#spooky month dark reality au

[jbwashere]

Au by @googlyeyedsilly

[bubblaymadz]

Silly DRau Ross

[googlyeyedsilly]

[roycappsus]

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑨𝑼

Because I love him 💖

Found the dark reality au comic!:

https://m.webtoons.com/en/creator/_pbe44

[jacenotjason]

I’m making money gun art with Plantation Au now 👍

You will never guess what I literally just began drawing

[sailoryooons]

T R I C K O R T R E A T

presented by BTS Fantasy and Fangs

Celebrate this Hallows' Eve with legends told by our most esteemed ghouls. Enter worlds of the unknown and lose yourself in these tales. But beware: one might lose themselves in these hallowed stories.

Rating: Works range from SFW and NSFW. Each work will have its own set of warnings.

Note: This collaboration features works written as general works and works that were assigned via a Secret-Santa style within the BTS Fantasy & Fangs server in which writers did not know who was gifting them a work!

LEGENDS COMING THROUGHOUT OCTOBER.

T R I C K S

☾ Title: Devil Town

☾ Pairing: Platonic OT7 x reader

☾ Summary: You take a chance and spend a month in Devil Town: a quaint little place nestled deep in the woods of The Unknown, where the air is always a touch chilly, things are never quite what they seem, and no one will tell you anything.

☾ Genre/AU: Autumn?? A lil spooky, a lil whimsy, a lil mystery; not quite angst, not quite fluff

☾ Rating: PG 

as told by @park-jimin-isnt-real

Read Now

☾ Title: Handmaidens

☾ Pairing: OT7 x reader

☾ Summary: When the murder of handmaidens begin in Joseon, you are assigned to serve the throne – the seven imperial princes, sons of Lord Sihyuk. Despite your loyalty, your suspicions begin to rise about the killings. Can you escape the palace before it’s too late? 

☾ Genre/AU: Joseon Era thriller/slasher

☾ Rating: TBD

as told by @eserethriddle

☾ Title: Have Mercy 

☾ Paring: Demon!Jimin x Reader | Alpha!Yoongi x Reader | Demon!Jimin x Alpha!Yoongi 

☾ Summary: As a crossroads demon, Jimin is no stranger to vile creatures. Summoned once more, Jimin is surprised to find one of the purest souls asking for his help. Not only does he accept her deal, but while watching over her, Jimin finds himself falling for the very soul he is meant to devour. Eager to confess, Jimin summons the sweet soul only for his plan to turn sour when someone far more evil finds her alone. 

☾ Genre/AU: Angst | Smut | Strangers to Lovers | Demon AU | A/B/O AU 

☾ Rating: 21+ | Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

as told by @sweetestofchaos

Title: The One who Saved Us All

Pairing: Kim Seokjin x Reader

Summary: It's the annual Halloween celebration in Seoul, where everyone from different walks of life get together and celebrate the history of the Vidyadhara. But when someone decides to cause some trouble, Seokjin's best-kept secret comes to life.

Genre/AU: Halloween, Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Disaster?

Rating: Maybe M to MA 15+

as told by @quirkybtsarmy

☾ Title: Simply Meant to Be

☾ Pairing: pumpkin king!jungkook x fem reader

☾ Genre/AU: nightmare before Christmas au, romance, horror, smut

☾ Rating: m (18+)

☾ Summary: You aren’t sure how any of it can be real. This place…these creatures…this man.

You wake up next to a man you’ve never seen before with no memory of who he is or where you are.

But everyone in town seems to know you. You belong to the Pumpkin King. Scared and utterly terrified you run into someone who claims they can help you remember. And now you’re starting to wonder if that’s truly what you want.

as told by @caelesjjk

Read Now

T R E A T S

☾ Title: Blessed With A Curse

☾ Pairing: Werewolf!Jungkook x Hybrid!Reader

☾ Summary: When your company throws a mandatory Halloween party, you aren’t thrilled. You’re even less thrilled when a delusional coworker ruins the party and places a curse on everyone because her crush, the resident werewolf, Jeon Jungkook, rejected them. OR When a coworker gets rejected at the company Halloween party, things get crazy.

☾ Genre/AU: Smut, Werewolf AU, Hybrid AU, Modern Magic AU

☾ Rating: NC-17

as told by @sweetestofchaos for @jessikahathaway

Read Now

☾ Title: Bump In The Night

☾ Pairing: Bogeyman!Yoongi x f. reader

☾ Summary: The dark can be scary; full of strange, unseen things. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on your fear, the lights go out, and you face the reality that you were always right—you should fear the dark and especially what’s waiting in it.

☾ Genre/AU: Monster Under The Bed, Horror/Thriller, Angst, Smut

☾ Rating: MA

as told by @colormepurplex2 for @minisugakoobies

Read Now

☾ Title: Carmen

☾ Pairing: Vampire!Jimin x human!Taehyung

☾ Summary: Taehyung gets lured to an exclusive club by a strange, enchanting woman. What finds him there is much more intoxicating and dangerous. 

☾ Genre/AU: Supernatural, Vampires, Smut

☾ Rating: Explicit/Mature

as told by @sailoryooons for @gimmethatagustd

Read Now

☾ Title: Fledgling

☾ Pairing: Jungkook x Namjoon

☾ Summary: Jungkook is tired of his dreary existence. So when a mysterious stranger offers him a way out of life as he knows it, he takes it without hesitation.

☾ Genre/AU: Vampire AU, horror, smut

☾ Rating: 21+ | Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

as told by @theharrowing for @sweetestofchaos

Read Now

☾ Title: Love As Soft As a Distant Star

☾ Pairing: Min Yoongi | Reader, Min Yoongi | Park Jimin

☾ Summary: You didn’t mean to fall in love with your husband and fellow Witches’ Councilmember Yoongi, but here you are: in love. (How gauche and not the thing. You’re co-workers, not lovers.) It’s particularly inconvenient since he is in love with someone else. 

☾ Genre/AU: Witch AU, arranged marriage AU

☾ Rating: Explicit/Mature

as told by @vyduan for @colormepurplex2

Read Now

☾ Title: Lose Your Head

☾ Pairing: Park Jimin x F!Reader

☾ Summary: As a constable’s assistant you have several duties to him and the police force. Not only as his assistant, but as his dear friend. However, when an ominous summoning sends you and Jimin both to the town of Sleepy Hollow, you fear there might be more at play than either of you understand. And feelings that you’d hope to bury for life bubble to the surface...

☾ Genre/AU: Movie!AU, Thriller, SleepyHollow!AU, Smut, Romance. Rating: 21+

as told by @jessikahathaway for @/sailoryooons

Read Now

☾ Title: The Love Witch

☾ Pairing: witch!yoongi x demon!taehyung

☾ Summary: Despite being a popular romance blogger, Yoongi isn’t interested in finding love. He only summons a demon boyfriend to prove to his followers that it’s possible. He’ll send Taehyung right back to Hell once he’s done with him, obviously.

☾ Genre/AU: fantasy, strangers to lovers, fake dating (kinda), light angst, smut, fluff, humor

☾ Rating: 18+

as told by @gimmethatagustd for @theharrowing

Read Now

☾ Title: Passage

☾ Pairing: Captain!Yoongi x Dracula!Jimin

☾ Summary: For several years, Min Yoongi and the crew of the Magpie have sailed the perilous waters of the Pacific, surviving treacherous waves and other deadly threats in order to deliver goods to the West. Now, on his final voyage as captain, Yoongi is about to face a danger like none he’s ever seen before - and he may find it too tempting to resist. 

☾ Genre/AU: horror, supernatural, angst, smut, Dracula!AU

☾ Rating: M(18+)

as told by @minisugakoobies for @vyduan

Read Now

Disclaimer: This is a collaboration put on for members of the BTS Fantasy and Fangs Server. These stories, characters, and festivals used here are not meant to represent any real or factual people, places, or things.

[inklore]

🩸 — 𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍!

since the spooky season is fast approaching, and as a little kinktober appetizer, @psychedelic-ink and i have decided to do a little writing challenge to get us all excited and in the mood to be gripping the sheets from the spooky thrills of course.

and to keep this fun we have given you many many options! we have compiled a twelve day prompts list you can go by, or if that's not your thing we have listed twenty three different pick and choose options to create whatever kind of fic you want, even if you want to do half the days daily prompts but switch out this prompt dialogue for that au or trope or kink, you can literally do whatever your heart desires!

THE RULES.

the challenge will go on from the 19th - 30th of this month. you can do as many or as little amount of days as you choose.

any fandoms are welcome, literally any characters, ships, but please no rpf.

no minors should be interacting with let alone posting for this challenge.

dark content, light content, dubcon/noncon, is all welcomed but please tag everything accordingly. grooming, underage, and incest however are not allowed.

there are no word limits but please use that readmore.

tag #hauntedhoedown so we can read and reblog your work!

DAY ONE: taboo au + "i'll be your dirty little secret, if that's what you're into."

DAY TWO: murder plot au (lets kill this person together) + "crawl to me"

DAY THREE: inspired by your favorite lana del rey song (if not a lana fan then any fav song of yours) + stalker / yandere au or love triangle gone wrong

DAY FOUR: artificial intelligence au + "here, you are. you tiny thing."

DAY FIVE: gothic au + “worship me. until i tell you to stop.” + a masquerade au or a good ol' priest au

DAY SIX: animal shapeshifter au + "he's a monster" + "he's perfect"

DAY SEVEN: stranded au or slasher / summer camp au + sex in the woods or somewhere public (added bonus if it includes knife, blood, hunter x prey kink)

DAY EIGHT: cosmic horror au + "you're a fucking nightmare. kiss me."

DAY NINE: “do you like it when i bleed for you?” + the toxic exes trope or cult au

DAY TEN: zombie apocalypse au + "every moment might be our last, let's make the most of it."

