#arranged marriage au dreamling

[avelera]

Avelera's Dreamling Fic Status Update:

Keeping Sanctuary (subscribe for updates here) - Giving Sanctuary Sequel follows Dream and Hob from the events of the altered meeting in 1689 up to the modern era. (aka, What if they hooked up after the 1689 meeting?) Current word count: ~7,000 words across several chapters. Realistic progress update: 1/10 complete total, Ch. 1 is about 1/5 complete.

(The rest are below the cut!)

Come live with me and be my love - Dream and Hob fall in love during the Regency Era when Dream loses a bet to Desire. Shenanigans ensue. (aka, What if they hooked up after the 1789 meeting?) Ch. 16 is at 2,500 words, probably about 1/3 done. Current plan is to wrap up Part 1 in the next few chapters then create a part 2 which finishes out their "1 year of marriage" on a month by month basis instead of following them day to day like Part 1 done. Probably won't be a separate fic though, just a change of format.

This Rough Magic - My take on "Hob rescues Dream from Burgess" with a twist that Hob ends up on Burgess's radar himself when he picked up some occult magic skills in the hopes of contacting Dream after 1889 and apologizing. Now he has to pretend to be friends with Burgess in order to get them both out of there, because Burgess thinks Hob can help force Dream to give him immortality. (aka, What if they hooked up after the 1889 meeting?) Ch. 9 is about 800 words in. Story is still very much in progress I just have a lot of WIPs, as you can see.

Joke's On You (I'm Into That) - The 1589 meeting goes very different when Hob proposes to Dream, who is so offended that he just can't let the matter go. A very angry, very horny competition kicks off between them. (Aka, what if they hooked up in 1589 when they were both at their absolute worst as people?) I have literally 40,000 words written for the rest of this fic. The problem is, there's big gaps in that first draft I have to fill in and scenes that need to be added. This might be my favorite WIP but it's also the hardest to write with all the smut scenes so it'll arrive whenever I can manage, I'm afraid.

Banana Daiquiris Ch. 2 - Comic-canon compliant (mostly) - Dream fakes his death to go on a vacation with Hob and Destruction. They end up in Tahiti. Destruction plays matchmaker. Hob doesn't know whether to thank Destruction or strangle him. Current word count 6,000 words. I've been playing around with adding on to this fic for ages. One of these days, I'll pull it all together.

Great Triumphs and Tragedies - aka, "Dream Accidentally Cursed Hob with a Normal Life" Fic - Dream learns that from 1689 on, Hob's life has been safe. Too safe. Improbably safe. Nothing bad or extraordinary or even terribly special has happened to him since Dream began to consider Hob his friend. He knows this because during his imprisonment, Hob's life became exciting again and suddenly went back to normal the day Dream was freed. Hob is not convinced that Dream is the reason for this, Dream disagrees. They talk about it. And fight about it. And some things that they've probably needed to talk about for a long time finally get said. (aka, sometimes the author just needs to write their weird headcanon into a 20,000 word fic that's almost entirely dialogue). Current word count: 19,000 words and about 80-90% finished, 3 of 4 chapters written. I'm hoping that posting what I've got will help push me through the final stretch. Real life interrupted for a bit though.

And for fics that haven't been posted anywhere yet (you can subscribe on my Ao3 author page for alerts about them):

Hob Amesia Fic - Dream and Hob are dating officially now in the 21st century when Hob gets hit with what seems to be a memory loss curse, shaving off 100 years of his life each day until Dream finds a cure. This effectively grants Dream a walk down memory lane as he is reacquainted with the Hob of each era and, in the process, learns how much longer Hob cared for him than Dream ever realized. Current word count: 40,000 words. Currently writing 1489 (1889-1589 are done) and re-writing the opening. It genuinely kills me not to have this one posted lol.

"Fairy God Marlowe" - 1589 fixit fic where Hob and Kit Marlowe strike up a conversation while Dream and Shaxberd are talking. Hob and Marlowe talk about plays, and faith, and salvation, and queer love, and what it means to live forever. Hob gets a second chance at a first impression. Current word count: ~5,000 words. Sadly, it's all dialogue in script format. I'd need to convert it into prose to publish which would be a slog. So it's a bit shelved until I find the energy to do so. No, I will not post it in script format, I'm allergic to the thought.

I've got a few other concepts kicking around, but these are the ones that actually have (*does a quick calculation*) over 100,000 words written that I haven't had the chance to post yet?? And it's driving me insane????

Anyway, I should probably pin this post for those curious lol. Feel free to ask me any follow-up questions, I love talking about WIPs even as they ruin my life!

[27dragons]

New Year Countdown: Dec 21

You know what I really love? An arranged marriage fic. It's just. So good. So have some Dreamling arranged marriage. Don't try to make sense of the worldbuilding,; if I let myself think about it for more than 2 minutes I was going to spend three hours on the background and forget to actually write something useable.

Dec 21 - Dreamling - Arranged Marriage - Fairy lights

Dream ducked around a corner, away from the masses of guests his parents had found it necessary to invite to the wedding. They all wanted to congratulate him, and he was having a harder and harder time not responding with a demand that they produce some evidence that he was, in fact, fortunate.

An arranged marriage, in this day and age!

He’d known better than to argue with his father about it, though, so he’d had as little to do with the entire thing as he could get away with. He’d only met his new husband for the first time the previous afternoon, at the rehearsal. Dream had contrived to sit at the far end of the table from the man at the dinner, and then excused himself to his rooms immediately after the main course.

But he hadn’t been able to avoid the wedding itself, of course. He could only hope that his parents interpreted his flushed face as a new spouse’s excitement and not the towering fury he was suppressing.

The man was attractive enough, Dream had to concede that. But a handsome face could overlay any number of flaws -- only consider Desire, who was as spiteful as they were elegant.

Dream had no wish to learn Robert Gadling’s opinions of the match, or what he expected of Dream and their marriage, or even if they had a single thing in common. This entire thing was a farce, and Dream only wanted to go home and be left alone to mourn his life of contentment and books.

No one had noticed him missing yet. Or if they had, they assumed he’d just ducked off to the restroom. Maybe he could escape for an hour.

The hallway led away from the reception, ending in a set of double doors that overlooked a garden.

The garden was empty, it being entirely too cold for strolling outdoors, but it was decorated with fairy lights in case someone might want to look out a window.

Despite Dream’s feelings about the entire situation, the lights were pretty. He pushed through the doors and stepped out into the garden.

The frozen air was bracing; he drew a deep breath, feeling the cold burn in his lungs, then let it out again and watched the misty puff of condensation swirl up into the night. When the last wisps of his breath had disappeared, he began to walk, the twinkling lights filling his vision.

Halfway down the garden, he could no longer hear the noise of the reception, and he felt a fraction of tension ease from his shoulders. There was a bench there, under a cherry tree that was probably lovely in the spring, but at the moment was just a spread of bare branches clawing at the sky.

Dream sat, looking up through those branches at the lights and the stars.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there. Long enough for the last of the residual warmth to have seeped away from his suit coat by the time someone said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone else was out here.”

Dream blinked the stars from his eyes and turned to see-- Well, of course it was Gadling, wasn’t it? He turned his face back up to the sky. “Were you looking for me?”

“No,” Gadling said. “I try not to push in where I’m not wanted. I’ll leave now, if you like, only -- you look a bit chilled. Can I offer you my coat?”

Dream started to refuse, then realized his teeth were on the edge of chattering. “Thank you.”

When Gadling handed it over, it was still radiating the man’s own heat. Dream pulled it around his shoulders. “You may stay.”

He hadn’t intended it to come out so imperious, but Gadling merely smiled and sat at the other end of the bench. “I caught a glimpse of the lights and I wanted to come out and see them. They’re pretty.”

Dream glanced at his husband sidelong. “Yes, Mr. Gadling,” he agreed quietly. “They are.”

“Maybe,” Gadling added, “we can have something like this in our house?”

“That would be nice,” Dream said.

Gadling smiled a little. It was a small smile, but it creased lines by his eyes that suggested he smiled and laughed often.

That might be good, Dream thought. There wasn’t much laughter in his present life.

“And perhaps eventually,” Gadling continued, eyes fixed on the lights and not on Dream, “you will consent to call me Hob, like my friends do.”

“Are we to be friends, Mr. Gadling?”

