#oh and we did finish the sandman!

[theaceace]

In the sandman comics, it's mentioned that every 100 years, Death takes a day to make herself mortal and experience what it's like to be alive, before dying at the end of the day, as a way of reminding herself what it's like to be on the other side of her function

And what if the boys happened to meet her on that day? They've only ever seen her from a distance while they were hiding, but they recognise her immediately and are sure that this is the end. They may have the Lost and Found Department's permission to stay on earth solving cases, but if Death herself says they have to go, then no-one's going to be able to stop her

But she doesn't. She doesn't try to take them, doesn't do anything except smile and give them a little wave from where she's sat in the park enjoying a coffee in the sun. Eventually, Charles storms over, ignoring Edwin's frantic protests, to demand what the hell she thinks she's playing at, taunting them like this

And I just want them to have the chance to meet Death, without any imminent threat (no matter what they think to start with) and let her talk to them. Because Death can be so, so kind in the Sandman universe and I think the boys know that. They've seen her come for enough ghosts over the years that they have to know that, and I want her to be able to hold their hands and say it's okay. You died, and it was terrible, but it's okay. You found each other, you're not alone. That's what she's there for, really, to make sure no one is alone at the end. Really, when you think about it, Edwin sort of did my job for me with you, Charles, she laughs at one point, and Edwin grips Charles' hand so tight the bones would creak, if they had bodies.

She asks them about their cases, because of course she knows what they've been up to, all this time. Life and Death can't exist without each other, so wherever you find one, you'll find the other. She's everywhere. Of course she knew. So slowly they start to open up, and they tell her about the case they're working at the moment, and how they're actually just waiting for Crystal and Jenny to finish speaking to a human witness. Death tells them a little about how she's planning to spend her day as a human (visit a museum, see a play, and a few drinks down the pub with an old friend in the evening) and finally says goodbye when Crystal and Jenny get back

And this is so, so crucial - Jenny throws up her hands as they walk over like 'who the fuck was that?? Did you manage to find another psychic in the ten minutes we were gone??' and Edwin (apparently) absent-mindedly is just like 'hm? Oh, no, that was Death' before they both walk off and leave the girls with that

[qqueenofhades]

Hello qqueen! Hope you're having a good day.

I just recently saw you talking about Dreamling (Dream/Hob Gadling), and I would love to hear you talk about them more!

What is it about that ship that you love so much? Personally, I love it in that it represents Dream's connection to humanity overall. His love of Hob is his love for humanity, even after being betrayed and imprisoned for a century.

...okay look, you will throw me right back into my feelings (although admittedly I did already by re-reading said old fics, so).

Basically, as I said, they are Insanely Soulmate Coded -- Dream's sister literally gave Hob to him in the first place and big-sister-needles him to go back and reconnect with his ex! The contrast of the cold immortal eternal being becoming more human through his friendship and/or steadfastly repressed romantic feelings for warm, optimistic, and charming Average Bob the Bloke, who goes from douchebag confidence to lovable confusion to a lifelong hatred of Shakespeare to misery to naked eyesex (too bad 1789 Hob was a moral cesspit because nunnnnngghh the flirting in that scene please help) to warm and wry acceptance! The fact of the TV show changing it so that Hob waited an extra 33 years after 1989 and bought and/or built the New Inn and painted graffiti what, every few weeks or so, wrecking his own property values in the process, so a certain Very Stupid Immortal Boy could have literal flashing neon signs to help him find his way back! The fact of 2022 Hob being a history professor (I, a historian, have no feelings about this whatsoever) and Dream being Prince of Stories and that stupid fucking SMILE they give each other when they finally reunite. It's fine. I'm everything fine here.

Anyway. Etc. etc. Ferdinand Kingsley being the most charming internet menace to ever internet and shipping Dreamling with his entire backside, Tom Sturridge having the quote about how "if Dream cares for these humans that he meets only briefly with Death, how much more does he feel for Hob after 600 years," at least one member of the Sandman writer's room confirming that the romantic overtones were intentional, the Oh It's Like Crack For Me Personally, So Gimme Gimme Moar gay-idiot-immortals pining stupidly over each other while being convinced the other would never like them back and making life unnecessarily difficult for themselves, the many centuries of it all, the growth and change, the eyesex (have I mentioned that?), the banter, the "I look awful/you look worse," Hob's little heartbroken fuck after Dream storms off in a dumbass 1889 huff, I COULD GO ON. As I said, let's hope we get another montage of meaningful and/or sexually charged glances in Sandman s2, as it will be the last one due both to Netflix and Neil Gaiman's banishment to the shadow realm for creephood. At that point perhaps I could finally recover my long-dormant fandom muse and, say, finish the unknown and static strange, as I would very much like to do. Zomgz.

[bloodandtime]

exit light, enter night

cw: fem!reader, there’s a lil slightly like squint and you’ll see it angst, fluff, probably eddie being way smoother than he actually is, plus size!reader, kind of insecure!reader but not like self deprecatingly so, uh weed smoking, happy ending :) suuuuuper self indulgent:) also eddie didn’t d*e cause this song came out in ‘91. oh and i have never worked at a vinyl shop so… i went off straight vibes lol

Enter Sandman is ringing through the store as you step in.

“Munson!”

A headful of curls spring up from behind the counter, brown doe eyes wide and anxious as they meet yours, he knows he’s playing the music too loud.

“Hey, sweet thing.” he says as lowers the volume.

Floorboards creak as you make your way to the back room. You can hear Eddie’s boots stomp behind you.

“Eddie, I’ve told you to stop calling me that,” you sigh, shrugging your coat off.

He’s leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, leather jacket under his battle vest, black jeans and combat books sit on his frame. Like they’re made for him.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” he says with a wink.

Embarrassed at being caught, heat creeps up your neck. You groan and shoulder bump him out of the way, trying to ignore how solid he is under those layers.

His laughter follows you to the register.

“Is it just us today?”

He hops up on the back counter. chain jingling as he gets comfortable. He smiles, and it’s sticky sweet.

“Sure is, sweethea-OW.”

He glares as he rubs the spot on his forehead where the pen you threw at him hit.

“Stop flirting with me and work!”

He jumps down from the counter and exaggeratedly looks around the… empty store.

“Yeah, we sure are swamped. How will we ever make it till close?” comes his sarcastic drawl from your side.

You guess the snowstorm outside is keeping customers at home. It’d be a nice evening… if Eddie wasn’t here.

Honestly, he’s fine. It’s more of a you problem. You can’t keep focused when he’s around, and you think he might have caught on. Eddie takes any and all opportunities to flirt with you.

You figured he did that to everyone, not wanting to read too much into it but the only other person he flirts with consistently is Steve.

Sarcasm is how you deflect Eddie’s advances, even though he flirts with just you (and Steve) it’s hard to not think about how he might be fucking with you.

Mess with the fat girl, lead her on, it’s funny. Let her think she has a chance and tear it away from her and laugh at the thought of her thinking anyone would like her.

Ugh, I’m not a teenager anymore, you’d think I’d be past these insecurities by now.

You scrub a hand down your face and sigh, trying to shake yourself out of that toxic thought cycle that’s so easy to fall into.

“You okay?”

Eddie’s still beside you at the register, now leaning against the back counter. He’s staring, brows furrowed.

Despite yourself, you shoot him a soft smile. That catches him off guard, you’re always so quick to the defense.

“Yeah, Eddie. I’m all good, just tired.” you sound it, voice rough.

Before he can ask anything else, you tell him you’re going to work on the returns from this week and get started organizing the vinyl before close.

You’re off to the back before he can even open his mouth, which honestly is impressive. That boy can talk.

It takes about an hour to finish up returns and you shuffle back to the front, shocked to see Eddie has already started organizing.

“Oh shit, tha-,” you’re cut off to Eddie jumping half a foot in the air and yelping out in surprise.

You bite your lip to stop your laugh but it doesn’t stop the shit eating grin that spreads across your face.

He points at you, cheeks flushed, “Don’t.” he says with a finger pointed at you.

You can’t help the giggle that escapes and Eddie’s eyes soften, happy to see you’re smiling. Even if it is at his expense.

“I was going to say thank you for starting to organize, I’ll start from the other end of the store and we can meet in the middle.”

He nods, a sweet smile on his face. Before you get lost in his dimples you busy yourself with vinyl.

It’s been another hour and a half and everything is in its rightful place. Both you and Eddie are sitting on the back counter, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh.

No one has come in during your entire shift and there’s another two hours before close and the snow still hasn’t stopped.

Eddie leans his head back and lets out a loud groan, “I’m soooooo bored, why can’t we just close?”

He peaks down at you, slumped at his side. He follows the shape of your eyes down the slope of your nose to your lips.

“I know a way we could pass our time,” he blurts out, unable to stop himself. He’s still staring at your lips.

You look up and meet his amber eyes, his gaze more intense than you’re used to. You want to squirm, he’s looking at you like he wants to devour you whole.

“Oh yeah? What should we do?” you bump his shoulder, and he shakes his head and the moment is gone.

He pulls a joint out of his pocket, and your jaw drops.

“I’m not smoking weed at work, Edward!” your voice going up an octave.

He snickers as the horror stricken look on your face.

“Hey, come on. No one has come in and no one will. I’m surprised if we’ll even be able to leave.”

You’re still hesitant, he’s not wrong but you’d rather not get caught.

“Fuck it,” you slap your hands on your tight covered thighs, jumping down your skirt flounces back into place, Eddie tries and fails not to stare, “so where we doing this?”

He hops down beside and gives you another smile, pleasantly surprised you’re going along with this.

“Come on, I’ll show you my spot.”

He runs to the front door to lock it, he makes his way back to you to throw an arm around you to take you to the back.

You don’t fight him, to his surprise. You maybe even lean in a bit, he’s enjoying the contact too much to tease you though.

Turns out his spot is just a covered porch at the back of the record shop, you snag your coat on the way.

“Oh Fuck Me it’s cold,” you gripe as you step outside, the wind whips snow outside the porch, you can’t even see five feet in front of it.

“Shit, maybe you’re right, we wont be able to leave.” you worry, pulling your coat tighter around you, leanings closer to Eddie.

Eddie pulls you closer, relishing in the contact. He doesn’t know why you’re being so nice tonight but he’s not complaining.

“Worst case, you can come with me. The van drives just fine in the snow.” he exhales the first drag, you try not to stare and fail.

He hands the joint to you, your fingers already frozen. As you take a hit you register what he just offered. Now you’re coughing and not just because of the joint.

“Slow down it’s not going anywhere,” he says through a light laugh as he softly rubs your back.

“Did you just offer to take me home with you?”

It’s his turn to cough, and your turn to pat his back. You repeat his words back to him and he gives you a half hearted glare, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I was being gentlemanly and you’re the one making it dirty, I’ll have you know.” he reprimands, wagging his finger at you.

He takes another drag and passes it back, your fingers brush and it’s a shot of electricity up your arm.

The weed is definitely taking effect.

Eddie can’t take his eyes off the way your lips wrap around the joint, right where his lips had just been. An indirect kiss.

You’re quiet when you speak next, after handing him the shrinking joint.

“You’ve got to stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Being so kind to me. Makes me get my hopes up even though I know it doesn’t mean anything.”

The wind whistles around you while Eddie and you stare at one another.

You feel his arm pull away from you, and you’re convinced this is it as you look away so he won’t see you cry. He’s going to tell you sorry and he’s not interested. You can handle it, it’s not the first rejection you’ve faced.

You can’t look at him though, tears sting, threatening to fall.

“Hey,” he whispers, softer than you’ve ever heard him, “look at me, please.”

His hands find your cheeks, warm against your wind-chapped skin. Joint long forgotten as he tilts your head to look at him.

“It means something. It does, to me, it does. I’ve liked you since I started here. It’s not a joke and I’m sorry I’ve made you feel this way,” he pauses, his thumbs softly graze the tops of your cheeks.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Please.” you whisper.

You and Eddie Munson have your first kiss in a snowstorm, freezing cold and perfect.

[ladykailitha]

Royal Pain Part 26

Hello, and we have got to the end of the massive arc that culminated the last four chapters.