DAY ELEVEN: black swan au or inspired by your fav psychological thriller + “they die for love, you kill for it.”

DAY TWELVE: vampire court au + "forever isn't long enough for me to forgive you."

if following the above isn't your thing and you want to pick and choose yourself that's great! we also highly rec this random generator if you wanna live life by the edge, each category has 23 options to pick and choose from so customize the generator accordingly!

AUs:

steampunk / cyber punk

fairytale retelling

revenge

mythology / monster

virtual reality

gothic

taboo (see great options here)

slasher

game gone wrong

witchcraft

addams family

bonnie and clyde

spy / secret agent

assassins

x-files

circus / carnival

hitch hiking

basement wife

time travel

urban legend(s)

american horror story inspired

vampire / supernatural

pirate / mermaid

DIALOGUE PROMPTS:

"do you like when i touch you like this? i can keep going if you want me to."

"i can see how badly you want this, so i'm going to make sure you get it." 

“this fear you feel? it won't last.”

“you are mine, whether you agree or not.”

“why do you keep following me?”

"i can't stop thinking about how perfect we would be together."

"you're not actually scared are you? of me?"

"i'm so close, can you feel it?"

"tell me what you want me to do and i'll do it, no matter the cost."

"you're like a sickness, a disease, and the only way for me to be cured of you is to let you completely consume me until my body has no fight left."

"i want to see you bleed."

"they're dead...because of you."

“i will keep hurting. i will keep killing. anything to protect you.”

“everything i've done.. every horrible atrocity, it's been for you.”

"it's just a little blood."

“don't you know how sick with love i am for you?”

“i would burn the world for you.”

"this is so fucked up." "you like it."

"finders keepers."

"what's your favorite scary movie?"

"tell me you want me back. tell me i'm forgiven."

"you're a monster." "that's never stopped you before."

"i've killed for you, who else can say that?"

TROPES:

mob / mafia

soft!dark

dubcon / noncon

soulmate / fated mates

mind control / telepathy

cheating

final girl

once is not enough

haunted manor

dark academia

enemies to lovers

haunted object

vengeful ghost

coven

ritual / sacrifice / blood magic

unrequited love

creation / creator vs monster

'i'll find you in every universe / century'

reverse harem

cursed / fuck or die

curiosity killed the cat

theatre phantom

fate worse than death

KINKS:

biting

corruption / authoritarian

somnophilia

begging

dacryphilia

breath play

knife play / blood play

jealousy / sharing / possessive

aphrodisiacs

hunter / prey

humiliation / degradation

mirror sex

deprivation / immobilized / bondage

costume

size

orgasm denial / overstimulation / edging

body worship

shotgunning / swallowing / facial

gagging

torture / surrender

hate sex / make up sex / phone sex

magical healing [redacted]

soft!dom / pleasure!dom

ETC PROMPTS:

a summer fling gone horrible wrong, or right

1970s porno filming (turned into a blood bath)

touch her and die except who the hell are you and why are you obsessed with me?

a trip to the circus (or carnival) ends with you stuck there...forever

you just inherited this creepy mansion where people where murdered what could go wrong?

a ritual gone wrong and now i'm bound to a demon

if 'this person' ever found out about this they would kill both of us (literally)

oh no i'm dating the town serial killer

passionate professor tells me to prove my devotion to the craft / class by doing something insane

we're the last people on the planet and you will be mine

daydreaming about being with you is better than actually being with you because i missed all the red flags and now it's too late

i got casted out of my world and ended up wounded and bloodied in your backyard, convince me why i shouldn't destroy your world out of anger

vampire has a taste for specific blood and looks like you have it

the creepy neighbor is too hot to be insane, right?

i keep seeing them in my dreams and i wake up with bruises and marks on my skin, it's definitely just wild dreams, right?

loving you is easier than hating you

got stranded in some little town that seems so cute, until night hits

'this person' ordered me to kill you but i actually think i'm in love with you

my lover is wearing the same costume as you and i can't tell the difference but i'm pretty sure it's them i'm fucking in this closet...pretty sure

confessing to a murder via a silly little ghost story around a campfire (but someone reads through the lies)

how far would you go for love? for the one you love?

in a past life you were the cause of my death so i'm here to exact revenge now that i've found you

we're at a fun little horror movie reenactment except people are really dying

we tried to make this writing challenge as fun and very 'choose your own adventure-like' as much as possible because we know how hard it is to stay motivated when doing these things.

so please feel free to use any and all of the prompts, tropes, kinks, etc as you wish. we're just super excited to see what ya'll come up with!!

so good luck and stay slutty spooky <3

[what-have-i-unleashed]

don't feed the hungry spirit

inspired by my dream-eater nightmare post. another horror story for you guys for spooky month :3

(note: my rushed writing again, also the characters here are probably ooc because it's based on my own personal au for them lol)

👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃👻🎃

sans couldn't sleep. it's nothing new actually. dreams, bad and good, always plague his slumber. just like the voices of the dead, or the dust and blood that sticks to his clothes. but just like the living, sans has to sleep eventually. and no matter how much he delays it, the darkness claims him every time. and that's when the dreams start ravaging the his mind again.

but one day sans remembers a folklore he heard as a child. about the dream-eater.

call for the dream-eater and he shall eat your nightmares.

what a silly tale only children would believe... but it doesn't hurt to try, does it?

so sans, in a chilly night, alone in his bed but not his head, prays for the dream-eater to come.

and the dream-eater does come, much to sans' surprise.

he's a figure in the shadows, refusing to come into the light. all sans can see is a turquoise eyelight staring back at him. for a moment, he thinks it's just another of his imagination.

"you call for me, mortal?" the dream-eater's voice ricochets in the room and pierces through sans' skull like a ringing bullet. sans can do nothing but nod. the formless voice chuckles.

"you offer me a delicious meal. i'd be a fool to refuse it."

and so, it is the first night sans has a peaceful dreamless sleep.

but it doesn't mean this is the end of his nightmares. countless resets. countless killings. countless deaths. again and again. in a cycle he cannot stop.

so he asks for the dream-eater. again and again. and the dream-eater consumes his nightmares. again and again.

"do you know why they call me the dream-eater?" the dream-eater asks sans one day. sans is lying prone on his bed, idly watching the shadows inching closer to him, until he can feel the freezing cold emanating from the dream-eater.

"it's because i eat not only nightmares, but also dreams," the dream-eater continues. the turquoise light travels near sans' own eyelight. in this close distance, sans could see the flowing black tar covering the deity. he could smell an earthly smell.

"do it," sans says, apathetic. "my dreams. i don't need them anymore."

the single turquoise eyelight crinkles, as if amused.

"with pleasure."

and so, night after night, the dream-eater comes to sans without any summoning from his end. as if that permission is enough for the dream-eater to come to his room, his house, his universe. sans feels... better, or at least he thinks he is. there is no more nightmare or dream plaguing him. and isn't that what he wants? no more haunting voices. no more distractions. just him doing his job. day in, day out. punctual and efficient like he's never been before.

but now, living his life and repeating his tasks again and again feels like a waking dream. he moves like a ghost in his own life. he still experiences insomnia - a habit he cannot break. reality and dream now blur together - it's like he cannot wake up from all of this.

"i won't come here anymore," the dream-eater says one day. sans is sitting among the echo flower field, looking up at the false stars, as the dream-eater hovers behind him. a dull sense of panic and alarm flares in him as he hears those words.

"what do you mean?" he asks, not as frantic as he hopes.

"i have no more use out of you. all you nightmares. all you dreams. all your hopes. i have eaten them all. you're but a husk now, empty of life that i could take."

"if you go, then the nightmares will happen again."

"that's right."

sans stares at glowing lights above him. everything feels so far away, yet so close.

"... what do i need to do to make you stay then?"

sans feel something touching his shoulders. he doesn't flinch away, but it's a surprise and and relief that the dream-eater is actually real at all.

"work for me. i have no use for you as you are now, as my food source. but i can have some use out of you as a murderer."

"... can i still come back home if i go with you?"

"maybe. maybe not. such is the life of a wandering ghost. you never know where you'll end up next."

"... can i have some time to think about it, then?"

"take your time. i'll expect your answer the next time you call for me."

and so, sans lies in the flower field, alone. he has a feeling what his answer will be. funnily enough, he finds out that skeletons can still cry after all.

[literatureatthebowofnails]

100 Followers + 34th Birthday Celebration

Hello my loves! I can't believe my fortune. I'm increadibly thankful to have 100 of you following my little writing blog.

There's nothing like The Mango to bring us all together! As a huge "Thank you!" to each and every one of you, and to celebrate my 34th birthday arriving in a month, I'm throwing my first party. My asks (as always) are open, so you can submit requests there, or here in the comments. Pick one of the 34 settings and/or one of the 100 prompts below, then send them to me in an ask! I'll be writing the first 134 requests (or however many I get) over the next month. That's my goal date. They will all get written, so long as they're submitted by 11:59 PM GMT-5 (US Central Standard Time) on November 22.

And now for the prompts

Settings

Bifrost

Streets of Asgard's Capital

Asgardian Wilderness

Inside the Palace (you may specify or not)

Palace Grounds (you may specify or not)

Jötunheimr Wilds

Ruins of Jötunheimr's Capital

Secret Passageway

Puente Antiguo

A Vehicle of Your Choosing

Upstate New York

Project PEGASUS Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility

Stuttgart, Germany

Quinjet

Helicarrier

"That big, ugly building in New York" (Stark Tower)

Sanctuary II (Thanos's ship)

Chitauri Cruiser

Avenger's Tower (not to be confused with its predecessor)

Svartálfheim

TVA

Mongolian Sand Dunes

Streets of New York

New York Sanctum

New Asgard

Sakaar

One of the Grand Master's Ships

Haunted Victorian Mansion

Church

Graveyard

Alter

Midgardian woods

Place of your choosing in MCU

Place of your choosing in our reality

Prompts

Peter's former babysitter meets the Avengers

"Where, pray tell, do you think you're going?"