Gadling’s smile faded, and he looked sad, a little. Wistful, perhaps. Dream wasn’t particularly adept at reading people, but Gadling’s eyes were gentle, perhaps even kind. “I would like that,” Gadling said. “If you should find me worthy of such an honor.”

Dream was still furious that he’d been pressed into this marriage, of course.

But perhaps... Perhaps he was not angry with Robert Gadling.

[dsudis]

When Two Become One || Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling || Explicit || 7/? || 32,737 words

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Explicit Sexual Content, Fix-It, Centennial Conjugal Visits, Slow Burn, Despite the Fucking, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Canonical Character Death, Poorly Negotiated Bigamy, Death in Childbirth, Stillbirth

On the seventh of June, 1389, Destiny’s book requires that Dream of the Endless marry. His sister Death knows just where to find him a spouse. Hob Gadling is just happy to be here. Dream may have to marry, but he knows how to make sure his marriage lasts at least a hundred years before going down in flames. A marriage, century by century.

Chapter 7: Interlude - 1593 & 1606

[Read the new chapter here!]

A night when Dream was persuaded to visit Hob before their hundred years were up, and a night when he did not.

[tryan-a-bex]

King of Night and Prince of Day

Based on the gorgeous art of @nathanwonderwolf. Please open the art (ao3 or tumblr) and look at the image for each Roman numeral before reading. (Note: in the tumblr post the last two images are reversed.) [ao3]

I

“Kill me now, King of Night, but my people will never stop fighting!”

“On the contrary, Prince Robert of Day, you have been a worthy opponent and I detest waste. I propose an alliance. Sealed by marriage.”

“I have no unmarried sisters.”

“I would marry you.”

Oh, shit, Hob thought, looking up at the gorgeous King of Night and Dreams.

“I accept.”

II

The boat was decked with flowers for victory, but the crowd was scarce and silent as they neared the dock. 

“I want you to know I have my eye on you,” the Nightmare General warned Hob. “You may have agreed to this, but the war is not over and I have no reason to trust you.”

Hob fixed his eyes on the King, who was standing majestically in the prow of the boat. “The real war is against the Morningstar, who stole Dawn from all of us when she Fell. I disagreed with my father when he refused to let you cross our land to take the war to her, and I will gladly fight by your side until she is finished.”

The General grunted sceptically in response.

”You can trust me,” Hob replied blithely, and the General saw that his heart already belonged to the King.

*

“I crown you, Robert Gadling of Day, Prince-Consort of the Realm of Night and Dreams.”

III

“I take you, Robert Gadling of Day, as my consort, and swear to remain true to you for the rest of my nights.”

“I swear to defend this Realm with my sword and my life, and to remain true to you, Dream Endless, King of Night and Dreams, for the rest of my days.”

IV

“Do not worry, Robert. I will not touch you unless you want me to,” Dream whispered in his ear that night as he left for his adjoining chamber.

Well, this is awkward, thought Hob. How do I tell him that I’m nervous because I’m attracted to him and he seems so unattainable, not because I’m only here for the politics of it all? 

V

“Lucifer Morningstar is moving again. Our new allies, the Kingdom of Day, are requesting our aid in repelling her advances,”  the Nightmare General briefed the council.

“I will go,” Dream pronounced.

“No,” chorused the General, Hob and several advisors. 

“In this case, your skills with magic are better put to use here, where you can weaken the Morningstar’s influence over her followers using all your arcane paraphernalia,” the General argued.

“I will go with the army,” Hob volunteered. “You can give me a talisman connecting us, to carry the magic to her.”

“I have an additional idea, then, if you must go,” Dream conceded.

The next morning, Hob departed under Night’s banner, the Nightmare General by his side, an iron circlet binding his forehead and an ancient sword at his side.

VI

“Dawn cedes to Day, Morningstar!”

Lucifer laughed mockingly at him. “I’ve broken your silly magical talisman. All you have left is your Day Sword. Surely you don’t think you can harm me with that!” She swiped at his side, her claws piercing his armor and scoring a deep wound.

Hob used the last of his strength to plunge his sword through her neck.

“This is the Sword of Evening, my true love’s gift!”

Fear entered her eyes as Evening, bane of Dawn, drank down her immortality.

I sure hope that’s done it, Hob thought as he collapsed on top of her.

VII

What am I going to do without him? Dream wondered as the Day Sword shattered in the magical glass he’d suspended it in. Robert’s blood dripped from the glass, and the horns and candles bound to his circlet smoked red.

How will I go on, even if the Morningstar is defeated, without my love? When…when did I start to love him, and why did I not realize this sooner? There are so many things I wish I had said to him.

VIII

“Robert! Robert, don’t leave me…I love you,” Dream sobbed over his consort’s wounded form.

“Ooooohhhh,” groaned Hob, briefly regaining consciousness. “Hob, it’s Hob. I love you too, you know.” His head fell back on the pillow again and Dream clutched desperately at him. 

“Let it happen,” Hob whispered. ”I’ll come back to you anyway. Kiss me, my lord.”

“I love you, Hob,” Dream moaned, and took his hand, and bent his head, and pressed their lips together at long last. 

IX

Dream sat vigil beside Hob’s body as it lay beneath the sheet. 

“We won, you know. My magic weakened the Morningstar enough that your blow with the Sword of Evening was enough to destroy not only her current body but her immortality as well. Haha. It just occurred to me that that Sword is significantly more powerful when gifted in the service of true love. I guess we didn’t even know we were doing that. But anyway. You killed her.” Dream worried the bloodied bandage still in his hand, then took Hob’s pale hand in his own.

“I hope you are correct that this is not an immortally fatal wound. I hope it heals overnight, now that I’ve neutralized Morningstar’s magic. Oh, Hob, I hope we have many more nights and days together, so that I can tell you how much I love you.”

X

“Aaarrrrgggghhh!” Hob screamed and arched from the bed. Dream pulled the sheet from him and cradled him in his arms.

“Hob…Hob, are you okay?”

“Argh, Dream! Oh … Ah! … Yes… yes. Yes, I think I’m going to be okay now. Phew, that last bit was rough!”

Dream clasped him in his arms. “I’m never going to let you go again.”

XI

Hob rejoiced as Dawn began to break over the now-joined Kingdoms. “Last Night was the first dark Night the people of Day have had in some time.”

“It has been months since the people of Night have seen a clear Day.” Dream lifted Hob’s hand and bowed his head to kiss it.

XII

The people of Night and Day cheered wildly as Day broke more fully in the sky. Dream, King of Night and Dreams, and Robert, Prince of Day and Prince-Consort of Night and Dreams, smiled out at them.

“This is your doing, my love,” Dream whispered into Hob’s ear as he leaned against him.

“No, my heart, we did it together.”

***

Many thanks to my beta reader @dreamerinsilico for helping me polish this one!

[chaosheadspace]

Dreamling fic Masterpost

So in Honor of Dreamling week I've decided (like many others), to make a masterpost of my Dreamling fanfics. I'll put the one's exclusive to tumblr first, and then the ones on AO3 after that.

On Tumblr:

Honk snoo Hob

Dream ditched at the altar (human AU)

Dream eats in hob's dreams after his imprisonment

Dream getting snacks for Hob from dreams

Castle in the sand epilogue

Food truck Hob I (human AU, Food critic Dream)

Food truck Hob II

Dream teasing Hob by eating his ice lolly

Orc!Hob smutlet (explicit)

Kissy promt fills

On AO3:

Series:

The library idiots

Inappropriate Uses of the Dewey Decimal System and Coworkers by Hob Gadling, no PhD (93K, E) - Library AU

Coffee (395.53 - Public behavior) (500, G)

Manners (641.815 - Bread and bread-like foods) (400, G)

Late nights (641.864 - Pudding) (400, G)

Up (641.822 - Pasta) (1.3K, G)

High-strung (646.42 Underwear) (3.2K, E)

Chaosheadspace's Pleasantly Unsettling Things (mind the tags)

Feel my body, crack my bones (3K, E)

Waves (2K, E)

The softness of light (1K, M)

The truth and the sublime (2K, E)

Safe and Sound (1.6K, E)

There isn’t much I haven’t shared (with you along the road) (1.6k, G)

Single works:

I'll go to sleep and dream again (37K, E)