I also wrote this part before 24 and 25 because I couldn't figure out how to write Eddie having a hard time on tour, but the aftermath flowed from my fingers.

Also as a reminder this story is finished, I'm just posting on a regular schedule. This story is the longest fanfic I've ever written. Topping out at 58165 it's definitely longer than 50K fic I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year (Sandman, never finished or published.)

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6 Pt 7 Pt 8 Pt 9 Pt 10 Pt 11 Pt 12 Pt 13 Pt 14 Pt 15 Pt 16 Pt 17 Pt 18 Pt 19 Pt 20 Pt 21 Meta Pt 22 Pt 23 Pt 24 Pt 25

****

“You’ve been sitting on that sofa for an entire week,” Wayne growled. “Steve has called three times, your bandmates at least a dozen times each. Hell, boy Miranda has been calling concerned. So want to tell me what’s fucking got you so twisted?”

“I was given a choice out there on the road,” Eddie said, twisting his rings around his fingers. “Stay in Indy and play small time gigs for the rest of my adult life or go to LA and get an album and the chance at super stardom.”

Wayne sat down next him. “Sounds like a big decision to make.”

Eddie leapt to his feet. “That’s the problem. That’s what makes me so angry how fucking easy the choice is.”

Wayne cocked his head to the side. “Sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate again, boy. Start talking.”

Eddie started pacing back and forth. “As much as I loved playing for so many people, I didn’t like that I could only connect with a handful of them and not even the good kind.” He rubbed his chin angrily. “I didn’t like how tired we all were. It was set up, sound check, play, break down and move on to the next fucking town. And that wasn’t including all the parties, interviews, and all that other shit.”

“That does sound exhausting, Ed.”

“I didn’t like how easy it was for them to tell me to drop Gareth as drummer just because he had trouble adjusting to the increased volume. The price of fame they said. Like it was so simple to throw away almost two decades of friendship for the sake of adoring crowds and hearing our music on the radio.”

“Oh, darlin’,” Wayne said softly. “They didn’t...”

“Oh they absolutely did,” Eddie raged. “I didn’t like how they thought that because me and Steve’s relationship was new that I would be able to find someone better. Someone who liked metal, someone who would be down for the ride.”

Wayne furrowed his brow. “That doesn’t sound like good advice.”

Eddie grabbed his hair pulled at it frustration. “The last straw was when they offered to let their tattooist to finish my back tattoo, because while my artist was good, theirs was better.”

He stopped abruptly and turned to face Wayne. “I picked Steve to do my tattoo on my back because he was the only one I trusted to make it meaningful. To understand the symbolism of making something of yourself when everyone is rooting against you. I made the decision before I fell in love with him and now that we’re a couple– and for them to just dismiss him like that? It made me so angry.”

“So what’s the problem? What’s got you so twisted around the bend?”

Eddie took a deep breath and let it out slow. “I’m fucking furious because I always thought that when fame and fortune came knocking I would throw open that door and march right through it. But now? Given the choice? I’m slamming the door in its face and walking away.”

Hot tears ran down his face. “And I don’t know why.”

He dropped to his knees and began to sob.

Wayne stood up and put his arms around his nephew’s shoulders, gently pulling him to his chest.

“Did that band you were traveling with say that?” he whispered into Eddie’s curls. “Because if they did, I swear to god I will burn every record and CD you have of theirs. Don’t think I won’t. I’ll delete them off your phone too.”

Eddie chuckled weakly. “No, no. They were kind. It was everyone else we met. Agents, managers, roadies, groupies, the people around Metallica every day.”

Wayne nodded.

“I was just constantly bombarded with hateful messages and the constant running at one hundred percent...” he whimpered. “I don’t want to do it.”

“Have you told your band that?” Wayne asked.

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t dare to. I was the one that was gung ho about the touring and everything. How do I tell them I don’t want to leave the comfort of Indianapolis and home?”

“Kinda like that,” Jeff said from the doorway. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the frame. Peaking around him was Miranda with a concerned look on her face.

Eddie scrambled to his feet and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I’m sorry I’ve been a brat.”

Jeff took three giant steps forward and hugged him fiercely. “You’re not being a brat. You’re scared and trying to figure it all out on your own, but you don’t have to, okay? We’ve all been worried sick about you. But Steve especially. I’ll call all the boys down for a chat and you call Steve, okay?”

Eddie nodded.

He dialed the number he knew by heart.

“Baby?” he asked, unsure of the reaction he was going to get. He deserved to be yelled at. Cursed at. Broken up with. He’d hurt Steve the most with this little temper tantrum he’d been having.

“Eds?” Steve breathed. “Sunshine, are you okay? Wayne said you hadn’t been eating well or sleeping much. Say the word and I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

Eddie’s lip began to quiver and tears spilled out of his eyes. “I need you. More than anything.”

“I’m on my way,” Steve said fiercely.

Eddie looked over at Jeff.

“Tell Steve Brian will swing by and pick him up.”

Eddie nodded and relayed the message back to Steve.

“I’ll be at my apartment,” Steve said. “I’ll have Robin arrange my schedule, don’t you worry about thing, baby.”

“Mm’k.”

“I love you, Eds.”

Eddie closed his eyes and breathed in the warmth of that simple phrase. “Love you, too, pretty boy. Come quick.”

“I promise.”

*

Steve piled into Brian’s car. It was the newest, having bought it right before they got picked up by Metallica. He had finally saved up enough money to replace his beater.

Gareth and Gethin in the backseat. Gethin had come up to Indy to watch his twin’s apartment while he was gone and just ended up staying. He was currently looking for a job so that he could move in with Gareth full time.

At least that what they said on the trip down. The twins and Brian were intent on filling the air with talk and Steve let them. He let them fill him in on the tour and everything that had been going on since they’d left.

Steve couldn’t be for certain, but it sounded like that touring hadn’t been fun for anyone. Even after a week of rest, he could still make out the circles under their eyes and how hunched over they were with just sheer exhaustion.

A feeling Steve felt all too well.

Gethin was pressed against his twin’s side and was rubbing his neck soothingly.

Steve looked at Brian.

His face was set, hard and unflinching. He was going to make the drive to Hawkins as fast as he could and still avoid the cops.

Steve was grateful Brian was driving because he didn’t think he would have made the distinction to avoid breaking the law. He would have gunned it and flipped off any cop that tried to catch him.

After awhile, Steve was getting the oddest feeling that Brian was used to speeding down this stretch of highway because there were points where he would slow down for a few miles and then speed right back up.

Soon enough they were pulling up to Wayne’s trailer and piling out the car.

*

Eddie sat on the sofa with Jeff and Miranda on either side of him, just hugging him.

Wayne was busying himself in the kitchen, getting ready to feed the hoard that was about to descend on his home.

The door opened up and Brian, Gareth, and Gethin all stumbled through the entryway. Eddie was on his feet in an instant, Jeff and Miranda not far behind.

And then the trio at the door parted and there stood Steve. Looking just as tired and worn as Eddie felt.

“Stevie?” Eddie asked, taking a step toward him uncertainly.

Steve threw open his arms and Eddie ran straight into them. They wrapped their arms around each other and just sobbed.

“I’m here, Eds,” Steve murmured into Eddie’s neck. “I’m here. I love you so much.”

Eddie lifted his head and kissed him hard. “I love you, too. I regret leaving you behind, sweetheart. It nearly killed me. Every song I wrote was about you. About missing you. I don’t even want to leave you ever again, I can’t.”

The silence that followed that statement was deafening.

Steve led Eddie back over to couch and sat them both down. “Tell us everything, babe.”

And so Eddie did. He told them everything. Everything he had told Wayne, everything that had been weighing on his mind since they started touring. It all just came out in a flood.

They all listened patiently.

“Why didn’t you tell us you felt like that while we were on the road?” Gareth asked. “I knew what they were saying about me, but I also knew you guys wouldn’t drop me. If you had me about that I would have been able to reassure you that I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

Eddie flushed with embarrassment. “I didn’t know how to bring it up, it was so vile, man.”

Jeff gave his hand a squeeze. “Well, I think that you did a bang up job telling us now and that’s what really matters.”

“Someone offered to ship me out to LA and record an album,” Eddie finally admitted. “Not the band, just me. I told him that I wouldn’t go without you guys and he laughed in my face. Told me to cut the dead weight and be a star.” He dragged his hands over his face.

“But there were other offers. Good ones. Ones that included the band, well most of it, anyway. Always under the proviso that Gareth be replaced either on tour or all together. They didn’t want to make any accommodations for him even though there is a drummer with one god damn arm!”

“So the options are,” Brian said, “stay in Indy doing what we’ve been doing, only better because of the money we got for doing this tour. Go to LA without Gareth. Go to LA with Gareth but only as a studio musician and take some person we don’t know on tour with us. Does that sound about right?”

Just then Gareth’s phone went off. He looked at it with a frown. It wasn’t a number recognized so he let it go to voicemail. He pulled it up after the notification popped up.

He listened to message with wide eyes. “Hey guys, I think we have another option.” And he played the message so everyone could hear.

“Hey, Mr Hughes,” the tinny voice said through the speaker. “This is Murray Bauman, I’m music producer, we spoke in Las Vegas. I think I have the perfect deal for you boys. You were telling me that touring was really hard on you and that if there was an option you wouldn’t do that. I know you weren’t speaking for all your band, but I could tell that they would do anything for you, all four of you being such good friends.

“So the reason for this call is that I own a small music company in Bloomington and boy do I have a deal for you all. You would make a record through us, we would sell and distribute the record, keeping a portion of the sales, of course. But you wouldn’t have to tour. You have a steady gig as I understand it. If your fans want to see you play, they’ll know where to find you.

“But give me a call, we’ll hash out the details. My phone number is 555-555-2080...” and then message beeped, signaling the end of the voicemail.

Eddie looked down at the phone and then back up at Gareth. “Oh.”

Gareth grinned. “We don’t even have to take his offer, but I vote we listen to it. Brian can bring Cecil.”

Brian nodded. “He’s only got a semester left of law school, but I’ll have him brush up on his contract law to be on the safe side.”

Jeff raised his hand. “All in favor of hearing Mr Bauman out raise your hand?”

Eddie, Brian, and Gareth’s hands shot up.

“Sounds good,” Jeff said. “You call him back and set it up and if it doesn’t work out we can vote again.”

Brian shook his head. “Nah. I think if it doesn’t work, we stick to Nightmare Holes. We took a swing at it and if it’s a miss then we tried. I thought I wanted the touring and everything that came with stardom, but like Eddie I learned I wanted the romanticized version of it. I’ll be happy playing in front of our friends for the rest of our lives.”

The rest of the band nodded.

Soon everyone getting up to go back to Indy, but Steve stayed behind, he would go back up with Eddie in the morning. They had things to discuss that went deeper then the band.

****

Part 27 Part 28 Epilogue

I told you I would fix it.

Also a little BTS, the reason in my head for why things went wrong on tour but immediately righted itself when Eddie and Steve met up again? Steve still has Eddie's lucky pick. ;)

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@bookworm0690 @chaosgremlinmunson @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @emly03 @aizawa-emma @yikes-a-bee @redfreckledwolf @thesuninyaface @bookbinderbitch @archermightbegay @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @hallucinatedjosten @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bestwifehaver @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @oldwitcheshat @nightmareglitter @tinyplanet95 @novelnovella @jonesn4coffee @slowandsteddie @awkwardgravity1 @steaddie-on

[yowlthinks]

Dead Boy Detectives: a no-spoiler review

So I have finished DBDs last night, and frankly, I would have probably finished it in one or two days if not for time limitations. So I wanted to write a review without spoilers and in a Q&A format, so here we go.

tldr: I LOVED IT!

Q: Do I need background knowledge to enjoy it?

A: No, just dive in.

So first of all, a disclaimer: I have not read the Sandman comics, I have read one volume of the DBD comic just after the show was announced, but that did jot even cover the complete case, and I have watched the Sandman on Netflix.

If you are worried that you won't get what is happening, I can assure you, you will. You will get sucked into it immediately and will not want to leave.

Characters from Sandman (it is the same universe) that appear there are a bit like easter eggs: you'll get a kick out of it if you saw Sandman first, but otherwise you just watch them in DBDs and then if you decide to watch Sandman you will get a kick out of seeing these familiar faces there.

