#morpheus layout

[kydrogendragon]

Dec 15 - Nice

(Ao3 Link) (Masterlist Link)

Desire did not, on the whole, consider themselves to be “nice”. Fun, yes. Exciting? Oh, without a doubt. But nice? Mm. Not necessarily. Nice to feel, to experience, possibly. But not nice in the way that many people meant it. They were nice to be with, to feel the wants and desires fill their mortal hearts with song and fire. They were nice to luxuriate in, but they were cruel. Desires were pretty things, but often left many still wanting for more. A perpetual cycle, endless in its nature. People fought and killed and did many terrible things in Desire’s name.

So no. They would not consider themselves nice.

They were, however, accused of being such by none other than 1 (one) Robert Gadling. Desire sat perched on the edge of the kitchen counter in their not-brother’s (ex-brother? What Morpheus was, exactly, to their family now was confusing at best and Destiny, of course, gave exactly zero answers to their questions.) new living situation. The flat that rested above The New Inn was rather nice, all things considered. The layout was well thought out and there were numerous features (like the deep sink, the well spaced heating, the aircon in the corner) that many desired in their own dwellings. And, as far as aesthetics went, it wasn’t terrible. Sure, you’d walk in and have no doubts that the place belonged to an eccentric “collector” (hoarder. Let’s be frank and call it what it is) with a taste for earth tones, but it still felt cozy. Even if Desire had to scoot the stack of papers and books further down the countertop.

Robert Gadling was currently occupying himself with making french toast for everyone (everyone being the two of them and Morpheus). They understood why their brother was fond of the immortal. They’d tasted his lust for life many times. In fact, they could probably argue that he’d spent more time in Desire’s realm than the Dreaming. Or at least, close to it. Plus, he was cute. If you enjoyed that sort of look. The longer hair with the nice, strong frame was quite a fetching combination. Desire wouldn’t mind getting manhandled by him a bit. They wouldn’t pursue it. Not now, at least. Back when he was still Dream, probably. But not now.

“D’you have a sweet tooth, too?” Robert asks, turning those soft brown eyes of his to Desire.

Desire grins wide. “Oh?” They purr. “Does my elder brother have a fondness for the sweet,” they turn to look at Morpheus who is currently glaring over at them from his spot on the couch. He’s bundled up in a thick fuzzy blanket and just the top of his head and eyes are visible. Desire shoots him a teasing look, their lips drawn into a smirk. “and indulgent?”

Morpheus narrows his eyes even further at Desire and it makes them chuckle. They can feel so much more from him now that their brother is human. Back when he was Dream, he’d kept a lid tightly locked over his desires, not wanting to give them anything. The only times Desire would ever feel anything rolling off of their brother was in the height of his relationships. And even that was brief. Not because they didn’t last long (although that was certainly part of it) but rather as soon as he’d realized what he’d done, Morpheus would trap those thoughts and wants back tight again.

Desire hears Robert laugh. Turning, they see the man staring over at their brother, the fondness in his eyes, unmistakable. Desires pop up like bubbles, spilling from his heart. Images of him holding Morpheus close, tucking the blanket tighter around his thin frame. Robert places a kiss on his forehead, muttering sweet nothings into his skin. Flashes of matching rings, of weddings, his heart unable to decide where, so the scene flickers between unlimited spots. The feelings of warmth, of love, of holding something so dear to him in his arms. The pang of longing long since dulled, but still present when his heart thinks back on their times together when Morpheus was still Dream. Desire has to look away lest they feel overwhelmed at the sheer intensity of one man’s wants.

“He certainly enjoys his syrups. And desserts. And chocolates.”

“Hob…” Morpheus grumbles under the blankets. Hob, yes. The once common nickname turned pet name with sole use by one ex-Endless. Desire does their best not to gag at the sheer amount of pleasant domesticity engulfing them right now.

“One or two?” Robert asks, turning back to Desire. They don’t need food. None of the Endless do, not really. But they are Want and what they want is to see how well this man’s cooking holds up. If this was the man Morpheus was choosing, he’d better be a decent cook, at least.

“Two of your best,” they say, leaning back, their hands propped behind themself. They fold their legs over one another and watch as the immortal dishes up two freshly made slices of french toast on a plate. “You can choose the toppings. I’m curious what you’ll pick.” Robert nods and gives them a thumbs up as he goes about lathering each slice with butter. He places some slices of strawberries on top of one before placing the other slice of toast on top. Robert finishes it with a hefty pour of maple syrup (the good stuff too, it seems. No corn syrup or other thickeners. Desire appreciates the dedication) and finishes it off with a dusting of powdered sugar and a few dollops of whipped cream. It looked positively decadent. More dessert than breakfast.

He hands the plate to Desire before working on another identical plate. “This is Morpheus’s favorite way to have it. Not that I blame him. It’s really fucking good.” Robert laughs. “Definitely not an everyday breakfast though if you want to be able to move for the rest of the day.”

Desire hums as they slip off the countertop and make their way over to the couch. They fall into the cushions and swing their legs up on top of vaguely where Morpheus’s lap should be. Their brother groans, shifting to let the blanket fall further down his body. It stays firmly wrapped around his bottom half, but his torso is now mostly freed. He’s wearing- Oh for the love of - of course he’s wearing one of Robert’s jumpers. Desire knows it’s not Morpheus’s because there’s no way their brother would ever wear something as ugly as that shade of green. Humanity may have changed him, but they know for certain fashion was still important to their brother.

Robert brings over his and Morpheus’s plate. He hands it to their brother with a kiss to the top of his head before taking a seat in the chair to their right. “It’s nice to see you, Desire. Glad you dropped by.” Robert says, cutting into his own, significantly less sugary slice of toast.

“I doubt my brother feels that way,” they say, scooping up a dollop of cream onto their finger before plopping it into their mouth. It was light and sugary and delicious. Desire supposed they had a bit of a thing for sweets as well. Maybe it was an Endless thing.

“Why are you here, Desire?” Morpheus asks, eyes narrowed. Always with the narrowed eyes. Desire’s not sure they’d ever seen their brother not narrowing his eyes at them.

“Because I wanted to.”

“Yes, but why did you want,” Morpheus says, mimicking Desire’s tone. “To come?”

“Oh, well. I always want to cum~” Really, it was the perfect setup. Could anyone blame them?

Morpheus rolled his eyes and Robert just chuckled as he ate. “Do not play games with me, sibling. I may not have the powers of my old office, but I am human now. And there are laws that prohibit actions you may wish to take. Tread carefully.”

Desire sighs and cuts off a piece of their breakfast, stabbing through the thick layers of bread and sugar and cream and waves the bite around on their fork. “So melodramatic. Glad to see you haven’t changed.” They swing their fork into their mouth, licking the dripping syrup off of the end of the prongs.

Oh. Well. This was rather tasty. Robert isn’t a terrible cook, after all. That’s alright then.

“Sibling…”

“Oh relax, Morpheus. I’m not here to fuck with you, as determined as you are to think so.” They huff, setting their plate onto the coffee table in front of them. “I simply wanted to make sure you weren’t withering away with your new found humanity. Couldn’t have you dying in a corner because you forgot to eat or insulted the wrong man with your social ineptness.” They shrug. “I wanted to make sure you’d be around long enough to still mess with, after all.”

“Desire, I-”

They point their finger at their brother who is now staring at them with wide eyes. Ah. So he does know how to do something other than squint. “I will still be messing with you. Don’t think I won’t.”

Robert huffs with laughter and shakes his head. “That’s nice of you, Desire. But I can promise you, I’m not letting Morpheus keel over, no matter how hard he tries sometimes.”

Morpheus turns and glares at Robert. “It was one time, Hob.”

“Yeah, still scared the shite out of me. And now you’ve never fainted because you hadn’t eaten for a whole day since, have you?”

Desire watches in amusement as their brother shrinks into the couch, holding his untouched plate of sugar and carbs closer to his chest. “No,” he mumbles, beginning to divide a bite-size piece from the whole.

“Good. I’ll hold you to it, Gadling.” They say, standing. They brush off their skirt, the small spots of powdered sugar falling away at their desire to do so. “I’ll know who to punish if my brother does wind up dead in a ditch somewhere.”

Robert meets their gaze, the easy smile he seemed to always wear falling away to a more serious expression. “And I’ll have earned it.”

Desire nods. “Then we understand each other.” They sigh, rolling their head. “Well! This has been lovely, but duty calls. Robert, thank you for the most delectable breakfast.” They turn to their brother, who was still staring at them with open eyes. “Morpheus, don’t die.”

He huffs, but nods. A bubble bursts from his brother’s heart and Desire feels his own stop. A vision, a want, appears. Morpheus and Desire are sitting there, on the couch, laughing easily with one another, as they watch something non-descript on the television. They smile at each other. Desire rests their head on their brother’s shoulder and Morpheus leans his cheek to rest on top. Just like they used to when they were much, much younger.

A tear falls down their cheek. Morpheus looks up with concern in his eyes. “Desire?”

Desire turns their head, wiping away the offending tear before shimmying their shoulders with flair. They would not cry here for such silly things, especially not in front of their brother. They turn to Robert and wide smile, ignoring the twirling feeling inside themself. “My brother wishes you would bend him in half and choke him while calling him babygirl.”

“DESIRE!” Their brother yells.

“What…” Robert all but whispers.

In a blink, Desire vanishes, retreating back to the Threshold, cradling the desire of their brother against his heart.

[formshaper]

"This is how you like to have fun?" While watching/hovering around whatever Dream is up to. He's given up the pretense of being interested in dull artefacts around the room, on the excuse of just passing through or being on his way out.

The pretense was endearing while it lasted. Dream's vast senses had attuned to the Corinthian's presence even if his physical manifestation paid little overt attention; watching him without watching him, feeling the slow wandering of him around the great space that is slowly, bit-by-bit shaping itself into a greenhouse. There are few things in it thus far: mostly tools, packets of seedlings. It takes some time for his nightmare to speak, but Dream pauses when he does, listening. His hands are dark with soil.

"Fun? Hm."

Dream considers it. None of these items are necessary. None of this is necessary. All of it could be done with a thought; with the barest exertion of his will. He could raise the glass walls and ceilings and let greenery blossom and burst around them. It could be done in moments, with none of this toil. He would not have to touch the soil he spreads for planting. He would not have to take up a trowel to dig little holes for the seeds. He would not have to water them, tend to them, talk to them or watch them grow from seed to sprout to fully-fledged plant.

