“I’m so sorry,” Dirk said anyway.

Todd rolled his eyes. “Come on, you idiot,” he grumbled. It was the safest way for his heart, being grumpy when he wanted to be safe. Some kinds of hurt were worse than others. He wriggled back and lay on his side on the couch, jerking his head at Dirk. “Lie down and go to sleep, otherwise we’ll never wake up tomorrow.”

Dirk hesitated, his mouth opening and closing, his eyes big and sad, and Todd wished he could be a better person, comfort him instead of pushing him around. But he never had been a nice person, not really, and he wasn’t going to pretend again. He grabbed Dirk’s collar and yanked him down, shoving him in place and draping the blanket over both of them.

For just a moment he indulged a wish, a silly fantasy. It was harmless. He imagined that this was their everyday. That he didn’t have to drag Dirk down to lie next to him, that Dirk snuggled into bed with him rather than this spur of the moment thing on the sofa. That Dirk wanted to lie next to him for more than just comfort from nightmares.

He pushed it away, and lay on his hands, keeping them to himself.

***

They weren’t ready. It wasn’t quite THERE yet, they needed more time but he wouldn’t wait. It was like he knew what Quinn was doing, how close they were and they couldn’t… they just couldn’t bear it, they’d die, they’d do anything to be free of that hell. Quinn stood, every muscle shaking, exhausted and terrified and so, so angry, and they ran.

***

Todd closed his eyes and hunched over his black coffee in bliss. Coffee was his one true love. Coffee didn’t judge him, didn’t mind what a grumpy shit he was - in fact, coffee probably appreciated his moods because it made him want coffee more.

“Yes, Todd, we know you love coffee,” Amanda snorted, kicking him in the ankle. “But we don’t need to see you make love to it in the diner.”

Todd held up his middle finger and drank, his eyes still shut. Beside him, just a little too close for Todd’s sanity, Dirk was eating waffles, swimming in disgusting quantities of maple syrup. He was squirming as he talked, and Todd wasn’t sure if it was a sugar high or just Dirk’s natural twitchy self.

He wiped the smile off his face. He was not adorable. Wriggly people were annoying, all of them, they definitely had always annoyed Todd, and Dirk was no exception. Even if he was also unbearably cute - no. Nope. Not the time.

“Come on,” Farah said, nudging Amanda. “We’ve got a lead on the nightmares up near Queen Anne. You said the Rowdies might be able to catch Morpheus’ scent?”

“Yep, let’s do it. You in?” She asked Todd and Dirk, pushing herself to her feet and sliding out of the booth.

“Uh…” said Dirk.

“We’ll pass,” Todd said wryly. Dirk smiled at him gratefully.

“You know the boys won’t feed off you, right?” Amanda said gently.

“I… yes… but…”

“It’s alright,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Later asshole,” she added, middle finger up again. Todd returned it.

“Ready to go feel the pull of the universe, or whatever?” He asked.

He nodded, his cheeks dimpling, and licked the last of the maple syrup off his fork. Todd looked away quickly.

***

He was close. Quinn’s lungs burned, their muscles ached, and if they hadn’t been so exhausted and dehydrated they’d have wept.

Their legs just barely carried them around the corner, into his industrial unit, budleia and willowherb creeping through the tarmac and beckoning him home, broken glass lying outside like it could protect him, like it was on his side.

Perfect for a final stand.

***

Dirk and Todd were meandering in the usual way when it happened. Dirk had been looking at Todd, earnestly explaining why cows were absolutely, definitely from another dimension (“Oh, and platypuses are totally normal?” “Don’t be ridiculous, Todd, they’ve very clearly primordial and have just missed the memo when it comes to evolution”) when he stopped.

“Dirk?” Said Todd, his mouth still stretched into a smile from the ridiculous conversation. “Everything ok?”

He didn’t answer, just turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction, his face slack and horrified and like he’d rather do anything else. Todd jogged to catch up, panic and adrenaline seeping into his blood.

***

He was here. He was close, and Quinn had one chance, just one chance.

“Here, kitty kitty kitty! Oh, Mo-o-o-rpheus!”

They swallowed hard and fought back the bile and the memories. Focus!

“Here boy! Where are you?” Priest’s high giggle cut the air and made Quinn flinch violently. “Or are you a girl? You sure cry like a little girl. I think we should find out for sure what you are when we get you home.”