Policy of truth (8K, E) - Smut march ficlets

Take both my hands (8K, E) - Omegaverse, Human AU

Silent Melody (600, E)

Sapphires (3K, E) - Human AU, Bank heist)

Advantages of four-poster beds (2K, E) - assorted smut fills

Foam and Whispers (10K, E) - Little mermaid AU

Rainbow Snails and Plastic Cups (1.5K, T) - Human AU, Ikea meet-cute

Ill-advised things (19K, E) - HUman AU, arranged marriage (ish)

Home should be where the heart is (15K, M, unfinished) - Beauty and the Beast AU

Castle in the sand (8K, E) - Human AU, single Dads

Someone opens a window, Music spills onto the dirt (2K, E) - Human AU, age difference

[fictionplumis]

Dreamling: Arranged Marriage AU

This idea won't leave me alone until I write it. A Dreamling arranged marriage AU where Night decides her children could stand to be a little closer to mortals lest they end up like their father and completely separated from them, so she decides one of them needs to take on a mortal consort--who would then become immortal, no she does not think this would eventually compromise the integrity of her idea. Ideally, all of them would have a mortal consort, but even she recognizes the problem with that. Destiny doesn't meddle in mortal affairs at all, Death is far too busy, Destruction has been pulling back from his duties and neglecting his realm (he's still there, for now, but they all know he's not really doing anything anymore, they just don't know how to bring it up to him), Desire is far too immature, making a mortal spend eternity with Despair would be cruel, and Delirium would drive her spouse insane.

So it's decided that Dream (this is about Sandman, not the YouTuber, if this post breaks containment PLEASE understand this is about the Sandman NOT the YouTuber) is the only suitable candidate, and the others will just have to experience mortals through their sibling-in-law. Night declares it, says she doesn't care how it's done as long as it's done, the end. 

(I'm sorry all you people that want Night and Time to be good supportive parents, but I read Overture, they fucking suck. Night will not show up to the wedding because she's already written off her children as selfish and ungrateful anyway, this is in part a way to punish them and to punish Dream, and Time finds this ridiculous but knows it will happen, has already happened, is happening, and he doesn't really care.)

Dream hates this. If he had his choice he would pluck the first mortal up, marry them, and promptly forget about them and go back to ruling his realm. That's why his siblings decide that he cannot, under any circumstances, be in charge of this.

Instead they decide on a friendly competition. They will each (all except for Destiny, who already knows the various different outcomes and has decided to observe but not participate) pick a candidate for Dream. The Endless don't really abide by silly things like linear time and whatnot, so it could literally be any mortal they nominate. They will each then devise a trial to test what they each believe to be an important quality necessary to marry Dream of the Endless and become Prince Consort of the Dreaming. All candidates will be put through the tests until there's one remaining. 

(I'm sorry, Calliope will not be in this because I can't think of a realistic way she would be eliminated and she's technically not mortal anyway.)

Death finds her candidate in a dingy tavern on Earth, circa 1389, when she overhears a drunken snippet of conversation. A man boldly claiming she's stupid and he's going to live forever. It's a jest, she knows. He doesn't actually believe he'll live forever, but there is the desire to within him and in thirty seconds he's proven himself a natural storyteller. It's a whim that she approaches him with an amused, "Did I hear that right, you intend to live forever?" 

The table goes silent. Hob's companions are smirking between him and the woman suggestively and Hob waves them off with a laugh. "Aye, that's right." 

"I believe you and I need to talk, then. Somewhere more private." 

There's some immature tutting from his mates, and Hob looks surprised and thrilled all at once, because she's very beautiful though why she's interested in him when her outfit implies she's chaste-- But hell if he's going to pass up the opportunity, so he goes with her, tries to make a move on her the second they're around the corner and she laughs in his face, easily bats him away, and goes, "You're cute, but not my type, Robert Gadling. No, I'm here to offer you a chance at immortality." 

He grows wary at first. Asks if she's the devil, but she just stares at him patiently until he realizes who she is and stumbles back in fear and surprise, only to be laughed at again. Kinder, this time. 

"I'm not here to take you, though..." She eyes the tankard in his hand with raised brows. "It is a shame you didn't lay off the ale sooner." He quickly sets the tankard down and steps away from it. 

The deal is this. He'll be part of a competition, though he won't know it or remember this conversation. Should he win, he'll be immortal. If he loses, he'll be returned to his life right before she approached him, to live out what few hours he has left, never remembering any of this. She leaves out how he'll become immortal, leaves out that he'll end up marrying her sullen little brother and becoming Prince Consort to his realm, but what are the changes he'll win anyway?

Dream is surprised to find that each of his siblings picks someone that does, on some level, appeal to him. He's a romantic at heart, it's hard not to fall a little bit in love with each other of them as he watches how this plays out.

The competition is this: 

Each candidate will live what they perceive to be four lifetimes in a dream. For the most part, they're just going to be jumping from important decision to important decision, with the blanks filled in for them through false memories to make it feel like it's been four lifetimes and not a few days at most. At the end of each lifetime, they'll be asked if they wish to continue living. That is Death's trial, because anyone marrying an Endless must be resilient enough to keep going. 

The first lifetime is Despair's test, in which the candidates discover that they won't age, they won't die, that their life may very well be unending. They lose their families, their friends, and realize that they always will. They don't know if there's any way to opt out or not, so for all they know, one day in the very distance future, they will be the only one left. Despair wants to make sure the idea of Endlessness is not a curse for Dream's spouse to bear, though she herself would thrive off that, personally.

Ironically, it's Despair's candidate, the queen of the first human civilization, that falls to this test. Nada lives the first lifetime without ever knowing true, passionate love. She's pushed into marrying someone who is a good ruler for her people, and when they pass, she marries someone else who is also a good ruler for her people, and she sees that there are those besides herself who have the judgement necessary to rule. She's proud of the city she's created, she's proud of her people, and the idea of eventually watching them die and come to an end as all things do, it kills her inside. It doesn't matter that it might be millennia from now. When a gentle voice asks one day if she wishes to continue living, she contemplates it, contemplates her current husband, closes her eyes, and says, "No. I think it's time for a new queen to rule my people." 

Hob, on the other hand, has spent his lifetime fighting, mostly, a bit of highway robbery when he couldn't find a war. Lots of brothels. He's eaten stuff he shouldn't have, gotten himself mortally injured more than a few times, bounced back from it, and now he's into this printing thing. No guilds to restrict it yet, it pays well, and he's been teaching himself how to read. He's sitting in an inn, drinking ale next to the hearth, no smoke in his eyes, and thinking about swindling the table next to him in a round of cards to pay for some more ale. When the same voices asks him if wishes to keep living, his eyes get bright and he answers, "Oh yes." The thought of what his immortality might mean never really crossed his mind. He lost people, sure, but he would have lost them anyway, and there's always more people to meet. This is amazing. 

The second lifetime is Desire's test. Desire, who actually cares on some level, in their own way, and knows that if their big brother marries an idiot, they'll have to put up with them, so they have to make sure Dream marries someone halfway decent. Someone who might keep him busy. Someone who desires things strongly, but is not so ruled by them that they'll give up their duty to chase distractions, nor will they give up if Dream doesn't desire them the way they wish--which is very likely. In Desire's test, each candidate is given people to love, fully and completely, with all their heart, and are forced to watch that thing die violently and terribly only to be asked right afterwards if they still wish to live. 

Delirium's candidate is Killala of the Glow, who finds out that the beautiful green star of her solar system, which is the cause of her power, is a conscious, living thing. And he loves her. He is everything she ever wanted. With him, her powers grow. She learns to use them better, to get stronger with them, to understand them and herself. It shouldn't have happened so soon, they should have had millennia together, but something happens and he has just enough time to warn her, to explain that he's dying and that she needs to be strong and use her powers to shield her world from him or his death will raze it all to the ground. She doesn't understand how this could happen, she can't concentrate through her grief, her planet is destroyed and as she's floating amongst the burning cold heat of her lover collapsing in on himself, she's asked if she still wishes to live and she says no. 

Hob meets Eleanor, who is charming and funny and matches him wit for wit. She doesn't ask about his past or how he acquired his money. He's never been in love before. He thought he would continue finding his companionship in brothels and had felt perfectly content with that, but now there's her, and he wants so very badly to marry her, to be her escape away from her traditionalist of a father who stifles her wit into silence. So he does. And he has a son, a beautiful baby boy that he promises the world to. Then there's the promise of another child, and he's thrilled. 