Q: What is the general vibe of the show? Is it spooky?

A: The show can be described as a heart-felt mystic detective story. It is funny, sweet and a tiny bit spooky (at a guess, PG13). Overall mood is.. joyful and optimistic.

You know how sometimes you want to watch something exciting, but not too scary?

Dramatic, but optimistic?

Light, but also quite profound and philosophical?

Personally, to me, this show ticks all of the above. And as I watched it with interruptions, at times I felt even lucky to have these because there are just so many big topics this show touches. It was often done by one line of the dialogue, but it would stay with you for the next couple of hours, getting you into this delicious state of philosophical exploration. I feel like at a re-watch this will come forward even more.

Q: I am a GO fan, will this tickle me?

A: Oh yes, it will and despite yourself you will be searching for Clues.

Let me just say that the main characters are another throught-the-ages duo, and you will have a lot of fun comparing and contrasting them with Aziraphale and Crowley, as well as Dream and Hob (these are from the Sandman and are also adorable).

One of the two protagonists wears a bow tie.

Another one is... well, Crowley would love him, I have no doubt in that.

Q: Does it deal well with queer representation? Are there neurodivergent characters?

A: Yes and (I would say) yes

Neil Gaiman was involved, what did you expect? Personally, I think this is one of those instances where the world itself basically treats queer as normal. It is just something that exists, and the world as it is now accepts it. The characters may have inner struggles / self-discovery journeys, but the present world at large accepts them fully and without judgement.

Q: Will it pass the Bechdel test?

A: Yes, with flying colours!!

All the characters are absolutely delicious, and I am not gonna give any more details because I don't want to spoil anything, but you do have all flavours of female protagonists, and you will love them all.

Q: What else did you like?

A: The way it was filmed, the title sequence and music, the humour, the costuming, THE CHEMISTRY between the characters!!

Look, I loved this show, please go and watch it, it is amazing and we need another season of this!

Also, there is a CAT KING!!!

[collectivecloseness]

Oohh for the spotify thing, how about 20 with Eddie Munson??

Literally a great pick, and again another on my character playlist for this specific person. It’s Cherry Bomb by The Runaways!

Eddie Munson x reader

Eddie always drove you back after school, no matter if you were going to his place, yours, or anywhere else in Hawkins. Walking hand in hand with you through the corridors as you both chucked your bags in his van and managed to leave that shithole behind, and go somewhere for the rest of the day no one would bother Eddie, or the both of you.

Today Eddie had finished taking you out for a milkshake, conveniently the both of you taking long enough to finish that by the time you got back to Eddie’s trailer, you’d both be able to say a quick bye to Wayne before his shift, and it meant you had the entire place to yourselves. As you did most evenings... and nights when you could find an excuse, or sneak out.

Although you had to pick up some stuff from your place before you could go over to Eddie’s, so he was driving there first. Hoping that you’d both stop off at another perfect time, one where there was already food on the table, that your mom always encouraged Eddie to have some of.

He really did like your mom, mostly at first because she always liked him too. She never treated him differently, or bad, even from the start. She literally welcomed Eddie into her home with open arms, giving him a hug that first time she met him, probably because of how much you’d raved about how wonderful Eddie was before.

And Eddie was pestering you about if you knew what your mom was making tonight, and if she might have already made it by the time they get there, when it reminded you of something you forgot to tell Eddie this morning.

“Oh actually, my mom and I were talking about you last night.” You nodded from the passenger seat.

Eddie stopped asking about food, intrigued, turning to you with an expression that was inviting into a full conversation, interested as he let his eyes go back to the road. “Oh yeah? What about? Can your mom not stop complimenting me and going on about how you’ve got such a bitchin’ boyfriend?” Eddie rolled the last couple of words off his tongue, holding it at the base of his open mouth as he beamed at you, head exaggeratedly bent down to tilt up at you, chuckling at your earned laugh.

“No!” You retort smiling. “She said that earlier.”

“Ohhhh, of course!” Eddie beamed, going along with your ‘very serious’ nods. “My apologies. Why were you talking about me?”

“We were listening to a song in the car and she said it remained her of you. And to be honest I totally agree.” You explain, already sensing the eager interest arising in your boyfriend, who would be bouncing in his seat the whole journey if you kept it from him.

“Ooooh, what is it!?” Eddie says excitedly, licking his lips as his eyes flit between you and the road, tapping his fingers on his wheel, almost like a subconscious drumroll. “Holy Diver? Enter Sandman? Please tell me you finally showed her some real Ozzy.”

Instead of answering, you move your hand and eject the tape currently playing Seek & Destroy, letting it fall to his dashboard as you rummage inside your bag by your feet.

Only when you ejected Eddie’s tape, in the middle of a song, a genuine pout spread across Eddie’s poor face. “Heyyy wha- wait.” He whined pitifully, and you looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, at his genuine big brown eyes.

He literally repeated that song twice in the 11 minutes to the milkshake place. “Eddie.” Is all you say, your hand down your bag, just looking at him. And he gets over it real quick. Shuffling up in his seat, attentive as you pulled a blank tape out, and slotted it into place, interested to hear what song was about to start playing.

‘Cherry Bomb’ by The Runaways hadn’t been exactly what he was expecting.

You looked to him as it started playing, noticing he wasn’t shocked, or upset, or ecstatic, he was genuinely thinking about it. His eyes looking up at he tapped his fingers on the wheel to the beat, before looking at you.

“Really?” He says genuinely, taking it in, considering it, and wanting your thoughts on it too, as he thinks more about it, already knowing the song of course. He did like it.

“Yeah actually, I think it does fit your...” you gesture Eddie up and down with your hand, looking at him, and remembering as you listened to the song yesterday you thought all about Eddie Munson “-well, you.”

“Huh.” Eddie nods, nibbling his lip as he nods slightly to the song. “I see it actually.”

“Yeah.” You add quietly, both of you starting to properly nod to the song now. And when Eddie turns to you, cracking a smile, you know he’s about to sing, and knowing him so well, you join in at the exact same time.

“I’m the fox you’ve been waitin’ for!!”

You both burst into laughs, the excited and sudden unison so you two, singing it to each other dramatically, before beginning to rock in your seats. Smiling as you sing the popular song together.

“-Hello mom! I’m your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch- cherry bomb!”

You both exclaim the words, the energy in the van always this high.

“Hello world, I’m your wild girl!”

Eddie rolls his eyes at the ‘wild’ part, and you remember just how ‘him’ this song sometimes feels.

“Yeah. It is you, this song. You’re my wild girl.” You tell Eddie, smiling entrancingly at him, your baby girl, and Eddie very quickly plays along.

“You’re my wild girl.” He says himself leaning in all teasing and mushy to tell you, before you do the exact same thing. Both repeating the words “You’re my wild girl”, “No you’re my wild girl” to each other over and over, until you both pull back from where your lips are extended comically and gushily at each other, laughing too breathlessly from the pose for anyone to repeat the joke.

Before you both end up joining in the song again, quick to make sure you can get to the chorus.

“-ausin’ teenage blues. GET DOWN LADIES, you got nothing to lose!”

You both sing the lyrics loudly and pumped with each other, jamming out together like you often do in his van, and practically anywhere Eddie or you can have music.

“Hello daddy, hello mom!-“

You started the next line, but Eddie instead chose not to ch-ch- with you, and turn to ask you openly. “Hey! Maybe that’s how I should announce myself to your parents when I walk into their home real soon. With the cherry bomb part and everything!” He suggests, a casually serious look on his face as commitment to the bit saying it, but his deep brown eyes sparkling with playfulness.

“Oh yeah. That’ll go over radically.” You both nod in comical agreement, like you’re making fun of middle aged men in a business meeting. And you even manage to throw a thumbs up and a solid wink to Eddie, that he replies with a twisted lipped confident smile, and the okay signal with his free hand. Both throwing out “yeah’s” back and forth to each other, in agreement of this excellent plan.

Although as the next part of the song comes on, one bit is dropped for another for Eddie, as you both listen to the chorus of moans playing in the song.

And as you wonder why Eddie was turning to you yet again, and without singing, he quickly outdid you on the jesting scale.

“Your mom wasn’t reminded of me with the moaning part of the song right?” Eddie asked you, as if he was shocked at the sudden thought she’d overheard anything, but not even bothering to hide his grin.

You slap his shoulder, laughing as he lets one out himself, punching his elbow lightly, just pretending he was ‘saved’ because he was driving, even as you chuckled, shaking your head ‘disapprovingly’ at Eddie with a smile. Which was not a rarity.

Eddie gestured with his hand out as if he had a point, still smirking. “I mean it’s not like anyone’s heard us when you always make us both be so quiet when we’re up there-“ another whack, this time to his knee, cutting him off short.

And you snort laugh first, rolling your eyes at him as Eddie smirks at his suggestive quip. Although beaming with full teeth at you, proud to hear that noise meaning he made you laugh so. And God if you can’t just beam yourself, seeing that stupid smile on his face.

There’s a singular moan before the start of the next verse, and this time Eddie wasn’t quiet listening for it. Instead he leant in close to you, and moaned in time with the song, breathy and sensual and overdramatic in your face.

This time your hand is in his face, pushing him back as Eddie laughs into your palm and spread fingers, his soft skin, pliable lips, and warm breath teasing you, although being teased himself as you pulled away.

Chuckling, you brought your knees up in your seat, feeling your heart race as it so often did, even though you’d been dating Eddie for a while now, he still found ways to make you fall in love over and over. Actually, you don’t think that ever stopped happening.

And at seeing your curled up, excited and chuckling expression, and after he knew his flirting made you feel good, as always, Eddie winks at you, open mouthed smirking, his tongue on his bottom lip.

God your boyfriend was so hot. You admired his body, and hair, and clothes, and his shining personality next to you right now, feeling your blood rush through your body as you let yourself flutter with how extraordinary you knew Eddie was. You were so lucky.

“I’ll give ya something to live for” Eddie sings beautifully to you, before taking your chin with his thumb and forefinger, looking at you for the moment as he sings, shaking your chin lightly. “Have ya and grab ya, till you’re sore!” He squeezes your chin, with his teasing, scrunched smirk.

You giggle in his hold, your whole face lighting up as you love the atmosphere you always have with Eddie. Smirking right back at his perfect face. Not batting him away this time.

Until Eddie lets go himself, leaning over your lap with his arm stretched in his leather jacket, quickly opening the glove compartment by you, to show you his assortment of lollipops he keeps in there just for you. Ever since you two started dating.

You gasp excitedly, mouth open with a beam and thrilled eyes at Eddie! Leaning in to grab a cherry one for him and you, quickly taking off the easy slip wrapping, and popping yours into your mouth, relishing over the cherry flavour gushing over your tastebuds and cheeks.

At the same time leaning Eddie’s cherry lolly over to him, and giggling as he waggles his tongue out, and eventually wraps it around the cherry lollipop, his tongue flicking wetly against the tip of your thumb in amusement.

Taking the sweet red treat into his mouth, lolling it into the corner of his cheek, as he smirks at you. His mouth finally silent, except for breathy laughs that are so Eddie, but his eyes saying it all, glowing and sparkling just so unbelievably in love with you.

Eddie unable to stop stealing glances of you in his passenger seat, as you both speed off down the Hawkins road. Head banging together, especially with Eddie’s shaggy mullet, to the guitar, drums, and last yells of “Cherry bomb! Cherry bomb! Cherry bomb! Cherry bomb! Cherry bomb! Cherry bomb!”

[writing-for-life]

From time to time, I just need to flog the goods (speak: my fics) on here because I’m notoriously bad at it. So have one of my favourite chapters from The Light of Stars, and read the rest on Ao3. Bye 🤣

[Oh, before I forget: Even if the thing has been published for a while: I still love your comments, and it’s not weird to comment on a completed fic. We don’t suddenly stop caring just because a fic is finished. Actually the opposite.]