Quinn bit back a whimper violently, squeezing their eyes shut and demanding control, forcing their body to stop trembling. This was the only chance.

“But you’re just a freak, ain’t you boy? Just a freak like all the others, not fit for polite company. You’ve been out here too long, haven’t you?”

Quinn clenched their fists and gathered up all their hate, all their desperation, clenching it into a ball in their chest, and stepped out of the shadows.

“Oh, well, look at you,” Priest said, and chuckled. “What do you look like? Time to go home, isn’t it, boy? Hmm?”

He raised his dart gun. Quinn dug deep. “Fuck you, Mr Priest,” they said, and hurled their power through the palm of their hand and OUT, out into the air and it HURT, it burned every cell, but they’d rather die than go back to Blackwing.

***

Dirk was running now, long legs taking him further away from Todd, and that was absolutely not acceptable. He raced after him, brass knuckles already in place. Bloody idiot was always getting hurt! Didn’t he know Todd was meant to go first to keep him safe?

They heard the screaming before they even got into the warehouse, awful, gurgling noises that made Todd’s hair stand on end.

And then they saw who it was, and Dirk crumpled, falling to his ass and scrambling backwards, hands over his mouth in soundless terror at the black clad man with his back to them. Todd threw himself in front of him, but stopped, open mouthed. There was another figure walking towards Priest. She cocked her head and threw a shard of glass at him, her eyes blank and bored as he screamed again.

“Bart? Holy shit, I thought she was still back in Wendimoor.” He winced as she raised a knife and slashed, an arc of blood spraying across the room like a Vegas fountain. “Jesus Christ, is that… has she just killed Priest?”

He took a step forward in his shock, and, too late, saw the other person in the room.

His eyes rolled back and he felt his knees buckle, but he didn’t feel himself hit the floor. He blinked. There was green grass, a park as far as he could see, with warm sunlight and the sound of spring birds in the distance.

“Todd?” said Dirk, and he looked up. He was standing over him with his hand out, smiling sweetly at him. “Up you get,” he said, and pulled him to his feet. He put his other arm around him as he stood, and Todd felt a jolt of light flood through his body at the contact, at the feeling of being held against Dirk.

“What--”

“Ready for your birthday present?” Dirk asked sweetly. He still hadn’t moved his hands from off Todd’s hips and it was desperately distracting.

“My present? But it’s not…”

“I know it’s early,” he said, his plush lips curling into a wide smile. “But it was such a lovely day, perfect for a picnic, and you know what the weather’s like here.”

“Dirk, wait--” He grabbed Dirk’s sleeve as he turned to lead Todd down the grassy slope. Todd frowned around him. He didn’t recognise the park at all.

“Are you OK?” Dirk asked, his forehead furrowed in concern. “Did you hit your head when you fell?”

“I don’t…” He frowned. “Don’t think so.”

Dirk smiled softly, and it took Todd’s breath away. He’d never smiled at him like that, there’d always been something hidden that he’d never noticed until now. Compared to this smile, all the other smiles he’d ever received were veiled, cautious, half smiles.

He slipped his arms around Todd’s waist, cradling him like he was something delicate and infinitely precious, the way Todd dreamed of holding Dirk, and he couldn’t breathe, because Dirk was dipping his head, his eyes fluttering shut, and he was kissing Todd, sweet and everything and there were nuclear blasts going off behind his vision because it was the most perfect, softest, gentlest kiss and he’d never been kissed like this, never been loved before, not like this, and--

Dirk shuddered in his arms, and he was suddenly heavy, his knees collapsing. Todd grabbed him, horrified, because there was blood, so much blood. Dirk clutched at his chest, riddled with bullet holes, from so many shots he hadn’t even heard, oh god, there was… there was a rattling noise from Dirk’s throat. “Jesus, fuck, Dirk, what… what can I do? Oh my god, oh my god!” he pressed his hands against one wound, then another, his fingers slick with the gore, and Dirk was dying, he couldn’t survive this, and then Todd wouldn’t survive it, and… and Dirk was struggling with pills, cramming two into his mouth, his face crumpled with the effort of swallowing.