And where would the magic in that be?

"Yes..." Dream says, slowly. "Yes, I suppose it is."

He thumbs at some of the dirt between his fingertips, watching the little grains fall to meet the rest of the soil. Morpheus would never have dirtied his hands thus. He would have taken the obvious, instant route, or he would have assigned dreamkin to the task; Mervyn, perhaps, and others, and left them to it. And the greenhouse, the layout, the placement of the plants--it would have been neat, orderly. This one will be what it will be: it will be wild.

"I think..." Hesitation, then. He glances at the nightmare and then away, down to the seeds he hasn't yet covered with the soil they need to grow. Then he kneels down to be closer to them, pristine robes pooling around him in a flood of white.

Morpheus would never have knelt.

"I think I like to watch them grow," he says, cupping soil over one of the seeds, spreading it flat. Burying the little ball of possibility under the earth, feeling the life in it; not life as it is in the Waking world, but life nonetheless. "To see what they might become under my care, but not my control."

[cillirishan]

noone will care but i'm currently reading Preacher comics so I want to make some icons or layouts of this series because I loved the characters and plot is so good too. If nothing happens I'll start to read The Boys comics after Preacher. After that... idk American Vampire maybe (I read the first and second volumes but in my country they didn't publish vol 3 and 4 so I will reread first two cuz I forgot) or Neil Gaiman comics... not Sandman tho I already read that but tbh I reallllyyy missed Morpheus maybe reread idk

just wanted to say that I just wanted to talk about comics, I needed to yap

[radwolf76]

My memory of walking into Blockbuster is so vivid it comes with a diagram:

If the layout seems especially familiar, several authors and at least 2-3 virtual space designers have asked me questions about my recollections of this particular store in support of projects they were working on.

Working there for half a decade, I don't just remember myself walking in, I remember the times you walked in too. Not just the magnetic-activated door-open chime on our vestibule's inner entrance door, but also the subtle creak of the drop ceiling acoustic tile lifting due to air pressure changes from the outer entrance door opening.

(Except for the one customer that my store called Willie the Ninja. Looked like Morpheus from the Matrix, would just show up in the store without either triggering the entrance chime or making the ceiling creak. Gave a formal bow when he was done checking out.)

reblog if you remember what it felt like to walk into blockbuster

reblog if you remember what it felt like to walk into blockbuster

[unholyorpheus]

ena (she/her) — please read my pinned before requesting!

my super cool editing game: character/source on her whitelist + 🎨 for pride icons with her hcs for the character, character/source on her whitelist + 🎀 for an edit with a character she thinks they would be friends with (always open!)

welcome to my super cool editing sideblog! my editing style is pretty simple as i am kind of new to editing. thank you for checking me out! what i do:

icons (simple/shaped/pride)

layouts (twitter/tumblr/discord)

rentry graphics/stamps

i am working to expand my… arsenal of edits.

white/blacklist:

WHITELIST: bandori, project sekai, genshin impact (selective with men), honkai impact 3rd, honkai star rail (selective), d4dj, enstars (selective), danganronpa, fanganronpa (drdt, dra & sdra2, project eden’s garden), omori, class of 09 (girl students only), ddlc, nso, tcoaal (NO SHIPS), kpop/jpop/cpop idols (icons only), unlucky morpheus

BLACKLIST: real people unless listed in whitelist, problematic ships/media unless listed, hifumi yamada, teruteru hanamura, haiji towa, udg ships (except tokomaru), male class of 09 characters

i am selective with sources not on my whitelist.

general request rules:

be as specific as possible. list the character and source, type of edit you want, general aesthetic and color scheme, and even the image size if you wish. if you are not specific, i will edit how i see fit.

be nice. please and thank you is always appreciated.

do not send in request when requests are closed. they are closed for a reason! i will reject your request.

please do not continue to request something that has already been rejected. it will not be done.

if you don't want people to tag your request as kin/id/me or f/o please tell me! i will not do your request if you want no f/o tags on tsukasa tenma or no kin/id/me tags on fischl.

feel free to ask if i edit for a source not on my whitelists.

the mod is a MINOR, do NOT send in any nsfw/suggestive requests.

main blog is @chikainowingbeat, all of this blog's interactions are from there!

[knightofsword]

hello! i am mod mari, and i use she/her pronouns. i am agender aceflux + unlabeled.

i currently make icons, graphics, userboxes, and layouts, but i am currently working to expand my horizons and try new things!

i like most of the medias on my whitelist, feel free to ask me about them :3

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ASK ME FOR UNLUCKY MORPHEUS SONG RECS!!! I WILL SCREAM!!!!

whitelist: bandori, project sekai, d4dj, enstars (selective), hoyoverse games (selective with men), yttd, danganronpa (selective), fanganronpa (drdt, project eden's garden, dra/sdra2), omori, nso, class of 09 (girl students only), the coffin of andy and leyley (NO SHIPS), random animes (try your luck!), kpop idols (icons only), vocaloid (selective with mvs), unlucky morpheus + all related projects.

i am selective with sources not on my whitelist. i am also selective with ships in any media. if you want edits for your oc please ask mod shiro about it. do not request me for ocs.

blacklist: vivziepop media, real people (except kpop idols), class of 09 males, andrew x ashley graves, hifumi yamada, teruteru hanamura, haiji towa, keiji shinogi x sara chidouin, other things unlisted.

[qrownightmare]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ. . . . ⦃Dream of the Endless⦄

/ / If you use: @ qrownightmare on twitter

[fl4minghoe]

❥ [ The Sandman ] The Corinthian icons

please like or reblog if you save/use!! ♡

[mondlevan]

morpheus/sandman messy headers

“♡” or reblog if you save/use — follow me.

twt: @szamofada

[obeychoso]

MORPHEUS RANDOM USERS ?!

favmorphs m0rhesy obeymrphs

luvmrphus sadmrphs g0dmrphus

smanphys favsmph tvsanmph

[strongered]

tom sturridge messy headers

template credits: soppoyami on pinterest. all credits to their respective creators, all were taken from pinterest

like + reblog if u save

[dingusfreakhxrrington]

Dream of the Endless, icon pack. All 24 icons can be found here.

textures - mine & miryaski

each icon comes in 4 different colours (as seen above) but feel free to save them and alter the colours if you want

like, comment and/or reblog if you save

[succumbtofantasy]

So the last time I actually cosplayed was in April for the Distant Worlds concert, to be honest without any dedication, but I kind of feel like I need go get back into it, only then it appeared to be just the right time for #thesandman to be released. #Morpheus is just the right character lately to give it a try and returning to my once loved hobby of cosplaying. I hope I will do him justice, until everything is fixed have a mash-up of where this month's money went... (All pictures are of product I recently ordered) #cosplay #cosplayer #sandman #netflix #sandmannetflix #black #layout #dream #endless #dreamoftheendless (hier: Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch6n8c5K4z9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[aralezinspace]

Spoon Theory

Requested by anonymous: reader unexpectedly says they want to marry morpheus when they're together in the dreaming, and the statement takes him off guard? reader panics when he takes too long to respond and they jolt themself back to the waking world in embarrassment while morpheus metaphorically kicks himself in the shins for not saying yes when he shouldve. eventually they talk things out after reader finally returns to the dreaming

A/N: I tweaked it a liiiiiiittle bit, hope that's okay! Y'all do you have any idea how hard it was to find an ancient marriage/proposal/love declaration that could be turned into an accidental proposal ?? like I studied history in college and had to use all my rusty research skills xD Hope you enjoy it!

~~Requests for Morpheus and the Doctor (9-13) are open!~~

It came to you one rainy Saturday afternoon that you had decided to spend at the local antique shop. About half of the items on the shelves were junk, but they had meant something to someone at some point. Fingertips brushed gently over figurines and buttons, jewelry and old postcards. But then, something caught your eye, hidden behind some silverware and a small porcelain horse.

It was a carved wooden spoon, lovingly crafted over fifty years ago. The little attached tag said it was an old Welsh tradition, to carve a wooden spoon for the one you loved. The carvings all had different meanings as well. You took a photo of the tag for future reference- being rather crafty and good with your hands, you had wanted to make a gift for Morpheus, but had no idea what.

Until now.

~~

That night, while you dreamed, you made your way to Merv’s workshop to ask for the tools and materials to make your gift. It took you a while to find the place; you had only been seeing Morpheus for about a year, and the castle layout tended to change with the wind. Merv was more than happy to help, even giving you a wide pumpkin grin when you told him your plan. The two of you worked in a companionable silence on your respective projects: Merv worked on a new door for Abel’s house (Goldie had accidentally torn the old one off its hinges) and you carved away at your spoon.

A sketch of your design was pinned to the wall above the table where you worked, along with a page of notes on what each symbol meant. You worked with single-minded focus, tongue between your teeth as you carefully whittled away at the block of wood.

A twisted stem to show your intertwined lives. Three chain links for loyalty. A key for safety. And a heart for love.

A few nights later, you were rubbing the final coat of polish into the grain of the spoon. Merv whistled his appreciation as you threw the polish-soaked rag onto the work bench. “Looks real good kid, you should be proud.”

“You think he’ll like it?”

“Oh, definitely. He loves everything you do. And something you made with your own hands? He’s gonna go crazy.”

~~

The next night, you raced to your rooms the second you appeared in the Dreaming, knowing you didn’t have much time before Dream sought you out. There was no way he hadn’t noticed your arrival in his realm. The spoon was already wrapped in a silver box, hidden in the back corner of your wardrobe. Your heart pounded in your chest, pumping your nerves through your entire body. You hoped and prayed he’d like it.

Box held in trembling and slightly sweaty hands, you walked through the halls to the gardens. It was one of your favorite spots. Morpheus would be there before long. You sat on a stone bench, forcing yourself to breathe and stay calm.

You felt Dream’s power slide over your skin a few minutes later. You jumped to your feet and hid the box behind your back. “Hi Dream,” you chirped, smiling somewhat nervously. Of course he noticed, you were an open book to him.

“Something wrong, my love? You seem nervous.”

Slowly, you withdrew the box and mumbled, “I, umm… this is for you.” Whatever Dream was expecting, this wasn’t it; he thought something was wrong. He carefully took the box in long, pale fingers.

“For me?” You nodded. “Yea, I just wanted to make you something.” His gaze lowered to the box as he removed the lid, revealing the spoon.