He's there in the room, holding Eleanor's hand, terrified when she goes into labor months earlier than planned. She's in so much pain. The baby isn't crying. The midwife is trying desperately to stop the bleeding. The blood is still warm on Hob's skin and clothing as he holds Eleanor's lifeless body and sobs. His son needs a mother. Needs a father but he knows, in that moment, that he will be a useless one to the boy like this. Robyn has his temper, he'll die too young and Hob will have failed him. 

When he's asked if he wishes to keep living, he thinks of how the blood is still warm on his skin, and how ashen Eleanor looks in his arms, and he brushes her hair back from her face and says, brokenly, "Someone has to remember her. She wouldn't... She wouldn't want me to give up, now would she?" 

Delirium knows better than any endless how pain and suffering can break a mind. Dream is the Lord of Nightmares as much as he is the Lord of Dreams. Or maybe she was just feeling particularly sadistic because she doesn't understand why she can't get married, she would love to get married, she could turn her spouse into bubbles and they would look so pretty floating around her realm, or maybe even glitter, or frogs! But no, she's not getting married, Dream is, and Dream is mean sometimes, so maybe she just decides to be mean to whoever he gets to married. It's hard to tell if even she knows her own motivation. 

But the candidates suffer for her trial, pushed to their breaking points and then past them. 

Destruction's candidate has never really known suffering before these trials. Or living, really. See, Destruction hadn't actually gone out to try to find someone for Dream, he had been busy trying to learn how to carve a piece of marble into a shape without reducing it to rubble. Once everyone else had found their candidate, he went to Desire and was like, "Hey, so..." 

Desire sighed, and rolled their eyes, and was like, "Fine, I'll help you. I'll construct a woman to be your candidate. If I don't win, maybe you will." 

Thus Alianora was created. She's strong, smart, and while she can handle loss, she was created to be a lover. To be loved. To be a partner. Under Delirium's trial, she is alone, she suffers alone, no one pays her any mind or they hurt her worse, and she withers. She grows morose, she grows desperate, she grows hysterical in her isolation. She loses her mind. She never does answer the question of whether or not she wishes to keep living. It's questionable if she can answer the question, if she even fully understands it. Unfortunately, there is no coming back from such a thing, even if they fix her mind and these trials became like just a dream to her. There's no place for her to go now that she's lost this trial, no home for her to go back to. She's the only true causality of this game and Dream, aching for her and bitter over Desire's causal indifference, makes a Dreamscape for Alianora to live in where she'll never be alone. It's the least he can do.

Hob goes a touch insane himself, but the cracks in his mind are strategic. Like crumple zones in a car, it's to survive what comes next. He's drowned as a witch. Over and over, rocks tied to his ankles, tossed into the water, and every time he surfaces they catch him and do it all over again. Again and again. Dirty pond water filling his lungs, his chest fit to burst, throat and nose raw from inhaling liquid, skin clammy and near rotten. He lets himself break so that when the moment for real escape presents itself, he's not so gone that he misses the opportunity or that he stupidly cocks it all up. 

He does escape, but he's lost everything in a world where value is determined by wealth. He sleeps on the street, mutters to himself, has arguments with made up people in an attempt to kept his mind sharp and to distract himself from the decades where he starves and starves but never dies, his stomach endlessly digesting itself and he throws up what little bit of scraps he can get his hands on, which just makes it worse. 

When he's asked if he still wishes to live, he tosses his head back and laughs, startling a couple people walking past him on the street, who walk a bit quicker, and he asks, "Are you crazy?" Dream is leaned in where they watch these dreams projected above the family meeting table, and if one paid attention they might see that his eyes were rimmed red, thinking that Delirium's trial would claim another. At least he could be fixed, and would soon after go to the Sunless Lands to live in peace. He deserved that. They all did. 

"Death is a mug's game! I have so much left to live for!" 

And now there are two left to face down Destruction's trial. 

Destruction may not have put effort into finding a suitable candidate, but he did devise a good trial. While his brother did need someone strong and resilient, they had to be what Dream lacked as well. They needed to be flexible. They needed to learn and grow from their mistakes. They needed to have compassion. All of these things to teach Dream the same, to encourage these things during the moments that Dream lacks them. His trial isn't about pushing the candidates into choosing Death, there's a very clear answer to his and if the candidate does not find it, they fail, whether they want to continue living or not. 

Desire's candidate has yet to break. She has no intention of dying. She's more than willing to let go of what she desires if it means furthering her ambitions. Suffering doesn't break her, it only pisses her off. Dream isn't sure what to think of this woman. He doesn't really like her on a personal level, she would be nothing but trouble actually, but there is a certain appeal to her. He would never have to worry about hurting her unintentionally, at least. But she's greedy and she doesn't care who she hurts to get her way. And when Destruction's test rewrites her memories to have it where her immortality is granted to her through the blood of other witches, of her sisters, killed by her and sacrificed to the Hecate, the Three-in-One, the One Who is Three, and that more will die by her hands to keep living, she feels a twinge of grief and guilt. 

So Thessaly simply decides to not think about it. She misses them, but it's just proof that she was stronger than them. Smarter than them. That she deserved to be here instead of dying out with them. And if she's able to continue making these sacrifices, if no one is able to stop her, then clearly it's just more proof she deserves this. 

She fails, and no amount of Desire calling bullshit on Destruction's verdict changes his mind. 

Hob, meanwhile, has rebuilt his life. His fortune. He's living well again, he's at no risk of starving, no need to fight in anymore wars because he has pockets of money all across the world he can run off to at the first sign of trouble. He has connections and a successful business. 

He's talking with someone about said business only to have them eye him judgmentally. He's told, "It is a poor thing to enslave another." 

He's a bit rankled at being called out on it. He shrugs, says that's just how it's done, because it is. It is. And at first it looks like he's going to fail too and this whole venture will have to be start all over, new candidates found, but as they watch him, the words aren't easily pushed from his mind. He dwells on them. He starts going through charters and logs. He gets restless sitting at home, surrounded by his newly regained wealth. He starts contacting his ships, digging into their practices that's never really taken the time to learn the specifics of before. A captain offers to let Hob sail a round with him so he could show off how safe the investment is, fearing that perhaps Hob is only questioning because he's afraid of potential repercussions.

He's shown how people are collected. Chained together. The conditions they're kept in on ship, the treatment the sailors give them. The captain explains that if they're pursued, it's easy enough to dump the cargo into the ocean, the chains ensure they all sink, no one is the wiser. 

They don't leave port until everyone is loaded off the ship, and Hob demands they go straight back to England. He contacts every ship in his business and puts a stop to it. Cuts every shipping tie he has and when captains tell him he'll never make another quid, he tells him them he doesn't care, it's not worth it. The guilt still eats at him. It's not enough to make him forget the imagined faces of all the lives he's destroyed, drowning the same way he had, again and again, or resigned to a fate worse than death in most cases. He drinks himself into a stupor most nights. 

He's drunk when he's asked if he still wishes to live. It's not the kind, understanding woman's voice that usually asks. It's a man's, soft and deep, curious, and Hob swirls his glass of brandy, contemplating whether he deserves to or not when he was responsible for the death of so many innocents. They weren't killed in a fight, they didn't have anything worth taking from them, it was just cruelty against helpless people. He swings back the rest of his drink and mutters, bitterly, "History has a way of erasing these things, doesn't it? It forgets what it doesn't want to remember. Someone needs to remember. Someone needs to remind people of this. It won't ever be enough to make up for what I've allowed, but this is something I must live with. To die now and let the world forget would make me a coward shirking responsibility for myself." 

Just like that, he's sober again and standing in a room that's a mix of the time periods he lived through in his dream. It's warm, inviting. There's a four poster bed, a large hearth with piles of comfortable pillows in front of it. An oak wardrobe simply carved but beautiful. Rugs over stone floors. There's a large balcony that lets in plenty of natural light, and it overlooks fantastical mountains in the distance, and a harbor filled with ships of every kind, and sea serpents lazily winding their way through them. Hob had never given much thought to what his perfect room would look like, but he knows he's standing in it. 