Todd felt sick. If he had to move he’d crumble, if he had to speak he’d fall to pieces, because the pills worked fast, he’d been there from the inside, feeling them hit his stomach, dissolve, the drugs absorbed directly through carriers in his stomach lining. He knew how the pain disappeared embarrassingly quickly, like it had all been a nightmare, all in his head, all that pain and despair and…

Dirk slumped back, breathing heavily, still twitching from the aftershocks. The blood was gone, the bullet holes were gone, and yet Todd felt like he was grieving because this… this was wrong. This was his thing to bear, and he’d never thought of it like this but he’d have taken it any day over seeing Dirk in that kind of pain.

“Dirk,” he croaked, his voice trembling, raw, no, no!

“It’s OK,” Dirk said, exhausted, breathing hard like he’d run a marathon, and Todd had been there, and never wanted to be there more than he did now, because Dirk should never have to--

“Hey,” he said, sitting up with an obvious effort and cupping Todd’s cheek. “I’m OK, it’s over.” He leaned forwards and kissed Todd’s cheek, the corner of his mouth. “It was a little better today,” he smiled, exhausted. “Maybe it’ll keep getting better; didn’t you say it started out feeling better a little bit at a time when it happened to you?”

Todd’s blood froze, his entire body stilling as he heard those words in two voices, and this couldn’t… he wouldn’t have, he wouldn’t, he’d learned, he wasn’t… he wasn’t that person, he’d changed, no, please.

“Todd? It’s OK, I have faith,” Dirk said, nudging their noses together. “I’ll get better just like you did. You give me hope.”

Todd staggered back, his ears ringing, the horror flooding over him like ice, like despair, like no please, I’m sorry, I’m sorry and he couldn’t focus, could only hear his name, screamed over and over from a great distance and

***

“Please let me go to him,” Icarus sobbed, his face soaked with tears. The small guy was screaming, his back arching on the floor like he was in terrible pain, but Quinn didn’t understand, there was nothing… what was that nightmare about? What was he afraid of?

They could see the nightmare projected over him, the other Icarus, the other small guy, they’d seen him and Icarus kiss in the field, and then Icarus get hurt, but it wasn’t scary, what kind of worst nightmare was this?

“Todd!” Icarus screamed as he arched and writhed in pain, but Quinn didn’t understand, because the dream shouldn’t be hurting him, it wasn’t like Priest’s nightmare, of Marzana hunting him (the hunter terrified of a bigger hunter, Quinn wanted to laugh, but they thought maybe if they started they might never stop until they fainted) it was nice, most of it. Icarus and the little guy, Todd, they’d been happy, and what the hell kind of nightmare was that?

Quinn was so tired, so tired, they just wanted to sleep, and maybe this time they wouldn’t be hunted in their dreams like they were every day, but they couldn’t be sure… what if this was all one of their own nightmares, wrapping around everyone, bouncing back onto themself, and just… they were so confused…

Icarus yelled Todd’s name again, and he gasped, the weirdly benign nightmare disappearing. But he was still screaming, still squirming, and Quinn held out their hand, not sure whether to aim at Icarus or Todd.

“Please, let me give him his pills, please, he’s going to die like that,” Icarus cried, his arms held up like he was scared of Quinn. But Quinn was the scared one, nobody was scared of Quinn, what was happening, what was going on?

“Please, I beg you, please stop… don’t nightmare me if I go to him, I promise we’ll leave you… we’ll leave you alone, just let me…”

Quinn’s mind was whirling, they couldn’t hold themself up any more, their arm outstretched burning with muscle fatigue, and they slumped forwards. They weren’t sure if they’d decided to do so or not, but it was like drawing breath for the first time after drowning and they staggered forwards onto their hands and knees, gulping air as Icarus threw himself across the warehouse, hands trembling as he tipped pills into Todd’s mouth.

“It’s OK, Todd, you’ll be OK, please swallow them, please… you’ll be OK.” He sniffled and wiped his nose, and held Todd’s head on his lap, rocking back and forth the way they all used to when training got really bad. Quinn rested their head on the ground and closed their eyes.

***

Todd opened his eyes, his throat raw and powdery, bitter from the drugs. Every muscle was lax and overworked, and he felt feverish after the imaginary ice had drained from his body.

He knew it would be normal, but he could never seem to resist holding up his hand, marvelling at the intact skin where he’d just watched it blacken and crumble away in extreme frostbite, flesh shattering and crackling as if he’d been dipped in liquid nitrogen.