The Light of Stars (76,167 words) by Writing-for-Life

Chapters: 31/31 Fandom: The Sandman (Comics), The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Original Female Character(s), Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Original Character(s), Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Other(s), Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Reader Characters: Original Female Character(s), Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Lucien | Lucienne (The Sandman), Fiddler's Green | Gilbert, Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Matthew the Raven, Desire of the Endless, Original Male Character(s), Destiny of the Endless, Death of the Endless, Despair of the Endless, Delirium of the Endless, Dusk (The Sandman), Night (The Sandman), Hob Gadling, Thalia Callaghan (OC), The Gatekeepers (The Sandman) Series: Part 1 of The Light of Stars

Creating Stars

Thalia felt an inner restlessness that would not dissipate, and it could neither be manoeuvred with work nor distraction. She didn’t want to go to sleep yet because it meant seeing him, and while she wanted to, she also needed space. Space to tune into her feelings, space to let her soul speak. So she decided to go for a walk to create that space, despite the late hour.

It was a beautiful clear, if cold night. Autumn had closed in completely; the air felt sharper, the balmy feel of summer was gone for good. However, she hadn’t seen the stars so beautiful in a long time. It was rare to see them so clearly because of light pollution, and for a moment, she wondered why they shone so brightly tonight. It stopped to matter—their beauty made her feel small, but connected to the universe in a way that was new to her.

As she kept walking, she began to agonise over her time with Morpheus coming to an end. If her stories weren’t what had brought her to him, what else was there to explore? She understood, on a deep level, that she wouldn’t really lose him, that he had always been there, as he was for everyone. And yet, it wouldn’t be the same. Thalia had long realised she wanted him the way he was now—fully present with her in both her dreams and waking hours.

Thinking about it too much made her head spin and her heart ache, and the pain was sharper than the night air.

She wrapped her coat around herself tighter and pulled up the collar before looking up to the sky and taking a deep breath. Her attention was drawn to three intensely bright stars that lined up in almost perfect symmetry. Something about them felt significant. Just when she was about to check her mobile phone for constellations, she was overcome with a feeling of deep peace and clarity.

Let the stars remind you of your strength and courage. Your guidance springs from hope.

It was almost like she could hear someone, or something, say these words to her, and she neither doubted them nor did she feel afraid.

There was no hubris in her realisation that her effect on him was as profound as his was on her, and that all of it was somehow meant to be. Perhaps finding him was the universe’s plan, and while it might have been beyond her comprehension, she trusted it. She didn’t care if anyone else would be able to understand—she just knew it to be true.

She also knew he was with her, even before he began to speak.

“It’s Orion’s Belt. The three stars are called Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Some also call them the three sisters.”

Thalia turned around to face him, and for a moment, the way he looked in this darkness completely took her breath away. Something about him was night, but he was also light. Not the incandescence of the sun, but the reflection of a thousand stars in a pool of cool water, or the moon’s soft sheen in a hazy winter sky.

“You should not be out on your own at this time of night,” he said softly, and the slight hoarseness in his voice sent shivers down her spine.

“Are you worried about me?”

“What if I were?”

Diamonds set in gold was all she could think of when she looked at the stars in his eyes.

“Maybe it would mean you cared more about me than you want to admit.”

He stayed silent, eyes firmly fixed on hers.

Thalia could tell his breathing was shallow, not least because he seemed to breathe in perfect synchronicity with her, and she was acutely aware that none of the air she inhaled seemed to reach the bottom of her lungs.

She took a cautious step forward, reached out her hand and touched his face. For a moment, he allowed her hand to linger and leaned into her touch so subtly that it was hardly noticeable.

And yet, she did notice.

She sensed it with every fibre of her being, and she wished this moment of exquisite tension and closeness would last forever.

It didn’t.

Morpheus laid his hand on hers, his touch cool, and gently removed it from his face. He bowed his head and exhaled deeply.

When he looked up again, his eyes met hers, aureate stars shimmering. “I care about your safety, and you are not safe out here.”

The air between them remained charged.

“I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t doubt it for a second, but…”

She put two fingers on his lips and shook her head. “I think the real reason you’re here is that you like my company. Maybe, just maybe, you didn’t want to wait until I’m asleep?”

Morpheus didn’t shrink back, neither from her touch nor her brazen claim. The stars in his eyes were flashing and flickering in a dance of cool blue and warm red until they finally settled on the richest, most fluorescent indigo she had ever seen.

His lips were soft against her touch. Thalia became painfully aware how much she wanted to kiss them, and she was also cognisant of the fact that she might not be able to hide her thoughts and feelings from him. If she was totally honest with herself, she didn’t care. She decided, there and then, to let him in because she wanted him to know.

And from the look in his eyes, she could tell he did.

She felt his breath on her fingers, and his eyes were burning like molten copper. He laid his hand on hers once more, but this time, he gently pressed her fingers against his lips. For the briefest of moments, it felt as if he were kissing them so lightly that it might as well have been an illusion.

He closed his eyes, swallowed hard and removed her fingers, but he held on to her hand when he said: “Let us walk, Thalia Callaghan.”

Although his words felt like a cold shower, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Uh-oh, the surname, I’m in trouble. In any case, you still have a talent for changing topic.”

As they began walking, he finally let go of her hand. “So I should.” He gave her a sideways look. “And you are not in trouble, although I might change my mind about it.” The faintest smile lit up his face before he refocused on the path ahead.

“Tell me about them.”

“About whom?”

“The stars. What were their names again?”

“Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.”

“They are beautiful. It’s like they… called out to me tonight.” She hesitated. “Does that sound weird?”

“Not in the slightest.” He gently shook his head. “They are testament to the powers and wonders of the universe. Some believe they created the seasons, others think they are a symbol of the divine feminine and her strength. And then there are some who think Orion, the hunter, was transformed into the greater constellation after his death, and they like to see it as a symbol of bravery and courage.”

“Which one is true?”

He glanced at her. “All stories are somewhat true, even the ones that started as lies.”

Thalia stepped out in front of him and began walking backwards in her usual way, only that it was a lot harder in the dark, real world than it was in the Dreaming. “You sound as if you know but don’t want to tell me.”

He smiled faintly. “I do know.” Out of nowhere, he stopped. “Turn around.”

Thalia’s heart began to race the moment he stepped behind her, so close that she could feel him despite the fact their bodies didn’t touch. He moved his arm over her right shoulder and pointed. “Follow my hand with your eyes…”

She focused on what seemed the dimmest of the three stars.

“You are looking at Mintaka. What you cannot see is that she isn’t one star, but a whole stellar system, formed over 12 million years ago. And yet, she is very young, much younger than Earth. So are her people, who abhor violence but unfortunately also value conformity above all else. Some of them dream of being different, and to break free one day.”

Thalia felt her breath catching in her throat and turned her head to look at him. Their eyes briefly connected before he moved his head closer to hers and whispered in her ear: “Eyes straight ahead.”

It took all her resolve to follow his hand again, which slowly moved to the left. “This is Alnilam. She is the youngest of the three, 6 million years younger than her oldest sister, and she is alone. She is the brightest of them, some say the most beautiful. She lives and breathes and dreams of escaping her solitude before she stops burning and it is too late.”

Thalia couldn’t help but reach for him and let her hand rest on his upper arm. He inhaled deeply. His fingers were less steady than she had expected them to be when he pointed farther left.

“Alnitak is really a twin. The slightly younger one is stable, the other is unstable and perpetually circling her sibling. Over the past 7 million years, the elder was responsible for the death of three separate developing lifeforms. They both dream of being separate and free from each other.”

Morpheus slowly lowered his arm, and she removed her hand to face him. When she looked into his eyes, she knew everything he had just told her was true, and yet, it was beyond her comprehension.

“They live? How is this even possible?’ she asked.

“It is just as possible as my standing with you here right now.”

“And you are there for all of them?”

He nodded. “I have been for billions of years.”

She shook her head in disbelief, eyes wide. “I know Lucienne said you are old, but…”

“I have seen them come and go.” He looked up to the sky. “The nebula you can see right below Alnitak has been the birthplace of many stars. And when they start to dream, I am there.”

Thalia searched the sky. “I can’t see it.”

“It is there, trust me.”

“I do. I just wish I could see what you see.”

“Be careful what you wish for.”

“I know full well what I wish for.”

Morpheus looked straight into her eyes, and she could tell he was trying to judge whether she understood the true depth of her admission.

“I do,” she replied.

He looked surprised. “It seems we have learned to communicate without words, Thalia Callaghan.”

“We’ve been doing so for quite a while, it’s just that turned tables confuse you.” She blinked slowly, and the air charged with electricity again.

Morpheus seemed to get lost in her eyes.

“What are you looking at?” Thalia’s mouth was dry, and her voice nearly gave out.

He hesitated for a brief moment before whispering: “Close your eyes.”

Her deep trust in him made her do as she was told. A moment later, she sensed him, inside her head, her mind, her soul. It was nearly too much to bear, and yet, she didn’t want it any other way. A sweet dizziness enveloped her.

“Open them again…”

Clarity set in slowly. She didn’t know where they were or how they got there, and it didn’t matter. It felt like floating in space, yet her feet were touching the ground. All she could see was darkness and light and stardust, orange, pink and red. The stars were too numerous to count.

“Is it real?” She couldn’t help but reach for him because she felt unsteady.

“As real as your body and mind can handle.”

Thalia was completely overwhelmed, and silent tears began to fall. “I have never seen anything so beautiful.”

“Neither have I.” Morpheus was looking at her, and she could hardly breathe. He reached out his hand to catch a tear from her chin that had been slowly running along her jawline, all the while carefully avoiding to touch her face.

When he opened his hand, the droplet transformed into a tiny speck of light, shimmering like a diamond. He released it, and it moved away, floating, scintillating, and turned into a star right before her eyes.

She gasped. “Is it real, too?”

“If you believe it is, does it matter?”

Thalia couldn’t take her eyes off it. “When I wake up, will it be gone?”

“You are not dreaming…”

She turned her head to look at him. “But…”

“…and it will be here for as long as you remember it.”

“How could I ever forget?” She just didn’t care any more and embraced him.

Thalia could feel his resistance within an instant. He had somewhat become accustomed to the touch of her hand, but maybe feeling her body touching his was too much, and she immediately regretted her decision to act on her impulse.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

He stepped back ever so slightly. “I… Perhaps I underestimated the human need for touch.”

Thalia mustered up all her courage. “Maybe it’s not just humans who need touch. For what it’s worth, I don’t touch indiscriminately. I just want to be close to you.” He didn’t react, but she was determined not to give up. “Can you promise me something?”

His eyes narrowed. “I am not sure whether I can.”

“Maybe you should take a chance and trust me, just like I trust you.”

The stars in his eyes looked like the most beautiful, shimmering moonstones she had ever seen, and they made it hard for her to focus.

“Proceed.”

Thalia couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to be formal, all the while only managing to sound wary.

“I want you to…”

“Want?” He raised one eyebrow, and strangely enough, she knew he was back with her. And apparently he knew she knew, because he began to smile.

“Yes, I want you to promise that you will remember tonight. And that you will remember the star we just created when I am gone, so it will keep on existing. Can you do that?”

He just nodded and turned his head to look into the distance.

Thalia stepped in front of him. “Please look at me.” She only noticed then that his eyes were brimming with tears. “Have I said something wrong?”

He shook his head. “I promise I will remember tonight. I will remember you, Thalia Callaghan…”

[rocksandrobots]

PotP Ch 54 - Christmas With The Krampus: Part 3

"Hey, thanks for helping out on such short notice," Tadashi said.

"Oh no problem, buddy." Fred's voice came over the phone. "Minimax and I were getting bored anyway. Christmas is never as big a deal as Hanukkah at my house. The only thing going on is the neighborhood lights display contest."

"Your Mom's in full-blown socialite mode?" Tadashi asked, already knowing the answer.

"Totally. Monster hunting is way more fun than tea and crumpets."

"There's no monster, Fred," Varian yelled over Tadashi's shoulder into the phone.

"Just let us know if you or Minimax see Vigor," Hiro added, ignoring his brother.

"Ten-four!... or is it four-ten... Either way, MiniMax and Fredzillia are on the job!"

Tadashi hung up the phone as the three of them entered the near-empty shopping mall.

Most of the storefronts were closed, only a handful of people roamed the food court, and a sign on the door said that the shopping center was operating at half-hours for the holiday. So they had only about an hour left to look for clues.