The whole Dreaming seemed to stand still. Morpheus was fixated on the spoon, glacial eyes frantically darting over all the symbols carved into the wood. The silence was spine-chilling, unnerving. “D-do you like it? I made it myself.”

He looked back at you so fast you almost got whiplash. Before you could say anything else, he raised a hand, and with a gust of sand, you found yourself awake in your bed.

~~

Morpheus stood in the same spot, a slight imprint in the grass the only indication you had been there. The box holding the spoon you made was still tightly clenched in his hand. He could not deny that it was beautiful; he could see the love and care you had poured into every minute spent carving it. But then, surely you knew just what such a gift entailed?

He did not dare get his hopes up. You had not been courting for very long, and surely you would consider this a huge step in your relationship. Yet his thoughts ran away from him: he could not help the rose colored fantasies that skipped across his mind of the two of you, living together in bliss.

You had offered him everything he could have ever wanted with you in a silver box, and he had panicked, sent you away. That brought a whole new wave of worries: would you resent him? Would you even speak to him again? Were you hurt, crying?

Not to mention, Death would never let him live it down.

~~

The next night, when you found yourself in the Dreaming, it was outside the palace. Your stomach writhed and churned with nerves, the empty spaces filled with dread. How could you possibly face Morpheus after yesterday? Clearly he had interpreted your gift in a way you did not intend, and you two needed to talk, but it was sure to be awkward and uncomfortable, maybe even painful.

With a heavy sigh, you started walking towards the palace, but it felt more like walking to your execution. You couldn’t seek him out, not yet. Not when you didn’t understand a single thing about his reaction.

Your footsteps carried you to the library, where Lucienne was working diligently as usual, writing in a large ledger with a sleek black pen. She looked up when she heard your footsteps, the smile when she saw you immediately falling from her face when she saw the state you were in.

“Oh goodness, what happened?” she put her pen down and pulled a chair next to her, giving the seat a pat in invitation. You slumped into the chair and hid your face in your hands as you told her the story of the previous night. When you were done spilling your worries, you peeked through your fingers, watching as she took off her glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief before replacing them on her face.

“Y/N, my dear, I’m guessing Lord Morpheus did not explain himself, which is why you have come to me.” You nodded. Lucienne sighed again. “One moment.” She left the table and headed into the maze of shelves. When she returned a few anxious moments later, she was holding a small green book, turning the pages as she walked. By the time she reached the desk, she had found the spot she wanted.

Without a word, she handed you the open book and nodded for you to read the page. Your eyes darted over the text once, twice, three times, widening as you absorbed the words.

“MARRIAGE?!” you yelled, earning a glare from Lucienne as your voice echoed off the walls and ceiling. “Marriage?” you repeated in a mortified whisper, looking at the page again just to make sure you had read the words correctly. “But- it was just a spoon! D’you think- you think that’s how he took it?”

“I have no doubt in my mind. Perhaps he could have handled himself better, but I am sure that is how it was interpreted.” You groaned and let your head thump against the desk.

“Ugh, how am I supposed to talk to him about this?”

“Talk to me about what?” Morpheus’ gentle baritone came from over your shoulder. You were so absorbed in your thoughts you hadn’t even noticed him approach. Your face turned tomato red as you looked up, refusing to meet his eyes. Lucienne quickly murmured an excuse and took her leave. The tense, thick silence stretched between you for what seemed an eternity.

“So…” you began softly, apprehensive. “How’s your day going?”

“Well.” His response was an equally uncertain murmur. Silence again. Before you could break it with another awkward question, Morpheus cleared his throat.

“Y/N, I wanted to apologize for my poor reaction yesterday. It was ungracious of me.” His hands were jammed into his pockets, you could see his fingers clenching and releasing behind the soft black fabric. “Please do not think I am rejecting your gift, I was taken quite by surprise.”

“It’s okay,” you sputtered quickly. “I didn’t know that's what it meant, that I-“ you let out a short, barking laugh at how absurd it all sounded. “That I basically proposed to you.” A sigh. “I just saw a spoon like that one in an antique store, and the tag said they were made as gifts for the one you loved, and I thought it would be nice to give you something I made, like you’ve done for me.” The tomato red in your cheeks had faded to a bashful pink blush. “It’s okay, I would have been surprised too.”

The barest hint of a smile touched the Dream Lord’s face, his relief palpable in the air. Maybe it was his age showing, maybe he was old fashioned, but your understanding and forgiveness of his slight was more generous than he thought he deserved. “It is beautiful,” he assured you, his eyes dropping to the spoon. “And your desire to gift me the labor of your own hands is… touching, in a way I have not experienced for some time.”

He placed the box on Lucienne’s desk and took your hands in his. “And while I desire nothing more than to spend eternity with you as my partner, I am prepared to wait as long as you need to feel confident in that decision.” You sighed again and shifted your hands to press a loving kiss to his knuckles. The breath caught in his throat, little tingles spreading through his form from the spot where your lips met his skin. It was such an electrifying sensation, to be the one receiving a gesture he so often gave.

“Thank you,” you murmured against his skin, peering up at him through your lashes with a smile. “Trust me, when I propose for real, it’ll be a much bigger thing.” Morpheus chuckled, already pondering what schemes you’d come up with for that moment, whenever it came.

"Of that, I have no doubt.”

[dilemmaontwolegs]

The Apprentice

Dream of the Endless/Morpheus x f!reader Summary: Morpheus has finally accepted that he needs the support Lucienne can offer in running The Dreaming. With her responsibilities increasing and The Dreaming population once more returning to fill the city, she needs more help running the Library of Dreams. Enter the apprentices. Warnings: mentions of nightmares, fluff, shy reader WC: 1974

“Good morning, apprentices,” Lucienne greeted as she strode into the grand foyer of the Library of Dreams. “Gather ‘round.”

You took a space among the three other recruits and tugged at the hem of the waistcoat you had been given as part of the uniform. The dress shirt, waistcoat and tailcoat were similar to what the Head Librarian wore but where hers were shades of mahogany, the apprentices wore lighter shades of grey. 

“Your roles are straight forward, but by no means simple. You will be integral to ensuring the Dreaming and Waking World seamlessly co-exist by recording and cataloguing each and every dream interaction. Our Lord will often roam the Library of Dreaming so everything should be exactly where it belongs.

“Three rules to remember. One: Lord Morpheus should not be disturbed. Two: Mervyn is not to smoke within the Library. Three: You each have a whistle in your breast pocket - it should only be used in an absolute emergency.”

You raised a tentative hand and tried not to shy away as her attention was centred on you. Her hands clasped behind her back and she gave a small, kind smile when she realised how nervous you were. “What would be classed as an absolute emergency?”

“Flooding or fire,” she said before she checked the pocket watch that hung inside her tailcoat. “Any serious threat to the books or yourself would warrant a whistle. 

“You have each been given a section of the Library, return all of the books on the trolleys to the shelves and familiarise yourself with your section. Now if you will excuse me I must be on my way.”

She cast a quick glance down the line up, giving herself a nod before departing and you exhaled the breath you had been holding. The moment the doors closed behind her the other apprentices all began chatting to each other excitedly around you but you remained quiet as you thought over the three rules.

“I heard if someone displeases Morpheus he erases them completely,” Vienna whispered across her trolley to Kala who was stacking hers high with returned books. 

“He is Lord Morpheus,” you corrected quietly as you pushed your full trolley towards your section. Vienna and Kala giggled with each other in your wake, no doubt making a joke at your expense, but you continued on your way. There was only one of the apprentices who made an effort to include you but her section was the furthest from yours and you rarely saw her because of it.

It was easier to keep to yourself, at least that is what you told yourself when the others finished work and departed as a group. You loved the library because it was acceptable and positively encouraged to be quiet within these walls, and that suited you perfectly.

You were deep into the heart of the library but it was no longer a labyrinth after the months you had spent learning its layout. The magical twists and turns had left your head spinning in those first weeks and you had almost been tempted to blow the whistle you carried when panic began to rise in your chest. Every time you had felt your heart beginning to leap out of your chest the library seemed to sense it and the next corner took you exactly where you needed to go.

Picking up the leather bound book on your trolley, you scanned the rows of shelving and found the correct space to slot it in. The creased spine of the book had just lined up with the rest of the shelf when the silence was broken by the hiss of a page being turned. You looked up and down the aisle but found no source of the sound, so you grabbed a heavy volume and crept along. 

The polished wooden floors seemed to understand your need for silence and for once they didn’t creak underfoot as you approached the sound. Shadows flickered from the sconces that lined a small reading nook up ahead so you raised the heavy book high above your head, ready to defend the library from whatever being had taken up residence inside. 

“I do hope Lucienne never finds out what you planned to do with Harriet Nelson’s Book of Dreams, Volume 11.”

An indignant squeak that bordered on a scream escaped you and the heavy book slipped from your fingers. Pale fingers curled around the spine as he swiftly moved towards you and saved you the utter embarrassment of receiving a concussion from the thousand bound pages.

Lord Morpheus gently placed the book on the armrest of the chair he had been sitting in, reading in solitude. “Who are you?” 

You tucked your hands behind your back as Lucienne always stood, straightening your back as you answered, “N-no one?”

“Is that a question or a statement?” The lights seemed to burn brighter at an unseen command so he could look at you with a scrutiny that left you fighting the urge to back away.

“I don’t know?” you admitted. “I’m not quite sure if I should be talking to you.”

He took a step back as he sensed your unease. “Pray tell, why is that?”

“We are not to disturb you. You are the King of Dreams and I am just one of the apprentices.”

“And nightmares.”

“Excuse me?” you spluttered as your hands fell to your side and your eyes narrowed. “I am not a nightmare.”

“I am the King of Dreams and Nightmares,” he corrected with a hint of amusement.

Your lips parted with a silent ‘oh’ and stared at them in a way that had your heart skip a beat. “I should return to my work. Thank you for catching the book, your Lord…my Majesty…oh sweet lord…”

“Morpheus works perfectly well,” he said with a barely restrained smile, his eyes glittering with stars. “Though Sweet Lord does sound enticing.”

“I’m glad you find amusement in my shortcomings.”

He gave a small apologetic smile and took your hand in his warmer one, raising it to his lips. Heat spread across your body as he held your eyes captivated and your stomach fluttered as his full lips pressed to your skin, his breath sending goosebumps radiating up your arm. 