"Stark? That man is nothing but a dick in a tin can."

"Unhand me, you rancid cumsack!"

"Oh, but for you...for you, darling, I'd do anything."

"What's that, darling? No one has removed these with a blade before? What a shame...we'll have to remedy that."

"Just to feel you pressed upon my need..."

Defying gratification

His forked tongue dancing against the sides of your clit

Bachelorette party

Tony: Doing time as a capsicle/Scott: Now I really want a capsicle...popsicle. I want a popsicle

"Fuck me, Father, for I have sinned..."/"Say seven 'Hail Marys' and suck my cock"

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Hiking

Downpour

Snowed In

First Snow

AU (doesn't need to fit one of the above locations)

Caramel apples

Rewrite a story (of your choice) from the Poetic Edda

Timeline branch (you choose where on the Sacred Timeline)

Excerpts from Odin's A+ Parenting Handbook

“You’d do well to pay. It’s in your best interest."

On Wednesdays kings wear chains

Loki on his knees

All tied up (you choose who)

Threesome (so long as I know the character, I'm willing to do crossovers from other fandoms as well)

That one time he had a thing with a horse...

Headcanon from one of my fics (completed or ongoing)

Why orphans are called Loki's children

"I don't negotiate with people who shouldn't exist."

Out of place and underdressed

Witch

Your ex

Crush

Reading

Opening Night

"Selvig is not coming to my wedding!"

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

Kittens and Handcuffs

Lady Loki

The other Lokis

Shadow play

Lost in a corn maze, you meet an overly-helpful stranger

"Come over here and make me"

Ravens

Lost dog

More Lokis than you know what to do with

Ignore the man behind the curtain

"Wait a minute. Are you jealous?"

Oktoberfest

Ballroom dancing

"I was drunk, ok?! I didn't know what I was doing. Can you just drop it already?"

Caught

Trespassing

"I almost lost you."

Tea

"Keep running your mouth like that and I'll have to put it to better use."

Punishment

"Daddy"

Carving pumpkins

Baking

"Don't you ever do that again!"

Kids

Babies

Pregnancy

You get some magic of your own

Spooky

Tired

Nap

Hayride

"Kiss Me"

Kidnapped

Wine

Catch me if you can

Jam

Stalker

Neighbor

"It could be worse"

Flying kites

Hospitalized

Runaway

Pride

Costume party

Trapped

Whispers

Loyalty

Bonfire

“Please wake up. I can’t do this without you.”

Ghosts

Innocent

Spiked

“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.”

Cozy

Sweater weather

Mole

Full moon

“Just once”

Many, many thanks to all of you, especially mutuals. This fandom always makes my day. Please keep reading, engaging, re-blogging, and creating!

Works completed for this event:

Excerpts from Odin's A+ Parenting Handbook

Tag List

Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed

@peaches1958 , @javagirl328 , @loopsisloops , @goblingirlsarah , @buttercupcookies-blog , @cakesandtom , @ladymischief11 , @km-ffluv , @coldnique , @glitterylokislut , @eleniblue , @lokiprompts , @lokisgoodgirl , @muddyorbsblr , @princess-ofthe-pages

[thehistoriangirl]

Where the Woods Brought Us Together [2]

I’m sorry guys  🚩 something happened and I found more plot than I thought it’d be, so I cut this final part in two because I reached 12K and I was only halfway done  🤡 🤡 I think the other half will be posted in one or two weeks :3 Anyway, I hope you like it ^^

Viktor x Fem!Reader-----/Magical Forest AU/------8.4K----SFW (but check tags just in case)

First Part here!

Part Three (Final Part)

Synopsis: There was a time when the forest and the village lived in balance. The humans went to the woods to harvest its fruits and cut down the dead trees from where luxury furniture was carved, and in exchange, the people would venerate and protect the wood’s heart, giving offerings and humming chants, telling them stories. Those times are long gone. Only remaining the fear of the immortal and powerful woods that rule over the village, only foolish woodcutters and valiant explorers dare to approach the forest. Except for the solitary family that lived in the little cottage at the edge of the woods. A lineage deeply connected to the trees and the creatures who hide inside them. The village knows—but anyone is sure about how deep the bond runs. Nevertheless, you're willing to try for the sake of saving the villagers from their demise. Perhaps, with some luck, you can convince the forest and its guardian of giving their mercy, praying the cost won’t be too high.

Tags: Spooky Forest (??| Angst| Mentions of Death and Illness| Friends to Lovers| Eventual Smut (next part lel)| Viktor as Machine Herald but make it cottagecore (TM)|  Eventual Happy Ending| Mentions about the arrival of a plague| Domestic Fluff|

The woods were always silent for those that didn’t know what to look for in those sounds. But in reality, the forest was always moving, shifting, and calling.

It was calling you, and you felt it—in each branch moved by the wind as if it were whispering your name; in the songs of the crickets heard across the fields, only interrupted by the howl of the owls posing in the trees near your cottage.

Even in the sudden, startling cracks of branches that gave away the presence of someone—something—lurking nearby.

You were having dinner with your back toward the entrance door, windows slightly open to let the summer air filter inside, the smoke of incense and laurel put in the window sill keeping mosquitos from entering.

You heard footsteps running down your stairs, which made you jump, dragging the chair away from the table, spoon still grasped in your hand.

The little kid you were treating from chickenpox, Mat, was pale and looked as if he wanted to cry. His black hair pocked everywhere in the wrong direction as he run to smash his little body against your chest.

“What happened, little one?” you shushed him, passing a hand through his hair.

“There’s something outside,” he whispered, afraid his words would be heard by the intruder.

Your hand froze while your head turned toward the front door. Only darkness could be seen, amorph, elongated shadows from bushes and trees. You patted his head one last time. “Go upstairs, I’ll go check.”

Mat shook his head, brushing his locks against your bare arms. “No! What if it’s something dangerous?”

You smiled. “I’ll be fine. I promise. Besides,” you commented just for him to let you go. “I have to go check now before your mother arrives, yes?”

The sole thought of his mom getting attacked by the roaming creature circling the cottage was enough for him to let go of you.

“Go upstairs, and do not get out, even if you hear someone calling your name, alright? Your mom will enter the room right after she arrives. Do you understand?”

The kid become paler, and you knew it was an exaggeration, but you didn’t want him to peek outside—especially not since the town’s children have been disappearing overnight and found wandering on the outskirts of town, or at the edge of the forest, between the crops, ever since months ago. Some townsfolk said it was because of the forest, but you had your doubts.

The whole town was separated from the woods with the harvesting crops, and the forest had ultimately no reason to kidnap children that would be found the next morning anyway—and even if the forest did have reasons to swoop out of the town, the people should have known that the woods have more effective methods than kidnapping.

Besides, if the woods were behind the mystery, its guardian must have told you so already—because he trusted you, didn’t he?

Mat almost flew upstairs, his light steps echoing in the old cabin as you breathe slowly, deeply, opening the front door and stepping outside.

It was a humid autumn night, with some clouds hiding the crescent moon which light couldn’t filter completely between the branches of the apple tree in the backyard, casting a large shadow that stopped you from identifying any sudden movement. As you turned the corner, your eyes scanned the area, searching for whatever thing frightened Mat.

Perhaps it was one of Viktor’s dogs.

They got used to coming for any kind of food waste you had for them any other day, one of them even growing as bold as smashing your door to enter your kitchen without your permission.

Well, you were wrong.

“You scared the child,” you said looking at the gigantic figure hunched next to your backdoor, third arm turned off so its light wouldn’t be noticeable from the interior.

His figure froze mid-crunch toward the floor for a couple of seconds before he recomposed, his tall figure looming with a new casting, very long shadow of himself that covered your own. “I didn’t know we have a child already.”

“Wouldn’t you like that?” you said, amused. Your brows got pinched together in curiosity, looking at the opaque mass he carried between his arms. “What are you doing?”

Viktor shrugged. “Me? Nothing.” You took a step further, and he quickly added: “—I just came to give you these.”

The smell of lavender hit your nose as Viktor extended you a bouquet, looking white under the faint light of the moon.

You blinked, taking them by mere reflex. “Oh? Did you do something I don’t know yet that would require an apology bouquet?”

He chuckled, the sound amplified by the thick mask he wore. “I scared our child, you said.”

“You did.” You weren’t going to get distracted enough to correct that sentence. “And you are breaking into my property right now.”

“Technically, your hut is on my property.” The forest had been growing ever since the flooding incident, almost swallowing your grandmother’s house with tall grass and random juvenile trees growing over your front yard if it weren’t for the tall gates surrounding the place. “I was only going to let the flowers here and leave. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t wake me, but I suppose you weren’t fast enough if Mat caught a glimpse of you,” you said, mockingly nagging him, an eyebrow raised. Viktor removed in his place, hands fidgeting at his staff's length. “It’s okay. He’s just a little spooked.”

“What is doing a kid awake at this hour anyway?” he replied, tone airy and mocking. “Copying your insomniac tendencies, isn’t it? Perhaps you’re the bad influence after all.”

You shrugged. “Good thing he almost leaves,” you commented, because you wanted to assure him about your assistance next full moon. “I’m sure with the lavender it’ll get better.” You nodded slightly. “Thank you, Viktor.”

Your eyes dropped, revealing the fatigue lingering in your being.

“You should go inside now. It’s getting late, and you should get some rest.”

“Hmm, and why is that? Do you have planned something that would require high stamina?” You arched both eyebrows, somehow disappointed you couldn’t see Viktor’s expression.

He looked at you—or at least you thought so—, the opening in his mask glowing as golden as his eyes while pointed at you because you could never be so sure.

