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ibrithir-was-here · 2 years

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Wow, longest one yet. Phew.

In which Daniel visits a memory of a certain fishbowl. Also farthest time jump so far in this series, Daniel is 20 here. (Also just went off the vauge theme of the prompt for an idea without trying to fit it in the actual text this time).

Mnemonic

Daniel opened his eyes to curved glass and writhing shadows.

He was lying in the curve of a glass cage, suspended above the ground in a dark room lit only by flickering torches, that cast shadows in the vague shapes of men, floating around the outside of the glass, muttering muffled threats and jeers, occasionally floating close enough to leer in at him, their hazy faces further distorted by the curve of the walls. Looking up to his right Daniel could see what looked to be, blood dripping slowly down one side of the cage. And to his left…

"Dream?"

"Oh Daniel"

Dream said his name with a desolate fondness, it made Daniel feel as though he'd disappointed the Endless being somehow, though he hadn't the faintest idea why.

"Where are we?" He asked, eyeing their surroundings with a muted thrill of horror.

"Is this--is this the cage Burgess trapped you in?"

"Yes. It is a nightmare of it, a memory, distorted."

Daniel gulped hard, he'd heard the stories of Dream's imprisonment, many times, with varying degrees of appropriate detail as he grew older. But to see it…

A chill ran through him that had nothing to do with the bitter cold that surrounded them.

"How are we here? How can you be in a nightmare?"

"I am nightmare. I am all dreams, my realm is myself and I am my realm." Dream said as casually as if they were in one of their many normal lessons, though his eyes tightened ever so slightly as he added " But sometimes my memories become…too much for my realm, for myself."

Well that wasn't very reassuring

"Can we get out?" Daniel asked, looking out warily at the angry shadow men. Their forms were beginning to become slightly more distinct now, and he really didn't care to see them when they fully formed.

True they were only men, he'd seen Nightmares in much more fearsome shapes…but they were the shadows of men who had once hurt Dream, Dream who was so great and terrible--and because of that, Daniel had secretly always been a bit more afraid of that story then any other he'd been told. Even now as an adult, he still felt that cold pit of fear beginning to form in his stomach as he looked at them.

"Yes, we will eventually be able to break the glass. I have long since learned how to extract myself when these memories threaten to rise up, but it may… take some time"

There was the faintest edge to Dream's voice as he said that which did nothing to dispel Daniel's growing worries. His next words didn't help much either.

"And sometimes, additional help is required"

Daniel finally managed to tear his gaze from the shadow men to look at Dream, who he found was looking back at him, that same sad fondness in his eyes as before.

"Is-is that why I'm here?" Daniel asked with a mix of pride and embarrassment, "Did you call me? To come and help?"

Dream's sad look deepened, a shadow coming over his face that had no part in the flickering torches. After a long moment he said in a subdued voice:

"No, no I did not call you. Not now… not before"

Daniel blinked. "Before?"

Dream hesitated again, he seemed to be battling something inside himself, trying to come to a decision that he did not wish to come to.

"You… have been here before" He finally said, looking away from Daniel as he spoke.

"What?" Daniel's mind was trying to make sense of what he'd heard, he'd never been here before. Not even in his own nightmares, and heaven knows he'd been frightened enough at the thought of what had happened to Dream, been worried sick the first time he heard the story that it could happen again that he ought to have had nightmares about it.

But Dream was speaking again, his dark eyes fixed to the room outside the cage, seeming to see beyond the glass and shadow to something far, far away.

"Years ago, when you first began exploring the Dreaming. The connection we share, both being of and made of the Dreaming, must have pulled you here, one night when my own memories became… too much, and I found myself trapped within this sphere once more, watching them taunt me curse me, watching…"

Dream's eyes flickered up towards the dark stain Daniel had seen earlier, before immediately looking away again.

"I thought I was there again in truth, thought that perhaps I had never escaped at all. And then you were there."

Dream finally turned back to Daniel, and Daniel's breath caught in his throat at the sight of tears shimmering beneath the faded stars of Dream's eyes.

"You were there, here, in this cage with me. Reaching out for me. And the thought of you being trapped in this crushing, airless prison, surrounded by the jeers of those demons in mens forms--"

Dream's voice cut off momentarily as those very sounds and shapes shot forward suddenly, slamming against the glass walls. Dream's eyes flashed dangerously, and the shadows withdrew, though they were perceptibly darker than before.

Seemingly satisfied that they had slunk back for the moment however, Dream went on.

"I could not allow myself to sink into the clutches of that memory again, not when it would mean dooming you to that captivity as well. So I held you close and found that I could shatter that vile sphere, as I'd longed to do so many times during my captivity."

Daniel didn't know what to say, he had no memory of this dream event. But then he apparently had been very young when it happened, so it was conceivable he'd simply forgotten. And yet…

"...that wasn't the only time though, was it?"

Dream looked at him for a long moment, before slowly shaking his head.

"No. There have been others"

It could have just been the natural progression of the nightmare, but the room seemed to get even colder when Dream said that, and it had already been plenty cold before. Daniel was having to clench his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. At least it was winter out in the Waking so he'd fallen asleep in thermals but still...

Dream however had taken notice of Daniel's discomfort and held out his hands to him, for all the world as though he were still a child of ten and not twenty last month.

And to be honest, Daniel was too disquieted by this whole scenario to feel even the slightest bit of embarrassment as he scooted forward to tuck himself into Dream's side, Dream wrapping him up within his coat just as he'd done so many times over the years. It never failed to give Daniel a feeling of safety and security, and he desperately wanted to feel something of that in this freezing, darkening basement.

"Are you warmer?" Dream asked, running a hand through Daniel's hair as the other pulled him closer to Dream's chest, trying to share the little warmth he had.

"It's better yeah thanks…you were saying?"

Dream gave a low sigh, one that clearly said he'd hoped Daniel wouldn't ask more, but he went on, the words seeming to come as though dragged from deep inside himself.

"I have found myself back in this room many times over the years. Perhaps there will always be times I do, no matter how much time passes. Sometimes I am able to free myself with ease, sometimes Hob has had to find me as he walks the Dreaming and bring me out again…and sometimes it has been you that finds me."

"How many?" Daniel asked, looking up at Dream, still wracking his mind to see if he could recall this place.

"There have been five times, before this one"

Daniel sucked in a cold breath, five??

"That first time, when you were still little more than an infant. Next when you were six, you were so brave, so fearless even then, you shattered the sphere from the inside with your own fists."

There was a glow of pride in Dream's voice as he said this that made Daniel's chest suddenly ache with the warmth of it. But he kept silent as Dream went on.

"Then next time when you were eleven, you couldn't shatter the glass, but you gave me your own blanket, pulled from the Waking to cover myself, and talked to cheer me, blocking out the taunts of the guards until I was able to rally enough to set us loose….

Then once more…when you were fifteen."