“Your innocence is no shortcoming and I find it endearing, not amusing.” His voice caressed your sensitive skin and the vibration of his timbre shook you to your core. He could tell he had left you at a loss for words as he placed your hand back at your side and reached for the book he had been reading. “In case you find any other surprises hiding in these nooks, I would suggest the whistle as opposed to Miss Nelson’s dream diary. I wouldn’t want Lucienne to lose such a lovely apprentice.”

“Are there threats in the Library?” you asked with a shiver.

He tucked the book under one arm and traced a finger along your jaw as he passed by. “Only the things of nightmares.”

He departed further into the library and you curled your arms around yourself as a chill set in the air that was wholly created from your mind. 

“Whistle and I will answer the call.” You jumped as his voice sounded close behind you but when you turned there was no one there, just your trolley in the distance waiting for you to return.

“Did you hear what happened to Kala?” Imani asked as she straightened her necktie before entering the library for another day of work. 

You shook your head, trying to remember the last time you had seen the third apprentice. “Did her head finally grow too large to fit through the library doors?”

Imani grinned at the thought but waved the idea off. “She had to use her whistle. A nightmare went rogue and was destroying the books.”

You immediately felt guilty for your joke, imagining just how terrified she must have been to find that. “Did it hurt her?”

“No. She thought it was looking for something. Swore it tried to speak with her but she couldn’t understand it.” Imani shrugged. “Maybe it was just the panic. What could a nightmare want to find in this place?”

“I don’t know.” 

The question lingered in your mind long into the day as you moved swiftly through the aisles. You were so consumed by the enigma that you didn’t notice Morpheus had joined you until he pulled you into the shadows of a nook and tipped your head back with the tips of his fingers under your chin.

“You are distracted.”

You sighed with relief that it wasn’t the nightmare that had caught you and fell into his embrace. There was nowhere safer in The Dreaming than in Morpheus’ presence. 

“I heard about Kala,” you said softly, your hands slipping inside his cloak as you curled your arms around his waist. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It is not for you to worry about.”

“There is a nightmare in the library, I beg to differ.”

“There was a nightmare but it has been disposed of,” he assured you with a kiss on your forehead. “If it would please you, I will let you know all things pertaining to the library in the future.”

“I keep searching the shadows, expecting something to jump out of them.”

Strong hands gripped your shoulders and Morpheus bent his knees so he was looking at you eye to eye. “I know this is your safe haven, and that nightmare invaded your sanctuary. It has paid dearly for that transgression, I promise you.”

You expected nothing less, he knew what this place meant to you. You loved this place more than anything, except Morpheus. When you were not working he would still find you roaming the endless aisles, your nose stuck in a book while your mind went on an adventure far away from the seat you had nestled into. You lived through the dreams of others.

“Did you ki- was it uncreated?” you asked hesitantly.

He inhaled deeply as his hands idly ran up and down your arms. “Would you prefer that it were free to remain roaming The Dreaming?” 

You chewed on your bottom lip as you debated speaking your mind but he had always encouraged you to voice your opinion. “I think that if anyone can understand how precious a second chance is it would be you.”

Morpheus pulled you flush to his body, his hand warming the back of your head as you nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck. His thumb idly stroked you as he fell into a heavy silence of self-reflection before he placed a teasingly quick kiss on your lips. “Always the voice of reason, my darling.”

He pulled away and you frowned at the loss of his warmth. “Where are you going?”

“A wise woman has reminded me of something I had forgotten.” You rose to meet his lips, savouring the fleeting moment before he would depart and clung tighter to his dark cloak as he pulled away breathless. ”I have a nightmare to recreate.”

“Have you chosen tonight’s book?” you asked as he started on his way.

“You choose, my sweet, something absolutely nonsensical,” he said with a smile over his shoulder.

With a smile and a lightened heart, you went back to work. You knew almost as many of the dreamers' names as Morpheus did, the millions of books that had passed through your trolley were often opened. There was one you had briefly perused and found their dreams to be full of abstract, fantastical beings. It was their book you would borrow when you finished work.

An evening spent fireside, your head resting in Morpheus’ lap as he reads to you. That was all the proof needed to show that dreams really do come true.

[beautifulsnake2162020]

Beautiful Anomaly (Part 2): Morpheus x FReader

(GIF by skulandcrossbones: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/skulandcrossbones/691820696337317888?source=share)

Morpheus x FemReader (present day, its a little hard to explain)

A couple of disclaimers:

1.) This is all based on the Netflix show and I have 0 background on the graphic novel it is based on (so don't expect it to be faithful);

2.) This is a fan work, the only benefit I derive from this is sharing it with the community.

Guess who got inspired and decided to upload this part earlier than expected 😂 As usual the original was way too long so I had to cut it (so yes there is inevitably a part 3 which was originally part of part 2).

Again I would like to thank everyone who loved "Beautiful Anomaly (Part 1)". To those who wants to read part 1 first (which I highly recommend since I'm not sure you could understand part 2 without the context and world building of part 1) you may read it here:

Taglist (if you want to be a part of the taglist just comment requesting so): @winxschester @true-queen-of-mischief @laydreams

You feel Jessamy travel back to the realm of the Dreaming as your physical body is asleep. Seeing the perspective of a raven travelling was an astounding experience. You vaguely remember being a bird once, but that was several eons ago. The plan was that Jessamy would tell Lucienne about what had happened and get possible back up for his rescue.

However

You suddenly feel a gust of pain in your chest. Or rather in Jessamy's chest. It's as if there was a barrier to the gates of the Dreaming.

"Ma'am, I don't understand, this wasn't a problem before." No matter how hard she pushed, the invisible barrier did not allow her to enter.

"Jessamy don't force it, can you still find your way back here?"

"I believe so, I've learned to recognize your energy. Lord Morpheus showed how and he was right; you're very easy to find." So he taught her that too eh.

You briefly awaken and Jessamy had just landed on your window sill.

"I don't understand, why was there a barrier. I don't think Lucienne would do that." You were starting to get legitimately tired when an idea popped up.

"New plan: you rest. I'll inform Lucienne when I enter the dreaming." Jessamy was tired out and simply nodded before gathering some of your clothes and making a bed for herself.

Once you find yourself in the Dreaming, you do your best to summon Lucienne into your part of the Dreaming realm.

However

Something doesn't seem right. It's almost as if you were in a barrier as well. Or rather your dream has been isolated from the dreaming realm.

This can't be because Morpheus is not there. There have been a handful of times when he would meet you or Death outside of the Dreaming in the past and it was nothing like this. Based on what Jessamy has told you, they weren't gone for that long so it shouldn't have any effect on the dreaming realm.

You try transporting yourself to the library. Even if Lucienne isn't there, it was a reliable place to leave a message for Mervyn to deliver to her. But alas you weren't able to do so either.

You wake up puzzled.

"Any luck ma'am?"

"No Jessamy, it seems I too am subject of the barrier. Or rather my area of dreaming is now isolated and beyond my own imagination, I couldn't contact anyone from the castle." Jessamy tilted her head, discerning.

"Maybe ma'am your part of the Dreaming was somehow moved to the waters. Since it has been awhile since you were actively there, your dreams are now in the waters where everyone else dreams are stored. Perhaps that is why you can't summon anyone." She has a point.

"Have you recovered your strength?" You see Jessamy nod back at you.

"Go back to the place where he is imprisoned. Be discreet. The point is to observe the layout of the place, and the habits of those that guard him. No engagement of any kind. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." And she flew off, using what little of the Dreaming realm she could use to cut short the distance from your place to his prison.

While she was spying and recording the layout of the mansion, you start your own part of preparations.

Fortunately, you were born into a wealthy family and it was no problem for you to access it. You were an only child of your parents, the sole grandchild of your paternal grandfather who was part of the new money in his generation which later on you reap and benefit from his passing. Among the grandchildren of your maternal grandfather, you were the only woman, and this lead to both your still alive maternal grandparents to spoil you in whatever way they can. For being people of old money wealth, they were surprisingly supportive when you told them how you wanted to visit England. You did your best not to roll your eyes at how loudly your grandfather was thinking that maybe you could finally find a husband.

This wasn't a social vacation. It was an intelligence operation.

Or at least that's what you kept telling yourself anyway. That it was only that and nothing more.

Jessamy returned to you and together you made a rough draft of the layout that she has observed so far.

"His tools are hidden somewhere, but I can't tell where."

"We'll worry about his tools when he's out."

"I see, oh and I've managed to see the title of the spell book they used." You write down the spell book for a later visit to the library.

"Have you seen him?" She nods sadly. You could already sense the images that she gives you from her mind.

He was trapped in a glass sphere. Still within the magical circle that captured him. Now they've also added a moat of water surrounding him. The guards that watch are alert, but you can tell that they are sleep deprived.

You were about to ask, but a pill bottle was opened and you were able to see enough to be able to read the label.

Forced March

To keep them awake and to prevent them from falling asleep. You don't know all of the ingredients, but you do recall the drug was made with extracting caffeine from both coffee beans and tea leaves and blended with other things to further stimulate the nervous system.

Apart from that, based on what Jessamy has heard: They've recruited enough members into their group to make sure that no one is sleep deprived for long and that each set of guards has had more than adequate amounts of sleep.

The bad news, Morpheus cannot use his power of dreams.

"The Corinthian must have informed them on how to bind and imprison him. My poor lord." You hear the despair in her thoughts. You silently agreed that its the rogue nightmare who has taken initiative to help them imprison his master so he may roam about free.

The good news, if they want to stay awake and have only conscious thoughts then so be it. His weakness, was your strength and well within your abilities.

You just need to make your way to London and be within radius of the imprisonment at the very least. It would be better if you were on location but that's too dangerous and risky. Especially if they have wards, and other unseen magical protection that could harm you if you used your abilities carelessly. The spell book Jessamy saw was one of many, and you weren't taking that risk.

Or at least not uninformed.

If you were going to be on location, at most its to see if you can talk to him using conscious thoughts, and to think of possible escape routes.

For awhile this was yours and Jessamy's routine, you did on the ground research while she spied the manor and what they were doing to Morpheus. You were making arrangements for having enough clothes and resources to be able to go to London for a couple of months at least.

At this point you didn't care if you have to sleep with some son of an aristocratic family and marry into one just to stay in London. If anything it will finally make your grandfather shut up about a husband, and you can be closer to Morpheus.

Not in that way. You mean that in a professional manner. The world would be destroyed if dreams and nightmares could just escape and walk in the waking world.

Or at least that's what you told yourself.