They made their way to the top floor, hoping that perhaps Vigor was just hiding inside, maybe wrecking one of the other window displays for the fun of it, only to have that hope dashed once they reached Canardist's emporium.

The door was ripped off its hinges and the inside of the shop was completely trashed.

"Still think there's no monster?" Hiro asked.

"Anyone could have done this," Varian replied, though with slightly less confidence than before.

Tadashi picked up a scroll off the floor and frowned. He couldn't read it.

"Varian, I think we need to keep more of an open mind here." He cautioned. "I mean, you and Canardist come from a world where fairy tale princesses are real and magical curses are a thing. Why can't this Krampus exist too?"

"Because..." Varian huffed but didn't finish his thought as he picked up an amulet hanging from a shelf. This one with Corona's royal seal on it.

"Because you don't wanna admit that you're wrong." Hiro finished for him.

Varian shot a glare at him, but couldn't deny it.

"What do you know about this Krampus? What do the legends actually say?" Tadashi asked.

Varian shrugged. "Not much. He's supposed to be Saint Nicholas's helper. While St Nick rewards good little kids with toys and sweets, the Krampus collects the souls of bad children and tortures them for their misdeeds."

He shook his head. "It's just a story parents tell their kids to get them to behave. Like with the Sandman who brings nightmares or Zhan Tiri and his shadow soldiers. None of it's real."

Hiro and Tadashi shared a look but didn't press for more details about the other horror stories that Varian had mentioned.

"Look, let's just run with the premise that all stories are based on a kernel of truth," Tadashi argued. "Like with Troy and the Iliad... exaggerated no doubt, but based off a real place and presumably a real war... With that being the case here, what would a real Krampus be like, you think?"

Varian gave the proposal some serious consideration. "Well, I guess... if he was real, he'd be some type of creature... just an animal."

"And what would a large wild animal do with a pet monkey?"

"Eat it," Hiro said, almost immediately. It was the most logical conclusion.

The other two boys grimaced.

The Varian shrugged again. "Well, nasty way to go, but what can you do? Who wants to break the bad news to Canardist?"

Tadashi stopped him from walking away. "Hold on. We can't just let a six-foot animal run around the city eating people's pets, and possibly attacking people themselves."

"How did he even get into this world?" Hiro asked.

"That would be a question for Canardist," Tadashi answered. "In the meantime, we have to hunt down this Krampus and capture it."

"And what do we do with it after we've caught it?" Varian asked. "I can't send it back. The portal isn't working the way I need it to."

"We'll figure that out once we find it... the only question is, how do we find it?"

"I have a bio-reading of the creature," Baymax responded.

"Really? How did you get that?" Hiro asked.

"It is shedding." The robot pointed at the floor and indeed there was hair everywhere.

"Great work Baymax.' Tadashi patted his creation on the shoulder. "Let's go suit up."

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

"Behold!" Minimax pointed down below into an alley, "There goes our psychic primate pal!"

Fred followed his faithful sidekick's finger and sure enough, spotted the chimpanzee running frantically down the road.

"Hey guys!" came Fred's voice over the intercom. "We found Vigor!"

"He's still alive?' Varian asked skeptically, as he held onto Baymax's arm tighter. The robot was carrying all three of them as they flew through the air, with Hiro and Tadashi riding on top and Varian cradled in his arms; having lost at rock, paper, scissors.

"Not for long," Hiro replied as he studied the scans through his helmet interface. A red dot was racing across the city map. "Whatever it is that tore up the store is heading straight your way Fred... and it's fast."

"Don't worry. We're on it." Fred assured them and was gone.

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

The superheroes found poor Vigor cowering in the corner of an alley.

"Hey buddy, it's okay." Fred coaxed the frightened animal. "You're safe now."

"Yes, no fiendish foe will do you harm while we're around," Minimax added.

The chimp came out of hiding and cooed in recognition when he realized who the armored men were.

He waddled over and hugged Hiro around his legs. A predicament that Hiro absolutely was not comfortable with.

"Yeah, th-that's right... we're here to take you home." He awkwardly said as he tried to gently pry the monkey off of him.

That's when an ominous shadow fell across them.

Everyone turned as one to see the Krampus snarling at them.

It was a towering nine-foot-tall, from its claws on its hind legs to the tips of the horns on its head. It was covered head to toe in dark fur and its bottom jaw had two protruding tusks. It slobbered drool as it growled like a dog, and Hiro could have sworn that its eyes glowed red.

Vigor howled in fright and quickly scrambled away and up the side of the building before anyone could stop him.

The monster took after him just as quickly.

The boys could feel the wind rush past them as the creature leaped up towards the roof, like how a car whizzing by might blow away the papers in your hand.

"Ok... take note... the Krampus moves very fast," Tadashi said, pointing out the obvious as everyone else stood there stunned.

Hiro shook out of his stupor first.

"Quick Baymax, after them."

He hopped onto the robot's back just as Fred swung himself up onto the roof. Minimax wasn't far behind as they rocketed into the air themselves.

"Do you see where they're heading?" Varian's voice came in over the intercom.

"I've already lost sight of them," Fred replied.

"They've turned down 2nd Market St." Baymax calmly stated.

Hiro followed Baymax's finger and his heart sank as something large and furry ducked into the subway.

"Oh no."

"What's happened?" Tadashi asked.

"They just went into Memento station."

"Don't worry, we'll head them off," Varian answered as he fished the portal magnets from his coat.

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

Varian and Tadashi exited the portal just in time to see everyone rushing towards the nearest exit, screaming and panicking as they went.

In the middle of the waiting platform, now on all fours and sniffing the ground with its pig-like snout, was the Krampus. It seemed totally disinterested in the frightened crowd as it poked about the various discarded presents and groceries.  

"Soooo...what do we do now?" Tadashi asked as they watched the beast get a pair of candy cane-printed boxers caught on its nose. It took a second to shake the offending underwear off before it went to gnawing on the wrapping paper that it had been packaged in.

"Well.... umm..." Varian's mind raced as he tried to rationalize the impossibility before him. "it's... it's an animal, right?

"R-right?" Tadashi agreed, unsure what Varian was getting at.

"So how would you capture a really large animal?"

"No clue," Tadashi replied, never taking his eyes off the monster as it now decided to eat a forgotten Christmas ham.

"Well how would, like, the rangers catch a bear or a lion?"

"Tranquilizers, but we haven't any-"

Varian snapped his fingers. "Sleeping powder!"

He then started to search his pockets and harness... only to slow down as he realized that Tadashi was right. "I'm out of sleeping powder..."

That's when the Krampus finally took notice of them.

Both boys gulped as the creature let out a snarl.

Varian began to scour his pockets even more frantically. "H-hold him off while I try to make a new batch of sleeping potion."

"What am I supposed to do? Wave a red flag at him like a bullfighter?"

Varian didn't answer as he screwed the top off a chimball full of blue liquid.

You could not see his eyes behind his visor, but it was clear that Tadashi was rolling them as he pressed a button on the side of his helmet and disappeared from view.

This was enough of a surprise to slow the Krampus down, as it stopped stalking towards them.

A moment later a roll of sparkly red wrapping paper, discarded by its owner in their flight from the station, lifted itself off the ground and seemingly hung in the air as if by magic.

"Here boy, toro." Tadashi whistled as he waved the paper in front of the creature.

The Krampus howled and rushed towards the sparkly paper. Tadashi barely had time to move out of the way as it grabbed the cardboard tube and bounded away, ripping the paper to shreds in a frenzy.

"Well, there goes that idea."

"How's it going?" Hiro breathlessly asked as he, Fred, and the two robots finally ran inside.

The Krampus stopped immediately and focused its attention on the newcomers.

Heroes and monster eyed each other for only a moment as Hiro realized his mistake. Then the mass of fur and muscle was bounding towards them at top speed before Tadashi could even shout a warning.

Everyone scattered, only for the Krampus' jaws to clamp around Minimax's foot at the last second.

The robot yelled as the monster shook him back and forth before throwing him into the air. Fortunately, being a robot, he was only momentarily disoriented as opposed to being hurt.

While the heroes were busy checking over their friend, Vigor screeched wildly as the monster took chase after the monkey once more. 

"No!" Hiro screamed, too late, as the Krampus overtook the poor animal. 

The creature let out a victorious howl, and then, to everyone's astonishment, it gave Vigor a playful, sloppy lick of its tongue and bounded away barking. Vigor made a chittering sound, like the money equivalent of a laugh, and happily chased after the monster. 

"Awe, how cuuuuteee!" Fred squeed while everyone else stood there dumbfounded. "They've been playing tag this whole time." 

"It kind of acts like a giant dog," Hiro observed as he tilted his head in thought. 

"Wild dogs can still be dangerous though." Tadashi reminded him. "We need to capture him and take him someplace safe." 

"Got it!" Varian shouted triumphantly as he held up a chimball. Before he could throw the sleeping powder, however, the police barged into the station. 

"Chief Cruz!" Hiro rushed toward the lead officer in relief. "We need to find a humane way of cap-"

"We're already on it." Cruz interrupted, shoving him aside. "You kids need to clear out of the way so animal control can take care of this." 

"Kids?" Hiro quietly questioned, but he was ignored as some of the officers whipped out a tranquilizer gun. 

The Krampus let out an inhuman scream as the dart embedded itself into its leg right above its paw. He started to hiss and growl as it tried fruitlessly to shake the painful splinter off. Vigor gave a worried whimper, unsure how to help his friend.

Unsuccessful in removing the dart, the Krampus then turned his attention towards his attackers, lowering on his haunches as if to pounce like a cat. Fortunately, Baymax was able to grab the creature before it could jump upon anyone. 

As the robot and monster wrestled each other Cruz was already ordering his men to shoot again. 

"Be careful of Bay- Red Panda," Hiro advised. 

"I'm not concerned for your pet robot right now." Cruz snapped."If this next tranquilizer doesn't work then we may have to put the poor creature down." 

Hiro frowned, not only at Cruz's dismissal of Baymax's safety nor even that the officer was considering lethal force, but the Chief of Police was no longer talking to them like they were vigilantes underfoot but speaking down to them like they were children... like they were the same kids he would take out to ice cream once a month. 

However, the worrisome thought that they might have been discovered was banished from Hiro's mind when the Krampus broke free of Baymax's grasp, dogged the second dart, and ran down the railway tunnel. 

"Blast," Cruz muttered. 

"Don't worry. We'll track him down for you." Hiro yelled as he ran towards Baymax, happy to have an excuse to get away. He and the rest of the supers were already half way down the tunnel before Chief Cruz could protest.

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

Varian was the one to find the creature first. The Karmpus was huddled in an alley whimpering as it licked its wound. He snarled as Varian approached.

"Easy now...." Varian said softly as he inched his way forward. "Easy... I'm not going to hurt ya."

For a moment he thought the Krampus would run away again but it stumbled as soon as it tried to put weight upon its paw, and then promptly laid back down with a huff.

Varian untied the bandanna from around his neck, poured some sort of substance on it from his chimbag, and cautiously sat down next to the monster.

"Here... let's see what we can do about that paw..."

He pulled the tranquilizer dart out and the creature howled, but before the animal could even think of hurting him, Varian had wrapped the wound up with the bandana.

The Krampus seemed confused by such an action and sniffed curiously at the piece of cloth around his paw.

"It's just some chlorhexidine." he explained, though he did not know if the monster could understand him or not. "It should help ease the pain and sterilize the wound."

All the Krampus did in reply was to sigh and lay his head on Varian's lap, pinning him to the spot.

Varian resigned himself to his fate as a pillow and absentmindedly began to stroke the beast's fur.

"I know... San Fansokoyo is new and exciting and so full of amazing things to see, there's friends to make and wonderful inventions to discover... but it's also sometimes scary and unfamiliar.... with its own dangers... different from Corona's, sure, but they're still there... hiding just under the shining surface.... and you'll need those friends to help you avoid them, and they will cause they really, genuinely care about you... but... but.... it's still not home......"

The Krampus gave a sympathetic whine.

"You're probably missing the snowy pine forest that you grew up in... aren't you boy?"

Another little whimper.

"And maybe even... even your old friends and your own family?"