Dream stopped, swallowed, and suddenly he pulled Daniel closer, resting his lips against Daniel's temple, not so much a kiss as a desperate press, as though to try and assure himself that Daniel was still there in his arms.

Daniel held his breath, waiting for Dream to go on. It took another moment but Dream finally seemed to collect himself, the faintest of shudders running through his body as he continued.

" That time you found me from outside, without being pulled into the sphere yourself. You tried to rush the guards in the basement, tried to tackle Burgess himself…"

Dream stopped again, and there was a haunted look in his eyes as he looked down at Daniel, who's heart felt suddenly leaden as he forced himself to ask:

"What happened?"

Dream had to look away from Daniel when he finally said it.

"They killed you."

Daniel's heart sank into his stomach. He tried to turn to wrap his own arms around Dream, but Dream had already pulled him close again, his face buried in Daniel's white hair, and Daniel's heart sank even lower as he felt wet drops of starlight tears falling down to baptize his head.

"I had suffered through watching them kill Jessamy, kill Hob, many times. But this…"

Dream's breath hitched, and Daniel almost told him to stop, that he didn't need to sat anymore, but Dream continued on again before he could.

"I had already lost one child, to see another cut down before me, even in only a twisted delusion of a memory…"

He was brushing Daniel's hair again, mingling his still falling tears with kisses as he did so. Daniel felt tears forming in his own eyes.

"In my despair I shattered not only the sphere, but the whole acre of the Dreaming where the nightmare had formed."

At this Daniel couldn't help but pull back from Dream's embrace in shock. If his face hadn't already been it's now customary snow white, as it took on in the Dreaming, he would have paled considerably.

"You could have seriously damaged yourself! You did damage yourself! Are you alright? I mean, you're alright now yes but ...."

Daniel trailed off, feeling a little foolish though the wave of concern that had risen up in him had yet to die down. But Dream only looked at him with that soft, sad fondness.

"I am well enough now, yes. It took some time to heal, both from the damage I had caused to the Dreaming…and from…from having seen you…"

This time Daniel did pull Dream into an embrace, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Dream's thin waist, resting his head against Dream's shoulder as Dream's arms came up to tightly encircle him. They held each other in silence for a few more minutes, ignoring the deeping shadows that swirled around them, still mummering and muttering, until Dream was finally able to begin again.

"I had hoped that would be the last time, that perhaps by decimating the dream manifestation so thoroughly the memory would never be able to appear again…but it did."

Dream began rubbing circles into Daniel's back, and Daniel had the feeling that once again Dream was trying to ground himself in the reality of Daniel being there before he went on.

"The last time was when you were eighteen."

Daniel stiffened. That was--that was only two years ago.

He leaned back, shifting himself so that he was of a height with Dream.

"Why… why don't I remember any of this?"

Dream looked as though he were about to pull away himself, a flash of unmistakable shame crossed his eyes like a comet.

"Dad," Daniel said softly.

Dream's breath hitched as though Dnaiel had struck him, and he turned his face away as a sound of pain escaped his lips, low and deep enough to vibrate the glass that encased them, before finally:

"I…I took your memories of each time after they happened. I did not wish for you to be aware of such darkness and cruelty as this memory contained at such a young age. It has been relatively tame this time but in others….The world would teach you of that well enough in time, I wanted the Dreaming to be a place of refuge and safety for you. I did not want my own turmoil to affect you, to…to taint your home for you. And then that last time…"

Daniel swallowed. The memory of whatever came next was clearly terribly painful. He wondered what could have been worse than watching him die? He didn't want to push Dream, didn't want to cause him more pain but…but it was his memory. And despite their current circumstances, or what Dream might believe, he was no longer a child that needed protecting.

His mind supplied him with the image of himself curled up against Dream not moments before.

Well, he didn't need it all the time at least.

"Please, if you can...what happened that last time?"

Dream sighed low once more, sagging as though a weight had settled down upon him.

"In the last time, it was I who was outside…trying to get down to you. I knew you were there, knew I had to get to you. I tore Burgess's mansion apart with my bare hands as I went."

Dream had pulled back from his embrace of Daniel, and was staring down at his hand now as he spoke, clenched into tight fists on his lap, shaking slightly as the memory of the rage and fear he must have felt in those moments rushed once more through him.

"I found you at last… trapped as I had been, as wasted and thin as though you had been forced to live through all the years of captivity that I had…But when I got you out, when I assured you that I would never allow such a thing to happen to you …you said--you said you hadn't minded, that you'd shifted the nightmare so that it would be you. The memory it was built on needed a Dream of the Endless trapped in a cage… and you said that I had been trapped in it long enough."

Dream looked up at Daniel now, and there were black tears running freely down his face as he looked with desperation into Daniel's own tear blurred eyes.

"I have never wanted you to feel you had to take on my burdens, Daniel. To carry my pain. It never should have fallen on your shoulders to try to rescue me, especially not from that…not from myself"

"I didn't mind." Daniel choked out, though he had no memory of it, he knew his words were true. He would have done that and a hundred times more for Dream, for the only father he had known, who cared so deeply and had suffered so much, even before Burgess.

"I don't mind now"

"I know," Dream said, sounding like it broke his heart to say it.

He reached out then, cupping Daniel's face in his cold white hands, brushing away the stardust tears that fell from Daniel's eyes with his thumbs, even as he let ink black tears fall from his own void dark eyes, the stars in them so dim Daniel could barely make them out.

"Oh my good good wonderful boy, It's my duty, my joy to look after you, not the other way around. All I want is to have the absolute blessing of seeing you grow into yourself. My dearest, my beautiful dreamer"

Daniel couldn't speak, couldn't manage to get anything out past the wave of absolute love and care he felt for Dream and from him, he wanted so much to say something, anything to express the depth of what he was feeling, but all he managed to get out was:

"Dad"

Before once again falling into Dream's embrace and holding onto him as though the embrace was as necessary to the universe as Atlas holding up the sky.

They stayed that way for a long while.

Finally, with a wet laugh, Daniel managed to ask:

"You, you haven't messed with any of my other memories though, right?"

Dream didn't laugh back, but Daniel felt him smile that sad smile again.

"I swear to you the only memories I have touched have been the ones linked to this particular nightmare, one that should never have been yours in the first place."

Daniel nodded, pulling himself up once more to look Dream in the eye. "Well, that's alright then. But don't do it anymore, ok? I can't very well learn any lessons like dreams and nightmares are supposed to teach if I forget all the hardest ones, can I?"

"No, I suppose not"

"Let's go home? Ok? It's got to be almost morning, and I don't know about you but crying always makes me hungry. If you have time to come over to my apartment I'll make pancakes? You don't have to eat them but you could watch me if you wanted to?" Daniel finished with a laugh.

And this time, Dream's smile wasn't sad.