When the time came for you to finally travel to London (albeit with your parents and grandparents but they respect you enough to allow you to roam alone), you can feel Jessamy's excitement in the possibility that Morpheus may finally be free.

You keep telling her that this is still intelligence gathering.

"But there's hope ma'am, hope that we can finally free him." If she was human, you could easily imagine her jumping up and down and running around the room fueled by her excitement.

You didn't have the heart to dash her hopes.

It's not that you weren't an optimist. You like to view yourself as a realistic optimist. Is there a chance that you two could successfully get him out? Yes. Was that chance very small? Also yes. But is there a chance to further spy on them? Very much so.

When you arrived in London and was introduced to aristocratic circles that knew your grandparents, news began to spread about a party in the manor of Burgess.

The place where Morpheus was imprisoned.

"That old creep? Why would anyone want to attend his parties?" scoffs one of the bachelors that you were introduced to.

"Hey now, a party is a party. Especially one wherein I could get away from these old farts." says a woman who is the same age as you, but you turned 19 a few months before her. Apparently the consensus among aristocrats of your generation was that Burgess was a strange man, part of the occult and mystic arts, and that doing anything associated with him is considered to be ungentlemanlike or unladylike.

In short, the perfect place for new aristocrats to rebel against the former generation while being hedonistic.

The perfect cover up for an intelligence mission.

"Is there a party tonight?" You ask taking a sip of the white wine in your glass.

"No, but there's one on Saturday." the woman says to you.

"Then I guess we know where we'll be on Saturday." you give them a smirk as you take a drink from water to balance out the alcohol.

"Oh forget it you two. It's by invitation only."

"No, based from what I know, its only the first hundred to arrive."

"No! Its-" you no longer followed the argument. You got what you need anyway. Later that night in the privacy of your bedroom balcony as you pretend to be writing in your journal while you and Jessamy were conversing as quietly as you can. She was seated on the chair beside you, hidden away from most perspectives except for anyone looking from above.

"Again, what's going to happen on Saturday?" From your periphery, you could see her raising her head through the movement of her beak.

"An intelligence mission."

"What is the objective?"

"Observe and report."

"Observe and report what?"

"Any possible routes that were hidden off that we can use."

"Is that all?"

"...no" she says uneasily. She's forgotten something.

"Check on Morpheus-"

"CHECK ON LORD MORPHEUS!" You could hear her internally berate herself for forgetting that part.

"Jessamy, focus. There's no guarantee that I myself can physically check on him. I need to stay within the party so no one suspects. And for your safety, be discreet." You keep your voice gentle but firm. Enough to show that you're not angry, but firm enough to call her focus.

"But how are you going to communicate with him?"

"If he's awake, I'll project my conscious thoughts to him. If he's asleep, I'll use the energy of the conscious thoughts around me to wake him up."

"And if he doesn't respond?"

"Then at least we'll know that the glass sphere also blocks off telepathy of any kind before actually rescuing him." CRASH! A sound breaks your conversation with Jessamy, startling her into almost flying out for safety. You take large steps towards your door and open it slightly to see what's going on.

You see your grandfather was responsible for the now broken glass set. But this time you've noticed that your grandma wouldn't mind. From what you could see, he's in tears and your grandma embraces him and cries with him.

"Avery is dead!"

"Shh, my love we don't know. The letter says he has the sleeping sickness that's all."

"But Jane, no one has awaken from that. It's an early death sentence."

"My love, have hope, maybe he'll be the first one to wake up." Your grandfather couldn't find it himself to reply as he continues to weep in your grandma's arms.

Your heart breaks for him.

The sleeping sickness was only a confirmation to what you've already known since Jessamy told you that Morpheus was imprisoned.

The waking world is suffering, because the world of the unconscious is out of control without their master. You may not know the true extent of what that entails, but it was important now that Morpheus returns home to the Dreaming.

Even if he had hurt you and your feelings.

This was no longer about you, the being. It was about the world you lived in.

You take one last glance before giving your grandparents-your grandfather-the privacy he needs to weep and grieve. To mourn a dear friend of his and grandma. You may not personally know who this Avery is. But nevertheless he has made an impact large enough to make a normally jolly man weep.

You give yourself time to reflect. You never thought you would be back in Britain. Your previous lifetime before this one was rather short and tragic. A woman who had cancer who died before she could really have a life. Died in poverty and was probably thought to be insane for most of her life. People could later on debate if you really were insane or if the society just brushed poor women like you under the rug to be ignored.

The only reason why you were even able to make it to 20 was because of a good doctor who was one of the few who didn't mind keeping you company. You and he exchanged thoughts and he was one of the few who still gave you some sense of dignity for a patient whom everyone thought was just insane. You asked him why one day. When he could be doing anything else in the world, he chooses to spend time with a sickly woman who was worthless in the eyes of society.

"I don't think you are worthless."

"Why is that doctor?"

"Because unlike many people, you and your stories are interesting and captivating."

"You have interesting stories too doctor. I think you have no idea how your stories have really encouraged me to do my best to live."

"I never thought a story about a mysterious murder victim would have that effect on you."

"It makes me want to know more. And I can only know more if I do my best to live." You stop briefly coughing as he rubs your back. He has already given you your medicine earlier, there was nothing else he could medically do at this point. Looking back, you suspect that maybe he stayed with you because he knew the power of the mind to prevail. Especially when it has company with similar interests.

"It seems like you are one of the few people who think that way. Everyone else thinks that its too confusing."

"Have you tried showing the logic behind how he connected the clues?" He gives you a sad smile.

"I don't think people would like going into the more technical details. Especially if they are outsiders to certain industries. Even those inside would simply think about work and would just be bored to death."

"Is Moby Dick one of your inspirations doctor?" He laughs as he shakes his head.

"Absolutely not, its a fiction that I detest. I couldn't get passed all the industry specific details about whaling."

"Well that's good to know. Maybe its the way you present it doctor. I quite enjoy the story, but I especially love how you would explain the patterns leading up to the killer. Maybe there is a common ground wherein you could write all the details, while keeping it so interesting." You cough once again, this time harder. He gives you warm water with honey to soothe your throat.

"I'll tell you what doctor. What if you could tell it to me first, and then I'll tell you when it gets confusing. Then you could explain it further to me and why it is so important to finding out who the killer is." He pondered briefly in thought before you could sense a warm sense of companionship from his conscious thoughts.

"Very well, I shall have to pay tribute and credit you as my co-author."

"No, doctor I'm not. This is your story, I just want to help make it audience friendly that's all." It wouldn't do you good to simply be sidelined. Based on recent history and how society tends to treat female writers, you're happy to remain an anonymous collaborator.

"That simply won't do. Please tell me how I can give you credit." You think for awhile as you take a breath to calm yourself after a coughing fit.

"When you become successful, can you make me a character in one of your stories?"

"Of course, shall I put your name?"

"No, I don't like my name in this lifetime. May I change it?" You whispered what was your preferred name and preferred profession.

Afterwards his doctor visits also became editing sessions to that now famous story. You weren't able to read it back then. Most of the substantial meat in the story was finished. He just needed to arrange it into the story you got so invested in. You sensed that Death was about to arrive, that you signed your last note to the good doctor whom you have confided in plenty of things. How thanks to help and insight, you were no longer jealous of Hob Gabling.

"He may not want to admit it, and he may not even recognize it. But we all search for companionship at some point. You say he is very empathetic but rigid?"

"Yes, he hurt my feelings by not going to me. And yet I can't blame him for his rigidness because its a way for him to be in control. Otherwise, the world would come to an end."

"Then maybe its because that's one of the few ways he can show he cares."

"He's had women come to his bed who felt loved. I could hardly believe he's ignorant of this fact."

"But have you considered that he admires you so much, because to him you're a phenomenon that is a mystery to him. And rather than unlocking that mystery, he chooses to accept that there are some things that are beyond his understanding. And would rather admire it from afar, than simply be confused by the things you could do and the stories you create." The good doctor has a point. But it was only later on in your last few hours that you could finally admit it to yourself.

"It still wouldn't have hurt to ask me though." He chuckled as he places a thermometer in your mouth.

"I may not be him, but I would like to apologize on behalf of ignorant men everywhere."

You let tears of happiness fall as you write your last note to the good doctor. Even if you wouldn't be associated with this story, even if you were unnamed from his biography, his companionship in this lifetime was worth so much more than the fame that you sensed would arrive soon after.

Dear Dr. Doyle.

Thank you for your companionship

I hope to be remembered not as a sick woman who had a short tragic life. I don't want to be remembered as someone who was unimportant. But a woman who just loved talking about stories and sharing them with you. I want to be remembered as the character you will someday write within the stories you create. I hope that I was an equal in the stories we share.

Once you eliminate all other possibilities, then what remains is the truth. No matter how improbable.

Thank you so much

Signed

Irene Adler, Opera singer, probable spy.

The woman

You hear someone call your name as you return back to the present. The good doctor has kept his promise. You smile briefly as you spot a bookstore along the way promoting that it had copies of the Sherlock Holmes novels. The good doctor may not know who you are in this lifetime but you never forgot him. You helped him in refining the skill of analysis and deduction.

Now it was time to use them in this rescue mission.

As you step down from the carriage, you spot Jessamy in your periphery.

'Jessamy you are a bit obvious, I could still spot you.'

'Oh sorry ma'am.' You give a discreet look at where she was previously. You could no longer visually see her, but based on your bond she's backed up into the shadows and had remained much more still.

Good, it's still too early for her to attempt to go inside. The sun has just gone down, and night was still coming but not yet here. Your group of the new generation's aristocrats were able to get a privileged invitation and were able to arrive early, ensuring that you would be able to get in.

You play the flirt, the wide-eyed naivete who has never been to a mystical place. You were sheltered, you explained. At most the wonders that you've seen were only what was discussed in the public journals. This predictably had them eating out of your hand.

To be safe you need to check if your powers interfered with the wards and other potential magic that was in this place. You gently use a small amount of it on your companions. That way if it was obvious, you could say that it was the Burgess Manor that was doing it and not you. Also by using it first on your own companions, there's less of a chance that any guards would be alarmed at the potential of having a being with supernatural powers within their midst.

You make sure to look away as you gently tap the minds of your companions. At the same time you use your senses to check if there's any detection by the occultists.

No reaction so far.

That looks promising.

There were also no signs from your companions that they felt you in their minds, simply reaching out to their conscious thoughts.

Good. If you can reap their energy amidst being in the party, then you just might be able to communicate with Morpheus. You need to be gentle enough that their brains would mistake it as a subconscious thought. But you need much more people before attempting to do it to communicate.