The dream he lived through feels like a dream, it's hazy and indistinct, disconnected from the emotions that he once felt were so real and consumed by. But he's not the same man he was when it started. He's retained the lessons learned about living, about compassion, he's more mature, he still remembers how to read. It's all still there, but the loss and grief and guilt are distant now, more like a story he read than a life he lived. 

And Death is there with him, dressed in black jeans and a tank top, smiling proudly at him. He suddenly remembers the competition and has a brief moment of panic, blurts out, "Oh god, I lost and drunk myself to death and this is heaven--" 

"No, you won, Hob!"

"What?"

"You won!" And then she has to explain that while yes, he technically will be immortal, it's only because he now has to marry her little brother. They move out to the balcony and she explains that they're in the Dreaming and what that means while Hob looks around in awe. "He's not bad, my brother," she assures. "He's a bit distant, mostly. A stickler for his rules. He's prideful and can have quite temper if you insult that. It's wise to remember that he rules dreams and nightmares here. But at worst, he'll probably go back to his work and forget you exist, and you'll have the whole of his realm to explore. Unfortunately, you can't back out now." 

"Oh, I wouldn't if I could," Hob assures quickly, waving the concern off. "Marrying a nightmare sure beats rotting to maggots in the ground. I'll take it. What's expected of me?" 

She tells him that he probably won't have any actual duties, and Prince Consort will more than likely just be a title. Theoretically, Hob could hold sway over the Dreaming nearly as much as Dream did, but that required getting close to Dream. "Consummating your marriage," she tactfully puts it. "Each time you got closer to my brother, each time he lets you closer and as his trust and care grows, you would find the Dreaming responding easier and easier to you. The Dreaming is an extension of him, after all. And it's better that way, because you're immortal but still human, and suddenly having awareness of this would be way too much to pile on your mind all at once. But I doubt you'll have to worry about it. My brother seems curious about you but he's stubborn and easily distracted."

The wedding happens that night. 

Hob hasn't met his betrothed yet. 

Death dresses him in a stunning white suit with gold accents. His cravat is the finest woven white silk, embroidered in gold. He has a halo of gold light. There's a bloody cape. It drapes like heavy velvet but it's light and sheer and glitters like stars. He's a nervous wreck and she laughs gently and assures him that he'll know what to do when the time comes. 

Everything that dreams attends the wedding. It shouldn't have been possible to fit so many people in a room, but they're there. It should have taken years for Hob to walk down the aisle to the staircase to the raised dais and the throne, but it was a short walk and the whole time Hob can do nothing but stare at the man standing in front of the throne who has his chin raised, his dark eyes a host of starlight. He does seem vaguely curious. And haughty. And prideful. And beautiful. He's dressed in a similar suit of black, his sheer cape swirling with galaxies and nebula, and there's a sword of obsidian glass in his hands, the point resting gently against the stone floor. 

Hob knows intuitively to kneel the second he ascends the last stair, but he can't quite manage to duck his head like he knows is proper because he can't look away from this creature. Thankfully it produces something startlingly close to amusement in his betrothed. 

"Robert Gadling," he murmurs, his voice soft but carrying, the same one that had last asked him if he wished to live. He holds out his hand, a ruby ring already on his finger. "Swear your fealty to me." And then lower, softer, just between the two of them, "Do not be nervous, the words will come." 

And they do. A bit breathless, but they come after Hob reaches for the hand and presses his lips to the ring, his eyes still on the entity soon to be his husband in what has to be the weird marriage ritual of all time. "I swear my undying fealty to you, Morpheus, Lord of the Dreaming, Ruler of the Nightmare Realms, Prince of Stories and Shaper of Form. I swear to reside at your side, to give my loyalty to you and this Realm first and foremost, and to never raise a hand or support any threat to the denizens here. I am yours, Dream of the Endless." The words tighten through his chest like a binding and good lord, there's the smallest little smile on the Lord's face and he doesn't have a halo but the way the light from the stained glass windows behind him shines, it looks like he does and it's beautiful. 

Dream takes back his hand. He raises his sword and taps both of Hob's shoulders. At the second one, Hob feels the weight of a ring on his own finger. "Arise, Prince Consort of the Dreaming." 

Most people leave after that, they wake up and go about their lives, knowing something changed but not sure what. Some stay, and there's some mingling, and a reception dinner, and Hob barely gets a second to say two words to his husband. He's introduced to family, to Titania and motherfucking Lucifer. A librarian gives him her congratulations, a scarecrow with a pumpkin heads does so with a bit more reluctance and wariness, a raven with a white breast chats with him. She explains that she retired not too long ago, and nods towards a larger raven currently trying to figure out how to get his head into a champagne glass, explaining that he's her replacement. Despite how stupid he looks, she assures Hob that he's a good raven. 

There's a murder at one point. A man is stabbed through the eye with a serving fork. Some blond man in sunglasses looks intrigued by the turn of events, but he's the only one that bothers to react. The murderer tells him not to fucking try it, and then drags the body off. His husband merely tells him that it's normal and fine and that's pretty much the most he says aside from introducing Hob to people and staring at him from the corner of his black eyes. It's a whirlwind night and Hob ends it champagne drunk and passed out alone in his bed in his private quarters, not realizing until morning that he doesn't even know how to find his way around, let alone where the fuck his husband's room is. 

But when he stares at the ruby on his ring in the morning, he knows that he won't stop trying to woo his husband until they are properly, happily married, because one glimpse and Hob Gadling or whatever his surname was now, was most definitely head over heels in love. And thus begins the long and arduous process of courting his husband, the most stubborn man in existence, who is terrified of falling of in love and potentially being too much and would just rather keep his distance thank you very much. He makes it hard for Hob, until Hob remembers Death explaining that the Dreaming was an extension of him. If getting closer to Dream makes him closer to the Dreaming, maybe getting closer to the Dreaming will make him closer to Dream? It's worth a shot.

At the very least, Dream definitely takes note of the way everyone in his realm seems to be so smitten with his Prince Consort all of the sudden.

And that's it, that's all I have. I'm yeeting this out there to get it out of my head and now that you have it, you're free to do whatever you want with it. Change it up, write it, draw it, whatever, I don't care, you can have it now, just tell me if you do something with it because I wanna see okay thanks byee.

[gabessquishytum]

'Ullo again ! Small idea while listening to 'young love and old money' : Dream and Hob being in love in Regency London, except Hob works at the press in newspaper industry and Dream being from the ton. They manage to last 4 season until Dream's father arrange a marriage with Burgess' second son for the money. Dream is miserable and then one day Burgess hire a new man to clean the stable and surprise! It's Hob who immediately see that Dream is dying of sadness.

Cue to months of getting it in the back of Burgess' and son and fishbowl rescue except it's more a gilded cage than a fishbowl but you get me.

Thanks again for all your prompts, they are my joy, and I always run to read whenever I have a notice from your blog !

-

🦩

This is wonderful!!! I don't know if you guys have seen or read Lady Chatterley's Lover but it's one of my favourite little aus for dreamling. The original novel annoys me a bit but whatever. I just need to see Dream with a rich husband who doesn't satisfy him, getting it on with the gardener/game keeper/stable lad (aka Hob).

Like... the sneaking around, the secrets, Dream slowly coming out of his shell and brightening up even though his marriage sucks, sending coded messages to Hob, spending hours out riding with Hob as his "escort"... his husband having no idea that Dream is cheating on him with his own stable hand!! Ahh!! Burgess is basically paying Hob to fuck Dream at this point. It's amazing.

If we're in a universe when Dream can get pregnant, I love the idea of all his kids being obviously Hob’s. Everyone else can see that Burgess definitely didn't father that baby. And then Burgess dies in mysterious circumstances, oh dear (Dream poisoned him, with a little but of help from his siblings). He inherits a bit of money and he's an independently wealthy widower... what's stopping him from marrying Hob now?

[avelera]

I've made some progress on the next Come live with me chapter! It's basically the John Fletcher chapter, which had me a bit stalled out (I tend not to like focusing on OCs in fic but this one is plot relevant I swear) but will hopefully conclude with a Dream/Hob moment I've been plotting literally since I first began writing this fic holy shit. Fingers crossed I can get there without too much more pain lol

[kydrogendragon]

Ohoho happy upcoming birthday!! I offer ye Ever After (1998)'s first meeting scene between Danielle and Prince Henry for a sandman au! I'm Dreamling trash so that's where my thoughts went first but whatever pairing tickles your fancy is good~

The Scene:

Henry is running away from the palace and the arranged marriage to the princess of Spain that his father has arranged to ally France with the other country. Henry hates the notion of becoming king let alone wedding a stranger so he flees in the night. By morning he's fleeing from his father's guards who are pursuing him and steals a horse from an estate he happens upon.