"I would like nothing more"

Daniel nodded, and took Dream's hands in his own as together they said:

"This Dream is Over"

The glass shattered, the torches flared and the shadows fled.

And they woke up to sunlight.

#gosh that took forever to edit!#anyway please enjoy!#my writing #endless heirs au #dream of the endless #morpheus #daniel hall #roderick burgess #dreamling #the sandman #sandman comics #sandman #sandman fic #long post #think this is the longest ive done so far

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themnmovieman · 2 months

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Movie Review ~ Land of Bad

Offering a fiery exploration of modern war with mixed results, Land of Bad blends several absorbing performances with themes that could be more provocative than they are presented as being.

Land of Bad Synopsis: A rookie air force combat controller and a seasoned drone pilot support a Delta Force team as they try to shift a mission gone wrong into a rescue operation.Stars: Liam Hemsworth, Russell Crowe, Luke Hemsworth, Ricky Whittle, Milo Ventimiglia, Daniel MacPherson, Chika Ikogwe, George Burgess, Robert RabiahDirector: William EubankRated: RRunning Length: 110…

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#Chika Ikogwe #Daniel MacPherson #Delta Force #George Burgess #Liam Hemsworth #Luke Hemsworth #Military #Milo Ventimiglia #Mission #Operation #Ricky Whittle #Robert Rabiah #Russell Crowe

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connorshalstead · 1 year

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Hey! If you don’t mind, send me some Moustead and Rhodestead prompts!!! Thank you guys!

#one chicago #chicago med #sarah reese #will halstead #connor rhodes #daniel charles #natalie manning #jay halstead #moustead #rhodestead #greg gerwitz #hailey upton #kim burgess #adam ruzek #hank voight #kevin atwater

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sandsstorms · 1 year

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family portraits No.2

the bros. when your roommates turn into your unconventional cool family

cc creators 🧡

@nucrests @jius-sims @aharris00britney @serenity-cc @sheabuttyr @johnnysimmer @simstrouble @darte77

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kayleighgodsell · 2 years

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It was a chilly day when Will Halstead walked into work that morning. He clocked in and out his phone and jacket into his locker before getting into his scrubs and started to work.

He wasn’t feeling his best. The headache had made itself known as it pounded on his skull. He checked his locker for painkillers but found none.

It looked like he be trying to see if he could get some from anyone else but he didn’t want to bother anyone else. Other then their work, they all had their own personal lives and issues to deal with.

Besides who would want to listen to them. Who would want to listen to him ramble on about the problems he was facing. The issues that were plaguing his sleep.

He went to Maggie to see if she had anyone who needed his attention. She was about to tell him no when a man walked into the ED holding his arm protectively.

Will lead the man into the room Maggie told him to be in. The room was treat room three. “What seems to be the problem today sir?” Will asked once he closed the curtains and the door of the room

“My arm is in pain can’t you see?” He said angrily

“How long have you had this pain sir?” Will asked as he felt his headache worsen “Hours?, days?”

“Least two days” the man said

“So your whole arm hurts or just the forearm, I’m only asking so when I refer you to x-Ray they know which part to x-Ray” Will asked

“Just the forearm” the man replied slowly and to Will he sounded hesitant

He felt the man’s forearm and he knew the man was eyeing him as he did so. “How bad is the pain before I felt it, one being it’s fine ten it’s really bad?”

“Three” he replied slowly “and six when you touch”

“Okay seems you will need a x-Ray to be on the safe side” Will responded “Just incase you haven’t broken your arm but right now I believe it’s only sprained”

The man nodded as Will carried on speaking “I’m just gonna ask one of the nurses to take you up to the x-Ray and once that’s done and I have your results we can go from there”

Will went to the door unaware of what was now unfolding behind him. As Will hand his hand touching the door handle he felt something lodged into his back and a voice that said “lock the doors”

Will didn’t. He didn’t want to play games, he wanted to get out of this room safely.

“I’m not playing games Dr Halstead, lock the doors and get into the bed yourself or else” The man replied a smirk planted upon his face “before you say anything yes I did trick you and you fell line hook and sinker”

Will locked the door and felt himself be pushed into the bed by the man. Will gasped in pain as his head hit the side of the bed.

“Ow” Will let out as he clasped a hand to his head

“On the bed down and cover yourself up with a blanket now” the man ordered the gun pointed at Will’s heart

Will did what he was told to do by him. He wants his brother Jay. He didn’t know what to do. He could fight but who knows If he would make it out alive. Who knew if he would make it out alive out of this?

Soon the doors was unlocked once the coast of anyone who could stop him from his plan and the bed was wheeled out to the front doors where a car awaited him. Will tried to escape, tried to call for his colleagues and friends help.

“Quiet you” The man said as he forced Will into the car and as he did so he once again banged Will’s head but before he was forced into the car he had thrown his medical tag onto the floor, hoping someone would see it.

This time making it bleed. No one has heard him scream. The doors locked immediately once the driver was in and he tied wills hands and feet together with zip ties and gaged him.

“Now as a doctor, you should know some things, I’m not a doctor as such but I’m the only one available so your going to get a spoonful of your own medicine Dr Halstead” the man sneered as he drove

#one chicago #chicago med #chicago pd #chicago fire #will halstead #jay halstead #hurt/comfort #hailey upton #kevin atwater #kim burgess #adam ruzek #hank voight #sharon goodwin #daniel charles #maggie lockwood #ethan choi #fanfic #fanfiction

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15billionyears · 2 years

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What I’m watching (2022 Edition) || Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend (2020)

#unbreakable kimmy schmidt #kimmy vs the reverend #watching #watching22 #Claire Scanlon #Ellie Kemper #Tituss Burgess #Daniel Radcliffe #Jane Krakowski #Carol Kane #Jon Hamm #netflix

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geekcavepodcast · 2 years

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youtube

Guardians of Time Trailer

Four children visiting a manor open a door and step into a magical world that they are destined to save in Guardians of Time.

Guardians of Time stars Samantha Ryan, Ava Torres, Skip Schwink, Katie Burgess, Natalie Daniels, and Drew Pollock. The Lionsgate film is directed by Stephen Shimek from a screenplay by Katy Baldwin, Jerome Reygner-Kalfon, and Sebastien Semon.

Guardians of Time releases on DVD, digital, and on demand on October 11, 2022.

#guardians of time #lionsgate #samantha ryan #ava torres #skip schwink #katie burgess #natalie daniels #drew pollock #stephen shimek #katy baldwin #jerome reygner-kalfon #sebastian sermon #legally distinct #TGCLiz

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dailydreamling · 4 months

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Canon Divergence

My Stranger, My Dream by SigniorBenedickofPadua (Words: 67,154)

Warning: Non-Graphic Violence

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Roderick Burgess' spell does not summon Death, but someone who has been touched by Death. Hob Gadling ends up in his cellar instead of Dream.