And then his nightmare came back, that awful dream where it was Dirk suffering, where he’d lied to someone else he loved, and for the first time after an attack he smiled because that’s all it had been. He was still the one who had pararibulitis, Dirk was safe, or as safe as Dirk ever could be, and he hadn’t lied again.

But Dirk was crying, rocking as he held Todd and that wasn’t good enough. Still blurred with sleep and exhaustion, Todd sat up and wrapped his arms around Dirk’s hunched body, hushing him and pulling him close. “You’re OK, you’re safe.”

“You nearly died,” he wept, clinging on to Todd’s shirt, his fingers tangled in the flannel.

“Nah, I’m fine, see? It was just an attack, and you helped, you were awesome, thank you.”

“I tried to be faster, I’m sorry, Todd, but Morpheus wouldn’t let me go to you… I should have been braver, I should…”

“Hey, no, don’t do that. It’s all fine, I’m-- wait, where’s Morpheus now? Where’s… shit, is Priest dead, or was that an… an illusion or something?”

They staggered to their feet, both shaking from the adrenaline come-down. Todd sidled up to the bloody corpse and scrunched his nose up. “Yeah, I think we can safely say he’s dead.”

“Morpheus is asleep,” Dirk called. But as he leaned over the sleeping figure, Morpheus groaned, blinked, and startled into a crouch, their arm out to blast Dirk into a nightmare and hell no!

Todd threw himself in front of Dirk, covering as much of him as he could with his too-small body and outstretched arms, and snarled at Morpheus. “Leave him the fuck alone, asshole!”

Morpheus blinked and sagged slightly, and Todd felt sympathetic exhaustion in his own knees and shoulders and every inch of his body. “You just—“

“Todd, no,” Dirk gasped, tugging at him, but for a tall guy he was no match for Todd’s better centre of gravity and spiteful stubbornness. “Morpheus, please, don’t—“

“My name’s Quinn,” they said, and dropped their hand. They frowned at Todd. “I saw your nightmare. It didn’t seem so scary.”

“Yeah, well, better me than Dirk, then, huh? Also fuck you.”

“Is that the worst thing?” they asked, and Todd realised they weren’t asking to be an asshole. They genuinely seemed to find it difficult to understand. “Him hurting… is that the worst thing that could happen?”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. “So leave him alone.”

“We just want to help,” Dirk said, one hand clenched in Todd’s shirt. “We don’t mean any harm, we were just investigating. The nightmares. That’s… that’s what I do now, I help. I can help. We can, I mean, me and Todd and Farah and… how long have you been free?”

“Six years,” Quinn said softly. “The security never quite got back to what it was after you guys got out. It was worse for a while but… they were… brittle. Like they knew it was only a matter of time before we all…” they shrugged. “Anyway, I got out. Been running ever since.”

Todd relaxed a bit more, still keeping his own body between Quinn and Dirk’s but letting his muscles unclench just a little. “We can look after you,” he said, only a little grudgingly. “We’re getting better at staying away from Blackwing--”

Quinn shook their head. “Blackwing’s gone. I saw Bart a little while ago, she told me. Said the universe got too loud in her head, she had to… to kill them all. Priest was the only one who got away, but even so…” they glanced at Priest’s crumpled body. “Looks like she had a bit of an impact, if she was his worst nightmare.”

“So you don’t choose the nightmares?”

“No.” They frowned at Todd. “I certainly wouldn’t have chosen… anyway. I just… I just want to be free.”

“We can call Amanda,” Dirk nodded, and stepped closer to Quinn, firmly nudging Todd to the side. “She’ll take you anywhere you want to go, she’s good at that, isn’t she?” Todd shrugged, but now Dirk had said it, he saw it was true. Amanda just had a sense of where people needed to be, where they would feel at home. “She hangs around with the Rowdies now - Project Incubus, you know? They’re… better now she’s with them.”

Quinn raised their eyebrows. “Well, they couldn’t be much worse.”

Todd snorted, and Dirk smiled. “They do stay away when we ask them, at least.”

Quinn took a deep breath, and nodded. “OK. It’s not like… I don’t really know what to do with myself, so someone who knows what to do with me… yeah. Makes sense.” They sighed and sat down on the floor like a marionette with broken strings, filthy and surrounded by blood and dust.