You also need to be sure that among the occultists they didn't have magic barriers, or if they did, such barriers wouldn't react to what you were doing. In theory it shouldn't be the case. With enough people, you just need even just one or two surface level thoughts from them. You weren't trying to attack their minds, just travel through them and get a little bit of energy along the way.

And if you can help it, you would stay away from the mind of Roderick Burgess. It is too risky and if he began to suspect any supernatural mental presence, it would undermine all that you and Jessamy have done so far.

From the periphery of the window, the night was finally beginning. You send a message to Jessamy that in awhile she should infiltrate the manor. She will be the judge of when that is. She sends back a thought that she had heard the message.

More people enter the manor for the party. More minds to tap into. If the place were overflowing with outside people, then there is a high chance that you don't need to tap into the minds of the occultists.

Speaking of the occultists, there were definitely a few who were on guard duty. About 12 to be exact based on where their minds were. 10 were guarding the prison proper where Morpheus was located. Morpheus, who was resting but very much conscious, was in the center based on the positions. You feel some of them think rather loudly how miserable they were that they were going to miss the party. 2 of the occultists were guarding the entrance to the prison. Probably in case of a rogue partygoer accidentally wanders into their midst.

Once the manor was filled with plenty of visitors, and the gates were closed to anyone who wasn't able to go in, that was the time you began to do your job. Fortunately for you, there was lively music playing, delicious food served in a buffet style that was normally reserved for luncheons. All things that could make people a lot more energetic and would allow you to have less effort.

There was also unsurprisingly alcohol which for your purposes was a double-edged sword. On one hand, if enough people was intoxicated then they wouldn't really notice your presence in their minds. On the other hand, alcohol being a depressant meant that their conscious thoughts would have less energy and would require more effort from you. The more effort you exert, the higher the chances that you would get caught by one of the occultists, if not by Burgess himself.

If nothing else happens tonight, the least you could do was suggest the presence of some stimulants to make the next party even livelier.

Jessamy was able to infiltrate the premises through an unused chimney. How she was able to travel down the chimney, you have no idea.

'Remember be discreet' you send to her. It was still too early to do anything to help Morpheus that wasn't planned.

'I will ma'am' a part of you wonders if she's getting annoyed at you being cautious or maybe it was your almost constant reminding.

Probably both.

You engage in the festivities, or rather you did the average amount of activities that would throw anyone suspicious of you off. You drank enough alcohol to be tipsy, but not inebriated. You drank lots of water and had eaten a lot of the food offered. Before leaving you also made sure to have taken a heavy meal just in case. You danced enough dances to at least 5 different songs. The men were rather astounded by your stamina on the dance floor. You teased them enough to suggest something more, but your words alone couldn't implicate you in anything scandalous.

Or at least nothing that was scandalous beyond the norm for a rebellious aristocratic woman.

No one questioned why you needed to rest and take a breath in a less crowded area, but was still a part of the party area of the manor. Some men followed you, but after acting too tired to do anything beyond flirting, they left you. In order to get yourself to be alone, you pretended to be drowsy and sleepy.

The irony of that doesn't escape you. You were more awake than ever. The energy from the conscious minds that were nearby was almost like a double espresso shot that made you want to move around.

You take a breath, gently tapped the the minds of the party goers. For tonight you decide to avoid using any of the minds of the occultists. The information you and Jessamy had were still lacking, and when there were any doubts as to what you should do, you would pick caution. Fortunately, the night was still young and not too many people were drunk yet. It didn't take you much effort to gather energy from their conscious thoughts and to have your message travel to Morpheus.

Jessamy had just arrived too in the prison proper. Her movements slower and more stealthier than what you've felt from her before.

'Jessamy, do you think you could still talk to Morpheus?'

'I thought that was your job?'

'Try talking with him first, then I'll try it with mine. Either way I'll still feel it.' Through Jessamy's eyes you see that Morpheus was very much awake despite him lying down. His eyes were glaring at his guards.

'Lord Morpheus, its Jessamy. If you can hear me sit down.' You await.

He remains where he is, glaring at the guards.

'Ma'am I'm going to try moving closer.'

'How close are you planning?'

'I'll try going in the area.'

'No'

'But ma'am'

'Safety first, there are too many guards around him. I haven't tapped into their minds yet but their thoughts are loudly thinking about the party and how stuck they feel.' Thinking quickly you suddenly get an idea.

'Jessamy, more or less how far are you from Morpheus?'

'I don't know, about one tree?' her brain gives you a reference to what tree she's referring to.

So about a couple of meters and a half more or less.

'Stay where you are. I'll try to use you as a conduit to talk to Morpheus.' You feel her settle down and blend in more with the darkness as you gather the energy of the conscious minds of the party.

'Morpheus, its me. If you can hear me, sit down.' You then gently send the message travelling through the conscious minds of the party goers and when it arrives in Jessamy's mind, you add power to project it on to him.

Now you await through Jessamy's eyes.

It didn't seem like he heard you.

Time to try a different tactic.

You were about to pull out of Jessamy's mind when through her eyes, you see Morpheus look at Jessamy's way. His eyes no longer glaring. But it's an expression that you couldn't read.

'You're here?' Jessamy was about to fly with joy when you sternly reminded her through your own bond to be still.

'With Jessamy, I'm speaking with you through her and the other party goers.'

'LORD MORPHEUS I'M SO GLAD WE CAN TALK!' You can feel him send her feelings of affection in reassurance.

'How are you? Jessamy please be still, the party is starting to wind down and people are starting to get drunk. I won't be able to use their consciousness much longer without possibly getting caught.'

'Sorry Ma'am.'

'Suffering. That's all I can say. I've been suffering.'

'We'll try to get you out of there but you'll have to be patient.'

'Have you tried telling Lucienne?'

'We've tried but it seems there's a barrier preventing Jessamy from going back to the realm proper and preventing me from calling for Lucienne.'

'The spell that's keeping me contained here must have had an effect on you, through your bond with Jessamy. I couldn't go to the dreaming when I tried resting.'

'That would explain some things.' You start to feel less energized. People are now falling asleep, getting drunk, or both.

'Morpheus, Jessamy and I need to go now, I'm starting to lose-'

'I understand.' You feel him briefly pause before continuing.

'Be careful you two.'

'We will Lord Morpheus.'

'Thank you, Morpheus.' and with that you pull out of Jessamy's mind and she slowly flies out of the prison proper. For your part you slowly open your eyes. It was just in time too. Not too far, you sense a couple go into a private spot for carnal activities.

You normally wouldn't mind, but right now you had to analyze what information you now had. And you can't do that within this space.

But you can't quite leave just yet. That would be too suspicious.

'Jessamy, go ahead without me. I can't leave the party yet.'

'Will you be alright Ma'am?'

'Yes, go to my bedroom and record what we've learned tonight.' You can sense her confused.

'I'm a raven ma'am. I don't know how to write.' You roll your eyes internally. It turns out she wasn't observant to how you recorded details.

'Do you remember the diary I would keep?'

'Yes'

'It's an enchanted object. Simply open a blank page and step on it. It will record what you want to say. It will be done recording your thoughts when you see your name appear at the bottom of the text.'

'Oh' With that she flies away from the Burgess Manor grounds and you proceed to see if there's still any alcoholic beverages left to be consumed. You weren't actually going to drink all of it, but you drank enough to make people think you were drunk.

No one needed to know that you threw plenty of alcohol to either the bushes, the chamber pots, or even to the couch that you were sitting on just to be convincing.

You and Jessamy meet inside your bedroom this time. You're not sure if you were followed, even though you took precautions to pretend to be drunk and inebriated that the hosts had to call a carriage to bring you home.

"Okay, so the glass is not there to prevent psychic attacks."

"Perhaps Ma'am, its to prevent Lord Morpheus from being able to touch the ground and prevent him from using any sand."

"Good point. But what I am confused by is how the ritual circle is protecting everyone else from him."

"Maybe it's just restraining him. After all how else are they able to put him in a glass sphere otherwise?" There's something else that you just couldn't put your hands on. You sigh before turning towards Jessamy.

"I don't know why, but it feels like we are missing something."

"That's why it's an intelligence mission right? To learn more. But oh ma'am this is wonderful, see there is hope that we could rescue him."

A part of you hopes that you would live up to such expectation.

The next intelligence operation is seeing what was the minimum radius required for the two of you to be able to communicate with Morpheus. You're still not willing to risk a surprise counter attack among the occultists. Which is why you're prioritizing this experiment over actually going inside the property again. You didn't like the energy that permeated there. And if either you or Jessamy could avoid going to the Burgess Manor unnecessarily, the better.

Not too far from the Manor was an inn that was large enough to have a lot of people. The more conscious people the better. Around the inn were also various restaurants that catered to the guests of the inn. Both restaurants catered to very different tastes. One, in your honest opinion, was a bastardization of Indian Cuisine. It wasn't spicy enough to bring you memories from when you were living there. But then again, those were the times when you were born male. The second restaurant, was what you would call English cuisine with French techniques. Not too bad, and probably more in line with the general tastes.

It was definitely better than the obvious bastardization of the other.

Now this lead to another conundrum.

While you were from the aristocratic class and have established yourself as part of the rebellious new generation. That didn't mean you could just ignore all mores.

You will need to find a husband.

You expected this since that was one of the conditions that granted you travel to London in the first place. You weren't new to marriage of conveniences. But a part of you wished that you could be able to rescue Morpheus, go back to Quebec, and die an old lady writer who due to her wealth and status wasn't pressured to be married.

But based on the many surprises that you sensed in the Burgess Manor even among the relative safety of a party, to be able to rescue him, would take a longer time than expected.

"You can't just do that Ma'am."

"Softer Jessamy, we don't know who could be listening." You give her a pointed look as you two were at your desk with your enchanted diary.

"But ma'am, well what if you hurt his feelings?"

"Jessamy aristocrats are used to marriage of conveniences. It's first and foremost a contract with the transfer of property. Don't worry I just need to find the right one who would let me do as I please." Jessamy sits down and looks at you with a concerned expression on her face.

"Ma'am, I think you and I both know who I mean." You take a breath. You had suspected for awhile that Jessamy might have mistaken your actions of rescuing Morpheus as signs of romantic affection. Despite your own feelings, you were pretty certain that they were unrequited.