Canon Divergence

your body is an anchor by Ark (Words: 6,792 )

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

"The love of your life," Dream says softly. "That is quite a declaration to make, Hob Gadling, when one considers how many lives you've lived, and how many still await you."

Canon Divergence

in my mind's eye (i create someone i could love endlessly) by youcanseethecosmos (Words: 21,740)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Because home isn’t a place – not for Hob Gadling. It’s quiet conversations and purple and pink galaxies within starlit eyes. It’s glow-in-the-dark stickers and running around barefoot in the rain. It’s stubborn excuses, heated arguments, and the dip in the mattress with whispers of "I’m sorry" through the old creaky bed springs. It’s lifting the blanket and feeling a grounding warmth curl into your chest and letting it stay there long after the morning sun has risen.

It’s jet black hair, gangly limbs, and pale skin. Home is the person who’s holding onto him like a lifeline. Because Hob likes to think Dream sees this as home too – sees Hob as home.

Canon Divergence

A Waking Nightmare by KydrogenDragon (Words: 17,303)

Warning: Implied/Referenced Drug Use

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Hob has started hallucinating his Stranger for the past seventy-odd years. When his Stranger actually turns up, he thinks it's another hallucination. Shenanigans ensue to get the pair on the same page.

Canon Divergence

fly me to the moon by apocryphal (Words: 11,857)

Warning: Ambiguous Slash, Panic Attacks, PTSD

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream discovers that after being locked in a cage for a century, it turns out he's contracted the mortal affliction known as claustrophobia. Inconvenient. He enlists Hob to help him resolve this issue ASAP. Obviously, that goes well.

See below for more recommendations!

Canon Divergence

Metaphysics by Quilling (Words: 3,199)

Warning: Dubious Morality, Canon and Historically Typical Violence

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

In order to perfect humanity’s own dark mirror, one needs not look for evil or greed. In the true heart of darkness lies a sort of ambiguity. Hob taught him that.

Canon Divergence

In Waking Dreams by cuubism (Words: 49,309)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

In 1389, Hob married a man in his dreams, a lover conjured only by his imagination -- or so he thought. Five hundred years later, a mysterious ransom letter has Hob questioning everything he knew about his dream husband, who coincidentally disappeared from his dreams seventy years ago.

Several miles away, trapped in a glass bowl, said husband is really regretting letting his marriage be only a story in dreams.

Canon Divergence

the shape this light could take by bacondoughnut (Words: 12,617)

Warning: PTSD, Emotional Baggage, Trauma

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

In Hob's defense, he doesn't think anyone in the history of people keeping fish as pets has ever been so offended by a standard glass fishbowl.

Canon Divergence

Dream of a thousand kisses by fellshish (Words: 6,335)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream wants his reunion with Hob to go perfectly after their big fight so he visits Hob’s dreams to rehearse the moment. During one of those practice dreams, Hob suddenly kisses him.

Alternate Universe - Post The Kindly Ones

Beautiful, Strange and New by Moorishflower (Words: 223,030)

Warning: References to The Kindly Ones, Suicidal Thoughts

Pairings: Dream of the Endless | Daniel/Hob Gadling/Dream of the Endless | Morpheus

On a bright and unforgiving Sunday morning, Hob Gadling, having attended the Wake of his best friend, opens his kitchen door to find...his best friend. Changed. Alive. Human, and carried in the arms of the being intended to replace him. Given one month to decide if life is worth living, Hob and Daniel attempt to convince Morpheus of his worth at the same time as all three of them navigate their feelings for each other.

Alternate Universe - Overture

Forgotten Preludes by Astrophel_Hireath (Words: 6,438)

Warning: Bittersweet, Memory Loss

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

“Fuck it,” Hob mutters, a series of complex emotions tumbling across his face in quick succession to each other - too fast for Dream to log. Fingers tap compulsively at Hob’s side, fidgeting in deep conflict. “I definitely won’t remember any of this?”

Dream’s brows slant. “No.”

"Perfect.” Hob says, only somewhat hysterically, before closing the distance between them in three purposeful steps.

Hob’s Students Fics

WTF is Gadling's Deal, Anyway? (Assorted Theories) by JustJReally (Words: 13,915)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Five theories Professor Gadling's students came up with to explain His Whole Deal (and one time he told them the truth). In which Morpheus is mistaken for a student, Hob is mistaken for many things, and no one is good at spying.

Hob’s Students Fics

Quarantine Debacles by Picture_Yourself (Words: 3,964)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

An examination of what exactly would occur if one were to take an oblivious anthropomorphic personification of dreams, a rant-prone history teacher and a Zoom call filled with queer students and toss them all into one metaphorical room.

Canon Divergence

A Dream interrupted by ColorMeHappy (Words: 30,763)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Meeting Dream had gone from once a century occurrence to every six months, to just every month, then to around once a week, a change of pace Hob would be eternally grateful for, if only people stopped bloody interrupting them.

(Five times someone in Hob's life interrupts him and Dream's meetings (dates) and one time it's someone Dream knows.)

Human AU

would you let me know?/ I could make some time if you wanted by BeatnikFreak (Words: 150,934)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dr Hob Gadling's been assigned a new colleague to co-teach his second year class, Dr Dream Oneiros, who is both utterly beautiful and completely unable to act like, y'know, a human being. But Hob's nothing if not indefatigable, especially when faced with a fascinating man who probably needs to talk about his feelings more, and who listens to every stupid thing he says like it's the most profound poetry.

Human AU

On Broken Wings by Konstadt (Words: 57,191)

Warning: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

An AU where they meet on the university campus and Hob gets more than he bargained for when he decides to be a good person

Human AU

Let Me Down Easy by sanyumi (Words: 21,747)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

“... Mr. Gadling will be your photographer today.” Hob hears Morpheus’ shoes scuff and halt on the wooden floor before he turns around, taking a deep breath and holding it as he finally meets Morpheus’ eyes for the first time in five years. Christ, Morpheus looks at him like he’s staring at a ghost. It almost makes Hob laugh.

“Hello,” Hob croaks. He knows this is the part he usually shakes hands with his model, but he doesn’t move his hand. He doesn’t want to touch Morpheus.

Canon Divergence

wouldn't you like to see something strange? by rainbow_shine (Words: 3,629)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream looked exactly the same as always. Yes, his coat was longer and his eyes were darker, but that was it. There was absolutely nothing that would indicate that his friend was disguised as something even remotely scary. Hob would even go as far as to say that Dream looked cute. He didn't know why no one else seemed to share his opinion.

Soulmate AU

Passing Stranger! (You Do Not Know How Longingly I Look Upon You) by WyvernQuill (Words: 25,112)

Warning: None

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Hob has known that Dream is his mildly star-crossed soulmate since their first meeting in 1389, but believes they have a mutual understanding not to acknowledge it; Dream, meanwhile, was under the impression that the Endless have no soulmates whatsoever, up until their sixth meeting in 1889. Finding out they're wrong comes as a bit of a shock to both of them.