“No,” he responded blatantly, taking you by the shoulders and gently guiding you under the little landing constructed in your backyard. Your eyes widened, and you heard your heart picking speed with each beat that rushed toward your ears. “But let me know if you have some ideas.”

He pushed you inside your cottage, opening the door just enough for you to pass through. “Now go to sleep, because if the child discovers us, it wouldn’t be my fault, would it?”

You hoped he couldn’t notice your flushed state with the bright light of the hearth at your back. “You were the one who came,” you replied, but he was right. You could’ve dismissed him already. “Goodnight, Viktor.” You shushed his name, inclined toward his body so the little kid upstairs wouldn’t hear it.

He had only trusted it to you so far.

Viktor stepped outside, and toward the limits of your backyard and the forest, you saw his dogs waiting patiently. “Goodnight.” Viktor signaled the lavender carefully cradled in your arms. “I hope they help you sleep.”

You smiled. “Me too. I’ll dream of you, in that case.”

Viktor had to reprime a laugh. “I hope you do,” he commented, closing the door before you could say something else.

He was gigantic, his armor bulky, and yet, the only noise of him walking away was the sudden breaks of branches he stepped on. But between a couple of blinks and the reflective window, you lost him as soon as he entered the wood’s limit.

The stairs creaked.

“I told you to stay in your room,” you simply stated. Mat’s head poked from the stairs’ corner.

“Who was that?” he asked, and you hoped he wasn’t near enough to hear during your whole exchange. Mat certainly wasn’t near enough to notice your disheveled state.

“My friend,” you said, because it was true. Viktor had become your friend. Strangely, sure, but he was… important to you now.

Mat blinked as if your answer wouldn't convince him. “Was it your forest’s boyfriend?” His eyes twinkled at looking at the lavender on the table. “Did he give you flowers? Why? It’s your birthday? Are you going to get married?”

Your sleepy mind couldn’t process half the things he said.

“What?”

He shrugged. “My mom and her friends say so. That you’re the forest’s wife.”

You breathed slowly, deeply. Good thing Viktor wasn’t here to mock you about it.

Don’t give him ideas, Mat. But of course, you didn't say that. "Let's go upstairs, or your mom is going to get angry you’re still awake.”

You passed next to him toward the stairs, leaving him alone in the kitchen. The loneliness of the place must have crept him out, because in less than three minutes he was running upstairs, where you were already expecting him, sitting at the edge of the bed.

Mat jumped inside the covers, quickly wrapping himself in the blankets until only his eyes and hair were visible.

You patted his head a couple of times, looking at the clock hanging on top of the bed. It was almost 10 PM, his mom would be here at any minute. Your steps were muffled by the worn-out carpet as you approached the window, ready to close the curtains.

“Don’t close it, Miss. I want the moon to accompany me while my mom arrives.”

You nodded, a half-smile hidden by the sharp shadows enveloping the room. "Alright. Goodnight, Mat.”

“Goodnight Miss,” he whispered back, words barely audible when sleep was perfectly wrapped around them.

Peeking outside the bare window, you saw two ghostly figures around your house, their bodies moving the grass as if they were little waves inside a nocturnal sea, tails wiggling happily as firelights flew toward the sky, afar from their movement.

The forest had thick foliage that couldn’t let you see the light inside that easily, but maybe—with a flick of your imagination—, you could see Viktor’s golden light flooding inside the dark branches, moving with each step he took.

You smiled a fond expression that was reflected in the crystal.

Perhaps being the forest’s wife wouldn’t be so bad.

Spring started with cold air, even in the deepest parts of the forest, some sprouts of flowers shyly peeking from the ground and amidst the bushes, vibrant yellows and reds and violets that were visible even at night. As you walked through the mossy ground, the clear sky showed you the way across shimmering stars between the canopy and traces of moonlight in the patches of dirt and broken branches.

Forests are strange places for humans, as they're guided by a vision more than any other sense. Trunks look the same hue of dark brown, and the ground is so uneven that at some point, all the rocks and bushes blur into each other unless you're accustomed to identifying plants by their leaves and fruits.

But getting lost in the forest is very normal. Especially in this forest. Here, in these woods, the trees liked to play—mischievously or not, that would be something you should ask Viktor, if you wanted to hear the answer, of course—the path would go on forever, turn abruptly to the left only to end up facing a bluff where the river ran, swirling with fury below.

In other times, the paths would narrow so much that even the lanky body of a child wouldn't be spared from scratching as nude branches peeked out the path, grasping clothes and hair and skin from every hiker that passed by as if to keep a memory of them.

Because many of them wouldn’t return from it.

An owl howled from a branch nearby, and you hear it jumping from tree to tree to watch your every step toward the forest's heart. You felt dozens of eyes looking at you from the shadows, the ghostly dog guiding your way ignoring them as it wiggled your tail at you.

Viktor told you the dogs that followed him didn't have a name—when they were alive, they probably did, but he couldn't know. Through the decades, the forest had recollected hunting dogs that tried to hurt the woods' creatures—they had also taken the humans that commanded them, but you already knew that. The perpetual bloody-stained fur was proof enough.

You had called one Snowy, because it was white and grey, with cold blue eyes; and because the ghostly dog used to follow you around even if there wasn't a full moon, even when Viktor was standing guard at the other side of the forest.

Snowy took the position of your guide as you walked around the forest alone—mostly while searching for Viktor, or when Viktor instructed you to help him with something as he was busying himself with other tasks.

You had walked this same path around seventeen times already. The first time following a scared and angry lumberjack; but contrary to that occasion, the line of the trees seemed to recede as you walked by, green, soft leaves spurting to fill the naked branches, hiding the thorns.

Snowy looked back at you, his snout only half-covered in fur, showing his eerily large canines in the bare half of his skull. It looked like a devious smile, but his fluffy tail was wiggling, so it meant Viktor was near.

You heard the gurgling of the river running by at a tranquil pace, singing a never-ending lullaby as it rippled liquid silver from the full moon's light in the pond a couple of meters behind Viktor’s cottage. His tall, imposing figure was there, lounging against a tree trunk, his third arm illuminating your way as soon as he saw Snowy striding into the clearing.

"Hi," you said because you didn't know how else you wanted to distract Viktor’s gaze from your walking figure as you approached him, hoping the light wouldn’t let your flush become too obvious. “I brought you some books and sweets from the village.”

Viktor hummed almost reverentially as you showed him a couple of books tucked inside the bag that swung on your left shoulder, under them, a cardboard filled with chocolates. “I see. Are you trying to buy off my affection, aren’t you?”

You chuckled. “As if I didn’t have it already.”

His golden eyes twinkled at you as his hand palmed the place next to him, a blanket laid over the grass where a basket stood half-open, and the insides smelled like newly baked bread.

The floor was cold when you sat, your long skirt hurdled around your legs like a grey halo, part of the fabric covering Viktor’s left knee.

Being inside the forest made you very nervous around Viktor—after all, it was his home. In your hut, you were the host, always running around to ask him if he wanted some tea or perhaps one of those chocolate chip cookies that you bought from the store next to the post office.

But here, in the forest, you felt as if everything was him as if every being could notice the way your heart seemed to increment its pace as his golden eyes looked at you with a strange mix of emotions that you didn’t dare to unravel with your shaky fingers.

You were trying to get the books out of your bag, when he gently put a hand above yours, his other palm carrying an orange.

“Here,” he said. “Let’s eat first, yes?” You took the fruit, but Viktor covered it with his palm, his fingers brushing yours. “Eh, I’m sorry. Do you want me to peel it for you?”

You blinked, his words seeping too slowly into your brain. “Uh—no, no. It’s alright.” Your cheeks grow hotter, probably not just the result of the cold air that filtered in the clearing. “Thank you.”

Viktor nodded, his hands starting to prepare the silverware as he fabricated compartments with cardamom soup and some roasted sweet potatoes. “I hope it’s good, it’s the last orange from the tree in my backyard.”

The last orange of the season? “Do you want to share it with me?” you find yourself saying, fingers digging at its peel as you started to take off the slices.

First, you took one, the sweet liquid sticking your lip as you raised one slice toward Viktor. You beamed at his confused expression. “Take it, is very good—so sweet!”

His hands were occupied while pouring the soup inside the bowls, so you gave it the orange directly to his mouth, your fingertips brushing his lips as he munched down the fruit.

You looked at him, thinking that your heart was beating so loud the townsfolk could hear it from the town’s square.

Viktor smiled. “Very sweet, indeed.”

You were going to pretend it didn’t happen. That the ghost of the brushing sensation of your fingers against his lips, the ones that still tingled your skin was only a feverish fantasy.

“So… have you found something about the kids?” you asked, and preferred not to, but it was one of the responsibilities the town had put over your shoulders. And the thought of letting it slide didn’t sit correctly with you.

His smile left, replaced by a gloomy expression that pressed his lips in a thin line. “Sadly, I didn’t—not even the dogs picked up a trail.” He left the dishes over the blanket, the flavory steam pulling out of them becoming not so appetizing after all. “I’m convinced they didn’t run off to the forest.”

“I know,” you sighed. “I wish the townsfolk would believe us.”

Viktor took one bowl filled with soup and placed it on your lap. “It’s understandable. They’re scared. If something bad happens, they need someone—something—to blame on. They have the forest; if they didn’t, they’d find another guilty party.”

The town’s incipient doubt and resentment washed off your mind in the remote part of the forest, here where you could lay your feelings and worries in front of Viktor without feeling like a disappointment.

You rested your head against Viktor’s shoulder, the food forgotten in your lap. He took one of your hands, a reassuring squeeze between your interlaced fingers. “We’ll figure it out,” Viktor muttered, his nose brushing the top of your hair. “I believe in us.”

You closed your eyes, hands enveloping his waist as you hugged him sheepishly, your grasp light and loose in case he wanted to push you away. But Viktor didn’t, instead tilting his body so it could block the growing cold wind from the night from hitting yours directly.