“C’mon,” Todd said, holding out a hand, then pulled back. “Uh, you’re not going to give me a nightmare just by touching me, right?”

“No,” Quinn smirked. “I have to mean it. Sometimes it happens when I’m really scared myself, but… I’m getting better at control. I used to have to touch people to set them off, now I can project the power.” They glanced at Priest. “I had to… had to make myself into a distance weapon.”

“Up you get then,” Todd said. It was only a matter of time before it all hit Quinn, what they’d done, killing someone with his own dreams, and it would probably be good if they weren’t near a dead body when the shock hit. “Stinks in here.”

The three of them stumbled out of the old, red-brick warehouse, Quinn with their arm thrown over Todd’s shoulder, and Dirk on the phone to Amanda. Todd could hear her voice, shrill with fear and anger at them for rushing in without calling for backup - again - and just felt tired, down to his bones. He slumped down onto a low, crumbling wall next to Quinn, and the two of them slouched with their elbows on knees, empty.

The autumn sun went some way to banishing the fear and tension, muscles melting like ice into a shaky puddle of exhaustion, rather than a vibrating string, nearing hysteria. By the time the van drew up, earth-shaking music possibly slightly quieter than usual, Todd realised he was slumped against Dirk, and sat up, embarrassed.

“You’re idiots, both of you,” snapped Farah, hands on hips. “What the hell did you not understand about that lecture on teamwork?”

“Which one,” snorted Todd.

“Take your pick.” She crouched down in front of him, turning his face from side to side by his chin. “Are you hurt, any of you?”

He shook his head, but Dirk piped up “Todd had an attack.”

“It’s fine,” he groaned. “I had my pills.”

“That was my fault, I’m afraid,” Quinn said, hand up, eyes wide and worried. “I nightmared him.”

“So you’re Morpheus,” Amanda said, her arms crossed and her face hard. Todd didn’t know why, she wasn’t usually so stand-offish.

“Quinn,” said Dirk, before Quinn could correct her himself. “Morpheus isn’t their name any more.”

Amanda’s glare softened a bit, and she even quirked Quinn a reluctant half-smile.

They told the story as quickly as they could. Todd managed to skip over the awful dream, and although Dirk and Quinn glanced at him, they didn’t add anything. Todd almost sagged with relief, he didn’t want Amanda to have any reminders of what he’d done to her, how little he deserved. Farah made some calls to her nebulous, magical contacts who knew what to do with the bodies of shadowy government agents murdered by their own nightmares, and Amanda took Quinn off to re-introduce them to the Rowdies and Beast.

“Thank you,” said Dirk’s soft voice, and Todd turned in surprise.

“For what?”

“You stood in front of me… you were going to take a nightmare again for me. You didn’t have to… I wouldn’t have wanted you to…”

Todd looked away, awkward. “Yeah, well… your nightmares would have been ten times worse than mine.”

He cocked his head. “You think?”

“Of course, I mean, you have nightmares all the time, from… from Blackwing, and those bastards…” he clenched his fists on his thighs. “I’m glad he’s dead,” he hissed at the cracked tarmac under his feet.

“I don’t dream of Blackwing,” he said, grabbing Todd’s hand. “Or… no, I do, I guess, but not about me being there. I dream…” he took a deep breath. “I see you. There. I see them doing the tests on you, setting off… setting off attacks to study them, I see… I see myself as one of the agents, hurting you, and…”

“Hey, hey, it’s OK. It’s not real, it’s…” Todd turned and held Dirk’s face cupped in both hands. “I’m fine, you see? It’s all over. Blackwing’s gone, Bart killed them all. You’re safe, we both are, OK?”

Dirk nodded hard, his breath still shaky, his eyes still damp. Todd realised he was still cupping his jaw, started to pull away, but Dirk covered his hands, holding them against his face. “In your dream… your nightmare, I was… I kissed you. We were together.”

Todd pulled away and clenched his fists again. “Shit, I’m sorry, Dirk, I didn’t… I never meant for you to know. I swear I never expected anything, I just… can you forget it?”

“You want that? You want me to kiss you?”