Retire Dream AU

Next to Nothing by Cheshyr (Words: 6,056)

Warning: Angst with a Happy Ending, Insecurity, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream knew that retiring from Endlessness to live a human life with Hob Gading wouldn't be easy. He wasn't expecting Hob to laugh at him so much though. (In which there are misunderstandings, Dream hides things he shouldn't, and being human is hard.)

Omega Verse AU

lover, be good to me by CinnamonCake (Words: 100,265)

Warning: Past Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Hurt/Comfort

Pairings: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Dream de Endless was suppose to be his family’s most prized jewel, but when he is taken, he loses the last thing the world considered valuable about him. Broken down to his core, he does not expect anyone to want him again. Until Robert Gadling walks into his life

#dreamling fic #dreamling fanfic #hob gadling #dream of the endless #dailydreamling #masterpost #ao3 fanfic #hobmurphy #fic rec #DailyDreamling Fic Recs #dream x hob #dream of the endless x hob gadling

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thenightling · 7 months

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Some of you new to The Sandman might be confused as to why the main character answers to both Morpheus and Dream (Dream of The Endless).

Here's the very simplified answer. He is the living embodiment of dreams. An Oneiros as the Greeks called him. Oneiros just means Dream. However Dream of The Endless has many names and many forms. And the easiest way to describe him as being like a giant crystal.

Each version of him that you see is like a facet or shard of that crystal. The part of Dream we come to know in The Sandman is Morpheus. But there are other aspects. And only one aspect (piece) answers to Morpheus. The one we sometimes call Daniel does not answer to Morpheus.

Years ago DC used to sell a set of plushie dolls of Morpheus and Daniel and they were labeled like that to distinguish between the two aspects of Dream. So yes, Dream and Morpheus are both correct. But if you want to be specific about the very Goth incarnation that got captured by Roderick Burgess, that one is specifically Morpheus.

Daniel is named for the oneiromancer of Abrahamic religions. And Morpheus is the Roman personification. The name Morpheus means shaper of forms. That's why the fae call him Lord Shaper. It's the literal translation of his name, which is why it's very off-putting for me when I read The Sandman Universe spin-offs and they are calling Daniel "Lord Shaper." Lord Shaper is the literal translation of Morpheus. It's not a universal title for Dream of The Endless. Also if Morpheus is (in theory) spending his afterlife in Hob's Dream now free of being Dream of The Endless but existing as a dream entity, than he probably retains Morpheus as the one name he took with him.

#The Sandman #Sandman #Morpheus #Dream of The Endless #Daniel Hall #Neil Gaiman

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eviesaurusrex · 2 years

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“ɪ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜰɪɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ.” | ʟᴏʀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴘʜᴇᴜꜱ

Lord Morpheus x Deity!Reader (Goddess of Nature and Music)

summary: After being killed by Roderick Burgess during her attempts to free her husband, YN returns to Morpheus shortly after he himself reincarnated (kind of pt. 2 to »this one«)

word count: 5k oooops…?

warnings: mentions of death, mentions of the Afterlife, reincarnation, angst, but super fluff, like, seriously, this is a fluffy cloud of cotton candy, Death, Lucienne, Mervyn, and Matthew as trusty wing people

author’s note: This idea is presented to you by a comment written by @writing-fanics under my first ever Morpheus work: “we meet him again but when he’s reincarnated as Daniel Hall 👉👈 that’s my headcannon to make me happy after reading this the third time”. I could not not write this one out after I succeeded in breaking my own heart with the first fanfic for my baby 🥺 We imagine that Morpheus looks the same and has kept every memory after his reincarnation, but they have to be triggered, thank you, bye

Disclaimer: I have never read the comics (yet), and I’m still watching season one, so this is just my take on it. Please, don’t come for my head, would be much appreciated 👉🏻👈🏻 But I deliberately changed the happenings of episode 1 in order to let my baby have his vengeance. So, that’s on purpose!

;

“Okay, scenario time,” Matthew’s voice reverberated through the soothingly lit library in the Dreaming and called Lucienne and Mervyn to attention. The librarian peeked expectantly over her round glasses while Merv turned away from the stack of books to eye the flying raven cautiously. Recently, the bird had acted weirdly every time he had returned from the Waking World, and every time it had gotten more and more concerning. “What is it this time, Matthew? The beheaded ghost of Anne Boleyn?” Lucienne exchanged glances with the pumpkin head, suppressing a barely noticeable grin before cocking both eyebrows at the black bird.

Matthew groaned—he wished he hadn’t spoken a word about that incident—but flapped his wings to detangle the ends of his feathers. He still wasn’t used to those either. “Very funny,” he seethed and tickled a rumbling chuckle out of the pumpkin’s mouth. Sometimes he wished he would’ve landed in hell instead of the presence of these two buttheads who never faltered to tease him. “Anyway,” the raven continued with a warning glare out of his black eyes, “Back to my totally hypothetical scenario. Is rebirth a thing? I’m still new to this stuff. Hadn’t had the time to read through every book.” To be quite honest, Matthew hadn’t touched a single book in here, not even those which Lucienne had put on a stack on one of the tables, just for him. He hadn’t been a big reader back in his days; he should be damned if he would start with it now.

Lost in his thoughts, Matthew didn’t realize the awful silence settling over the duo in front of him. Confused, he looked from one to the other. “What have I said or done now?!” Lucienne was the first to speak up. “Why are you asking, Matthew?” Her voice was laced with earnestness, and the raven stepped from one talon to the other. “No reason?” He didn’t sound convincing, even he heard that. “Matthew,” the librarian spoke in one of her warning tones, and the bird knew he couldn’t joke around anymore. “Fine! There is this teeny-tiny portrait Morpheus is carrying around with him. Like, all the damn time. And over which he is so protective, I wasn’t allowed to take a look or even ask him who that is. But…” Again, he stepped from one toe to the other before jumping from the stack of books he had landed on. “But?” Now even Mervyn urged him with the same unnerving tone Lucienne owned. “But a few weeks ago, he forgot to put it back in his pocket, and it lay open on one of the steps. So, yeah, I took a glance. Don’t give me that look, you two would have done the same!” Lucienne stood from her chair and moved closer to him. “Stop weaseling around the point, Matthew!”

The librarian knew whose features were depicted in the locket the lord carried around ever since Lucienne had handed it over to him. The thought alone of Lord Morpheus’ still lingering pain—even though he couldn’t put it to the proper memories connected to this feeling—made her heart ache as well—especially because she had known her as closely as one could know the former Queen of the Dreaming. They had considered each other dear friends, sharing the same passion for the written word and wisdom.