Suddenly Varian wrapped his arms around the hairy beast and gave him a desperate hug.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, "I'm sorry, I don't know how to get you back. I've tried and I've tried... and no, I don't want to leave everybody, but... but.... but Dad...."

The Krampus nuzzled his arm in comfort.

"Oh, what are we going to do?"

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

"Cantet nunc io, chorus angelorum;

Cantet nunc aula cælestium,

Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo,

Venite adoremus

Venite adoremus

Venite adoremus

Dominum."

The rest of the gang found Varian and the Krampus in the alley and much to their surprise he was singing a Christmas carol while gently petting the ferocious animal's head.

Said creature was contently purring in his lap. Which sounded more like a motorcycle idling than a furry friend expressing contentment.

Vigor cooed with delight and ran to meet them, throwing his arms around his new friend.

"Well, we finally caught him... now what?" Tadashi asked.

Varian only looked up at him at a loss and shrugged.

"We.... we have to try the portal again, I guess," Hiro said hesitantly, rubbing his forehead in thought. "I know it's not ready yet, b-but it's not like we can keep him hidden in the city."

Varian shook his head, and with some effort crawled out from under the huge beast and stood up. "It isn't just that that portal is broken. We don't even know where to send him to. We're talking about the entire world here. We can't just dump in him Corona, or the middle of the ocean, or 17th-century Istanbul... The point is... We need an energy signature to find where he actually lives, and I've no idea where we would get that."

"Well if we can't send him back, what do we do? Turn him over to Cruz and the animal control?" Tadashi asked

"I don't know if they would know what to do with him either," Hiro said.

"Maybe put him in the Zoo?" Fred suggested.

"They wouldn't know how to take care of him. It's not like mythical creatures are their specialty."

"I know!" Minimax shouted. "We can make him our new team mascot!"

"Great idea!" Fred joined in.

"Oh no... nope" Tadashi shook his head. "For starters, we have way too many exotic pets as it is, and secondly we wouldn't know how to take care of him either."

"I think we may have to ask Carnardist." Varian finally admitted. "She knows more than she's telling us."

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

"Oh, Vigor!"  Carnardist cheered with glee as she smothered her long-lost pet with kisses. "Oh, I was so worried. Thank goodness you are unhurt." 

As the happy pair were reunited, Hiro made sure that the blanket they had thrown over the Krampus remained in place. 

They had called the cafe and asked the older woman to meet them back at her shop, and the supers had to think of a creative way to keep the inter-dimensional monster hidden from the rest of the shoppers; as few as there were today. The best they could come up with on such short notice was a shopping cart with a quilt hastily thrown over it. 

Varian awkwardly coughed to gain the lady's attention. 

"Yes, malchick?" 

Varian ignored the unwanted nickname. 

"You were right about the Krampus." 

Making sure that no one was looking into the shop window he pulled the cover off. 

Carnardist screamed. 

"No. No. It's okay. He won't harm anyone." Varian tried to calm the frightened woman down.

It wasn't until Vigor hopped out of her arms and went to hug the creature did she stop panicking. 

"See? He's a nice daemon." Hiro encouraged. 

"The only problem is we don't know how to send him home," Fred explained. 

"And we know you have a portal." Tadashi chimed in. 

Carnardist eyes grew dark and she slowly straightened to her full height, even though she was several inches shorter than the teenage boys before her.   

"Is that so?" 

"Oh stop pretending." Vairan huffed. "You don't want to share your tech with us, then fine. The least you can do is put this guy back where you got him." 

Carnardist folded her arms. "There are other ways to move between worlds than your portals malchick, and they require far more than just flipping a switch. I can not 'send him back'. I can not send anyone anywhere." 

"Then how did you get here?" Tadashi challenged, ignoring Varian's flabbergasted expression. 

Carnardist seemed to relent at this and walked over to a box full of scrolls that had tipped over. She picked one up. "This is the incantation for opening the door." She made to hand the parchment over to Tadashi, before quickly snatching it away. "But! It will not lead you to where you want to go. The window does not open to another world, but a pathway between the worlds." 

"A pathway between worlds?" Varian echoed slowly. 

"A dark place... an eternity of nothingness that is very difficult to traverse. Only populated by the remnants of dead universes, lost to time eons ago."

"The void," Hiro said softly as realization dawned on him.

"Even if you know where you are going," Carnardist continued. "and know the markers to find, making the journey would require much preparation and immense fortitude. Are you sure you can face such dangers?" 

"No problem," Fred said as she finally handed over the scroll to Tadashi. "We're heroes! After battling supervillains, killer robots, and literal monsters, how hard can a little old trip through negative space be?"

"There are things hiding in the dark that are far worse than monsters." She softly warned. 

This gave everyone pause. Yet Carnardist would not allow them time to consider her words fully.

"Now get that hairy brute out of my shop!" she yelled, shooing them out the door.

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

"Arrggh, where is that toothbru-- Ahhhhh!" Krei stopped packing and let out a girly high-pitched scream when he came face-to-face with a towering beast with horns. 

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Keri." Varian waved apologetically as he poked his head around from where he was standing behind the Krampus. 

"But we kind of need to ask you a favor," Hiro added as he stuck his head around the opposite side. 

Tadashi followed suit as his head popped up from behind the monster's shoulders. "Do you think you got room at that animal reserve for a very rare and exotic inter-dimensional demon?"

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

"Baby raccoons!" Honey Lemon squeed when Varian showed off his newest pets.

She giggled and cooed over the tiny creatures as she scooped one up to cuddle. "What are their names?"

"Well there's eight of them, so I thought we could all name one," Varian answered.

"You're seriously not thinking of keeping all of them," Wasabi complained.

"No, Krei is going to keep them on the forest reservation," Tadashi answered.

"But we get to visit them whenever we want." Varian cheered. 

"Them and Mr Krampus," Fred added. 

"Mr. Krampus?" Gogo asked. 

"You had to be there," Hiro answered. 

"I'm going to name mine Ferdinand." Honey Lemon announced. "He just looks like a Ferdie."

Gogo knelt down and gently petted one of the babies that was crawling around. "Jane." was all she said.

"The Pacific Northwest raccoon is also known as Procyon Lotor Pacificus" Baymax stated simply.  

"Ummm... that might be a bit too wordy for a name, Baymax." Varian gently suggested. "Why don't you call him Lotor for short?" 

"'Lotor' it is then." 

"Can I call mine trash panda?" Hiro asked.

Varian made a face. "Come on... at least be original."

"Fine... "He randomly pointed to one of the unnamed critters. "That one is now Garbage Breath."

Varian rolled his eyes in defeat. "Okay, then we'll call her by her initials, GB."

Hiro gave a smug smile in approval, but still wouldn't go near the wild animal.

"I'm calling mine Menace." Wasabi huffed.

"That's a cool name." Fred obliviously agreed as he lifted up another raccoon and nuzzled its nose. "And this one can be The Mega Awesome Raccoon Killer, aka M.A.R.K."

"What about you Tadashi?" Honey Lemon asked. 

Tadashi screwed up his face in thought. "I think I'll call mine... Rei. 

"Did you really just name it that because it starts with an R?" Hiro asked deadpan. 

"Yup," he proudly admitted.

"And I'm naming mine Hypatia!" He picked up the last cub, still ignoring the mother who hissed at him from under the 'den' made of a tarp and cardboard boxes. "Isn't she adorable?" He cooed as he scratched her ear. 

Ruddiger then climbed upon his shoulder and licked his kit on the forehead; pet and owner shared a proud smile.

[weirdfishy]

fic stats meme

Rules: Give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words.

tagged by @mashumaru !!! thanks lovely for the tag, i haven't had a minute of brain power to write lately, but i love being tagged in these!! (also, all my ao3 stuff is archive locked, so y'all've gotta be signed in to read them)

Most Hits

Unknown Caller ID - Danny Phantom x DC Batfam

Surprisingly, Damian steps in front of him, arms crossed. “Batman, this is my Father. He arrived soon after receiving word of my capture. Please, refrain from arresting him.” Danny reels.

one of the favs (n istg i will make more but like. life.) bc it's crack Treated Seriously n i love this concept that Damian has just gone 'you're now my father' to Danny bc Danny is Worthy Of Dating Bruce

Second Most Kudos

Tim's Drake's introduction to ✨Ghosts✨ - DP x DC Batfam

Tim, currently standing on top of the Batmobile, in distant yet full view of the computer’s camera, shouts, “Not B! How the fuck do you deal with a ghost!??” Tim hops off the car and dashes towards the computer as Constantine just gives a weary sigh, dragging a hand down his face.

lil bit of crack treated seriously, allowing myself to be silly goofy

Third Most Comments

just slip me on, i'll be your blanket - The Sandman, dreamling

It boils Hob’s blood, to see him like this—to not know how long his stranger has been here, in this hell of human greed. But you can be hurt…or captured. He’d heard the stories, the rumors of The Magus and the Devil in his basement. Hob didn’t know about devils, but he did know of those assumed to be yet never were, taking human form. Hob also knew of imprisoning others, and of being imprisoned.

legit one of my favorite prose stuff, even if i lost motivation (& my notes) for fleshing it out

Fourth Most Bookmarks

Discussion in Trust - Boku No Hero Academia

“We know that the second they know they can control you, you’ve lost,”—a pause—“but once you lose, you can learn. And I learned, Sensei, from fucking five, that “quirkless” was a societal loss I’d never stop learning from.”

my contribution to all might bashing, dadzawa, and like? analyst izuku. proud of it still, at the time i adored it but yk, my self standards raised so.

Fifth Most Words

C'est la vie - Criminal Minds, Emily Prentiss/Murder!Reader

Drip,  “Family is not blood.” You tilt your head back, closing your eyes, voice low and slow. sigh “But I would bleed and cry for family found blind- I would turn to & die. I would turn blade & kill.” You lick your lips, catching the edge of the cut, the sting causing you to shiver.  drip, “Apocalypse,” you finish, tilting your head back to face them, squeezing the trigger. die-

oh boy, this one is my second??? fic posted, and i fully intend to rewrite it, but it's been awhile, and it will continue being awhile

Least Words

To See the Sea Last - The Witcher OC

Stilled lungs bloated with a corrosive, burning salt, and yet felt no pain. The water line rose higher. Strands of gray danced in a thin crown as the ocean submerged the body of a man who had chosen to both live and die by the whims of the sea.

a flash fiction fill, it's a lil poetic death scene of one of my OCs, a pirate named Walerian. i actually adore this, even if it goes mostly unseen

~

no pressure tags to: @oliveofvanders @fannafiction @spacedace @shire-bard & ofc anyone who would like to ! <3

[phantomspren]

Hello I am bothering you with Questions and Statements--

If you had a choice between magically unlocking any door whenever you wanted or magically finding pens in the pockets of your pants when you do laundry, which would you choose, and why?

Lemons are slightly sour, and I believe your hair is red.

Elephants got funky noses.

Anything you're particularly enjoying reading right now?

Oh my goodness hello!

Depends on the pens. I've got a lot of pens but only one really cheap fountain pen, so if I could like. Aquire a bunch of nice fountain pens that would be awesome. And then I'd always have birthday gifts too.

Dang I haven't eaten a lemon in years. I used to bite them all the time as a kid but I just haven't just been around a lemon slice in a while.

And my hair is red! For the time being at least.

Love a good elephant nose. :D

I'm currently rereading Skyward so I can finally read Defiant, but I'm going really slowly through Skyward Flight. I'm very much not in a YA sci-fi mood right now. So I'm just going through nice and slow. Because I'm stubborn about finishing books. (And I've heard really good things about Evershore and Defiant.)

I did recently read Born A Crime by Trevor Noah for my peoples and cultures of Africa cause we were talking about apartheid, and it was an incredible book.

I've also not recovered from reading Sandman.

I think once I finish the Skyward reread I'm going to reread Good Omens or read American Gods, because I am very much in the Neil Gaiman mood.