Danielle (aka Cinderella) is treated like a servant by her widowed stepmother and is out harvesting apples in the early morning hours before attending to her breakfast chores when one of her father's horses comes tearing through the field with a strange rider upon its back. Danielle, having always been a rough-and-tumble sort, takes aim and nails the rider in the head with one of the apples she was carrying, knocking the would-be thief off the horse.

Henry climbs back to his feet, flailing to free himself from where he's now entangled by his cape as he continues to be pelted by apples and berated for his theft. He finally frees himself from his cloak and upon his face being revealed the peasant (Danielle) drops to the ground begging his forgiveness for the assault citing a lack of recognition. Henry's still dumbstruck at the peasant's aim and strong arm when he hears his father's guard approaching in the distance and quickly dismisses the apologies and begged for mercy. He tells the peasant that so long as no mention of his passing is made, he will forget the transgression while also tossing the peasant some gold 'for the cost of the horse'

The fun bit about this I realized is that this movie and I are the same age xD Very fitting for today!

Anyways, here's our second prompt for the day!! This one was fun to write. I know you'd messaged me with other possible pairing and the idea of Dream and Johanna really stuck out to me for this one, so without further ado, here's our Ever After AU:

Relationship: Dream/Johanna Words: 1953 Warnings: None Ao3 Link

The fierce sound of hooves on the ground echo through the woods behind Dream. He sits atop a horse he’s claimed from the nearby stable. He planned to flee by foot or take is own steed, Jessamy, but there wasn’t time. His father’s guards were gaining on him and he refused to go back. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

The borrowed horse whinnies, shaking it’s neck and fighting against Dream’s commands. Dream can hear the distant shouts. They’re getting closer. He rides over the hills of the estate he’s passing through when something hard crashes against his head. He lets go of the reigns and watches as the treeline shifts in his vision. The sky tilts until it is directly above him. His back aches.

He’s fallen off the horse. Dream groans and tries to push himself up when another object, small and round, smacks him square in the nose. His hands shoot up, covering the aching point as he shouts in pain. More and more, he’s attacked, points of pain popping across his body as he’s pelted down by an unseen force. He struggles, trying to stand, but his damn cloak is twisted around him, pinning him into the dirt with his own weight. He shifts, trying to pry the fabric off of him.

“Filthy thief!” A woman’s voice cries out somewhere to his right. The cloak finally slips free and he lunges to his feet only to be met with an… an apple? His brain processes the shape just seconds before it decks him in the cheek. His head ducks down from the impact and it’s then that he realizes how many apples are scattered around him.

When he looks back up, the woman stands directly in front of him, a finger pushed firm into his chest. She is angry, judging by the pinch of her brows, the snarl in her lips. Not to mention the apple assault he just received from her. Her shoulder-length brown hair is pulled half up, though appears just moments from falling out completely. Her dress is simple - a maid, perhaps? Or a servant to the estate?

“Who do you think you are running off with another man’s horse? You’re lucky he knows his way home or else you’d be much worse off from me!” She cries, jabbing her finger right into his breast bone. Dream frowns and opens his mouth to reply when the sound of hooves rings through the small orchard they’ve found themselves in. He blanches.

Quickly, he grabs her hand and falls to his knees in front of her. “Please,” he begs, staring up at the woman with desperation in his eyes. “Hide me, please. I beg of you.”

“Why the hell should I-” She stops mid-sentence. Her face falls and fear creeps into the edges of her eyes. “Shit. You’re the prince.” The young maiden’s head whips towards the sounds of the oncoming cavalry and back to him, to the noise, and back again.

“I will pay you well, but please, we must hurry. I cannot go back.” Dream pleads. The woman stares down at him with a calculating gaze, as if mentally tallying if hiding him was worth the effort. Perhaps word has already spread of his escape, but surely a reward for his return has yet to be officially declared?

The sounds of hooves grows louder with each passing second and Dream is mentally preparing to flee when the young maiden tugs him forward with the hand in his own grasp. He nearly face-plants into the earth from the sudden movement, but she hauls him up to his feet with a practiced ease. When he looks up, her face has morphed into one of mischief.

“Well come on then, Crown Prince. You’re luxurious hiding spot awaits,” She says with a smirk. He barely has time to process her words before he’s being dragged off further into the orchard. They run, down the gradual rolling hill, weaving between the trees and past the chicken coop. The sound of the guards has faded. Dream smiles. Perhaps he’ll make it a few days more.

The young maiden guides him towards a barn further into the fields. It is run down, the paint worn away by the heat of the summer sun and the door at the front appears off-kilter. It is a stark contrast to the other amenities they’ve seen so far on the Estate. They slow their pace to a walk as they approach the weary looking building.

“Home Sweet Home, your highness,” she says, creaking open the barn door. It makes a terrible wobbling screech as it sways open. The inside is nearly empty, save some bundles of hay, rope, and pitchforks. Clearly this barn wasn’t a high priority. Perhaps it served as an overflow of sorts?

Dream steps through the doors into the cool shade of the building. It smells like fresh hay with a musky undertone. It is not unpleasant, but far from the best he’s smelled before. Though his prior night was spent tucked in the corner of an empty horse stall, so he supposes this is quite the improvement. He turns to her. She is standing under the doorway, hand on a cocked hip as she stares him down.

“Thank you, milady. I owe you a great debt.” Dream nods his head. Not a full bow, but more than most royalty would have offered someone of her status. Although, perhaps she is owed a bow now if he truly plans to rescind his royal status. He would be no different in standing to her, after all. Perhaps even lower for he does not even have a job. The thought strikes him that he is no different than those he used to look down upon. He is penniless, or close to it. The small supply of coin he has will only get him so far. The clothes upon his back, perhaps a bit farther if sold for coin. But what would he do now? He has escaped, for the meantime, though he doubts his father would ever truly let him leave. Would he always be on the run? Would he ever be able to settle down, find a life for himself as he dreamed of? The realization of his life, the known and unknowns of his future, it is much. And it’s hitting him all at once.

“Hey,” the maiden’s gentle voice calls out. There is a hand on his chest and another holding his own hand. “Hey, easy there, Christ. I know this barn’s about as far as you get from all your silks and furs, but it’s not that bad, is it?” She is attempting to joke. He knows this yet he cannot stop the panicked breaths in order to laugh.

“Shit,” he hears her say. His hand is moved up and rests just above her heart. She is warm. The fabric underneath is softer than he had expected. “Just breathe, yeah? Follow my breath. In.” She breathes in and he follows. It is a shuddering thing, but it is deeper than he had managed before. “Out.” She releases her breath, her chest falling. He follows, out the air goes.

They repeat this. In. Out. In. Out. And with each breath, he feels calmer. He can breathe again. His hand still rests upon her as hers does him. Her face is close, he notes, as he looks up. They are but inches from each other. Her deep brown eyes stare into his with a care he has not seen aimed his way in… Dream is unsure how long.

“Better?” She asks, brows pinched with concern. Dream nods, slowly. He feels drained.

“Yes, I…” He takes a deep breath and releases it, the final bits of tension flowing out along side it. “I apologize, I do not know what came over me.”

The young maiden looks at him with that critical gaze once more before letting her hand drop from his chest. Dream follows in suit. “S’alright. Not like anyone ever chooses to have a panic attack.”

Dream’s brows furrow. “I did not-”

“Yeah mate, you definitely did.” She cuts him off with a knowing look. Dream does not fight her on it. They stay silent for a moment before she speaks again. “Wanna tell me why I’m hiding the Crown Prince in the old barn?”

The young maiden moves, walking further into the barn. Dream watches, following behind, as she makes her way over to an old table. It is short, a coffee table perhaps, but still sturdy despite it’s dusty appearances. She sits down at the edge of it and tilts her head, gesturing to the other end. Dream sits.