During your stay with him, everything seemed possible. You could discover the cause of those children’s disappearances; you could stop the growing hostility toward the forest.

And as you rested next to him, looking at the starry sky, a little part of you relished in the thought that Viktor’s heart could feel just as nervous and flustered as you did.  

The next day, you woke up early to the smell of coffee boiling in the hearth. The back door was open, letting the cold morning air filter around the house. You followed the path covered in cobblestone toward the backyard, where Viktor kept his plants.

Plowing lines with carrots, cucumbers, and potatoes perfectly aligned as Viktor revised his tomatoes, the red ones contrasting against the vivid green of the plant as his fingers pluck them away.

“You’re up early,” Viktor said when he caught your figure from the corner of his vision. “Strangely pleasant event, I may add.”

"I can go back to bed if I distract you too much,” you said, eating a strawberry that you found lying lonely in the bottom of a basket.

“I’d prefer if you don’t,” Viktor said, his hands buried in the dirt as he collected ginger roots. “I would miss you so much.”

You blinked, sleep clouding your judgment to pick the joke in his comment. Viktor walked where you were frozen in the middle of the way, putting a basket filled with carrots, potatoes, and ginger roots in your arms.

“Please wash them. I’ll go collect some apples and strawberries to make some porridge.” He patted your hair, and for a moment you forgot his hand was covered in dirt. “Wait for me to have breakfast together.”

You couldn’t have told him no, even if you wanted to. And you didn’t. You were here to make him company, so you'll take every moment you could spend next to him.

It came as a surprise that Viktor did have planned a physically demanding activity for you. He put a tiny shovel in your hand and told you to help him weeding his backyard and prune the rose bushes growing around his cottage, eerily similar to the ones starting to grow in yours.

The day was cloudy and windy as if the winter refused to go, but Viktor had lent you a sweater that was too big in the length of the arms and too snatched in the waist, but you didn’t mind. You looked at the fabric patched up way too many ways, feeling the worn-out, softest sensation of its brush against your skin.

After the sun was gone, you felt your hands numb from using the scissors and yanking away stubborn plants. Viktor warmed up water for a bath, and you collapsed on the couch, careful not to crush him too much as you laid on top of him.

The hearth was burning low with the incipient heat coming with spring, but you two were covered in a knitted blanket, your legs tangled against Viktor’s, hair wet stuck in your neck after taking a shower.

You had used Viktor’s liquid soap, a mixture of lemon, honey, and lavender essential oil; and while you read a book about botanic that you picked from the public library, you were trying to forget that you smelled like him—perhaps a very stupid excuse to feel as if you were growing closer to him, but for you, it did seem that way.

You lived with Viktor one week every month, after all. The first couple of visits were awkward, sure, but soon enough you expressed how silly was to relegate him to the tiny couch if you could sleep in the same bed as you did rest on the same couch as a mess of limbs.

“We’re friends, right?" you told him one day late at night when you saw him trying to accommodate his large body on the tiny couch. “We can sleep together—it’s something that friends do all the time, you know? It’s okay.”

Of course, it took you around three days to relax enough to fall asleep with his body so near yours, the way he sometimes forgot that he was sleeping next to you, so Viktor rolled over nearly crushing you between him and the mattress.

Sometimes Viktor startled you when he talked in his sleep, but you weren’t going to tell him that. Or about that time he hugged you like a teddy bear—he probably noticed, though, for the way he treated you the next day, his cheeks flustered all day long.

In some moment, between reading pages twenty-four to forty-seven, you heard the tiny raindrops of a drizzle tapping on the roof, wind moving the canopy that you could see from your half-sitting, half-lying position against Viktor's chest.

For the soft snores that reverberated in your back, he was already asleep, his engineering book forgotten in your lap. Instead, his hands were tucked around your waist, under the blanket.

Mat’s words were still entangled in your mind from time to time, highlighted every time you met with the forest’s guardian. That the town believed you were the forest’s wife—better put, Viktor’s wife.

You were glad he was asleep, or else he would catch you all flustered, with your waist tingling there where his hands brushed the worn-out fabric of your shirt.

Every full moon the same words ruminated in your mind until they became a never-ending loop hurdled in your brain, as you heard the whisper of the leaves moving with the wind, the familiar strides of Snowy and the other dogs circling the hut, in the soft greetings Viktor enunciated as soon as he heard your familiar steps against the forest’s clearings, his lips curled up in a smile.

This wasn’t what you bargained for that day in the forest. The town may have treated you like a material offering to the woods to improve its mood, but on slow nights like these, you knew you had offered your heart to the forest's guardian of free will.

Every time you stepped inside the forest to meet him, it wasn't because someone had obliged you—nor the town’s expectations of the fear of the woods—but because you’d miss Viktor, too. Even if he sometimes knocked on your backdoor as he passed by to give you some fruits or leave you a bouquet of wildflowers he picked along the way.

You hurdled in closer to him, closing your eyes as they became heavier, putting the books on the floor as you raised the blanket until it covered half your face. Between the drizzle tapping against the windows, and Viktor’s steady heartbeat, you dreamed of a magical forest where deep inside, someone was waiting for you.

Ever since summer, you had decided to spend more days with Viktor inside the forest. It was a good thing, but at the same time, it wasn’t.

The town had extended its distrust to you; hiring a physician and a nurse from the neighboring city to cure the ailments. Right next to the town's square church, it was a much safer option than crossing the town up the hill toward the forest where a witch lived by the woods.

You had shrugged it off when a dry letter noticed you about the new infirmary, but deep inside your stomach, you felt a heavy rock dropping in your insides, making it hard to move from your hunched position against the dining table.

It took a lot of effort to confess the matter to Viktor, if only he wouldn't notice you looked rather gloomy, even as you were taking in the scenery of the forest, with the sprouts of fruits starting to grow in the trees you passed by, some mushrooms peeking from the ground as Snowy sniffed them.

“They did the most logic option—one that I even told my grandma a couple of years ago—and now I’m feeling like they replaced me,” you said, the trees absorbing the noise of your voice, but not so the sobs that came after. “I know they’re not doing it to help me, but rather to alienate the forest and—.” To alienate us, you wanted to say.

The ground was muddy from the abundant drizzles that sprinkled the town at night; the corn grew up big and healthy thanks to it. You didn't care as you sat down on a muddy rock, ignoring that your pants would get a green mark.

“It’s unfair and ridiculous,” you sighed, Viktor sitting in front of you, his back against a tree bark. “The forest decided to give them—us all—a second chance, but they’re just… just… repeating it all over.”

You've heard the kids that came to your cottage when they had the flu when they had to stay overnight for some fever or stomachache. The way they closed the curtains in the bedroom and refused to look toward the forest as they waved you goodbye.

How they said that monsters wandered in the forest, ready to slaughter any trespasser.

Perhaps it was a stupid thing to get angry about; after all, they had only heard one version of the story, the one mourning widows and mothers and elders told, where a demonic forest had killed innocent people purely for amusement.

But as you looked around the greenery, with the canopy filtering the sunlight against the ground in a mosaic, artistry pattern against Viktor’s chestnut hair. With the flowers blooming and the fruits almost ripe, the sound of animals peeking from between the bushes and from above the branches, so they could look at the forest’s guardian; you questioned what of all this could be called monstrous.

And you knew that the townsfolk referred to Viktor and his dogs, to the magic the forest wielded to protect itself and the ancient life that lived inside it.

“It’s alright,” Viktor said, his soft words ripping you away from your repetitive, overwhelming thoughts. “We’re used to this—except the fire, of course.” But you couldn’t laugh about it, feeling bad right afterward because Viktor was trying to cheer you up.

“Had it always been like this?” you find yourself asking, fearing the answer.

He shrugged, pouting slightly. The changing light of the canopy moved by the wind created a strange sensation of timelessness. Viktor had briefly talked about the old times when he was still human, so for a moment, you can portray him as a young man stumbling in the clearing, sitting against a tree, his cane next to his worn-out, patched-up clothes.

“Yes,” Viktor said after a too-long silence.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me,” you started, but he shook his head, some locks covering his brow, obscuring his gaze that is lost in a landscape that isn’t there right now, but rather, in the past.

“I want you to know, and I think you’re deserving to know, too. If you wish to, of course.” He looked at you from the corner of his eye, seeing your hair move as you nodded.

Then, Viktor continued, his voice soft and slow, as if the words were too scared to come out. “I suppose I’m used to it.” Viktor removed in his seat, his hands on his lap inches apart from where Snowy had laid its snout on his legs. “Even when… when I lived in a village. I wasn’t like the rest of the kids, for I couldn’t play like them,” he chuckles, but it was a sour sound that time hadn’t been able to soften. “Sometime after, I stumbled upon magic books and… well, you know how people get scared of things they don’t understand.

"That's why I left when the people found out about my studies,” he continued. “But I had nowhere to go, only the forest.” Viktor had never mentioned his parents, so you didn’t wish to press on the matter. Maybe one day he’ll be ready to tell you, maybe not. In both cases, it was alright. “I don’t know how many weeks I spent here, sleeping in caves and under trees and eating seeds and berries—I got poisoned by one, one unlucky day, and I thought I’d die. That nobody would even look for me, even if I was very young to be wandering alone.”

His hand dug in the dirt, a tiny sprout blooming in the new hole created there. “But… I suppose the forest took pity on me when I pleaded for someone to help me. It then healed me and made me what I’m today. And that’s how I became the forest guardian.” He smiled at you, a strange, contained smile that was almost imperceptible. “That’s why I know it’ll be alright. The woods—and us, too—will always find a way. I promise.”

You felt tired. Somehow, returning to your cottage had become a tiring routine, a chore of defending the forest that in the past was so intertwined with the village that one wouldn’t survive without the other, the same core ideas put in different words falling into the same dismissing ears.

