#i keep seeing wild takes and I’m just yelling into the void CITE. YOUR. SOURCES.

[snickerdoodlles]

*sees this post pop up in my notes*

*twitches*

I’d made some generalizations in that (which I standby, they’re just coming from an opposite direction) but had to break out the sources and numbers when someone told me I was making generalizations in the same way as the people who “””uncovered””” that AO3 was scraped for AI (no) did and anyways I get tempted to post those notes here sometimes before I have to bonk myself on the head and remind myself no one cares

[colinthecaldwell]

Prompt: Sleeping drugs are no match for your insomnia!

I was sitting in another sterile room with white fluorescent lights humming softly in the ceiling. I wasn't really listening to the lady in the white coat as she talked on and on about the importance of sleep to proper physical and cognitive development in teenagers. My mother listened earnestly, and I figured that was enough for both of us. Besides, I knew all of this already. It's not like I wanted to stay awake all night long, I just couldn't ever fall asleep. Even when I ran that half marathon a few months ago, I couldn't sleep that night either. It's not that I'm not tired. Sleep just doesn't come for me.

The doctor finished her monologue with "...so I'm writing a prescription for something that should solve the mental over-activity at bedtime. Simply take one of these each night before doing your nightly routine, and you should be plenty relaxed by the time your head hits the pillow."

Yeah. I'm sure this one would be different than all the rest.

My mother, angel among people, thanked the doctor profusely as we headed out. On the way home, she tried to encourage me, "Sara, I really think this new doctor knows her stuff. Didn't you hear all the studies she was citing back in there? I feel really good about this new medicine."

My silence was my response.

"I understand you are frustrated by the insomnia. I mean, when I was pregnant with you, I could hardly sleep for the last couple weeks, and I thought I was going to go crazy."

I shot a sharp glance at her.

"Sorry, honey, I didn't mean it like that. I just want you to know that I know how you feel, and I want you to feel better is all."

"Thanks, mom. I know." We drove the rest of the way home in silence.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty bland. I mean, everything is pretty gray when you are constantly running on minutes of sleep. I'm not even sure I can remember what a good night's rest feels like. Luckily, at dinner my brother mentioned something about a guy he had a crush on in one of his classes, so the eager attention of my mother was focused elsewhere. It was kind of nice fading to the back when I didn't have the energy to be in the spotlight. I finished eating and excused myself to begin my lengthy night time routine in an attempt to relax. In my room, I unwrapped the pill bottle with my new script. Eight hot pink pills. I popped one in my mouth and swallowed. When you've taken as many medications at 16 as I have, dry swallowing pills becomes no issue.

Now that was done it was time to relax. I lit some lavender incense, played my "Tranquil Beats" playlist, and sat on the floor. I closed my eyes and began counting my breaths. One... two.... three... four... It's funny that I was raised being told to count sheep to fall asleep, when meditation experts laud the benefits of counting your breaths. I guess people just really like numbers. Whoops, wait, six... or was it five? Ugh, start over. One... two... three...

I was just starting to get into the swing of it when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I couldn't believe someone would bother me when I'm trying to relax before bed! I turned around to shout at who I assumed was my brother only to face a mysterious woman with jet black hair down to her waist. "Hello, Sara," she cooed. Her voice felt like silk brushing across my skin, and I was immediately disarmed. "It's been a long time."

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Don't fret, child, I mean you know harm. I'm Sleep. Dreams should be joining us soon. It's been so long, I can't wait to hold you in my embrace again," she said with a smile. Her presence was so gentle, like your parents tucking you into your favorite childhood blanket.

"You're Sleep? Why are you a woman? What is going on?"

"Shh, shh, child," she whispered reassuringly. "I visit everyone, from the nappers to the hibernators. You just happen to be able to see me now thanks to your new doctor's medication, and if I had to guess why you have this I would say it's because of him," she said, giving me a hard shove. As she pushed me, I felt a weight fall off me as a book off a shelf, and I heard a thump.

"Now wot the 'ell are you on about, eh?" an angry voice behind me yelled. "I found 'er first, an' she's mine! Now if you don't mind, get yer filthy mitts off the girl and PISS OFF!" I turned my head to look at the source of the voice, but my motions felt as if I was moving through molasses. When my eyes finally came around, I saw a squat man with messy hair shooting in every direction. He glanced at me, and I saw a flash in his wild eyes as his lips parted into a snarling grin. "Ain't that right, dearie?"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Why, that's no way to greet an ol' pal!" he exclaimed in mocking exasperation. He sprang from the floor to the corner of my bed singing, "It is me, for I am he, the one who keeps you up. I'll always keep your mind from sleep, and surely you will find: there secrets deep past counting sheep, when Sleep don't make you blind. So come with me, and I'll go with ya. I am Insomnia!" He finished his poem by brandishing his hands as if shaking tambourines. I couldn't help but giggle in my entranced stupefaction.

"That is enough," the woman said, her countenance darkening. "You have tormented this girl for long enough, and tonight, she needs rest." As she said these words, a billowy figure of shadows drifted through the wall. When it solidified a little more, I realized it was an owl the size of a man. It looked at Sleep with eyes as deep as the Universe itself before affixing them on me. "Excellent timing. Sara, meet Dreams. Now if you don't mind," she said, turning towards Insomnia, "we will be taking care of Sara tonight."

At this, the light in Insomnia's eyes flared so intensely it seemed as if they were ablaze. "Oh, no, you DON'T!" he shouted as he leapt from the bed at Sleep. Though he was much shorter than she, he took her to the ground and they began to wrestle, rolling back and forth across the hardwood. One moment, he was on top of her, squeezing her throat. The next, she was on top of him, her hair wrapping around his entire head. During the struggle, Dreams faded back towards the wall, keeping his eyes fixed on me. I looked from Dreams back to the fray and back to Dreams. Did he seem hungry?

Eventually, Sleep's size and prehensile hair began to overcome Insomnia. He thrashed and wailed and choked as her hair not only wrapped around his neck but also began stuffing itself into his mouth and nose. As he writhed and wretched, she said through a snarl "She needs us. We will take care of her. We have no need for YOU!"

Insomnia, choking, locked eyes with me, "Sara, don't listen to her. She doesn't want you to sleep. She wants you to die. That's not Dreams, that's the Void." He stretched out a hand in desperation.

As he spoke, she looked over at me, a crazed look in her eyes. "Don't mind him child. A wild animal will say anything when he is backed into a corner." Her grip around his neck tightened until air was no longer escaping. A pit formed in my stomach as I watched him struggle for air. I reached to pull Sleep off him, but it felt as if my arm was moving through pitch. I had barely enough strength for my fingers to graze her hair. I grabbed as tightly as I could, when I could sense the owl opening his wings wide. The woman looked at me, as the writhing body beneath her lost its vigor. "Fear not, my child. In one way or another, Sleep comes for us all." With those words, the floor vanished from beneath me, and I plunged into a bottomless pit, falling deeper and deeper into utter relaxation.