“Good lord, let me take a breather! Why are you so eager all of a sudden? Sheesh.” Her patience with this creature was almost depleted, and she would have loved to just shake a bit of sense into him. Instead, the librarian was content with using threatening words. “If you are not willing to tell me right in this instance what this nonsense is about, I will shake some sense into your feathery body!” Matthew stared up at her and took a small step back, putting some distance between them, but maneuvered him closer to Mervyn, who definitely wouldn’t help him if Lucienne decided to strangle the life out of him. “Okay, Okay! I’m sure I saw her wandering around in the Waking World! Happy?”

The bomb blew up and silence once more settled over the library. Lucienne continued to stare down at the raven, face unmoving and lacking any expression, while Mervyn plopped down onto one of the chairs standing next to the long wooden table. Matthew glanced from one to the other. “Why? Who is she? Someone important? Like his queen?” A chuckle escaped him at the thought of Morpheus being married and having a loving wife somewhere hidden in this palace. But at the sight of hurt and grief on the pumpkin’s face, even the cheeky raven grew quiet.

“She was his queen, yes,” Mervyn mumbled, leaning back in the chair. “She is his queen,” Lucienne corrected him, not having accepted the cruel fate her friend had endured. Merv sighed long and deep. “Her name was YN, and she was the only being he had ever wanted.” Matthew perked up. “YN as in YN, the Goddess of Nature and Music and all that?” Both nodded simultaneously. “She was killed by the same man who had captured our lord. And you are sure you saw her? Not some mortal only resembling her?” The raven nodded without a second thought after digesting the new information and the even more depressing backstory of his boss. “I’m pretty sure. She looked… lost. And I’m sure she saw me. Not only the raven but me.” And that had unsettled him so much that he had fled every time she had found him again. Yet, Matthew always returned to keep an eye on her, unable to stay away from her because somewhere deep down, he knew she was somehow different.

Lucienne exchanged glances with Mervyn. “Is it possible then?” The pumpkin head asked the librarian without hesitation, and she nodded equally as fast. “Reincarnation? Yes. Resurrection? Possibly? Death is the expert on the latter.”

And as if she had only waited for the perfect moment, Death of the Endless appeared in the middle of the library, displeasure evident on her face.

“Who of you found it screamingly funny to mingle with a soul?”

Now it was Matthew and Mervyn who exchanged glances before turning their eyes to Lucienne. “Seems likely possible,” the raven announced before the trio moved to look to the Endless, still waiting for an answer, arms crossed in front of her chest.

;

“Why the sudden need to visit the Waking World?” Morpheus’ soft voice asked Death, an edge of curiosity to it nonetheless, blue eyes resting on the passing people who didn’t heed the Endless’ existence nor presence entirely. His sister hummed shortly, but no word left her mouth—for now. Minutes passed by just like humans passed by. They stood on this spot on the street silently, right opposite a flourishing park, facing the lush green grass, the flower bushes, the high, looming, almost ancient trees.

“Death,” he warned lowly, not feeling pleased by this game she seemed to play with him. Impatience spread in his body, letting him experience the usual unresting feeling crushing into his muscles and bones, urging him to do anything. He had learned to despise this feeling. “The locket you carry.” Her sudden turn to face him surprised even him, and a black brow arched over his eye. “What about it?” He felt rather protective over the little piece Lucienne had handed him over, and he remembered the memory rising at the gesture vividly. The agony connected to it was something he had never experienced before. But instead of fading over time, it had manifested as a brick in his soul and heart; unwavering and unstoppable as soon as it once had taken hold of him.

Death observed him closely, witnessing the change in his eyes and the emotions dancing over his face. She was sure the memories were somewhere buried in his soul, and they only had to trigger them. It surprised her he didn’t unlock any of them at the first sight of her face after Lucienne had given him the small portrait right after he was reincarnated.

“You do know who she is, do you, brother?” Morpheus furrowed his forehead in concentration, trying to understand the meaning behind this—but a conclusion was nowhere to be seen. Death seemingly caught up to his train of thought because she slowly pointed in the direction of the blooming park opposite of them without letting him out of her sight. “I hope this will answer everything,” she mumbled, watching Morpheus as he slowly turned his head to watch the greenery and people passing. It was nothing out of the ordinary to see.

Not until she stepped out of the shadow of a willow tree into the beaming sunlight.

She strolled through the grass seemingly without a care in the world, face held upwards in the direction of the warming sun, eyes closed. He somehow knew that they were of an ever-changing color, always capturing him, even after eons of being his companion as soon as he had stepped into a room she had occupied, following him with an expression he only could describe as never-ending and undying love.

Morpheus could feel how his heart ached bitterly and agonizingly at the sight of her.

He watched her fingertips dance over flowers in full bloom, tickling an even brighter color out of their petals which stretched desperately in the direction of her life-gifting touch, craving her attention, constantly repositioning to her, as if she was the compass they had searched for decades without success. As if she was the sun to the sunflower in them. But not only the flowers reacted to her; even the grass seemed more green and lush in its color.

Morpheus wasn’t able to take his eyes off her—neither physically nor mentally. Not with the deeply felt emotions crashing against the high walls around his mind like a strong and wild tide, resembling her being. She might look like the damsel in distress, but all of a sudden, the Lord of Dreams knew with shocking clarity that she was anything but the damsel in desperate need of an assisting hand. And not just that.

He knew her.

A change within him followed this realization.

He felt the moment in which every single memory returned to his soul unscathed. Morpheus could flick through them like the pages of a book, and every picture was as clear as the sky of the Waking World above his head. He could remember their wedding vividly—remembered her smile as radiant as the stars above them while they promised to protect, cherish, and love one another.

Forever.

Whatever might lay ahead of them on their path through the centuries and eons.

Both brows softly rose over the pair of eyes, always lacking something in their depths which they held once without any doubt. The spark was there again, though—Death could see it clearly, could even feel it. The stars inside the blue seas attempted to return, but the hesitation of the Endless still too powerful to let them have their way.

Morpheus watched the woman, the goddess, his wife, with growing desperation from afar, feeling agitated. His only desire was to cross the street, to put the humans in his line of sight and Death behind him, wanted to pull her into his arms after he had stopped right in front of her. He wanted to see her face, to hear her voice, to feel her soft touch which had always reminded him of water gliding over stone, of a breeze caressing through the tall-growing grass and wheat in the Dreaming, of raindrops stealing daringly kisses and touches of petals and leaves.

He wanted everything from her she once had given him without so much as a fleeting thought.

Unbeknownst to himself, the King of the Dreaming and Lord of Dreams had taken a step closer to his very own dream, not paying any attention to his sister in his back or the raven that had landed on a branch next to the goddess. His black eye observed his boss looking dumbfounded over at the woman who resembled the most beautiful blooming flower ever seen by mortals and otherworldly beings.