“I mean, it’s fine,” he said, shaking his head, trying to crush that weak, pathetic voice that swelled up inside his chest crying yes! “I’ll get over it, it’s just--”

“Please don’t,” he said, his voice breathless, and Todd looked up because wait, this couldn’t be-- but it was. Dirk’s long fingers wrapped around his skull, buried in the hair at the back of his neck, and he kissed him, lips pressed gently, hungrily to his, so brave and so afraid of being pushed back, and fireworks went off behind Todd’s eyes as he wrapped his arms around Dirk’s neck and kissed back.

“Fucking finally!” whooped Amanda, and Todd didn’t even break the kiss, didn’t even hold up his middle finger, because he would happily be embarrassed and blushing every day for the rest of his life if Dirk would just keep kissing him, keep whimpering into his mouth, pressing closer and clinging to him.

When they finally broke apart, Todd buried his face in the junction of Dirk’s neck and shoulder, let himself be small and sheltered, because when it mattered, when he needed it, he’d be strong, he’d stand in front of Dirk again and keep him safe, because together they’d save each other, again and again, in every way.

@bananaslugger20

[ouchmaster6000]

Though 78-88% is more than I expected, its still not 90%. And that was 13 years ago, so chances are those statistics would look different now.

I'm also curious what their definition of "regular character" is. Or how those statistics might differ if they didn't just cover the most popular shows.

And even saying black people tend to be disproportionately portrayed as stupid stereotypes or villains is frankly wrong.

If anything the ignorant white hillbilly is a way more common sterotype of a moron than any of the black stereotypes.

I also can name way more black heroes off the top of my head black villains

Here are just the black heroes I can think of from Movies and TV shows that I've personally watched / remember well: Black Panther, Blade, Storm, Cyborg, Bumblebee, Bishop, Cloak, Falcon, War Machine, Shuri, Sunspot, Static Shock, Firestorm, Spyke, Jericho, Alex Wilder, Miles Morales, Robbie Robertson, Lucius Fox, Max Gibson, Charles Gunn, Principal Wood, Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, Bill Potts, Ryan Sinclair, Geordi LaForge, Guinan, Nyoto Uhura, Tuvok, Benjamin Sisko, Shepard Book, James Doakes, Mr. X (x-files), Agent Jay, Byron Williams, General Casey (Mars Attacks), Frank Armitage, Morpheus, Lando Calrissian, Tommy Webber, Finn (Star Wars), Childs (The Thing), Dennis Parker, Captain Miller (Event Horizon), Cooper (Event Horizon), Bubba Brownlee, Holden McCrea, Jerso (Fullmetal Alchemist), Kilik Lunge, Sid Barrett, Nygus (Soul Eater), Ogun Montgomery, Garterbelt (Panty & Stocking) Numbuh 5, Irwin (Billy & Mandy), Libby Folfax, Maurice (KND), AJ (Fairly Odd parents) Jermaine (Xiaolin Showdown), Jefferson Twilight, Sky Pilot (Venture Bros), The Chief (Kablam!), Tucker Fowley, Wybie Lovat

Here are all the black villains I can think of: Geoffrey Wilder, Katherine Wilder, Tombstone (albino, but is still African American), Prowler, Black Manta, Bronze Tiger, Bloodsport, Killmonger, Seemore (Teen Titans), Fish Mooney, Mr. Trick (from Buffy), Boyd Langton, Sister Krone, General Klemin (FMA), Charon (Fire Force), Pope (World's End Harem), Cree Lincoln, Lenny (KND), The Operative (Serenity)

And that's it.

Mind you, I'm not including blackwashed characters (defeats the purpose of pointing out it's not necessary) characters who only appear in one episode of a TV show (would take too long to list) and characters that never do anything heroic or villainous or are too morally grey to fall in either category.

But anyway, I can think of WAY more black heroes than black villains and most of the villains are either extremely sympathetic or very minor characters anyway.

Maybe your just watching the wrong shows / movies?

- Man, you really don’t grasp the concept of “exceptions to the rule”, don’t you?

I'm not sure if your trying to imply the racists are the exception or if non-racists are.

But I made it clear the actual racists are a very tiny minority and most people complaining about blackwashing also don't like white washing.

And even then, the racist ones aren't wrong about black washing being bad. You realize it's possible for someone to be right about something for the wrong reasons.

Also saying stuff like "you lose by default" and "you haven't answered so I'll decide for you" makes you sound incredibly childish and immature.