TIME TO COME UP WITH QUESTIONS FOR YOU MWAHAHAHAHA

[augustheart]

24, 22 but it's series not book

22. What’s the longest [series] you read?

definitely sandman mystery theatre, which is 71 issues including the annual. ehhhhhhHhh

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

there were six comics i did not finish this year. i simply could not do it. those were:

anima (1994). i meant to come back to this. it was the art that was really difficult for me

the book of fate (1997). impossible comic to read. i read the doctor occult parts though

greatest hits (2008). i was so interested in the concept of this one, i thought it was really cool, and then they started dropping the t slur about a sixth of the way in and i dropped it immediately.

bite club (2004). i had been meaning to read this one for fucking ages. but you cannot be talking like that howard chaykin. and oh look the writer of greatest hits is also here with you saying more slurs. genuinely if you are two white writers and you Unprompted start to have white characters calling people the n word we should be allowed to egg your house

bug! the adventures of forager (2017). every so often i try to read this comic. i always think "oh this time i will get through it." and then i simply do not. maybe it's just because i really don't mesh with the gummy style of mike allred, maybe it's just because i find the writing consistently insufferable, but i just can't do it.

shadowpact (2006). bill willingham neeeeeds to pick a struggle because he's a racist, zionist freak and he also could not write a good comic if you had his family hostage and were forcing him to.

[tsukimefuku]

Fuku hi!!! Charging in to bombard you with some of the writers ask questions. Here I go!! 😌

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

12. What fic was most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene.

4. Oh, I had sooooo many of those. Let me try to list some of the most important and some of the most recent for all the styles I’ve been writing (fluff, angst, dark fantasy original work and romcom):

Água Viva by Clarice Lispector (book), Fleabag (tv series), The haunting of hill house (series), Pitch Perfect trilogy (movies), We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver (book), Sandman (comics), Watchmen (comics), Wandavision (tv series), Bojack Horseman (tv series), The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath (book), and I mean my entire Spotify history 😂

9. Currently, it’s “The Eulogy for the Love Remained” which is a WIP, but up until I started it, it was my rewrite of “The Event part 1” because I had given myself the challenge of rewriting something I didn’t like and I did it, having a final fic that I’m actually happy with! It gave me a sense of accomplishment :)

12. It’s a tie. First, Blunt trauma, my villain Nanami fic (especially part two that is currently in the works). I had to write the “balancing act” between two people that love and resented each other deeply, and let it shine through their dynamics (so *show, don’t tell* rule). On the other hand, Higuruma Sensei is being a challenge because it demands me to keep some sort of consistency, it’s a genre I’m not very used to (romcom), and it is written in an organized, planned long-story format (my adhd demon is screaming).

22. Omg I have so many of those. Let me get one from “books and dinner” WIP (reader & Nanami):

“Hm… Is everything alright?” Kento asked, holding the door open while he slightly brushed his hair back with his fingers.

“I need to return your apartment keys” you replied, absentmindedly.

He looked puzzled. “You can keep those, it's not an issue at all.”

You stood there silently for a minute, and knowing you all too well, he waited for the bomb that was about to drop. Kento had learned by then that anything could come out of your mouth when you went silent like that.

“Tell me what I should do with it.”

“You should probably put them in a keychain” the sorcerer replied, confused.

“No, not the keys” you answered, words struggling to come out against the concrete barricade you had on your throat.

Kento patiently asked, “What, then?”

“With the love they left me. My family, my best friend, my brother, and now him. I don’t…” you heaved, before coming back to a more impassive expression, “I don’t know what to do with it. Please, tell me what I should do with it.”

Kento’s eyes widened, as he realized what you were actually on about. He then began assessing the situation — you looked perfectly sober, somewhat distraught, but otherwise fine. Seeing that nothing was particularly wrong, he let you keep talking without interruptions.

“I- I don’t want it anymore. Why do people keep leaving me with their love?” you asked, pained, eyes too heavy to lift, “So, I need to do something with the love they left me with, and I still can’t think of anything. I need some help with that, I guess.”

Your tone was analytical, like someone picking apart at building blocks.

Your gaze, however, revealed you were nothing but a child, just picking apart at yourself.

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

𓅨 Your Fate is Sealed With Mine: Chapter Twenty-Eight

Your Fate is Sealed With Mine: Y/N Burgess is the granddaughter of Alex and Paul, and after having spent so many summers at their manor and always wondering why she was forbidden from entering the basement, she descends the steps into the world of the Order. She broke out the being that had been trapped in that glass cage, but what does he want with her now that he is free?

Warnings: Language, Sassy Reader, Soft Moment W/ Morpheus.

To Note: Morpheus/Dream x Female!GranddaughterReader, based on Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’, Reader now has long-ish hair for plot reasons (Just so Morpheus can tug on it later). 

Word Count: ~2.5k

Previous | Masterlist | Next

You were reading in the library when it happened. Lucienne came storming in, carrying a stack of heavy bound books of course, and all but slammed them onto the table you were sitting at. Even Matthew, who had been napping on his perch on your chair, jumped in place. Your eyebrow went up as you eyed the harried-looking librarian. 

“Is everything well, Lucienne?” You softly question, your fingers reaching for a bookmark and sliding it into place. Lucienne took a deep breath as if counting in her head before setting her spectacled gaze on you. 

“Forgive my noise, my lady,” Lucienne crisply, adjusting her spectacles. Your eyebrow rose further and you set your book down. 

“I don’t care about the bloody noise, Lucienne, I asked if you are well?” You stated firmly, giving her a look that said ���Well? Out with it…’ Matthew ruffled his wings above you and bobbed his head. 

“Yeah, you’ve been looking really stressed lately, Lucienne,” Matthew spoke, letting out a caw. “Like I know the boss isn’t exactly easy to work with but you’ve always been as cool as a cucumber… you’re the voice of reason.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Matthew, my lady,” Lucienne said, her hands brushing across the front of the stack of books she had dropped to the table. “Lord Morpheus, in his endeavor to right the altered scales of The Dreaming, insists upon solving all of our problems himself.”

Ah. That would certainly ruffle this librarian’s feathers. But given the state she was in, Lucienne was far past the point of being stressed. 

“Perhaps he needs a swift kick in the arse for him to realize and rectify his mistake?” You offered, twirling your fingers as you spoke. “Someone must remind him that while he is an Endless, in all his mighty glory and power that we must bow and worship to like slaves to a master, that he is being an arse and needs an attitude adjustment? Immediately?”

You could have sworn the librarian took amusement in your statement because her lips twitched ever so slightly. But alas, her face did not relax from its uptight stature. Matthew on the other hand… started cackling so hard he fell off the back of your chair and had to flap his wings hurriedly to stop himself from hitting the floor. He fluttered himself to the table, still laughing, and wiped at his eyes with his wings. 

“Oh, I would give anything for you to go up to him and say that!” The raven cackled, earning a look from Lucienne while you rolled your eyes. 

“Well, as much as I love to tease and torment Morpheus regarding his lackluster enthusiasm and care towards the bond we now share for eternity…” You paused in fake consideration before finishing your sentence. “I don’t have a death wish.”

You managed to make Lucienne chuckle ever so slightly. Ah yes, laughter soothed a soul, no matter how tormented or stressed. But seriously, you were going to have to address Morpheus’s growing moodiness to everyone, yourself included. You could feel the stress, anxiety, and disturbance he felt with his realm, but the self-centered, egotistical, git refused to seek help from any of the surrounding people that could provide counsel. You felt a ripple of energy run through your body like Morpheus knew you were speaking of him at the moment. You waved him off in your mind, making shooing noises/motions. Confusion. Then disinterest. 

Slowly but surely you were finding ways to keep your mind and thoughts private when you so choose. It was interesting to play around with the mental connection you shared. At times you could send him mental pictures, or gestures, emotions were a given. Speaking to each other was still an idea you were getting used to even though he had been doing it for quite some time. But it was still a voice in your head. Your face scrunched up for a moment as you made sure that he was gone. 

“Is the boss mad at you again?” Matthew probed, hopping a few spaces closer to you. Your lips twitched into a partial smile and you looked down at the raven. 

“No, I’m learning how to keep things private. He was curious about what I was feeling, always seems to know when I am talking about him… but I shooed him off.” You let out a chuckle of your own and bushed your lips with your fingers in thought. 

“You shooed Lord Morpheus off?” Lucienne repeated, looking at you over her spectacles with both fascination and horror. 

“I was human once, you know.” You reminded her, picking up your book once more and opening it. “I am well established and practiced in the art of sass and he must learn to deal with it or it shall be a long eternity.”

The sun had long since faded from the sky, the moon quick to take its place and shine with lunar luster. You had spent a good hour on the balcony, enjoying the way the stars flickered and sparkled with life in the canvas of the night. A light breeze had picked up and eventually chased you inside where you took to reading your latest book in bed, bathed in the gentle light from the fairy lights floating over the nightstand. You were all ready to tuck away in bed and yet didn’t particularly feel sleepy despite the time of night. 

You were chewing on your lip and absentmindedly flipping to the next page when you felt it, but what was he doing here? Usually, he sits and broods on his throne all night, flipping through story after story. Your eyes remained on the book as he slunk in. His mood was dampened and foul like it had been the last few days. You finally glanced up at him. 

“Is something wrong?” You questioned, eyebrow raised as you sat up. 

“Need I reason to visit you?” Morpheus questioned, slowly moving over to the wall of windows and French doors. You watched him in confusion. 

“Well, no, of course not. You just seem to be rather busy as of late so why bother coming to see me of all people? Do we not usually piss each other off?” He glanced over his shoulder and stared at you, you fidgeted under his scrutiny, your own eyes looking down at your legs stretched out in front of you. Then you let out a sigh as you figured out what was going on. The silly man was stressing himself out and had probably unconsciously sought you out for comfort. “Come here, Morpheus.”

He looked taken aback for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. Honestly. Did all men get defensive when told what to do?

“Did you just give me an order?” He questioned incredulously. You hardened your resolve and pointed to the more than adequate space for another individual to sit, next to you.

“Did I stutter, my lord?” You loftily queried and arched your eyebrow once more. “Come here and sit down.”

Flickers of emotions echoed in his eyes like an old-fashioned slideshow, one after the other. Then his face settled on neutral and he very carefully started to move towards the bed. You kept your finger firmly pointed at the spot next to you and watched every step he took. Lord, you could be seduced just by him walking towards you. Morpheus walked around the side of the overly large bed and proceeded to sit down on the side of the bed. His eyebrow went up. 

“Does it please you to order your king around? To bid his will?” You nearly started cackling right there just from his tone, but you withheld that reaction and gave him a pleasant smile. 

“No, all the way,” Something dark flashed in his eyes and for a brief second, you thought you might have pushed him a little too hard. But then he started moving. First bending down to untie his boots, the Endless had some manners at the very least, Morpheus dropped the black boots to the side and took off his socks. Then he did as you asked… or demanded. His long legs neatly landed on the bedsheets and Morpheus stared right into your eyes with a touch of daring. You were quite possibly walking a very fine line. 

“Have I pleased you well enough now?” Your lips twitched and you rolled your eyes. 

“Must you be so difficult?” You sighed. Then you blatantly reached up and slipped your fingers into his hair. With one hard tug, you dragged his head over until you had a very stunned Endless laying on his side with his head in your lap. Morpheus was ridged, almost frozen in place… or at least surprise. You let out a satisfied hum and began dragging your fingers slowly through his hair. He shifted to look up at you. “You are going to run yourself ragged trying to do everything yourself, Morpheus.” You chided him, stroking your fingers across his forehead and moving the wild strands of obsidian back away from his face so you could look at him in the eyes. You stared into each other's eyes and you could slowly feel the tension in his body release. 

“It is not as simple as that, Y/N,” Morpheus responded, his eyes now looking tired. 

“Is it?” Your soft question had his eyebrows bunching together. “You have people to help you and yet you are pushing them away and trying to do everything yourself.”

“I’ve been away for a hundred years,” He tried arguing back. Keyword tried. You weren’t going to let him get away with this, not tonight at least.

“That is my point,” You said, your fingers curling through midnight strands. “You are trying to do too much at one time. Put your ego aside and accept help.” He looked and felt like he was going to scowl at you so you quickly added to your words. “At least for tonight? You need a break.”

“Is that another order?” You could have sworn his eyes twinkled for a moment. Your lips twitched. 

“Not an order or demand, Morpheus, it is a request.” You gently corrected him. “Even kings need to take a break every once in a while.”