“I was told I was to marry. My father wished to use me for strengthening our relations with Spain. And while I have no ill-will towards the Princess Calliope, I… I did not love her. I barely knew her. One should wish to marry for love. If my father had allowed us time to become acquainted with one another, perhaps I could have found love for her, but he did not allow me even that, even after I had asked.

“I was set to be married in a week’s time. It was not the sole reason, but perhaps the final straw. I never wished to be King as it is. And given my father’s declining health, I knew it would only be a matter of time until the crown was passed to me. And I couldn’t…” Dream sighs. He lets his head fall, his gaze staring down into his mud covered boots. “I just want to be free.”

The young maiden doesn’t reply. Perhaps she’d call him foolish, selfish. It was what he was. He had responsibilities, ones given to him upon his birth. In exchange, he lived in luxury, yet he still wished more more, for something other. Maybe she’d echo the words his father repeated many times. That Dream was pathetic, that he needed to grow up and learn that the real world doesn’t play by the rules of fantasy.

“Good. Everyone should get that choice. You should too.” Dream’s head whips up to hers. She’s staring out at the slightly open barn door with a distant look upon her face. “There’s enough shit in the world to deal with as is. No one should have to deal with being something they don’t want to be. Besides,” she turns to him, that same mischievous look on her face once more. “Sounds like you’d have made a shit King.”

Dream huffs, the closest thing to a laugh he’s had in years. “You are not wrong.” He mumbles, a smile finding home upon his face. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.” She sighs as she hauls herself to her feet. The maiden’s hands dust off the back of her dress as she looks at him. “Feel free to stay here as long as you want. No one save me comes out here.”

A weight he did not realize was on him lifted at her words. He has shelter now, at least for a while. “That is exceedingly kind of you.”

She shrugs. “So, if you’re officially ditching the monarchy, what do I call you? Morpheus?”

Dream shakes his head. “No. That was the name given to me by my father. Call me Dream.”

“Dream, can do.”

“And what might I call you, fair maiden?”

The woman laughs. “Oh Gods, fair maiden. Yeah, no. You can keep that term to yourself. Name’s Johanna. Or Jo. Mainly Jo.”

Dream smiles. “Jo. Thank you.”

[izzy2210]

Izzy's Masterlist

My AO3 account: Izzy2210

A lot of the things I write are nsfw, unless explicitly said otherwise. I advise you to read the tags on the stuff I wrote on AO3, or pay attention to the way I sign for smut in the one-shot collections.

The Sandman:

Sweet Dream Are Made Of This, a collection of one-shots (AO3)

Request: Arranged Marriage AU (Tumblr post / AO3)

Dreamling fic based on Tumblr post (Tumblr post / AO3)

Dreamling fic based on art (Tumblr post / AO3 / Art it was based on)

Dreamling fic based on art 2! (Tumblr post / AO3 / Art it was based on)

Stranger Things:

Request: Steddie Pet Names (Tumblr post)

Steddie fic based on art (Fic and Art)

Steddie fic based on art by @inklessletter (Fic and Art)

Amuse-Bouche, a Steddie multi-chapter collab with @morgodrawings (read tags please!) (TikTok it was based on / AO3)

Soft, Short 'n fluffy Steddie One-Shots (A03 collection) (1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7)

Soft, Short 'n Horny One-Shots (AO3 collection) (1/2/3)

Steddie microfics (July / August/September/October/April)

Requests: @inklessletter 's request

[dsudis]

When Two Become One Chapter 2 (The Wedding Night & Morning After) is up!

When Two Become One || Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling || Explicit || 2/? || 14,734 words

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Explicit Sexual Content, Fix-It, Centennial Conjugal Visits, Slow Burn, Despite the Fucking, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

On the seventh of June, 1389, Destiny's book requires that Dream of the Endless marry. His sister Death knows just where to find him a spouse. Hob Gadling is just happy to be here. Dream may have to marry, but he knows how to make sure his marriage lasts at least a hundred years before going down in flames. A marriage, century by century.

Chapter 2: The Wedding Night and the Morning After

[Read on Ao3 Here]

Many thanks to @27dragons and @moorishflower for beta, and everyone else in the discords who has listened to me thrash out my plans!

[ineffably-ryuu]

Did I hallucinate several Dreamling arranged marriage AUs because I can only find one :(

[seiya-starsniper]

Seiya's Dreamling Bingo Masterpost

This is Seiya's fill masterpost for @dreamlingbingo. All fills that are completed, or partially published in AO3 are noted above in green circles, and all Works in Progress/snippet works are noted in yellow circles. Each work will also contain a short summary, rating, and link to where the work is housed.

A1 - Creature: Doppelganger: untitled WIP Dream/Hob; Show!Hob finds himself in a strange world where his Stranger (comic!Dream) didn't miss their 1989 appointment. (Rating: Explicit, snippet is SFW) In Progress. A2 - Alpha/Beta Relationship: untitled sequel to A Dream for Viscount Dream/Hob; Omegaverse + Regency AU. After his heat ends, Dream travels across Europe with Hob, who introduces him Lucienne and Gault, a non-traditional couple. (Rating: will be Explicit, snippet is sfw). In Progress.

A3 - French Revolution: A Dream for a Viscount Dream/Hob; Omegaverse + Regency AU where Dream and Hob meet, fall in horny love, and get married (Rating: Explicit). Complete.

A4 - Exhibitionism: Midnight Pleasures - Chapter 3 Dream/Hob; Vampire AU where Hob makes a deal with a vampire named Dream, and agrees to gather his coven together (Rating: Explicit). Complete for prompt, overall fic is WIP.

A5 - Fuck or Die: Let's conspire to ignite - ch 1 Dream/Hob; Hell invades Desire's realm, and Dream's injuries during the battle give him some interesting side effects (Rating: Explicit). Complete.

B2 - Crossover: Book, replaced with the adoptable prompt Pranks untitled Spy AU Dream/Hob; Hob is a spy and Dream is his quartermaster. Based off this art. In Progress.

B2 - Rape/Non-con: Break Me, Shake Me Roderick/Dream, Dream/Hob; Omegaverse + Crime Family AU where Dream is in an arranged marriage with Roderick Burgess. His attempts to leave go awry when he is kidnapped by Hob and Johanna (Rating: Mature). Complete.

B3 - Creature: Phoenix: they say our love's just like Magic Dream/Hob, Johanna/Alianora; Human AU where Dream and Hob play Magic The Gathering competitively. (Rating: Teen) Complete.

B4 - Rescue: (Combined with March Monthly prompt MI6!Hob): A View to a Dream - Chapter 1 Dream/Hob; AU Crossover with James Bond Daniel Craig Universe (Rating: Explicit). Complete.

B5 - Schmoop: Wake Up & Smell The Flowers Dream/Hob; Flowershop AU where Hob runs a shop and Morpheus is his loyal customer (Rating: Teen) Complete.

C1 - Hand Feeding: secret moments (lost in the heat of the afternoon) Dream/Hob; PWP fic set during Dream's heat in A Dream for a Viscount. (Rating: Explicit) Complete.

C2 - First Aid: A View to a Dream - Chapter 2 Dream/Hob; AU Crossover with James Bond Daniel Craig Universe (Rating: Explicit). Complete.

C3 - Free Space: Cherry Slick Dream/Hob; Omegaverse + College AU where 20-year old Hob Gadling decides to sell his virginity online (Rating: Explicit). Complete.

C4 - Impaled, replaced with Adoptable Prompt Hope Springs Eternal: Let's conspire to ignite - ch 2 Dream/Hob Hell invades Desire's realm, and Dream's injuries during the battle give him some interesting side effects. (Rating: Explicit) Complete.

C5 - Haircut: A View to a Dream - Chapter 4 Dream/Hob; AU Crossover with James Bond Daniel Craig Universe. (Rating: Explicit) Complete.

D1 - Atomic Bomb, replaced with Whump: The Lament of Morpheus Dream/Hob; Hob Gadling ends up in Hell. Dream goes to rescue him. (Rating: Teen) Complete.

D2 - Meet Ugly, replaced by the Adoptable Prompt Talking in Riddles: Coffee & Flowers Dream/Hob; A cup of coffee has multiple meanings. Dream overthinks everything, as per usual.

D3 - Tentacle Sex: In the Middle of the Night (In My Dreams) Dream/Hob/The Corinthian; companion piece to and if I get burned, at least we were electrified. (Rating: Explicit) Complete.