"Jessamy, whatever you are thinking, stop it now. It's never been like that between Morpheus and I." You hate to do this, but this thinking must be nipped in the bud before proceeding. This was a delicate mission as it is. Especially when you were trying your best to keep the two of you alive.

"But he calls you 'Beautiful Anomaly', doesn't that show that he cares for you?"

"Jessamy ... I can't speak on behalf of Morpheus. I may be the creator of conscious thought but even I don't know what he thinks of me. Beings can care about other beings without being in love with them. And based on my mistakes from some of my past lifetimes, its safer to not assume things." If ravens could cry, Jessamy may have begun right there and then.

"You're his raven, he cares about you too Jessamy."

"But it feels different with you. There's a certain tone he uses whenever he talks about you. Almost like reverence mixed with affection." She looks up at you with a distraught expression.

"Surely that has to mean something. You also created emotion ma'am, surely that shows he has feelings for you."

Oh dear.

You really don't want to hurt her feelings.

But the burden was on you as someone who understood the nuances and follies of emotions.

All you can do now is to gently remove that illusion from her mind.

"Jessamy, feelings and emotions can come and go. Yes sometimes they may last longer than most, but its part of living life to feel." You take a breath because you know this would break her.

"But just because there are feelings of affection doesn't mean that there are also feelings of romantic love."

"But-but how can that be? Surely there must be -" she was at a loss for words.

You continue on.

"Jessamy, my most successful marriages throughout my entire existence had one thing in common. Love was a choice, not just a feeling." Despite her thoughts being upset at what you have to say, you could tell that she was still listening.

"There comes a time in a relationship wherein your attraction for each other fades, and you are blatantly reminded of how imperfect beings you both are. The difference lies in whether you choose to work together to resolve any issues you both have, or if you want to leave...if you can leave that is." You lower yourself down to her eye level.

"But Jessamy, that choice is not made alone. To do so would remove the other's freedom to choose. And that eventually becomes resentment and hate. While there are rules and lines that I may cross sometimes, the agency of any being - any being's freedom to choose is one that I won't cross."

"Including Lord Morpheus?"

"Especially him. Especially now that he now has a taste of what's it like to lose that freedom." You can sense her contemplating something.

"But ma'am, why did you choose to help me rescue him if you didn't love him?" There was hope in her thoughts. Hope that maybe my feelings alone could change eons of how he has treated me.

You sadly know the contrary.

"My feelings for him have changed Jessamy. A part of me will still have feelings for him. But those are nothing except my own burden to deal with." You pause for a bit to check if she is still listening to you. She was but it was in despair.

"I chose to help you, because I want to show him that I'm not mad at him anymore. Whether he actually apologizes to me or not, that is something beyond my control. But no one should be robbed of their freedom and be made to suffer like he is suffering right now." You sit up before you open your palms and wait for her to hop in. With gentleness you bring her up to your own eyes.

"Are we clear?"

"...clear" Jessamy says reluctantly.

It's okay.

You just hope that now that you've set things straight, she will not take it against you for marrying someone else. She doesn't have to like whomever becomes your husband, but it is the security you two need to stay in England.

Without a spouse you can't do your radius experiment; instead you go to the next party being held in the manor. Same arrangement, only this time, there were stimulants available to the party guests. And because there were other people who lead the liveliness of the party, you could get away with the bare minimum of socializing.

You still danced your heart away though. This time with multiple male partners who you knew were bachelors.

Good exposure but you felt that none of them were a suitable spouse to your needs. These were young men that had high libidos and loved being in control. None of them would do no matter how excellent dancers and conversationalists they are.

You observe the occultists that were present. To someone who wasn't looking, it seemed they were aloof and preferred to watch from the sidelines.

But that's not what you see.

You see their eyes hold a hunger and excitement that they reigned in. You could even feel some of them look at you with lust as you looked curiously at them.

They weren't being aloof. They were waiting for their targets to be exhausted before they joined in and claimed them as prey.

Perhaps you could use this as an advantage.

Not to marry one of them, but to check if they have magical barriers also in their minds that you should be aware of.

'Be careful ma'am' You can hear the disapproval Jessamy has with that idea. She may not like that you were expressing some amount of interest in other people, but in this case it was really necessary.

Besides, you don't have to actually do anything.

You manage to pair off with one of the occultists. And you manage to convinced him that you two should be alone.

In a place that was near the entrance of the prison cells.

Once you two were alone, you used your powers to manipulate his conscious thoughts. In his mind, the two of you were engaging in carnal pleasure and that he was the best lover you've ever had.

How predictable.

What was actually happening was that you were standing up while he was writhing by himself on the floor. While his conscious mind was busy masturbating his body, you were scanning his brain for any magical surprises and barriers that may interfere with your work.

The only thing that existed in his brain was a magical barrier for the subconscious. There was also the normal anti-brainwashing protection measures that was necessarily part of the subconscious magical barrier, but nothing so far concerning conscious thoughts.

Speaking of conscious thoughts, he was also a high ranking member. Not the very top, but close to there.

This was promising. But inconclusive as to what possible mental surprises those superior to him may have.

Once you've finally allowed him to have his release that was strong enough to bring him to sleep, you then proceed to be in a crowded place. There was an act going on and clearly some of the party goers decided to put on an impromptu show. You hide yourself in the shadows pretending to be drunk and passed out. When you weren't bothered for awhile, you then reached out to Jessamy. You wanted to test if you could still hear him as clearly if you were amidst very stimulated and very conscious minds. You may be farther from him than last time, but you were closer to your source of power. You felt Jessamy there. She has been waiting awhile but you also sensed that she and Morpheus had been talking while waiting for you.

'Can you still hear me through Jessamy?'

'Yes I can. Jessamy has been telling me what you two have learned so far.'

'I want to try something, if it is fine with you. I would like to try to contact you directly from where I am.'

'You're not in the same place as last time?'

'No, I'm further away. But I'm closer to the party, the source of my power to talk with you.'

'Oh I don't mind being a conduit ma'am.'

'Jessamy we need to test this so that I can prioritize your safety.'

'She's right Jessamy. The people here have seen you flying nearby a couple of times. I've not given them any indication that we know each other, but they are starting to suspect you.' With reluctance you feel Jessamy pull away.

You take a breath and redirect your energy. This time instead of sending your thoughts to Jessamy, you send it to Morpheus.

'If you can hear me, tell Jessamy without responding to this directly.' Not long after, you feel Jessamy make confirmation that you've made contact with Morpheus.

'Am I as clear to you as I was to Jessamy?'

'You are actually clearer to me now than when you were using Jessamy as a conduit.'

'She's been very excited at the possibility that you might be getting out right away. No matter how many times I've told her that if we are doing this safely, it will be far longer than what she's been expecting.'

'And you? Given the last time we've spoke...are you also excited when I will be free?' Of all the questions he had to ask now, it had to be that one.

'Of course, no one deserves to be imprisoned and to have their freedom deprived from them. You know my stance in that.' You can feel an uncertainty in his conscious thoughts.

'Do you still hate me?'

'No. No, I don't hate you anymore.' You could feel that his mood had lightened.

'But we can discuss that once you have been freed. Now is not the time.'

'Then how are you able to talk with me longer than last time?'

'I'm the one who suggested the stimulants in the party. The more awake and stimulated they are, the less effort I need to do.' You can feel his approval of your choices so far.

'What do Jessamy and I need to do to set you free?'

'Either find a way to break the sphere and the ritual circle containing me, or make someone fall asleep in my presence. Once they enter the dreaming, I can take over from there.' You ponder a bit before you feel your power draining.

'I have a question about that but it will have to wait. The party is starting to sleep.'

'Of course, and thank you for what you're doing.' You begin to shake your head "awake" but not before sending one last message to him.

'Don't thank me yet. It might be awhile.'

With this new information, progress seemed to be made. You were guarded in your hope that maybe you could free him.

Now all you need to do is find a husband who doesn't care that you're using him just to stay in England.

It was awhile before that happened. But thankfully you've managed to find one who meets your needs. He wasn't interested in women, and neither did he want to have any children to care for. He had already settled this with his family, and the compromise was that he should at the very least get married. You were concerned at first. You were more than aware of the antiquated succession laws that aristocratic families tend to cling to. But he assured you that there were enough legitimate and illegitimate children of the next generation that could deal with it. He made a clause in his will that whomever meets some arbitrary test that proves of the worthiness of the heir, must allow you to keep whatever rooms or properties that you have been given as wedding gifts.

As long as he could be with his male lover, he was more than happy to cover up for your behavior.

A part of you felt that the fates may be favoring you now, because of a price that you'll be paying later.

How little you knew that you were actually right.

Nevertheless, you managed to proceed to stay at an inn. It was a crowded time, so you were able to easily find his mind.

'About someone needing to be asleep within your presence-does it have to be human?' He contemplates first, before replying.

'No, as long as that being is capable of dreaming, then it would suffice.' An idea was beginning to formulate in your mind.

'What if Jessamy managed to fall asleep-'

'Jessamy is a subject of the dreaming-it has to be a being that is from the waking world.' Damn it. But then a thought came to you.

'This is going to sound crazy but what if I used Jessamy as a conduit and I fell asleep. Can you access the dreaming then?' He's thinking. But you felt the doubt before he told you.

'That may require a lot of energy on your part. Your powers are based on conscious thoughts. You might lose the connection to Jessamy as you fall asleep.'

'Even with the bond I've made with her? Can you try to reach out to our bond through your own bond with her?'

'Hmm, we can experiment with it first. Send Jessamy within the Manor grounds during the daytime and I'll try to reach out.' You had a bad feeling about this.

'Morpheus that's too dangerous. You said it yourself, Jessamy is probably known as your raven to your captors now. The more she's there without a plan, the more dangerous it is to her safety.'

'We'll have you. With you nearby you can keep her safe.' You ignore the part of yourself that jumped up when he said "We". You sense Jessamy arrive in the window sill. She taps into both bonds she has with you and Morpheus, thus effectively joining the mental conversation.

'I have a suggestion Lord Morpheus, what if the two of you formed your own bond? That way when she falls asleep, you can access the dreaming through her.' Oh dear, Jessamy clearly did not know what that entailed. The only two Endless who had this bond was their parents. And they never hesitated to emphasize that it is a decision that is not to be made lightly.

'Jessamy, a bond between the two of us would be something more deeper and permanent. It won't be limited to the psychic bond we share or that you share with her.'

'Isn't there a way to make it temporary? And what if the bond is limited to this lifetime?'