Even if Viktor didn’t tell you, you knew that he came from the village, there was no way he could come from another part—the closest town was kilometers away, a coastal city full of treacherous paths. And why go inland when you can take a ship out of town into another territory much further away?

You leaned near him, your hands on top of his. “I’m sorry, Viktor. I didn’t imagine—I… I couldn’t have ever imagined it.”

His gaze was deep and serious. “Please don’t pity me,” he muttered. “I’ve had the forest, and now, I have you,” Viktor says so low that you must be hearing things.

“I won’t,” you said, feeling your heartbeat picking up speed even if your throat was in knots. “Can I hug you?”

Viktor flushed slightly, the color climbing up from his cheeks to the tip of his ears. “I would love that, yes.”

You hugged him ignoring the rough surface of his wooden armor, trying not to press too much weight on his third arm. He smelled like home, a newly acquired essence that you had linked to home, to warm hearths and cozy evenings watching the rain, to richly cultivated vegetables and vibrant fruits caramelized whose nectar stuck your fingers as you bit them. To relaxing baths inside a tiny room hearing the stream of the river passing nearby; the creamy hand-made soap that made his essence linger on you when you came back to your cottage.

Tears made your vision blurry as you clung onto his body, breathing him in. “You have me now,” you said, with an irregular, strained voice. “I won’t leave you alone. I promise.”

He smiled, you could feel it as Viktor buried his face in the crook of your neck, his breath creating goosebumps along your skin. “Thank you, sweetbriar.”

It was a hot night, the summer extending its grip where the storms of fall would be followed by air so hot it felt as if being trapped in a boiling pot. The ground was filled with puddles you tried to avoid, because the last time you submerged your ankle in a pit of mud that at simple view had seemed shallow.

The sky was naked with no moon, starts barely shining over the navy-blue surface between the thick canopies. You walked next to Viktor, his hand on yours as you stepped over dry branches and fallen foliage. The buzzing of insects had grown stronger despite the promising freezing winter that filtered in sudden cold blows of air.

His light was off as you made your way back to your cottage, a basket half-full of vegetables and fruits Viktor had picked from his backyard swinging on his left hand. He didn't wish any people from town to look at him and spread the word about his existence besides the frightening stories they told their children at bedtime.

“Nobody knows what the Forest’s Guardian is like, or if I’m more than an immaterial spirit. Only you,” he told you, taking your hand into him as you walked back to the forest’s edge. “I would like to keep it that way if you don't mind.”

“I don’t," you muttered because otherwise, you weren't sure you could talk without your voice sounding wavy and nervous. “You’d be my little secret, then.”

Viktor chuckled, stopping when the forest opened in the crop fields surrounding your hut. He turned slightly, and you had to tilt your head backward to take him in. "I like how that sounds.” His golden eyes flickered with mischief now that the darkness allowed him to take off his mask as he walked you home.

“Me too.” You extended your hand for him to give you your basket, but instead, he took your other hand. “Oh.”

“I hope you can permit me to say that I would like to keep you my secret, too. Alas, I know I can't,” Viktor said suddenly. Your eyes were glued to his as your brain tried to scramble around for words. “But I’ll miss you, nevertheless. I find myself missing you even though you're spending more time with me," he smiled a little, and you knew that if he would have illuminated the way, you'd seen him blush. "I've become greedy, I suppose."

You hugged him, ignoring the sharp edges of his armor, thinking about all the time he had to spend alone in the forest before you met him. You looked up at his eyes, trying to conceive all the sincerity you were feeling in them. You hoped that at least he could hear your frenetic heartbeat, and feel the slight shake of your hands between his.

“I want you to know that if I could live with you inside the forest forever, I would do it,” you replied. “You’re always welcome to my home. And I’ll go back to you in three weeks. I'll come back to your side—a deal struck or not.”

He was so close you could feel his breath moving the rebel locks poking in your forehead as Viktor whispered, still unsure. “Do you promise?”

“I promise.” You felt his hands around your waist, the basket gently tucked in the ground as Viktor hugged you back. You tiptoed in your boots, feeling the soft ground crumbling beneath the pressure; but it was alright, for your arms were around Viktor’s neck. You kissed him softly, barely the friction of your lips against his, feeling the reverberating of his gasp against your chest and the fluttering movement of his eyelashes against your cheekbones.

You pulled away too quickly, sensing the disappointment weighing in the air. But there would be time for more. “I think I must go now,” you said with an apologetical smile. “I don’t want to keep you from doing your vigil.”

“You should’ve thought about it before," Viktor said, and you gazed at him briefly, eyebrows arched. “Now I’m going to have distracting thoughts of you all night.”

The sound of your laugh was cut short when he bent down to steal a kiss from you, just another peck. It was your turn to gasp, your balance is thrown off as you had to grasp his shoulders to avoid falling backward.

Who knows how long would this silly game had take if you wouldn't be interrupted by the echo of your front door being banged with such force, you couldn't stop from fearing a knot of fear suspended in your stomach.

“A very desperate patient,” Viktor said lightly, but he was frowning as you walked toward the edge of the forest. From the gate of the cottage, you saw an amorph mass of people gathering over the entrance. "I'll check on you from your backyard if that's fine for you?"

You shook your head. “It’s alright, I’ll be okay. Take care, Viktor. I’ll see you soon.” And then you turned away, feeling lonely without his hand accompanying you home.

You ran toward the people, your steps muffled by the overgrown grass the rain had carried with you. They were an elder and a younger woman forcefully carrying a teenager that couldn’t stand.

“Please help us!” The younger woman pleaded as you opened your door, helping them carry the teenager over your couch. “He’s burning in fever and vomiting blood! What’s wrong with him?”

Upon flicking on the light of your candlesticks, you saw that the teenager’s brow was covered in sweat, blue eyes looking at you with what you could only call delirium imprinted on them, a yellowish hue painted in their scleras.

A chill ran down your body, making your arms covered in goosebumps. You remember seeing things like this when you lived in the city.

"Has he been in the coastal town?” You had never seen him before.

“Yes,” said the younger one, the one you supposed was the mother. “Theo works at the docks, but he was sent home three days ago. Why?”

You paused for half a second, your steps faltering as you revised your medicines cabinet trying to find willow bark to stop his fever. Sent home randomly? You furrowed, scanning if you had some camphor at the bottom of the drawer. It wasn't the first time you'd heard about the plague raiding cities, you had moved a couple of times, with your parents, when that occurred in neighboring cities to where you were residing.

Only that couldn’t run away this time.

“In summer,” you started, putting meadowsweet in a boiling pot. “It’s common that some coastal and swampy cities get diseases from miasmas plaguing the air. Perhaps that’s why he— why Theo was sent home.”

The women shook their heads. “No, that can’t be. Theo can’t be sick, not like that. It's just the flu, right? It has to be.”

You didn’t answer, signaling a cot tucked in a corner of the living room. “I’ll put him in the cot over there, you can stay if you wish.” The pop sound of the glass bottle made the women look at what you were doing instead of looking at Theo’s afflicted expression. You put some camphor in a glass of water, take lemons from Viktor's basket and squeeze their juice to pour on it. "Let's see how he reacts to the medicine, and depending on how he reacts, we'll see what to do next."

You gestured to the worn-out couch. “You can stay there. I’ll go prepare a cold bath for him.”

It was a rough night, because plague nights always were, with death hovering so close. You read it in the newspapers, sometimes hearing your grandma telling you about when the town was sieged by the red fever, when kids were crying, and parents were sobbing by equal in this same hut.

You filled the house with burning sage and incense, hoping that the plague wouldn’t extend to the town—the miasmas would relish in the hot climate and vast vegetation of the forest to thrive.

The bath helped control his fever, your hand felt numb with the sponge you were continuously squeezing on his forehead and around his chest and soaking it again.

Sometimes you tried to call his name, to assure yourself that he was still there somewhere, fighting. His blue eyes would focus on you in one blink, and as the night went by, he would even smile sometimes.

“Mom,” Theo said, his voice weak and wavy. “It’s so cold in here.”

You stroke his hair, brushing away the golden locks that were stuck to his brow with sweat. "I'm sorry, child," you cooed. "It'll feel better soon." I think. I hope. You swallowed the words, focusing on the present, soothing Theo’s shivering body with an out-of-tune lullaby.

Working as a healer would always mean meeting with death every once in a while, and on occasions like this one, you knew you'd encounter it as many as to consider it an acquaintance.

"Theo?" you called once, the clock in the hallway marking around 4:20 AM. This time, the boy didn't answer. You looked at him, at your hand now covered with wrinkles from having it underwater for hours in a row. His face was still red, the fingers he had diligently interlaced in his lap becoming limp, and then his gaze was lost forever. "Oh, Theo—”

How am I supposed to tell your family?

Theo’s passing wasn’t your first encounter with death as a healer—but it didn’t make it easier. It still made you feel like a failure, the words stuck in your throat as you walked back the tiny hallway to your bathroom and the living room. You loathed the knowing dread of their gazes as they saw you returning before the sun would appear in the sky once again.

You didn't even blink when the younger woman shook your body, bruising your arms as she clung to you, telling you that you had killed her son. It wasn’t true, but for you, it had felt that way. That you didn’t do enough, that you weren’t good enough.

Perhaps it was a good idea to have hired a new physician and a nurse after all.

But even so, as you walked toward the town looking for the gravedigger, a heavy feeling suspended in your stomach told you that this was just the beginning.

*~*~*~*

It took another three days of scarce people coming in, and fewer of them coming out, for the governess of town to come to your hut, a couple of assistants flanking her as she told you that you were needed downtown, not here, in the woods.

"I'm afraid you're too far away from the patients. You’ll be best staying at the infirmary in the town’s square.” The woman barely looked at you, her nervous gaze darting toward the forest that stood still, expectant. “We have prepared you a room to stay, you can move right away.”