And though she was above the Waking World, once a ruler of the Dreaming itself, she slowly sank down in front of a little girl, a tender expression settling on her face. The girl held a dying flower in her open palms; the stem snapped off the remaining plant and looked equally as crushed as the petals. Matthew smiled—as good as possible as a bird—at the picture of her softly raising her hand and returning the flower to its once beautiful existence, making the girl giggle and smile widely. YN smiled back—Morpheus felt as if his heart missed several beats at once—before resting a finger against her lips, and the girl nodded in understanding before rushing over to her mother, showing her newest possession proudly.

She raised back to her feet, and without a glance over her shoulder, she spoke up. “You can come out, raven, whose name I still do not know.” Matthew felt exposed but followed her words and landed softly on her shoulder. “Goddess,” he mumbled, and YN chuckled gently. “Ah, I see. And there I was, wondering why you did not leave just yet. Someone told you, I suppose?” He was able to take a glimpse of her eyes, and the raven would have to lie if he told the world they weren’t as mesmerizing as Lucienne had described them to him. Nodding, the raven made himself a bit more comfortable on her shoulder—if he had to choose, he would take her shoulder over his boss’s every time. He hoped no one would ever find out about that. A heavy sigh left her parted lips. “Then you surely must know that I am of no use anymore.”

Ever since she had awoken in the Waking World, YN had tried to find a way back into the Dreaming, back home. Before her—obviously not definitively—death, she had had the powers to come and go as she had pleased, but now, all there was left was silence and coldness. She couldn’t even feel the Dreaming anymore, which only let appear one conclusion in the front of her mind, and she didn’t dare to think about it further. In the first hours and days of her awakening, she had cried enough tears to form an entirely new river—unpurposely, of course.

Matthew cocked his head and tried to stare into her eyes. “No use?! What are you talking about? I call bullshit.” YN now herself cocked her head, mirroring the raven on her shoulder what he didn’t like, but was humored nonetheless. “So, you are a funny one. That did not happen in a very long time. Usually, ravens tend to be so earnest.” The raven had to chuckle at that. “I’m unique. But stop honey-ing me, missy! Care to enlighten me why you think you are useless?”

Now, every lightness was gone from her face, eyes, and body language. He could feel her muscles tense under his talons. “I cannot return. I cannot return to the Dreaming, not even after offering my powers. I cannot feel it.” I cannot feel my home, she thought to herself before continuing. “And if I cannot feel the Dreaming, the only possible reason is…” YN couldn’t speak it out loud but had to, so she took a breath. “The only reason is that he is dead. And without him, I cannot return home.” I do not wish to return home. Because what was a never-ending existence without the one she loved more than every flower, leaf, and music tune?

Matthew raised his head slowly, looking from the profile of her breathtakingly face over to his boss, still standing there like a damn tree growing roots. He saw how Death softly nudged him in their direction, and if he had a saying in this, he would’ve shoved him like there would be no tomorrow. Instead, he himself gently nudged her jaw to make YN turn her head. “But what if he is still here?” Matthew asked at the exact moment her eyes had found the man of her dreams.

And suddenly, everything stopped. There was no movement, no breathing life, no growing life. Only stasis. Except for them. In a very long time, YN hadn’t felt this much alive, not even in the wake of her awakening a handful of months back.

Morpheus could see the movement of her lips, letting no sound escape them—the sight of it brought him back to the memory of her last breath he had been damned to only observe instead of trying to save her. But other than a century before, she didn’t lose the spark of life in her eyes, didn’t go limp, didn’t show any signs of injuries or blood consuming the fabric of her clothes before it dripped onto the grass beneath her feet.

No, she was the epitome of life, and her light fueled him with something he hadn’t felt in a very long time: Hope. Happiness. Love. And he should be damned if he didn’t get to her only because he feared that this was his very own nightmare which he had conjured himself to torture his already tortured soul. He couldn’t lose her a second time. He wouldn’t lose her a second time.

With slow steps, even though he ached to stride over to her as fast as possible, he put the grey world behind him and stepped into the green paradise he yearned to have back in his life, in the Dreaming. His realm wasn’t itself, not without its queen. The soothing calm wrapped itself around him and his mind, caressing him softly with every step he took. It resembled her touch, but he knew that her skin against his was something even more glorious and ethereal. Something divine beyond comprehension.

None of them broke the contact of their gazes; they revolved around one another like planets in the grand universe, interdependent, as if one was the source of gravity of the other. Morpheus wasn’t sure if he should reach for her, if he should let his fingertips glide up her bare arm. But she took the burden of said decision upon herself as YN reached out for him, desperation and fear written all over her beautiful face, crystal tears burning in her eyes which just changed their color from the light blue of a summer sky to the evergreen of a dark forest. He felt as if his heart stopped beating entirely the moment the tips of her fingers were able to reach the back of his hand.

Both sucked a deep breath into their lungs, and while YN’s lips softly parted in utter surprise, Morpheus’ steps faltered. Inches still separated the couple, but he slowly turned his hand under her fingertips, moving it to let his palm face upwards, to feel her touch there because he suddenly remembered particular scenes throughout their existence. He was faced with the feeling of tender touches and the feeling of home; her fingertips following and drawing the lines on his palm, always while they lay together in their shared bed during the early morning hours, before she would press a feathery kiss to it and laid his hand atop her cheek to close her eyes for only a few more minutes. He felt the adoration swirling through him, knew that he had craved those moments every morning—even after centuries, after eons of their loving routine.

And even now, after everything that had happened to both of them, Morpheus felt his heart jumping in his chest as YN let her fingers glide over the upwards-facing palm. He watched her as closely as she watched him, her touch moving over the tender skin of his wrist before they lost contact again due to the fabric parting her touches from him. The woman in front of him took a last step in the same heartbeat as he took his last step toward her, not holding back anymore.

His hands cupped her neck lovingly, his long, elegant fingers reaching to the back of her head, his thumbs tenderly brushing over the line of her jaw. In the same instance, YN had buried the fingers of her left hand into the fabric of his black coat while her right hand cupped his cheek, the pad of her thumb caressing the skin above his cheekbone. Their gazes were still connected, diving into the deep seas, yearning for every emotion swimming in those dark pools.

“Morpheus.”

Her unbelieving whisper of his name—as if it was a prayer—was his downfall. Without wasting another second, another breath, another heartbeat, the Lord of Dreams bent his head and eyes closed at the mere anticipation before their lips collided in softness and loving movements. The desperation and urgency needed to wait for a different moment in the confinements of their private rooms in the Dreaming. Their passion had never been secondary, they had always heavily indulged in it, even if the timing was anything except perfect, but now, neither of them could think about something more important as the realization that this wasn’t another dream—or nightmare—that this was reality instead.

The reassurance of this fact in the form of tender kisses they shared without stopping to take a deep breath was more than enough. But even they had to part at some point—foreheads softly pressed against one another, fingers tangled in silky strands, chests fitting perfectly together, eyes still closed, savoring this existence-altering moment.