He didn’t argue further and simply closed his eyes. You don’t know how long you sat there, mindlessly running your fingers through his hair. But you did know one thing; this was, perhaps, the calmest and most peaceful moment you had-had with the Endless to date. 

 One would have thought that your brief moment of peace with Morpheus would put him in a better mood. It was never that simple. If anything, the man seemed to be in an even more fouler of mood than previous. Why was he constantly trying to keep himself from you? Even after all this time? It was like he despised the fact that you were getting along. One moment he seemed to like your company and the next he was, once again, avoiding you. Perhaps Death had been wrong about you and he was only trying to force himself to accept that he was stuck with you for the end of time. Endless was possessive of what they considered theirs and his actions thus far certainly explained that. 

So that is how you ended up tearing up the library not even two days past the night in which Morpheus had visited your wing. You were desperate to learn more about being Bonded. You needed facts, not words from the mouths of people who might not be telling the entire truth. You had politely asked Mervyn to direct you around the library, and then once the pumpkin-headed janitor was gone, had gone feral. You had yanked and pulled every book you could find to read the front writing, bound and determined to get answers. You wouldn’t leave until you had. 

It was when you had reached your maximum desperation and were slumped at a nearby table, your fingers digging into your hair as you panted for breath from your efforts, that Lucienne found you. 

“My lady? Are you quite alright?” Lucienne immediately questioned, lowering the books she held to the table. “Has something happened?” 

“I don’t understand why he always changes his mind about me.” You rasped out. “What am I doing wrong? What am I not understanding about this stupid bond!?”

“My lady, perhaps I can explain things from his point of view… granted it is not my place, but I feel that you should know.” Your hands roughly slid from your hair and you glanced at her with a defeated look. She gave you a sad smile. “Lord Morpheus, while seemingly cold, feels everything, he is the lifeblood of dreams and is subject to the desires, fears, happiness, and sadness of those that dream. There is no one who understands better than he. He holds nothing but adoration and utter devotion to those he loves.”

“Then why do I continually get the cold shoulder? One moment it feels like we are finally getting along and the next he’s avoiding me like I’ve contracted the plague.” You huffed out, biting your lip. “It’s like he can’t make up his bloody mind.” 

“I dare say, you haven’t exactly made it easy for him.” You shot Lucienne a look. “Your teasing and taunting work quite well on Lord Morpheus, my lady, even when you think it doesn’t. Picture this, you’ve been unwillingly trapped within a cage for one hundred years. You manage to find something so precious you would do anything to keep it safe. It is the one thing you feel you can’t live without, no matter what.”

You had a sinking feeling and Lucienne continued. 

“But then the very object of your soul becomes under threat. You are weak, your power temporarily stolen, your realm in ruins, and your people have gone… how do you protect what matters to you most when that object you treasure so much, pushes back at your every attempt to keep it safe? Makes your job that much harder?”

“So I’m a shiny object he’s hoarding like a dragon?” Lucienne let out a breath and shook her head. 

“You are his queen, Y/N, and the only one the King of Dreams and Nightmares will ever take,” Lucienne explained gently. “You’re the only one Lord Morpheus will ever want, will ever need. He fears that he may not be enough to protect you from his enemies. He’s trying to protect his realm, most of all you, and yet your soul calls to his with such desire that he physically forces himself to stay away just to stay right-minded. You have the power to alter his will and bend his knee. He can’t think straight when it comes to you. Do you not realize what kind of power you have? What would happen if you were to land in the wrong hands? You are his dream.”

Lucienne’s words felt shocking, but a small part of you had always known that you had an unknown power over the Dream Lord. Your fingers curled against the wood of the desk. 

“He never told me that,” You spoke softly. Lucienne adjusted her glasses with a short sigh. 

“No, he didn’t, and I have half the mind to scold him for it.” 

Date Published: 11/18/22

Last Edit: 8/20/23

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[gretchensinister]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you @marypsue for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

732 oh gosh it needs to have text next to it to not show up giant

2. What’s your total word count?

1,316,095 aha you can tell most of my fics are short

3. What fandoms do you write for?

What I am currently preoccupied with is The Dark Crystal/The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. The vast majority of my fics are for Rise of the Guardians, and I have one fairly substantial fic each for Thor and Venom.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Give You Everything, not surprised about this one, it's Eddie/Venom and I published it a little less than four months after Venom came out in theaters. 2. Single Snowflakes, this one is a surprise? It's barely over 1K, T for subject matter, Bunny/Jack where Jack talks about past trauma with Bunny. I wouldn't have written it except that this was part of my project to fill every prompt on Round 1 of the Rise of the Guardians Dreamwidth kinkmeme. I guess it resonated with people??? 3. How Old? Another Bunny/Jack fic, G-rated and very short. 4. What it Means to Ask, yet ANOTHER Bunny/Jack fic, G-rated, but about how serious the concept of being a "mate" is in Pooka culture. How Old? was also related to that. 5. Down and Dirty-a wrestling-type fight between Jack and Bunny turns into sex.

What have we learned? The Jackrabbit fans, they are legion.

5. Do you respond to comments?

For the past several years, yes, pretty much always. Back in 2012 when I was just starting to post on Ao3, I was like unto a nervous deer and sometimes didn't respond. But I did print out all the comments on Without Contraries There Is No Progression (Pitch/Sandy that got me writing big complete things) and put them on my fridge at the time. It helped me get my master's degree.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

The one that comes to the top of my head is Warmer Than I Thought. Jack's dying because he just didn't have enough believers when he became a Guardian. He's not going to come back with continuity of self. Pitch is there to offer him some scant comfort as he goes.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mostly write happy endings, honestly, but the honor of the most happy and resolved ending goes to His Time, which is chronologically the last fic in my Rise of the Guardians Apotheosis AU. It's a far-distant future, OT8, everyone is together and essentially the pantheon of a new planet they made after Earth is gone due to the expansion of the sun. They are trying to make it go well this time, and so far succeeding.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The closest thing to hate I ever got was on my explicit Thorki fic...from a person complaining about how much I had Thor and Loki talk to each other.

9. Do you write smut?

I write a lot of explicit sex, yes.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I've written a fair number in my prompt-fill project, but it's not something I'm drawn to write.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I've never known about any of my fics being stolen.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone talked to me about translating one of my fics and I was very excited and I said yes. However I don't know what came of that because things happened and I fell out of communication with the potential translator. Maybe they finished it and I don't know about it!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, and I don't think I would, unless it was part of a strictly structured event/project.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Well, it's Pitch Black/Sandman. Conceptually, the ships I'm drawn to have ties to dichotomies of dark/light, good/evil, cosmic opposites kind of thing. Pitch and Sandy, as personifications of nightmares and dreams, were a perfect vessel for that obsession.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

I told my friends, "I'm not going to rewrite The Phantom of the Opera." And I'm not. But there's a version of PotO that I wanted that uh, isn't what any of the big official versions gave me. So I started writing and I have 49,615 words so far. If I don't find a way to finish it I think I will end up posting it as something permanently unfinished, because there's a lot that I like in it now.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have been told in a real graduate writing workshop that I have good dialogue. I also like to think I'm pretty good at sensory descriptions.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The things I find extremely difficult are endings and like, plots where things happen--I want so badly to write a big complicated Space Empire story but like. How is does political intrigue? (This house is FEELINGS ONLY.)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I don't think I'd ever do it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Almost certainly Dragonball Z. If all goes well, my friend and I may have the chance to excavate some of my old notebooks during the holidays and then--it's archive time and that is a threat.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

It's A Draught of Light, which I love as it is, and for proving that I could write an alternate-world epic fantasy novel as long as I didn't like, admit that's what I was doing. I do admit though that I have an edited version that takes it farther away from being fanfic that I like even better. Maybe I should, hmm, start taking steps to making that version available, if you understand what I mean.

Who do I know writing out there that hasn't been tagged yet? @queerpyracy, @purplebloodedmajesty, @incurablenecromantic

[sugar-and-pearls]

Coraline Story

Hello! Happy Halloween!! In celebrations of this most spooky and hallowed of days I decided to give you Dearie-Ohs another preview on one of my stories.

Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in the poll. I still find it fascinating to see which of my stories people were more interested in hearing about. If you wish, please send a message about which one you picked and why, I would love to see them!

After Howl's Moving Castle, Coraline shared second place with Spirited Away so those two are the next to get a preview for. With that out of the way, lets get to the beating heart of story.

Like with my Howl's moving Castle story, this is going to take the main structure and story from the movie while adding things from the book. Out of all my WIPS (both on the poll and the ones I didn't include) this has got to be my most put together story so far, as I've already gotten to the stage where I'm writing actual chapters for it (the first chapter is near finished. Hopefully I can post it soon.)

I first started this story about, two-ish years ago. Back then I had planned to write the story within six weeks and post it in the beginning of spring. Course then I got burned out and couldn't write for a year so now I'm just taking it slow and doing a near rewrite. I did managed to post the first chapter of the original write so if anyone is interested in reading that, you should be able to if you search in the "Hedone writes" tag.

Now, on to the story

After in anonymous tip is sent in to the BPRD Merope volunteers to investigate a place called the Pink Palace, having previous history and old ghosts hidden in its walls. Unaware of its new occupants - in particular, of the new child living there. Merope is sucked into the story of Coraline,though not alone as she is accompanied by Klarion the Witch Boy.

Thus getting involved in the with the main story. I have a few scenes already planned out. My favourites so far has been:

Merope and Klarion going to the local minor fae court to investigate. For this scene I'm drawing most of my inspiration from Holly BI'm also using this as a way to explore Merope's past before she joined the Addams.lack's fae writing - mainly from her book The Darkest Part Of The Forest.

In the original book there is a scene where Coraline has a picnic with the Ghost children after freeing them. It was somewhat cut in the movie so I decided to add that in here with a few small changes.

Merope going through the door and saving the Other Wybie. This last scene I think is what actually inspired me to write this story. I remember watching this movie and wishing

It's a scary scene that has me on the edge of my seat while writing it.

I also want to use this as a way to explore Merope's past before she joined the Addams.

Like I said above, I have changed somethings since my original draft. To start, I plan on showing off my more world building/ crossover skills in this story. To make a list of fandoms I've added to this fic we have;

DC

Hellboy comics

Sandman

Ancient Magus Bride

There are more but these are the main ones so far. I plan on Morpheus being a somewhat minor character and Klarion to be a main supporting character in this.

In this story I plan on Morpheus being the love interest here.

This is one of my more horror based stories. Coraline was one of the first things that really scared me in my childhood and I wanted to bring that fear with me in this story. As such I plan on it being just as dark as it was in the book.

With all that said, if anyone has any questions or just wants to talk about this story please just ask as my letter box is always open.

With that in mind, have a lovely day or night my Dearie-Ohs

[tryan-a-bex]

WIP Game

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

14 incryptids -- this is my Sandman crossover with the InCryptids series by Seanan McGuire, which was already on the list last time this game went around. I didn't make progress yet but had some new thoughts recently so! We will see!

16 Vortex -- also old! This was my attempt at The Dream Vortex is Dream's succession plan instead of a disaster. @best-wishes did it better in Vortex Street, which I love so much she gifted it to me!!! So anyway, I may not come back to this one, but I did mention it in Death is not easy to cheat, my newest fic! Playing this tag game had to wait until it was posted, so it's not in my wips anymore!

41 ineffable lackeys -- Muriel and Eric from Good Omens, I've written a bit of meta and a vignette or two, but I'd love to pull it together into something I can post on ao3

43 rose and barbie -- this is for the sandman femslash weekend, and it's late! But it's next on the list!

44 FBD fishbowl rescue -- yes I write fanfic for Fuckboi Dream but I'm not going to post it until the fic is finished. or at least until the parts I've written about are past.

49 android vacuum -- for monsterfuctober, based on Obstacle Report by @karalynlovescake.

Oh fuck I totally failed to follow instructions! And you can't even send requests for snippets because there's generally nothing written until it's all finished. Well then. If you want to beta read any of these when they're done, let me know!

@mallory-x @seiya-starsniper @sleepsonfutons @aetheltrythh (no pressure) and anyone else who wants to share, what are you currently working on?