You moved away from your leaned position against the threshold as the governess' assistants carried the patients out of the house and down to the town's square. “But—”

“We need you now, dear," she told you, her hand hovering awkwardly as if trying to touch you on the shoulder. “Your grandmother wouldn’t have hesitated.”

It hurt, but you gulped down the acidic answer of well, I’m not my grandmother.

You didn't wish to leave, not because you were clingy to the forest, but because the forest had become your solace when you reclined against a tree, a prolonged silence between you and Viktor as your hut was too crammed up with sick people that you needed to take a break inside the woods. Both tried to breathe in calmly or broke down in a myriad of sobs that ultimately made their knees collapse against the humid, cold floor.

The first time Viktor saw you crying, he chose the dogs to be the ones consoling you, because, after the kiss, he didn't want to be too pushy. You hugged the dogs then, not caring if they smelled like mud and dry blood, if you couldn't hear their hearts beating as you snuggled your cheek against their necks, feeling their cold skin underneath.

The second day, however, Viktor started to sit next to you as you cried your eyes out until your throat was too sore to even speak anymore. His hand patted your shoulder, and little by little he gathered enough courage to hug you. It was when the forest hugged you, too; its trunks closed around you two like a cocoon that absorbed the sound of your crying, reflecting Viktor's golden light as if it were a giant firelight.

“I’m so useless.” One day you dared to tell him, your voice muffled against his wooden armor, safely tucked away in a corner of the forest where you felt too little to care about expressing your deepest fears, your doubts. “I can’t stop this—why can I stop this?” you cried out, death and suffering clouding your mind, eating away all those brief sparks of hope each time you saved a life.

Viktor had kissed the top of your head. He couldn't find the words he wanted to use to soothe you, he probably knew no words would be enough. But Viktor wanted you to know you weren't alone, that he'll be there to remind you about your importance, for the village, the woods, and himself.

Now, you looked at the governess and felt fear. You dreaded and loathed the side stares of the townsfolk at seeing you put a foot inside the infirmary, muttering in poisoned tones about your relationship with the forest, and with them. Were you there to help them, or you were trying to punish them in the forest’s name?

And then, an intruder thought took a corner of your mind as its home: what would happen if you got sick with the fever and could never return to the forest?

"I'll go," you sighed. A defeated short answer, you had to admit. It was your only opportunity to make them know that any grudge the woods had had with the village was gone now because they had sent her as a mediator—as an offering—to the forest. You wanted to show them that the past balanced relationship between the forest and the village could be restored if so they wished. “Could you give me a moment?”

She tilted her head, her lips being a thin line. “Do not take too long.”

You took the bag you brought to Viktor's hut, with a couple of clothes, and threw some other articles you would need; a brush, toothbrush, a spare pillow, and a blanket for those fleeting moments where you could sleep, if dreams would be benevolent enough to claim you, of course.

You scribbled a messy note on an already used paper, crossing out a list from groceries as you quickly let Viktor know about the situation, in case he would walk around the property and found no one there.

Mr. Forest Guardian, you wrote, your hands shaky, the pen sticky with sweat. You hoped nobody peeked at your letter, but to rule out chances, your aching heart decided to write a simpler, dry note.

          Mr. Forest Guardian

        I hope you get to read this soon. I'll be settling in the town's square for some weeks—until the plague is subsided. That would mean that sadly I won't be meeting you during the full moon.

        I ask the woods for forgiveness, wishing they could give it, both for me and the town.

        I’ll see you soon.

        Please take care.

 You tiptoed downstairs, opening your backyard while pretending to look for some medicine bottles stocked in the kitchen. The governess was commanding the assistants around to move certain patients first, her voice muffling the sound of your back door while you opened it.

The day was warm, the sun illuminating the green scenery as you walked to your back gate, sticking the folded note between the lock so the paper could contrast against the rusty metal. Your gaze was directed at the forest, feeling a strange tug in your chest as you nodded almost reverentially before you turned back to the house.

When you were helping carry a patient to town, the governess and her assistants were so near you, that you couldn't look back at the forest, even when you felt that someone was watching you from between the trees.

[polizwrites]

PoliZ's WIP Update - 16 Oct 2024

A slow writing week - I touched four  fics (3 new & 1 WIPs)  for a total  of  1341  words, about ⅔ of which were on a single fic.  

On Ao3, I posted: 

Melting Down - post IM3 Pepperony ficlet

Chapter Eight of Love is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong - WinterIron No Powers & omegaverse fic. (Now Complete!) 

On Tumblr I posted: 

 Love Potion Number φ - WinterIron Magic AU ficlet

The Old Dark House -  WinterIron domestic fluff drabble

Digging Into the Past - pre-war Steve & Bucky spooky ficlet 

I’m juggling  20+  active/semi-active WIPs with my current  deadline being the Fictober, Flufftober and Whumptober writing challenges that run til the end of the month, along with the Build a Bucky Bingo. 

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

WinterIron Gets It Done Bingo [WIGID] 

This new WinterIron Discord server event runs on a monthly basis as a flash bingo with a content creation card and an engagement card - working on filling squares for both! 

* Classic1 - "Oops"   Posted Love Potion Number φ - a WinterIron Magic AU  double drabble that crosses over with the FltT prompt 11. Ingredients & Spells as well as my TSB S3 - KINK: Aphrodisiacs square.  It came in at 200 words exactly and will get added to Ao3 at some point. 

* Classic_2 - Scary Movie - posted The Old Dark House  on Friday - a  WinterIron domestic fluff drabble that crossed over with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF274 Empty House] and will get posted to Ao3 at some point. 

* Classic_3 - FREE - posted the final chapter of Love is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong - my (eventual) WinterIron Reality Show AU fic from this summer.  The final episode of Courting a Royal has James choosing his potential partner - and he throws a wrench into things with his choice.  It came in at 1092 words and filled the  fill the BaBB October: Formal Wear prompt and my  TSB:  R1 - WinterIron square - 

* Classic_4 - Fortune Teller - wrote a drabble that incorporates the Fictober prompt  22 - “Why are we doing this again?”  Madame Prophetrona  came in at 100 words and will post here on Tumblr on the 22nd.  

* Classic_5 - Dark and Stormy - working on a vampire AU (vamp!Bucky with Tony as his target) that’s been fighting me, but I think I’ve finally got it coming together.  Better Served Cold crosses over with the Whumptober prompt  No. 18: REVENGE  + Loss of Identity,  the Fictober Day 25 prompt:  “it consumes me” and the BaBB October: Vampire AU prompt.  It’s currently sitting at 899 words and will get posted on the 25th.  

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1] (Ends 31 Oct 2024)

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!  At thirty-six  fills and one month to go, I think I’ve gone a bit overboard …. 😁 

* October: Formal Wear - see WIGID Classic_3 - FREE above. 

* October: Vampire AU - see WIGID Classic_5 - Dark & Stormy  above.  

Flufftober 2024  [FlfT_24] (Runs 1-31 Oct)

This writing challenge hosted by @flufftober  runs for the month of October.  My goal is to write one fic a week that incorporates these prompts: three posted so far with two more coming - hoping to write  one or two more! 

* 5. Acorn, Chestnut, Pine Cone - Posted  Up, Down, North, South, East and West  last Saturday.  Combined this with R3 - AU: adventurers/explorers  for some Tony  & Morgan fluff. It came in at  347 words and will get posted to Ao3 at some point.

* 11. Ingredients & Spells - see WIGID Classic_1 - “Oops” above. 

* 12 - “This is spooky.” - “Really?”

Posted Digging Into the Past as a crossover with the  Fictober prompt  - 12 “Did you hear that?” and my BBB B3 - "Anyone out there?"  square  for a pre-war Steve & Bucky fic where they venture into the creepy cellar of their apartment building. It came in at 577  words and will get posted to Ao3 eventually.  

* 18. Bewitched - Combined  BBB B1 - Magic and  Fictober 19. “This is getting ridiculous.”  for a  WinterIron ficlet  where something odd (and adorable) is going on with Bucky.  Copy Cat is  coming in at 272 words and will post here on the 18th.  

* 22 - Heirloom - Using this, combined with my WIB G2 - Edwin Jarvis &  TSB T2 - Wedding -  for Chapter 10 of A Sugar-Coated Pill.  It’s jumping forward in time and has Tony gifting a tie bar to Bucky as his ‘something old’ for their wedding.  It’s sitting at  966 words and will post on the 22nd.   

Whumptober 2024 [WmpT_24] (Runs 1-31 Oct)

This writing challenge hosted by @whumptober  runs for the month of October. My goal is to write two fics (whump isn’t normally my bag)   that incorporates these prompts. One done and working on another - we’ll see if the Whump Fairy whacks me with their wand again.   

* No. 2: TRUST ISSUES - Amusement Park | Role Reversal | “You got away with the crime while the knife’s in my back.”  – crossover with WIB  N5 - "I'm here for you." and possibly my BBB Y2 - Kidnapped!  square. 

* No. 4: HALLUCINATIONS + “You’re still alive in my head”. Combined this with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt   [#FFF273 Invisible Guest]  for  Having the Last Word   where Tony confronts an imaginary (but still dead) Obadiah Stane.  It came in at 310 words and will get posted to Ao3 at some point.  

* No. 18: REVENGE  - see WIGID Classic_5 - Dark and Stormy above. 

Fictober 2024 [FicT_24] (Runs 1-31 Oct)

Another October writing challenge with daily prompts - all of which are dialogue. Go check out @fictober-event  for details!  I’ve got one fic posted and three crossover WIPs with  a few more possibilities.    

* 12 “Did you hear that?”  - see FlfT 12 - 12 - “This is spooky.” - “Really?”