“I thought…—” YN’s voice was quiet, breathless, filled with fear and agony. She didn’t need to complete the sentence because he figured what she was trying to say. So all he did first was move his head to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. “I am here,” he whispered against her skin, feeling her body relax under his hands. He would never leave her again or let her leave, even if he had to fight every single creature the world had to offer. “I… I am…” YN’s mumbling almost got lost between the shake of her voice and Morpheus wrapped his arms around her, pressed a hand to the small of her back while the other buried itself in her long curls, pulling her closer to his chest, enveloping his wife in the most protective hug. “Do not apologize. There is nothing to apologize for, love. I am just glad I have gotten you back, gotten another chance to spend eternity with you. I am beyond grateful to finally have you in my arms again where you belong, my dream.” His whispering was as tender as the leaves around them, and YN felt her heart flutter like an excited bird shortly before it rose into the sky at the sound of the endearment reserved explicitly for her.

YN let her eyes fall shut, savoring the long-missed and lost feeling of his incredibly soft lips, remembering the Afterlife filled with the same sensation but different all at once. It had been insipid; a weak, dull equivalent to his counterpart in reality, and she had missed him there even more fiercely as if it would have been the case if the Afterlife hadn’t been so cruel to her soul.

Her fingers tenderly caressed through his night black strands, hearing and feeling him sigh in utter contentment. “Morpheus,” she whispered his name again, this time with her lips almost at his—already touching them with every syllable of his name. “I told you I would find you.” The corner of her mouth slowly raised at his deep but quiet chuckle, feeling his arm wrapping tighter around her, pulling her even closer to him, if that was even possible. Their eyes met again after a short but equally as lovingly, and heartwarming kiss as the ones before, and the Lord of Dreams pushed a curl behind her ear, caressing her cheek with his knuckles. YN looked up to him almost pleadingly, even though they both knew that Morpheus could never refuse anything his wife asked of him.

“Bring me home.”

;

Morpheus had his eyes closed, breathing slowly, while every sensation was heightened, beginning with the familiar heavy feeling of her head lying on his shoulder and ending with the tickling touch of YN’s fingertips following slowly and reverently the lines in his right palm. They lay like this since they returned to the Dreaming, immediately strolling through the palace and into their rooms, ignoring everyone around them, only having eyes and a place in their minds for each other.

They had to wait if they wanted to see their queen again. It was his turn now.

“What happened?”

Her voice was as soft as it usually was but held an edge of curiosity and resentment. Her fingers didn’t stop even as YN turned her head to look up into his face, and the man opened his eyes to watch her, though he felt the memory rising behind his eyes and in the front of his mind, unable to unsee it. And she had a right to know.

His hand, which had rested on her bare shoulder where he had caressed her skin with tender strokes, moved up to her head and started to brush through her hair. It had always soothed him and his mind, and he felt relief flowing through him at the realization that it was still the case. “It took a century before I was able to escape, but… I could not leave without seeking vengeance for what he did. Not to me, but you.” YN was quiet, but her eyes told him she listened intently to his every word. So he continued. “My ruby brought him immortality for the time in his possession, and it was the first thing I took back from him. I watched him starting to wither in his sleep, knowing that his dream had changed with the sensation of something happening to him. I waited until he awoke, waited until he realized it was my doing, and watched with satisfaction the moment he realized his end was coming. I promised him eternal torture and started with it myself.”

Morpheus knew that he had been cruel to this human, but he also knew that he wasn’t as cruel as he should’ve been.

YN stopped caressing his palm, and the Endless watched her face, not moving his gaze, not even as he felt her hand move upwards to cup his jawline. He slowly let his eyes fall shut only at the feeling of her thumb brushing over the skin of his cheek, leaning his face into the touch he had longed for over a century. “I really thought I could save you, my love,” she whispered and leaned her forehead against the other side of his face, nuzzling her nose against the skin of his neck. Morpheus pressed a loving kiss to her hairline. “I know, my dream.” He fell silent for a moment before speaking up again—pain audible in his voice. “Do not dare and try it again. Will you promise me that? I cannot watch you die right in front of me again. I would not survive it.”

His queen softly pushed herself up with a hand resting on his chest, right above his strong beating heart. Her eyes—morphing from an emerald green to the shades of the morning sky after the night retreated—watched him with the softest expression while she nodded, barely visible. “Will you promise me not to find yourself in situations and positions which require my unintentional sacrifice again?” A smile started to tuck at the corner of his lips, and YN gently chuckled at the sight of it. “I will promise you that, my Queen,” Morpheus smiled nonetheless up at her, covering the hand still resting over his heart with his own.

He looked down at the missing feeling of something pressing against his palm. YN seemed to notice his changing expression and looked at her bare ring finger as well. “I woke up without it,” she whispered, sadness etched into her tone at the memory of the missing ring her husband had given her. It had been the most beautiful ring ever made, decorated with two beautiful gemstones—a dark blue sapphire, reminding her of his eyes, and the other the darkest emerald ever seen because it had been the color of her eyes at their first encounter. YN didn’t know where it vanished.

He got a hold of her bare hand and pressed her fingertips onto his lips to pepper gentle kisses on them. “I will make you a new one,” he vowed with the soft tone reserved entirely for her ears.

But he didn’t need to because only a moment after the words had left his mouth, a knock interrupted their peace and tranquillity. YN was quick on her feet and crossed the grand room to open the door, facing a wide-eyed Lucienne. “My Queen,” she bowed her head, but both women searched for their hands, and YN gently squeezed her friend’s fingers. “Lucienne,” she smiled, and the librarian couldn’t contain her smile as well. “I apologize for the intrusion, but Death found something I suspect you missed.” And with that, she opened her other hand in which laid, atop a velvet piece of fabric, her missing ring. “Where…?” Her friend only shrugged gently. “She didn’t tell us.” Nodding, YN took the ring and pressed it against her chest. “Thank you, Lucienne.” Her voice was laced with joy and longing, and the librarian bowed again. “I will leave you, but don’t hesitate to visit the library. The books miss you dearly.” With that, Lucienne turned and left, and the woman closed the door again and walked back to the bed with Morpheus still atop the covers.

She opened her hand after settling back on the mattress next to him, letting him see the ring resting on her palm, and the Lord of Dreams smiled down at it. He took the delicate jewelry between his fingers and slowly pushed it back into its place, back home on her finger, so everyone could see to whom she belonged—though nobody in the Dreaming needed a reminder of that.

“Welcome home,” Morpheus mumbled, lips against lips, and enveloped his wife once again in his loving embrace to hold her as close as possible, not thinking about letting her leave his arms anytime soon.

;

Okay, so, I hate the end, but I’m really bad at writing endings naturally, so we have to deal with this one. Hope y’all enjoyed it tho :3 As usual: Comments, reblogs, and likes are much appreciated! <3

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