'I could ask the fates about it. But I'm not sure what offerings they will want from me-besides if all else fails, I'll just sneak in there, pretend to be drunk and fall asleep on front of you.' You feel him shake his head. And to your surprise you feel some anxiety from him.

'Too risky, I would not have you risk your life for me like that.'

'Then I'll use my powers to make myself invisible in their minds.'

'Until you fall asleep, and by then you would just get yourself killed on front of me.' More anxiety coming from him, this time paired with nervousness. Admittedly today hasn't been the most productive of days. You were supposed to be able to have a plan, but it seems you were stuck.

'Ma'am what if you used your powers to put them to sleep? Like how you gave that occultist guard a-'

'Jessamy, I think all of the other occultists would be very suspicious about all of their guards suddenly having sexual fantasies and passing out from their release.'

'But wouldn't that put them to sleep and Lord Morpheus could enter the dreaming.'

'No, she has a point. Not only would it bring harm to her, but the risk is too high even if the end result would be me escaping. The other guards would be on high alert and would hunt her down.'

'Besides I was lucky that one time. Not all men sleep upon release.' You were getting frustrated, you were getting nowhere with this.

'Can't you use your powers to make them drowsy ma'am?'

'I could, but it's not going to take them to the dreaming. Their mind has a magical barrier guarding their subconscious thoughts. For people to get into the dreaming, those should be unlocked. At most its going to be a very light almost laughably shallow nap.'

'I wouldn't say it is laughable.'

'Don't mock me right now Morpheus.' You say exasperated before taking a breath.

'Then it's back to basics. Study their habits, guard patterns, and everything and anything relevant to breaking you out.' You sigh sadly. If only there was some way to subtly make the guards fall asleep. But to do that you'll have to unlock the magical barriers in their minds. Too much energy. You'll need a party for that. You feel Jessamy slip away from your mental conversation.

'Get some rest' but it seems he still wants to talk.

'How can I when it feels I'm doing nothing?'

'You are doing more than I've ever expected for you to do. How can you not see that?' Is he being serious right now?

'Well for one thing, you're still imprisoned. And I just realized that it has been 4 years now and we're still not getting anywhere. And I don't want to send Jessamy there during the daytime because they will for sure hunt her down.' You take a breath. You calm yourself down before continuing.

'What do you have against me just sneaking down there and sleeping within your presence? It seems pretty straight forward if you ask me.'

'Have you not been listening to me earlier?' You can hear he was upset and hints of the anxiety and nervousness creep back in.

'You'll die.'

'I'll be dying anyway. It's part of my job.'

'Not if I can help it.'

'What's the difference in me dying later and me dying to set you free?' No answer, its been awhile since you have no response from him.

'You need rest. You need to regain your energy.' You feel him sigh but before you leave he still has something to say.

'I can't stop you if you really want to proceed with your plan. But it would cause me great pain to see you die on front of me.' You feel him leave, and once again you were all alone in your thoughts.

After a night's rest, it turns out to your frustration Jessamy was more stubborn than you realized.

"You've been going there in the daytime!?" You shriek as you see her land on the window sill clearly coming from the direction of the Burgess Manor.

"I've been careful, and just observing." You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose trying to keep yourself calm.

"How was I not aware of this despite our bond?"

"Well ma'am you're not a morning person in this lifetime. So I thought since I don't want to disturb your deep sleep, and it was during the early part of the morning wherein you really wouldn't wake up, I decided to be more proactive in our mission." Her voice shrinks, she knows you're very upset.

"How long has this been going on?"

"...Awhile" About 3 months based on her thoughts.

"Does Morpheus know?"

"I've just been observing the habits of the residents there that's all. I haven't tried making contact with Lord Morpheus yet." You're not sure whether this was good news or bad news.

You look at her with a disapproving look.

"Jessamy, I am just as frustrated as you are that we still haven't freed him yet. But I promised him I would also keep you safe. And I can't do that unless you tell me what you've been doing."

"I know, I'm sorry" You don't have to tap into her thoughts or your bond to know how remorseful she is. You take a breath, then you open your enchanted diary.

"Have you at least been recording what you've learnt?"

"...no"

"Okay, I'm upset yes. But I would not have you risking your life in vain."

"Yes ma'am." She then hops onto the blank page of the diary.

"It's the boy ma'am, Alex Burgess. He's not seen by his father. Roderick Burgess neglects him all in his quest to bring his first son back. He could be a potential ally if given the chance." Something about this makes you uneasy. You were all too aware of sons under pressure to gain the approval of their fathers.

This didn't sit well with you.

But then again, who were you to dictate what choices anyone could make.

Despite all your efforts to be careful, if you couldn't stop Jessamy from going there in the day time, the least you could do is to accompany her and cover her tracks. Morpheus too was concerned, but similar to you he was in no position to stop her.

Soon, you almost drained your energy putting concealment illusions on her. She didn't also always tell you whenever she was going to spy on Burgess. Much like before she had a tendency to take advantage of when you were in a deep sleep. And as predicted by you, she was eventually spotted and made a target by Burgess.

The first time this happened, you couldn't help but feel like a failure.

'There's nothing to apologize for. You've learned by now that no matter what you'll tell her if she thinks it will help you, she will do so no matter what.'

'Still, you've made me responsible for her. It's one thing for me to die, I know I'll be reborn again sometime in the future. But if she -'

'Don't think about that. Your thoughts have more power than you've realized.' You feel like he wanted to say more, but he held back for some reason you couldn't quite grasp.

'You need to rest. Jessamy knows the risks. We've both told her and she's not stopping anytime soon. You've nearly drained yourself giving her as much concealment as you could.'

'Out of curiosity, how have you not punished her whenever she defies you?'

'I've sternly warned her before, and after that she at least consults me first before doing anything.' And before you know it you felt yourself going into sleep.

Soon before you realized it, it has been ten years since his imprisonment. Your husband has paid the inn owners a substantial amount of money to allow you to keep the room that was more of your home than the bedroom in your husband's mansion. The tests of Morpheus reaching out to the bond you shared with Jessamy gave all three of you a glimmer of hope that perhaps Jessamy could be a conduit to you falling asleep and Morpheus could enter the dreaming through your bond with Jessamy.

The plan was that you would conceal Jessamy as she infiltrated and caused a distraction. Once she reached Morpheus, she would fly on top giving her safety from the ground should she have any followers. Morpheus would reach through his bond with Jessamy into your bond with her as you fell asleep from your bed in the Inn. He would then be in the dreaming and could escape.

You couldn't help but feel something was about to go wrong.

Sometimes you really wished that you were wrong sometimes.

It was because of this feeling that some nights before the planned escape mission, you requested the three of you have one last mental chat.

'I don't like this feeling, but I have a feeling something is going to go wrong. I can't figure out what it is. And I really wish my feelings were wrong this one time.' You look worriedly at Jessamy. For all the heartache and disagreements you two have had, you really don't want anything to happen to her.

'Ma'am we've planned it out carefully, and you even nearly died concealing me.'

'Jessamy, this isn't going to be like our previous encounters.'

'You're right ma'am, Lord Morpheus will finally be free.'

'Jessamy' You can tell that his feelings were similar to yours. But you also felt hope mixed with desperation from him.

'Lord Morpheus, what's life without a little risk? I know both of you are concerned. And sometimes I am impulsive and don't tell either of you what I've been doing, but if anything happens...just know that I'm glad to have been close with both of you.'

'Jessamy' You feel yourself begin to tear up.

'I know' She gives you a sad smile. So she knows too that something might happen to her specifically.

'I know we haven't been friends for a long time. But is it strange that I sometimes like to think of you as a mother. Ever since we met in Quebec you've always been looking out for me and risking your life for me. I don't know why it feels so different when other people have also been caring for me that way. With you ma'am it just feels different. Is this what it feels like having a mother?' You couldn't respond. You didn't realize that you were too busy crying as you look into her eyes for possibly the last time.

'If you had to pick a mother, she would be one of the best ones.'

Then came the day of the attempted rescue.

So far everything had been going to plan, Jessamy was able to set a fire to distract the guards, and she's now on her way to Morpheus.

Maybe we could make it.

You began to feel Morpheus reaching out from his bond to your bond with Jessamy.

'You're here.'

'I'm here'

He was in your bond, you could feel it. You just needed to fall asleep now and he would be in the dreaming. But then-

"Hello there"

And you felt a knife stabbed from your back. The first of many stab wounds.

No

NO

You struggle to fight back by using your legs, but he has you restrained. And you know you can't lose your mental concentration now.

'Corinthian' You can feel his anger and pain as you try to hold on as long as you can.

No

Not now

For Jessamy

You need to remain alive for Jessamy.

You can die afterwards when she's escaped.

As long as you're alive she remains concealed.

She remains safe.

You need to endure the pain.

Endure till the very end.

Endure until they are both free.

'Lord Morpheus, she's starting to fade away.'

'Jessamy get out of here. She's dying, her powers concealing you will die with her.'

'No, Lord Morpheus we're so close. I'll just break the glass-" You begin to lose consciousness from the blood loss. You couldn't follow what happened afterwards.

But all you can remember was taking your last breath as you felt a bullet wound shot to your back.

AN: ...So how are you 😅 Trust me when I say I cried a couple of parts while writing this.

A few notes that I would like to mention:

1.) Fem Reader aka Life, cannot detect subconscious thoughts. That's not her domain. That's why she can't detect the thoughts of the Corinthian, because the Corinthian is a nightmare made out of subconscious thoughts (at least that's my headcanon);

2.) Jessamy before she established her bond with Life was the one who actively projected her thoughts to Life, that's why Life can "translate" her thoughts. After they established a bond this no longer was an issue;

3.) A friend sorta spoiled me on the Midsummer Night's Dream arc (not the specific details, but just why overall why it was the play Dream gave to Shakespeare), so I thought as an interesting juxtaposition is what if Life is responsible for Sherlock Holmes. The reason why I thought this was because it is so different from what Dream gives Shakespeare. That's not to say that there's no logic in Dreams, but Sherlock Holmes while it is a fantasy is also very grounded in knowing what is the reality is and how there's a logical pattern that becomes so astounding because its so insightful and yet so honest (or at least that's how I felt). And also because I'm a Moriarty the Patriot fan (which will inevitably play out in the 21st Century scenes).

Also yes, Twisted hearts was playing on a loop while I was writing this.

Please don't send me death threats 🙏I'm not yet a lawyer.

It does get better after this, but this was necessary.