D4 - Creature: Feline: Dreams for a Dozen Cats Dream/Hob; Hob happens upon Dream holding court with a colony of cats outside The New Inn. (Rating: General Audiences) Complete.

D5 - Justice: A View to a Dream - Chapter 3 Dream/Hob; AU Crossover with James Bond Daniel Craig Universe. (Rating: Explicit) Complete.

E1 - Frozen in Time, replaced by Adoptable Prompt: Rough: untitled sequel to Break Me, Shake Me Dream/Hob; after agreeing to help Hob and Johanna break into his husband's safe, Dream and Hob grow closer. On the day before the break in, Dream tries to seduce Hob. It does not go as planned. (Rating: Mature, will be Explicit later) In Progress.

E2 - Technology: untitled WIP Dream/Hob; Dream is an audiobook narrator, and Hob is secretly obsessed with all of his works. Especially the romance novels. (Rating: Explicit, snippet is SFW) In Progress.

E3 - Servant: A Maiden's Dream; Dream/Hob; AU where Hob is a Sacrificial Maiden for Dream, the local village God. (Rating: Explicit) Complete.

E4 - Feel Soulmate's Pain, replaced by High as a kite: Spoils of War Dream/Hob; Hob walks in on a compromised Dream, who has been given aphrodisiacs by an unknown party. Complete.

E5 - Fairy Tale Curse: Set the Night on Fire Dream/Hob; Dream of the Endless Dragons is the last of his kind, and cursed to remain in his dragon form after refusing to help a pair of humans seeking his aid. The spell can only be broken when another human willing gives him their heart. 1/4 chapters published.

[miyu-writings]

Fic recs Friday

Why not?

So here are a few recs of fics I've been reading this past week.

Fairy Tail's Trump Card by kiraakitsune. (Gratsu) I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It read quite IC, was quite nice and gotta love fics where the boys get together.

Son of a Dragon by LetoaSai. (Gratsu) One of my faves. I needed the niceness of this fic this week. Also, still gearing up for my little plan. Anyway, a very nice AU where Natsu and Gray meet as children and their future changes.

& it was everything by kitthekazoo. (Rhodestead) It's an arranged marriage and kingdom AU. I'm a big sucker for all the above.

Radiance by greygerbil. (Victor/Georgi) This is a No Banquet/No Video AU, so as the author warned, Victor's not aware of Yuuri. I was reading this fic but then there was a hiatus and I now I'm rereading and reading the rest of the fic. I like this author so despite not knowing the end (yet), I do recommend it.

Stay, Just this Once - or - GroundHob Day by SigniorBenedickofPadua. (Dreamling) I'm the biggest sucker for time loop/groundhog day AUs. And this one is super good. Poor Hob is stuck repeating the same day - which ends every time Dream leaves.

Currently, I'm living for Dreamling - it's such a joy to read all the great fics. Wish it were as simple for every fandom haha.

Anyway...

I'm going to try to do a thing out of this. Fingers crossed it goes so... 😂

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (9-15 Apr 2023)

ᵍᵘᵉˢˢ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶦ ᵇᶦⁿᵍᵉᵈ ʸᵉˢᵗᵉʳᵈᵃʸ

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰Love Exactly (darter_blue) - 64K, zimbits AU - fluffy AU with a chance meeting in a bar and instalove - fun read, like wrapping a warm blanket around yourself

😊👂‍Death Beside the Seaside (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #6) (T.E. Kinsey, author; Elizabeth Knowelden, narrator) - Emily & Flo try to take a holiday at the seaside but there's no sea and a surprising number of internal spies. -

😍Wish Granted (ambut) - 40K, stucky no powers AU - reread of this fave D/s getting together fic

😊👂‍A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons (Saffron Everleigh Mystery #1) (Kate Khavari, author; Jodie Harris, narrator) - entertaining enough cozy mystery set in 1920s British academia with the standard 'plucky & smart-but-also-foolish' amateur detective (newly minted botanist) trying to exonerate her mentor from murder charges. I enjoyed it enough that I might read another but I'm not feral for it

🥰Winter's Children (Neery) - 66K, stucky - "When their attempts to recreate the super soldier serum failed, Hydra started trying to breed Captain America clones from his genetic samples. Unfortunately, the serum's effects aren't passed down genetically, so instead of an army of tiny Captain Americas, they get a bunch of tow-headed, asthmatic, allergic, immuno-compromised little Steves. And then the Winter Soldier stumbles across Hydra's failed experiment…" - just a great fucking fic. I stayed up until 1AM to read and I am too fucking old to be doing nonsense like that, but it was totally worth it.

😍Fourth Floor (dirtybinary) - 41K, stucky modern magic AU - "The one where Steve is an angry millennial wizard, Sam is a Disney prince, Natasha is a shapeshifter, and Bucky is a spoiler."

🥰👂‍Rattling Bone (OutFoxing the Paranormal #2) (Jordan L Hawk, author; Tristan James, narrator) - another enjoyable & spooky ghost hunting adventure with the OutFoxing The Paranormal found family, this time dealing with Oscar's actual family history/trauma.

🥰You're the One That I Want (PR Zed (przed)) - 53K, stucky modern no powers AU - reread, angsty arranged-marriage-for-insurance that is so satisfying

💖💖 +203K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

toasty warm heart (wearing_tearing) - Stranger Things: steddie, 9K - TOO FUCKING CUTE AND WARM AND FLUFFY

as sunshine falls on the wretched (KivrinEngle) - The Hobbit: gen, 18K - a very sweet canon-divergent AU where bilbo adopts a lost little dwarf baby

Handy (softestpunk) - The Sandman: dreamling, 3K - ceramicist Dream lusts after handyman Hob, doesn't make his move, is sad but is saved when he meets the hot professor he's giving a guest lecture for - short and sweet!

the game is on again (ReinventAndBelieve) - The Witcher: Geralt/Jaskier/Eskel, 7K - hot and tender af!

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Dirty Laundry - s2, e5-7

Ted Lasso - s3, e5 [x2]

The Brokenwood Mysteries - s9, e1

Uncommon Comfort Reads with Malka Older, Martha Wells, KJ Charles, and T Kingfisher - super fun panel

Schmigadoon! - s1, e1-6

Schmigadoon! (Schmicago!) - s2, e1

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

99% Invisible #316 - The Shipping Forecast

The Sporkful - Bill Nye, The FOOD Science Guy!

Big Gay Fiction Podcast - A Trip to the Ballpark with KD Casey

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Places Our Families Took Us

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Ashley House

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Fairy Circles

Vibe Check - A Satisfied Geriatric Millennial

99% Invisible #532 - For a Dollar and a Dream

⭐The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Fun and Funny Science with Mary Roach

Off Menu - Ep 187: Lily Allen

Into It - Are We Into Taylor Swift's Breakup, Lofi Girl, and a Baby Shark Podcast? {worth a listen to hear whatshisname Alwyn described as 'sentient mayo'}

You're Dead To Me - Al Andalus

ICYMI Plus - Meet the Internet’s Princess

Welcome to Night Vale #226 - Creditors

⭐Hit Parade Plus - The British Are Charting Edition

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

CREDITS: Burt Bacharach

AM In The A.M.: '70s Pop Morning

Classic Sunny Afternoon

Best Of '81 To '85 [Ratt]

Essential Glam Rock

Ratt radio

"Summertime Girls" [Y&T] radio

The Fixx radio

[avelera]

I'm listening to a really delightful lecture on Tudor/Stuart history which more than anything is actually making me want to get back into writing "Come live with me" mostly because of how it talks about private life in early modern English villages, and it got me ruminating on why I'm so blocked on CLWM

I think it's because I'm at one of those dread transition points. I know what comes next, and it's a lot of exciting stuff that's been plotted out for literal years at this point (mea culpa, mea culpa...) but I'm just... not that interested in this particular section that I need to write in order to advance it because I have been thinking about it for so long.

As usual, the real solution is just to bash my head against the wall until I get to the other side of this particular boulder that's in the way, but I do miss this fic (and This Rough Magic, and Joke's On You, and the promised sequel to Giving Sanctuary...) but all of them are stuck on a part that I know, intellectually, how to write but that just confronts me with a line when I open the doc that I'm already so sick of working on. Alas. Hopefully my motivation will return soon from the war...