* 19. “This is getting ridiculous.” - see FlfT 18. Bewitched 

* 22 - “Why are we doing this again?” - see WIGID Classic_4: Fortune Teller 

* 25 -  “It consumes me.” - see WIGID Classic_5 - Dark and Stormy above.

WinterIron Bingo 2  [WIB_R2] (Ends 16 Dec 2024)

Signups are still open for pre-made cards for Round Two of this super-fun bingo event! I have twenty  fills and zero WIPs at the moment - setting this aside for the moment, as I have other time-sensitive events going.  

* Iron Soldier (One Bingo, One Fill) - looking at combining my Column B prompts: Matchmaker, Bucky Riding Tony, Stark Gala, Inside Joke and Threesome.  Still working on a plot - if you have any suggestions/want-to-sees - let me know! 

* I3 - Car Sex -  Have a fun ficlet in mind for this - some of the dialogue & such already worked out in my head.  

* N5 - "I'm here for you."  - Possibly the next chapter of  Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion ?  

Marvelous Yahtzee [MY_24] (Ends 31 Dec)

Another writing challenge that I kind of forgot I signed up for!  This one is a bit complicated - check out the Tumblr blog for more info.   Hopefully I can pick up a few lines and put something together before the event ends.  

Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round Six [BBB - R6]  (Ends 31 Mar)

This amazing bingo event from the folks over at @buckybarnesbingo is back!  I have seventeen  fills (but somehow only one bingo) with two WIPs at the moment, and a couple  more crossovers planned. 

* B1 - Magic - see FlfT 18 - Bewitched above.

* U3 - Yelena Belova  - Magica and I are circling back around to Peresmešnik, (aka Three Avengers and a Baby) - with the next chapter featuring Tony’s interactions with Mirriam, and a revelation about her parentage. I’ve written 313 of the 560 words in this chapter so far - it needs about 500 more words before we’ll be ready to post - maybe sometime  this month?   

*  K2 - IMAGE: Bucky and Steve in Siberian silo hallway (CA:CW)  - Combined this with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt  [#FFF269 Living Weapon]  for  Reconstruction - a fix-it/canon divergent ficlet where Steve, Bucky and Tony team up instead of fighting.   It came in at 268 words and will get posted  to Ao3 before the event is over.   

Tony Stark Bingo - Mark VIII [TSB_R8]  (Ends 31 May)

This amazing bingo event from the folks over at @tonystarkbingo is back! Late signups should start this month  if you want to join in on the fun!  I have  fifteen squares filled, one bingo and three  WIPs - with more crossovers planned! 

* S3 - KINK: Aphrodisiacs - see WIGID  Classic1 - "Oops" above 

* T1 - Watching Helplessly -  Posted Stranded Among the Stars  to Tumblr as a crossover with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF265 Galaxies Away]. It’s a Nebula & Tony ficlet set on the ship - it came in at 345 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends. 

* T2 - Wedding - see Flufftober 22. Heirloom prompt above

* R1 - WinterIron - see WIGID - Classic_3 - FREE above

* R3 - AU: adventurers/explorers - see FlfT 5. Acorn, Chestnut, Pine Cone above.  

Post July Break Bingo 2024  [pJBB_24] (Ends 30 Jun 2025)

I requested two 2x3 cards for this  Discord-server only event from @julybreakbingo  – so if you want to join in the fun, let me know and I’ll try to get you an invite!  I have four  fics posted & 0 WIPs - need to figure out some more crossovers.

* C2_B1 - Courting/courted in a different way than they're familiar with -  posted A Symbol of Devotion on Tumblr as a crossover with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF267 Gifted Violets] - a bit of Stony fluff with Tony  buying Steve little things for his apartment.   It came in at 374 words and will get posted to Ao3 before this event is over. 

* C2_B2 - Being there for someone after a traumatic event -  posted Melting Down  to Ao3 - a  post IM3 Pepperony ficlet where Pepper’s struggling with Extremis.  It crossed over with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF271 Tantrum Entrance] and came in at 416 words. 

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  [WFB]   (no end date)

Eight fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two!

————

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on a Batman figure for a custom commission along with prepping for Marvel Trumps Hate 2024 - see my MTH auction post if you’re interested.  

If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[googlyeyedsilly]

WHAT WHAT WHAT OMG ur art is beautiful i love them theyre so cute

I also like the detailing of Ross's mouth very cool👍💙

Im guessing ur fav is Ross lol 👍👍👍👍💙💙💙

Au by @googlyeyedsilly

[bubblaymadz]

Alternative universe from beyond the mirror

[googlyeyedsilly]

A possible continuation...

[roycappsus]

Dark Reality AU Art

This took way too long

[ibrithir-was-here]

Sandman Enchanted AU

So i watched Disenchanted today and it was wonderful, and made me super nostalgic for Enchanted, and since my brain has been on Sandman for two months of course it went "do a Sandman Enchanted AU"

Now, would it have made so much more sense to make it a Hope Godling AU, where Hob is the happy singing Endless who gets thrown into the real world to meet Grumpy Human Dream? Yes, of course it would--

But consider the absolute crazy hilarity of an AU where, after Dream's ruby is broken and his power releasesed something goes wrong, and he gets split into two--his dark melonchaly spooky Nightmare Half---and his whimsical, hopeful and actually happy Daydream Half

And the Daydream half gets shot across reality to the New Inn, and Hob Gadling is now stuck playing confused and rather concerned host to a singing dancing Daydream, who's free of his melancholy for the first time in years and is warping reality to make it into a Disney musical eachtime he laughs, which is often.

Hob is absolutely at a loss as to what to do, especially since his Stranger is acting incredibly stranger then usual--and he's smiling at Hob, constantly. Its a good thing Hob's immortal or he's sure he would have died from that smile alone 100 times by now. And as much as he loves seeing his Stranger so happy and affectionate he's trying hard not to take advantage of that by letting his own deep feelings loose as it's clear something is off--

A fact confirmed by Joanna Constantine (who Hob also knows, we'll put her in to fill in Nancy/Morgan's role basically as Hob doesn't have a fiance or a kid) who makes it clear that yeah this isn't how Dream usually is and something must have gone wrong with him trying to get his tools back.

So Hob's trying really hard to be a gentleman and not get too swept off his feet by Daydream--who really isn't making it easy cuz he's so sweet and open and incrediblely affectionate.

The "That's How You Know" moment--which is Daydream trying to get Hob to open up about who it is he has a crush on because how can this person know Hob likes them if he never says-- is horrendously difficult for Hob to hold back just blurting it out, especially with the reality warping 'Open your heart and sing' stuff going on. And he's trying the whole time not to join in the singing.

Meanwhile the Corinthian--who has a combined Nathaniel/Narissa role--has learned about Dream's current condition and determiend that Daydream will be much easier to off--keeps trying to stab the pair and keeps getting trampled by background dancers and such XD

So Hob and Daydream keep getting closer and closer while Joanna tries to find out whats going on, and Daydream is just having a wonderful time, as is Hob, despite his misgivings.

Nightmare meanwhile, is barely holding onto human shape and is very put out about this latest inconvenience--especially since it turns out that Daydream holds the majority of his power to talk to animals, so everything Matthew says to him comes out as more "Caw" then words.

Nightmare finds Daydream eventually and tells him they have to join back together for the good of the Dreaming and the Waking--things are getting more and more unsettled each time a musical number happens-- but Daydream begs to have one real date with Hob before they do, a date where he can just be happy and not mired down by all the self loathing and fear and such that Normal Dream has. Nightmare reluctantly agrees because they wont be able to join back together unless they both agree, so they all end up going to a dance or something thats happening

Daydream has a wonderful time, and so does Hob, who of course has fallen absolutely in love with this side of his Stranger, and will be sorry to see Daydream go.

But Hob makes sure to draw Nightmare intona dance a well "this is your date too really you get a dance too" and during that time tries to tell Nightmare that he loves /all/ parts of him, not just the happy one. Nightmare of course is less then convinced, and of course goes into 1889 mood all over again, saying that he neither wants nor needs Hob's love (liar)

Which is just when the Corinthian has finally managed to snag hold of Daydream, and seeing the current situation, tells them "Look at how upset Nightmare is, he's embarrassed by all this lovey dovey stuff. Always has been always will be. If you go back together Dream will be so humiliated by all the gushy stuff you've done that he'll never go and see Hob Gadling again...unless you dont join back together..."

So when Nightmare comes storming up demanding that they leave and rejoin now Daydream refuses--but reality starts to break down again as the separation deepens by this refusal, things warping and twisting between fantastical daydreams and horrific nightmares as the clock starts to chime down. And finally Daydream starts to break down themself as Nightmare tells them to look around at what's happening, this is why they can't let go, why they have to do their duty, not give into their own daydreams--and Daydream knows that Nightmare is right--and their heart breaks.

And Daydream starts to fade away, something that delights the Corinthian who's managed to stay hidden as he knows the loss will ultimately undue Dream forever.

But just as Daydream can feel sorrow, Nightmare can feel remorse. And he knows that there's only one way for Daydream-- the side of the Prince of Stories that is the embodiment of happy endings and the power of a true love's kiss--to be saved, so he asks Hob to give Daydream the one daydream dearest to him...

After the kiss Daydream and Hob have a tearful goodbye, thanking eachother for all that they've gotten to experience these last few days. Then Daydream finally agrees to reunite with Nightmare. The two come together, the world comes back into balance, and Dream comes back awkwardly into form.

Dream gives an awkward thanks and farewellnto Hob, telling him he needs to go after the Corinthian, and disappears, leaving Hob alone on the dance floor, with a bittersweet smile on his face.

But of course this has a happy ending, and after Dream deals with all that stuff and gets a talking to by Death and has time to process all the memories hw made with Hob as Daydream...he finally gets up the courage to head to the New Inn again, maybe while it’s raining so we can get the rain kiss scene…

And things work out Happily Ever After…

Edit: Now with fic!